BRR Blog – 28 May 2024
And the winner is…Derv Bartlett, formerly of this Parish.
Howdie, Road Runners!
It has been a Bank Holiday weekend of sport, with the FA Cup Final, the Monaco F1 Grand Prix, the end of the Giro D’Italia, and the Diamond League, amongst other things (don’t get upset if I’ve missed your favourite sport – other than running, of course!).
After a very soggy start to the ELVIS competition at Easbrookend Country Park last Wednesday, at least we were treated to some better weather over the long weekend, with just a few showers spoiling the fun. In BRR, some of us found different parkruns to do whilst Barking parkrun is cancelled, and some of us took part in stupendous cycling challenges (not me, unless you count a gentle pedal around Rainham Marshes, stopping only for tea and a jam scone) at RideLondon. Further details in Greg’s Race Report.
That’s the way the cookie crumbles
Better get down to the supermarket and stock up. Tomorrow (29 May) is international biscuit day.
The earliest biscuits date back to ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman times and were made with just flour and water so they wouldn’t have been very moreish. The ancients saw them strictly as a travel food – something you’d take with you for long journeys that wouldn’t spoil. It wasn’t until the seventh century that the Persians began experimenting with adding other ingredients like eggs, butter, and cream. The first biscuits arrived in Europe around the tenth century and are said to have been flavoured with…ginger! Much later, in the eighteenth century, when sugar became more plentiful, biscuits started to morph into the sweet treats that we know and love today.
In honour of International Biscuit Day, why not come along to track and have a biscuit or two with a cuppa after the session (details in the BRR diary, below)? Hopefully they will be a bit tastier than the ancient version.
Athletics in the News
The Diamond League was in the US at the weekend, at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene. It was an important meet for lots of athletes, as several countries were using it as a qualifier for their Paris Olympic teams.
Perhaps the standout performance of the meet was Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet running 28:54.14 to break the women’s 10,000 metres World Record.
Seventy years ago, running legend Emil Zatopek ran 28:54.2 to set a men’s world 10,000m record in Brussels. At the time it was thought to be impossible for a woman to run that distance at anywhere near that time. Indeed, it would be another 30 years before women were even allowed to participate over that distance at major championships.
For us Brits, there were some notable results. In the men’s mile, Josh Kerr broke Steve Cram’s 39-year-old national record with a time of 3:45.34. He also beat his arch-rival, Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, into second place. Norwegian Ingebrigtsen said afterwards that he was happy with his performance after an injury-hit winter. Throwing down the gauntlet a couple of months ahead of the Olympics, maybe? Team GB had two other athletes in the top five, with Neil Gourley and Jake Wightman both returning from injury to finish fourth and fifth in 3:47.74 and 3:47.83 respectively.
In the women’s 800m, Keely Hodgkinson clocked 1:55.78 to beat world champion Mary Moraa, with team-mate Jemma Reekie finishing third in 1:57.45.
Laura Muir was outclassed in a strong field in the women’s 1500m, despite a good time of 3:56.35. British duo Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita clocked 10.98 and 11.00 respectively to finish third and fourth in the 100m.
And I would run …10,000 metres
Long distance racing dates back to the time of the Ancient Greeks, who liked nothing better than stripping stark naked and going for a long run. . In those days the runners took part of the glory, winning nothing more than a laurel wreath (perhaps a fig leaf would have been more appropriate/useful). Many centuries later, by the mid-19th century, races for betting purposes were very popular in both Great Britain and the USA.
The 10,000m was introduced to the Olympics in 1912, but in those days it was only considered a suitable distance for men. The women’s equivalent was only introduced as recently as the 1988 Games.
A good 10,000m runner needs a combination of speed and stamina, demanding high levels of aerobic capacity. Even so, it is still pretty knackering for even the fittest; in championships there will usually be qualifying races for shorter distances, but for 10,000m and longer it is straight to the final.
On the track, the race consists of 25 laps on a standard 400m outdoor oval. Athletes form a bunched standing start and can break immediately to run in the inside lanes. Due to the size of the field, this usually causing a bit of pushing and shoving, and sometimes a few people getting knocked over and ‘spiked’ in the shins by their opponents running shoes – accidentally, of course.
A good 10,000m runner needs a combination of speed and stamina, demanding high levels of aerobic capacity. Even so, it is still pretty knackering for even the fittest; in championships there will usually be qualifying races for shorter distances, but for 10,000 metres and upwards it is straight to the final.
Usually 10,000m runners will participate in races over the distance on both track and. For some reason, when run on the track the distance is referred to as ‘10,000 metres’ but when run on the road it is referred to as ‘10k’. I can find no reason for this, other than to differentiate between the two running surfaces. If anyone has a better explanation, please let me know – it’s the sort of thing that keeps me awake at night...
Race Review – The Thameside 10k
Thameside 10k - a race with a view (over the Thames Estuary and London Gateway Port)
A few of us (Steve C, Lizzie-Beth, Joyce and Alison) took part in the Thameside 10k on Sunday. Organised by Phoenix Striders, the race takes place at the Essex Wildlife Trust Nature Discovery Park and runs along the side of the Thames Estuary. The race is on a mixture of tarmac, gravel paths and grass; road shoes would probably have been OK as the grass was reasonably dry despite the rain the night before. It wouldn’t have been a good course for a Club competition, as the path was narrow in a number of places – faster runners would have been pretty frustrated to be held up, but the four of us were quite happy having a run out and enjoying the scenery, when we weren’t busy watching our footing! The course was quite technical in places, so we were all happy with our times, though they weren’t the best ever for a 10k.
It was a no-frills race with no chip timing, but that meant the entry fee was reasonable. Despite that, we got an excellent medal featuring the Essex Wildlife badger logo. We all decided that we would be happy to run the race again next year. Thanks to Chris, James S, Rob, and Louie the dog for supporting.
Greg’s Race Report
Thameside 10k was the destination for several Barking Roadrunners members this bank holiday weekend. The course described as fairly flat on a variety of surfaces resulted in finishing times of
1:03:19 for Lizzie Beth Garraghan and Stephen Colloff, Alison Fryatt had a time of 1:05:53 and Joyce Golder 1:07:58.
BRR runners at Thameside 10k
Derv Bartlett continued his competitive streak in the Clare Burren 10k where he won the race in a personal best time of 38 minutes and 55 seconds.
Dawn Curtis, Ken Summerfield, and Jess Collett competed in Ride London, with Dawn completing 50 miles, Ken completing 60 miles, and Jess completing 100 miles. Jason Li and family took part in the freecycle around central London.
The RideLondon Medal
BRR parkrunners
No Barking parkrun this week due to the preparations for the festival being held there next weekend.
Beckton - Jason Li 27:26.
Jason and family at Beckton parkrun
Edenbrook Country - Owen Wainhouse 21:10.
Finsbury Park - Rosie Fforde 26:03.
Maidstone River - Rory Burr 26:36.
Mary S Young ( USA) - Sian Mansley 29:41.
Sian in the USA
Mile End - John Whan 26:15, Lizzie Beth Garraghan 27:06 and Steve Colloff 28:20.
Steve, John W, Lizzie-Beth and friend from Ilford AC at Mile End parkrun
Moors Valley - Paul Ward 26:22.
Raphaels - Doug King 24:39.
Roding Valley - Paul Withyman 20:20.
Roundshaw Downs - Mark New 26:39.
South Woodham Ferrers - Nikki Cranmer 34:08 and Rob Courtier 45:57.
Valentines - Kevin Wotton 24:29, Andrew Gwilliam 33:18 and Micky Ball 66:23.
Highest BRR gradings this week were for the women Lizzie Beth Garraghan 67.71% and for the men Paul Withyman 68.69%.
BRR Diary – May/June
7.00pm, Tuesday 28 May - Speed development. Jim Peters Stadium, Mayesbrook Park. John Lang is leading the session this week, and it is called 'Train(er) Spotting'. John will set off round the track in one direction and the group will set off in the other direction. They will run at around an RPE of 3 and as they pass John they will increase their RPE to 6 which will drop back to 3 as they pass John. This change of pace up and down will continue for around 30 minutes.
7.00pm, Thursday 30 May – Thursday night road run. Castle Green/Jo Richardson School, Gale Street, Dagenham. Usually around 5 miles.
10.00am, Saturday 1 June – Orion Forest Five (NOT ELVIS). Race HQ Jubilee Retreat, Bury Road, Chingford E4 7QJ. You can sign up for the three-race series, on the first Saturday of June, July, and August for just £18. The August race is also an ELVIS race. REMINDER: Barking parkrun is cancelled due to the music festival.
7.30pm, Tuesday 4 June – Havering ’90 Joggers Midweek 5 (EL02). Raphaels Park, Main Road, Romford. The second race in the ELVIS series. Sign up here. NOTE: there will be no track session, but…
7.00pm, Thursday 6 June – Replacement Track Session. Jim Peter’s Stadium, Mayesbrook Park.
7.30pm, Wednesday 12 June – Crown to Crown.
7.00pm, Thursday 13 June – Summer Handicap 03. Barking Park. On the parkrun course. Just £1 to enter with the chance of winning a crispy tenner, plus trophies for overall first, second and third in the competition. Note: there will be no Thursday night run from Castle Green/Jo Richardson School.
10.00am, Sunday 16 June – High Easter 10k (GP04). High Easter Village Green. The fourth race in a grand prix competition. The website is showing the race is sold out but says there may be entries on the day. Do contact the organisers and ask to save yourself a wasted journey.
7.30pm, Tuesday 18 June – East End Road Runners 5k (ELVIS 03). Olympic Park, Hopkins Fields (near the Velodrome). Sign up at https://events.kronosports.uk/event/289 NOTE: there will be no track session, but…
7.00pm, Thursday 20 June – Replacement Track Session. Jim Peter’s Stadium, Mayesbrook Park.
Cracker Corner
Chris is complaining because I keep listening to Neil Diamond songs. He told me I must be obsessed. ‘I am’, I said.
Do you know Sylvester Stallone is on his third marriage? The first was rocky. The second was rocky too.
The local police knocked on my door and said they wanted to question me. I said ‘I haven’t even applied for the job yet.’
Boom! Boom!
Quote of the week
“Most of us find something frightening about surpassing our own or others’ expectations, and this fear usually keeps us from doing it. We identify with these expectations and don’t like to rock the boat by exceeding them.”
Timothy Gallwey
Author
And finally…
I am a big disappointment to my Garmin Forerunner 165. Sorry, watch…
At last. I am getting used to my Garmin Forerunner 165 watch, but I am also getting a bit fed up with being nagged by it.
The other week it suggested that I do an anaerobic speed session consisting of a 15-minute warm-up, 6 x (2 minutes fast off 2 minutes recovery), then 10 minutes cool down. At soon as I started it was bleeping to tell me my heart rate wasn’t high enough. Then I was told my speed wasn’t last enough on the reps. Then my heart rate was too high during the recovery. To add insult to injury, after running my socks off I uploaded my date to Garmin Connect only to be told that the session had had no anaerobic benefit. Not sure I need my watch to give me a downer…
Happy running, and don’t pay too much attention to your running watch!
Alison
Chair, Barking Road Runners
