Martin Matthews - Super Runner

Martin Matthews today took part in the World 100 km (yes 100 km ) Road Champs in Gibraltar competing as part of the GB team. Martin finished in an astounding 15th place overall in a time of 7 hours 4 minutes and 8 seconds. He was first Brit home.

Earlier this year Martin ran the South African Comrades Ultra Marathon (56 miles / 89 km ) and finished in an equally exceptional 6 hours 13 mins and 49th overall out of approximately 23000 starters. This was enough to catch the selectors eye and gain Martin his first International call up for the World Champs. The race took place over a lapped course of 19 laps plus an in and out at the start and end. After a well paced start Martin stormed through the filed in the second half of the race moving up from the mid 40's to his eventual 15th spot and also overtook three other British team runners. This is even more exceptional when you consider that this was a debut at the distance for Martin. Unlike most Championships where athletes are housed in a hotel or village, here the competitors were berthed on a cruise liner, so some recompense for the effort. Well done Martin !!!

Nominees for the BRAT Annual Awards, Saturday 13th November

Congratulations to the following BRAT club members who have been nominated for annual awards.  The actual winners will not be announced until the BRAT Annual Awards ceremony on 13^th November.  It would be great to have all of the nominees present at the awards ceremony; after all, you wouldn’t want to miss out on the honour and glory of receiving your glittering trophy on the night, would you?

BRAT members nominated for Annual Awards 2010:

Eva Gunn, Lucy Freer, Joseph Reid, Declan Bradley, Matthew Ritson, Alice Collier, Oliver Dighton, Jonathon Briggs, Gus Iliff, Alex Clegg, Anne Kenchington, Ursula Hardy, Suzie Freer, Jack Gray, John Lutwyche,  Martin Matthews, Paul Thompson, Tim Griffith , Jonny Venables, Prince Ayeh, Garrett Hansen,  Mark Ince, David Lima, Arnes Trotter Smith, Sian Harrison, Sarah Price, Ed Banks, Matt Bayliss, Andy Kenchington, Martin Matthews, Margaret Kenchington, Victoria Dixon (Rusius), Lindsay Moody (Smith), Richard Gray, Andy Kenchington, Debbie Southwood, Ellen Tune, Jess Saunders, Jenny Scott, Ursula Hardy, Kris Stirk, Katrina Walker, Kate Wiltshire, Danielle Norville, Jonathon Briggs, Elouise Lee, Mark Lawler, Karen Bailey, Chris Hirsch, Ann-Marie Bathmaker, Carole Smith, Zammie Cotterill, Corrine Clark, Emma Smith, Cat Tomaney, Nick Horton, Duncan Hough, Steve Cock, Mark Hirsch, Stuart Geggie, Nick Ballard, Preston Eckloff, Paul Robertshaw, Steve Titmarsh, Dale Grassby, Fiona Duffy, Antonia Walder, Helen Taylor, Chris Ashford, Samantha Boswell, Jenna Millington, Adam Darke, Brendan Murphy, Alex Teagle, Sarah Rush, Holly White, Victoria Pargetter, Stuart Lawrence, Andrew Saker, Tauny Southwood, James Southwood, Dan Anderton, Russ Hall, Clive Fenn, Damion Littlewood, Nick Horton, Brian Tilley, and Mike Ankers.

Of course that is not to mention the many others who will receive club appreciation awards.  I hope that everyone will turn out to support their fellow BRATs for what should be an excellent evening’s entertainment. Tauny 

Report from the IM World Championships, Kona, Hawaii, 9th October 2010

Firstly, can I just say a huge thank you to everyone for their good wishes before the race and their congratulations afterwards.......sorry I haven't yet replied to everyone individually but I've been chillin'!!! I'm now back in the UK and feeling predictably jet-lagged!  Just wanted to share a few thoughts on the race and the whole 'event' that is the Ironman World Championships. Some of you have obviously done the race and maybe this will resonate with you......or maybe not????

To those of you who haven't yet done this race but have the ambition to do so, I would just say, without hesitation, go for it! Do everything you reasonably can to get to Kona because it absolutely IS worth it. It's costly in many ways, not least financially (don't even get me started!) but worth every penny and ounce of sweat.  We had a great BRAT group in Kona this year - Nick Horton, Damo Littlewood, Nick Murphy, Steve Lumley and of course Asker who, in particular, made the trip special, starting with collecting us from the airport right through to getting us front row seats at the after-race party (the winners were sitting BEHIND us......did I feel a fraud or what!......but I got over it :-) ). A big thank you Asker for everything you did for us. A sad omission from our ranks however was Chrissie. We saw her on the Monday before the race and she looked well but unfortunately, as we all now know, she fell ill and couldn't defend her title. Absolutely no disrespect to Mirinda Carfrae who had a fantastic race but let's hope Chrissie is soon much better and recaptures the crown next year.

It was great being there for over a week before the race itself, not only to acclimatise but to see the whole thing evolve, transforming Kailua-Kona into Ironman central. Quickly got into the routine of 7am swims from Dig Me Beach followed by a hearty breakfast on Alii Drive.  Obviously Lava Java is THE place to see and be seen and we did actually get a table there on a couple of occasions. All along Alli Drive you can sense people sneaking furtive glances at everyone else.......is that 'anyone'?......nah, it's just an age grouper. Not just any old age groupers though - there were some seriously fit people around.....of all ages, as we were to see.

If you do come to Kona, think very seriously about staying at the the King Kamehameha hotel and book (online) as soon as you can. We got a great deal the day after I qualified in Lanzarote in May - less than half price and stumped up a little extra for a sea (transition!) view room which was especially good. If you can't stay at the King Kam, try to get as close as possible. Although there are some great hotels along Alii Drive, it can be a pain to keep coming back into town every time you want to do stuff......and the hotels are typically no cheaper. I know Nick H favours staying well out of town and that works for him and his family so it's clearly a personal preference though.

As for the race itself, well be prepared for a longer than usual swim, no matter how good you are. We all know I am aquatically challenged but WTF is a 1:26 all about??!!! I'm worth a 1:12-1:14 in most races but that was ridiculous. Going out to the turnaround boat seemed to take forever and I began to wonder which would come first - the boat or the coast of Japan!!! Coming back was better (if not faster) and I exited feeling really good. My problem is that I can swim all day, I just can't seem to go any quicker.

I had a reasonable T1, making sure that any opportunities for discomfort on the bike were minimized, which included the donning of arm coolers - not a good look but very effective. It was my avowed intention to be conservative today - I wanted the finish more than anything so no heroics - and so set off at a steady pace. There's a contrived little loop and an out-and-back in town and then it's out onto the (in)famous Queen K highway. Immediately started passing loads of people and had to concentrate not to get too excited. Refuelling strategy kicked in nicely and continued well throughout the day. All was well until just past Kawaihae at around 45mls when the winds first made their presence felt. At this point it was a crosswind off the mountains and whilst it was gusty, it wasn't really that bad......Lanza in March was much worse! As we turned slightly for the climb to the turn at Hawi (60mls), the wind came at us head on and was a bit of a grind for a while. Still in the big ring though so it can't have been too bad.

Took the turn at Hawi and started to head home. The first 8-10mls was superb with the strong tailwind but then the crosswinds became troublesome again and a couple of people by the side of the road had clearly been blown off and were injured - nothing serious though. Took it steady all the way back into Kona. Could I have gone quicker (quite a lot quicker)? Absolutely! What would have been the effect in the marathon? We'll never know......but can guess!! For those of you fond of discussing this issue, the 'pee on the bike or stop?' question never arose. Despite refuelling / rehydrating well, the urge to go never became too pressing and so I decided to wait until T2..... where I'm sure at least half my time was taken up in that activity cos I was dead quick otherwise - honest!

Set out on the run and yes it was hot but it was ok, no really. Immediately felt good and trotted along easily. Saw Clare at Lava Java for my customary mid-race sweaty snog and then passed the first mile marker.....in 7:04. Ah, so that's around 3:05 pace then and I think we all know that ain't gonna happen! Eased off even more and come up on Nick M who uttered something liberally interspersed with Anglo-Saxon which suggested that things (more especially his guts) weren't going too well. Dig in Nick!! When I reached the turnaround along Alli Drive and came back into town, Nick was clearly struggling and I feared for his finish but more of this later. All the other BRATs were in a different zip code ahead of me at this point.

I reached the 10ml mark just prior to the bitch of a climb up Palani to see Mirinda Carfrae striding the other way to the finish - what a great race. Next up was Caroline Steffen and then, in a fantastic debut, Julie Dibens - good girl. Climbed up Palani (which Asker tells me is 8.6% on his Computrainer) but then why did the sadistic organizers put an aid station two-thirds of the way up to break your rhythm rather than have you get over it first?

So now it gets tough - the long, straight Queen K and the dreaded Energy Lab. Concentration, determination and all those other 'ations' certainly come into play along here. I could sense the pace was slowing slightly but not too much I was still moving through the field. My knee started to hurt a little at around 15-16mls (not my surgery...this was a pain I had earlier this year) but again, I found I could control it and worked on through. Turned into the Energy Lab road and saw Asker coming the other way, still miles ahead (it transpired it was 18mins at this point) and then Steve Lumley (around 14mins). Nick H and Damo were probably on their second beer by now!! 

Got to the final turn in the Energy Lab with a volunteer yelling 'You're going home!'. Well technically yes and I was getting pretty euphoric but there was still the little matter of 8mls to go!!! The climb out of the Energy Lab was the only part of the course where it felt hot but by now the sun was starting to drop in the sky and I began calculating whether I could still break 11hrs and have a daylight finish. Saw a message on the electronic screen saying 'B.Tilley - you're the best' which was a great lift. I still don't know who sent that - Clare swears it wasn't her. Anyway, i was still trotting along quite nicely and began to look at my mile splits for the first time in 15mls.......8:30-8:40......yes, I could do this! 

Then, at the aid station at around 21mls I heard someone call 'Brian'.....I looked round and there was Asker. What had happened? Well, unfortunately, Asker's perennial breathing difficulties kicked in once again and he was reduced (temporarily) to a walk. I asked him if he wanted to run with me and although he started up again, we both reluctantly concluded that we should continue separately. I felt really guilty leaving him but was satisfied he was ok and so pressed on. Reached the last climb before the drop into town (where Ironwar 89 reached it's dénouement). No such dramas for me, just rapidly escalating excitement! I scooted down Palani and then onto that really irritating loop around town before the final turn onto Alli Drive. By now I was running along in tears with my arms in the air. I wanted to take it all in but I was so high by now that it all flashed by and all of a sudden I was there.......with Mike Reilly announcing "Brian Tilley - you are an Ironman"!!!

Once through the finish area, with my lei around my neck, I finally saw Clare......for more sweaty snogs!!! Then the fatigue and emotion kicked in! I don't remember too much about the next 10mins or so but eventually managed to get my stuff and a solitary slice of pizza.....and even that was a struggle. My thoughts turned to the others and especially Asker and Nick M. I needn't have worried........Asker was less than 7 mins behind and Nick rallied superbly for a great finish in the circumstances. All the BRATs were safely home, led by the awesome Nick H with Damo also breaking 10hrs.  Now was where the beauty of staying at the King Kam really told - straight from the finish and into the shower! We went out for food and would love to say we stayed up until midnight to see the grand finale.......the truth was we were in bed by 10pm with exhaustion setting in with a vengeance! 

This was a truly awesome race and a fantastic experience from start to finish. Clare was once again absolutely wonderful with her support, not only on the day but in the months leading up to this. Thanks also to Naomi, one of Asker's students who also gave us superb support on the day, especially out on the Queen K. Have a great race in Clearwater Naomi. So that's it.......an ambition finally realised.......and it feels even better than I thought it would!!! :-)  I just hope I qualify again one day........... Brian Tilley

2010 National Road Relay Results

There were superb results from BRATs teams at the National Road Relays!  We were 7th Midland team, beating teams such as Cheltenham, Staffs Moorlands, Cannock & Staffs, Telford, Leicester Coritanian. Paul Thompson’s brilliant run was the fastest time in BRAC records. Jack took the team out, looking perfectly placed as they headed out to the turn at the back of the second group in about 20th. Unfortunately he then suffered with his recurring stomach problem, dropping back on the return, but still managing to deliver a very respectable time. Paul stormed round taking us back up the field to 27th. Martin was a little disappointed, however, I think he ran a great time taking us into 25th. Bags of stamina and strength with the big mileage, so next year a move to shorter stuff should see an even quicker time. Ed did not disappoint, improving on his Midland time. Every race sees a quicker time for Ed. Well done Matthew, easily getting below what had become a 20 minute barrier. Richard was disappointed, but by the expression on his face he was working very hard. Despite being off form at the moment he only dropped a few seconds. Thanks to reserve Mark Ince, making it to Sutton having been away. Thanks to all the supporters, of whom I claim to have covered most miles and shouted loudest. Thanks to all the Midland teams.  Report from Richard Gray

33  BRAT A team 1:54:36

        Jack Gray        (39) 18:22

        Paul Thompson    (27) 17:51

        Martin Matthews  (25) 18:41

        Edward Banks     (32) 19:38

        Matt Bayliss     (31) 19:45

        Richard White    (34) 20:19

 For comparison:

1  Bedford And County AC               1:45:42

        Owain Matthews   (16) 17:45

        Nielson Hall     (4) 17:24

        Daniel Dalmedo   (6) 18:08

        Mark Draper      (2) 17:04

        Darren Deed      (2) 17:39

        Matthew Janes    (1) 17:42

FASTEST LEG RYAN McLEOD, TIPTON 17.03

Masters National Road Relays 2010

We entered M35, M40 and M50 teams. Rather ambitious, but thats the problem with age brackets. 

M35, M40 and M50 diced all the way to the line on the first leg. Youthful legs overcame age by a couple of seconds on the final sprint, with middle age man only dropping off the trio over the last 800m. I could have referred to youth, age and beauty, but the latter would have been a lie.

This close first leg trio looked good in the new vests, Selfriges should have paid our entry for the free advertisement. After this this the close competition ended as our M35 and M50 team consisted of one each team ! 

M40 pressed on, but having lost quite a few of the initial team, we dropped nearer the back of the field. No disgrace, this is a quality race with the best vets all there. The last leg saw us challenge Halesowen, catching them very fast, just failing by 3 seconds to overhaul our rivals. I was in two minds sprinting up the finsihing straight becuase we had cheated !

Its nice to finish a team, except Halesowen know me. Oh well, all is well that ends well.  We don't normally cheat; well not while anyone is looking.

Welcome to Owen running a good time in his first ever relay. A good run for ever youthful "English John" Llewellyn.

I hope you all enjoyed the sunny day

This course is the same distance as the 12 stage, but runs a little bit faster.

M35   Winners Ronhill Cambuslang 1h2m10s     Fastest time 15m9s

Mark Ince   16m16s (33rd)

M40  Winners Hearne Hill Harriers 2h2m22s   Fastest time 14m11s

BRATS 28th (31 complete finishers)  2h35m31s.  3.00miles

Andy Kenchington  16m29s (41st)

Mark Hirsch           17m4s   (35th)

Owen                     18m48s (48th  (Results as Paul Hurcombe. Nice one Paul)

Richard Carney       19m52s  (57th)

John LLewellyn        20m1s   (44th)

Martin Ludford         21m16s  (50th)

Rob Andrews          24m14s  (30th)

Richard Gray          17m47s  (28th)  (Results as Mark Edwards. Should be happy Mark)

M50   Winers Ronhill Cambuslang  1h50m56s.  6 legs.  Fastest time 15m40s

Richard Gray   16m18s  (7th)

Midland Masters Road Relays   5K

After the Midland 12 stage the day before, we understandably struggled to get teams together and ended up running half the team in younger age groups. I hope everyone enjoyed their run. A good time by Paul Robertshaw.

 M35

Rob Ryan            19.47

Toby Gosnall       19.15

David Herbert       23.37

Paul Robertshaw 19.27

 M50

Paul Archer       22.33

Martin Ludford    22.25

Rob Andrews     26.45

 Relays are over until Autumn. Look out for Masters T&F E-mails today and through the Summer

Richard Gray

Volunteering 2010 - 2011

There are a lot of calls for volunteer support going out and many different ways in which you and your family (and friends) can support the BRAT Club (such as competition support, committee support, coaching and session leadership support, other event support etc). If you are competing in a BRAT supported event (see below), why not ask your family and friends to support you by participating in the BRAT volunteer Support group for that event? Keep an eye on the forum for details. We hope that everyone who volunteers will come along to the Annual BRAT Volunteer BBQ - next to be held in Summer 2011.

To give you some idea of the BRAT Priority Volunteer Support Events (2010 - 2011), here is a list in priority order:

Top Priority. BRAT Club Events (High Profile): Warks XC Champs (BRAT hosting at Cofton Park) 8th Jan 2011, T&F series (April 20, May 2, June 1 and 22, July 13 2011), BRAT 5k road race series (June 9, July 14, Aug 11 2011), BRAT Junior Aquathlon (July 2011), BRAT Triathlon (Aug/Sept 2011).

High Priority. Internal events: BRAT Aquathlons (Bittell Reservoir: Spring and Summer 2011) and external high profile events: Birmingham Half Marathon October 24th 2010.

Lower Priority. Outlaw IM Distance Triathlon (August 2011), Park Run marshalls, other triathon events

Support A BRAT - Sara's Story

Hi, I'm guessing most of you already know a little about me; either you heard me rambling on at the awards dinner, you've read Tauny's introduction that's up on the web-site or you’ve bumped into me (or more likely I've bumped into you) at a training session.

For those of you who have had the fortune of not hearing me drivel on already, here's your chance. I became involved with triathlon around a year ago after hearing about Project Viper, a group of visually impaired athletes who were getting together to participate in the London triathlon. At that point I knew very little of triathlon, I had been trying to get a little fitter by swimming and running, and; when one of Viper's relay teams needed those disciplines filled I thought 'why not give it a go?'

I was eligible to participate in Project Viper as I have been visually impaired since birth. I have the genetic condition albinism which affects around 1 in 17-20,000 people in the UK. It means that due to my body being unable to produce melanin (or pigmentation) my eyes didn't develop properly and I have about 10% vision, worse when in bright sunlight (I don't wear the shades to look "cool").

Whilst training for the London triathlon last year BRAT were good enough to point me in all the right directions, mainly through Geoff Moyes, who went on to act as my swim guide last season. Geoff has now opted out of racing with me (the accidental violence that occurred when open water swimming side by side was too great) and now has the arguably harder job of being my coach.

I have to have a guide throughout the whole triathlon to act as my eyes. This season I have the fabulous Kylee Goode as my guide: It's a tough job, not only does she have to complete the race herself but she also has to ensure my safety throughout the whole thing too!

We have had to learn to communicate really well, especially when on the tandem as when I am pedalling away on the back seat I have no idea what's coming next be it turns, hills or speed bumps! At present we are borrowing a racing tandem from an athlete who has had to take this season off. Unfortunately, it has to go back to him in September, which means at the end of this season I am tandemless. This is why I am so grateful for all the support BRAT members are giving me through fundraising throughout this year. Hopefully it will mean I can afford my own racing tandem which will help me maintain my place on the GB Paratriathlon squad in years to come, and who knows maybe I can hang in there till 2012!

And the old message from the old Chairman:

Sara Butler is a BRAT who has been invited to become part of the National Development Squad for Paratriathletes. This is great news for her and a testament to her talent, fitness, enthusiasm and dedication. It also reflects well on the BRAT Club as a whole.

Sara is partially sighted and is a regular at the Wednesday evening run sessions and Sunday Tivi swim sessions. Her participation in the club is largely thanks to Geoff Moyes, who has special coaching qualifications for partially sighted paratriathletes.

The BRAT Club are going to raise funds to help Sara buy a tandem racing bike. We raised several hundred pounds so far: at the Annual Awards Dinner by auctioning the table flower arrangements (thanks Julie Washbourne and House of Flowers!), at the London Marathon (thanks Paul T) and at the 1st BRAT Aquathlon on 14th May.

There will be further fund raising events for Sara throughout the year. If anyone wishes to make a donation, please make a cheque out to "The Triathlete Development Fund" and give it to either Mark or Chris Hirsch, or Tauny or Debbie Southwood, for banking. Thank you.