WESHAM TEAM GB AT THE EUROPEAN VETERANS NON-STADIA CHAMPIONSHIPS REGENSBURG, GERMANY MAY 15^th to 23^rd2007

The Wesham Team GB of Carstairs, Fairfax, Captain Bertorelli and Von Smallhousen, (Alex Rowe, John Collier, Trevor Rayner and Gary Pendlebury), assembled at Herr Flick’s residence, (Alan Glasgow), in Sovereign Gate at 9:30 on the morning of 15^th of May. They were about to embark on a 4-stage hop to their training camp at the Englischer Garten in the one-time Bavarian capital city of Munchen to make their preparations for the 10^th European Veterans Non-Stadia Championships (“10 Europameisterschaften der Senioren”), taking place on the banks of the Danube in Regensburg. A taxi drive to Manchester airport picking up Le Clair, (Barry Peatfield), at Broughton; a two-hour flight to Zurich; a two-hour stopover admiring expensive Swiss watches; and a further hour flight to Munich saw the team touch down at 8:30 eastern European time.

Both Zurich and Munich were cool and overcast despite the Regensburg weather centre recording temperatures of 26 degrees on Monday. The first priority was to pick up the minibus and get to the hotel before the reception closed at 10pm. Despite being parked in the far corner of the multi-storey car park, the luxurious BMW appeared unscathed and its cavernous interior easily took the team’s extensive multi-terrain equipment. The van’s equipment included a built-in sat-nav but Carstairs and Herr Flick could not locate the Englischer translation option and after jabbing a few buttons left it in glorious Deutsch. Carefully navigating out of the airport multi-storey having worked out which sign meant “Exit” they set off to test tour manager, Alan Glasgow’s memory of the way out from the airport and the back route into the north-eastern suburbs of Munich. With team captain Alex Rowe’s superior map-reading skills this proved no problem, and the team were soon established in two apartment rooms in the annexe of the Englisher Garten superbly located directly opposite the 15-kilometre extent of the linear park giving the hotel its name. The team experienced their first flagons of Weisbeir at the bar on the corner and retired for the night.

Wednesday 16^th May dawned bright and sunny and an early morning breakfast run acquainted Herr Flick, Von Smallhousen, Fairfax, Carstairs and Captain Bertorelli, (concentrate now), rose early to check out the adjacent training ground before familiarising the breakfast menu in the hotel. A leisurely day touring the city centre and extensive sports superstores preceded a late afternoon frog-march to find a supermarket for supplies. The team were exhausted on arrival back at the hotel and had just enough energy to limp to the bar on the corner again for supper and Weisbeir, (spot the emerging theme…). Carstairs had procured a map of Regensburg and began conjecturing that the following day’s 10km race may well be six or seven laps on a circuit in a trading estate of some form. The team were not impressed.

10km Road Race, Thursday 17^th May

There was a change in the weather the next day as Wesham Team GB prepared for an early getaway bound for Regensburg. Clouds had come and brought wind and rain. The team, were away for 9:00am and heading north-east across rolling countryside. It was autobahn all the way but the rain was lashing down on the higher ground. Despite the conditions the bus was skilfully directed to the Geweberpark in Regensburg. It was a bank holiday and the area turned out to be a retail and industrial complex and there was ample parking, so the team were in plenty of time arriving at 10:30 for a 13:00 start time.

The team soon found the registration area and, having recovered from the shock of the €31 deposit for the champion chip, were greeted by the news that the GB M50 for the Cross Country Relays on Saturday might be entirely Wesham!

Barry Peatfield was not going to run due to his calf injury so Herr Flick persuaded him to pick up his registration pack and timing chip planning to run in his M55 number. However after lengthy deliberation the team decided that Alan, (as an M50) would actually influence the team result with eventual consequence of disqualification, so a hasty €31 refund was procured. The worst fears were realised: the 10km race was in fact nine laps of the circuit around the Geweberpark; would anyone be able to keep track of the number of laps?

The rain was incessant and the wind was chill. Trevor, Alex, Gary and John all warmed up for the combined M35/40/45/50 race due off at 14:00, witnessing the opening M55/60/65 race at 13:00.

It was an incredibly fast start for the M35/40/45/50 race at 14:00 in steady drizzle and Alex Rowe set off with the pace, initially chasing a 53-year old German rival, Wilhelm Schutter, but was unable to hold this pace on the second lap at 2km when briefly experiencing breathing difficulties. He steadily made some ground, and settled into a Top-60 position having lost any idea of where he might be in relation his M50 rivals. Losing count of laps after the first it was Alex who received helpful encouragement from Alan and Barry who positioned themselves adjacent to the start/finish area. Regaining his lap count and pushing away over the final kilometre he finished 54^th overall in 33:48, 7^th GB and 5^th M50, 30 seconds behind the bronze medal position. The GB M45/50 team of Mike Boyle, Ian Williamson, (2^nd and 11^th M45s), and Alex placed 3^rd behind Germany and Spain.

Gary Pendlebury had an excellent measured run, finishing 96^th overall, 10^th GB and 20^th Over-50 in 35:50. John Collier was 122^nd overall, 12^th GB and 29^th M50 in 36:45. Trevor Rayner gingerly ran 41:21 to finish 181^st overall, 19^th GB and 48^th M40 in 41:21, a good effort considering the pain he was experiencing from his calf.

After an abortive attempt to find the shower block some streets away, Trevor lead the way to an executive toilet suite he had located in an adjacent hotel. Still pouring down outside, the Wesham squad retired to a nearby bar to escape the steady rain and witness the M65+ race through the windows. Unfortunately Mike Boyle convinced Alex that they didn’t have a competitive GB team, and he missed the medal presentation. The team limped back to their training ground unaware of any results other than a brief glimpse over team manager, Archie Jenkins’ shoulder.

In the evening the team repaired to the Rat Keller, an excellent bar, and then on to a vast vaulted basement restaurant in the centre of the city beneath the old city hall. The team were much refreshed.

Friday 18^th May saw an improvement in the weather and Herr Flick recommended taking the S-Bahn to the south-western suburbs of Munich for a 12-mile walk through some glorious countryside bridging two valleys. This was real rural Bavaria and, following a coffee, having reached their destination on the S-bahn the team embarked. The going was easy; there was a midday stop at a bar overlooking a lake and a final stop at a hilltop Bier Keller for a huge Dampfnudel with lashings of custard in true ‘Famous Five’ style or appelstrudel with cream, before a final descent through shady woodland to the return S-bahn. The team acquired a sun tan but lost a few pounds.

Cross-Country Relays, Saturday 19^th May

Saturday 19^th May was still warm and sunny, and the team once again took the high road to Regensburg for the cross country relays. Arriving in plenty of time for the published start time of 13:00 in the Donaupark on the banks of the river, they found the combined M35/40/45/50 race had been re-scheduled for 12:00; so there was a bit of a scramble to get ready. Alex and Gary were picked for the M50 ‘A’ team with David Hartwell while John was in the ‘B’ team with John White and Alan Newman, (a previous Wesham member and coach).

The course was good enough; a three-lap circuit with an undulating section through trees, and out and back section with a tight turn round a bandstand and a long straight on the river bank. It was all rough grassland except for a few sections on gravel paths.

Once again the M35s and M40s dictated a fast pace, and Gary ran a good opening leg for the M50 ‘A’ team, running 15:30 to come in 4^th M50. Alex took over on the second stage, feeling tired initially but getting into his stride on the second and third laps. Coming past the Czech runner on the closing stages his 14:52 put the team in second place and in medal contention. Unfortunately the Slovenians put in a super ace on the last stage and the Czechs pulled ahead again, and GB clipped back to 4^th with a cumulative time of 46:32, just 14 seconds short of a medal. John Collier ran the second stage for the ‘B’ team, which finished 6^th in 49:59.

The Wesham Team GB spent the rest of the day in the centre of Regensburg sightseeing, with a coffee stop in the main square and an Italian meal later on before repairing back to the Englischer Garten for some overnight recuperation.

Half Marathon Road Race, Sunday 20^th May

Sunday was the one day that the team had to leave too early for breakfast. The half marathon was incorporated into the Regensburg Marathon, a big local event with separate races for inline skating, Nordic walking and running. The Europameisterschaften were given their own race at 9:45, and Carstairs was afraid of road closures impeding their transport to the start.

The skies had cleared completely and it was going to be very hot. The team duly set off at 7:00am and sure enough, on their arrival in Regensburg, their progress was blocked. With a quick bit of navigation Carstairs directed the bus to an area behind the start that was traffic free.

This was indeed a big event, with several thousand entrants overall and a large tented retail and amenity area nest to the start/finish area. Alan Glasgow was to run in Trevor’s number while Barry and Trevor availed themselves of the facilities.

Away on time at 9:45 the half marathon course was an out-and-back linear course crossing the city from west to east right through the centre. Temperatures soared to 26 degrees and there was sight along the way of marathon runners from the earlier start time. Alex managed a steady start and was able to make ground steadily as those around started to wilt towards the halfway mark. Returning through the city the route crossed the Danube twice taking in a spectacular cobbled bridge before the final battle back to the finish. Alex crossed the line 17^th in 1:14:29, 3^rd M50 and 3^rd GB finished behind M40s Stephen Male and Bashir Hussain.

Gary had an excellent run, very strong in the conditions, to finish 63^rd overall in 1:19:41, 12^th M50 and 4^th for GB. John Collier found the going tough, especially in the second half, coming in 160^th, 35^th M50 and 11^th GB in 1:26:25. Alan Glasgow had a steaming run, showing his endurance built up cycling, clocking 1:29:06 for 198^th place overall, placing him 47^th in the M40 results and 14^th GB. He would have been 43^rd in the M50 results, just three seconds behind GB M60 John Clemens.

The medal presentation was not until 17:00, so after showering in the nearby sports centre and taking refreshment, the team repaired back to Munich unaware of Alex’s individual bronze medal.

In the evening news filtered through by text of Julian Mawson’s victory at the Windermere Marathon and his prize of a £2000 watch, reminding the team of their outward journey by Swissair. The Wesham team had faired very well at this event, taking the men’s team victory as well.

Monday 21^st May saw a subdued breakfast run by Herr Flick and Carstairs followed by a full breakfast. The team then took the van out of town to Garmish to witness some real mountains up close. A four-mike trek down the valley took then to the foot of one of several ski lifts, and the team ascended to over 2000m for some spectacular views over the valley and a well-earned coffee break with appelstrudel and more dampfnudel. This was followed by a stretch of downhill walking to return to Garmish; very walk-able but sometimes quite steep. The weather started to close in and the team were witness to a spectacular thunderstorm coming up the valley. Confident that it was passing by, the team were inevitably/eventually caught up in a downpour and a direct overhead lightening strike. Fortunately this did not come to ground and the team escaped to gain the lower ground with clearing skies and, by the time they returned to town, they had dried out enough for a tea break before the return drive to Munchen.

The final day on Tuesday 22^nd May was a ‘free day’. Barry headed for the Olympic stadium and the antique shops in town; Gary and Trevor undertook a four-hour guided tour of the city on bicycles; Carstairs and Fairfax ambled leisurely round the city; and Herr Flick relaxed in the Englischer Garten.

Finally the team took their leave of Bavaria early on Wednesday 23^rd May to retrace their steps to Zurich and then onto Manchester with fair skies all the way and a spectacular view of the English Channel and the White Cliffs of Dover. A line of cloud appeared north of the Midlands and Manchester was swathed in thick cloud and drizzle. Home at last! The medal haul was not as spectacular as on previous trips but the Wesham team had flown the flag once again for GB.

Written by: Alex Rowe

Submitted: 9^th June 2007

Edited by: Brenda J Earnshaw WRR Editor

10k results so far.

Vet 50. Alex Rowe 5th 33:48 Bronze Medal in British team.
Gary Pendlebury 20th 35:50
John Collier 29th 36:45