London Marathon 2009

Once again a few members of 14AC took to the streets of London to compete in this years Marathon. The runners were privileged to run in perfect conditions, which not only the possibility for some quick times, but also meant plenty of support en route.

 

Sammy Wanjiru broke the course record with a time of 2:05:10, but close behind was Andy Greenleaf (2:33:13), Martin Gaunt (2:46:27), Chris Wrighton (2:49:33) and Tom Aldred (3:06:41).

Some Notable Performances

A quick update for posterity - it isn't often 14ACers get international honours, so it would be remiss of me not to mention Rachel's outstanding xc season culminating in selection for the World XC, which handily was in Edinburgh. A hearty mob of 14AC supporters were present to shout themselves hoarse is support as Rachel came home an excellent 42nd, one for the scrapbook certainly!

Also recently was the annual sightseeing run around London, also known by the general public as the London Marathon. More superb performances here, especially from messers Greenleaf and Gaunt. Andy broke 2:30 with 2:29:47 to come 57th, and Martin was 114th in 2:35:56. I believe Andy Dockar was also quite pleased with his run. The red button made entertaining viewing!

Coming soon I think is Rab Hughe's attempt on the Bob Graham Round...

Isle of Man of Steel (Sunday)

Left it a bit...but here goes!

An early start greeted our hungover heroes fresh from ten plus pints, 10 plus miles and the 3rd place in the hill race. It was agreed by those at the Wicklow Hills that Saturday night was right up there with the best 14AC adventures...the smiles said it all.

But it was back to business - and having found out the results from the previous two days we discovered we were in a handy 4th place overall, ahead of our hosts from Leeds! Looking at the standard of the Liverpool, HBT(!!) and Alehouse teams ahead of us, we agreed we were doing as well as could be realistically expected, in fact probably better. We realised the real fight would be to hold on to 4th position over the 4x5k relay along Douglas promenade. (2.5k out&back) This would mean holding off Alehouse B and Doss A, and Cambridge, amongst others.

More pertinantly, this means finally cranking up Baptiste and his troublesome groin for some race action. A voyage into the unknown, a risk if you will.

Anyway, keen not to miss the start, Leaf Kellie and Foster headed down to the ferry terminal for the start, where Gaunt was waiting. We were glad to discover Gaunt's race prep was as thorough as our own, following his abduction the previous evening, there had been more beer and a 'rancid' curry, which was that bad it manage to penetrate a haziness rating Professor A.Greenlead Bsc rated as at least a 9.

The race started at the ungodly hour of 10.45, by which time the poor ladies had run their 5k not-a-relay-just-a-race. But they hadn't drunk as much. Well they looked better than our wearisome mob, anyway. We set Leaf off first, as one does in these situations, so that he can put us somewhere decent, and he didn't fail to oblige. The first leg, was, well, rapid, and when Leaf came home in 10th, we knew we had some hard work to do. But you could tell Andy had run his football socks off, as evidenced by Gaunt's claim he had never seen such a grimace. 16.28 in those winds blowing in from the sea was no mean effort.

Crucially we were behind Doss A and Edinburgh A. Gas man set off reasonably, and worked that hangover off to finish only 8 seconds slower than Andy in 16.37. He had also reeled in and spat out, his old friends from Edinburgh, showing once and for all which side of the green fence he stands on. And, no, the grass is not always greener on the other side.

So it was becoming apparent that to hold onto that lucrative 4th place (prize money - £0, glory, immense) then we had to beat Doss A team. So while Legs 1&2 were in progress, there was a lot of kiddology going on between Leon and his yellow chums. Luckily Baptiste managed to deflect all the pressure onto last leg man Kellie, by running precisely 1 second quicker than the Doss 3rd leg, leaving big Pete with it all to do, hauling in the anchor.

No problem! By the time he came into the last k the green machine was way and clear of the yellow peril and 4th place was secured, with 6th place in the relay. A fine achievement we all agreed, but we still want more!!

This left more leisure time...'Super Sunday' occupied Gaunt's mind, obviously working down into the culture and sport department means sky sports spin has a great effect on his mind, and so Pete and Martin watched Utd beat Liverpool 3-0. Out in the hailstorm meanwhile, Foster helped Leeds to score past Manchester, but couldn't prevent the 7 Manchester scored. But it was worth it, for the mud bath alone. And Leaf? Went on another run - he claimed he was going for a walk, but the cuts and scrapes said otherwise...you'd walk round a gorse bush surely??

Onto the evening, and there was a distinct lack of eating, but obviously this left more room for drinking at the presentation/beer racing competition/party. Leon had 15 pints to make his 50, this was achieved sometime after 1am. The 5 pints in leading the Doss beer racing team to the final helped, being cheated out of victory for the 2nd year running only acted as a catalyst. Both the 'Touchdown' game, and shoelace skipping made another apperance...while Gaunt did his best to avoid being anywhere near the bar by camoluging himslef in green. We picked up £10 each for 3rd in the hill race, Leaf an additional 10 for his stormer. Kellie did his best for inter-club relations, and Andy generally upped the haziness wherever possible. Another stonking night.

Monday meant an obscenely early departure for Leon and Pete, while Gaunt went to Lakey wheel, and Leaf blasted out another 2 hour run, this time up to Snaefell and back!

All in all, a very successful weekend, with just the right balance of carnage elements, thanks to everyone who made it possible...we will be back!! Now on more time...mama...oooooohhhh!

Isle of Man of Steel (Saturday)

Saturday dawned, or at least it did for some, Leon sleeping in til Midday after his 4am finish the night before. Leaf and Kellie visited the leisure centre for some detox, and discovered that the 'Winchester Scale' so notably employed by Andy on past excursions, was also used by the natives over here. The Leisure Centre, supposedly 40 mins away, turned out to be less than 20 from the hotel. This allowed out 10k heroes a bit of a longer swim. What Gaunt was up to was anyone's guess, probably parading round his hotel in a kilt or chasing Highland Cattle. We know not.

Unfortunately, the relaxation Andy and Pete exprienced, combined with Leon's late awakening, led to things being a little too relaxed. Arriving on the prom at the designated bus departure time of 1pm was slightly too late, as the buses departed a further mile down the seafront. In fact we could see them disappear off. Leon's popularity amongst the Leeds masses ensured that he didn't get a phone call, Martin strangely assumed we had boarded an adjacent bus without so much as a nod or a wink.

Luckily the taxi only cost 20 notes and before we knew it, we were on the 12 mile drive to the Peel Hill Race right behind the aforementioned carriages. This allowed us to telephone Martin and tell him the bad news, without telling him we were in a taxi behind his coach! The desperation in his voice led him to offer to pay for a taxi, should we choose to get in one.

Come the race, Greenleaf followed the obligatory charge up the hill, and produced probably his best performance of the weekend, coming home a splendid 11th in terribly windy conditions. Looking at the runners ahead of him, this is a great performance, but Leaf rarely has a bad run, does he?

Further down and around the hill, Kellie had apparently stole a march on Martin, the spa obviously doing its job, and it took until the last downhill for Martin to steal past, as they came home a very solid 23rd and 25th. Great team effort, allowed 14AC to claim 3rd place overall for the Hill Race, and Andy got an induvidual prize as well. Baprtiste improved to 87th from yesterday, depsite an early scare when behind one of the jugglers with the 3 legged team closing in behind...

With the race out of the way, it was time for the 10 mile, 10 pub (turned out to be 8) crawl. Handily, once more, they had built a pub right by the finish for a swift pint.

Once this 1st pint was over, Gaunt decided to open up the mindgames once more, and induldge in a game of 'Manhunt' that would last the rest of the night. Claiming to be going ahead with his Scottish chums to the next pub, and to get a round in, he promptly disappeared, we presume, by conviently running past the front door of the 2nd pub, and on to the 3rd. The other 3 took it easy, and had some chips, which Pete drowned in gravy, whilst Leon had pie & peas as any self respecting northerner does. Leaf declined to partake.

On the way to the 2nd pub a silly game started called Touchdown, but you'll hear all about that at the next gathering. Anyway, after about 10 mins in the 2nd pub, it was time to move to the 3rd, and Andy was really in the spirit of the ManHunt as he threw in 2 5:40 miles in an attempt to catch Martin. But he was nowhere to be seen. Pete and Leon struggled along at 8 minute mile pace, but at least the beers were there on arrival. Pete played musical clothing when he couldn't decide on how many layers he needed.

Upon arrival at Pub #4, Andy upped the ante further, downing his pint in 5.9 seconds and hurtling off to pub 5 in pursuit of Gaunt, whilst Kellie, now cooled, followed immediately. This left Leon to drink his pint upside down, but this took so much out of him he could only walk to pub 5.

The target was caught, but only briefly as he escaped again in search of more booze with some spurious excuse. Leon took so long to arrive Pete and Andy had nearly fallen asleep, but the Leeds posse wouldn't allow it.

Walking then became the order of the day, and the remaining pubs were knocked off with some quality discussion on signs and game shows. Then followed a call from the Gas Man, where he made no sense whatsoever. Once more we arrived at the (last) pub just in time to catch him, only this time in a more literal sense as the boy couldn't stand up!! But once the word 'curry' was mentioned, he was off out the back door of the pub, not to be seen until the morning. Puzzling.

This meant he missed all the fun, as the karaoke had just started. This led to some amazing performance, including Song 2, Suspicious minds, and for a final finale, everyone left in the pub combined beautifully for a powerful, yet tender rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. The video is out there somewhere...a fantastic evening.

I couldn't not mention the bar man who followed Leon round the 3 bars within the pub, asking 'alcohol?' at ten second intervals, and the shoelace skipping, of which more tomorrow.

And so it was left for Leaf and Kellie to kindly direct some ladies back home , whilst Leon went on a mystery tour of Douglas that ended in a kebab shop. As all good nights do...

Isle of Man of Steel 2008 (Thursday and Friday)

14AC made their 1st ever trip to the internationally renowned Easter Athletics Festival on the Isle of Man.

The team comprising of Leon, Andy, Martin G and Pete K weren't too sure what to expect, other than high carnage. This based on Leon's report from his trip avec Doss AC (Leeds Past&Present) last year.

Logisitics meant that Foster and Kellie travelled with the majority of the Leeds mob on board the 'chunder catamaran'(Thursday evening). Over half the people on board were sick and comotose, special mention to the guy in the recovery position throughout. Leon meanwhile, happily knocked back several beers whilst chuckling away under his breath.

Once at the hotel, more beers were chanced upon, but Pete had to go to bed as he had an important race the next day.

Early doors Friday, and after breakfast Leaf and Gasman arrived, having had an easier but still pretty hairy flight over from Gatwick. Having surveyed the scene,Gasman departed for his abode in with Edinburgh.

But not after declining the chance to purchase the latest 14AC accessory, the green football sock. This on the basis 'he had some at home'. For a minute we thought Martin had a second home on the Isle of Man, but no, and he ended up looking the stupid one once we all had said socks.

The Leeds based contingent went on the afternoon steam train to the south of the island, where the 10k race was based. Very leisurely, this was the ideal way to travel to the race.

A quiet hour was spent in a tea shop whilst a gale blew past, and the people around us all purchased the most tempting cakes you've ever seen.

We then realised we weren't anywhere near the registration, and so a swift walk allowed us to collect our numbers. At this point our proud and distinctive heritage as 14AC'ers was called into question, the signs point to dirty Alehouse (Manchester) tactics, but we quashed the organisers questions with ease and headed to the start, though not before applying a dose of green war paint, at precise 45 degree angles.

The race started in a snow storm, and was windy throughout, as on a fairly undulating course, the boys got to work. Leaf was slightly disapointed not to break Baptistes course record of 34.00, being 2 seconds outside that mark, but came home in a very respectable 14th, especially given the race was being led by some real class athletes. Gaunt battled onwards through the winds, and ran a well timed race, to close within 25 seconds of Andy by the end, in 21st place. Pete meanwhile, battled bravely through his recent niggles to claim 31st place. This meant the team finished a creditable 6th overall, beating Leon's friends from Leeds on a tie-break!

Leon meanwhile, 'jogged' round in 47.01, 98th position, but this was all part of the team plan.

It was a real drag to get to the pub after these toils, but we made the 10 yards look easy, and were at the bar in no time. It was here we met one of the all time Isle of Man Greats, Gods, some might say. The famous 'Y.P' of Edinburgh and Hunters Bog Trotters. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the tale, Mr Y.P. managed to run 100 miles and drink 100 pints in 100 hours. Not an easy task. And you can tell he did it too. At first we thought we had met the local drunk, but after a while his ramblings made a sort of sense and we were able to engage in a form of communication. When asked for advice on 100/100/100, his answer was legendary but not publishable on tinternet. In awe, we had another pint or two in his honour.

Then it was back to the hotel, after a brief bout of beach spraying. Andy and Pete, had to witness and indulge in the Leeds and Doss beer trials, which Leon won for the second year running. Martin made a fleeting appearance, only to tell us the Manchester trials were par superior, then buggered off again. Kellie and Greenleaf were very close on both races, but Andy managed sub 6 on both rounds to win. Unluckily for them, they didn't get to partake in the 'beefcake' challenge, or the 2 pint challenge. With a hill race to face tomorrow, it was just as well....

Hyde Park Relays - 9th February 2008

With temparatures pushing over 15 degrees and the sun shining, the conditions for Hyde Park 2008 were perfect for some good times and enthusiastic spectating.

The pressure was on 14AC to snatch their third consecutive Guest Team victory and there was the usual rivalry with the university for who would come out on top.

There was a depleted turn out for 14AC, however with the team of Martin, Matt, Anna and Andy, we could at least field a team, albeit if there were a couple of us who had to run twice and therefore give us the chance of maintaining our title.

Andy was up first, claiming not to have ben running for the last couple of weeks, however judging by the ever bleaching of his hair, it suggested that there had been plenty of swimming to compensate. His time of 16:10 placed 14AC within the top 10 after first leg, from which Martin took off.

Martin had to make the tough choice of watching his home country battle it out against Scotland, or contribute to 14AC's battle against the Uni. It was a no brainer and while Wales were edging ahead in Cardiff, Martin was runinng round the Serpentime clawing back time off the Uni. His 16:50 time was a p.b. for the course and he passed over to Matt who took on third leg.

When Matt started the race, his mileage for the day was already pushing well over 30, having had a small warm up with a cycle from Brentwood to London. Some say that this could act as a disadvantage, however by this stage Machine's engine was properly warmed up and ready for some overtaking. Needless to say he came up trumps finishing in an impressive 17:28.

Despite the crowd numbers starting to push several thousand and spill over on to the course, Anna produced a fine run, weaving through the pedestrians at a lightening place and maintaining our first guest team position. In her debut on the men's course, she recorded an impressive 21:07 to hand over to Andy.

It is hard to say whether doing two legs is an honour or an inconvenience, however with the potential prize at stake, Andy and Martin had to give it what they had left in the closing stages of the race. Both had solid runs finisnihing in 16:59 and 17:33 respectively. This gave the total for the day as 1:46:10 and enabled us to retain the First Guest Team honour.

Imperial College excelled themselves this year, not only by replacing the french bread, nutella and 1p sweets with soup, jacket pototes and the like, but also by going well over board on the prizes. We picked up a large number of trophies, medals and beers at the prize giving for our efforts of the day, and proudly returned home 2008 champions.

Leeds Relays 2007

Rise of the Machines

On a typical Northern Winters's day, 1st Dec 2007, some of the more intrepid 14acers ventured up to Leeds to take part in the 40th ever Leeds University Relays.

Depleted by not only the abscence of several top players, but also injuries to Foster, Gaunt and Michaelson, it was not possible to field a full women's team.

However Lizzie Spencer ran for the Student 'C' team in a very creditable 13:15 which would have easily placed her in the uni 'A' team had they been so inclined.

By this point, as is usual, the course was cutting up nicely after the overnight rain, which left the men facing the usual slog, and several tricky corners.

After a extensive recruitment policy, Martin managed to rope in 'Ben' who not only was actually Nottingham Alumini but a very handy triathlete to hand. The only problem being that this left us with 7 men, for a 6 man team!

At this point, things got a bit heated, with Hodson, Woonton, and Bareham claiming not to have run since the Fresher's race and they couldn't possibly get round 2 and bit miles of field. Luckily, firstly leaf put his foot down and told them they were all running, but Rob Hughes, or Machine Senior as he is becoming more commonly known, made the outrageous decision to do all 6 legs, given there was no B team, he became the B team.

Greenleaf led off on first leg, producing his usual strong performance, his time of 11.06 his quickest ever round the Leeds Realys course, and a full minute quicker than last year, albeit in better conditions. New recruit Ben then took over, and another solid run of 11.20 meant that 14AC were in a fairly decent position.

Steve was next up, and he'll be the first to admit that this wasn't his finest hour in the green and gold vest. However, he had more than a decent excuse, the incredible rigours of a cross-channel swim had left him a little lacking in running fitness, and in this respect his time of 14.33 was no disgrace.

Next up was Bareham, whose gutsy 13.08 will certainly act as a catalyst for future faces.

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say a repeat of the epic Bareham Woonton battles of 2004/05 is eagerly awaited!

Next up was the boy Hodson, whose straight line speed doesn't exactly endear him to this type of event, so 12.31 was a pretty good effort in the increasing gloop.

Then in a tactical move, came Junior Machine.

He had 5 legs to warm up and get those motors running, and this clearly worked as he set off like a house on fire. the boy was moving. There was even a hint he could break the time of the leaf. But the early pace used up a bit more fuel than we may have realised and Machine was just pipped to the post in an epic sprint finish, but the time of 11.23 was more than consolation.

Overall 14AC finished 27th out of 39 teams.

After this, there was the usual evening shebang, hosted by el Baptiste originally, as some lovely Winter Pimms was consumed, amid a rather heated drinking game. (don't ask Lucie to count your prescription!)

Then it was to on to A.S.K (again) for an Italian.

Off to the Union for the main event, beer racing, where 14AC managed a new best performance of 2nd, winning their heat convincingly, and beating the might of Alehouse in the final, just losing to Doss AC 'a' (population in the bar 50 - 14ac - 9)

Congratulations go to Andy, Steve, Matt and Leon.

Then it was onto a beach club for more mirth and merriment, with a peak haziness level of 8.7 attained at precisely (as planned) 00.29. This was accuratley recorded in a scientific test by leaf and baptiste.

Then onto Leeds best kebab shop. Apparently.

Luckily none of us were woken at 7 in the morning by the departing Gaunt.

See you all at Hyde Park hopefully, where we have a podium position to defend.

The Baptiste.