News
British & Irish Masters Cross Country International, 11 November
2023
Scotland is hosting the 2023 British & Irish
Masters international cross country
races at Tollcross Park, Tollcross Road, Glasgow G32
8TF on 11 November.The venue has good facilities and the course,
which has been used regularly for international and national competitions, is challenging with a good view at the
top of the hill!
The match features five teams: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and
Northern Ireland.
Each country has its own means of
application and selection.
England, under the auspices of EMAA
(England Masters Athletics Association), will hold two trial races on 14 October 2023. The races will be held
within an existing North Midlands Cross Country League fixture at Markeaton Park, Kedleston Road, Derby, DE22
4AA.
Those applying for selection for the
England team are strongly advised to enter the trial races.Entry is via the BMAF Open Track system. The closing date is 26
September.
Details and Online Entry for the England
Selection Races on 14 October
.
In order for the England area selectors to have sufficient
information about an athlete’s 2023 achievements, it will also be necessary to complete an application form and
send it to your Masters area club’s representative on the selection panel. This will be required
from both those competing in the selection races and those who are not able to compete in the trials but still wish
to be considered for selection.
Click here for
Further Details and an Application Form for
selection for the England team
Selection for the England team at the trial races will be as
follows
: The first four in the trail for the teams of six will be
automatically selected. The first three in the trial for the teams of four will be automatically selected. Age
categories for teams of six are - M35, M40, M45, and M50. Age categories for teams of four are – W35 to W75+ and
M55, M60, M65, M70, M75+. The remainder of the teams and reserves will then be selected by the area selectors
immediately after the trial races by considering the results of the trials and the information provided on the
application forms. Please supply details of all performances that you feel are relevant, including 5k and 10k road
and cross country races.
VAC Committee Member, Mike
Mann, is VAC’s representative on the England team’s selection
panel. Completed application forms should be sent to him by 30 September. Mike is happy to provide further
advice.Email mcmann90@yahoo.co.uk
It’s an honour to be picked to represent your country and VAC is
proud of those who are selected to represent any of the five nations. It would be great to see lots of VAC members
wearing the VAC vest in Derby for the England selection races, and to see VAC members in the final
selections.
VAC featured in Runner's World! 2-06-20
The July 2020 issue of Runner's World includes a great article about VAC. Click to view the article. The journalist spoke to Ros
Tabor, VAC's Chairman, and elicited quotes from two of our members. He has captured the spirit of the Masters scene
as well as admiring our members for defying age and continuing to compete, with many successes. The article should
appear in due course on the
Runner's World website.
VAC Members Track &
Field Competitions Survey 2020
On 10 January 2020, the Membership
Secretary sent a survey by email to 492 members of VAC who have a track and field interest. 66 responses were
received.
Here is a Summary of the
Responses to the T&F Survey as of 7 March 2020.
More responses are welcome during 2020.
See the background below and follow the link to theVAC
Track & Field Survey. Send responses to Peter Kennedy at
memsec@vetsac.org.uk.
Conclusions of the
Committee
1. There is full support for continuing to
have a traditional championship.
2. There is moderate support for multiple
meetings when members would be competing against those of similar ability, leading to overall winners for the whole
season.
3. A significant number of members would
be willing to help in the organisation of the club’s T&F events.
Action Plan proposed by the
Committee
1. Incorporate VAC championships into both
indoor and outdoor South of England Masters Championships.
2. Continue to organise the VAC 5,000m and
10,000m Championships, as well as entering teams in the inter-area competitions.
3. Investigate whether both 2nd Claim and
1st Claim VAC members could compete in the Rosenheim League as guests or as a team. Identify T&F Open Meetings which VAC members could compete in to make up a summer
series, not necessarily the same meetings for each discipline (sprints, hurdles, middle distance, throws, pole
vault, high jump, long/triple jump), leading to overall winners at the end of the year in each discipline and age
group.
4. Give further consideration to awards
for best age graded performances in each discipline.
5. Approach those members who said they
might be willing to help in order to identify who would be willing to be part of a team to organise 2-4 above
instead of having a single Track & Field Secretary.
Background to the survey
We are at a turning point in VAC in that
in 2019 we lost Mike May, who was the driving force behind the track and field side of the club. He had
planned and organised championships and other events for many years, with help from the other members of the
Committee. We now need to re-establish VAC’s direction with a view to maintaining what works well and thinking of
new ideas for what could be even better.
What works well, we believe, are our separate 5000m and 10000m championships and what could be better is our
overall T&F championship. In order to make decisions, we are seeking your views on what to do by your
answers to the questions in theTrack
& Field Competitions Survey.
The Committee urgently needs help to plan and organise VAC’s T&F activities, either by one person who attends
committee meetings or by a group of people who share the responsibilities and do not have to attend the committee
meetings or preferably a mixture of the two. The distinction between committee members and other volunteers
can also start to blur if we hold meetings via video conference on specific topics. This technology is used
within the BMAF and will be the basis for new groups established to listen to members’ views on the BMAF.
Anyone invited to a virtual meeting can participate via their home PC (if sufficiently modern), laptop or tablet or
smartphone. It is even possible to join such conferences by an ordinary phone, although you miss out on
seeing the other committee members.
24-01-14
A SYNOPSIS OF THE REAL MARATHON MEN (Including Mike
Peel!)
This is the story of 42 marathon runners who were created as the ‘Ever-presents’ by the
London Marathon in 1995 after they had run 15 consecutive Londons.
Their story is a testimony to a ‘never say die’ spirit that has sustained them during the
thousands of marathons they have run all over the world.
Dale Lyons, one of the last 15, has combined a detailed factual record from his research,
with many heart warming anecdotes and astonishing hardship stories in tracking the Ever-presents’ journey for 33
years since 1981.
Their triumphs and cruel disappointments, the amazing sums they have raised for countless
charities, their incredible running records at home and abroad, their entertaining media coverage and their
fascinating and colourful lives away from the marathon treadmill provides absorbing and enlightening
reading.
This is a book to honour their commitment to the London, one of the great city Marathons and
provides a lasting tribute to a rapidly diminishing group, decimated by injury, accident, illness and
death.
The book will provide information, inspiration and motivation not only to marathon runners
but to those watching the London each year thinking “that could be me!”
Available January 2014 price £6.99 + £2.60
pp.
Paperback version. 230 pages with
photos.
For orders contact Dale Lyonse-mail dale@5rhg.co.uk
5 Richmond
Hill Gardens, Edgbaston Birmingham B15 3RW
“This remarkable book is a tribute to everyone of the Ever-presents. The London
Marathon salutes them all!” John Bryant. Author of The London
Marathon book and Chairman of the London Marathon Charitable Trust.
Peter Kennedy's Decision to Run
Back in September I wasn't seeing any improvements in my 5 km/10 km times even though after three years in the
Philippines I was fully acclimatised and my mileage was up at the 70 km level per week. I knew I was leaving the
Philippines in March and when I heard about the BDM 102 I thought that it would make a suitable climax to my
running in the Philippines.
Race Preparation - Endurance and Speed
I wanted to do my best I could in the race, even though it was my first ever and possibly only ultra-marathon. So I
looked round for both a running coach and a nutrition coach. I needed coaches who knew how to train someone for
top-class ultra-marathon running and in Ige Lopez I found someone who is both an experienced ultra-marathon runner
and coach. He put me on a training schedule in three parts – 7 week buildup towards 100 km/week, 10 weeks of
endurance/speed training which peaked at 160 km/week (including warm-up runs), and then one month tapering before
the race. The training was very varied - long slow runs at weekends reaching back-to-back 75/25 km runs,
moderate-paced runs up to 21 km, sometimes with hill sessions or fast intervals, aerobic-paced runs on alternate
weekdays and one rest day a week.
I was fortunate to avoid any injuries in training. However if I had experienced the BDM course before the race,
I would have realised that I needed to do a lot more hill work (Ige did hint this to me), but work and family
commitments would have got in the way. The highlight of this training was a 3 hours 20 minutes marathon in
December. The lowlight of the training were forgetting to take my hydration pack on one of my trips abroad, which
disrupted the nutrition plan for my 60 km training run.
Nutrition
My nutrition coach Harvie de Baron was excited to take on the challenge of helping me with the BDM 102. He has
advised good athletes and those trying to lose weight before, but not someone doing an ultra-marathon who can't
gain weight. In fact after a few weeks of additional healthy snacks (fruit, sports bars and milk) I gained 2 kilos
which converted to additional muscle whilst my fat content remained very low at 5%. This can be explained by my
high metabolic rate, equivalent to that of a 12 year old! The plan for the race was to get all my calories through
liquid rather than food. I opted for wearing a hydration backpack and taking frequent sips of isotonic drink, with
short stops every ten km for an energy gel and extra water. We slightly increased the concentration of isotonic
drink to enable me to get 260 calories/hour. I could also carry a phone, torch and spare headlamp in the hydration
pack and I got used to carrying all this weight on my training runs. Other key ingredients of the training were a
protein recovery drink after all long runs and a weekly massage.
Gear I decided to race in compression shorts and vest, much as the triathletes do, which
avoided any chafing problems.
My GPS watch was essential to my training and the race itself, but I wore a second basic running watch as a backup
just in case it failed me.
Life outside running
During the five and half months of ultra marathon training there wasn't much of a life other than running and
sleeping. Moreover the demands of work as well as the training meant I often didn't get enough sleep Ð but not
starting work until the afternoon most days allowed me to catch up with sleep after the early morning runs.
And reflections afterwards
Why did I do it? Were the long hours of training worthwhile? What next?
I run because it is easy to do and I am built for it, even though having the right running gear makes it an
expensive sport. I like the competitive nature of races and the thought of winning is a great spur to action for
me. I like the health benefits it brings Ð very high fitness level even at the age of 60, with not a day off work
through illness in the last 10 years. With no weight problems I can eat and drink what I like within reason.
Running also gives me extra energy for work which brings its own rewards as well. So I see myself continuing to run
for many years yet, competing against the world's best runners in my age group. The change from middle-distance
running on the track in England to an ultra-marathon in the Philippines has been very enjoyable and I intend to
vary my competitive programme going forward with a different focus some years to others.
I hope this account inspires more people of any age to change their lifestyle to include exercise and good diet
and others to extend their running beyond the fun-run level right up to the challenge of doing a fast
ultra-marathon.
Peter Kennedy 2012
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