BRR Blog – 31 March 2025
Emma and Hannah after their 50k Ultra
Eid Mubarak, Road Runners!
March has come in like a lion and out like a lamb. Ramadan has ended and British summertime has begun. It isn’t nice to lose an hour’s sleep, but it is almost worth it to be able to still see some daylight at 8.00pm in the evening.
With lighter evenings come evening races – there are details of the first two races in the 2025 East London fiVes Interclub Series (ELVIS) below. One is open for entries already, the other will open in a few days’ time. We’ll also be starting the summer handicap series soon, although there is still one winter virtual handicap to go. I expect Nige will also be leading some of our Thursday night runs through the parks of Barking and Dagenham (note to self: remember to stock up on hayfever tablets).
Opt in, Opt Out?
Last year’s London Marathon medal
There has been some negative feedback about London Marathon Events’ decision to require entrants to opt-in to receive a finisher’s medal at this year’s race. If they don’t opt in, they can instead have a tree planted in their name through the Trees Not Tees initiative. LME claim the decision is aimed at reducing waste and promoting sustainability, but many participants are annoyed.
But the need to opt-in has caught many runners out. Some have taken to social media to vent their frustration, arguing that a medal is a key part of completing a marathon. “Who runs 26.2 miles and doesn’t want a medal?” one runner posted. “It should be opt-out, not opt-in!” Another wrote, “Finishing a marathon is a huge achievement, and everyone deserves recognition for that.”
In response, LME officials have reassured participants that anyone who wants a medal will still be able to get one, even if they missed the opt-in deadline. But, to save any stress on the day, it’s a good idea to check now that you are opted in. To do so, go into your acceptance email, click ‘modify booking’ and make your choice. I’m guessing everyone will want a medal rather than a tree, however green they are (the runners, not the trees!). The deadline for updating medal preferences online is 22 April at 4 pm.
Room for Improvement?
Mark Cavendish with his Paris HM medal. Photo from his Instagram account
How quickly people fall from favour. Only last year Mark Cavendish (aka the Manx Missile) was being lauded for his cycling achievements, having taken the record for most stage wins at the Tour de France (35), achieved across 15 Tours and 17 years (2008-2024). Now retired from cycling, social media has turned on him for his debut half marathon performance in Paris recently.
The 39-year-old completed the course in 1:57:08. But this wasn’t good enough for some critics. “Am I missing something here? I’m 53 and can easily do that,” one commentator wrote. “Usually cyclists are good runners… it’s the opposite here.” Another joked “He must’ve been in zone 0.5. It’s good to know I can compete with an elite sportsman.”
What critics failed to note was that, as a cyclist, Cavendish was a sprinter, dominating flat, high-speed finishes rather than on long and tough climbs. His strength was always in pure sprint stages—not the kind of sustained aerobic effort required for long-distance running, and it’s equally unreasonable to expect Cavendish to be a fantastic half marathon runner, particularly as he transitions from another sport. In addition, it was a training run for the 2025 Paris Marathon, so he might not even have been trying his hardest. Perhaps people just need to be kinder; as another commentator said, “we all have to start somewhere.”
Taper Time
If you are running the London or Manchester marathons, you should be beginning your taper now. If you are running Brighton or Paris (like Mark Cavendish) in the next couple of weeks, your taper should be well underway.
Tapering just means decreasing your training volume and intensity in the final weeks of training before a marathon – or other long race - to recover and maximise your energy so you can perform at your best on race day. All those weeks of increasingly long runs are over and you can back off.
If you are used to running ultras, a two-week taper may be sufficient. But for most of us more gradual three-week taper tends to feel better physically and mentally to help prepare you for the big day.
Now is not the time to try and catch up on any missed runs, or to push yourself in the hopes of racing faster; physiological adaptations from training take a minimum of 10 to 14 days to set in, so any hard training you do now won’t improve your fitness. At best, it will just use up energy you would be better preserving for race day. At worst, it could risk injury.
Instead, you just need to do enough training to maintain the aerobic, neuromuscular, and other physiological adaptations you have built through your training programme and avoid feeling sluggish and flat. Continue doing the types of run you have been doing in your training – long runs, tempo or threshold, speed work – but cut back volumes as follows:
Three weeks from race day, it is usually recommended to decrease by 10-20 percent of your peak or average weekly mileage during your training plan. But maintain the same intensity you’ve been doing for all your workouts and training runs.
Two weeks from race day decrease by 25-30 percent of your average weekly mileage during your peak weeks in the marathon training cycle.
You could swap an easy run for a cross-training workout but only if you have been doing that type of cross-training during your race preparation.
In the final week before race day reduce your weekly mileage during race week to no more than 50-60% of your usual miles per week. Take at least one extra rest day and consider swapping a regular easy training run with a cross-training workout but, again, only if you are used to that sort of cross-training.
The day before the race run a couple of miles as an easy run, also known as a “shakeout run.” That doesn’t mean blasting out a parkrun PB; easy means easy! Do some strides after the shakeout if you feel the need for speed.
During your taper you will be running less, so you might think you should cut back on the calories. But your body needs the extra energy, protein, and carbohydrates to repair damaged tissues and store glycogen for race day. So, if you are hungry, eat!
Dates for your Diary
Grand Prix
The BRR Grand Prix competition consists of eight races each year.
The first race in the 2025 season was the Brentwood Half. The second race, the St. Clare 10k, takes place on 6 April but has already sold out. The races for the rest of the competition are below. You can find further information on the BRR TeamUp page (details of how to get the app are in the BRR Diary section):
GP03 – 18 May – Great Baddow 10 (miles)
GP04 – 8 June – High Easter 10k
GP05 – 29 June – Sikhs in the City 10k
GP06 – 14 September – Pleshey Half Marathon
GP07 – 21 September – Ingatestone 5
GP08 – 12 October – Tiptree 10
ELVIS
Entries are now open for the Dagenham 88 Runners 5 on Wednesday 25 May. This is the first race in the 2025 ELVIS competition. More information and entries at https://www.entrycentral.com/Dagenham88Runners_2025
Entries for the Havering ’90 Midweek 5, on Tuesday 3 June, will open at 2.00am on 1 April. This is the second ELVIS race for 2025. Enter here. NOTE: THERE WILL BE NO TRACK ON THIS DAY.
Other events
The Billericay 10k will take place on 6 July this year. Entries will open on Saturday 5 April at https://www.entrycentral.com/. Note that Billericay won’t be a Grand Prix race this year, as it tends to sell out very quickly, before people get a chance to enter.
Tracksmith 100 Days to London – week 12
For anyone not taking part in the St. Clare 10k this weekend, the next Tracksmith London Marathon training run is available, and this week it is the last long run of 20 miles (32k) before taper time. The meeting point is the Andrew Gibb Memorial, which is at Charlton Way, Blackheath, London SE3 7AP: https://maps.app.goo.gl/BeGsV51btn3pMmVn9.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/clubs/1344320/group_events/1972377. For more details and sign-up see https://ti.to/tracksmith/100-days-to-london-2025
Tip of the Week
If you’re feeling low, vigorous exercise can help boost positive emotions. A study in the Journal of Neuroscience found that hard workouts lasting eight to 20 minutes, done at or above 80 percent of maximal intensity, elevated levels of neurotransmitters GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid, the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, meaning it reduces neuronal excitability and helps to calm the nervous system) and glutamate (essential for normal brain function, learning, memory, and mood regulation). Of course, exercise isn’t a cure-all – if you’re feeling very down, you should seek professional help.
Greg’s Race Report
Barking Road Runners’ members Emma Paisley and Hannah Hylton took on the Lea Valley Ultra 50k run at the weekend finishing in times of 6 hours 9 minutes and 5 hour 57 minutes, respectively.
Away from the world of running, on Saturday Dawn Curtis and Trevor Cooper took part in the Swimathon, the World’s biggest fundraising swimming challenge, raising money for Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie. Dawn completed 1,500m in 50:49 and Trevor swam 2.5k in 48:43.
Dawn with her Swimathon medal.
BRR parkrunners
Barking - Jonathan Furlong 23:27, Mark New 23:57, Doug King 25:18, Adrian Davison 25:31, Chris Muthaka 27:23, Barry Rowell 28:00, Martin Mason 32:40, Jason Li 33:07, Louise Chappell 33:12, Nikki Cranmer 35:34, Ron Courtier 35:39, Faye Spooner 37:16, Les Jay 38:14 and Alan Murphy 56:45.
Gunpowder - Paul Withyman 19:13.
Hellbrunn - Owen Wainhouse 22:05.
Jersey - Ken Summerfield 48:38.
Kingston - Belinda Riches 23:03, Rory Burr 23:07 and Steve Colloff 27:58.
Belinda, Steve, and Rory at Kingston parkrun
Mile End - Alain Cooper 28:01.
Valentines - Kevin Wotton 23:38 and Andrew Gwilliam 36:39.
Highest BRR age gradings this week were Belinda Riches 75.56% for the women and Paul Withyman 72.68% for the men.
BRR Diary – 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.
7.00pm, Tuesday 1 April – Speed Session. Jim Peters Stadium, Mayesbrook Park. It’s timed-mile time, led by Rob (damaged teeth allowing), followed by 300s with 100m recovery.
7.00pm, Thursday 3 April – Road Run. Castle Green Centre, Gale Street, Dagenham. Usually between 4-6 miles.
5-11 April – Virtual Handicap 07. The last race in the competition!
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. 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/
11.00am, Friday 18 April - Pitsea RC Crown to Crown. Westley Heights Country Park at the rear of the Miller & Carter (Crown) Public House, Langdon Hills. Mainly off road trail race with a short stretch of tarmac near the beginning and end. A basic, old-fashioned race with no chip-timing, just £2.50 for EA members/£4.50 non-EA. Good news for regulars is that the public toilets have reopened. Entries on the day or via EntryCentral.
Cracker Corner
There was a massive argument at my art class at the weekend, but I refused to get drawn in.
My friend keeps coming to see me dressed up as different shapes. She’ll be round tonight.
I was going to become a mime artiste, but the training involved left me speechless.
Quote of the Week
“That’s the thing about running: your greatest runs are rarely measured by racing success. They are moments in time when running allows you to see how wonderful your life is.”
Kara Goucher
(Never truer words spoken. Whenever you are disappointed by a run, think how lucky you are compared with those who would love to run but can’t)
And Finally
I had a bit of a park crawl in the lovely weather on Sunday morning, running with the gang through Barking Park and Mayesbrook Park before moving on to Valentines Park for some lunch with Chris. I’d certainly recommend the café near the parkrun start/finish, and I was pleased to see that my lunch lived up to Valentines’ romantic image. What could be more romantic than a heart-shaped cheese and onion crisp…
The food of love…
Keep on Running
Alison
Chair, Barking Road Runners
