Date	Event
Sun 7^th March 04	Baildon Boundary Way. Off road half marathon. 10.30am. Event full.
Sat 13^th March 04	Dentdale 14. 1pm. Scenic road race. Free buffet.
Sun 14^th March 04	Spen 20. 10am. Hilly course but good marathon training.
Sun 21^st March 04	South Leeds Stadium 5k (10am) and 5 mile (11.15am).
Sun 21^st March 04	Stainland 7. 10am. Hilly course, free t-shirt.
Sun 21^st March 04	Doncaster Half, 10am.
Sun 27^th March 04	Meanwood Valley Trail race, 10.30am. Approx 7 ½ miles. Free bottle of beer to all finishers.
Sat 27^th March 04	Coniston 14, 11am. Scenic road race.
Sun 28^th March 04	Ackworth Half, 10.30am. National Championships.
Sun 3^rd April 04	Men’s 12 stage and women’s 6 stage relay. We have entered teams in each. See below for details.
Sun 4^th April 04	Wakefield 10k, 10am. Fast, flat course, attendance points race.
Sun 4^th April 04	Oldham Half Marathon, 11am. A single loop town and country road race. Entries available on the day.
Sun 4^th April 04	The Easter Chucky 10k, Wath, Rotheram, multi terrain race, 11.15 am. Easter eggs to all finishers.
Tuesday 6^th April	Bunny Run 1. 3 mile fell race, Guide Inn, Harden Moor, 7pm. Attendance points race.
Sun 11^th April 04	Guiseley Gallop 10k, 10.30am, off road, local event. Attendance points race.
Sun 18^th April 04	London Marathon. Martin, Simon, Pete H, Matthew and Edward fly the flag for Idle.
Sun 25^th April 04	Rothwell 10k, 11am. Fast course. Entries on day if 650 limit is not reached.
Sat 1^st May 04	WYWL Canal Relay, Skipton. See below for details.
Sun 2^nd May 04	Sheffield Half Marathon, 9am, Don Valley Stadium.
Mon 3^rd May 04	Belfast City Marathon, 9.30am. Chris, Davina, Jo, Michael and Pete V are all entered.
Tues 4^th May 04	Bunny Run Relay, 3x 2.5 legs on Harden Moor (see fell list).
Sun 16^th May 04	Leeds Half Marathon, 10am. C/d 23/4/04 No entries on day. Attendance points race.
Sun 16^th May 04	Harewood House Chase 10k trail race. Women 10.30am, men 11am. Good local event.
Sun 16^th May 04	Sandal Castle 10k, Wakefield, 10.30am. C/d 6/5/04.
Sun 23^rd May 04	Blue Bell Trail, new 10mile trail race organised by Stainland Lions, 10am. T-shirt and goody bag. Scenic course.

Attendance Scheme/ Club races – 2004 details:

Top twenty Club Races for 2004: Handicap/ Attendance Scheme - 8 out of 20 possible races to count. Please don’t forget to sign in the book each time you attend a club session (but only pay once per week) as each attendance at a club training session is worth 1 point and to be eligible for a trophy members must accumulate at least 30 attendance points during the year. Each attendance at a “Club” designated race earns you 5 points (see below). 50% of the required points must be achieved by attendance at training sessions. February Attendance winner is Jo Belcher. See below for Attendance points details.

Name	February									Feb	Feb
	3	5	10	12	17	19	24	26		Races	Totals
Adrian Trevelyan	1				1		1				3
Alison Garlick					1	1	1				3
Amnuay Scott		1		1	1					5	8
Brian Heaton											0
Chris Booker	1										1
Chris Smith	1	1	1			1	1	1			6
Chris Stubbs	1		1	1	1		1				5
Dave Currie		1		1	1	1	1				5
David Lewis	1		1							5	7
Davina Smith				1							1
Dexter Wright						1	1				2
Dominic Hopson	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1			8
Donna Edmonson	1				1						2
Douglas Briggs	1	1		1			1				4
Edward East		1	1							5	7
Gary Naylor		1		1		1					3
Heather Johnson				1	1						2
Husna Rasheed		1					1				2
Ian Fisher	1						1				2
James Waters							1				1
Joanne Belcher	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1		5	13
Joseph Marjoram		1	1			1		1			4
Katy Ostick		1									1
Kay Gambles	1	1	1	1	1		1	1			7
Laura Brook				1		1	1				3
Laurence Doddy							1				1
Lisa Flesher				1		1		1			3
Martin Burnside	1	1	1	1	1		1			5	11
Matthew Coles		1		1			1			5	8
Michael Masleczko	1	1	1	1						5	9
Peter Helliwell										5	5
Peter Vickers			1			1	1	1			4
Richard Raistrick	1				1						2
Simon Bellwood	1		1		1	1				5	9
Stephen Edwards			1		1						2
Steve Little		1									1
Tony Blythe	1	1	1	1	1						5
Trevor Hooley					1		1				2
Vicki Hawker										5	5
	16	17	14	16	16	12	19	7	0	45	162

The Club races for 2004, where points can be earned, are as follows:

Date	Race Details	Comments.
January- Sun 25^th	Brass Monkey Half marathon, 10am.	18 Idle AC runners, many PB’s. Donna set a new Female club record with 1.35.14.
February - Sun 16^th	Liversedge Half Marathon, 12.00 noon.	10 Idle AC runners including 2 pbs.
March- Sun 7^th	Baildon Boundary Way Half, 10.30am.	15 Idle AC including Dexter who chose the BBW for his first half marathon on the advice of girlfriend Laura!
March – Sun 14^th	Spen 20mile, 10am. Ideal for those planning to run a marathon in 2004.	We had 8 members for this tough 20 mile road race (results in April Gossip). Simon Bellwood broke the clubs M40 record whilst Davina Smith broke the F35 record.
April- Sun4^th	Wakefield 10k, 10am. Fast, flat course.
April- Tues 6^th	Bunny Run1, 3 mile ‘Fell’ race, 7.00 pm.
April – Sun 11^th	Guiseley Gallop 10k, 10.30am.
May - Wed –5^th	John Carr 5k, Esholt, 7.30pm. Fast, flat course. Good local event.
May- Sun 9^th	Fountains Abbey 10mile. Part of Black sheep series.
May- Sun 16th	Leeds Half Marathon, 10am. Closing date 23/4/04. No late entries.
June – Thurs 10^th June	Bronte 5, 7.30pm. Hilly two lap course.	We hope to have a strong Idle AC turn out for our “official” 2^nd birthday (affiliation).
June - Sun 20^th	Blackpool Half or Full Marathon, 9am. 2004 club race/weekend away.
July? – Sun DNK	Harrogate 10k.
Sept – Sun DNK	Kirkstall Abbey 10k.
Oct – Sun 3^rd	Horsforth 10k, 10am.
Oct- Sun 10^th	Bridlington Half marathon, 12 Noon.
Oct–Sun 31^st	Roundhay Romp 10k.
Nov- Sun	Guy Fawkes10mile10.30am.
Oct/Nov	Holmfirth 15mile.
Nov- Sun DNK	Abbey Dash 10k, 9.30am.

Isle of Man Marathon and Half 2004- 15^th Aug.

Peter has had a lot of interest in these races, which are run on 15^th August 2004, and is in the process of sorting out a weekend away for club members departing on Friday 13^th and returning on Sunday 15th. If anyone else is interested please let Pete Vickers know asap.

West Yorkshire Winter League – Final Race Sun 22^nd February at Skipton- Success for Idle AC.

We had 25 runners for the final WYWL event at Skipton. After all five four events the team results are as follows:

Team Results after Final Event at Skipton 220204
Men		Vets
Pudsey	6542	Pudsey	2287
LBT	6238	Baildon	2273
Idle A C	6048	Stainland	2253
Stainland	5925	Dewsbury	2225
St.Bede's	5569	St.Bede's	2221
Dewsbury	5268	Skipton	2019
Baildon	5216	LBT	1981
Skipton	5057	Idle A C	1935
Women		Overall
Idle A C	1401	Pudsey	7890
Baildon	1383	Idle AC	7449
Dewsbury	1370	Stainland	7243
Pudsey	1348	LBT	6794
Stainland	1318	Dewsbury	6638
St.Bede's	915	Baildon	6599
Skipton	865	St.Bede's	6483
LBT	556	Skipton	5922

We will be collecting a host of trophies at the presentation evening on 19^th March which proves what we have achieved in only our second cross country season. It’s a huge achievement for us to obtain the runners up trophy and major success for the women to produce a late surge to take the women’s trophy ahead of bigger more established clubs. Its hard to believe that less than 2 years ago, at a previous club, Davina and Kay were the only women in that the same final event at Skipton. It’s wonderful to go back to that race and for the Idle AC to have such success.

Whilst the cross country is a team event is also great that so many Idle AC will also collect individual trophies. These are:

Ian Fisher – 1^st man, Doug Briggs –5^th man.

Donna Edmondson –2^nd woman, Jo Belcher – 4^th Woman, Amnuay Scott-1^st F35 and Kay Gambles – 1^st F45.

In addition the League has two very special trophies, which are presented to the most improved male and female runner who has completed all 5 events. The most improved male runner receives the Dave Turpin Memorial Trophy and the most improved female runner receives the Paul Dowson Memorial Trophy. Through these trophies we remember two well known league competitors who both died suddenly, indeed within days of each other, during the 1999 -2000 season. After the final event Kay Gambles wins the Paul Dowson trophy whilst Edward East will collect the Dave Turpin memorial trophy.

The presentation night will be held on Friday 19^th March at Idle Working Men’s club starting at 7.30pm, proceeded by an ‘ Happy Hour’ in the Syposium from 6.00 when draught beer will be discounted by 10%. Please add your names to the list at the club if you are going so we can have an idea of numbers for catering. The cost is £5 per person.

Men’s 12 stage and women’s 6 stage road relay championship on Saturday 3^rd April at Lister Park, Bradford.

We have entered both men’s and women’s teams in the above event. The men’s event is as follows:

4 stages x 5 miles (1-4-7-10) and 8 stages x 2.5 miles (2-3-5-6-8-9-11-12) starting at 11.30 am in Lister Park, Bradford.

The women’s event is 6 stages of 2.5 miles, starting at the same time.

See Chris for details of which legs you would all like to run. The cost is £2 per person to Chris.

Race results: Regional and National X country

Regional Cross Country Championships: Sat 24^th January, St.Helens: Men 12k

278 Doug Briggs 52.08

452 Chris Smith 56.37

484 Steve Little 57.50

540 Peter Vickers 60.23

576 Edward East 62.02

603 Michael Masleczko 63.38

625 Peter Helliwell 65.16

Women 8k

143 Jo Belcher 41.54

169 Amnuay Scott 43.52

189 Kay Gambles 46.16

209 Katy Ostick 49.34

221 Heather Johnson 53.49

English National Cross Country Championships: Sat 21^st Feb, Temple Newsam:

We were delighted to have runners in the Yorkshire, Regional and National cross country championships, especially as the club is less than two years old. The National results were:

Men 12.1k:

980 Chris Smith 1.00.04

1164 Steve Little 1.03.51

1213 Edward East 1.05.06

Well done to Ian Fisher who finished 25^th (1395 runners) in a time of 43.31

Women 8.1k:

366 Jo Belcher 48.11

385 Davina Smith 49.13

391 Amnuay Scott 49.55

There were 454 runners.

Race results: Other races

Baildon Boundary Way Half marathon: Sun 7^th March 04:

Despite a couple of members who were unable to run due to injuries we had a good turn out for this local off road half marathon. Having raced the day before (see below) Chris bought Joe and Katie to cheer on the Idle members and many people stopped to admire the newest item of club kit – Idle AC baby fleeces!

The results were:

18 Chris Stubbs 1.31.46

33 Chris Booker 1.35.10

65 Simon Bellwood 1.40.57

74 Matt Coles 1.41.57

Steve Little 1.45.17

106 Donna Edmondson 1.46.16

117 Adrian Trevelyan 1.47.00

132 Michael Masleczko 1.48.43

173 Trevor Hooley 1.51.50

192 Peter Helliwell 1.54.19

208 Dexter Wright 1.56.13

216 Laura Brook 1.57.22

231 Edward East 1.59.49

248 Phil Routh 2.02.26

256 Davina Smith 2.04.21

There were 383 runners

Trollers Trott 24 mile trail race (Grassington): Saturday 6^th March

18^th Chris Smith 3.58

Wuthering Hike 31 mile trail race, Oxenhope: Saturday 13^th March

26^th Chris Smith 5.05 (PB)

Fell Races: March-End May 04.

If you like the idea of fell running and would like to have a go please speak to Chris.

All fell races are given a grade indicating length and difficulty. Difficulty is indicated by:

A, no less than 250 feet climb per mile, not more than 20% on roads, at least 1 mile in length (NASTY);

B, not less than 125 feet climb per mile, not more than 30% on roads (FAIRLY NASTY);

C, not less than 100 feet of climb per mile, not more than 40% on roads and contain genuine fell terrain (NOT VERY NASTY) .

Length is indicated by: L, 12 miles or more; M, 6 miles and over but less than 12 miles; S, under 6 miles.

SAT MARCH 13^th. IAN ROBERTS FELL RACE. BM. 2.30pm 7m from Marsden Cricket Club. £3 on day.

SAT MARCH 13^th. WUTHERING HIKE (Haworth Hobble). BL. 8am. 31m/4400’ from Westfield Lodge, Moorside Lane, Oxenhope. £16 teams of 2 or £9 solo. Refreshments on route., hot meal at finish, showers/changing. Website: www.keighleyandcraven.co.uk

SAT MARCH 20^th MIDGLEY MOOR FELL RACE. AS. 11am. 5m/1250’ from Booth Cricket Club, Booth, Halifax. £3 on day. Website: www.cvfr.co.uk

SAT APRIL 3^rd. PENDLE FELL RACE. AS. 2pm. 4.5m/1500’ from Barley Village Hall, Barley, near Burnley, Lancs. £2.50 on day. Website: www.clayton-le-moors-harriers.co.uk

SUN APRIL 4^th 27^TH GUISBOROUGH MOORS RACE. BL. 11am. 12.5m/2600’from Guisborough Rugby Club. £8 on day. Website: www.middlesboroughathleticclub.org

TUE APRIL 6^th BUNNY RUN 1. CS. 7.00 pm. 3 miles/300’ from the Guide Inn, Harden Moor. £2 on night. All finishers receive Cadbury’s Cream egg plus a special bottle of beer (Bunny Run one only). All prizes in Bunny Run Series are Easter Eggs. Three races to count out of four for overall awards. Idle AC attendance points race.

TUES APRIL 13^th BUNNY RUN 2 .CS. 7.15 pm. As above.

SUN APRIL 18^th WEST NAB FELL RACE. AS. 12.45pm 5.9 m/2000’ from Lathes Farm, Calmlands Road, Roud Edge, Meltham, Huddersfield. £3.50 on day.

TUES APRIL 20^th BUNNY RUN 3 .CS. 7.30 pm. As above.

TUES APRIL 27^th BUNNY RUN 4 .CS. 7.30 pm. As above. Free buffet to all finishers plus presentation of overall series awards. Three races out of four for overall awards.

TUES MAY 4^th BUNNY RUN RELAY. CS. 7.30pm. 3 legs, each of 2.5m/250’. £6 per team of three. Almost any conceivable concoction of teams welcome. Free butties at the prize giving.

WED MAY 5^th LOTHERSDALE FELL RACE. BS. 7.30 pm 4.5 miles/600’ from the Hare & Hounds, Lothersdale near Skipton. £3 on night.

TUES MAY 11^th JACK BLOOR RACES. BS. 7.15pm. 5.2m/1150’ from Millennium Gardens, Ilkley. £3 on night. Website: www.jackbloor.co.uk

SAT MAY 29^th HUTTON ROOF CRAGS RACE. BM. 2.30pm. 7m/1300’ from Hutton Roof Village Hall, near Kirkby Lonsdale. £3 on day. Country fair, children’s sports.

MON MAY 31^st. AUSTWICK AMBLE. BM. 1pm. 8m/1200’ from Austwick Village centre, Austwick, near Settle. £3 on day. Course partially marked and local knowledge an advantage. Website: www.daelnet.co.uk/events.

Note: A full list of local fell races for 2004 is available at the club or via the website. Chris also has a copy of the new FRA calendar.

New Members

This month we welcome 2 new members: Suzanne Bairstow and Dominic Hopson . Suzanne has been running since the formation of the informal Wednesday night group last summer. In that time Suzanne’s speed and stamina have both improved which is in part due to the regular running but also down to her love of mountain biking. Dominic has recently moved to Idle from Pudsey and is a former member of Pudsey Pacers who is now looking to run competitively for Idle AC.

WYWL Canal Relay 2004: Foulridge to Skipton

Organising club: Skipton AC

Date: May 1^st 2004 organised by 2003 winners Skipton AC, starting at 5 pm

Route: Foulridge to Skipton c. 15.5 miles in total over four legs

Teams: 8 runners of any age and running together in pairs (second of pair must arrive at the changeover point before the next pair goes off). Teams to include: 2 ladies, one of whom should be a vet, and one of the men should be a vet. Each pair to give their names to the marshal at the start and end of their leg.

Info: An exceptionally picturesque section of canal on which all start locations are easily accessible. The finish is in Skipton and changing/showers will be available at the rugby club.

Legs: Legs 1 & 2, road shoes/trail shoes, legs 3 & 4, trail shoes/fell shoes depending on weather.

Prizes: For first A team and first B team. Extra spot prizes for performances on each leg (to be decided!)

Legs for the 2004 Canal Relay: Foulridge—Skipton

Leg 1	Foulridge to Greenberfield	c. 4.5 miles
Leg 2	Greenberfield to East Marton	c. 2.5 miles
Leg 3	East Marton to Gargrave	c. 4.0 miles
Leg 4	Gargrave to Skipton	c. 4.5 miles
Total		c. 15.5 miles

In 2003 Idle AC entered two teams when we ran from Leeds to Riddlesden and we were 3^rd and 7^th team. In 2004 we hope to enter at least two teams. Please submit names to Chris if you want to be included. Afterwards we will go to the Rugby club for the presentation.

The Tough 10 – Sunday 4^th July 04.

Our friends at Skipton AC have informed us that the Tough 10 is back!! The course from Skipton Rugby club at 11am on 4^th July is described as rural, scenic, rather bumpy and not for wimps!! Skipton point out that this is not the town 10k. Entry forms are available at the club but for further information and results visit: www.skiptonac.org

Blackpool Marathon/Half: Idle AC Club race 2004

We have 18 entries so far for the full and half marathon, including a women’s marathon team. It’s not too late to enter but please send entries direct to the organiser. As with last year we hope that many members will make a weekend of it - we have details of camping/ caravan sites (see Martin) and B & B accommodation in Lytham/St Anne’s (see Chris or Davina).

John Carr Race Series.

As last year we hope to have a strong turn out for this series of 5k races around Esholt on Wednesday nights on 5^th, 19^th and 26^th May 03, starting at 7.30pm. Get a ‘league’ position by completing all 3 races. Entry forms will soon be available at the club.

Bunny Runs 2004: Starting on Tues 6^th April at 7pm.

2003 saw a good club turn out for each of these 3 mile fell races run on consecutive Tuesday nights in April and ending with the relay. The course was so popular that this year the first race was nominated as an attendance points race. The race starts from the Guide Inn, Harden Moor and costs £2 on night. All finishers receive a Cadbury’s Cream egg plus a special bottle of beer (Bunny Run one only). All prizes in Bunny Run Series are Easter Eggs. Three races to count out of four for overall awards.

NB: Bunny Run 1 will replace the coached Tuesday night speed/hill session.

Idle AC celebrates - We are 2 on 22^nd March 04.

When Idle AC was formed in 2002 we had no base (we met in a bus shelter in Morrisons car park), we were unaffiliated, we had no money and no kit. How things have changed just two years on!

We always, with the support of our members, had a belief in what Idle AC could aspire to be. The huge achievements in road, cross country and fell running and the growth in membership have shown how a club can succeed. Last year we celebrated our first birthday with a party at the Symposium and although we won’t be hosting an official party this year we hope that the majority and club members and partners/friends will help to celebrate our success at the Presentation evening on Friday 19^th March (see details).

PS look out for the trumpets and fireworks on the website!!

Annual General Meeting – Thursday 22^nd April 04.

Idle AC’s second AGM will be held on Thursday 22nd April at 7.15pm at the Baptist church, Bradford Road, Idle. This is your big chance to air your views on the club’s present and future policy and activities. Please note that there will be no club training on this date. An agenda will be available to all members in early April. Members are also reminded that subs will be collected at the AGM when a membership form will need to be completed.

It would be appreciated if all subs could be paid by the beginning of May as the North of England subscriptions are due to be paid in May 2003.

The Vets Bill

It seems that Idle AC is beginning to get a reputation amongst race organisers for the large number of the runners it enters in their events as illustrated at the Liversedge Half and the Baildon Boundary Way.

At Liversedge (15/02/04) we had 6 Vets running as follows:

Simon Bellwood 1:35:47, Dave Lewis 1:40:41, Michael Masleczko 1:40:59 with a PB,

Peter Helliwell 1:44:03, Amnuay Scott 1:49:23 and Martin Burnside 1:55:01.

The National XC Championships on 21/02/04 completed the trilogy of local, regional and National Cross-Country Championships. At the Nationals in Leeds on a perfect course found Davina Smith (385^th) and Amnuay Scott (391^st) toeing the line for the Idle Vets in their 8k Senior Ladies race.

In the Men’s Senior 12k race the winner finished with only one shoe whilst 1163 places behind finished Steve Little (1164^th) with both shoes intact, maybe one shoe running is something to try next time?

On 7^th March also over the country was the Baildon Boundary Way with again a huge contingent of Idle Vets taking part as follows:

Simon Bellwood 1:40:57, Steve Little 1:45:38, Michael Masleczko 1:48:43,

Trevor Hooley 1:51:50, Peter Helliwell 1:54:19, Dexter Wright 1:56:13,

Laura Brook 1:57:22, Phil Routh 2:02:21 and Davina Smith 2:04:21.

The next weekend at Dent (13/03/04) dawned fine where our sole entry for the Dentdale 14.2 mile race was Kay Gambles where she reduced her PB by around 10 minutes. Also on the same day saw the second Yorkshire Vets Grand Prix event at the Tina Horn Memorial 10km trail race, here Steve Little (87^th) and Dave Lewis (108^th) flew the Idle flag.

The Yorkshire Veteran’s Athletic Association promotes a race programme throughout the year which includes a Monthly Grand Prix series of nine separate Vet’s only races and various Yorkshire Vet’s Championships run in conjunction with existing local open races.

In the Grand Prix events a minimum of six races must be completed to qualify for individual awards plus various team awards. All the races are on mixed terrain, are local and cost £2 on the day. This years Grand Prix races are as follows: May 9^th at Heslington (York), May 30^th at Walton (Wakefield), June 22^nd at Starbeck (Harrogate), July 14^th at Esholt, August 3^rd at Pudsey, Sept 12^th at Honley (Huddersfield) and November 21^st at Halifax.

Currently to qualify as a Vet Women have to be aged over 35 (and admit to it) and Men being over 40. However in recent months there have been moves to lower the Men’s age limit to 35 pending a rubber stamp by the IAAF.

There are two ways to look at the consequences of this action:

Firstly, besides meaning a huge potential influx in participants (and corresponding increase in revenues for Veteran and national governing bodies), it also helps grow the sport by making events such as track and field accessible to an age group that in the past had been limited to mainly elite/open athletes.

Or, at 35 most athletes are still capable of running near their "open" ability and many still have that killer attitude of open competition. Should Vets running be merely a continuation of open competition or should it be a separate category for those who have left their open days behind. Where everyone cheers for everyone else, where the social aspects are at least as important as the competition aspects and where athletes can in general share a more relaxed race philosophy.

Only you can decide which will be right for you and your sport.

Lastly I would like to congratulate our two Lady Vets Winners in the West Yorkshire Winter League. Amnuay Scott for being 1^St in the V35 Lady category and Kay Gambles as 1^st V45 lady. Both deserve their just accolades and are a credit to their peers. Well Done. Steve Little

From the Coach…

We were looking out for Idle finishers at the Spen 20, from the covered stand by the finish line. Joe Smith was in my arms in his XS Idle fleece, happily watching the finishers complete the final hundred metres of Spenborough’s Tartan track. Pat periodically put Katie’s wayward dummy back in. Ian had long since won the race and wandered over to the clubhouse in his Idle fleece. Edward appeared, collapsed next to the finish marshals and then wandered over to the clubhouse wearing Davina’s Idle AC fleece.

I realised that I could tell how the race had gone for each of our completing members by how they looked as they ran that final ultra flat 300 metres on the track. For runners give away their feelings much as we all unconsciously do – through posture. Michael and I also discussed how we could recognise runners by their style of movement, even when they were too distant to recognise, since we could see runners in profile before they entered the stadium. He suggested a runner was Davina. I said no - her posture was wrong. This woman’s shoulders were hunched and rolling. Only then did we decide the vest was the wrong colour. Yet I couldn’t define Davina’s running posture until I saw it. Straightaway I said “ That’s Davina now”. I recognised the shoulders reasonably well back and the head height remaining constant throughout the leg cycle, which at a distance gives the impression of an economical floating movement. Simultaneously I knew that the race had gone well, because near to the finish she had retained her trademark running style and posture. Other runners I saw struggling. With damagingly low energy reserves they could not retain their most effective posture, and just needed the race to be over.

On the one hand posture and running style are early casualties when the effort required in a run exceeds the fitness level of the runner, but on the other, regular attention to posture during training and racing can actually increase running efficiency, thus maximising the available event fitness. The key to good posture is in the back, which should correctly have an ‘s’ shape. As bipeds, humans need the spring like effect of this shape, which quadrupeds like cats, with their ‘c’ shaped spines, do not, since they do not need to be upright. In sprint drills we simply exaggerate the ways of achieving good running posture – we draw the shoulders back and the chest forward, and most importantly we hold the head up, straight and high. In effect we “run tall”.

The final element of good posture is that which is psychological. Whether I am at the start of a race and surrounded by Idle vests, or waiting at the finish holding little Joe in his club fleece, I don’t just run tall, I walk tall. - Chris