BRR Blog – 18 March 2024
Nikki after the Essex 20
Hi there, Road Runners!
Is it or isn’t it? I’m talking about spring and whether it has arrived yet. We seem to get a few hours of sunshine only to then have to suffer constant drizzle. I’m trying to tell myself at least it’s getting a bit milder, and the rain is good for the garden after all, but all it means is that the grass in my back garden is about a foot long and too wet to mow.
A rather damp Hainault
For the second week in a row, those of you who raced on Sunday (see Greg’s race report, below) will have got a good soaking. It was definitely very soggy running over at Hainault. I was a bit shocked when Dennis shouted out ‘Great Tit!’ until I realised that he was just doing a bit of bird spotting as we ran. Talking of which, Dennis’ better half, Dee Spencer-Perkins, has been dodging the raindrops over at Hainault Forest catching up with our forest-dwelling friend…
Dottie Dear’s almanac for March: birdwatch
Could you tell your Asio flammeus from your Asio Otus? It’s an owl thing, apparently, and was exactly the problem that Dottie had been wrestling with after a disastrous attempt to take part in the Great Garden Birdwatch in January. She was in such a state at one point that she could hardly tell her Asio from her elbow, let alone distinguish a short-eared from a long-eared owl.
Dottie was not what you’d call a dedicated Birder, and was certainly not one of those thrill-seeking Twitchers who travel miles just to harass rare birds of passage. However, she did love enticing her feathered friends to the balcony of the tree house with scraps and fat balls and whatnot. It wasn’t that she had a bad memory, but sometimes, in her more paranoid moments, she had suspected that her local birds might be wearing false beaks just to confuse her. It was all a bit of a worry.
At one point, she had even toyed with the idea of buying a pair of AX Visio binoculars online, a snip at $4,800 a go (they are a Thing, you can Google them). These frighteningly futuristic optical gismos use AI to immediately identify 9,000 species of birds and mammals, so you don’t need to carry a shedload of reference books with you on bird spotting outings. However, as well as being a bit suspicious of AI (see last month’s Almanac) in the end Dottie sensibly decided that she couldn’t justify shelling out such a vast amount of cash. A bit of internet research and the RSPB handbook would be enough. Must try harder!
Just as she had got all her kit ready for a peaceful hour on the balcony of the tree house armed with her old field glasses, a flask of coffee and a packet of Jaffa Cakes, who should turn up unannounced at the bottom of the rope ladder but Bossy Beena – Dottie’s cousin from the Forest of Dean.
Curses! Beena was one of those people who could not be denied, and when she turned up she always had an agenda of some sort or other (see the Cake on a Cow episode, Almanac for January 2023). It seems that Beena’s latest project was writing a children’s book (easy peasy), but she had encountered a bad attack of writer’s block, so she had come to Hainault for a change of scene and to get some further inspiration.
Beena did not hold back. Over a glass of Prosecco she explained that her book was all about conservation and climate change, and would encourage young readers to work towards saving the planet. The main character was a giant carp called Fishy Swimmington, Fi-Swi to his friends (rhymes with Hi-Fi) who would alert the anglers to the dangers of pollution from an outlet discharging raw sewage into his beautiful river. Fi-Swi had befriended an angler called Rod Hookum (really Beena?), whom he hoped would help him in his quest to clean up the river.
So far, so good – but at this point Beena had got a bit stuck. There were a number of equally daft possibilities including a mass protest by Fi-Swi and his fishy friends, who would organise little placards and execute a mass swim upriver toting slogans like “Effluent Extinction!”, “Prevent that poo!” or “Stop that Sewage!”. Rod Hookum would alert the BBC and the event would feature on the 6 o’clock news, thus demonstrating to Beena’s young readers that publicity is very important.
Dottie was just formulating a tactful reaction to Beena’s loopy efforts when she heard the distinctive drumming of a woodpecker very close to her tree. Wow! Was it a Green Woodpecker (currently thriving, according to the RSPB Handbook), the equally successful Great Spotted Woodpecker or (and here Dottie sent up a silent plea to St Gall, Patron Saint of Birds) could it possibly be the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker – described as in strong decline. How wonderful it would be to be able to identify one of these, and maybe send a photo to the RSPB Magazine (it doesn’t count as Twitching if the bird comes to you).
Muttering her excuses and shooting off down the rope ladder, all of a sudden Dottie became aware of another, rather mournful sound. It gradually got louder, and the woodpecker’s hammering was finally drowned out so that she was no longer able to pinpoint the location of the bird. It was a sad, persistent hollow groaning – like nothing she’d ever heard before – so terrible that she wanted to put her hands over her ears.
It turned out to be the Hainault Forest Meditation Group, who (for reasons best known to themselves) had decided to organise an outdoor Gong Sound Bath in March. At the edge of Dottie’s clearing, the Group had set up various bowls and vessels, and the leader was coaxing some dreadful noises from them, whilst the participants were chanting discordantly around her. The vibrations were painful!
Dottie was at a loss – since it seemed to be a legitimate use of the Forest, and for all she knew the Group had asked permission from the Committee. Whilst she was dithering, she was suddenly aware that a very irritated Beena was close behind her, her deep thoughts about Fi-Swi and his pals having also been interrupted by the Gongers.
In an impressive fit of righteous anger, Beena acted swiftly. She knew that her voice would not be heard over the swelling din, so she decided on a bit of subversive action. She moved stealthily around behind the group leader, whom she then started to tickle mercilessly. The Bong Meister fell into the biggest bowl which knocked over the Gong itself, and then the whole shooting match collapsed in a heap with a few sad clanks and bonglets.
A beautiful silence descended, and after a minute the woodpecker resumed its hammering. Amazing!
The Gongers decided that they’d had enough mindfulness for one day, and shot off to the Two Brewers. Beena looked very smug, and Dottie had to admit that perhaps having a Great Writer in the family wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
From all of which her wisdom this month is:
never underestimate a thwarted writer;
a Twitcher is not a proper Birdwatcher;
woodpeckers aren’t daft, and
peace expands to fill the silence available.
Be a lifesaver
If you were at track on Tuesday, did you – unlike Rob and Dennis – spot the new Automated External Defibrillator (AED or defib) that has been installed on the wall by the door to the area in the building where we gather?
A defib can be a lifesaver if someone has suffered a cardiac arrest. The Defib sends a shock through their heart which can get it beating regularly again. Lots of people worry that they might cause somebody harm by using a defib but there is absolutely no risk of that: if the casualty is breathing, the defib won’t administer a shock; if they aren’t breathing, you can’t make them any more dead than they already are, to put it bluntly. Modern defibs talk you through what you need to do, so you don’t need any training on how to use them, but you might just someone survive until an ambulance arrives.
Membership 2024/25
I will keep including reminders! Membership fees for 2024/25 are due by the end of this month. 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.
The Big Half – The Big GP
In case you missed it on WhatsApp, we have decided that the Big Half on Sunday 1 September will be the second half marathon in this year’s Grand Prix competition. The race, which starts at Tower Bridge and goes through Canary Wharf before ending at the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, is definitely big (almost 17,000 people finished last year) and has a fantastic atmosphere.
Sikhs in the City (SITC) have community places available for £30 (£15 entry and £15 donation to their clubhouse appeal) rather than the usual £56. But the number of discounted places is limited. To take advantage of the offer:
Let me have your name and email address by the end of March and either give me the £15 in cash or pay it into the BRR account (ref your name & Big Half).
We will make one donation payment to SITC and let them have the list of names and email addresses.
You will then be sent the link to register online where you will need to pay the registration fee of £15.
You can find more details about the race at https://www.thebighalf.co.uk/, but don’t sign up via the link on the website or you will be charged the full price and will then cry…
Improving running economy
If you want to improve your performance as an endurance runner, the most important thing to do is to improve your running economy (RE). At its simplest, running economy is a measure of how much oxygen your body uses when running at a given speed. The better your RE, the less oxygen you use at a given speed and the further you will be able to run before getting exhausted.
Lots of factors can impact on RE. A new review, titled “The Relationship Between Running Biomechanics and Running Economy,” looked at 51 studies with a total of 1,115 runners, and drew the following conclusions about RE:
Where your foot first contacts the ground - i.e. forefoot vs. rearfoot - has no effect on RE.
These included contact time, stride length, and various ankle/knee/hip angles also has no effect on RE.
A smaller bounce (vertical oscillation) “showed significant moderate associations” with better RE.
A higher leg spring stiffness (LSS) also showed “significant moderate associations” with better RE. LSS is “the quality of the legs that resists deformation or compression as the leg supports your body weight”, in other words, your legs don’t collapse down as you run. A stiff leg is like a strong, tightly coiled spring rather than a weaker, less tightly coiled spring. Ever get the sensation that you are sinking nearer the ground towards the end of a hard race? That is due to lack of LSS.
A higher stride rate, (also called cadence or foot turnover), “showed a small significant association” with better RE.
You can improve your LSS by doing running drills, hill training, plyometrics (jumping exercises, including skipping), and strength training.
You can improve your stride rate by doing drills like fast feet, falling strides, skips and carioca. Often about 180 steps per minute is quoted as the ideal cadence to aim for but it will vary from runner to runner. If you have little legs, you can probably aim for a quicker stride rate than someone taller!
Greg’s Race Report
Dawn and Nikki before the pain of the Essex 20 started…
No team events this week for Barking Road Runners so it was individual racing again. Nikki Cranmer ran in the ATW Essex 20-mile race at Debden Airfield whilst Sunny Bulchandani took part in the 10k race at the same event. Nikki finished her 20 miles in a time of 3:53:54, whilst Sunny recorded a new Personal Best in the 10k with a time of 49:36.
Two BRR second claimers had excellent races at Colchester and Milton Keynes respectively. Jack Nixon finished 2nd in the Colchester Half Marathon in a time of 1:09:09 and Richard Joisce finished 15th in the Milton Keynes 20-mile race in a time of 2:00:57.
Barking parkrunners
Ally Pally - James Sheridan 27:02, Stephen Colloff 30:04, Dennis Spencer Perkins 33:11, and Rob Courtier 33:21.
Trouble at Ally Pally with James S, Steve C, Dennis and Rob
Barking - Steve Philcox 17:43, Mark Odeku 21:41, Joshua Ezissi 22:08, Doug King 24:39, Rosie Fforde 25:29, Ricky Narwal 26:00, Jason Li 26:39, John Lang 26:45, Andrew Hiller 27:23, Joyce Golder 27:34, Alain Cooper 27:49, Sian Mansley 29:17, Martin Mason 33:07, Emma Paisley 33:18, Julie Gillender 34:56, Les Jay 35:31, Darren Graham 51:02, Belinda Riches 51:08 and Alan Murphy 53:13.
Chalkwell Beach - Antony Leckerman 21:49.
Dartford - Mark New 23:31.
Keswick - Owen Wainhouse 20:41.
Luton Wardown - Rory Burr 23:35.
Rory at Luton
Mote Park - Martin Brooks 31:26.
Roding Valley - Paul Withyman 21:00.
Valentines - Kevin Wotton 26:10, Richard Dudman 29:27 and Andrew Gwilliam 37:37.
York - Thomas Shorey 27:04 and Clodagh O’Callaghan 33:57.
Clodagh and Tom at York Racecourse
BRR Diary – March/April
7.00pm, Tuesday 19 March - Speed development. Jim Peters Stadium, Mayesbrook Park. This week Greg will be taking the session:
4 x (6 minutes with 2 minutes recovery).
It’s primarily endurance and improving V02 max, so should be done at 5k pace or above. Those of you doing the Brentwood HM next week if you want. It’s primarily endurance and V02.
Next week we will have the Easter Egg session, with a new twist…
7.00pm, Thursday 21 March – Road Run. From the Castle Green Centre/Jo Richardson School, Gale Street, Dagenham. The run might be shorter than usual this week, as some of us have the Brentwood Half on Sunday. All abilities welcome.
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 TODAY (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
w/c 30 March - Virtual Handicap 07. Last week in the 2024 Winter Virtual Handicap season. Post your result by close this Friday, 5 April.
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 – the business edition
I planned to start a business selling crystal balls, but I couldn’t see any future in it.
I went and bought a cement mixer for a new business idea I’m developing. There’s nothing concrete yet.
I was thinking of taking a job in a mirror factory but I couldn’t see myself doing it. Then, on reflection, I thought ‘why not?’
Boom! Boom!
Quote of the week
‘The real purpose of running isn’t to win a race, it is to test the limits of the human heart.’
Bill Bowerman
(maybe don’t test the limits of your heart too much!)
And finally…
As I was jogging gently to Hainault Forest the other morning, I was passed by a woman running with purpose and focus. I thought ‘She must be training for a marathon or, at the very least, a Half,’ and increased my own pace to try and keep up with her. I then discovered what she was focused on, as she ran into the McDonalds near Seven Kings station. Sausage and egg McMuffin anyone…
