Coming Events: February, March & April 07

Events in bold indicate a ‘club’ event which members are encouraged to run.

Date	Event
Sun 11^th Feb 07	Liversedge Half Marathon, 12 noon. 1st points race.
Sun 18^th Feb 07	5^th WYWL race hosted by St.Bede’s at Esholt. See below.
Sun 25^th Feb 07	Huddersfield 10k, 11am. No entries on day.
Sun 25^th Feb 07	St. Wilfrids Muddy Boots 10k (approx), Ripon. Scenic, multi terrain course. New race!!
Fri 9^th Mar 07	WYWL Presentation Evening, Victoria Hall, Saltaire. A Great night out!! See below.
Sun 18^th Mar 07	Spen 20. 10am. Ideal prep for a Spring marathon.
Sun 25^th Mar 07	Ackworth Half. 10.30am.
Sun 1^st April 07	Baildon Boundary Way. Race full.
Tues 3^rd April 07	Bunny Run 1. Idle AC club race 2007
Sat 14^th April 07	Meanwood Valley Trail Race, approx 7m.
Sun 29^th April 07	Rothwell 10k.

Attendance Scheme/ Club races – 2007 details:

Top 25 Club Races for 2007: Handicap/ Attendance Scheme - 10 out of 25 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 prize 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.

Name	Totals		Grand
	Att	Race	Total
Adrian Trevelyan	7	0	7
Amnuay Scott	4	0	4
Amy Wright	4	0	4
Anna Lincoln	4	0	4
Chris Smith	5	0	5
Chris Stubbs	4	0	4
Dave Currie	1	0	1
David Lewis	2	0	2
Davina Smith	5	0	5
Gary Naylor	8	0	8
Hannah Peacock	6	0	6
Hayley Atkinson-Windsor	5	0	5
Ian Fisher	2	0	2
Joanne Belcher	8	0	8
Judith Wolstenhulme	2	0	2
Kay Gambles	6	0	6
Lisa Hall	1	0	1
Martin Burnside	5	0	5
Nick Thorp	4	0	4
Peter Hilliard	4	0	4
Peter Vickers	1	0	1
Phill Routh	9	0	9
Rhea Hawkins	5	0	5
Richard Lyons	3	0	3
Sarah Holness	4	0	4
Simon Bellwood	6	0	6
Simon Blackburn	6	0	6
Stephen Wolstenhulme	3	0	3
Steve Little	2	0	2
Tim Whitcombe	1	0	1
Tony Blythe	7	0	7
Warren Fletcher	5	0	5
	139	0	139

Januarys Attendance winner is Phill.

The Club races for 2007, where points can be earned are as follows.

Date	Race Details	Comments.
February 11^th Sun	Liversedge Half Marathon, 12.00 noon.	Undulating half. See results.
March 18^th – Sun	Spen 20mile, 10am.	Great Prep for Spring marathons – Tough 20miler.
March – Sun 25^th	Ackworth half, 10.30am.
April – Tues 3^rd	Bunny Run (1) 3miles, 7pm.	Idle AC Club Race 2007
April –Sat 14^th	Meanwood Valley Trail Race, approx 7m.	Part of Airedale Triple Challenge.
April – Sun 29^th	Rothwell 10k.	Race fills get your entries in early.
May – Wed 2nd	John Carr 5k, Esholt, 7.30pm. Fast, flat course.	No entries on night. Get your entries in ASAP.
May -Sun 13th	Ripon 10m. Part of Black Sheep series.
May – Sun 27^th	Melmerby 10k. Part of Black sheep series.
June – Wed 6^th	Chevin Fell Race, AS, 3.5m/900’. 7.30pm.
June – Thurs 7^th	Bronte 5, 7.30pm. Hilly two lap course.	Date TBC
June – Sun 10^th	West Yorkshire Fire 5	Date TBC
June – Wed 13^th	Otley 10. 7.30pm.
July –Sat 7^th	Oakworth Haul Fell Race, BM, 5m/650’. 3pm.	Oakworth Gala – Family day out!!
July – Wed 11^th	Stirton Fell Race. BS. 5.5m/1200’. 7.30pm.
July –Sun 22^nd	Pudsey 10k, 10.45.	Also fun runs.
Aug – Sat 20^th	Burnsall 10 &/or fell race	Date TBC
Aug –Mon 27^th	Spofforth 10k Trail. 1.30pm.	Date TBC. Bank Hol Family day out.
Sept – Sun 2^nd	Sandal Castle 10k
Sept – Sun 9^th	Yorkshireman Marathon or Half, 10am.	Chris Stubbs won the Marathon in 2006!
Sept – Sun 30^th	Horsforth 10k, 10am.
Oct –Sun 21^st	Withins Skyline Fell Race, BM, 7m/1000’ 11.30am.
Oct – Sun 28^th	Holmfirth 15mile. 10.30am.	Date TBC
Nov – Sun 4^th	Guy Fawkes 10mile 10.30am.	Date TBC
Nov - Sun 25^th	Abbey Dash 10k, 9.30am.	Date TBC.

Race results: Various races

Brass Monkey Half Marathon 21^st Jan 07:

Simon Bellwood	1.24.02	77/1011
Adrian Trevelyan	1.28.24	140/1011
Chris Booker	1.28.52	149/1011
Donna Edmondson-Booker	1.28.53	150/1011	FCR
Peter Hilliard	1.32.47	224/1011
Richard Lyons	1.33.45	251/1011
Steve Little	1.35.12	292/1011
Gary Naylor	1.39.28	377/1011
Jo Belcher	1.43.29	467/1011
Martin Burnside	1.49.49	600/1011
Kay Gambles	1.51.42	633/1011
Amnuay Scott	1.55.26	712/1011
Lisa Hall	1.57.53	754/1011
Judith Wolstenhulme	1.59.31	781/1011	PB
Stephen Wolstenhulme	1.59.34	782/1011	PB
Anna Lincoln	2.07.44	877/1011
Andy Moakler	2.12.45	921/1011

Rombalds Stride 25 mile off road race 3^rd Feb 07:

Jo Belcher & Lisa Hall 5.57.

Dewsbury 10k 4^th Feb 07:

694 Amy Wright 51.00 PB

730 Hannah Peacock 52.06. There were 1060 runners.

Yorks Vets Race 4^th Feb 07:

Awaiting results.

Liversedge 1/2 M results: Sun 11^th Feb 07: All up hill with a 360 degree headwind.

64 369 Adrian Trevelyan    94.12
82 325 Steven Little         97.29
107 492 Gary Naylor        99.46
116 260 David Lewis       100.34
192 221 Joanne Belcher     107.42
381 117 Anastasia Lincoln             142.16

2007 Club race.

This year we have picked a ‘fell’ race as our 2007 club race. This is no ordinary fell race – it’s a runnable trail type course that is accessible to ALL, regardless of your running abilities. Even me (this is Davina… I don’t do mud, slippy bits, etc !, speaking).

Which Race: BUNNY RUN (1).

When: Tues 3^rd April at 7.00pm.

Where: Haworth, (up from Sun Inn at top of Haworth – see below).

Course: Approx 3 mile on runnable tracks, with only 1 real descent/ascent (but I could still run it).

Why: To get the WHOLE club to a local event that has a great atmosphere.

Afterwards: You get CHOCOLATE for running!!!! All Prizes are EASTER EGGS!! It would be good to have everyone come into the Sun pub for a drink afterwards – it’s packed but wonderful.

Please make a note of the date and let’s make it our best club race ever.

If you really love this race think about doing the series & the relay. The full Bunny Run series are as follows:

TUES APRIL 3^rd BUNNY RUN 1 CS 7pm. 3m/300’ from Dimples Lane Quarry. Registration at the Old Sun Hotel, Haworth (5mins from start)£2 on night only. Crème Egg to all finishers. All prizes Easter Eggs. 3 out of 4 races to count for overall awards. Idle AC Club race for 2007. Highly recommended event/series.

TUES APRIL 10^th BUNNY RUN 2 CS 7.15pm. 3m/300’ from Dimples Lane Quarry. Registration at the Old Sun Hotel, Haworth (5mins from start)£2 on night only. Crème Egg to all finishers. All prizes Easter Eggs. 3 out of 4 races to count for overall awards. Highly recommended event.

TUES APRIL 17^th BUNNY RUN 3 CS 7.30pm. 3m/300’ from Dimples Lane Quarry. Registration at the Old Sun Hotel, Haworth (5mins from start)£2 on night only. Crème Egg to all finishers. All prizes Easter Eggs. 3 out of 4 races to count for overall awards. Highly recommended event.

TUES APRIL 24^th BUNNY RUN 4 CS 7.30pm. 3m/300’ from Dimples Lane Quarry. Registration at the Old Sun Hotel, Haworth (5mins from start)£2 on night only. Crème Egg to all finishers. All prizes Easter Eggs. 3 out of 4 races to count for overall awards. Highly recommended event.

TUES MAY 1^st BUNNY RUN RELAY CS 7.30pm. 3m/300’ from Dimples Lane Quarry. Registration at the Old Sun Hotel, Haworth (5mins from start)£6 per team of 3 on night only. New course. 1^st leg 2.5m/250’, 2^nd & 3^rd legs 2m/200’. Almost any conceivable team composition welcome including mixed, family etc. Relay batons are eggs! Crème Egg to all finishers. Soup & roll included. Highly recommended event at a bargain price.

Golden Bond entry at London.

I have a Golden Bond place in the Flora London Marathon this year. Its for the SeeAbility Charity, and I’ve pledged to raise £1300. SeeAbility works with people who are blind or partially sighted and have additional disabilities. They provide residential accommodation, specialist activity and resource centres plus support for people in their homes, across a number of locations. Their aim is to help individuals discover their potential by encouraging independence and helping them develop new skills. They enable people to realize opportunities, make choices and enhance their quality of life. I would be extremely grateful if club members could sponsor me. It’s all for a good cause. Every little bit helps towards the support for these individuals. Thanking you in anticipation, with warmest wishes, Anastasia Lincoln.

If anyone wants to sponsor Ana please see her on a club night or contact me & I’ll pass any messages on – Davina.

Blood Donors

If anyone is considering doing something that is easy, painless but benefits others I’d recommend looking at the Blood Donor website and consider being a donor. Supplies are often low at this time of the year and they really welcome new donors. Plus the website gives details of other ways individuals can help the blood donor service if you are unable to donate blood. We are fortunate in Bradford to have the Bradford Blood Centre that opens Monday to Friday, in addition there is a mobile team that visits the local areas.

The process is quick & easy, the staff are very friendly and helpful plus they offer a great selection of drinks and snacks! Their telephone number is 01274 308450. Visit the website for loads of useful info: www.blood.co.uk or telephone 0845 7711 711.

Annual General Meeting – Thursday 29^th March 07.

Idle AC’s fifth AGM will be held on Thursday 29^th March at 7.15pm at the Cricket Club. 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 shortly. Please note that members must be at the AGM in order to vote for the committee nominations. Members are reminded that subs will be collected (£15) 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 at the latest as annual subs need to be paid earlier to England Athletics.

John Carr Race Series.

In past years Idle AC have been the largest club for all three races and this year we hope to be even stronger for this series of 5k races around Esholt on Wednesday nights on 2^nd , 9^th and 16^th May 06, starting at 7.30pm. Get a ‘league’ position by completing all 3 races. Entry forms are available at the club. This year due to the increasing popularity of the series and to avoid disappointment only postal entries are being accepted. Please get your entries in early as the race limit is 400. Postal entries close Mon 23^rd April.

Fell Races: Feb 07 to end April 07.

Please note that many races require that competitors carry waterproof clothing, map and compass for the competitor’s safety. Failure to comply with a race organiser's requirements will mean that you will be barred from taking part in the race. Competitors should arrive at races prepared to carry any or all of the following equipment: Windproof whole body cover, other body cover appropriate to the conditions, map and compass suitable for navigating the course, whistle, emergency food (long races). This equipment is mandatory at all Cat A Long and Medium races.

If this is the first time you have considered fell racing select a race distance well under the distance you normally run on the road.

If you retire during a race you MUST notify the officials at the finish.

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 FEB 10^th WADSWORTH HALF TROG. BM. 10 am. 9m/1500’ from the Old Town Cricket Club, Hebden Bridge. £5.50, closing date: 3^rd Feb. No entries on day. Website: www.cvfr.co.uk

SAT FEB 10^th WADSWORTH TROG. BL. 10.10 am. 20m/4000’ from the Old Town Cricket Club, Hebden Bridge. £5.50, closing date: 3^rd Feb. No entries on day. Full body cover, map, compass, whistle and emergency food must be carried for either events above. No kit, no run. Website: www.cvfr.co.uk

SUN FEB 25^th ILKLEY MOOR FELL RACE. AS. 11.30am. 5m/1260’ from Wells Road, Ilkley. £3 on day. Website: www.ilkleyharriers.org.uk

SAT MARCH 3^rd NOON STONE FELL RACE. AM. 12 noon. 9m/2300’ from Brisk Inn, Lumbutts, Todmorden. £3.50 on day. Website: www.todharriers.co.uk

SAT MARCH 10^th. HALF TOUR OF PENDLE. AM. 11am. 9m/2250’ from Barley Village, near Burnley. £2.50 to organiser by 5^th March. Website: www.clayton-le-moors-harriers.co.uk

SAT MARCH 10^th WINDMILLS WHIZZ. BM. 11.30am. 7m/800’ from Ogden Reservoir, Causeway Foot. £4 on day, Trail shoes recommended. Also junior race & family fun run. Website: www.halifaxharriers.co.uk

SAT MARCH 10^th. WUTHERING HIKE (Haworth Hobble). BL. 8am. 31m/4400’ from Westfield Lodge, Moorside Lane, Oxenhope. £20 teams of 2 or £11 solo. Entry on official entry form. Full kit to be carried. Bring mug for drinks en route. Hot meal at finish, showers/changing. Website: www.kcac.co.uk

SUN MARCH 11^th. IAN ROBERTS FELL RACE. BM. 11.00pm 7m/1000’ from Marsden Cricket Club. £4 on day. Website: www.holmfirthharriers.com

SAT MARCH 31^st MIDGLEY MOOR RACE. AS. 11am. 5m/1250’ from Booth Cricket Club, Booth, Halifax. £3.50 on day. Website: www.cvfr.co.uk

SAT APRIL 7^th PENDLE FELL RACE. AS. 2pm. 4.5m/1500’ from Barley Village Hall, Barley, near Burnley, Lancs. £3 on day. Refreshments in village hall. Website: www.clayton-le-moors-harriers.co.uk

SUN APRIL 15^th GISBOROUGH MOORS RACE. BL. 11am. 12.5m/2600’from Guisborough Rugby Club. £9 to organiser. Website: www.nym.ac

SUN APRIL 29^th 53^rd THREE PEAKS RACE. AL.10am. 24m/4500’ from the Playing fields, Horton in Ribblesdale. £8.Must pre-enter. Visit website for details: www.threepeaksrace.org.uk

Black Sheep Race Series 2007

The 2007 Series comprises of 8 races, the same 6 races as last year plus the re-introduction of the Fountains 10k and a new race the Wetherby 10k.

THE NEW FORMAT: There is s now a two tier Race Series:

1. The Full Pint Race Series for those who want the ultimate challenge of running 4 x 10k's and the two long races, the same format as last year, but you do have 2 more 10k’s to choose from.

The Full Pint Races are:

Fountains 10k	Sunday May 6th
Ripon 10m	Sunday May 13th
Melmerby 10k	Sunday May 27th
Kirkby Malzeard 10k	Saturday June 2nd
Rainton 10k	Sunday June 24th
Burn Valley 1/2m	Saturday July 7th
Burton Leonard 10k	Sunday July 22nd
Wetherby 10k	Sunday September 9th

2. The Half Pint Race Series is for those new to racing and those runners who prefer the 10k distance as their maximum race distance.

The Half Pint Races are:

Fountains 10k	Sunday May 6th
Melmerby 10k	Sunday May 27th
Kirkby Malzeard 10k	Saturday June 2nd
Rainton 10k	Sunday June 24th
Burton Leonard 10k	Sunday July 22nd
Wetherby 10k	Sunday September 9th

ENTRY FORMS

For those runners entering via the web site you will be able to print off a standard race entry form for each race; as the race organisers are not sending out Race Packs this year due to increased postal charges. Individual race entry forms will be on the website in January.

Entry forms will be found on the Races individual web page, they should be all on the site by mid January. The closing date for the series is 14^th April or when 250 series limit is reached. Visit the Blacksheep Series website for full series details: www.blacksheeprunners

West Yorkshire Winter League 2006/7 season

It was another fine but very windy day for the fourth race of the 2006/7 WYWL season at Baildon, hosted by Baildon Runners. We again had over 200 runners, including over 70 women, line up from the 8 clubs. This included 24 runners from Idle AC. The course was approx 5 miles and involved a couple of streams. Most seemed to like the very varied, mixed terrain course.

Ian Fisher won his fourth successive race, and once again there were strong runs from the male team, especially from Chris Stubbs & from Adrian. The women were led home by Jo, with strong performances from Clare, Amnuay & from Rhea who ran her first ever cross country and loved it!

Men		Vets
Pudsey	5192	Dewsbury	1879
Dewsbury	5114	LBT	1801
LBT	4973	Pudsey	1788
Idle AC	4422	St.Bede's	1740
Baildon	4418	Baildon	1681
St.Bede’s	4401	Skipton	1657
Stainland	4296	Idle AC	1603
Skipton	3418	Stainland	1525
Women		Overall
Dewsbury	1153	Dewsbury	6267
Stainland	1148	Pudsey	6153
LBT	1069	LBT	6042
Skipton	1043	Stainland	5444
Idle AC	969	Idle AC	5391
Pudsey	961	St.Bede’s	5344
St.Bede’s	943	Baildon	5322
Baildon	904	Skipton	4461

The final fixture for 2006/7 is as follows:

Date Host club Venue

5. Feb 18th St.Bede’s Esholt woods.

Full details will be circulated to club members prior to the event.

Whilst the League does offer individual trophy positions, its primary objective is team competition. The five team scores are added together to decide the following team trophies:

1^st Combined Team, 2^nd Combined Team, 3^rd Combined Team.

1^st Male Team.

1^st Female team.

1^st Vets Team (combination of male/females).

A club team is the first seven men to cross the line (which must include 2 vets), and the first three women (including 1 vet), in each event.

The vets’ team is the 2 male and the one female counting vets added together.

Different runners may score in different races - it’s just first past the post on the day.

The first Combined Team can enter the National Cross Country Final and the 2^nd Combined Team can enter the Plate Race at the National Final which will take place at Nottingham in March 07.

WYWL Presentation Night: Fri 9^th March 07

The 2007 WYWL presentation night, hosted by Skipton AC, takes place on Friday 9^th March at Victoria Hall in Saltaire.

The fun starts at 8pm and includes the presentation of all the team & individual trophies, buffet, raffle and live band (Idle Pop!!!!). The price has still to be confirmed but is likely to be £7.50 per person (cash or cheques payable to West Yorkshire Winter League) when its been confirmed.

As this is such a local venue it would be great for us all to come and have a great night out!

The Idle Trail Race – Sunday 15^th July 2007

Following the amazing amount of positive feedback from our hosting of the of the 2^nd Idle Trail Race we are now organising this years event, which we hope will be even bigger and better than last year. Entry forms are now available on our website. On-line entries are available via www.runnersworld.co.uk & on www.ukresults.com. Once again Crosstrax will be our main sponsor.

The 2006 Idle Trail Race came 136^th out of 366 in the Runners World ‘Readers Races of the Year’ poll. The overall score for the race was 87% and 100% of runners said that they would run the race again. Check out the Runners world website for details. We are already starting to get entries in for the 2007 event!!

All in the mind……

I’ve had a passion, possibly an addiction, for running since I first started in 1989. I’d never been involved in anything remotely active prior to then and I was amazed how quickly I got into it. I was very slow and pretty useless to begin with but the more I ran, the more I wanted to run. I started keeping a training diary and each time I ran I wrote down the details and after a few months I realized, through looking back at my diary, that I was actually improving. Joining a club was my next step. From then on I never looked back. My love of running, and then being involved in all aspects of the sport, gave me the motivation to achieve things. Running is very much ‘in the mind’ and my mind has often made me achieve things when my body would have given up. Equally running has helped my spirit – I’ve always felt calmer and happier when I’ve been out for a run. I feel at my most content when I’m surrounded by other runners, either at the club, in a race, or with friends who are runners. Running satisfies many things – my competitive streak and my social nature.

I’d hoped to make 2007 a year when I really achieved something, particularly in terms of my marathon running. However, for a variety of reasons, my training diary for January was blank. For a couple of weeks I didn’t run at all. For the first time since 1989 I lost my motivation to run and running was no longer in my mind.

In early February I got a phone call from a running friend asking me if I wanted to go for a run. I was a bit scared as I knew I’d lost some of my fitness & I wasn’t sure if I had the motivation to keep running. However it was a cold but bright sunny day so I thought I’d give it a go. We started on the canal. It was frozen with a fine sprinkling of snow on top and it made me remember all the times I’d run on the canal and how I’d always enjoyed it. I was slow but my friend was patient and kept pointing out all the wonderful aspects of the scenery. I started to relax and just enjoy the run. We turned off the canal and walked up the steps into Horsforth. I realized that it didn’t matter if you sometimes have to stop and to walk. I was merely enjoying being outside on a sunny day enjoying my friend’s company.

Part of the run took us on the Idle Trail Race course. The scenery that afternoon was stunning and I knew that I was lucky just to be able to run. I felt much happier when we got back, exhausted but happy. I felt like a runner again and I knew that I could use the memories of that run to help motivate me again and to keep running in my mind. – Davina.

Mablethorpe Marathon -16^th Sept 07.

Mablethorpe - Doesn’t the name itself inspire you to go for a seaside trip & to run either a full, half marathon or even 10k (although I feel everyone is capable of a half!)?? We now have entries forms for this event and I’m wanting to gauge if we would have interest in a weekend away – possibly staying in nearby Skegness, which interestingly has the largest concentration of caravans in Western Europe.

The letter that came with the entry forms says that the organizers pride themselves on providing an excellent flat course with a variety of superb scenery taking in the Lincolnshire Wold villages and finishing along the prom of one of the finest beaches in the UK. As ever it would be good to get men’s and women’s teams in the full & in the half. Visit the website for further details: www.mablethorpemarathon.org

The 2006 race was the first one - there were 108 marathon runners, with 2.44 winning for the men & 3.24 the women’s winning time. The half marathon winning times were 1.18 & 1.33. The race is a bit pricey at £25/£15/£10 though.

Let me know what you think – Davina.

From the Coach…

Here’s a facetious and dismissive piece of training advice – run a long way quickly. Yet it does contain essential truth.

Any distance runner with a target in mind is essentially aiming to run a long way quickly. The speed and the target distance place each other into context – “quick” for a 5k is very different from “quick” for a marathon. “Quick” is also placed into context by the individual runner, so if you regularly run 10k’s in, say, 50 minutes, then completing the distance in 48 minutes is definitely running a long way quickly!

To say “run a long way quickly” is only facetious as training advice because it oversimplifies an accepted basic training method - the principle of overload. This is what Tuesday sessions and monthly Wednesday sessions are all about. The sessions are designed to make you run faster than you want to for further than you want to, and then to do it again and again. According to the principle of overload, your body goes away after the session and says to itself “I won’t get caught out like that again.” It responds by building itself up in terms of cardio-vascular efficiency and muscle development. It becomes more capable of doing what it was asked to do last time. The next session should be slightly harder, to make the process continue.

Davina came back from her turn at the club one Thursday, saying that people were still hurting from the Tuesday session. It may seem perverse but I was pleased. The session had achieved its objective in terms of overload – every hurting body was striving to rebuild itself as a stronger, more efficient one. A major reason why I am pleased by such a response is that I must have succeeded in one coaching objective – to find a way to make each athlete push him or herself into overload. Most people say they could not do the quality of work on their own that they achieve within the training group. This is for two reasons. Firstly, being surrounded by motivated people who are working hard is likely to inspire and bring something extra out of most people. Secondly there are usually one or two psychological devices hidden in the session which may appeal to a runner’s natural competitive urges, or to their wish to contribute as part of a team.

However I manage to dress up endless repetition, though, it will not appeal to everyone. In the same way that people have different learning styles (some look, some listen, some do) so people have different ways of training. For those who find 10 identical 400 metre repetitions a horrifying prospect, and they may be the most naturally gifted distance runners, there is still a way forward. This alternative is available because, although many runners would strenuously deny it, running a long way quickly can actually be seriously enjoyable. Very often you will hear runners complaining that they ran a race “like a donkey” or their own equivalent phrase, or that they literally dragged themselves round a training run. But every now and then you will hear one admit, “It was wonderful – I was flying!”

It can’t be planned or predicted, but sometimes that run will happen – it will feel easy, effortless and natural. And then is the time to strike – to run a long way quickly. Within a long run, even up to 20 miles or so, it’s possible to put in a sustained burst when you feel like it – just striding out and pushing hard, for say up to a mile or so, having decided on a target point along the route. I’ve done it, and seen it done, on the flat, downhill, and even uphill. The best I have been involved in or seen are when two or more runners go together, perhaps even without speaking of it, each not allowing the other to gain ground. On regular training routes these “effort points” can even become informally accepted.

Ok so it’s not scientific, but it is flexible. You get some of what you need to improve, which is increased leg speed and sustained pressure on the cardio-vascular system to deliver oxygen to working muscles. If you do it regularly your body will respond by delivering further capability to tolerate such behaviour. Thursday runs with running back are ideal for this, but equally the Sunday “long steady” can contain such efforts.

And here’s the bonus - if you do happen to be able to knock out the Tuesday sessions without problems, don’t hold back when you’re out on those longer runs. If you feel like it, get the best of both worlds – run a long way quickly. – Chris

Current Men’s Club Records

Distance	Category	Name	Time
5 Km	Open	Joe Marjoram	17.08
	M40	Simon Bellwood	18.30
	M45	David Lewis	18:40
	M50	Trevor Hooley	21.22
5 Miles	Open	Doug Briggs	29:43
	M40	Chris Stubbs	31.06
	M45	Richard Lyons	33.22
	M50	Trevor Hooley	38.42
10 Km	Open	Douglas Briggs	36.13
	M40	Chris Stubbs	36.25
	M45	Dave Lewis	38:57
10 Miles	Open	Joe Marjoram	1:01:22
	M40	Chris Stubbs	1:05:14
	M45	Simon Bellwood	1:06:54
	M50	Trevor Hooley	1:20:04
Half Marathon	Open	Douglas Briggs	1:18:58
	M40	Chris Smith	1:24:05
	M45	Simon Bellwood	1:22:48
	M50	Trevor Hooley	1:43:29
15 Miles	Open	Chris Stubbs	1:37:03
	M40	Simon Bellwood	1:43:58
	M45	Trevor Hooley	2:03:18
20 Miles	Open	Chris Smith	2:24:00
	M40	Simon Bellwood	2:17:26
	M45	Simon Bellwood	2:13:50
Marathon	Open	Chris Smith	3:04:12
	M40	Simon Bellwood	3:02:18
	M45	Richard Lyons	3:36:15
	M50	Trevor Hooley	4:15:08

Current Women’s Club Records

Distance	Category	Name	Time
5 Km	Open	Donna Edmondson	19:03
	F35
	F40	Laura Brook	21.36
	F45	Kay Gambles	20.59
	F50	Ana Lincoln	27.01
5 Miles	Open	Donna Edmondson	33:46
	F35
	F45	Kay Gambles	40.03
	F50	Ana Lincoln	43.13
10 Km	Open	Donna Edmondson-Booker	40:17
	F35
	F40	Laura Brook	48.23
	F45	Laura Brook	46:13
	F50	Ana Lincoln	52:39
10 Miles	Open	Donna Edmondson	1:10:13
	F35
	F45	Kay Gambles	1:16:50
	F50	Ana Lincoln	1.32.38
Half Marathon	Open	Donna Edmondson -Booker	1:28:53
	F35	Jo Belcher	1:43:29
	F40	Kay Gambles	1:51:00
	F45	Laura Brook	1:41:39
	F50	Ana Lincoln	1:53:27
15 Miles	Open	Donna Edmondson - Booker	1:50:54
	F35
	F50	Ana Lincoln	2:35:57
20 Miles	Open	Joanne Belcher	2:37:11
	F35	Davina Smith	3:01:01
	F40	Kay Gambles	3:02:00
	F45	Laura Brook	2:48:05
Marathon	Open	Joanne Belcher	3:21:31
	F35
	F40	Davina Smith	4:02:58
	F45	Laura Brook	3:55:10
	F50	Ana Lincoln	4.47.06