Frostbite 2012/13

Hi all,

We're still swimming in the river, but the new Frostbite season is nearly there as well! See http://www.frostbiteleague.org.uk/

The fun starts again on Sunday 7 October, as always for the first race in Priory Park in St Neots. I'll send a reminder in the week before the race; this is just a heads up, and a chance to put all the dates in your calendar. We'll need all of you if we want to improve on last year's great achievement of 7th place, and beat BRJ! Here goes:

1st race - 7th October 2012 - Priory Park - Riverside Runners
2nd Race - 4th November 2012 - Bushfield Sports Centre - Bushfield Joggers
3rd Race - 9th December 2012 - Hinchingbrooke Park - Hunts AC
4th Race - 13th January 2013 - Whitemoor Prison - March AC
5th Race - 3rd February 2013 - Bourne Woods
6th Race - 3rd March 2013 - Hinchingbrooke Park - BRJ

Jaap

Mike Primavesi, Ros Goatly, Joanne Annis and myself are all down to do the Bedford Sprint Triathlon on 7th October, but don't worry. We will call in at St.Neots to run in the Frostbite on the way home.

I am away with the Fenland Clarion, riding in the Peak District on 4th November.

I am then away somewhere in the Baltic on 9th December.

Hunts AC Frostbite now 16th December.

Hunts Ac have been unable to hire the Countryside Center at Hinchingbrooke Park on 9th so the race has been rescheduled for 16th.

I'll be there on the 7th and will run as many of them as I can. I love the frostbites!

Hi all,

It's October, Frostbite season starts again!

Next Sunday 7 October is the first race. As always, this is in Priory Park, Huntingdon Road in St Neots, starting at 11am. Directions are on: http://www.frostbiteleague.org.uk/Default%20page/Race1_riverside%20map%20oct2012%20iss1.pdf

The course is all in the Park; mostly on grass plus a few bits on forest tracks; no tarmac. Off road shoes or even spikes are an option, but if it's dry, normal running shoes are fine.

For those who are new to this: Frostbite is a series of 6 races organised by and for 16 local running clubs. Each race is about 5 miles, and usually on the first Sunday of the month from October to April (exact dates are in the first forum post). It is a team race in which the first seven men and the first three women count for the club. Entry is free. The only condition is that you have to wear some form of Pactrac kit.

We didn't do very well in recent years, but last year was much better and we managed to finish 7th overall, which was our best result since the 98/99 season. Not bad for a bunch of triathletes! It would be great to beat that result this year - we just have to beat BRJ!

Everyone is welcome; you don't have to be a top runner, these are great friendly events with 100s of runners of all possible levels. Even if you are not in our scoring teams, you may still be taking points off other teams. And they are good races to track your fitness compared with others, and compared with previous years. It can be quite difficult for us to find enough women to race, so ladies are especially welcome.

Please let me know if you are interested, preferably on the Forum. It would be good to get a feel for who is running, so that we know if we have a complete team or not, and need to do some rallying.

Please note that there is also a Juniors Frostbite series for under 16s, with 1.5 mile races starting at 10.15 at the same venue. I'm not organising our team for this though - please speak with Dave Patmore-Hill if you are interested.

Thanks
Jaap

I will be there Jaap and hope to complete the series this year.

Steve

Count me in for the St Neots FB. Cheers, Paul.

Sos I can not make it either. Am race official at Bedford so will be giving lots of abuse to all PACTRACers who are racing there :-)

Can't make 1st or 3rd race, will be there for the rest

I'll be at St Neots and I'll try to make a few of the others

Hi all,
Thanks for the positive responses. We have 7 or 8 men, but sadly only 1 lady confirmed thus far. Let me know if you are planning to run.
Thanks,
Jaap

Sorry Jaap. I am working and won't be able to make this one.

Emma and Carol are in Hawaii. They went early to escape.

For those that that ran at St Neots and are curious, PACTRAC placed 10th on the day with 1261 points! It was lovely to see you all and hopefully see you again next month at Bushfield.

For those interested the places and times are below:

7 / Paul Vernon 27:29
25 / Paul Spain 29:53
57 / Jon Cox 32:00 (my watch showed 31:59 ;-))
58 / Mark Ingram 32:02
74 / Rob Hammond 32:46
88 / Steve Coward 33:15
95 / Steve Coombs 33:47
144 / Paul Frampton 35:52
189 / Steve Skelhon 37:59
262 / Emily John-Davis 41:23
267 / Sue McCloud 41:48
323 / Steve Wright 45:13
328 / Mariska Niemeijer 45:27
370 / Neil Oakley 50:04

The results will be up on the frostbite website just as soon as the guy who updates it broadband gets fixed! I've got the PDF's so if anyone wants a copy then drop me a note at joncox77@yahoo.co.uk and i'll send them on.

Thanks for posting this Jonathan!

Not a bad result for the first race - last year we only had one lady at St Neots, so well done for Emily and Sue to turn up and for Mariska to run despite feeling poorly. Upwards and onwards next month at Bushfield: 4 November, clear your diaries!

Next week Sunday 4 November is leg 2 of the Frostbite Series, in Bushfield, Peterborough, starting 11am.

It is the same course as last year: about 50% on tarmac paths through the Ortons, the other 50% on forest tracks. The start and end were changed slightly last year, but it's still at the Bushfield Sports Centre.

Directions and course details can be found here:
http://www.frostbiteleague.org.uk/Default%20page/2-Bushfield%20Directions%202012.pdf
http://www.frostbiteleague.org.uk/Default%20page/2-Bushfield%20Senior%20Course%202012.pdf

As always, everyone is very welcome. It is a free event, all levels of runners are welcome and will contribute to the team result, and it's a great way to keep in touch with / get to know your clubmates. You will need some form of Pactrac kit - let me know if you need to buy that.

Let me know if you intend to run, preferably on the Forum, so we know if we have a full team.

Thanks!

Can't make this one, racing at Wadenhoe

I'll be there racing on Sunday. Hope the weather is good!

I'm in, see you next week.

I will be there

I will be there

I will be along. Giles

I'll be there

I've currently got confirmations from just about enough people to make a full team, including at least two new members. Extra runners are of course very welcome! Let me know, or otherwise just turn up.

For those who are coming: could you please bring along any spare Pactrac vests or shirts that you have? We are getting new kit for sale in January and have some left, but not in all sizes. So it would be good if have some available for borrowing, just in case.

Hi Jaap,

Have you got emough females? I was not going to run but if you need more I can plod round. Am super slow at the moment! I also have 2 spare PACTRAC vests.

Sam

Hi Sam,
We may have enough but I'm not sure, so you're very welcome to come and run. I'm sure you'll be okay...
Jaap

Hi all,
Well done for generating probably our best turn-out in years, despite the worst weather in years! Results will follow soon.
Jaap

Jaap,

Yes really glad I came along. Big thanks must go to Mariska for organising us, and standing out in the rain collecting times and tickets.

My first frostbite in a few years, but was great.
And such a great atmosphere (at the back of the pack,) with loads of support along the route.

Thoroughly recommend to all members. Roll on December's.

Christina
PS it would be good if the website would flag them as "coming up' events, if possible?

Hi Christina,

Thanks! Good idea to list the Frostbites on the site; will see what I can do.

The preliminary results are on the Frostbite website; looks like we were 8th, which puts us in 9th overall. Moving up!

Jaap

Frostbite races have been added to the "Upcoming Events" on the races tab.

Fantastic turnout yesterday in less than ideal conditions and great to see PACTRAC moving up the table!

Hi,

Next week is Frostbite week! It's race number 3, at Hinchingbrooke, Huntingdon. As always: start at 11am, everyone is welcome & will help strengthen the team, no entry fee, just wear some form of Pactrac kit (and let me know if you don't have any).

Hinchingbrooke can be a very muddy course, and the organisers say that parts have been flooded. Which may mean that we'll have a slightly different course this year. In any case, prepare for a mixture of grass, mud, forest track and tarmac - i.e., every shoe type is unsuitable. Good fun though, and good for the joints! Details: http://www.frostbiteleague.org.uk/Default%20page/Race3_Hinchingbrook%20course.pdf

As far as the league goes, we are in a small bunch with BRJ and Yaxley in 8th-10th place. The gap to 7th (Fenland) is bridgeable though. So you know what to do when you see someone in white and purple just ahead in the last 200m...

Finally, the organisers have the following request about car parking (only for those who are not cycling in):
Where possible please park in Hinchingbrooke Business Estate PE29 6FL which is off the A14 at Spittals junction and first left by the Hotel. Parking at the Country Park is limited and once the car parks are full at it's quite a trek to drive back round to the Business estate so it's much better to go directly there first.

Let me know if you plan to run!
Thanks,
Jaap

See you there! Giles

I'll be there, however, I still have a niggling IT band issue, so not on best form.

I will be there. My 17 year old Jake is also running, but for Bushfield, as it's the best way for him too train at the moment. If he keeps it up, next year, I suspect he will be one of our best, so I will pull him back to wearing Red. Like Paul, I have form issue, the list is so long though, I just call the list various reasons for under performing. P.S. this in the past, when not frozen and muddy, has been my best result easily, compared to the field. The secret is lightweight Talon shoes (220). They have the grip and weight of Xcountry spikes, but you can run on tarmac. I beat people with their ordinary run shoes, who would normally beat me by over a minute. They are perfect for muddy conditions at the Prison and Bourne, so if you want to have the right shoes, these are highly recommended. See you Sunday. Tony

I'm planning to be there providing i've recovered from the lurghy )and i've not got another one from the stupid woman i've spent 2 hours sat next to in a hot meeting room who was hell bent on coughing and sneezing her way through it without a tissue)

Hi all,
We currently have 7 men confirmed (although most are half-injured by the sound of it) and 1, possibly 2 ladies. So we are going to need a few more. It's going to be a lovely day and the water level in the park has gone down (say the organisers), so it will be a great day for a little race! Let me know if you can make it.
Jaap

Jaap,

I will be there Sunday, not injured, just not very good at running.

Jaap, are we entering a team for the Cambs XC champs at Priory Park on 6 Jan 13? If so, are you collating entries? Judging by the recent Frostbite turn-outs we should easily be able to put together a mens team of 6 (mixed vets, seniors, u20). Deadline for entries is the 28 Dec 12, let me know your thoughts by midweek, as I want to get my entry in the post by the end of the week.

http://www.cambsathletics.org.uk/Crosscountry%20Champs%202013.doc

Big well done to everyone at Hinchingbrooke today, nice testing XC route, cracking day for it.

Cheers, Paul.

Priory park should be a little less muddy than Hinchingbrook, I will be running the Northants county XC as I am not eligible for Cambridgeshire, if anyone wants an entry form let me know, race is round Abingdon Park in Northampton which is a fairly moderate course

From: Dave Richmond <dave@eyerunners.co.uk>

Sent: Sun, 16 Dec 2012 18:25
Subject: Found

Found in the car park today after the Hinchingbrooke Frostbite, a pair of mens Saucony shoes size 7.5 . They are now safe in my garage and await being claimed and reunited with their owner. Don''t let them stay there all alone for Christmas!

Re the Cambs XC champs: I'm not eligible either as I live in Northants too. But it would be great if we could get a team together for one of the counties.

I understand eligibility means being born in the county or having lived there for the last 9 months (incl being stationed in the army).

If anyone is interested in running, please post it on the forum and we'll see if we can enter a team.

The results of Sunday's Frostbite are in, see http://www.frostbiteleague.org.uk/

We were 8th on the day, but very very close to March AC in 7th and BRJ in 6th: just 21 points! We have moved up a spot and are now in joint 8th. 7th is still in sight! We actually have better race results than BRJ but have just been unlucky with the standings.

Some very good racing from the team again. We ended up having 15 men and 4 ladies. All our 7 male scorers were in the top 75, which must be a club record for recent years. Incredible 3rd and 15th places for two of our Pauls. Well done for the girls who turned up and scored us a lot of valuable points.

Frostbite 4 is on 13 January on a similarly varied course in March (but probably less muddy). Put it in your calendar!

Hi all. Next week is Frostbite 5, around Whitemoor Prison in March. As always, the race starts at 11am, is free to enter, and all you need is some form of Pactrac kit (and a valid membership).

The address is HMP Whitemoor Sports & Social Clubhouse, Longhill Road, March, PE15 0PR. Full directions on http://www.frostbiteleague.org.uk/Default%20page/Race4%20MarchAC%20directions%202013.pdf

We did this course for the first time last year; a mixture of grassy tracks (first 2 and final 2 miles) and tarmac (mile 3). All flat as you would expect in March.

It would be great to see a large group of Pactrac'ers again. You can see it as a good last test run for Folksworth 15 the week after, or even for the Pactrac Handicap on 27 Jan. Or you can see it as a nice run in a friendly environment with a large group of runners of all abilities. Or as a chance to meet up and talk tri season planning with clubmates. Or even do it to help us overtake Fenland (tied in 8th) and BRJ (3 points ahead in 7th). Or all of the above.

The organisers want to make sure that you are all aware of the following:
'Please do not warm-up or approach the perimeter of Whitemoor Prison, it sets off the proximity sensors in the prison and causes a major security alert. We risk loosing this venue if we do it again this year so please warm-up along Hundred Road, on the Club track at Elm Road or down Foundary Way.'

Let me know if you intend to run so that I have an idea of numbers. Also let me know if you need to buy Pactrac kit in order to take part.

Thanks,
Jaap

I'm in, see you next week.

I will be there

Georgina sorting out family membership for us
so I will be running along with
Sam Garner - junior
Joe Garner - junior
and hopefully my wife
Kerrie Garner who will need a t-shirt

I will be there.

Hi all,

We have 6 men and 3 ladies confirmed for Sunday's race. Surely everyone else doesn't want to let the opportunity pass for a proper snowy Frostbite run!?

For those who are running: could you please bring along any spare Pactrac running kit that you have. We have a little bit of stock left but there are some gaps in sizes. I understand the Committee is now on the case to get new running kit before the February Frostbite.

Just a reminder: please do not warm-up or approach the perimeter of Whitemoor Prison, please warm-up along Hundred Road, on the Club track at Elm Road or down Foundary Way.

Thanks, and see you on Sunday.

Jaap

Hi guys - unfortunately i'm not going to be able to run.

I managed to trap a nerve in the week after xmas which put my whole back into spasm and i'm only just starting to ease back into some easy effort training - no running as of yet. Good luck though!

PS: I missed the last one because on the morning of the race my wife came down ill and I had no time to arrange anyone to come and watch the kids.

My aim to run all 6 this season has failed dismally :(

Hi all. This Sunday is Frostbite 5, in Bourne Woods. As always, the race starts at 11am, is free to enter, and all you need is some form of Pactrac kit (and a valid membership).

Race headquarters is at Westfield School (PE10 9QS) in Bourne; you can find directions on http://www.frostbiteleague.org.uk/Default%20page/Race%205%20Bourne%20Directions%202013.pdf

I've always managed to miss this race and it was cancelled last year due to now. But I hear it's proper cross country. Maybe those who have run there in the past could give some shoeware advice?

It would be great to see a large group of Pactrac'ers again. I wrote last time that this can be a good last test run for Folksworth 15 the week after, so I can write that again.

We had a good turn out last month, but the result was a bit disappointing. 9th place is still a realistic target though: need to beat March AC for that, so look out for those blue vests.

Let me know if you intend to run so that I have an idea of numbers. Also let me know if you need to buy Pactrac kit in order to take part.

Thanks,
Jaap

This is one of my favorite courses!

The surface is a mix of mud, grass and hardened footpaths.

With the weather the way it is i'll be running in my trail shoes. I imagine when its dry and warm then normal racing flats would be ok but you'll want more grip than that if it stays wet.

There are also a number of small hills involved - the one at the end in particular is unwelcome :)

It's quite a tight course (in terms of width) and the start in particular can really hold you up if you aren't close to the front.

I'm plamnning on running - my asthma is playing up with the constant changes in weather so i'll get my excuse in early if i'm not on top form on the day.

.... i forgot to say that the year before last I watched a deer spring through a hedge and run straight through a small group ahead of me before disapearing into the hedge the other side. Luckily noone was hurt but it ranks as the most unusual thing i've seen during a race.

I'm in.

Count me in.

We need more girls. 3 girls in reasonable positions can really push us up the rankings.

Also, I intend to have some Flyers there to put on car's to advertise the Ride and Tie on 7th April.

I will be running along with
Sam Garner - junior
Joe Garner - junior
Kerrie will not be running this time

I'll be there

Hi all,
We currently have 7 men and 2 ladies confirmed for tomorrow's race. We need a few more, especially girls! It should be a nice day for a run in the woods.
Jaap

I will be running Jaap

Hi all,

Next Sunday is the last Frostbite of the season. It's in Hinchingbrooke (Huntingdon), but with a different start and course than where we raced two months ago. It looks like there is about 1km of road, but the rest is track. It's 5.3miles, so adjust your goal times! See:
http://www.frostbiteleague.org.uk/Default%20page/2013%20BRJ%20Senior%20Frostbite%20course.pdf

The Race HQ is Hinchingbrooke Park School (Postcode PE29 3BN). Car parking will be a bit of a challenge, so everyone is encouraged to car share - or cycle in, we are triathletes after all... For directions and parking options, see http://www.frostbiteleague.org.uk/default.html

We had a good turnout again last month in Bourne: another very muddy race. We finished 9th, but were very close to 7th. We are now in 10th place overall. 9th is certainly achievable - we are just 2 points behind Fenland, and 3 behind BRJ (but next week is their home race so they will all be running). But of course it's not all about the rankings: as always, everyone is welcome, you just need to be a member and have some form of club kit (let me know if you need any). There is no entry fee, the start is at 11am, let me know if you plan to be there.

Series trophies will be awarded after the race, everyone is welcome to attend.

Thanks,
Jaap

I'm running.

I will be there

Hi all,
I haven't had too many responses yet. Please let me know if you are planning to run on Sunday.
Thanks
Jaap

Unfortunately I won't be there. I've been struggling with calf problems on and off since the last one so it would be a bad idea to run. Sorry guys :(

Am running but never get top seven for what its worth.....

I will be running +
Sam & Joe running in the juniors