Hello,

First things first, tomorrow (Thursday 18th) is the club’s annual away run. We will be meeting at 6.30pm at Holmfirth Pool, Huddersfield Road, Holmfirth JD9 3JL. There will be three groups as usual and seeing how the surrounding countryside is very hilly don’t expect anything too flat. After the run there will be the opportunity for a social drink and a curry at Bengal Spice as organised by Laurel Gilbert, so bring your wallets and purses for this. The pool does have changing facilities and showers so you don’t have to sit around in your running gear. There won’t be a run from the Stadium so you’re going to have to get to Holmfirth.

Monday night is the Banana Relay and if you want to run it then you need to let Saul know by tomorrow really and the way to do it is to sign his magic form. As the Banana Relay is a little more complicated than the usual club run then it would be hugely appreciated by Saul if you can get to the Stadium a little earlier than usual to find your partner and your number.
 

Penistone 10k Sunday 30th June

A new event to the club calendar attracted a slightly smaller field than has become the norm but those that turned up had a great run. A total of 25 Stadium Runners, majority of which were Stadium ladies, ensured that we showed plenty of Stadium colour throughout the race. First lady Stadium lady home (& 6th lady overall & 1st in her category) was Liz Taylor, a lady for whom a day without sport is like a day without wine for me. Not far behind at all was Bridget Hughes and then Angie Sura completed the triumvirate. In the chaps category Michael Hyde was 1st Stadium Runner and a very impressive 4th overall with David Miller 2nd and Ian Sutcliffe 3rd. A big thank you as usual to all the Stadium supporters who cheered and encouraged every runner and a special mention to Martin Page who tweeted a photo of just about every Stadium Runner so that I almost felt I was there watching them. Another mention for Martin and Becky Page for they now share the same last name having recently done the wedding thing up on the Isle of Skye so congratulations to them both.

Full results and WAVA times are available on the club website.
 

Northumberland Coastal Run Sunday

A very impressive 22 Stadium Runners made the journey up (or in Myra Owen’s case, down) to Northumberland for the excellent yet very tricky to get in to Northumberland Coastal Run. As the race is a few miles away this is more of a weekend of fun and silliness but with a very tiring race at the end of it. Now the weather might have been absolutely perfect for camping (there is still never an excuse for Speedo’s in public though!) but it was a bit hot for running but despite this there were plenty PB’s so maybe they just wanted to get back quicker for and ice cold beer.

Simon Courtney just missed out on a top 10 overall finish but was still first Stadium chap home with Jamie Westwood and Martin Huddleston hot on his heels (hot! Geddit?) Bridget Hughes was first Stadium lady home with the incredibly consistent Angie Sura in second place and Laurel Gilbert not far behind. Now if hot weather made the PB’s seem even quicker then the fact that Martin Huddleston clocked this year’s race at a quarter of a mile longer than last year makes those times even more impressive.

You may have noticed that previous finishers have received a nice bit of running apparel as last years yellow shirts are frequently modelled on training nights, but this year they opted for a smart black polo shirt. This picture shows Stadium Runners doing there best impression of the Curry’s staff on a team building exercise.
 

Other running.

On the same day as the Penistone 10k was the inaugural Lindley 10k and we had 6 Stadium Runners taking part. Times were excellent but the highlight was Rob Brooke going on the B of the Bang and taking a commanding lead over eventual winner Matthew Pierson in the first 200 metres. I’m not sure that that is the technically correct way to start a 6 mile race but it made the YouTube clip a lot more entertaining.

This morning I received an e-mail update on our Fell Running Fools from Andrea Lawton-Hyde this morning which is nice as it saves me a little bit of typing too (I’m hoping that even more of you get used to sending me stuff and then all I’ll have to do is cut and paste).

Osmotherley Phoenix early July - Hoult and Huddleston braved the 33 mile route, despite the brutal heat. there is a very nice link to some YouTube footage on their website where Mr Hoult gives a brief summary of the day (click here then go to 8m 50s for background footage of a half dressed Huddleston followed by a similarly attired Hoult who proves that verbosity runs in the family). I did the 17 mile route (which is actually 18 miles and most people doing the race know this, but when you are tired, hot and slightly delirious that extra mile is a killer)

Michael Hyde decided to go and do the Wasdale fell race the Saturday before the Northumberland Coastal Run. He finished around 6 hours, again despite the brutal heat, and having to drink from streams!

It was great to see the Stadium Runners putting in such a good turnout at the coastal race and there are some links on their website to footage which have captured some Stadium Runners in action. (I’ve looked but my eye sight is fading and I can’t find them but they’re out there somewhere.)

P.S. A big thank you from team Marvin to all those who have so kindly donated money to Kevin and Martin for their 105 mile run if you still want to donate just follow this link.
 

Anyone for Tennis

Continuing my non-writing here is another bit of writing from Bridget Hughes. Now the idea here is that you read this and then you write something and contribute to the next newsletter.

You know when people talk about those childhood memories of summer - those long summer days that seemed to last forever? I swear they are just talking about Wimbledon fortnight, which was seemingly endless.  My childhood/teenage memories of Wimbledon go something like this:
 
Cons: no chance of getting any tea, clean clothes or sensible answers any time soon

Pros: less chance of hearing "don't think you're going out dressed like that, lady"

Nowadays with the joys of Freeview, its not just Wimbeldon, the summer of tennis really does seem to go on for ever, with the clay court season morphing seamlessly into the grass court season, into the hard court season. For the less observant among you - the players are and do the same, the floor just changes colour (it is possible there might be a bit more too it than that but I'm hazy on the details)

 I do kind of like tennis but I'm just not a natural spectator, not being very good at sitting still. So in our house, around this time of year, "don't you ever do anything but run?" magically turns into "why don't you go for a nice long run?"

No matter that nice long runs aren't on the programme right now, what self respecting runner could resist that offer? (I have learned not to say " text me when Andy Murray loses" as I head out the door, doesn't go down too well)

That brings me on to that joyful phenomena - The Opportunistic Run

My best ever opportunistic run was also tennis inspired.

During a weekend in Barcelona in April, we had tickets for quarter finals day at the Barcelona Open. After the first match, Nadal beating some other nice Spanish man in a rain delayed match from the previous day (and I swear I didn't wriggle much and I was only thinking about checking the park run results on my phone, not actually doing it), my partner said "are you really going to be able to sit through another four matches?” (Er, what do you think?)  Followed by the magic words, "why don't you go for a nice long run"

Funnily enough, I had my gear packed handily in my rucksack, thinking I might broach the subject of running home after the tennis (well home to our hotel, obviously, not home to Huddersfield, that would be silly)

So with a quick change in a Portaloo, of which Superman would have been proud, I was out of there like a greased whippet, braving the disapproving glances of the tennis fans (what is their problem?)

Barcelona is an ace place to run. Granted, midday, even in April is possibly not the best time of day as it was 25 degrees, but with an opportunistic run you take what you get.

I had cleverly printed off a copy of the Barcelona marathon route in advance (and not so cleverly left it behind at the hotel). But you can't get lost in Barcelona, there's the sea at the front and mountains at the back, what could possibly go wrong?

Everyone runs in Barcelona, they even have special lanes for it next to the cycle lanes. Well not everyone, there are also quite a lot of people cycling, sightseeing, shopping, and sipping coffee at pavement cafes.  And motorists seemingly hellbent on mowing down all of the above.

During my run I learned the Barcelona runners code, barely imperceptible unsmiling eye contact, just enough to differentiate  yourself from the lesser mortals walking and sightseeing.
 
I saw all the tourist spots of Barcelona including more fantastic modernist buildings, and fake Prada handbags, than you could shake a stick at. Weirdly, there is an "All you can eat Mediterranean buffet" but on quick inspection, it looked more like Nando's than the kind of Mediterranean food that kept my Italian granny motoring until well into her 90's.

I later learned they charge 55euros for Barcelona running tours so I saved myself some money, if you look at it like that. And I was back in my seat in time to see Nadal play his second match of the day, with 22 miles in the bag, thank you very much, and all before tapas time.

So now that we’ve created the opportunistic run have you got a good example? If so send it to me.
 

Summer recipe.

Tomato Salad


I did this last night and it is so summery and fresh.

6 nice ripe tomatoes
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of white wine
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of water
sea salt
black pepper
a few basil leaves

Core the tomatoes and then slice them about 5mm thick. Arrange them in a shallow dish and sprinkle over the shallot and a few pinches of salt. Mix the garlic, mustard, white wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon of olive oil together. Add the water gradually mixing all the time and then add the final tablespoon of olive oil. Taste and season. Pour the dressing over the tomatoes and leave for 1 hour to allow the flavours to infuse. Tear up the leaves of basil and scatter over before serving.
 

The next race in the calendar is the Tour of Norland on August 25th follow this link to find out more.
 

Run Leaders

If you're interested in becoming a run leader, then terrific as the club needs as many as we can get, let Saul know as he is looking at putting some people through the course over in Halifax on October 5th. Have a chat with Saul for further details.
 

Keep running back.

Rob Hoult

Because I can't run I have got back on the bike which is wonderful fun but it isn't as much fun as you can have on a bike because this clip is, it's a few minutes long but is utterly amazing and you really should watch it.