BRR Blog – 17 February 2025
Post-race team photo at the Wild Forest XC
Hi there, Road Runners,
It was fantastic to see such a large turnout of BRR members at Micky Ball’s funeral and wake last Monday (I know some people had work or other commitments and so, unfortunately, couldn’t be there). Micky’s family were really touched, especially by the number of orange hats on show as the funeral cars approached the crematorium. I found it very moving to see family members also wearing them, and the orange hat on Mick’s coffin definitely brought a tear to my eye.
The packed crematorium and wake afterwards at Dagenham and Redbridge Football Club showed the high regard that Micky was held in by family and friends. Both events were a real celebration of Micky’s life and the impact he had made on our lives. I’m sure it comforted Micky’s wife, Chris, to see and hear the outpouring of love and affection for him. And a big thanks to Jason for compiling the photo slideshow – it brought back so many happy memories. Chris has insisted that she will remain a member of BRR after Micky’s passing – let her try and leave!
Someone asked to see the words that I spoke at the service for Micky. Here they are:
EULOGY TO MICKY BALL
“I’m honoured to be asked to speak about Micky. I’ve known Micky since I joined Barking Road Runners in 2013, and we became instant friends, despite our age gap.
That was the thing about Micky – he could have an interesting conversation with people of all ages and on a myriad of topics – books, music, WW2, films, TV, politics, and – of course, for us – running.
The first word that always springs to everyone’s minds when thinking about Micky is ‘inspiration’ because that’s what he was to us – an inspiration.
The inspiration of never giving up, whatever the conditions – sun, wind, rain, or snow.
The inspiration of showing that anyone can do it, despite the health problems he’d had in the past.
The inspiration that it’s not being the fastest that matters but being willing to give it a go.
He may not have been the fastest runner – which of us is! – but he was the most reliable, committed and tenacious, putting the rest of us to shame.
And not just in our Club. Many was the race where Micky got the biggest cheer as he crossed the finish line.
After years of running with Micky, especially on a Sunday morning at Hainault Forest, chatting about everything under the sun as we went along, he became to me my running Dad.
People in the Club will know the story about when we were at a cross-country race at Hadleigh Country Park, which finished at the top of a steep hill. I was waiting for Micky and shouting encouragement as he came up with the tail runner, Wally. Wally said to him ‘look, Micky, your daughter’s waiting for you and cheering you on’. I’m sure Micky thought ‘what a bloody idiot, I haven’t got a daughter’ but I couldn’t have been prouder than to have been mistaken for Micky’s daughter.
I will miss him, as I’m sure we all will.”
Micky would have enjoyed the season-closing cross-country race at the Wild Forest on Sunday. With ‘undulations’, thigh-deep water features, and plenty of mud, he certainly couldn’t have complained that the course was boring, like he did with some XC races! More details in Greg’s race report, below.
London Marathon Water Station
A reminder to let us know if you want to be part of the volunteer squad for the mile FIFTEEN water station at the London marathon this year. Do make sure you let any friends and family know that we have been relocated to Mile 15, in Westferry Road. I reconnoitered the location during my long run on Friday and think we will be near where the van is turning in the photo below – I’ll go back and get a more precise location nearer the time.
Near the Mile 15 London Marathon water station spot
Tracksmith 100 Days to London – Week Six
This week’s Tracksmith session (23 February) is hill work on Hampstead Heath. As it says on the Tracksmith website, hills are speedwork in disguise and are a great way to improve your speed, strength, and power. Don’t be fooled: even marathon routes that claim to be flat will always include undulations, and doing some hills in training will make them feel easier. On offer are options of 13 km (8 miles) and 26 km (16 miles), starting at the Tracksmith shop in Chiltern Street (9.00am for a 9.30am start). For more details and sign-up see https://ti.to/tracksmith/100-days-to-london-2025
Keely Klassic
Those who bought tickets for the Keely Klassic in Birmingham on Saturday will have been disappointed when Keely Hodgkinson had to pull out of the event due to injury. But there was still plenty of first-class action from GB athletes.
Keely had planned to attempt to break Laura Muir’s UK indoor 1500m record but it was Georgia Hunter-Bell who took on the challenge instead. Hunter-Bell finished in 4:00.63, narrowly missing Muir’s record time of 3:59.58, while training partner Sarah Healy improved the Irish record to 4:01.62.
Lina Nielsen set the first British record of the day with 36.53 in the 300m. Beating Dina Asher-Smith’s national mark of 36.77, Nielsen led Emily Newnham (36.88) and Ama Pipi (37.22) home.
For the men, Neil Gourley broke Charlie Grice’s UK indoor 1000m record of 2:17.20 with 2:16.74 but he was out-kicked on the final lap by Dutch athlete Samuel Chapple, who took the Netherlands record with a time of 2:16.09.
In the field, Molly Caudery showed encouraging form in the pole vault with a 4.73m win ahead of the European and world indoor championships.
Four Essential Yoga Stretches
The origins of yoga are unclear. Some sources say it dates back 1,200 years, some say 2,500 years. It doesn’t really matter which is correct. The main thing is that yoga isn’t the latest fitness fad - it has stood the test of time.
For runners, yoga can improve flexibility and stability, and reduce the risk of injury – and you don’t have to be super bendy to get the benefit. In fact, a lot of the stretches that runners do have their roots in yoga. Why not give these four stretches a go after your next run?
Low lunge (anjaneyasana)
This pose targets stretches your hip flexors, which can become tight from running, and encourages stability in your lower body.
How to do it: From a kneeling position, step one foot forward so your front knee is over your ankle. Sink your back knee towards the floor, keeping your torso upright.
Reclined pigeon pose (Supta Kapotasana)
This stretch helps to release tension in your hips and glutes.
How to do it: Lie on your back and cross your right ankle over your left thigh. Grab behind your left hamstring behind the knee and gently pull your legs toward your chest.
Side plank (Vasisthasana)
This core-focused pose strengthens your obliques and helps with balance, important for runners and non-runners alike.
How to do it: From a regular plank, shift your weight to your right hand and the outside of your right foot. Stack your left foot on top of the right and lift your left arm toward the ceiling. Hold for a few breaths, then switch sides.
Butterfly pose (Badhakonasana)
A simple but effective stretch for your inner thighs and groin, which can get tight after the repetitive movement of running.
How to do it: Sit with your feet together and let your knees falling open like butterfly wings. Sit tall and lean slightly forward from the chest to deepen the stretch. You can also press against your knees with your elbows to intensify the stretch.
And don’t forget the simple yet effective standing forward bend (Uttanasana) and downward facing dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana – no wonder they prefer to call it downward facing dog!)
Osteoarthritis in the knee
The human knee. Picture courtesy of Wikicommons
There is plenty of research that shows that exercise can help to protect your knees. But if you have developed osteoarthritis of the knee it is no joke. So, I was interested to read an article on the Athletics Weekly website by Physiotherapist Paul Hobrough looking at a new treatment for those suffering knee pain.
Hobrough – a Masters basketball player – had such bad knee pain that he had to give up running and was considering knee replacement surgery. He then read about a new gel implant, administered by injection, called Arthrosamid. The gel combines with the knee’s synovial tissue, basically forming a cushion between the joints and decreasing joint stiffness, diminishing pain, improving the function of the knee. According to a recent study presented at the European Orthopaedic Research Society meeting in Aalborg, Denmark in late September, patients experienced a statistically significant reduction in pain levels and improved mobility lasting over four years from one single treatment.
Hobrough claims that two days after the injection he was back to running. It sounds almost too good to be true, and makes you wonder if there is a catch – the website with further information shares his name (hobrough-healthcare.com/arthrosamid), and I couldn’t immediately see any prices, but it might be worth exploring if you suffer from chronic knee pain.
Tip of the Week
If you take part in our weekly track sessions, try and run some laps in the opposite direction (i.e. clockwise instead of anti-clockwise). Running in the same direction around a curved course can cause musculoskeletal imbalances that can result in injury. Just be careful not to crash into other runners – it may be best to save your clockwise laps for cooldown.
What Should You Eat a Few Days Before a Marathon?
While a balanced diet is always the best bet for general health, the three days or so before a marathon you can throw the usual rules aside (sort of!) and up your intake of the simple carbohydrates that your body will use as fuel during the race.
For snacks, this might mean toast or an English muffin with jam, a bowl of cereal, or yogurt with your granola and berries. Add carbs like rice, couscous or sweet potato to your dinner.
As you carb load, you should also be hydrating with plenty of water, and maybe some of the sports drink you will be taking during the race – this will up your carbs and electrolytes and will also help your tummy to become more accustomed to the drink before the big day.
Greg’s Race Report
Pre-race and pre-mud at the Wild Forest XC race
Barking Road Runners had the final race of their South Essex cross country season this weekend: the rearranged Nuclear races organised event at the Wild Forest activity centre, near Brentwood, described as a tough, muddy, course with a challenging water feature.
First finishers for BRR on the 7-Kilometre course were Steve Philcox for the men and Rosie Fforde for the women. These were followed by Belinda Riches, Cristina Cooper, Joyce Golder, Alison Fryatt, Veronica Barikor, Nikki Cranmer and Zahra Akram, and for the men Adrian Davison, Tom Brennan, John George, Trevor Cooper, Ron Vialls, Jagbir Bassi, Jason Li, Dennis Spencer-Perkins, Mick Davison, Barry Rowell and Les Jay.
Meanwhile in Spain, Isabel Pinedo Borobio ran in the Dreams Barcelona Half Marathon finishing in a time of 2:08:30.
Isabel flying the flag for BRR at the Barcelona HM
BRR Parkrunners this week
Barking - Owen Wainhouse 21:41, Rosie Fforde 24:06, Hannah Hylton 27:18, Barry Rowell 28:26, Rob Courtier 29:10, James Sheridan 29:11, Emma Paisley 30:06, Jason Li 34:02, Nikki Cranmer 35:07, Joyce Golder 35:08, Faye Spooner 35:26, Les Jay 36:24 and Alan Murphy 54:13.
Faye before her 50th parkrun, in Barking Park. Ever the performer!
Basildon - Ron Vialls 25:25.
Chalkwell Beach - Rory Burr 23:21.
Eastleigh - Mark New 25:44.
Mark N at Eastleigh parkrun
Queen Elizabeth - Belinda Riches 27:27, Steve Colloff 32:53 and Dennis Spencer Perkins 33:32.
Belinda, Dennis and Steve C at Queen Elizabeth parkrun
Stevenage - Martin Brooks 28:23.
Storey’s Field - Sunny Bulchandani 24:11.
Valentines - Lisa Cannings 38:12.
Highest BRR gradings this week were Belinda Riches 63.45% for the women and Ron Vialls 71.15% for the men.
BRR Diary – February/March
To see the full diary of BRR events on the TeamUp app. Just download the TeamUp app onto your phone, then enter the calendar key: ks67p21gt8p5gzdo66 when asked. If you don’t want another app on your phone, you can also find it under the ‘events’ tab on the Barking Road Runners website: https://www.barkingroadrunners.org.uk/calendar.
7.00pm, Tuesday 18 February – Speed Session. Jim Peters Stadium, Mayesbrook Park. Greg will be taking this week’ session:
10 x (3 minutes with 15 seconds sprint and 2.45 easy recovery)
7.00pm, Thursday 20 February – Road Run. Castle Green Centre, Gale Street, Dagenham. Usually between 4-6 miles.
22-28 February – Virtual Handicap 04.
10.30am, Sunday 23 February – Hadleigh Legacy 10k. Hadleigh Country Park, Chapel Lane, Hadleigh, Essex. In partnership with Essex County Council and organised by Nice Work on behalf of Castle Point Joggers, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. Bespoke medal for all finishers. There is still time to sign up at https://www.nice-work.org.uk/e/hadleigh-legacy-10k-9886
11.30am, Saturday 8 March - Chingford League relays. Wanstead Flats, Harrow Road Pavilion, E11 3QA (parkrun start/finish area). We will be looking for male and female teams (sorry, no mixed teams) of four people, each to run a two-mile leg.
8-14 March – Virtual Handicap 05.
10.00am, Sunday 23 March - Brentwood Half Marathon (GP01). Sawyers Hall Lane, Brentwood, Essex CM15 9DA. The first race in this year’s grand prix competition. There is still time to sign up at https://www.brentwoodhalf.org/
22-28 March – Virtual Handicap 06.
Cracker Corner
I was in the pub and a man offered me a DAB radio for just a fiver as the volume was stuck on maximum. I thought ‘I can’t turn that down.’
Our local art competition took place yesterday. It ended in a draw.
An ancient pencil stub has been found on the site of Shakespeare’s house in Stratford-upon-Avon. Archaeologists are not sure if it’s 2B or not 2B.
Quote of the Week
“If pain weren’t involved, who in the world would ever go to the trouble of taking part in sports like…the marathon, which demands such an investment of time and energy? It’s precisely because of the pain, precisely because we want to overcome that pain, that we can get the feeling, through this process, of really being alive…”
Haruki Murakami
Author of ‘What I Talk about When I Talk about Running’
And Finally
A new app called ‘Playground’ appeared on my iPhone (I can’t remember downloading it). The app lets you turn photos into ‘fun images.’ I had an enjoyable half-hour playing with pictures of some of our club members. Can you guess who they are? Some are more recognisable than others…
Fun images of BRR members - but who are they?
Happy running
Alison
Chair, Barking Road Runners
