BRR Blog – 11 March 2024
The Women’s Team and Men’s Teams at the 2024 Chingford League relays, Wanstead Flats
Hi there, Road Runners!
Noah Lyle, eat your heart out. At the recent World Indoor Athletics Championships, the US sprint star won silver in the 60m and then decided he wanted to run one of the legs of the 4x400m too. Given it was at least twice his usual distance, he didn’t do too badly, helping his team to silver. But I doubt he would have fared so well at the Chingford League 4x2 miles relays at Wanstead Flats on Saturday. The weather was good but the course threw everything at us, from stinky mud to dry, stony, uneven ground. Well done to the members who made up our three teams. Well down also to everyone who raced over the weekend. More details in Greg’s race report, below.
Best wishes to our Muslim members, who are beginning the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. May this Ramadan be a blessed and reflective period for those who observe it!
Hamming it Up
The three hamstring muscles. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
Poor Rob has strained his hamstring. But he is not alone; the British Journal of Sports Medicine reports that around 15% of injuries to elite British track and field athletes are hamstring-related.
What exactly are they?
Your hamstrings are the group of three big muscles and the tendons attached to them in the back of each thigh, which connect the hip joint to the knee joint and are used for bending your knees. A strain is caused by a tear in one of the muscles. It is an injury often connected with sports that need explosive bursts of power, like sprinting or football, but endurance runners like us can suffer too. It can start with an ‘ouch moment’ when you are forced to pull up sharply by a pain in the back of your thigh that feels like you’ve been shot, or it can build up more gradually, especially if you keep running on an injury. You may get bruising at the location of the tear, but that is not always the case.
The hamstring muscles flexing the knee. Photo courtesy of Wiki Commons
Degrees of severity
In 2014, Dr Noel Pollock from the British Athletics Medical Team, graded hamstring injuries on a scale of 0-4:
0 – ‘generalised muscle soreness’;
1 – a ‘small tear’ that still allows a normal range of movement 24 hours after the injury;
2 – a ‘moderate tear’ that causes enough pain to stop the exercise, and still shows limited movement and pain 24 hours later;
3 – an ‘extensive tear’ that may be sudden and painful enough to make the runner fall to the ground, with pain on walking and significantly reduced movement; and
4 – a ‘complete tear’ to the muscle or tendon that causes ‘significant and immediate limitation to activity’. You can feel ‘a palpable gap’ in the hamstring (ouch).
What causes a hamstring strain?
The hamstring muscle will fail if it’s been put past its capacity. This can be caused by changes in mileage, speed and intensity of training, running shoes or hill work, especially if you don’t maintain good running form. Tight hamstrings – often a prelude to a tear or strain – can be caused by weaknesses in other parts of the body such as the lower back.
What should you do when a hamstring tear occurs?
In the first 24 hours after the injury, you should try RICE. That’s:
R – Rest
I – Icing the painful area every few hours for around 20 minutes. Don’t put the ice directly on the skin.
C – Compression, with an elasticated bandage to keep swelling down and prevent unnecessary movement.
E – Elevation, keeping the leg raised, to bring the swelling down.
Painkillers may be necessary if you are in severe pain, but you should see a doctor if it continues.
Can you keep running with a hamstring strain?
That depends on how painful it is! After 24 hours rest, see if it is painful to walk more than a short distance. If it is, wait another day and don’t even try running. If it feels OK, try a gentle jog, or cycling. A little bit of achiness is OK, but if you get any real pain, stop straight away. If it continues to hurt for more than half an hour afterwards, you need to go back to the RICE stage. Continuing to run on a hamstring tear will only prolong your injury. A severe hamstring injury could take several months to heal, so be smart and think long-term.
On the other hand, leaving it too long can cause the hamstring muscles to shrink and allow scar tissue to form around the site of the injury. To avoid this, try some gentle stretching as soon as the worst of the pain subsides. Here are four suggested hamstring stretches from Runner’s World: 4 best hamstring stretches for runners. But it is important to remember that our bodies are like a complex machine: you wouldn’t service one part of a machine, ignore the rest and still expect it to work perfectly day-in, day-out. It is important to treat your body holistically to ensure it remains in balance, so build hamstring stretches and strengthening exercises like bridges and squats into your wider strength and stretching programme.
Feeling the blues?
With the days getting longer, now is the perfect time to get outside for a run. Studies have shown that an hour of aerobic exercise outside in the daylight – even when it is overcast – is as effective at raising your mood as two and a half hours of treatment for SAD (Seasonal Adjustment Disorder) under artificial light. If you can manage to run at lunchtime when the sun is at its highest, that is best, but any daylight is beneficial. If it works for those suffering from SAD, it will work for you, too.
Athletics in the News
In the excitement of the Indoor Champs the weekend before last, the announcement of the first three Team GB athletes selected for the Marathon at the Paris Olympics went a bit under the radar.
For the women Charlotte Purdue and Calli Hauger-Thackery have been selected, with Phil Sesemann selected for the men. For all three, this will be the first time they have competed in an Olympics, but each has achieved the respective qualifying times for their genders at other marathons over the past six months. This leaves one female and two male places yet to be filled. Who knows, folks, do well in your marathons over the spring and it could be you-hoo!
Membership 2024/25
Thank you to everyone who has already paid their 2024/25 membership. If you haven’t yet, it is £15 for just Club membership or £34 if you want to be registered with England Athletics too, entitling you to a discount of £2 off all EA-certified races. It also means you will be eligible for consideration for one of the Club’s London marathon places for 2025.
Please pay your membership directly into the BRR account:
Account no: 42026724
Sort Code: 40-03-33
Use Ref ‘Mem’ if only paying for membership of ‘Mem & EA’ if paying for both.
Greg’s Race Report
The final Chingford league race of the season was relays at Wanstead Flats. BRR entered two men’sand one women’s team for the race with eachmember of the four-person teams running a 2-mile leg on a quite muddy course.
The men’s A team of Martin Page, Tom Brennan, Tom Shorey, and Ron Vialls finished in a time of 1:03:02, and the women’s A team of Belinda Riches, Rosie Fforde, Lizzie Beth Garraghan and Alison Fryatt finished in 1:11:53. The men’s B team of Dennis Spencer-Perkins, Mick Davison, Les Jay,and Mick Moohan finished in 1:16:29
Several Barking Road Runners headed to Spain for the Barcelona Marathon and recorded some excellent times in the process. Jess Collett 3:36:32, Shuhel Khan 3:34:59, and Jahinur Meah 4:10:39
Jess after the Barcelona Marathon
A bit nearer home John Whan and Stephen Colloff competed in a rather wet Runthrough Victoria Park Half Marathon. John finished in a time of 2:08:49 and Stephen in his first half marathon managed 2:07:59, both very good times.
Barking parkrunners
Joshua Ezissi 23:52, Nehal Patel 22:21, Adrian Davison 24:59, John Lang 27:26, Isabel PinedoBorobio 29:08, Nikki Cranmer 30:21, Martin Mason 32:02, Lizzie Beth Garraghan 32:03 and Alan Murphy 52:45.
Brighton and Hove - Rory Burr 23:31.
Rory Burr and friend at Brighton and Hove parkrun
Chalkwell Beach - Antony Leckerman 24:13.
Guildford - Mark New 23:19.
Mark New at Guildford
Mile End - Jason Li 26:52.
Jason Li and a host of golden daffodils at Mile End parkrun
Raphaels - Gary Harford 33:37.
Valentines - Martin Brooks 26:05, Kevin Wotton 26:07 and Andrew Gwilliam 40:03.
Wanstead Flats - Rob Courtier 34:05.
Highest BRR age grading this week were Nikki Cranmer 58.10% for the women and Peter Jackson with 66.41% for the men.
BRR Diary – March/April
7.00pm, Tuesday 12 March - Speed development. Jim Peters Stadium, Mayesbrook Park. This is a Half Marathon sharpener session. But it will be equally valuable if you are training for a shorter race, or if you have a half marathon race lined up as part of your marathon training.
· 10 x (2 mins HM pace, 2 mins float/recovery jog).
Don’t know your HM pace? The following guide may help (goal HM time - mile pace/km pace):
1:00 - 4.34/2.50
1:15 - 5.43/3.35
1:30 - 6.51/4.16
1:45 - 8.00/4.58
2:00 - 9.09/5.41
2:15 - 10.17/6.24
2:30 - 11.26/7.06
2:45 - 12.35/7.49
3:00 - 13.43/8.32
Please go for a pace that is stretching but realistic; I’d like to finish a HM in 1:15 but I’m not even sure I could maintain 5.43/3.35 for the 2 minutes let alone for an entire race! If the pace feels too challenging, slow down the float/recovery.
7.00pm, Thursday 14 March – Road Run. From the Castle Green Centre/Jo Richardson School, Gale Street, Dagenham. A run of 5-6 miles, all abilities welcome.
w/c 16 March - Virtual Handicap 06. Only a few more weeks to go before the winner is announced! Don’t forget to post your result by close this Friday, 22 March.
2.30pm, Saturday 16 March – Mike Penman Open 5. VPHTHAC Club House, Victoria Park, Cadogan Terrace, Hackney. Sign up on the day. Details on TeamUp and here: https://vphthac.org.uk/about/club-events/open-5-2/
10.00am, Sunday 24 March – Brentwood Half (GP01). Beckett Keys Church of England Secondary School, off Sawyers Hall Lane, Brentwood, Essex. CM15 9DA. First race in this year’s Club Grand Prix competition. Entries close 18 March if places are still available. Enter at https://www.brentwoodhalf.org/
6.30pm, Sunday 24 March – drinks at the Acorn Pub. Corner of Longbridge Road and South Park Drive. A couple of your esteemed fellow Club members (well, me and Rob) are celebrating their birthdays over the weekend. Pop in and help them celebrate with a quick drink.
11.00am, Friday 29 March – Crown to Crown off-road 5k. Westley Heights Country Park, rear of the Miller & Carter (Crown) Public House, Langdon Hills. More info at: https://www.entrycentral.com/Crown-to-Crown
10.30am, Sunday 7 April – St. Clare 10k (GP02). St Clare Hospice, Hastingwood, Essex CM17 9JX. The second race in this year’s GP series. Further information and entry at https://stclarehospice.org.uk/event/st-clare-hospice-10k-2024/
Cracker Corner
I was spooked yesterday when I saw a yoghurt floating across the kitchen. I think it was paranormal activia.
I went to a fancy dress party dressed as a screwdriver. I turned a few heads.
I was so shocked when the Council put in a speed hump right outside my house. I don’t know how I’ll get over it.
Boom! Boom!
Quote of the week
‘When you set your aim too high and don’t fulfil it, enthusiasm turns to bitterness. Try a goal that’s reasonable, then gradually increase it.’
Emil Zatopek
And finally…
Friday 15 March is World Sleep Day. Poor sleep is associated with increased blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. It can also affect your psychological health and even your physical appearance. I therefore plan to celebrate the day by having a nice afternoon nap. I’d like to think this might raise a few eyebrows in the office but, on a Friday, I doubt there will be many people there to even notice…
