BRR Blog – 25 November 2024


John G, Ron, Ayo, Sian, Alison, Birthday Boy Steve C, and Louise at Trent Park

Hi there, Road Runners

It’s bye, bye, Bert, but what a week of weather! We went from near-zero temperatures to the mid-teens in centigrade, but with gale-force winds, thanks to our friend Bert.

The weather in London at the weekend was actually better than expected; Saturday was a bit blowy but at least the rain held off for parkrun and the Chingford League race at Trent Park - at the latter we appreciated the support of Chris, Craig, and Alan, who were probably colder than those of us who were running.

Alan M, Craig and Chris, the Trent Park supporters

Cristina, Paul and Peter were also lucky that their races went ahead at Battersea. Unfortunately, our friends who had made the trip to San Sebastien for the marathon, half marathon and 10k didn’t fare so well, with their races cancelled the day before they were due to take place, as a result of forecast winds of up to 120k an hour. It is expected that many disappointed runners will transfer to the Valencia Marathon on 1 December instead. The organisers have already promised to donate three Euros for every runner crossing the finish line to support people affected by the recent flooding in Spain, so the charity will benefit from the extra numbers. But I know that won’t be any consolation for our members, who can’t hang around until next week for another race.

In better news, we have the 2024 Presentation Night this Saturday. It is always a fantastic evening, so please do make the effort to come along, whether or not you have won a trophy. More information is in the BRR Diary, below. 

Stormy Weather

Talking of storms, who thought up the name Bert for the storm at the weekend? It turns out, it was probably a member of the Great British public.

The list of planned storm names for the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands (who together make up the western storm naming group) is published in September each year. The list is compiled jointly between Met Éireann, the Met Office and KNMI (The Dutch national weather forecasting service).

In the UK a storm will be named when it has the potential to cause disruption or damage which could result in an amber or red warning. The naming of storms using a single authoritative system provides a consistent message and aims to ensure the public is better placed to keep themselves, their property and businesses safe.

Everyone is welcome to suggest names for future consideration via email to nameourstorms@metoffice.gov.uk or through the Met Office online form. But bear in mind they get thousands of suggestions every year so your suggestion may not be taken up (we are unlikely to get Stormy McStormface). The available storm names from September 2024 to August 2024 are shown below. I guess if we get to the end of the list we start again with a new alphabetical list.

Three names have been included this year from the Met Office’s 170-year history. I’m thinking Bert, Hugo, and Mavis - what do you think?

Don’t Fast to be Fast!

I know that I am not the only person to have trained for a marathon expecting to lose loads of weight only to find the opposite happens. But the latest research seems to suggest that might not be a bad thing.

Some runners deliberately lower their calorie intake when marathon training in the hope that being lighter will translate to faster time. However, a recent research paper reported in the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that this could be a bad strategy.

The study, undertaken by top physician and marathon experts, surveyed over 1,000 Boston Marathon participants. It found that 42.5% of female runners and 17.6% of male runners reported a calorie intake that would be considered ‘low energy availability’ or LEA.

The result? Compared to runners of the same body size and training, those with LEA had much slower times on race day. Not only that, but they were 1.99 times more likely to require race-day medical attention and 2.86 times more likely to experience “a major medical encounter” on Boston Marathon day. The researchers also found that LEA runners were more likely to miss training days due to illness or bone and soft tissue injuries.

So, don’t worry if you don’t lose weight when marathon training. You may actually be protecting your body and increasing your chance of a great outcome.

Grand Prix Reminder

A quick reminder that the Brentwood Half and the Great Baddow 10 have been chosen to be part of the 2025 Grand Prix competition.

Running up that Hill

Ron demonstrating how to stay strong up a hill

We all know hill training is good for building strength, but sometimes it can just feel like a slog. But you can still get benefits without going the whole hog (hill). Instead of labouring to the top of a long hill, try this ‘half hills’ workout:

10 to 20 reps of 15 to 30 seconds on a hill, at about 5 race pace or slightly over, with slow jog-down recovery

Doing a shorter uphill allows you to practice running with good form and cadence while facing resistance from the hill. It is an easy way to improve your strength without being overly physically taxing, which is great if you are coming back from injury, or just in a bit of a rut. Don’t be tempted to push hard on the jog recovery; instead focus on keeping a fast cadence and upright posture whilst remaining relaxed on the uphill.

Suffragette City

From this week, the Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside railway line will be renamed the ‘Suffragette line.

In July 2023, Sadiq Khan, Mayor Of London, announced that each of the six Overground lines would be given unique names, relevant to the “historical contributions by minority groups" of the area that they pass through. The following February it was confirmed that the Gospel Oak to Barking section would be named the Suffragette Line, to honour East London's major contribution to the Suffragette movement. Barking resident, Annie Huggett, who died aged 104 in 1996, was a prominent Suffragette activist, and, due to her long life, was known as “The Last Suffragette”. The line will be coloured green on the updated TfL network map; green, along with white and purple, being one of the colours of the Suffragette movement.

Greg’s Race Report

Chingford League round 3 for Barking Road Runners this week at Trent Park in North London, hosted by Barnet & District AC. 

Ayo doing well to stay upright in road shoes at Trent Park

With roadworks, train delays and challenging weather to say the least the race went ahead, even with a last-minute change to the course. BRR fielded five men and three women for this race with several members unable to attend on the day. Those who represented the Club at Trent Park found it was a race of two halves: fantastic through the forest, with a fun water feature thrown in for good measure, and ghastly on the grass, which was slippery and muddy.

First finisher in the women’s race for BRR was Louise Chappell 49:20 followed by Sian Mansley 50:56 and Alison Fryatt 54:52. For the men was Ayoyinka Obisesan 34:06 followed by Adrian Davison 36:50, John George 37:34, Ron Vialls 42:58 and Steve Colloff 51:09.

Paul, Cristina, and Peter at Battersea. Of course, we have sent the rubbish sack photo to the B&D Post!

At the Battersea Park Running Festival Cristina Cooper ran the Marathon and, despite the weather conditions, recorded her best time this year finishing in 3:48:33. At the same festival Paul Withyman 1:28:20 and Peter Jackson 1:32:06 ran the Half Marathon.

BRR parkrunners 

Barking - Joshua Ezissi 23:16, James Hall 25:53, Mark New 25:55, James Sheridan 26:28, Ricky Narwal 27:07, Andrew Hiller 29:59, Nikki Cranmer 36:02 and Les Jay 37:30.

Harrow Lodge - Birthday Boy Rory Burr 27:00, Robbie King 27:37, Doug King 28:13, Stuart Burr 28:37, Birthday Boy Steve Colloff 30:42, and Rachel Sharples 37:44.

The crew at Harrow Lodge

Judarskogen - Joe Stacey 20:46 and Rosie Fforde 26:38.

Brr! Rosie and Joe at Judarskogen

Rushmoor - Owen Wainhouse 21:35.

Valentines - Kevin Wotton 24:27 and Andrew Gwilliam 48:05.

Highest BRR age gradings this week were - Rosie Fforde 56.32% for the women and Owen Wainhouse 64.17% for the men.

TBRR Diary – November/December

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 26 November – Speed Session. Jim Peters Stadium, Mayesbrook Park. This week Greg will be taking the session. It’s a nice and easy straightforward session to improve VO2 max.

  • 5 x (3 minutes hard and 3 minutes easy)

That’s a lot of recovery so you can really push yourselves on the hard reps, but do make sure you are properly warmed up before we start.

7.00pm, Thursday 28 November – Club road run. Jo Richardson School/Castle Green Centre, Gale Street, Dagenham. Usually around 4-5 miles.

7.00pm, Saturday 30 November – BRR presentation night. Prince of Wales Pub, Green Lane, Ilford. We are all winners in BRR, so come along and celebrate! There will be a small buffet.

9.30am, Sunday 1 December – Trail run. Hainault Forest, Fox Burrow Road, Hainault. Meet in the car park near the Global Café (remember to pay – via the Ringo app - if you use the car park; the parking attendants are very zealous). Usually around 10k, at a gentle pace. 

10.00am, Sunday 8 December – One Tree Hill (SECCL 02). One Tree Hill Country Park, One Tree Hill, Stanford-le-Hope SS17 9NH. The second race in this year’s South Essex Cross Country League series. I say the same thing every year: there isn’t one tree, and there certainly isn’t one hill! As usual, it is £5 to enter but BRR subsidies the cost so our members pay just £3, either on the day or directly into the BRR account. If you don’t fancy running, we also need volunteers to help with the scoring.

7.30pm, Wednesday 11 December – Chingford League 04. Lee Valley Velopark, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Abercrombie Rd, London E20 3AB. Women start at 7.30pm, men at 8.00pm, but the race is great for spectators so please come along and support. Please remember your bib number, if you already have one.

10.30am, Sunday 15 December – Southend Rudolph Run. Starts adjacent to Ness Road on the Esplanade, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS3 9HG. A flat and fast seasonal 5 mile run along the Promenade, along an accurately measured course, very similar to the Southend 10k but starting at the Shoeburyness end. There are festive sweet treats on offer plus a mince pie and bespoke medal for all finishers. You can wear fancy dress if you like but it is not compulsory. Enter at https://www.nice-work.org.uk/e/southend-rudolph-run-9240

9.30am, Sunday 22 December – Royal Parks Run. Meet at Matthew Parker Street, Westminster. Either meet at 8.00am by the Faircross shops or go straight to Westminster (nearest tube is St. James’s Park). It’s a Christmas tradition: the Club’s Xmas run through the Royal Parks, starting in St. James’s Park, then Green Park, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens, before wending our way back. We usually have lunch in the St. James’s Park cafe afterwards. A very gentle run of around 10k (more if you want to loop back). Nobody gets left behind.

10.30am, Saturday 28 December - Ilford AC 10-miler. The Plain, Chigwell Row, Lambourne Rd (opposite Millers Lane), IG7 6ET. Three laps of an undulating route comprising the tracks and grassland of Hainault Forest. The race is held as a tribute to Kevin Newell, an Ilford AC left with terrible head injuries after a fall from a ladder. A donation will be made to his charity. Entries are £7 or on the day for a tenner. There will be a cut-off time of 2 hours. Runners likely to exceed this time may still complete the course, but it may not be marshalled and you may not get an official finish time. Prizes to the first three men/women and veteran categories. Enter at

https://www.entrycentral.com/IlfordAC-10milesXC

10.00am, Sunday 29 December – Hadleigh (SECCL 03). Hadleigh Country Park, Chapel Lane, Hadleigh. The third race in this year’s South Essex Cross Country League series. This is the wet one, where we get to run through flooded ditches and waterlogged grass. You will definitely need trail shoes; make sure they are securely tied on. Entry fees as above.

Cracker Corner

I walked past the Barking Park allotments the other day and there was a man wandering around with a wheelbarrow. I thought to myself “he’s lost the plot.”

I’m suing the airport for losing my luggage. The case comes up next week.

I went to see a psychic. I knocked on her door and she called “who is it?”, so I left.

Quote of the Week

“Never limit where running can take you – geographically, spiritually and, of course, physically.”

Bart Yasso

(inventor of Yasso 800s)

And Finally…

There is an advert on TV at the moment that makes fun of paint colour names, but I’ve noticed that running shoes are just as bad.

I was looking at the new Brooks Adrenaline GTS 24. The women’s shoes come in a choice of the following colours:

  • White/limpet shell/ampara

  • Black/black/ebony

  • Black/peach/peacoat

  • Grey/blue ribbon/peach

  • Bonnie blue/grey/pink

  • Cayenne/thistle/white.

The colours of the men’s shoes are much more down-to-earth, like neon-yellow, alloy, and orange, though they still have some peacoat, which looks suspiciously like white to me. Oh, for the days when shoes just came in one colour choice (and were at least 70 quid a pair cheaper)...

Happy running!

Alison

Chair, Barking Road Runners

 

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BRR Blog – 2 December 2024

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BRR Blog – 18 November 2024