News

An elite team of Musketeers – Sarah, Neil, Caroline, Dave with Mollie the dog, and Guy – tackled the Lanhydrock Half Marathon.

This is a mostly off-road trail run with plenty of hills to entertain those who like that sort of thing – don’t all shout at once!

In perfect running weather we all survived this tough race. Not al of us were actually racing, rather using it to train for the 20-mile Grizzly and London or Taunton marathons.

I think I speak for most of us in saying it is an enjoyable race due to the great scenery which includes muddy valleys, woodland and about 2 miles of road.

It is sometimes hard to concentrate on the running when you are alone in beautiful countryside with no runners nearby to focus on.

Dave experienced that with Mollie the dog taking refreshment breaks at puddles and streams whenever she felt the need on a relatively warm day.

Neil had no such excuse. He did very well to come under two hours while still suffering from a severe chest infection.

Caroline has recently survived bronchitis and made a great comeback. She did fantastically considering this was a hard race to restart her racing season.

Iron Woman Sarah is in the middle of a long slog towards the bigger goals of Grizzly, Taunton and London marathons and enjoyed the run, but said it was her slowest half marathon – hardly surprising with a multi-terrain race.

Perhaps one of the incentives keeping the females runners motivated was the frequent chance to see some fit firemen stopping the traffic with their vehicles at strategic points.

The race was organised by the fire service from the area for charity.

Maybe a few more Musketeers might consider dipping their toes into trail running next year or in some other shorter races this year. There are some at Haldon Forest and Peter Tavy.

By Guy

Hi All you can claim your Run Britain Handicap by following this link. It’s really worthwhile, as you all know Caroline and I did quite well last year. This year it’s a monthly competition so don’t be shy sign up and surprise yourself.

It’s also a good way of keeping tabs on how your running is going especially if you keep registering your mileage on a weekly basis.

http://www.runbritainrankings.com/user/claimhandicap.aspx

Dear all welcome to the first Musketeers’ newsletter.

The club is stronger and bigger than ever, despite being only about five years old. We have 92 members, new runners trying us out each week and a very enthusiastic band of racers. This is the most exciting time to be a Musketeer as you will see as you read on�.

The first major race of the season was the Plymouth Hoe ten-mile attracting 33 Musketeer entries while about 20 completed the January Jaunt.

Our fame is spreading largely by word of mouth aided by our colourful shirts standing out from the crowd at races across the country and here in Plymouth. Neil and Caroline have done their patriotic best, Neil won the Run Britain series and Caroline did excellently in the women’s section.

Cross Country is spreading in popularity with a small but loyal band taking part in the Westward League Country series which has seen the men and women’s teams in respectable mid-table. The last event was especially tough at Bovey Tracey on Sunday 12th February with Mark and Nicole, two Sarahs O and A, Guy, Dave and Neil.

The more adventurous of us are training for the 20-odd mile Grizzly in March. A good turn-out is expected for the Mad March Hare and many are trainingfor the Plymouth Half, confidence boosted by the Hoe 10 race.

The newly revamped web site is looking good thanks to the new web master Nicole. Members are encouraged to use it, especially to see the colourful photo gallery and training dates.

Even if you are not training for anything specifically, like races, training is great for overall fitness, meeting new Muskies you might not otherwise talk to on club nights and for chatting to runners from other Plymouth area clubs. This is true of Saturday track training at Brickfields. As Donna so eloquently put it, this is not for elite runners, fasties or racing snakes. Anyone is welcome and encouraged of all speeds and whether racing or not. Donna enjoyed it and it certainly makes training rewarding and fun. The session lasts about one 1.5 hours and includes an excellent warm-up. Maybe you might just want to come for the warm-up which takes place on a field. Whatever you do, it is done at your pace and no one else’s speed. This is not a competition or race in any way. So give it a go and come with a friend of similar ability from 10am.

Last year was full of social events and this year will be no different. The first move is to appoint a social secretary to cope with the extra membership.

In order for Musketeers to remain a happy and contented bunch the club has appointed Dave and Miranda as new welfare officers.

Having built the foundations of a strong and thriving friendly club the committee is looking to the future to ensure the Musketeers is recognised as a centre of excellence. Part of this includes accreditation to Plymouth City Council which is the next move.

NEXT EDITION: Please let Guy know if you want anything included in the next edition of the newsletter such as spot the ball or spot the runner.

PLYMOUTH MUSKETEERS IS NOW OFFICIALLY AN ACCREDITED CLUB WITH PLYMOUTH CITY COUNCIL FOR GOOD PRACTICE. NEXT STEP ENGLAND ATHLETICS ACCREDITATION.

HI ALL PLEASE FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW TO SIGN UP FOR RUN ENGLAND.

http://www.runengland.org/page.asp?section=29&sectionTitle=Become+a+member

St Dominick’s Dash information and entry form are now online.

Seven mud plodders from the Musketeers answered the call of their club and took part in the team cross country at Bovey Tracey

The race was part of the Westward League cross country series with the others in Devon and Cornwall.

As one of the less loyal cross country runners Guy managed a less than committed second race (following his first at Newquay), others more faithful to the cause were Neil, Dave, Nicole, Mark, Sarah Owen and Sarah Abrams.

The race was much more enjoyable than Newquay which was over school playing fields and adjacent rough grassy countryside.

Bovey was truly tough countryside with a very steep hill close to the start which got increasingly slippery as the runners churned it up as they completed three laps, equivalent to about six miles for the men and two for the women.

The hill proved a test for everyone, even those with special cross country spikes fitted and there was lots of back wheel spins as grip failed on the muddy leafy climb and sparks from spikes clashing on stones.

The wooded hill gave way to a gentle undulating path, but this was only to lull runners into a false sense of security because it then dived steeply down past tree stumps and brambles and roots all waiting to trap runners hurtling down out of control. In vain Guy grabbed a thin branch to slow his descent – the tree repaid this by whipping back and hitting him on the side of the head. This only served to knock sense into him. But there was little choice but to plunge onwards regardless.

The flat section on the edge of the wood followed, but needed extra concentration because it was coated in a layer of wet mud and caused runners to meander off their course. In some cases I suspect this meandering was runners deliberately obstructing opponents – but that is just being sceptical.

In the case of Sarah O she took things a step further a dived into the mud. The drama queen then visited the St John medics who strapped up her right ankle and sadly did not appear on the results. There must be less dramatic ways of going home early.

Nicole led Sarah A home and they came 53rd and 54th respectively. Sarah O was leading Nicole at the time of her prima donna plunge. The Musketeer men finishers were Guy in 60th in 44 min, Neil in a great 86th in 49 min, Dave closely behind in 89th in a fantastic 50 min and Mark in 91st in 51 minutes. A great team effort.

Extra thanks to Nicole and Sarah A and Sarah O for getting very cold after their race supporting the men. It was hugely appreciated.

By Guy