12 May 2002
Its been 5 weeks since the last update to this site, so you'll probably be in need of something fresh to read on this intro page.
The most important update is the publication of the details and entry forms for the 5 Mile evening race, and the Carnival Half Marathon. Click here or on the Entry Forms link to go to these items.
We don't have the (almost!) promised Ladies Section available yet, and I haven't put together any chatty piece to keep you amused either. Neither have we got the suggested web survey for you to join in. Oh dear - its all falling apart isn't it... the Web editor's age is clearly catching up on him, and he prefers carpet slippers & warm milk to getting on with the job in hand. No No!! Not true - I can prove it - I sneakily updated my photo to show how fit I'm looking (click on the Web Editor's link at the foot of this page to verify), and I intend to continue to improve my fitness looks by spending many hours working with my photo editing software at further enhancing and correcting my picture.
As soon as I get the details on how PVRC did in the London Marathon, and also in the Avebury-Stonehenge Marathon, I'll publish them here - they will of course also appear in Brian Garman's next edition of the Vale Runner. (Club members - Brian needs you to send him details of races you've been in for this magazine - he can be contacted on 01380 721467).
Finally, I will try and expand this truncated intro as soon as possible, and I've added a link to a page holding all the intros so far, so the history of the PVRC website can be scanned. If there is anyone in the club who would like to have a say on this welcome page, please send it in - anything not actually illegal will get published (with the contributor's name).
All the best with your running, may you achieve a PB in racing or training over the coming months.
05 April 2002
The simplest website update this month has been the addition of a link to a map of the area,
centred on Pewsey Sports Centre. The map can be blown up or reduced at the press of a
button, so will be useful to future visitors.
Now, what other little items have been added?
Well, it all started innocently enough, when I thought of putting together a small graph
showing how many runners we've had in our races over the years.
When I cross-checked the numbers with the totals at the bottom of the
statistics table of clubs & teams, I found some differences. They were close, but definitely
not the same.
Not very comforting for what was meant to be the definitive reference for
anyone interested.
I should have stopped then, but I'm afraid I went into full anorak mode
and spent a mind-numbing few hours checking the clubs/teams table against each of the
results pages. In the process, the other minor discrepancies came out one by one. Well, its
all fixed now, and I am confident that there are no (very very few, and totally
undetectable) errors left.
Inspired now, and willing to tell anyone who would listen, how I could cross-check the names
of runners in our races, with their home clubs, and list out not only when they had come,
but also how many companions they had with them, what proportion were male and female, and
the sizes of their vests, I pulled my anorak tighter round me, and pushed the fascinated
crowds away to embark on even tougher feats.
I've recovered now - I came to in a very pleasant room - magnolia walls with the sun
shining through the bars on the window, and surrounded by white-coated tea ladies, all
rushing in and out with trolleys. One of them even sat on the bed and chatted to me, and
rather kindly advised me not to overwork.
On returning once more to my machine, I was surprised to find the statistics section to be
filled with detailed and informative graphs. There was clearly nothing else that could be
added - the section is quite full up, and I leave it with a slight feeling of emptiness,
tinged somewhat with an emotion of loathing, frustration and never-again phrases buzzing
through my mind. If noone takes a single peek at these stats, I think I shall have to
scream.
Back to ground. The idea of a Ladies section on the web site is starting to move forward,
and hopefully there will be something more concrete to report soon.
Although this site is getting more comprehensive, there are lots of opportunities for new
ideas. When I was talking with Mark (our Chairman!) the other day on the different options
for prizes - should we give prizes for the 1st 3 finishers, or prizes broken down by
category (seniors, vets), or both, or something else, it became apparent that this could
be a good subject for an online questionnaire/survey, with publication of the results.
Another possible for such a questionnaire would be your views on whether runners carrying
their own drinks in races should be banned - believe it or not, officially its not allowed!
Don't forget that your views and ideas are welcomed - use the email link on this page
(that isn't restricted to club members - external comments would be nice too).
Good luck with your running, and for the injured, here's hoping you're back pounding the
tracks & byeways again soon.
20 March 2002
There are some new additions to the website this month, as well as the
rather obvious 'Add to Favorites' button on this page.
First, the pictures have been reorganised into separate events, accessible via an index
page. This follows the inclusion of the new race photos (see more on this below).
Next, the March edition of the Vale Runner is on the site, and that too has led to a
reorganisation of the pages for this newsletter, all now accessible via an index page.
Third, is a page of links
to other running related sites. I've not added dozens of links to other clubs, as that
is just duplicating what others have already done so well - instead, there are links to
the sites that contain comprehensive club lists and their web addresses, and other
information as well.
Also included are links for online shopping for sports gear, an events diary, running
magazines, and more. (Did you know that there is a new online version of Today's Runner,
with first edition this month? - just follow the link to access it).
The links also include a reference to the very informative 'portal' to Pewsey and the
neighbourhood, for visiting runners to use, to help locate accommodation and services,
and get background on the area.
The fourth addition is a comprehensive set of statistics on clubs and teams who have run
in any of the Pewsey Vale hosted races from 1994. This gives a good profile of who is
running in which races, and how many return regularly over the years.
Not all the names are those of affiliated clubs, and since it's not possible to check
which are affiliated or not (they may no longer exist for instance, but were bona fide at the
time), I've included every team name that we have ever received. I think this is probably
the most useful approach.
Who can say whether the Abu Dhabi Striders, or the Benoni Harriers
of South Africa will return again?
Have we seen the last appearance of the lady from the Jenkintown Running Co USA who ran
in the 1998 Half Marathon (one Nikki Kimball)? - we hope not, as she set a new ladies record.
Will the Amazing Feet R.C runners who appeared in our 1999 10 Mile MT come back once
more?
These, and all the other previous competitors, will be very welcome again at our future
events. Especially, we acknowledge the regular appearance of so many clubs, and it would be
unfair to just mention a few of these, so scan the statistics yourselves to see how many of
these repeatedly visiting, and valued, runners there are.
Still on the website - the look of the site has been tidied a little to improve the
appearance - the banner with the club name has been removed, since most of the pages already
carry PVRC in their title. The links on the welcome page have been firmly moved to the top
of the page, where they should be - they seem to have slowly slipped down this page in the
past, and become difficult to access.
I'm very pleased to say that The Gazette & Herald has kindly given permission
for 2 of their pictures of the February 10 Mile Pewsey Hill MT, to be displayed
on this site. They even emailed the full colour versions, so we have higher
quality than appeared in the newspaper. You can go directly to these pictures
by pressing
here.
Don't forget the email link to the club at the top and bottom of the page. Send in your thoughts/ideas.
We received a couple of very nice notes from competitors in the 10 Mile MT, thanking the
club, and especially the volunteer marshals - it's always good to receive feedback on
an event - doubly so when it tells how much it was enjoyed!
Finally, we're just thinking that there should be a Ladies section on this web site, as the
club has a strong female membership. This would be not only for Ladies, but run
by Ladies.
This is still just an idea, so if you have any views on this, please send them in.
10 March 2002
There are a couple of new additions to the website this month. Firstly, a page of links
to other running related sites. I've not added dozens of links to other clubs, as that
is just duplicating what others have already done so well - instead, there are links to
the sites that contain comprehensive club lists and their web addresses, and other
information as well.
Also included are links for online shopping for sports gear, an events diary, running
magazines, and more. (Did you know that there is a new online version of Today's Runner,
with first edition this month? - just follow the link to access it).
The links also include a reference to the very informative 'portal' to Pewsey and the
neighbourhood, for visiting runners to use, to help locate accommodation and services,
and get background on the area.
The second addition is a comprehensive set of statistics on clubs and teams who have run
in any of the Pewsey Vale hosted races from 1994. This gives a good profile of who is
running in which races, and how many return regularly over the years.
Not all the names are those of affiliated clubs, and since its not possible to check
which are affiliated or not (they may no longer exist for instance, but were bona fide at the
time), I've included every team name that we have ever received. I think this is probably
the most useful approach.
Who can say whether the Abu Dhabi Striders, or the Benoni Harriers
of South Africa will return again?
Have we seen the last appearance of the lady from the Jenkintown Running Co USA who ran
in the 1998 Half Marathon (one Nikki Kimball)? - we hope not, as she set a new ladies record.
Will the Amazing Feet R.C runners who appeared in our 1999 10 Mile MT come back once
more?
These, and all the other previous competitors, will be very welcome again at our future
events. Especially, we acknowledge the regular appearance of so many clubs, and it would be
unfair to just mention a few of these, so scan the statistics yourselves to see how many of
these loyal runners there are.
Still on the website - the look of the site has been tidied a little to improve the
appearance - the banner with the club name has been removed, since most of the pages already
carry PVRC in their title. The links on the welcome page have been firmly moved to the top
of the page, where they should be - they seem to have slowly slipped down this page in the
past, and become difficult to access.
No new pictures yet, but the Gazette & Herald had 2 very good shots from the 10 Mile Pewsey
Hill MT in February, & I'll see if they will give permission for these to appear on this site.
Don't forget the email link to the club at the bottom of the page. Send in your thoughts/ideas.
We received a couple of very nice notes from competitors in the 10 Mile MT, thanking the
club, and especially the volunteer marshals - its always good to receive feedback on
an event - doubly so when it tells how much it was enjoyed!
24 February 2002
We've just hosted our first PVRC event of the year - the 10 Mile MT. Last year the
foot-and-mouth crisis forced us to switch to the road, but this year it was back to the
route on the top of the downs, via that difficult climb up the mud gulley, and back down to
the valley floor once more to finish in Pewsey, but not until after the sting-in-the-tail of
the precipitous climb and descent around the White Horse monument.
The weather looked promising near the start, when a light but cold rain began to fall, and
once up onto the hills the cold really began to bite, with the wind adding to the freeze.
Not surprisingly, the course record was not beaten this year, but the winning time from
Dominic Croft of Woodstock Harriers (and ex-Pewsey Vale!), although being 3 minutes 42
seconds short of the record, was still very respectably under 1 hour and seven minutes.
One Record was beaten however - in the Ladies Vet45 class - by Sara Rhimes of Eastleigh
Running Club - by over 4 and a half minutes - congratulations Sara!
There were 172 finishers, with the oldest amongst them being Bernard McCarthy, aged 75 of
S.W. Vets AC.
He wasn't the only over 70 runner either. Like many races these days, there were a large
number of Vets taking part - which is great. Not so great though is the apparent lack of
youngsters coming through. Although those aged 30 or over were well represented, only 10
runners were in their twenties, with none in their teens.
Full results are already filed on this site, and for a shortcut, press
here.
Special thanks from the Club to the volunteers who helped everything go smoothly - this
includes the marshals and St John's Ambulance staff. Thanks also to the race sponsor,
Phil Billingham Associates, of Pewsey, who made staging the race possible.
The next race to be hosted will be the 5 Mile road race, later in the year (July), and then
the Pewsey Carnival Half Marathon and Fun Run at the end of August - entry forms
for completion on this site will be available as soon as details are finalised.
If you completed an entry form from the website for the Ten Mile, then the details
will automatically pop into future entry forms that you fill in - saving quite a bit of
typing, and making the reading much easier for us. (You can of course change any of the
details whenever you wish by just typing over the old information).
If you are wondering where your details are stored for reuse on other entry forms, the
answer is that they are completely on your own PC, in something called a cookie. None of
these details are visible to anyone else, or to any other website.
No response to the offer to other Club members to have their pictures on this website, but
it still stands, so:
If any other Club members would like to have their picture on this site,
please let me know (Web Editor) - It would be good to have a Club gallery. If you have
a photo, or digital image, we can use that - otherwise we have a digital camera, so can
take your picture. Although the standard of the pictures of the committee members is
very high (so they tell me - judge for yourself), I'm sure you can do better! Group photos
will be just as acceptable as individual, and it doesn't have to be a portrait - it
could be you playing cricket, sailing, dozing, or crossing a finish line.
09 February 2002
Note Several people have said that they have been unable to reach this site
when they type in the full web address as listed on the printed entry forms for the
Pewsey Hill 10, but can reach it via other sites' links. This is because the address
must be all in lower case letters (ie. no Capitals) - the printed sheets show all
capitals - we'll correct this for future printing.
With Christmas well behind us, and all the pounds piled on just a fading memory..., its back
to serious business again.
We've finally got Brian Garman's photo to complete the set of committee members, so take
a look at this fine collection of good-looking enthusiasts, by clicking on the name links
at the bottom of the page.
We've also got some pictures of the Boxing Day K&A Canal Relay from Bradford-on-Avon to
Pewsey, and the Wessex League Cross Country at Pewsey on Sunday 13 January. Press
here to view.
By the way - any other Club members who would like to have their picture on this site,
please let me know (Web Editor) - It would be good to have a Club gallery. If you have
a photo, or digital image, we can use that - otherwise we have a digital camera, so can
take your picture. Although the standard of the pictures of the committee members is
very high (so they tell me - judge for yourself), I'm sure you can do better! Group photos
will be just as acceptable as individual, and it doesn't have to be a portrait - it
could be you playing cricket, sailing, dozing, or crossing a finish line.
We're getting quite a few enquiries about joining the Club. If you're interested,
just come along on one of the 2 club nights (every Tuesday & Thursday at 7:00 at Pewsey
Sports Centre) and meet some others and enjoy a run. You won't be pressured into joining
right away - come out and run a few times before you make up your mind.
Don't forget the Pewsey Hill 10M MT on 24th February starting from Pewsey Sports Centre at
10:30. Go to the Entry Forms
page for more details and (surprise) an entry form that you
can complete.
If you, or one of your friends would like to help marshal instead of running, please also
come along. Have a look at the Marshals page on this
website for some more information on what this involves.
The Site visit counter is beginning to climb. You may like to know that this counter
only clicks on when a visitor who is different to the previous visitor, goes to the
homepage - this stops spurious counts if the same visitor repeatedly visits the page
over a relatively short time.
We'd still like to get your feedback. Use the email link at the bottom of the page
to send in your views/information/jokes/challenges...
See you at the 10 Mile on the 24th.
23 December 2001
Note Several people have said that they have been unable to reach this site
when they type in the full web address as listed on the printed entry forms for the
Pewsey Hill 10, but can reach it via other sites' links. This is because the address
must be all in lower case letters (ie. no Capitals) - the printed sheets show all
capitals - we'll correct this for future printing.
We're well under way with getting more onto the new site. One of the latest additions
is the Vale Runner for December 2001 - this is the club's magazine, and contains results,
information on races to come and anything the editor wants!
You can use the entry form on this site to enter for PVRC hosted races.
You can read about marshals and entry desk handlers - what they do, and what you need to
know if you are thinking of being one for the first time.
You can see photos of some members of the club listed at the bottom of this page, by
clicking on their names - clicking 'Back' will remove the images, but not the
memory of them...
We've just added a site visit counter at the foot of this page.
Still many other things to come. What we'd really like to get now is your feedback.
We look forward to seeing you at next year's Pewsey Hill 10M MT. Its back to true MT again
after the last year's foot & mouth disruption.
Have a great Christmas.
17 December 2001
Pewsey Vale is a large village in the heart of beautiful countryside
in the Eastern part of Wiltshire. It is 7 miles South of Marlborough,
and 18 miles North of Salisbury. It has 7 pubs, primary & secondary
schools, shops, churches, a sports centre, one of the best annual
carnivals anywhere and Pewsey Vale Running Club.
The Club has around 50 members, and concentrates on Road, MT and
Cross-Country running.
We're delighted to be back, and are continuing to rebuild our site.
The first items we made available were the results of the races we have
hosted, and now you can scan right back to 1994.
We also have details of our next forthcoming event, the Multi-Terrain
10 Mile in February, with entry form for advance entry.
The first of our Helper pages, the Marshals page, is complete - please
take a look if you are, or would like to be a Marshal, and don't
forget that your feedback
is welcome. (We want to cover other helpers too -
Timekeepers, Finish-line recorders, Results producers, Late-entry
handlers - all of those who contribute so much to making racing possible.)
We've lots of ideas, so come and visit again soon, and see the new
goodies available. If you want to send any comments, the email address
is at the bottom of this page.
23/24 October 2001 & 8 November 2001
Pewsey Vale is a large village in the heart of beautiful countryside
in the Eastern part of Wiltshire. It is 7 miles South of Marlborough,
and 18 miles North of Salisbury. It has 7 pubs, primary & secondary
schools, shops, churches, a sports centre, one of the best annual
carnivals anywhere and Pewsey Vale Running Club.
The Club has around 50 members, and concentrates on Road, MT and
Cross-Country running.
We're delighted to be back, and are rebuilding our site. The most
important items to make available are the results of the races we have
hosted, and now you can scan right back to 1994.
The next items we will put up are details of forthcoming events,
with entry forms for advance entry.
As you will see when you browse, there are a couple of early pages,
to give you a taster. An important one is a Marshals' page. The
intention is to provide Marshals with useful information, especially
for anyone who would like to help with marshalling, but is a little
unsure of what it entails. This will also provide a forum for Marshals
themselves to give their feedback. (We want to cover other helpers too -
Timekeepers, Finish-line recorders, Results producers, Late-entry
handlers - all of those who contribute so much to making racing possible.)
We've lots of ideas, so come and visit again soon, and see the new
goodies available. If you want to send any comments, the email address
is at the bottom of this page.
