www.DatchetDashers.com

It’s time to dust off your finest, and if you’re a bloke, to practise that “No this really is dancing, not just running on the spot”-dance that has often been seen at Dasher-do’s.

Please see Tony Curtin on Tuesdays or Thursday nights at the club to get a ticket.

Here are the results from the Jim Banks Handicap. Unfortunately your timekeeper had a bit of a rush to the head at around 34 minutes and started to press the stop/start button rather than the lap button, so the individual times stop there. Apologies for that, but basically anybody after this point didn’t beat their handicap whilst those with times did.

Congratulations to Holly for her win, and to quite a few others who comfortably beat their handicap. You’ll get more scrutiny next year now!

The annual Jim Banks Handicap Challenge is being held at 7:15 on Tuesday September 20th at the club house, and will be followed by a fish & chip supper in the Cricket Club bar.

The event is open to all Dashers and to members of the beginners group. If you are not currently in running shape then you are still welcome to attend the social, but we do need to know you’re coming so that we can ensure we order enough food. We may rope a few spectators in to do a bit of marshalling.

The course will consist of the regular 2 lap 5k course round Home Park, with the slowest runners starting first and the fastest starting last, and the winner is the first person across the finish line. Obviously daylight is at a premium so we will be starting promptly outside the clubhouse at 7:15. Handicaps will be published before the race and it will be your responsibility to get yourself to the start line on time. If you miss your start slot then you can still run, but obviously you’ll be putting yourself at a disadvantage.

Times will be taken for the winners only as if we get the handicapping right you’ll all finish together, so if you want to know your time please bring your own watch.

To enter the race or to let us know that you’re coming as a non-runner please fill in the entry form.

Entries will close on Sunday 18th in order to allow time for handicapping.

Cap’n Jez writes…

Captains drinks at the Duchess Of Cambridge ended in the last dashers having to be shown the door when they were still there well past closing time! A good turn out saw new and old members sharing a few war stories over a beer and the odd class of wine.

Zoe and I would like to thank everyone for the good turn out and will definitley plan a similar event again before the end of the summer.

Thank you to everybody who attended last night and helped make this event a success. Special thanks to Tom & Mike for marshalling, to Deirdre, Michelle & Rosie for timing & recording, to Debbie for doing the numbers, and to Zoe for sorting out the food. You helped the whole event run smoothly without any problems at all and your assistance was much appreciated.

The results themselves were fairly even meaning the handicapping was not too bad, and that you must have been fairly honest when you entered. So congratulations to the winners and commiserations to the rest of you - run faster next time

Entries are now open for the 5th annual Divided Dash. This year’s event takes place on Thursday May the 26th starting at 19:30 sharp (so please get there in good time to collect your number).

What is the Divided Dash?
The Divided Dash is a madcap, fun 10k team relay race around the outside of Home Park. Teams of 4 are drawn at random and each team member does a leg of 2.5k, one after the other, to make up the 10k. To make it interesting however all runners are handicapped based on their recent 5k and/or 10k performances.

Who wins?
The overall event winners are the fastest team once the handicaps have been applied - this could be the last team to finish the race! - and there are also prizes for

• the fastest individual runner
• the fastest runner once the handicaps have been applied
• the fastest team on the night
• Anything else we might think of

Actually, everyone wins, because there are drinks and free pizza upstairs in the cricket club after the race (please make sure to say if you’re a vegetarian when you register!).

How do I enter?
If you’re reading this email, please enter online as it makes the organisation much easier. Alternatively, please put your name on the list in the clubhouse.
Please don’t do both (we reserve the right to give you a nasty look if you do!)

When you enter, you need to provide a recent time for a race, preferably a 5k or 10k race; please remember to provide both the time and distance! And be honest - we can check!

Entries close at midnight on Monday May 23th. Teams are published on Tuesday May 24th

But what about the teams? How do I get on a team?
Teams are drawn at random. Please enter as detailed above (please fill out all fields!), and our master handicappers will work out the handicaps, draw up the teams at random, then post them on the website, mailing list and in the clubhouse.

I’ve entered but it’s just before the event and I can’t make it! What do I do?

• If the teams haven’t been published, please let us know, and we’ll remove you from the entry list
• If the teams have been published, let us know and we’ll try to arrange a substitute.
• If it’s the day of the event, please let us and one of your team-mates know. We will try to arrange an alternative runner.

Please please please don’t simply not turn up! It’s rude, disrespectful to your team-mates, and bloody annoying!

What if I want to come along but not to run?
All club members are of course welcome, but we do need to know if you’re coming but not intending to run as we have to order the food in advance based on the numbers we’re expecting.

Can I help out?
Yes please! On the evening we’ll need two timekeepers & recorders and perhaps a marshal or two. If you’d like to help, please reply to this email and let us know.

“What’s the …”, “Can I …”, “Where’s…”
If you have any questions please contact us and we will try to answer!

Click the link below for the entry form:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHFHcWRLY0Nwc2pvM2pDNTI0SDI0dGc6MA#gid=0

A successful evening at Dorney Lake as 26 runners tested their pacing without any kind of mechanical aids. Conditions were initially perfect for consistent running, but got progressively more blustery and cold as the night went on, and the volume of mayflies varied accordingly. A big thank you to Andrew Ogierman and Chris Bradfield for their assistance with the admin and timing, and to Rosie Delaney for trying to keep up with Alex on her bike and then ensuring people found their way round the route.

Of the 26 runners, a massive 20 beat their predicted times hence disqualifying themselves, and some managed it by quite a margin. The compensation is that some people ran remarkably quick times and unofficial PBs so were quite happy despite counting themselves out. Special mention must go to Alex Miller for his time of 33:51 against a predicted time of 34:00. In the end however, the overall winner was Claudia McKenzie who ran within 17 seconds of her predicted time.

In the second competition for the most consistent runner, amazing performances by Ron Sloan and Alex Miller saw them both run the 2 laps within 1 second, and they therefore share top spot.

I hope you all enjoyed the evening. If you have any comments or suggestions then please get in touch, and hopefully this will become an annual event.

Congratulations to Helen Blake who smashed her PB on the way to winning the Jim Banks Handicap. Helen finished just ahead of Andrew Ogierman and Debbie Copley, who also ran under her current PB.

Zoe Smart reports;

A group of 5 Dashers went up to the Lake District weekend of 9 Jan for a pretty extreme 13 mile hike from Threlkeld to Helvellyn in the snow and ice. Setting off early in the morning (with two experienced mountaineers), we were lucky enough to see the sun rise and shine across Blencathra, opposite the route up to our first peak. Wading through deep snow was great fun, although it made for tough going until crampons were donned, making the climb up to Clough Head a lot less exhausting. Conditions across the rest of the peaks surprised us all, with a windchill at around minus 20 (!), beautiful spindrift and stunning virgin snow all around - looked and felt a bit like a North Pole expedition at times Ice axes and GPS came in very handy and I’ve learnt that bags of nuts are definitely not the right snack to take in those conditions when ravenous - struggling to open the bag and fumbling to eat them in gloves is near impossible (fingers froze within minutes of having them exposed!). Reaching the summit of Helvellyn at 3117ft felt like a real feat in the conditions and locals certainly seemed surprised at our achievement. Thai food and beers were well deserved by all that night…  A big thanks to Brent for organising the weekend, which was tough going and magical - looking forward to the next Dashers adventure

Click link for photos

Belated birthday congratulations to Elaine, who recently celebrated her 30th birthday with an afternoon game of rounders, and later in fine style at a choice selection of pubs. A good time was had by all… as the following photos clearly demonstrate!

Elaine’s 30th birthday

Everyone was quite sore the next day, and many experienced dehydration and headaches. My advice is to give up rounders…

It’s that time of year again for the annual Jim Banks Challenge, a Dashers-only 5k handicap race twice round Home Park.

The important things first:

- it’s on Thursday September 3rd, with the first runner off at 1930
- it’s free to enter!
- there’s free fish-and-chips afterwards!

For those who know all about it, enter online here.

For those who don’t, read on…

The Jim Banks Handicap is a fun handicap 5k race that runs twice around the outside of Home Park. It’s a chance for the slower runners in the club to shine, and often produces a surprise winner!

Here’s how it works: the slowest runner goes off first, followed by the next slowest, etc, until eventually the fastest runner goes off last, over a lap (2.5k!) behind the slowest runners. The winner is the runner who crosses the line first!

In theory, if the handicapper has done a good job, everyone should finish at about the same time - in previous years we’ve had 40+ runners finish within 90s of each other!

Afterwards we decamp upstairs to the cricket-club bar for a drink and free fish-and-chips.

So now that you know all about it, you can enter online here!

On Tuesday 14th July it is our turn to complete the 5k series, we are going to need about 20 helpers to stage our event so some of the members may be able to run.

We also need everybody to bring some food to feed our guests (sandwiches, savouries etc), nearly 100 Dashers have taken part in the series so far  and have partaken in the other Clubs hospitality so I am expecting a good response from the Dashers.

There will be a list going up at the clubhouse tonight for names to be added to, this list is to include all names whether you are volunteering to help or want to run and also what sort of food you intend to bring, if you are unable to make the club just e mail Dave [chairman (at) datchetdashers.com] and he will add your name to the list.

Once our event is over and everything cleared away we intend to retire to the Cricket Club Bar for a social drink or two.

… on the 4^th July for The Runnymede Relay race and our annual Family Picnic!

The Race:

We are looking for Dashers of all abilities to make up a number of teams of six runners with each member running one leg of either 2.75 or 5.25 miles. We would also like to encourage new members to come along to enjoy this fun event and the team format.   Faster runners are also needed to help ‘stack’ a winning team. The rules limit each team to six runners as follows (runners must be 12 years or older on race day):

The first leg starts at 12 noon and the cost is £7 per runner.

Please email Claude (social.secretary at datchetdashers.com) if you would like to enter or write your name on the list in the club house. We will enter teams and collect the money when we have final numbers.

http://www.runnymederunners.com/relay/relay_info.html

The Picnic:

We invite all members to come along with their families to enjoy a fun day out in the Great Park and to offer support to the teams. Please bring your picnic blankets, food, drinks and any picnic games that you may have. Runnymede Runners will provide a BBQ at modest prices as well as a fun run for under 12’s.

Could you let Claude (social.secretary at datchetdashers.com) know if you plan to come along; also feel free to contact him if you have any questions and we look forward to seeing you there.

Anyone who wasn’t at the club tonight missed a very happy announcement - two of our members, Tom Durance and Elaine Culverwell, got engaged over the Easter weekend. Many congratulations to both of you!

Just a reminder that tonight (Wednesday 25 March) is quiz night at the cricket club, above where we meet. The bar will open at around 7 pm and the quiz will start at 7.30. Try not to be (too) late. With competition from The Cricket Club’s own team and the Burnham Joggers we have pride at stake – the more Dashers there, the more likely the Dashers will win.

There are still tickets available at £5 per person or £25 for a complete team of 5 so please feel free to just turn up. We will allocate individuals to teams prior to the start. There are prizes for the winners and runners up along with a best team name prize and a lucky ticket draw.

Guaranteed no fartlek, no hills and no long run – enjoy a social night at the club for a change and help to support Sue Ryder Care and Aspire.

All welcome!