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Masters 10 - editorial October 2005 24-10-05

After many a night burning the midnight oil, I have managed to construct what I believe to be an up to date (October 22) Masters 10-mile Road Ranking list for this year.

I wanted to get a list out before the end of the year so that the punters out there can advise as to any performances that may be missing prior to the final lists being published early 2006. There are probably quite a few amendments/additions that need to be made so please let me have some input. I won’t be offended!

I have also made substantial inroads to the all-time lists, thanks to a discovery of an American web site, particularly on the men’s side, which you may note, now contains greater depth.

There are a few marks on the all-time lists that have been recorded this year but all within the older age groups: M55 and W55 upwards. A sign of falling standards?

Not sure if masters’ performances are following the UK trend of senior runners whose times appear slower than that of previous years. Jason Henderson, the Editor of Athletics Weekly, referred to the decline in a recent editorial.

On this latest list there is only one category (W35) that has achieved 100 performances within my standards set. These standards were formatted based on previous year’s listings. Still, there is the BMAF 10-mile championships to come, plus a few more ‘classic’ tens, so perhaps the lists will lengthen.

Just one British record shown, with Daphne Ellmore recording 64:27 at Heckington on July 30, just three seconds quicker than Sue Cariss’ previous record set just seven weeks earlier. This must be the shortest time span of any masters’ record.

Thanks to those you have emailed details of individual’s times, especially in the older age groups, many of which are never indicated on a result sheet. There were a few web results that showed individual ages of each competitor, which was a great help.

Even the Cabbage Patch 10 showed, on their club result list, the individual ages, whereas in previous years men over 60 and women over 55 were not indicated. And there are usually some quick oldies in this event.

You will note that in many an instance, first names are not shown. I will attempt to eradicate this situation at the end of the year by a spot of Googling. If I attempt it now, a) it will slow down the process of having these lists on site, and b) some of the performances may be replaced or fall off the top 100 placings.

Also, no clubs on the Great South Run in Portsmouth were indicated, and apart from known runners the clubs are left blank on my lists. They did show dates of birth, which helped, for most of the competitors and after a long trawl of the 10,000 plus finishers, many have made my lists (a staggering 106 in total). If anyone can fill the gaps regarding club names it would be appreciated.

Thanks to Terry Eakin, who has proved to be my Northern Ireland correspondent, often pointing me in the direction of results from that region.

As most of you are aware, the M35 category is now an official masters’/veterans’ age group. Not sure if future results will indicate them, but Tim Grose tells me he has 67 such performances (thanks to his comprehensive database) to his albeit higher standards so hopefully they will be made available to me. I’ll have to check out the British M35 record, which I believe belongs to Paul Evans with his 46:10 set in the Great North Run in 1997.

If there are any errors in these pages please contact Pete on petehwac@aol.com  and not the web master. Amendments are always appreciated.


Vets 10 - editorial March 2005 4-03-05

Masters 10 2004 Rankings

TWO British age records over ten miles were achieved during 2004 and both came courtesy of the female of the species with Sandra Branney and Louise Gilchrist supplying the goods.

Branney became the first British W50 athlete to breach the 60-minute barrier - and how- with her stunning time of 59:06, well inside the previous mark of 60:30 held by Paula Fudge.

This run by Branney was over the much-debated Brampton to Carlisle course and the argument as to whether it should be classified as ‘downhill’. Tim Grose, the statistician who supplies the official British middle and long distance rankings, admits, “After a study of the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 map by John Falvey the course appears downhill as it exceeds a drop of 1m/km.” However the Association of Road Running Statisticians (ARRS) sets a limit of 5m/km before a course is designated as downhill so Grose feels that these performances cannot be ignored.

In setting a W70 record, Gilchrist proved that no matter what your age is you can improve as she re-visited Sale to record 77:57. This carved a mighty chunk from her UK record of 78:28 recorded over the same course 12 months previously.

One who came close to setting a UK record was M55 Jimmy Bell who ran 54:59 to go second on the all-time list a mere eight seconds behind the time set by Steve James in 1993.

Topping the W55 listings is a new name to many a British road fan and that is Theresa ‘Terry’ Mahr, a formidable athlete who graces the American road running scene.

Moving from Marlow, Bucks to the States many years ago, Mahr took up running in her over there as a W45, since when she has made quite an impression. The aforementioned John Falvey, who discovered that she is still a British citizen, has brought her exploits to our attention.

Her W55 topping time of 66:20 puts her third in the UK all-time lists and further research also shows her well to the fore in the W45 and W50 lists.

Second to Mahr in the 2004 listing is Ros Tabor with 69:39 which was run shortly after her 55th birthday. However, just a few weeks before her birthday Tabor clocked 67:03 which although good enough to place her sixth in the 2004 W50 lists, if run a few weeks later it would have seen her in fourth position on the W55 all-time.

As an exercise I thought it would be interesting to compare the 2004 lists with those of 2003 and on the evidence came away with the following conclusions:

M40: Almost identical over the two years.
M45: An improvement over the earlier times with a falling away in the later times.
M50: Not so quick up front but improvement shown with later times.
M55: Identical towards the leading lights but a dramatic falling away for the lesser lights.
M60: The top half shows massive improvement and thereafter maintains 2003 listing.
M65: Performances throughout the list shows a dramatic slowing down of performances.
M70: Much similar to the M65s.
M75: On figures available there is a marked improvement.
W35: Times on average are around 30 seconds down on 2003.
W40: A marked improvement on 2003 times throughout.
W45: Not so quick up-front but massive improvement as the list continues.
W50: Improvement also in this category but perhaps not so marked as the W45s.
W55: Similar comments as for the W40s
W60: Leading lights not so quick in 2004 but the tail enders are much improved.
W65: On figures available this age group has slowed somewhat.

 

 

2003

 

 

2004

 

 

10th

50th

100th

10th

50th

100th

M40

53:31

56:12

57:14

53:28

56:11

57:28

M45

54:52

58:01

59:35

54:41

57:50

61:43

M50

57:26

60:07

61:53

57:57

59:55

61:43

M55

59:45

63:07

65:40

58:45

64:11

67+

M60

63:46

68:28

71:28

62:45

67:38

71:31

M65

67:50

76:15

81:20

69:18

78:11

???

M70

76:10

89:37

2:21:29

77:14

92:11

2:28+

M75

1:46:39

N/a

N/a

1:41:30

N/a

N/a

W35

61:02

65:19

68:38

61:33

66:53

69:01

W40

63:40

67:46

71:25

62:11

67:20

70:45

W45

65:43

71:30

75:34

65:58

70:34

73:08

W50

69:13

75:50

79:38

69:04

75:35

???

W55

74:56

82:09

88:08

74:05

82:33

87:26

W60

84:49

96:29

2:30:02

83:09

1:42:02

2:21:31

W65

87:48

N/a

N/a

90:16

N/a

N/a

W70

N/a

N/a

N/a

N/a

N/a

N/a

 

If there are any errors in the lists please contact Pete on petehwac@aol.com  and not the web master. Amendments are always appreciated.


Vets 10 - editorial September 2004 13-09-04

UK RECORD FOR LOUISE GILCHRIST

With her clocking of 77:57 at Sale on August 1, Louise Gilchrist smashed her own UK W70 record of 78:28 that was also set at Sale 12 months previously. Louise is certainly in fine form these days, as the now Valley Strider (that club name certainly rings a bell) recently ran 10km in 45:50 which is reported as a world W70 best.

Once again the British Masters Championships held in Stoke, as it was last year, has made a substantial mark on the year’s rankings. For the current listings it can be seen that there are 59 occasions (42 men, 17 women) when a performance from the event was of sufficient standard to be included. Plus the venue has also meant drastic changes to the top-ten places across all of the categories. Not bad for a course that has been described as, “A tough cookie.”

Detailed below are the changes to the various top-ten positions across the board with the likes of Martin Rees, Fred Gibbs, Elaine Statham, Joan Royal and Louise Gilchrist proudly placed at the top of their respective age categories.:

M40
5th - Andy Milton after his BMAF Championship win at Stoke in 53:46
9th – Dave Mansbridge with his 54:46 at Stoke
M45
4th – Steve Smith after his BMAF Championship win at Stoke in 54:26
M50
1st – Martin Rees clocked 52:54 when overall winner at Brecon by some six minutes, to share top time in these lists with M40 Mark Hargreaves
6th – Maurice Coldman with his 58:02 at Stoke
10th – Richard Grant with his 58:20 at Stoke
M55
2nd – Alan Pover ran 57:22 at Sale on August 1, just a week after taking the BMAF title
M60
2nd – Dave Waywell after his BMAF Championship win at Stoke in 61.08 just seven weeks after his 60th birthday. If Dave had repeated his 60:26 from Leyland on May 30 he would have topped the rankings.
4th- Geoffrey Howard with 61:44 at Sale
9th – Martin Ford, who was later to go on to claim the BMAF 10km title, ran 63:14 at Stoke
M65
1st – Fred Gibbs took the BMAF title at Stoke in a table topping 65:25. Fred was another who went on to collect a BMAF 10km title.
8th – Bill Atkinson with 70:35 at Stoke that saw him take silver.
M70
3rd – Tony Lewellyn ran 75:19 at Lancaster. Tony, some 50 years ago, was a vital component of an impressive Walton AC (Surrey) road outfit who at the time were considered one of the strongest teams in the country.
4th – Brian Campbell after his BMAF Championships win in 76:29 at Stoke.
10th – Mervyn Huggins with his 78:33 at Stoke for the bronze medal.
M75
3rd – Gordon Heeley with his 88:28 for the BMAF Championship.
7th- Reg Ferneyhough with 1:41:30 at Stoke
8th – Hugh Turner with his 1:46:00 at Stoke
9th – James Johnson with his 1:59:26 at Stoke
W35
5th – Lucy Elliott with 58:24 at Brockenhurst.
6th – Gill Keddie with 59:03 at Eccup
Good to see another couple of sub-60s in what is becoming an age group of class.
W40
6th – Andrea Dennison, after her overall win in 62:01 at the BMAF Championships.
8th – Julia Myatt who clocked 62:39 for silver at Stoke, one week prior to placing second in the European Veterans W40 Marathon Championship in Denmark.
W45
10th – Yvonne Tibble after her 57:39 at Brockenhurst.
W50
9th – Joan Swindells after her 72:15 at Sale
W55
3rd – Lesley Griffin after her winning 71:30 for the BMAF title at Stoke.
10th – Dot Fellows after her 75:39 at Stoke
W60
1st – Elaine Statham after her 73:27 at Sale making an early impact with her newly acquired W60 status.
W65
1st – Joan Royal not only goes top with her 75:52 at Brockenhurst but also now finds herself as fifth on the UK all-time list. Joan was also another to come out as a winner in the BMAF Champioships.
6th – Evelyn Elkington, 90:52 at Lancaster.
7th – Kitty Garnett, 92:14 also at Lancaster.
9th – Patricia Walker, 93:28 at Eccup.
10th – Judy Burston, 93:34 at Mersea Island.
W70
1st – Louise Gilchrist with her UK record of 77:57 set at Sale

No age categories as of yet are showing 100 performances, which is the lower limit for the year-end rankings. Closest are the M50s with 92 times listed while the W35s are showing 81.

Top-ten lists will be shown in the October issue of Masters Athletics Monthly (published September 22) together with coverage of those BMAF Championships at Stoke. Details of how to subscribe to the magazine can be obtained by ‘phoning 01959 541444

If you recognise any errors or know of any additions, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me on petehwac@aol.com  Feedback is always welcome.


Vets 10 - editorial July 2004 15-07-04

First of all I would offer my apologies for the delay in getting this year’s performances on the site but here they are with hopefully all results up to the end of June countered for. I have also included some data from events held in early July.

The main reason for the delay is that I have been heavily involved, as the Editor, in the launch of a magazine, Masters Athletics Monthly, a publication that is due to hit the news stands on September 22. A ‘sample’ issue is to be incorporated within the issue of Running Fitness out on August 9, which hopefully will present a flavour of the real thing.

To lighten my work load I have tightened up some of the standards required to make these early lists but they have been judged on performances over the past few years and hopefully there will be sufficient year-end input to show top 100 in most of the age groups.

Arguably, the finest performance of the year so far is the 54:59 run by Jimmy Bell of Elswick Harriers for the second best ever UK M55 mark and just eight seconds away from the record held by Steve James.

The only other performances to make an indent on UK all-time lists were Jo Lodge’s 55:27 to put her in sixth place on the W35 list and John Johnson’s 77:57 for third spot on the M75 list.

Worthy of note was the time of 59:53 by W40 Margaret Deasy when breaking the course record at Great Baddow.

Good to see the likes of Dave Buzza making the lists with his 54:10 at Helston run over a course classified as Multi-Terrain but actually it was over 10.5 miles over a mainly road course but it is still good enough for sixth spot in the current rankings.

There was a time of 59:04 credited to an unattached W55 runner going by the name of Irene Smith at Maidenhead. As this time is some six minutes quicker than the current UK W55 record held by Carol Ann Wolstenholme I am minded to ignore the time. It is probably a case of someone wearing, intentionally or by accident, a wrong number. John Elvey, of Ealing Southall and Middlesex, believes that such incidents are happening more frequently and in some instances he has photographic evidence of these occurrences.

Finally I would like to mention the 10-miler for veterans/masters only to be held in Belgium on September 22. This event is attempting to attract the runners that used to attend the classic Bruges races so if interested just log on to www.sirenejogging.be  and see what it is all about.


Vets 10 - editorial January 2004 29-01-04

Well, at long last here are the final rankings for the year 2003 and hopefully there are not too many inaccuracies.

There is no doubt as to the performer of the year. It must be Martin Rees with his staggering 50:43 at Woking in March to take 1m 40s from Ron Groves previous UK M50 record of 52:43. Martin’s time was in fact the fastest 10-mile time recorded by anyone over the age of 40! Two more marks proved to be UK age records with Carol-Ann Wolstenholme capturing the W55 mark with 65:22 and Louise Gilchrist likewise with her W70 time of 78:28. Also worthy of mention was the Graham Patton’s 57:46 for third M60 all-time and Jane Davies’ 67:17 for a similar position on the W55 list. Debbie Robinson came so close to another number three as her 55:17 for fourth W35 all-time was just one second from slower than the current number three Angharad Mair.

Mike Boyle led the M40 listing from way back in March but a late dash by Guy Amos and Mark Burnhope has seen the Herne Hill Harrier drop to third Guy made a substantial improvement on his previous 2003 best 54:15 at Wymondham in June to got top with his 50:58 at Nene Valley while Mark entered the lists with 52:18 to go second.

Here are the current movers and shakers for the races that took place during December which proved a quiet month for ten-mile races.

M40:
1 Guy Amos up from 17th.
2 Mark Burnhope.
6 Steve Murdoch up from 31st.
M45:
10 Ian Van Lokven up from 16th.
M50:
3 Phil Carbutt
M65:
7 John Dawson
8 Bill Atkinson up from 11th.
M70:
7 John Roberts up from 14th.
W40:
5 Jane Clarke up from 6th.
10 Kim Masson
W65:
5 Evelyn Elkington up from 12th.

The most productive ten-mile road race as far as these rankings go? Why the BUPA Great South Run at Portsmouth with no less than an amazing 105 mentions in the final 2003 listings. Second best with some 60 mentions was Stoke, scene of the British Masters Championships closely followed by Llandudno with 58 and the Brampton to Carlisle with 53. A major factor in why these venues appear so high up in the ‘appearance list’ is that all of their results were in five-year-age bands and ages of competitors in the older age groups were shown. I’m sure that many a M45, M55, W40, W50 plus those of a certain age have not been credited with their rightful places in these lists because of lack of identification. The provision of the web site has been a great help with correspondents pointing out various omissions and/or corrections during the year all of which have been gratefully received.

Speaking to Roy Webb it appears that his time of 70:12 published as leader of the 2003 M70 rankings was incorrect. “It should have read 80:12,” he admitted. Roy’s best time of the year was 74:54 set at Hayling Island on November 30 a time that now sees him as eighth best M70 for the year. “That’s fine with me,” Roy said, “as I am still in the top ten it gives me a concession to use the local sports centre, the Tone Zone and that’s the name of the club I compete for.”

Received an e mail from Dave Hill of Thames Hare and Hounds and former World Masters but now domiciled with his wife Michele in Tucson, Arizona.

Hi Pete
We settled here about a year ago and we are enjoying the lifestyle. Tucson can get a bit hot in summer - up to about 110 fahrenheit - but we all have air conditioning, so it's no great problem. We run at about 4.30am, when it's typically 70 to 75 degrees - very pleasant! In mid-winter, the daily maximum rarely falls below 60, although being a desert area at about 2500 feet altitude, we do get occasional overnight frosts. It certainly beats London weather, though!! Running wise, I've gone through a long recuperation from my foot surgery in April 2002, but I'm starting to show a bit of form again. My best performance to date was in December at the Tucson half marathon, where I ran 74.40 (I've just emailed that result to Mr Duff for his rankings). Michele is also getting her running back together after years of niggling injuries (the heat seems to have helped in that regard) So far both Michele and I remain unbeaten in the O/50 category in Arizona, at all distances from 5km upwards. We both turned 53 in December, so the clock is ticking, but we remain enthusiastic about our running. The stimulus for writing to you was that I stumbled across your 10 mile ranking lists the other day, whilst 'surfing' the internet and I have a few corrections to your all-time list. In 1994, at the Erewash '10', I ran 49.34 and Mike Hagar was right behind me at 49.58. I'm attaching a scan of the results as they appeared in AW, so that you can verify my information. I don't know how deep your rankings go, but there are also some other worthy performances in the results. I hope that this finds you fit and well. I'll keep in touch with future results, as and when I have anything worth reporting. We're running a 10k race next weekend, so we'll see how that goes!
Best wishes, Dave & Michele Hill
PS: The M40 all-time list has now been amended to include both Dave’s and Mike Hager’s performances.

For those of you considering whether to participate in the Ballycotton 10 to be held in County Cork, Ireland on March 7…you can forget it. Entries are now closed with over 2300 applications received. Last year, painted on the road was, ‘A classic race over a classic distance.’ I don’t think they are far wrong there.

A letter in the Daily Mail December 29
‘Who says you slow down as you get older? I’m 70 and can put £10 worth of petrol into my car three times faster then I could when I was 30.’

The following reminds me of a competitor who always entered races as a W35 even into her late 40s.
‘Thirty-five is a very attractive age. London society is full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained thirty-five for years’ Oscar Wilde. ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ 1895

Stop press: Jo Lodge finishes sixth overall in the Canterbury 10 miles on January 25th with 55:27 to go sixth on the W35 UK all-time list.

Some 10-mile races for February 2004
1 Ferriby 10, Hull www.cityofhullathleticclub.co.uk
8 Pontypridd Roadents Reverse 10 www.pontypriddroadentsac.org.uk
15 Kent AC 10, Sidcup
22 Great Bentley 10, Essex www.gbrc.co.uk
22 Plymouth Hoe 10
29 Netherall 10, Cumberland
29 Bramley 10 & 20, Hampshire www.readingroadrunners.org.uk
29 Goring 10, Nr Reading


Vets 10 - editorial December 2003 7-12-03

November was a hectic month as far as 10-mile races go (14 at last count) with three - Brampton-Carlisle, Llandudno and Hayling Island - leading to major input on the site.

Three new number one positions with M75 Peter Thomas also making 4th place on the UK all-time with his 78:53 at Hadleigh.

Newly qualified as a W60, Kathleen Robertshaw ran 73:58 at Preston at Harrogate - Kathleen is also 8th on the W55 listing - and Iris Hubbard's 1:50.57 at Hadleigh is good enough to top the W70 lists.

Complete top-ten inclusions from November results:
M40
3 Rob Hand
5 Andy Magnall (up from 21st)
M50
4 Stephen McGuiness
6 Dave Cox
M55
3 Dave Waywell (up from 4th)
M60
10 Phil Lancaster
M65
7 Denis Hayes
M70
7 Mike Kilgour
M75
1 Peter Thomas (was 1st with 82:06)
7 Reg Ferneyhough (was 7th)
10 Leonard Hadley
M80
3 J Johnston (Shown as M75 at Brampton-Carlisle but believed to be M80)
W35
8 Tracey-Anne Morris
W40
4 Lesley Whiley (up from 4th)
8 Christine Thomas (up from 10th)
W45
2 Sheila Allen (was 2nd with 62:15)
8 Joan Jackson (up from 15th)
9 Sheila McVeigh
W55
4 Veronica Manly (up from 5th)
7 Elaine Statham
W60
1 Kathleen Robertshaw
W65
6 Francis Classon (up from 9th)
W70
1 Iris Hubbard

Patton marches into third
Talking to Graham Patton, after his runaway M60 win at the Masters International Cross-Country in Cardiff, it was only by chance that his time of 57:46 at the Nuneaton 10 on September 21 was discovered. Now this puts Graham into third place on the M60 UK all-time list just one second ahead of former European 5000m champion Bruce Tulloh, with Steve James still heading the category with his 57:04 at Leyland in 1998. Note: Steve also heads the M55 lists with 54:51.

Steve, as proved by his M65 win at Cardiff, is now probably back to something like his form of old so could he became the first Briton in this age-group to crack the hour barrier for ten miles?

The Nuneaton result also threw out the fact that Garry Payne is an M45 so his 54:22 at Rugby on October 12 which saw him as 15th M40 on this year's list now moves on to third in the M45 listings. (Ed: Now you know why I harp on about 5-year age bands being shown in the results!)

NB: Thanks to Irene Nicholls of Midland Vets I have now received a full copy of the Nuneaton results and as a bonus it shows all of the runners individual ages. (Ah! What luxury.)

Shown in these results was a Sheila Carey who, as Taylor, was an Olympic 1500m finalist and former UK record holder for that distance. What with Sheila (5th W55) and former world 10,000m champion Liz McColgan (2nd W35) now gracing the lists, there is certainly a touch of class about the women.

Morris Major
Tracey Anne Morris becomes the latest female veteran to breach the one-hour barrier this year with her 59:48 in the Guy Fawkes 10 held in Harrogate on November 2. However, even more impressive was the fact that she finished fourth overall from a field of 607 runners over - judging by the times of the men - what was a not too easy course. In fact Tracey was the first veteran of any gender to finish.

Don't be shy
In discussion with one of the principals of the company that produces the popular Racemaster results package the question was raised as to why they had altered a key aspect of their product.

Formerly, when producing the age-graded result the exact age of each competitor was displayed. This meant even if the category showed e.g. M60+, W40-W49 etc the relevant five-year age banding could be ascertained for ranking purposes. However, this no longer happens, the reason given being that not all athletes want the whole wide world to know of their age.

Thankfully there are still a number of results providers that show these individual ages but it would be interesting to hear if they have had any adverse comments.

Name that club
Visitors to the site will note that on the all-time lists there is many an athlete that doesn't have their club indicated. If anyone out there can fill in some of these gaps, it would be much appreciated. A complete up-to-date list for these will appear in January.

New model Ford
Noted in the results of the Llandudno 10 was a Leon Kata who was classified as an M70 with a majestic time of 64:22; an amazing two minutes inside the late Bob Peart's UK best for the category. There was a question mark indicated against his name so unless I hear otherwise the mark will be ignored.

Mind you, he was competing for Ford Halewood so perhaps he is the latest model to roll off the production line!

M70s required
Currently the M70 listing shows 98 recorded performances so if two more compete in that category during December the 'magic' ton will be achieved, probably for the first time ever. There have probably been during the year some M70s shown on result sheets but designated e.g. as an M60+

If you add the 15 in total M75s and M80s listed it makes a pretty impressive statistic for the older runner.

Quick Templer
You won't find any references to the Templer 10 at Newton Abbott on November 16 listed as after keying all the results in was discovered that the race was advertised as 'approximately 9.5 miles.' Mind you it should have been sussed that something wasn't quite right, as some runners had knocked around five minutes from their previous season's bests and no less than 34 entries from the race had been inserted into these lists. (Ed: I must remember this one for next year.)

Of Mice and Men (and Women)
Working out 'may lead to a physical addiction'

By David Derbyshire, Science Correspondent

A team led by Dr Justin Rhodes, of Oregon Health and Science University, studied the brain activity of two groups of mice deprived of exercise wheels. One group were normal laboratory animals, the others had been bred for their love of running.

Dr Rhodes said: "All mice run on wheels and therefore have a motivation to run." But the specially bred mice had a genetic predisposition to run longer distances. "They may represent those few extreme individuals in the population with an intense desire or compulsion to run," he added.

Over six days the normal mice ran about two miles while the specially bred mice managed six miles. On the seventh day, half the mice in each group were removed from the exercise wheel. All mice denied exercise had higher levels of brain activity in 16 out of 25 brain regions.

The activity was highest in the specially bred mice.

"In the high running mice, certain brain regions displayed extremely high levels of activity," said Dr Rhodes. "These were the same brain regions that become activated when you prevent rats from getting their daily fix of cocaine, morphine, alcohol or nicotine."

The findings suggested that the mice had a physical craving for exercise if prevented from running. People may have a similar reaction to exercise, the team believes. The above appeared in the Daily Telegraph 1/12/03

December, as the more observant of you will be aware, is the final month of the year. This means that the next up-date on these lists will be held over to appear later than usual in January to enable the final 2003 rankings to be as accurate as possible. In the meantime if any callers to the site discover any errors please advise on petehwac@aol.com

Some ten-milers for December
7 Nene Valley 10 (Peterborough) www.nenevalleyharriers.fsnet.co.uk
7 Thanet Coastal 10 (Margate) www.thanetroadrunners.freeserve.co.uk
7 Mince Pie 10 (Peacehaven) www.seafordstriders.org.uk
7 Full Montycute 10 (Yeovil) www.crewkernerc.org.uk
14 Turkey Trot 10 (Lowestoft) www.waveneyvalleyathletics1.fsnet.co.uk
14 Christmas Pudding 10 (Walsall) www.sneydstriders.org.uk
14 Stockport 10 e-mail p.beaver1@ntlworld.com
And January
4 New Years Day! 10 (Epney, Gloucs)
4 Tadworth 10 (Epsom) www.tac.org.uk
11 Milborne 10 e-mail janemills5@btopenworld.com
18 Fred Hughes 10 (St Albans) www.stalbansstriders.com/fredhughes/htm
18 Dartford 10 www.dartfordroadrunners.co.uk
18 Blaythorne 10 (Camborne)
25 Canterbury 10 www.invictaeast-kentac.org.uk


Vets 10 - editorial November 2003 11-11-03

Once again, this latest input has been somewhat delayed, the reason this time being that I have been employed for some weeks up in London Town. Shouldn't be allowed at my time of life!

There where major inroads made during October into the higher ranks of the various age categories with races at Portsmouth and Twickenham having some say in the matter.

Four new names, for this year, now head their respective categories, namely M75 Peter Thomas, W45 Fiona Kennedy, W50 Paula Fudge and W65 Ena Urich. Two current number ones, M40 Mike Boyle and M60 Graham Patton both consolidated their positions with improved performances.

Both 2003 Flora London Marathon veteran winners Mark Hargreaves and Michaela McCallum now grace the lists while former outright women's winner of that event. Liz McColgan has entered the realms of W35 10-milers for, I believe, the first time.

Top Ten Changes
M40
1 Mike Boyle. No change but his 52:36 improves on his 52:44
2 Mark Hargreaves. Up from 5th.
6 Mark Aspinall.
M45
4 Steve Payne. Up from 10th
10 Paul Hammon
M50
7 Alan Power. Up from 9th.
8 Paul Kelly
M55
4 Eric Ranicar Up from 21st.
5 Dave Wayner Was 5th with 59:06, now 59:05
M60
1 Graham Patton. No change but his 59:18 improves on his 59:34.
4 Emyr Davies . Up from 7th
M65
2 Fred Gibbs. New to this age group. Fred is also 10th M60.
3 Cyril Leigh. Up from 5th
9 Gordon Wiltshire
M70
2 Graham Hawkins
3 Derek Howarth. Up from 6th.
M75
1 Peter Thomas.
2 Don Adie. The UK M75 record holder (75:41 last year) improves his 2003 time from 82:31 to 82:13 but finds himself dropping a place.
3 Brian Heeler. Also runs faster (86:50 to 84:15) but drops a place
W35
2 Liz McColgan
4 Michaela McCallum
W40
5 Lesley Whiley Up from 8th.
8 Revis Crowle. A faster time (63:17 to 63:08) but drops from 7th.
W45
1 Fiona Kennedy
W50
1 Paula Fudge
3 Sally Musson. Up from 6th
4 Zina Marchant. Up from 43rd!
6 Jane Georghiou. Up from 7th
W55
2 Jane Davies 67:17 at Wimbledon puts Jane 3rd on UK all-time list.
Earlier this year Jane ran 71:27 for 14th W50.
8 Rosemarie Osborn. Up from 15th.
W60
4 Anne Gomer
10 Brenda Jones
W65
1 Ena Urich. Ran 77:06 over the same Twickenham course where she set her UK best of 72:25 last year.
2 Joan Royal. Her 77:18 improves on the 77:25 to maintain 7th on UK all-time.
3 Pam Jones. Still third although a drastic improvement from 82:18 to 77:42.
5 Sandra Brady
7 Jean Palmer. Up from 9th

Ballycotton 10
One of the most popular events in the road racing calendar must be the Ballycotton 10 held in Ireland and which this year celebrated its 25th anniversary. The long-standing organiser of the race, John Walshe, already has next year's race well in hand and if anyone wishes to get an early mark for the 2004 rankings, now is the time to make plans.

The 2004 Ballycotton '10' takes place on Sunday March 7th (1.30pm) and anyone interested can write for entry forms to: Ballycotton Running Promotions, Ballycotton, Co. Cork, Ireland. Instead of a limit as in previous years, a closing date of December 16th will apply. Full details are on the race website at: www.ballycottonrunning.com

John also submitted a brief look at the event with the emphasis being on the veterans' scene.

The small seaside village of Ballycotton in East Cork has been home to a ten-mile race for the past 25 years. Starting with just 31 runners in 1978, the race now struggles to cope with the massive numbers wanting to run this spoon-shaped, mainly flat, course on quiet country lanes.

Pete Flatman from the City of Hull was one of the first cross-channel visitors back in 1984. Just turned 40, he finished tenth overall in 50:32, a time that stood until 1995 when four-time overall winner Liam O'Brien set the current M40 best of 50:06.

Known as the 'Flying Ferret', Malcolm Martin from Sheffield has the M45 best of 52:42 from 1992, which was three seconds inside the time Corkman John Buckley recorded the previous year - Buckley would go to win four medals that summer at the World Veteran Championships.

After losing one record, Buckley got his name on the books again in 1988 by establishing a M50 mark of 54:09. Adam Jones from Dublin set the M55 record the same year with a time of 58:05.

Flor O'Leary, who ran the inaugural race back in 1978 in 57:55, had the remarkable achievement of 'breaking sixty at sixty' when setting the M60 best of 59:15 in 1994. Five years later, he was still able to break 65 minutes with a M65 record of 64:19.

Another of the many British visitors over the years, Jack Kirk from Middleton Harriers, holds the M70 best of 70:11 from 1996.

Among the women, Cathy Shum holds the W35 record of 55:29, a time she set when finishing just one second behind overall winner Marian Sutton in 1997. These are still the two fastest female times - one Sonia O'Sullivan is fourth on the all-time list with 55:37 from 2001.

Trudi Thomson from Scotland, winner in 1999, set the W40 record of 56:22 the following year when finishing second.

Ann Kearney, a tri-athlete from Dublin, holds the W45 best with her 62:59 from 1996. Margaret McCreery set the W50 mark of 69:12 this past year, which also saw the W55 record go to Joan Coyle with her time of 69:14. And finally, the W65 effort stands to Catherine O'Regan at 83:37 from 2002.

Ian Bloomfield - a mystery solved
In a previous editorial I enquired as to who was Ian Bloomfield whose M40 best of 49:23 shares fifth place alongside Nigel Gates on the UK all-time list. Well, thanks to the following e-mail I have now been enlightened.

I have only just come across your excellent web-site service - I haven't run any 10's for a while so hadn't picked your site up. I think it's really informative and interesting - well done!

The reason I'm writing is that your August newsletter refers to 'an Ian Bloomfield' who ran a fast 10 in the Brampton to Carlisle race of 1993. Ian in fact runs for the Chester-le-Street club in the North-east, about five miles north of Durham, and, although racing infrequently these days, has a very good record from the past - he ran a marathon in the region of 2:12 to 2:14 in his pre-vet days, I think in New York.

I will keep reading your site now, and might even be tempted to turn out in a '10' again!

Best wishes,
Richard Harvey (O/60)
Newton Aycliffe A.C. (also in the North-East)
(Ed: Thanks for that Richard, feedback on the site is always more than welcome,)

Mileage - Quantity or quality?
When researchers at the University of South Carolina studied 583 veteran runners recently, they found that the most important predictor for injuries was total mileage. Those who ran 40 miles a week or more were more likely to get hurt. This doesn't mean you should never do more than 40 miles a week in your training; some people handle the high mileage just fine. (Also, most marathon training plans have you doing more than 40, but only for a short period.) However, the research does suggest that, over the long haul, running more quality miles may be the way to go.

Did you know?
En route to his UK record breaking 66:42 on October 26 in the Stroud Half marathon, Martin Rees went through ten miles in 50:30…faster than his current UK best of 50:43 set at Woking in March of this year.

When I was 40 my doctor advised me that a man in his forties shouldn't be running. I heeded his advice carefully and could hardly wait until I reached 50 to start again.


Vets 10 - editorial October 2003 8-10-03

Eleven new top-ten placings during the month of September with Don Adie (M75) providing the only number one spot with his 82.21 set at Epsom Downs. A far cry from his UK record of 75:41 but the course was a bit of a toughie and I understand that injuries have played a role this year.

M40: 4 John Brown. 6 Geoffrey Wiseman
M60: 2 Martin Ford
M75: 1 Don Adie. 6 David Gammage
W35: 2 Sharon Morris. 9 Margaret Deasy
W45: 10 Helen Morton W50: 2 Lynn Tanner (up from third)
W55: 8 Maureen O'Hara W60: 6 Carol Fossard (up from 12th)

I am still short of the full results for the following October races:
14th Warminster 10
21st Mileta 10
28th Cautley 10.

If anyone out there has a copy of any of these it would be much appreciated

There are now five categories showing the maximum limit of 100 names plus the W50 group, which is almost there.

You will see from the lists what you have to achieve to get among these particular listings but with both the Great South Run and the Cabbage Patch 10 due to take place in October, dramatic changes to these times look set to me made.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
The September update is a little later than usual as my computer 'went down' and a few days in a local intensive care unit was necessary. Well now all is well, and thankfully my lists survived the experience.

I have taken the opportunity of including in the current list the Wimbledon 10 held on October 5th for which I was responsible for producing the results. (At least I ensured that it was in five-year-age bands!)

In this race Jane Davies of Epsom & Ewell H ran a magnificent time 67:14 for third place on the W55 all-time list. Having just turned 55, Jane has time on her side to improve on this mark which was run over a testing course but Carol Ann Wolstenholme's 65:22 set earlier this year looks daunting.

YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD
The M80s are just like a London bus, you wait ages for one and then two come along at once. After discovering Bruce Davidson's efforts in the New Forest (see September Editorial) a race held in Ballyclare, Northern Ireland on August 29 shows that John McKeag has run 1:39:12 to now head this category for 2003.

It is unusual to receive a result from this part of the world but Lagan Vale's Terry Eakin, a frequent visitor to England and who often stays in southwest London, kindly sent the Ballyclare details to me. I have often invited him to come for a training run from the famous Lauriston Cottage in nearby Wimbledon but as of yet he has been unable to make it.

For those of you not familiar with Lauriston Cottage click on to www.herculeswimbledonac.org.uk  where you will discover a tribute to Arthur Whitehead, the man who made it happen.

COME RUNNING
A letter published in the Daily Mirror September 15, 1925 shows a correlation between the world of ballroom dancing and 10-mile road racing. So long ago that even the two M80s mentioned earlier were too young at the time to take heed! 'New steps of a more strenuous character will never become popular in the ballroom so long as dancers indulge in their favourite pastime not for an hour at a time, but for five at least.

One would never ask long-distance runners to get off the mark at full speed when starting on a 10-mile race and to keep up the pace throughout. It is the same with present day dancers. They need to 'nurse' their stamina by means of low stepping.'

SHAKING ALL OVER
The Daily Telegraph reports that shoes with vibrating soles could help elderly people to avoid falling over. An experiment with men and women with an average age of 73, found that special soles - fed with a low noise signal to make them vibrate - gave them the balance of someone in their 20s.

During the study, originally reported in The Lancet, 15 young people and 12 elderly people stood with closed eyes for 30-second period on the vibrating insoles. Both groups swayed less when the soles vibrated but the effect was greater with the older group.

Personally, I only fell over once and that was when tiring towards the end of the Folkestone 10 but if a running shoe company wishes to develop this idea further, New Balance springs to mind.

I haven't included the results of the Rydale Run 10 held on September 7 as no age groups were indicated. With a winning time of 59:29 it was obviously a tough one so it is unlikely that any of the runners would have featured.

Some races for October (& early November)
12 Derwentside 10 www.derwentside-ac.co.uk
12 Ropsley 10 Lincolnshire www.ropsley.org.uk
12 BUPA Great South Run (Entries closed) www.onrunning.com
12 Marathon Windows Coulsdon 10 www.southlondonharriers.org.uk
12 Deviock Bounder 10 Cornwall
19 Tiptree 10 www.tiptreeroadrunners.freeserve.co.uk
19 Stragglers Cabbage Patch 10 www.cabbagepatch10.com
26 Fenland 10, Wisbech
26 Fordingbridge Fire Station 10 www.fordingbridgefirestation.com
Nov. 2 Flying Fox 10, Staffordshire www.stonemm.co.uk
2 Ronhill Derwentwater 10 www.keswick-ac.co.uk
2 Guy Fawkes 10, Harrogate www.niddvalleyroadrunners.co.uk
2 Templeton Woods 10, Dundee www.dundeeroadrunners.co.uk
2 Lordshill 10, Southampton www.lordshillroadrunners.freeserve.co.uk
2 Drogo 10, Exeter www.swrr.co.uk


Vets 10 - editorial September 2003 5-09-03

Following in the footsteps of Martin Rees (M50) and Carol Ann Wolstenholme (W50) we know have another UK record holder gracing the 2003 lists. Step forward W70 Louise Gilchrist of Middleton Harriers whose 78:20 at Sale on August 3 annihilated the previous best mark of 83:24 set by Jose Waller in March 1993.

Apart from Louise the only other current 2003 number one placing came from M75 Brian Heeler with his 86:50 just topping Eddie Naisby's time by eight seconds.

In spite of one of the hottest ever August months since records began there was still some input on the top ten placings with the following now in these positions.

M40: 7 Geoffrey Wiseman
M45: 2 Alan Rowe. 7 Carl Price
M50: 8 Alan Pover
M70: 4 John Roberts
M75: 1 Brian Heeler
W50: 8 Pat Partridge
W55: 3 Veronica Manly
W60: 10 Maureen Kirby
W65: Pam Jones
W70: 1 Louise Gilchrist

I haven't been able to secure a full result of the Strete 10 held on August 2 so if anyone out there has a copy, receipt of such would be much appreciated.

I am also awaiting full results of the Chesterfield Spire 10 but understand that they will be appearing on the North Derbyshire RC web site any day now.

Top of the Wold
A fine W50 time of 63:14 has recently come into my possession with the discovery of the results of the Heckington race held on July 27th when Wold Veteran Daphne Ellmore finished sixth overall.

This time eases Daphne into 6th position on the W50 UK all-time list, a mere second clear of Jane Davies.

Our elder statesman
We now have a M80 in the lists with Bruce Davidson's run in the New Forest Alternative 10. This event, dedicated to the memory of Peter Holdway, is held on the eve of the official New Forest 10 and is only open to members of the promoting club New Forest Runners. Bruce says, "As most of the members know the course backwards we run the route in reverse, with just a few marshals required, leaving us free to assist on the race proper the following day."

Bruce, by the way, is responsible for the upkeep of the veteran's 10km lists.

Keeping up with the Jones
Good to see that Pam Jones of Ilford AC up and running again after a serious accident at home had put her out of action for much of the year. She ran 86:49 at Harlow on August 3 and just three weeks later carved this time down to 82:18 at Mersea Island to place her second on the W65 list for this year.

As Michael Caine might say, "Not many people know this, but some 50 years ago Pam (nee Fry) won the English Schools 80m hurdles championships."

A new date and venue for the Warminster 10

Due to unforeseen maintenance work being carried out at the Warminster Football Ground, our usual venue for the Forest 10 miles, we have had to move both the venue and the date for this year's race to Sunday 14th September 2003, at Warminster Cricket Club, Sambourne Road Warminster.

The Warminster Forest 10miles is run on road and forest track. The course climbs steadily out of Warminster Town for the first 2 miles until the Forest is reached. The course is then undulating forest tracks through the Longleat Estate and around the Center Parcs complex.

Water stations are available around the course however if the weather is hot and sunny once into the Forest the trees give some welcome shade.

Unfortunately our web site is down at the moment. We look forward to seeing you on the day.
Regards,
Mike Wilkinson

Ballycotton real times
In the August editorial mention was made of June Johnson's chip time at Ballycotton and as a result John Walshe, the organiser of that race has been in contact.

Pete
Just a brief note to say well done again on your excellent site. Great to see the 'tens' getting the coverage they deserve. Looking back recently through some AWs from the 80s, it is amazing the number of races at the distance that have disappeared.

I know you will be updating the site next week, so just thought I would mention June Johnson's comment on her Ballycotton time of 78:58 versus her 'chip' time of 78:25. We have used the chip for the past two years and use the 'gun' time as the official time. I know this is the procedure in New York, Boston, etc, but was surprised to read that London go by the chip time.

British Runner did a piece on it a few months ago - I even sent in a letter, but it wasn't published. The first time I came across the chip was the Dublin Marathon on 1999. My chip time that day was 2:59:26, but (being from the old school!) the time that went into my diary was the official one of 3:00:08! I would be happy with either clocking these days.

Anyway, I must send you on a piece on the Ballycotton '10' vets (still can't get around masters) records. They make interesting reading.
Regards,
John Walshe

Some advice from an American Army physical training manual dated 1950
'When individuals pass 30 years of age, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to reach and maintain a high level of physical fitness. Ample evidence is available that this can be done but these men must work harder, longer and more conscientiously at conditioning themselves. They must practice hygienic health habits and they must learn how to conserve themselves.

Some races for September
6 Lincolnshire Wolds 10
7 OWLS John Fraser 10 Countesthorpe, Leicester www.owlsac.org.uk
7 Fell Rescue 10 Richmond, Yorkshire www.sfro.freeserve.co.uk
7 Rydale Run 10 Malton, Yorkshire
7 Welwyn Garden City 10 www.gardencityrunners.org.uk
7 Dry Hill 10 Lingfield, Surrey www.lingfieldrunningclub.com
14 Cotswold Classic 10, Witney, Oxon
14 Warminster Forest 10
21 Mileta 10 Cleckheaton, Yorkshire
21 Epsom 10, Epsom Downs, Surrey 28 Cautley 10, Sedbergh, Cumbria www.settlebeck.cumbria.sch.uk


Vet 10 - Editorial August 2003 5-08-03

The lists are Stoked up
Well, the British Masters 10 mile Championship at Stoke on July 27 certainly had an affect on this year's rankings. Almost 80 performances from the event qualified for inclusion and major inroads were made into the top ten positions throughout the age scales.

All change at the top
From the July races two new number ones were provided by Graham Patton (M60) and Roy Webb (M70).

Other top-ten entries were:
M45: David Hollins 3rd
M50: Doug Cowie 8th
M55: John Exley 10th
M60: Les Davis 5th, John Clements 8th, Fred Gibbs 9th & Mike Shipway 10th
M65: Bob Newell 9th
M70: Tony Lewellyn 3rd, Derek Howarth 4th, Mike Walsh 5th, Ken Bingley 8th, Malcolm Ball 10th
M75: Hugh Turner 2nd, Reg Ferneyhough 4th, David Gammage 5th
W35: Margaret Deasy 9th
W40: Andrea Denison 9th
W50: Lynn Tanner 2nd
W55: Sheila Baucop 5th, Dot Fellows 8th
W60: Jeanne Bryan 7th
W65: Evelyn Elkington 6th, Margaret Fox 8th

It is no coincidence that many of the older age groups for the above were run at Stoke where it was pleasure to get a result sheet showing ALL the age groups and all in 5-year-age bands.

The only result I haven't been able to obtain in full was the Ballater 10 of July 27 with some leading results being obtained courtesy of Athletics Weekly.

It gets tougher at the top
Only two age groups, M40 and W55 are now showing the top 100 limit applied to these lists. By end of June, M40 times quicker than 59.04 were sufficient but now it requires 58:48 to make the grade. The W55 lower limit was 102:00, but now it's down to 98:34.

New standards set
There is now a web site set up by the International Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS) that aims to establish a valid criteria for road record-keeping and also maintain a list of world records based on these valid criteria. Not sure if they will involve themselves with the Masters scene but of interest the world record for ten miles is 45:20 set by the Kenyan Julius Maina in Japan last year.

If race organisers want to know the criteria for a course being recognised for record purposes take a look at www.mattoleriver.com/arrs.htm

Promotion for Sheila
The previous listings showed Sheila Allen as sixth W40 with her time of 62:15 but it was pointed out to me by George Harden that Sheila is in fact a W45 and this time of her promotes her to the top spot in that age group.

Might be something to do with my age but like policeman, veteran runners are also looking young.

June's joy
June Johnson of Sevenoaks AC points out that her chip time for the Ballycotton 10 was 78.25 whereas her result was shown as 78.58 and chip times were on their website. BUT my best race of '03 is the Canterbury 10, when I won the Kent W55 champs with a very pleasing time of 76.17.

Ed: This Canterbury time, which was inexplicably missed, now sees June as seventh on the W55 list, an improvement of five places.

New entry for Gates
Nigel Gates e-mails to advise that he ran 49.23 at Chelmsley Wood (AAA 10 mile) in 1993 which places him firmly in equal fifth place in the M40 all-time list. According to a ranking list published in Athletics Weekly in 1994 an Ian Bloomfield of Clayton-le-Street ran an identical M40 time in the Brampton-Carlisle event of 1993 but I must admit he is a new name to me.

As a postscript Nigel adds, "I still hope to be in future rankings but my Achilles are causing problems."

PS: I also did a 10 in about 50:50 as an M45 but I'll have to hunt for that one as well.

Re Joyce
Looking at the current all-time lists it appears that the longest standing leading mark belongs to Joyce Smith who set her W45 time of 55.33 in the Shaftesbury 10 on October 5, 1986, a former very popular event but since disbanded many years ago. Vis-à-vis, this must be one of the classiest times overall and is emphasised by such talent as Priscilla Welch, Anne Roden, Sandra Branney, Bronwen Cardy, Eleanor Robinson, Ann Ford and Zina Marchant who follow her in this category.

Tidied up in Notts
Pat Carlan e-mails to say that his Notts 10 time of 55:25 should be in the M45 list (not M40 as was shown). This now puts Pat as sixth best M45.

Ed: This 'slip' confirms the benefits of having 5-year-age bands in results.

The errors of my ways
There have been quite a few e-mails pointing out errors or omissions and these are much appreciated. That is the beauty of a site such as this in that an ongoing dialogue can be carried out and corrections are made prior the year-end lists being published.

The new age of man
With the new ruling from the World Masters Association it appears that my workload will increase for, subject to approval from IAAF, men are to be classified as masters from the age of 35 meaning another category to maintain.

Not sure as to whether race organisers will consider 35-year-old men as veterans/masters but that will be their prerogative so I am unsure as to how accurate the list will be.

Also what about the all-time lists? Do they start from 2004 or will times have to be 'dug out' retrospectively? Could be fun!

Ed: Following my article in Athletics Weekly quite a few of the new 'soon to be vets' have contacted me saying that they are looking forward to entering the category.

Thought for the month
Next time someone says to you, "Why are you still running at your age?" just quote Bob Monkhouse. "Growing old is compulsory but acting old is optional."

Some races for August
2 Strete Challenge 10
3 Brecon 10
3 Harlow 10 www.thehrc.org.uk
10 Askern Ringways 10
13 Southern (Isle of Man) 10
17 Veterans 10, Belgium (See July editorial for details)
24 Mersea Island 10 (Essex)
31 Chesterfield Spire 10 www.ndrc.co.uk


Vet 10 - Editorial July 2003

Have you made the lists yet?
Current standings up to end of June are now shown, the only results I haven't been able to obtain was the Hereford Leisure 10 of June 22. If anyone out there has a copy receipt of same would be appreciated. Also, I understand that no times were available for the Glossop 10.

All change for 2003 top tens
Only one new leader from June's results with Sue Lambert now heading the W60 lists.
Other top-ten additions for the month are:
M40: John Hunter 7th and Guy Amos 9th.
M45: Eric Williams 4th and Richard Jordan 9th.
M50: Martyn Fisher 8th.
M60: Tony Hawkins 8th
M70: Bill McNeill 7th.
W40: Sheila Allen 6th and Andrea Dennison 10th.
W50: Celia Duncan 3rd, Lesley Griffin 4th, Jane Davies 7th and Veronica Manly 10th.
W55: Rosemary Gibson 7th
W60: Carol Fossard 7th.
Note: Isabel Conaghan was shown as 7th W60 with her Pocklington time of 88:49. I understand she is in fact a W65, which would see her 4th in this listing.

Still only one category showing the 100 listing limit and that is for the M40s. You now have to run a touch faster to warrant inclusion for at the end of May the 100th time was 59:50, now it is 59:04. As a guide, the 100th best 2002 time was 57:15.

From Martin Rix
'Sandiacre was the venue of the Erewash 10 Miles road race. Think it's been discontinued now but was a high standard event in late 1980's early 1990's. Law to Motherwell is significantly downhill (certainly outside the IAAF limits).'

Note: Martin is responsible for what I believe to be the most comprehensive athletic records site on the world-wide-web, the United Kingdom Track and Field All-Time Lists on www.gbrathletics.com

More news on Sandiacre
It appears that the last running of the Erewash 10 at Sandiacre was in 2000 and a certain Martin Rees was the first veteran home.

The women's course record was - and still is - 52:12 by Liz McColgan with Joseph Kibour's 46:08 proving the quickest of the 110 sub-50 performances recorded during the nine years the event was held.

British Masters 10 mile Championship
This year's championship will be held in conjunction with the long established Trentham Running Club event to be held from Tittensor Village Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs on July 27. No specific closing date and entries will be accepted on the day but please hurry as the books close when the 500 limit is reached.

First run 34 years ago and now said to be the oldest road race in the Potteries calendar and now held in memory of John Oultram, the event is being organised by Cliff Knowles, 30 Danebower Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 8TJ (Tel: 01782 644750)

Cliff, in his days as a 'soft southerner' was instrumental in the promotion of the Camberley half marathon that soon became established as one of the more popular pre-London events. Now having moved back to his roots in Stoke, he is attempting to repeat his success with this event.

Veteran 10 miles in Belgium
There is many a veteran mourning the demise of the Bruges veteran road races that used to be held every June and always attracted a large British contingent.

Well fret no more for the good citizens of Middelkerke, a 15-minute journey by car from Bruges and which is, I quote, 'One of the most beautiful coastal towns in Belgium,' are organising an inaugural Veterans 10 mile road race.

The event will be part of the '20th editie Sirene-Jogging te Middelkerke' to be held on August 17, a series of races that will also include a 10k, a half marathon and some fun runs for both children and adults: in fact something for everyone.

For further details please contact: SIRENE JOGGING VZW

Dr. Simon Beheytstraat 9 8430 Middelkerke België rek 068-2155822-24 Tel.: ++032(0)59/ 31 24 24 Fax: ++032(0)59/ 31 24 24 e-mail: sirene-jogging@belgacom.net

Marc Baele : marc.baele@skynet.be

Roger Herremans : sirene-jogging@belgacom.net

Miller mistake
Michael Miller of Harlow RC should have been shown as 9th M65 with 69:54 in the lists that appeared in the June issue of British Runner. Unfortunately in the relevant result he was shown as an M60.

The lassies are misses
There's a worrying trend that appears to be occurring in Scottish road race results and that is while the men are usually conveniently shown in 5-year bands, all veteran women are shown as W35. This makes it very difficult to place any above that age into the ranking lists so I would make a plea to all you race organisers north of the border to give these women the recognition they deserve.

Mind boggling
Nothing to do with veterans 10 miles but the following extract from Peter Matthews and Mel Watman's Athletics International publication dated June 11 states 'Tegla Loroupe smashed the world 30,000m track record on June 6. She covered the 75 laps in 1:45:50.00. To put the run into perspective, Paula Radcliffe reached the 30k mark in the Flora London Marathon in 1:36:36 with another 12k to go."

Heard on Radio 2
You know you are getting old when the candles cost more than the cake.

Some ten-mile races in July and early August
6 Princess Risborough Festival 10, Bucks
6 Orion 10, Chingford www.orionharriers.org.uk
9 Hereford Leisure Centre 10