BRR Blog - 15 January 2024
Top athletes (and some of the volunteers) at Eastbrokend
Hi there, Road Runners,
We have some arctic weather conditions on the way. Thank goodness the weather wasn’t that bad for our ‘Chingford League replacement’ race on Sunday. The 3.9 degrees centigrade temperature felt positively balmy for the runners, with Tom Brennan even stripping off en route. It must have been colder for our wonderful volunteers who were stationary while we were keeping warm by running. Thanks to Dennis, Chris, Rob, Ron, Micky Ball, Mick Davison, and Alan Murphy; it made a huge difference having your support. Please see Greg’s race report for the results.
Dennis keeping warm at Eastbrookend
Free London Marathon training sessions
Tracksmith have launched their 100 Days to London Countdown, and our very own Nehal Patel is run leader for one of the pace groups. Each Sunday there will be a long run, many of them on the London Marathon route, increasing in length as they get closer to the big day, with a final taper run on 14 April. Check out the link for further details: https://ti.to/tracksmith/100-days-to-london-2024
Absent friends
Heather and Paul in Buxton
Paul Grange went to Buxton and bumped into former member Heather Haggis, wearing her BRR orange hat! It appears it’s a case of ‘once a Barking Road Runner, always a Barking Road Runner.’ Or, at least, I hope so. I like to think it wasn’t just because it was very cold and it was the only warm hat she could lay her hands on!
Just One Thing
I’ve mentioned Dr Michael Mosley’s excellent podcasts in the past. His ‘Just One Thing Exercise Special’ is well worth a listen to on BBC Sounds. In the Special Mosley speaks to Professor Marie Murphy, Professor of Exercise and Health, Dean of Postgraduate Research and Director of the Ulster Doctoral College.
Murphy explained that there are at least 23 serious diseases that can be prevented or delayed by exercise, so there is no doubt it is good for you. Despite this, lots of people still can’t be persuaded to get off their sofas and give it a go. Her tips were:
Make it fun. Exercise is often sold as something hard and a punishment (no pain, no gain etc), so it’s no surprise that people shy away from it. And if you are exercising just to lose weight you are likely to be disappointed as we all underestimate the calories in food and overestimate the calories we burn through exercising. But exercise doesn’t have to be hard work or burn loads of calories to do you good. To reap the health benefits you just have to find an activity you enjoy and want to keep coming back to. Running doesn’t do it for some people and that’s fine, keep trying different things until you find what floats your boat. The best exercise is the one that you keep doing!
Viva la VILPA! Or Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity e.g. brief and sporadic (up to 1-2 minutes) bouts of vigorous activity during daily living such as bursts of very fast walking or stair climbing. Little and often may make it easier for some people to get involved in exercise and it’s also less important if you miss a bout. Apparently, this is also now called ‘exercise snacking.’
Focus on muscles. This really is a case of use it or lose it. We should all be doing at least an hour of resistance exercises every week to improve our muscular strength. This includes lunges, squats, planks, side leg raises and calf raises. Government guidelines suggest that the exercise is done in two, 30-minute, blocks but there is no reason why you can’t break it up into smaller chunks e.g. squatting while the kettle boils (if you do it at work, people will look at you as if you are mad. I know, I’ve tried it). Squats are particularly good as they use your quads and glutes, the biggest muscles in your body. They are also cardiovascular, flooding your brain with oxygen which improves brain health.
Walking can change your life! As long as it is vigorous walking, that is. Again, this doesn’t necessarily mean long walks, just taking regular walk breaks where you stand up and move around and maximising the number of times you go up and down the stairs is a plus (suddenly, forgetting something and having to go upstairs again is no longer a bad thing).
Buddy up. Having one or several people you exercise with helps to form a social contract and makes you more likely to keep it up. Did you realise that joining a running club was a social contract?
The ‘just one thing’ recommended by Professor Murphy? If you do nothing else, do squats to improve/maintain your muscle strength. Just getting up and down from your chair regularly while watching TV will help your running now and may mean that you can still get out of your chair (or off the loo) unaided when you get older.
Greg’s Race Report
Race winner, Jagbir Bassi
Barking Road Runners had their in-house cross country this weekend for those members who were volunteers at the Chingford League race last autumn and therefore unable to compete on the day. The approximately 5-mile race was run over the same course at Eastbrookend Country Park.
First finisher was Jagbir Bassi in a time of 35:45 followed by Tom Brennan 36:30, Mark New 36:40, Belinda Riches 38:56, John George 39:34Jason Li 43:04, Lizzie-Beth Garraghan 46:54, Nikki Cranmer 46:55, Alison Fryatt 50:29, and Martin Mason and Les Jay both with a time of 53:50.
Barking parkrunners
Barking - Mark Odeku 20:29, Doug King 24:39, Ricky Narwal 25:24, Stephen Colloff 25:43, Faye Spooner 26:45, Jason Li 27:10, Martin Brooks 27:31, Rob Courtier 28:05, Louise Chappell 30:21, Martin Mason 31:17, Lizzie-Beth Garraghan 32:38, Les Jay 35:38 and Micky Ball 44:02.
Beckton - Emma Paisley 29:51.
Steve Colloff celebrates his 50th parkrun
Beckton - Emma Paisley 29:51.
Bethlem Royal Hospital - Mark New 24:05.
Mark New
Chalkwell Beach - Antony Leckerman 24:24 and Ron Vialls 34:34.
Clacton Seafront - Joyce Golder 29:31.
Joyce Golder
Harrow Lodge - Rory Burr 25:57.
Raphaels - Belinda Riches 24:22.
Rushmoor - Owen Wainhouse 20:58.
Thornbury - Tom Shorey 28:20.
Wickford Memorial - Debbie Coyle 22:59.
Highest BRR gradings this week were for the women Debbie Coyle 71.21% and for the men Mark Odeku 67.13%.
BRR Diary – January
Download the TeamUp app onto your phone, then enter the calendar key for Barking Road Runners when asked: ks67p21gt8p5gzdo66 to see all BRR’s agreed fixtures for the year. If you have trouble accessing the diary via the app, you can also find it under the ‘events’ tab on the Barking Road Runners website: https://www.barkingroadrunners.org.uk/calendar.
7.00pm, Tuesday 16 January - Speed development. Jim Peters Stadium, Mayesbrook Park. This week we have the Toblerone session:
Three sets of:
· 30 sec run/30 sec recovery
· 60 sec run/30 sec recovery
· 90 sec run/30 sec recovery
· 2 mins run/30 sec recovery
· 90 sec run/30 sec recovery
· 60 sec run/30 sec recovery
· 30 sec run/2 mins recovery
I might have trouble fitting this all on the board…
w/c 20 January - Virtual Handicap 02. Same as before
11.00am, Saturday 20 January – Chingford League, Epping Forest. Jubilee Retreat, Bury Road, Chingford, E4 7QJ. Hosted by Orion Harriers. Race HQ is at the Orion Clubhouse in Jubilee Retreat. Then it's about 10 minutes’ walk to the race start. A very tough 5 miles cross-country, uphill and down dale. Spikes or shoes with nice deep lugs or studs recommended. Refreshments available in the clubhouse afterwards.
10.00am, Sunday 21 January – Benfleet 15. Hadleigh Country Park. A 15-mile race on mud, trails, and road. Waiting list only good luck to all the ‘lucky’ people who have a place!
7.00pm, Friday 26 January. Club Curry Night. Curry Mahal, 27 Goresbrook Road, Dagenham, RM9 6UX. Let me know if you are coming along so I can book a table.
10.00am, Sunday 28 January – SECCL XC04. Parsonage Farm, Kelvedon Hatch Brentwood, Essex, CM15 0LA, Parsonage Farm. This is a new race in the SECCL competition, organised by Nuclear Races. Normally £5 to enter but just £3 for BRR members, on the day in cash or directly into the BRR bank account.
Cracker Corner
I usually write down what I want to buy at the supermarket but yesterday I just couldn’t be bothered. I suppose I was listless.
I met a Dutch runner with shoes that could record his mileage. Clever clogs.
I’ve just published my first book about aviation. It’s doing very well. In fact, it’s flying off the shelves.
Quote of the week:
“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.”
Tommy Lasorda
US baseball player and manager
And finally…
Rob Courter - motivator or mad? You decide!
Strava has published the findings of its 2023 Annual Report. Sadly, it’s not surprising that women feel unsafe running by themselves (a good reason to join a club and run with others). More surprising, given what we are constantly being told by the media, is that most of us aren’t inspired by celebrities and influencers. Instead, we are most motivated by our friends or family members who exercise. And that applies to all age groups, young and old. So, step aside Joe Wicks and step forward Rob Courtier, Ron Vialls, and Micky Ball. Other BRR motivators are available…
