The Christmas running challenge - The Advent of Running - is progressing well with One R, Shelley, Karen P, Sarah H, Jenny L, Tina and myself all having run the first 17 days of December. The aim is to run at least a mile everyday from the 1st to the 24th of December. With just 7 days left will everyone see it through to the end?!?
11 parkrunners ran at 4 different venues this weekend. We had Mike and Anna at Southampton (pre-Christmas shopping), Glenna at Swindon, 7 at Winchester and myself at Brooklands.
The main highlight was Shelley O running yet another PB, taking another 4 second of her previous best with a cracking time of 27:28.
I was visiting Booklands to record my 100th different parkrun. See a write-up below!
This week the runners were on the first Tinsel Trot; a 5km run around the city organised by Rachel and Anne for their London Marathon Charities Crohns and Colitis UK and Leonard Cheshire.
14 runners donned fancy dress and went for a social run followed by cakes and drinks at Number 5 Bridge Street.
Read all about it here: https://wfcrunners.blogspot.com/2018/12/wfc-runners-13th-december-tinsel-trot.html
This week will also see the release of the 12 week running challenge, starting on the 7th Jan. See below for more details!
Note; There are no running sessions on Thursday 20th and 27th. We will resume on January 3rd.
This week will also see the release of the 12 week running challenge, starting on the 7th Jan. See below for more details!
Note; There are no running sessions on Thursday 20th and 27th. We will resume on January 3rd.
Runner Profile - Sarah Horton
Why did you start running?
It used to fill me with dread when my PE teacher announced that we would be running laps of the school field for cross country in our lessons! And, in more recent years, when my brother Mike became a regular long distance runner I would regularly comment on how mad he was and that I would never be able to run more than a mile. Then one day (after several prosecco's on my part) he managed to persuade me to join him in a Christmas Eve parkrun. It was tough and I was slow but the feeling after was incredible. So I went along to the New Years Day parkrun and before I knew it I was turning up most weeks and gradually seeing an improvement.
What do you like most about running?
For me, it's the sense of personal achievement. Whether it's time or distance , you continually feel yourself improving and setting further challenges. No matter how hard it is to go and run, the feeling afterwards is always worth it. I also love the social element - I run regularly with friends and family and have loved getting to know everyone at Fit Club more and more.
What aspect of running to you dislike?
I do really struggle with these dark, cold and wet nights - I certainly need the help of others to keep me motivated!
Favourite race or training run?
Sorry I'll have to choose two! One was the Southampton 10km - my first 'proper event' which I ran with a number of friends/family as well as managing a cheeky selfie with Matt Le Tissier halfway through! The second was the Disneyland Paris half which was such a bizarre but memorable experience.
Running moment you are most proud of?
Once again I succumbed to peer pressure and 'was made' to sign up to the Winchester half in 2017 with my mate. We had planned to run together and support each other but he ended up suffering from injury so I ended up running solo. I was so proud to finish it!
Favourite cake?
Not sure if they count as cake but def gooey chocolate brownies! (ed. they count!)
New Year Running Challenge
Here are the initial details about the 12 week new year challenge!
STARTS 7th Jan and is FREE to enter!
Challenge is broken into 3 parts each lasting 4 weeks. Aim is to build consistency and focus into your running and help you achieve your 2019 spring targets.
It is open to EVERYONE and ANYONE. The scoring of the challenge is fair and constructed in such a way that anyone can compete regardless of the standard they compete at!
The first 4 week block is simple! You just have to tell me how many runs you plan to do for each of the 4 weeks. It is a minimum of 1 run and that run must be a minimum of 1 mile. Run the number of times you said and you will get maximum points. Points docked for missing runs. (Full details of scoring will be released later).
The second 4 week block builds on the first. You will still predict the number of runs you are going to do each week, but in addition you will predict the length of the longest run you will do each week. Points docked (on sliding scales) for missing runs and not achieving targets
(Note; as the aim is to build consistency into your training and help you get a better understanding of your running, you will be penalised equally for being faster than your target as you would be for being slower. This also prevents people sandbagging when it comes to target times!)
The third block of 4 weeks is the same as the second but we add in a target race. So you will predict the number of times you will run each week and your longest run each week. In addition you will state a target time at a race or parkrun or distance of your choice (eg I will run 1:39:59 at the Reading Half) You only pick the target race time once for the whole 4 week block, not one per week. As with above you will get docked points for not completing the number of runs and not meeting your target distance. You will also be docked points on a sliding scale for being over or under your target time.
Obviously you could just set the minimum number of runs, make distances low and predict a time you can achieve easily...but that’s not really in the spirit of the challenge. I want you to really think about what you want to achieve next year and push yourself to go for it. If you normally run twice a week maybe try and go for 3 runs. Think about your goals and really go for it. For the marathon runners the number of runs and target distances can tie into your training plans and the target race may be a half you are planning to do where you will aim for a marathon race pace time. If you are doing C25K you could use the number of runs and distances dictated by the plan and then have a target 5km at the end...it really can be whatever you want it to be!
At the end of each week (on a Sunday) I will ask you to let me know what you actually achieved. I may do some small checks on Strava from time to time but on the whole I’ll be relying on you to be honest about it. I will then enter this in the spreadsheet and produce the points table.
Everyone will have one wildcard which they can play at anytime. This allows you to get maximum points for the number of runs and the distance (but not the target race) for one week only. This is to be used in case of minor injury or life drama where you need to take a small pause in your training. Obviously any major injuries my advice would be to rest and recover for as long as you need and forget about the competition!
It is only a bit of fun but we may have some small prizes donated for the top runners at the end.
LOGISTICS:
This will be an honesty based challenge. I will create a spreadsheet where I will log your predictions at the start of each 4 week block.
At the end of the day the only person you are really competing against is yourself. Done properly I believe this is an excellent way of really focusing on your training and how you are going to achieve your targets and it’s a great way to get you into shape going into the spring race season.
Please shout if you have any questions or need anything clarified. I’m putting all of this into a pdf which I will put on google docs and on Facebook. This will also have full details of the scoring.
New Year Running Challenge
Here are the initial details about the 12 week new year challenge!
STARTS 7th Jan and is FREE to enter!
Challenge is broken into 3 parts each lasting 4 weeks. Aim is to build consistency and focus into your running and help you achieve your 2019 spring targets.
It is open to EVERYONE and ANYONE. The scoring of the challenge is fair and constructed in such a way that anyone can compete regardless of the standard they compete at!
The first 4 week block is simple! You just have to tell me how many runs you plan to do for each of the 4 weeks. It is a minimum of 1 run and that run must be a minimum of 1 mile. Run the number of times you said and you will get maximum points. Points docked for missing runs. (Full details of scoring will be released later).
The second 4 week block builds on the first. You will still predict the number of runs you are going to do each week, but in addition you will predict the length of the longest run you will do each week. Points docked (on sliding scales) for missing runs and not achieving targets
(Note; as the aim is to build consistency into your training and help you get a better understanding of your running, you will be penalised equally for being faster than your target as you would be for being slower. This also prevents people sandbagging when it comes to target times!)
The third block of 4 weeks is the same as the second but we add in a target race. So you will predict the number of times you will run each week and your longest run each week. In addition you will state a target time at a race or parkrun or distance of your choice (eg I will run 1:39:59 at the Reading Half) You only pick the target race time once for the whole 4 week block, not one per week. As with above you will get docked points for not completing the number of runs and not meeting your target distance. You will also be docked points on a sliding scale for being over or under your target time.
Obviously you could just set the minimum number of runs, make distances low and predict a time you can achieve easily...but that’s not really in the spirit of the challenge. I want you to really think about what you want to achieve next year and push yourself to go for it. If you normally run twice a week maybe try and go for 3 runs. Think about your goals and really go for it. For the marathon runners the number of runs and target distances can tie into your training plans and the target race may be a half you are planning to do where you will aim for a marathon race pace time. If you are doing C25K you could use the number of runs and distances dictated by the plan and then have a target 5km at the end...it really can be whatever you want it to be!
At the end of each week (on a Sunday) I will ask you to let me know what you actually achieved. I may do some small checks on Strava from time to time but on the whole I’ll be relying on you to be honest about it. I will then enter this in the spreadsheet and produce the points table.
Everyone will have one wildcard which they can play at anytime. This allows you to get maximum points for the number of runs and the distance (but not the target race) for one week only. This is to be used in case of minor injury or life drama where you need to take a small pause in your training. Obviously any major injuries my advice would be to rest and recover for as long as you need and forget about the competition!
It is only a bit of fun but we may have some small prizes donated for the top runners at the end.
LOGISTICS:
This will be an honesty based challenge. I will create a spreadsheet where I will log your predictions at the start of each 4 week block.
At the end of the day the only person you are really competing against is yourself. Done properly I believe this is an excellent way of really focusing on your training and how you are going to achieve your targets and it’s a great way to get you into shape going into the spring race season.
Please shout if you have any questions or need anything clarified. I’m putting all of this into a pdf which I will put on google docs and on Facebook. This will also have full details of the scoring.
There are a number of 2019 races now open for entry:
Stubbington 10km is now FULL!!
Romsey 5 is now FULL!!
Winchester 10km: It is being held on the 24th February 2019 and you can enter here: http://offbeat-events.com/event/winchester-10km-road-race/
Eastleigh 10km: It is being held on the 24th March 2019 and you can enter here: https://www.fullonsport.com/event/hendy-eastleigh-10k-2019/profile
There is a new YouTube channel called The Running Channel which has videos covering all manner of running related items. They are short videos which are clear and concise and easy for follow. I would recommend taking a look. It can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX7dV4OPDSutwMUauSD5AAA/featured
Race Write-ups
Brooklands parkrun
It was a cold and miserable morning in Winchester when Elsie and I got in the car to travel the 60 miles up the M3 to Brooklands. As a relatively new event it had recently become my nearest event not yet done and I was really looking forward to my visit.
As a keen tourist I have been fortunate enough to visit a number of parkruns and this week saw me hit a fairly big milestone, my 100thdifferent event. A number of other tourists joined me to celebrate, along with a number of other tourists who were Wilson index hunting (long story, don’t ask!). In addition to it being my 100th there was also Hayden Bates running his 50thdifferent event...made all the more impressive by the fact he is only 7 years old!!
It meant that on the morning there were a number of the distinctive yellow and black Cow Cowls and bobble hats milling around and chatting. In fact looking at the stats if you class a tourist who is a first timer at Brooklands but has run more than 1 parkrun previously then the tourists had a total of 10543 runs between the 95 of them, an average of 111 runs each. 43 of the runners had more than 100 runs, 19 over 200 and 3 over 300!!
RD on the day was Timo. who was taking charge for the very first time (and did an excellent job). On arrival we were warmly welcomed by the team of volunteers (a big bag of cakes certainly helped) and we had a good chat about the morning ahead. Barbara even kindly took Elsie to the play park whilst I chatted to the volunteers.
It was soon time to wander down to the start for the first timers briefing, again expertly delivered, and that was soon followed by the main run briefing. Timo kindly gave me a shout out, which was much appreciated. As it was so cold the briefing was kept short and we were soon lined up at the start ready to go and with a simple 3,2,1 we were on our way.
Running with a buggy poses challenges, one of which is that in windy conditions it acts as a sail. This either means that you are being blown along at a rate of knots or you are struggling against the wind and really having to work…the first few hundred yards were unfortunately the latter, but it wasn’t long before we were heading into the wooded section behind the iconic banking from the former Brooklands motor racing track. I loved this section with it’s twists and turns, the little bridge and the stretch along the canal.
We then turned back out onto the concrete and here we had the wind behind us and the running became a lot easier! After the short out and back section we rounded the top corner by Concorde and headed back down the start/finish straight and into the second lap.
I was running with fellow tourist Gwenda and we had a really good natter all the way round with brief chats with other tourists along the way. Elsie was determined to cause trouble and started “accidentally” dropping her gloves and blanket, meaning we had more than a few stops along the way.
One thing that was noticeable was how friendly the volunteers and marshals were out on the course, despite it being freezing cold conditions. They really are a testament to the community that is forming at Brooklands (it's only it's 5th event).
The great thing about running and chatting is that the time seems to fly by and so it was on Saturday. Gwenda and I soon found ourselves back on the concrete and heading towards the finish.
After getting scanned we headed to the café for a lovely full English and a cuppa. A large group from the run joined us and we shared tales of parkruns we had visited and experiences that we had had. The core team worked diligently on the results processing (made more difficult by some dropped tokens) and we all shared the cakes!
WFC parkrun Club
Winchester Fit Club Runners is set-up as a club with parkrun. If you go into your profile (there is a link to it on the parkrun results email and newsletter email) you can select your club. Change yours to Winchester Fit Club Runners and you will appear in the consolidated club report that we get each week.
WFC Runners WhatsApp Group
There is a WFC Runners WhatsApp chat group where we generally just wang on about running, races and cake. If you are not already part of this then please get in contact with Coach James or Coach Mike who will add you.
WFC Runners Strava Club
If you are a Strava user there is a Winchester Fit Club Runners club page. This can be accessed here: https://www.strava.com/clubs/WFC-Runners. Request to join and we will approve!
Booking onto sessions
Booking onto our training sessions enables the coaches to plan the session accordingly. You can book on in the following location: https://winchesterfitclub.simplybook.it/v2/
Race Calendar
Here is an updated race calendar. If you have any others that you wish to add, please let me know!
Resolution Run (6 hour challenge, 4.4 miles laps) – 6th Jan 2019
Stubbington 10km - 13th January 2019
Romsey 5 - 27th January 2019:
http://offbeat-events.com/event/romsey-5-mile-run/
Farnborough Winter Half and 5km – 27th January 2019
Farnborough Winter Half and 5km – 27th January 2019
Ryde 10 - 3rd February 2019
http://www.rydeharriers.co.uk/the-ryde-10-mile-road-race/
Portsmouth Coastal Half - 3rd February 2019
Longleat 10km - 3rd February 2019
https://www.letsdothis.com/e/longleat-10k
Bramley 20 and 10 milers – 17th February 2019
http://www.rydeharriers.co.uk/the-ryde-10-mile-road-race/
Portsmouth Coastal Half - 3rd February 2019
Longleat 10km - 3rd February 2019
https://www.letsdothis.com/e/longleat-10k
Hampton Palace Half – 17th February 2019
Winchester 10km - 24th Feb 2019
Wokingham Half - 24th Feb 2019
https://www.letsdothis.com/e/wokingham-half-marathon-17697#source=header_search
Batty Bimble (6 hour challenge, 3.1 miles laps) – 3rd March 2019
Batty Bimble (6 hour challenge, 3.1 miles laps) – 3rd March 2019
Eastleigh 10K - 17th March 2019
Hampton Court Palace Half - 17th March 2019
London Landmarks Half - Ballot - 24th March 2019
https://www.llhm.co.uk
https://www.llhm.co.uk
Wickham 20 – 31st March 2019
Manchester Marathon - 7th April 2019
Brighton Marathon - 14th April 2019
Salisbury 10 - 14th April 2019
https://www.evententry.co.uk/the-rod-smith-salisbury-10-mile-road-race
Goodwood Marathon, Half, 10km and 5km - 14th April 2019https://www.evententry.co.uk/the-rod-smith-salisbury-10-mile-road-race
https://www.runninggrandprix.com/event/goodwood-half-marathon/
London Marathon - 28th April 2019
May the Forth (6 hour challenge, 3.3 miles laps) – 4th May
Revenge of the Fifth (6 hour challenge, 3.3 miles laps) – 5th May
Alton 10 - 12th May 2019
Netley 10K - 19th May 2019
Hook 10K - 19th May 2019
Alresford 10K - 16th June 2019
Liverpool Rock and Roll - 25th May 2019
Endure 24 - 14th-16th June 2019
Salisbury 5,4,3,2,1 (50km, Marathon, Half) - 11th August 2019
http://salisbury54321.com/index.html
Gravel Hill 5 - 17th August 2019
https://secondwindrunning.co.uk/p/races
Midnight Marathon - 17th August 2019
https://secondwindrunning.co.uk/p/races
Maidenhead Half Marathon - 1st September 2019
https://www.theraceorganiser.com/race-course-map/maidenhead-half-marathon-half-marathon-01-09-2019-08-30
Baccus Half - 8th September
https://www.209events.com/uk-running-events/surrey_bacchus_marathon_and_half_marathon
New Forest Marathon, Half, 10km, 5km - 8th September 2019
https://www.newforestmarathon.co.uk/the-race/race-entry/
Great North Run - 8th September 2019
https://www.greatrun.org/great-north-run
Swindon Half Marathon - 8th September 2019
https://www.newswindonhalf.co.uk
Bristol Half - 15th September 2019
https://www.greatrun.org/great-bristol-half-marathon
Winchester Half - 22nd September 2019
Berlin Marathon - 29th Sept 2019
Blenheim Half - 29th Sept 2019
https://www.bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/events/runs/blenheim-palace-half-marathon-10k-and-family-fun-run/individual-registrationSalisbury Half Marathon - 29th September 2019
https://www.salisburyhalf.com
Clarendon Marathon - 6th October 2019
https://www.clarendon-marathon.co.uk
Great South Run - 20th October 2019
https://www.greatrun.org/great-south-run
Dublin Marathon - 27th Oct 2019
http://sseairtricitydublinmarathon.ie
http://sseairtricitydublinmarathon.ie
Royal Parks Half - Ballot - Oct 2019
https://royalparkshalf.com
https://royalparkshalf.com
As ever, if you have any submissions for the next blog then please send them through to WFCrunners@gmail.com
Happy Running!
Coach James
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Kit pictures and prices
Kit pictures and prices
