AUTUMN EDITION 2009.

CROSS COUNTRY RACES FOR 2009/10. We are putting on two cross country fixtures this winter, on November 14th we host the third fixture in the North Staffs c. c. league, where we need Harriers to put up the course, marshal the event, and take down the course, we will be starting at 9am, with the first race starting at 12-30, so please if you can help come along, many hands make light work, don’t forget take the tape off the stakes before collecting them.
On the 30th January it is the big one, we have the pleasure of hosting the Midland championships, this is a big event, we have to put out a lot more stakes and tape, we have to cater for over 1000 runners, so we need more help on the catering, we will be there at first light approx 7-30am, so please keep the 30th January free, any help will be gratefully received, whether it is putting up the course, marshalling, help on car parking or helping in the catering tent, thank you in advance.

HARRIERS CHALLENGE 2009. With six races left, there is everything to go for, remember three of the races, are the North Staffs cross country races, it was nice to see so many of slower Harriers at Newcastle, hoped you enjoyed the experience, in spite of the weather.

Christmas Disco 2009. The Christmas disco where the London marathon club places are drawn, will be held in the Odd Fellows hall, on Saturday December 19th from 7-30pm, cost of tickets £7-50, the Odd Fellows hall is in the main street, next to Super Drug and Tipping street.

TRAINING INFORMATION.
Back to the winter runs, which means we expect all Harriers on all evening runs, to wear a fluorescent bib, or at least a white tee shirt, don’t put us in the embarrassing position of telling any runner, that they can’t run.
We now run on four nights, which are, Monday night start 6pm Rowley park, a beginner’s night, 45min to 50 min, Tuesday and Thursday club nights, meet at ST. Leonards 6pm run at 6-15pm, 1hr to 1hr 30min, and Friday night 6pm, at ST Leonards run 45min.
On most Sundays we have runs, starting 9am, Cannock chase, medium runs, from Marquis Drive, see Chris Skellern or Brian Langston that they are meeting, longer runs from car park above Sister Dora’s on the Brocton road out of Milford, see Ed Smith that they are meeting, and from Castlefields and Burton Manor for a road runs of 90 minutes upwards, see Mike Jones to see if we are meeting and from where, ring 01785 600108, ask for the sheet, of where and when the runs are.

STAFFS KNOT 2009. The Staffs Knot had 494 pre entries, so the no entries on the night worked, although we had a record number of Harriers running, we also had plenty of helpers, so the night went well, the blip was the amount of the runners that got caught, by the front of the race on the short lap, so we will change that for next year, so a very successful night and a big thank you to everybody that took part.

NORTH STAFFS ROAD RUNNERS LEAGUES. This year the North Staffs Road Runners presentation evening will be held at the M R I social club, on Friday night January 15th, 7-30 for 8pm, price £6, so come along and have a good night, and see what you can achieve by joining the NSRRA, you don’t have to be a member to go to the presentation evening.
In this years leagues, we have not done to well, with only six Harriers up for a prize, but you never know, with two races to go, it is possible for one or two Harriers to sneak in under the wire.
I don’t think any male Harrier will win a group prize, but group M, Karen Davies should take 2nd place,
In the age groups we are doing a bit better, the M55-59 group, Paul Douglas will win, with Eddie Smith taking 3rd place, the M60-64 John Leese will finish 4th and like wise Mike Jones will finish 4th in the M65-69.
In the ladies age groups, Chris Skellern will finish 2nd in L45-49, with Karen D Murray, Karen Davies and Trentham’s Rosemary Wilson fighting over 3rd place, in the L55-59 Judith Colman is assured of 2nd place and Gillian Cauldwell will win theL70 plus, in her last season in the North Staffs.
So lastly, this is a plea, for more Harriers to join the North Staffs road runners leagues, there are going to be an extra men’s and ladies league, so more chances to pick up a trophy, and if you want to improve your times, there is nothing better than running the NSRRA races, you only have to run 12 out of 20 races, and it will increase your mileage, if you want to run longer races up to marathon, running the NSSRA will help you to do this.

Annual Dinner and A. G. M. 2010.
A. G. M. will be held on Tuesday evening after training on January 26th.
The Annual dinner again this year will be held at the Polish club on Friday night February 26th, and the price will be £13-00 for members, £17-00 for everybody else.

Calendars for 2010. Will be available again this Christmas, Pete requires as many dates of races, to put in the calendar, list will appear later in the year for Harriers to order.

London Marathon 2010. You should all know if you are in next years London marathon, the draw for the three club places will be held at the Christmas disco on December 19th, held this year at the Odd Fellows hall, so if you want to be included in the draw, we need your rejection letter, so please give them to me or any committee member, County Staff club are again running one and two night trips to London, booking forms are in Mark Bentley’s folder.

CLUB KIT. Jane Bisiker has plenty of club kit, vest @ £10, shorts @ £10 and the new yellow running top, good for running in the dark nights, and you advertise Stafford Harriers, again it is @ £10.

THE FUTURE OF THE HARRIER. Do we need the Harrier in its present form, since taking over in 1992, so much has changed, the Harrier was the only document to get information to the membership, now we have the Harrier web site, which gives out news instantly, not like the Harrier which comes out every 3 months, we also have the world wide web, where you get results, race entry forms, and there is more races you can enter on line.
So I want some feed back from you, and I do mean you, if I don’t get any, then I will presume that the Harrier has had its day, and I will stop producing it.
The answers I’m looking for, do you want me to carry on as it is, do you want a shortened version, for instance, do you want all your race times and positions, do I need to include pages like the race diary page, race challenge page, PB page, the running routes and when they are run etc.
I know the first cry will be, what about the Harriers that have not got access to the internet, I don’t how many there is, so can I produce less, all these questions, and I need some answers, so please, either email on michael.jones833@ntlworld.com, or write me note, but please send or give me something, don’t just talk to me, your written notes are better way of letting me know your feelings, so I can come to right decision.

RACE REPORTS. There are 31 race reports included in the full Magazine (all as detailed on the web site “Race reports” page.
TRAINING SESSIONS. These continue as usual through the WINTER. See the Club web site or the fuller version of this Magazine (Click on the link on the summary page).