Handicap league

Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Leaderboard

Race 4 Race 5 Race 6

Race 7 Race 8 Race 9

Race 10 Race 11 Race 12

Race 2

Sunday 2nd March 2008 - 5.8 miles.

Finishing Position	Name	Handicap Time	Race Time	Rate per Mile	Difference
1st	Jamie Cousins	40.15	38.19	6.36	-1.56
2nd	Tony Carter	43.00	42.27	7.19	-0.33
3rd	Kevin Anholm	49.05	48.45	8.24	-0.20
4th	Lance Harris	37.45	37.30	6.28	-0.15
5th	Matt Anholm	40.45	40.51	7.03	+0.06
6th	Jeff Copping	48.00	48.25	8.21	+0.25
7th	Chris Rawlings	45.15	46.13	7.58	+0.58
8th	Mark Nurse	40.00	41.19	7.07	+1.19
9th	Tina Anholm	64.00	65.49	11.21	+1.49
10th	Jim Cranwell	60.00	61.51	10.40	+1.51
11th	Pauline Steele	61.35	63.40	10.59	+2.05
12th	Angie Swift	46.30	49.48	8.35	+3.18
13th	Paul Smith	45.45	51.17	8.51	+5.32
14th	Liam Dowling	56.30	63.06	10.53	+6.36

On a very windy Sunday morning, another excellent field assembled for the second race of the season. The wind was blowing from a westerly direction, which means the runners would have to run the last mile, full into the teeth of a very strong wind. These types of tough conditions, forces each competitor having to change their approach to the race. If the runner is to run to their handicap time, it will be essential to use the wind to help them for the first 3 miles. If successful, they may have a bit in reserve to tackle the tough 2nd part of the course, where inevitably, the wind will make it very difficult to maintain a speed, to match their handicap time.

This is the only time in the season when we have the same distance for 2 successive races. So for handicapping purposes, the first race 3 weeks ago, can be used as a guide to select a time for each competitor. Those runners in the points after that first race, will have to run at the same rate per mile and a bit quicker, if they are to finish in the top six. These means they will start further back in the field and makes for a close and exciting finish.

In second place was Tony Carter who claimed he had to stop 3 times due to pains in his leg. Despite this extra handicap he still ran 33 seconds under his handicap time. Do I hear The Handicap Committee sharpening their pencils? Next home was that old war horse Kevin Anholm who limped into 3rd place. (Kevin rarely runs these days – just limps)!!!

The next two home where our London Marathon entries. Fourth was Lance Harris with another impressive time of 37 mins 30 secs with Matt Anholm in fifth place. These lads are up to 40+ miles a week as they continue with their preparation for the big event, so a bit of a wind was hardly going to worry them. Jeff Copping completed the point scoring positions by finishing in 6th place.

After 2 races the early pace setter is Matt Anholm on 12 points, with Tony Carter 1 point behind and Jamie Cousins 3rd with 9 points. But very early days.

This season we have changed the format of the Knockout Cup. There are 4 groups of 4 people, with the winner of each group qualifying for the semi-finals. The thinking behind this is to make the Cup winner work a bit harder to win the trophy. With the previous straight knockout format, we have had instances of Cup winners playing only 2 matches in winning the cup. This year’s structure means the Cup winner will have to play 5 matches to win the trophy and so producing a more worthwhile winner.