BRR Blog – 24 March 2025
Some of the BRR team, post-race, at Brentwood
Hi there, Road Runners,
Well, I have to say I am disappointed. I really think you should be allowed to win a race when it’s your birthday. Unfortunately, the 1,686 runners who finished ahead of me at the Brentwood Half Marathon on Sunday didn’t read the memo. Never mind, running the Half on my big day was great fun (especially with Faye and friends giving me a chorus of ‘happy birthday’ at the top of the last hill), and I think other BRR members who took part enjoyed the race too. If you didn’t do quite as well as hoped/expected, thinking of it as a learning opportunity still means it was a worthwhile experience e.g. what do you need to do differently next time? How could you improve? For me, it would be cutting down on the cafe breakfasts, but that would be going a step too far.
There will be cake at track on Tuesday, so please come along and help to eat it – you may need to replenish the calories after John’s pyramid session. Also, if the football club is open, my nearly twin Rob might treat you to a drink.
March Committee Meeting
With thanks to Club Secretary Isabel, the minutes of the March Committee meeting can be found here: Committee Minutes — Barking Road Runners. Please note that membership renewal fees are due by the end of this month. If you leave paying until 1 April, you will need to pay £17 instead of £15 for the year - only an April fool would do that.
Tracksmith 100 Days to London – week 11
The eleventh run in Tracksmith’s 100 Days to London programme, on Sunday 30 March, is a destination run. The marathon-paced workout will sandwich efforts at goal marathon pace within a longer run, to give confidence that you can achieve your goal marathon time. Of course, you don’t have to be running London, or even a marathon, to join in the session. The event will be run from East London and utilise running in Hackney Marshes and Victoria Park, with options of 15 km (9 miles) and 31 km (19 miles). Gather at 8:30am for a 9:30am start. For more details and sign-up see https://ti.to/tracksmith/100-days-to-london-2025
Tip of the Week
Too many runners neglect speed work in their training. Even if you are running for endurance events rather than sprinting events, speed work will help to improve your running economy and strengthen your finishing kick.
The Tunnel of Love?
Route of the new Silvertown Tunnel
The new 1.4k Silvertown Tunnel opens for business on 7 April 2025 linking Silvertown to the Greenwich Peninsula. Once the Silvertown Tunnel opens, charges will apply, from 06.00-22.00, 7 days a week, to both the Blackwall Tunnel and the new Silvertown Tunnel, unless you are in an exempt group. Paying the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels charge - Transport for London
Maybe of interest if you cycle, there will be a new cycle shuttle service through the tunnel (cycling through the tunnel is not allowed). The bus shuttle will operate every 12 minutes from 6.30am to 9.30pm. In Newham, the 'north' stop location will be located on Seagull Lane close to Royal Victoria DLR station. In Greenwich, the 'south' stop will be located on Millennium Way near the junction with Old School Close.
The shuttle buses have a blue and silver livery, to distinguish them from a normal bus. They will take a wide range of cycles including ordinary bikes, trikes, folding bikes, adaptive cycles and cargo bikes, although size and weight restrictions apply (sorry, you can’t take your penny farthing). E-bikes will be allowed, but pedestrians without a bike will not be allowed on the service. The bus will lower itself towards the kerb to allow easy access. The service will be free for at least the first year of operation. Silvertown Tunnel cycle shuttle - Transport for London
There has been a mixed reaction so far to the new tunnel, which was first proposed back in 2012. It is intended to reduce pollution, ease congestion, and provide an additional route in case any of the existing Thames crossings to the East of London have to close. However, many stakeholder groups think the tunnel will make congestion worse, and the London Cycling Campaign thinks the new shuttle bus is so inconvenient that few cyclists will want to use it. But I am thinking of getting on my little red tricycle and giving it a go. I guess time will tell.
Bark(ley)ing up the Wrong Tree?
The 2025 Barkley Marathons finished on 18 March and the winner was…nobody.
The Barkley Marathons is an ultramarathon trail race held each year in Frozen Head State Park in Morgan County, Tennessee, United States. The race consists of five loops of a 20-mile-plus course, which must be completed in a maximum of 60 hours. Runners must average 12 hours or less per loop to stay in the race.
You may remember that last year Britain’s Jasmin Paris became the first woman to complete the course, in a time of 59:58:21, just 99 seconds inside the cut-off time.
For 2025, the best performance came from three-time finisher, John Kelly, from the USA. Kelly was the only competitor to achieve a ‘fun run’ i.e. three loops of the course in under 40 hours (doesn’t sound much like fun to me). Two other competitors attempted a third loop. One of them, Sébastien Raichon of France, returned to base camp before the 40-hour cut-off, but without having completed the loop, while Japan’s Tomokazu Ihara, who was hoping for his first finish after six appearances at the race, found his way back to camp two hours after the race was declared over. It didn’t help that this year’s course had been made even more difficult by including around 15,000 feet climb in each loop, and the temperature was 25 degrees.
John Kelly at the Barkley Marathons
John Kelly’s two post-race questions are helpful for us all to remember:
Did I do my best?
Was it (or would it have been) worth it?
If the honest answer is ‘yes’ to both questions, then it is a good race, no matter how you did.
The Final Countdown
Not long to go now before the Brighton, London, and Manchester marathons.
If your training is going well it can be tempting to decide you can ignore some of the advice seasoned marathoners will have given you. Conversely, if your training isn’t going well, you may also be tempted to ignore some of the advice you will have been given by seasoned marathoners in a desperate attempt to get back on track!
Here are some top tips from the Marathon Handbook website to stay on track with your training at this last, crucial, stage. The tips hold true if you’re preparing for any long race e.g. 10 miles upwards.
#1: Don’t try to cram in workouts during your taper
During your taper, you gradually decrease your training volume. This allows you to get to your marathon rested, recovered, and primed.
Trying to squeeze in last-minute long runs or hard sessions during your taper, either because you are feeling great or because you have slipped behind on your training plan, simply doesn’t work. In the 2-3 weeks before your marathon, there’s nothing you can do to improve your marathon fitness. Instead, what you should be trying to do is preserve what’s already been banked, without getting injured. The hard work has been done. Now you just need to maintain your fitness and coast through the marathon.
#2: Dress rehearsal (trial Everything)
Even if this is not your first marathon, you should do at least one dress rehearsal in the weeks before the race. This means a long run here you simulate race conditions as closely as possible. This means running in the same socks, shoes, and gear (even your pants!), consuming the same fuel, and hydrating as you plan to do on race day. The dress rehearsal will help you identify any snags or weaknesses in your strategy. Maybe your socks or that ew charity vest will start to rub, or you begin chafing in embarrassing places, but only after 14 miles. Maybe you find you can’t stomach more than two of those energy gels that you’ve happily taken in the past without wanting to be sick.
#3: Don’t try anything new
This tip follows on neatly from tip #2. You should never try anything new on race day, or even the couple of weeks leading up to race day. Never tried yoga, kickboxing or weightlifting? The week before your big race is not the time to start, even if the taper means you feel full of energy. Neither is it the time to tackle those DIY tasks you’ve been putting off for the last six months. Remember: your main aim is to avoid getting injured!
#4: Catch up on sleep
Take advantage of the fact you don’t need to train as much by adding some extra shuteye to your schedule. Sleeping is one of the most effective ways to recover physically and mentally. You may not be able to sleep as well on the night immediately before the race, but your body will thank you for banking some good nights of rest in the preceding weeks.
#5: Eat Well
I’ve been covering this in recent blogs, but another reminder to eat a plentiful amount of food and good-quality food. You should increase your carbohydrate intake slightly during the week before your marathon but do so sensibly. You want to ensure your glycogen stores are topped up before the big day. No binge eating is required but neither should you be watching your weight.
#6: Mental Preparation
You know the old saying ‘fail to prepare and prepare to fail’? It applies to races too. I’ve had horrible anxiety dreams about turning up to a marathon at the wrong starting place or time, or without a key piece of kit, and I’m not even running a marathon! Run through race day in your head to ensure to help find any holes in your plans and be prepared for contingencies. Make sure you know how and when to get to the race start, bag drop arrangements (before and after), think about charging your watch, how will you keep warm in the start pen, how will you carry your gels and when should you take them, where are the water stations and toilets on the course, what you will do if the worst happens and you have to drop out, how will you meet up with family or friends etc etc. Write a list of everything you will need on race day, so you are not relying on memory, then tick them off as you do them. Finally, mentally visualize how great it will feel when you finally cross the finish line.
Greg’s Race Report
Pre-race at the Brentwood Half
There was an excellent turn out of Barking Road Runners members for their first Grand Prix race of the year the Brentwood Half Marathon. Twenty-one members took part in this year’s race with BRR’s Jess Collett also being a pacer for the race. First BRR finishers were Cristina Cooper 1:42:54 for the women and Paul Withyman 1:28:35 for the men. They were followed by Belinda Riches 1:46:31, Jess Collett (1:50:00 pacer) 1:49:48, Rosie Fforde 1:49:56, Kaye Jackson 1:51:40, Isabel Pinedo Borobio 2:03:31, birthday girl Alison Fryatt 2:22:43 and Clodagh O’Callaghan 2:50:46. For the men Paul was followed by Peter Jackson 1:31:26, Tom Brennan 1:37:06, Nehal Patel 1:42:49, Martin Page 1:43:06, John Mitchell 1:55:39, Thomas Shorey 1:59:12, Kevin Wotton 2:08:42, Dennis Spencer-Perkins 2:12:19, Barry Rowell 2:15:53, Steve Colloff 2:16:24 and Rob Courtier 2:18:55.
Jess in action, pacing at Brentwood
At the Humber Bridge Half Marathon Jonathan Furlong finished in a time of 1:49:12, despite the rain making the going soggy.
BRR parkrunners
Aldenham - Mark New 25:31.
Barking - Ayoyinka Obisesan 19:21, Joshua Ezissi 21:17, Ron Vialls 24:10, Doug King 25:02, Stuart Burr 25:18, Jason Li 26:36, Emma Paisley 30:52, Nikki Cranmer 33:39, Dawn Curtis 37:04, Martin Mason 39:22, Les Jay 43:55 and Alan Murphy 53:39.
Harrow Lodge - Rory Burr 23:28.
Nonsuch - Steve Colloff 32:22, Belinda Riches 32:30 and Dennis Spencer-Perkins 32:30.
Dennis, Belinda and Steve at Nonsuch parkrun
Roding Valley - Paul Withyman 33:51.
Rushmoor - Owen Wainhouse 20:58.
Storeys Field - Sunny Bulchandani 24:12.
Wimpole Estate - Martin Brooks 28:02.
York - Gary Harford 28:24.
Gary at York parkrun
Highest BRR age gradings this week were Belinda Riches 53.59% for the women and Ron Vialls 74.83% for the men.
BRR Diary – March/April
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.
22-28 March – Virtual Handicap 06. The penultimate virtual event is already underway. Don’t forget to post your time by close on Friday.
7.00pm, Tuesday 25 March – Speed Session. Jim Peters Stadium, Mayesbrook Park. This week John Lang will be leading the session, and we have a pyramid:
2 minutes running, 1 minute recovery,
3 minutes running, 1 minute recovery,
4 minutes running, 90 seconds recovery,
5 minutes running, 90 seconds recovery.
4 minutes running, 90 seconds recovery,
3 minutes running, 1 minute recovery,
2 minutes running, 1 minute recovery.
7.00pm, Thursday 27 March – Road Run. Castle Green Centre, Gale Street, Dagenham. Usually between 4-6 miles.
10.30am, Sunday 6 April – St. Clare 10k (GP02). St Clare Hospice, Hastingwood Road, Hastingwood, Essex, CM17 9JX. Second race in this year’s Grand Prix competition, with proceeds going towards St. Clare Hospice. Sorry, now SOLD OUT.
8.00am, Sunday 13 April - Run4life 5k and 10k. Coventry University London, Rainham Road North, Dagenham, RM10 7BN (the old Dagenham Town Hall building). Not a club race, but it’s local if you feel like giving it a go. Enter at: https://run4life.org.uk/
12-18 April – Virtual Handicap 07. The last race in the competition!
Cracker Corner – the Dog Edition
The local dog food manufacturers have gone bust. They’ve had to call in the retrievers.
My friend took her dalmation to the groomers yesterday. They did an amazing job; it came out spotless.
My friend says her dog will retrieve a ball from over a mile away, but that sounds far-fetched to me.
Quote of the Week
“Far too often people have no idea of what they’re capable of and think ‘I gave it my all’ when it was really just ‘I experienced mild discomfort.’ What our best is isn’t nearly as important as simply being able to give it and having something in life that’s worth it.”
John Kelly
And Finally
Jess: she’s good at pacing, but what’s she like at paving?
Didn’t Jess do excellently pacing at the Brentwood Half on Sunday? To finish in 1:49:48 when you are the 1:50:00 pacer is near as dammit perfect. I tried to send Jess a message saying she could have a job pacing at Barking parkrun anytime but the predictive text insisted on correcting it to say she could have a job paving at Barking parkrun. Now, I know the paths at Barking Park are a bit dodgy, but expecting Jess to re-pave the entire 5k course would be a bit much…
Keep on Moving
Alison
Chair, Barking Road Runners
