WFC Runners - Vitality 10km, parkrun, Hook 10

News

The main racing this weekend was at the Vitality 10,000 in London.  This event has grown year on year and is now one of the largest 10km road races in the country.  Starting and finishing on The Mall, the race takes in Nelson's Column, St Paul's Cathedral, The Guildhall, The Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace.  It was a scorching hot day (so much so that I am now nursing sun burn in the shape of my vest) and there was such a great atmosphere.  It felt like a party on the way round!  

Jenny and Sarah were running in a large group in just their underwear as part of the #celebrateyou campaign which was set-up to promote body confidence and prove that exercise is for everyone.  Great cause ladies!  

Here are the results: 

James - 46:54
Glenna - 1:00:58
Jenny - 1:03:01
Sarah H - 1:03:01
Isabel - 1:03:46

Definitely one for next year's calendar!

parkrun update 25th May

This week we had 18 Fit Clubbers running at 4 different parkrun venues.  There were 15 at Winchester, Isabel at Greenwich, Alice at Salisbury and Trish at Mountbatten School! 

It was a really warm morning but despite the heat there were more superb runs and yet again more PBs:

Stefan - (19:49) - Winchester

Jenny - (22:19) - Winchester

Anna - (22:27) - Winchester

Alice - (23:29) - Salisbury (course PB)

Lucy - (24:34) - Winchester

Philippa - (26:00) - Winchester

Isabel - (28:07) - Greenwich

Here is a link to the consolidated club report: 

http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=26888&eventdate=2019-05-25

Thursday 23rd May training session - Ridgeway Sprints

Last week I was told of a new venue which would be perfect for a hill session.  Unfortunately I was unable to find it, however I did find the Ridgeway so decided that we would do our session there instead. 

We met at Sainsbury’s at Badger Farm.  Rachel kindly helped out by taking the register for me, while I greeted the runners and took the money.  We were joined for the first time by Rachels colleague, Ottilie.  Welcome to the club!  There were also 18 other keen runners.

After a brief chat and a safety talk we headed up and out of the car park and round the corner up towards the Ridgeway.  It was only a short jog, but as it was almost all uphill it served as a good warm up for the gang. 

The Ridgeway is a long stretch of grassland that overlooks Badger Farm and the city.    It has a wide grassy path that slopes gentle downwards towards Stanmore.  It was here that we did the session.

As with previous weeks we did some more varied length intervals.  This time progressively longer sprints separated with jog recoveries.   The session was therefore as follows:

4 x 30 sec with jog recovery

4 x 45 sec with jog recovery

2 x 1 min with jog recovery

1 x 2 min with jog recovery

The last of the sprints (the two minute effort) was 1 minute downhill and 1 minute uphill.

It was a glorious evening and we were really lucky to be joined by Alf.  Alf is still nursing his marathon injury but came up to support Alfie and the rest of the runners.  Alf also took a load of photos of the group during and after the session.  Thanks Alf! 

We then jogged back down to Sainsbury’s where we cooled down.  Thank you to everyone who came and made it such an enjoyable evening!

Next week we will be at Garnier Rd at 7pm.  Please remember parking is difficult at the moment so leave a bit of extra time and either park up at the Park and Ride or on Garnier Road.

Race Reports

Hook 10 by Rachel Mills

As my year to date had consisted of running and more running, I thought the most appropriate way to celebrate my birthday and the start of my 38th year would be to run a race! I settled on Hook 10 Mile, however as organised as ever I hadn’t really looked at the route, nor did I know the area. So, it was destined to be a surprise!

After a pre-run breakfast and opening cards and gifts we set off. I arrived in Hook with my support crew - Simon & Will with plenty of time to spare. We headed to Hartletts Park where the race was due to start. We had a cup of tea (and biscuits obviously!) followed by a quick recce of the start.

The 10k runners were due to start first and were called to the start line. The 10-mile race was due to start 6 minutes after. It was a very organised race and all running to time. After a few pre-run photos I moved into the start area. I had planned to attempt the first half running 9-minute miles, picking up the pace after that, with the hope of finishing in an hour and a half (my previous 10-mile PB being 1 hour 42 mins). This plan rapidly went out the window as I got caught up in the excitement of the day running my first mile in 7:49 (whoops). I realised that I needed to slow down, or I was going to flag rapidly as it was a really warm morning.

It was not long before I hit the first incline (always look at the elevation of a race!) at mile 2. Followed by another at mile 4. It was at this point I wondered why I thought running 10 miles on my birthday was a good idea! I however carried on thinking that due to the climb I had already done and knowing it looped back I was bound to encounter a downhill stretch soon. I was delighted when just after mile 6 this proved true. I do enjoy a downhill run so made the most of this. It was about half a mile after this I started chatting to a fellow runner who mentioned there was only one hill to go! He wasn’t wrong! At mile 7 I turned the corner to see a long incline. I remembered to look ahead and use my arms to help power me up there, but it was tough.

Before I knew it, I had hit mile 9 and knew that I was on for a PB and that I would get birthday cake very soon! I kept plodding and I could hear the cheer team for Hook runners so knew the finish was close. Turning the corner back onto Hartletts Park I dug deep for a sprint finish. I crossed the line in 1:27:58. I was thrilled with my time only three weeks after London and minimal running since then. I do need to be more disciplined with starting races slower and building pace, so I don’t tire so quickly, but I’ll get there one day. Definitely a good race option for Winchester Fit Club RC runners as was so easy to get to. Maybe a team effort next year?!

General Announcements

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

The race calendar is now stored here:  https://wfcrunners.blogspot.com/2019/01/race-calendar-2019-and-beyond.html

Race Kit

The full range of kit available to purchase and instructions on how to order can be found in the following link:  https://wfcrunners.blogspot.com/2019/01/kit-details-and-prices.html

WFC Runners - Affiliation, Hook 10, parkrun touring

News

This week’s big news was that, after months of work, we have finally received confirmation that we are and affiliated running club.  This has been a fantastic team effort from the new running club committee and has by no means been an easy process. 

The first steps are to get as many of you as want to registered as members and therefore as athletes with England Athletics.  This process has already started and we have nearly 25 members already registered. 

Using the subs that you pay each week we are seeking to expand our coaching team with Rachel and Mike booking to go on the Leadership in Running Fitness course later in the year. We will also be sending myself on the Coaching in Running Fitness course later in the year as part of our commitment to England Athletics during the application process.  

Once we have enhanced the coaching team we will then look to expand what we offer in the way of training sessions.  The Track sessions are proving popular so maybe making these more frequent would be a good place to start!

One thing is for certain, we are at the start of something very special and there are exciting times ahead!!

A quick reminder of your committee:

Chairman – Mike Day 

Treasurer – Laura Day

Secretary – Anne Richards supported by Karen Parker

Membership Secretary – James White

Welfare Office and DBS verifier – Sharon Smith

Head Coach – James White

Member Representative – Simon Holman

Member Representative – Rachel Mills

There will be more comms over the next few weeks with things such as kit orders, membership fee payments and training opportunities.  

Traditionally there is a lull in racing this time of year as everyone takes a breather following the spring marathon season, however Rachel still had some running in her legs and decided to take on the Hook 10 on her birthday!

The race starts and finishes in Hook at Hartletts Park and is sponsored by a distillery who make whisky, gin and rum (suddenly Rachel’s motivations become clear).  It was good conditions for a run being fairly cool, slightly overcast with a hint of rain in the air.  Rachel once again surpassed all expectations running a magnificent 1:29:58

parkrun update 18th May

This week we had 21 Fit Clubbers running at 4 different parkrun venues. There were 17 at Winchester, Alex at Lanhydrock, Lucy and Stefan at Ellesmere Port, and James at Hanworth! 

The highlight for everyone was seeing Tina back at Winchester, still running despite everything that is going on. What an inspiration! We’ve missed you Tina!!

There were more superb runs and yet again more PBs:

Alice - (22:50) – Winchester

Karen - (26:33) - Winchester
Stefan - (19:51) - Ellesmere Port 

Here is a link to the consolidated club report:

http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=26888&eventdate=2019-05-18

Thursday 16th May training session - North Walls Rec

This week the runners returned to Abbey Gardens and 23 joined Coach James for another sprint session. Coach James was under the weather and so, coughing and spluttering, he led them through the standard warm-up before taking them down to River Park for the main session.

On arriving in the park we found that the two main fields were both in full use, scuppering James’ plans for the evening.  With some swift re-planning the session started on the far field.  

We started with some simple rectangle sprints.  The runners had to jog the short sides and sprint the long.  This was repeated twice.

After this we did some short shuttle runs.   The runners sprinted roughly 15m then jogged back, then sprinted 20m and jogged back, then 25m and back, then to about 35m and jogged back.  This was also repeated twice.   

For the third section we started the games.  The group were divided into three teams of roughly equal ability.  The game was simple; each team member had to sprint to the 20m mark, turn, sprint back and tag the next team member.  The relay finished once everyone had run.  This was a really close race, so we decided to repeat it twice.  

Next up was a game of “chase the rabbit”. We divided into pairs of equal ability with one facing forward and one behind them and facing backwards.  The game was simple.  On James shouting go the front member had to sprint towards the marker around 25m away. The people behind had to turn and chase them down, trying to catch them before the marker.   We then swapped positions and raced again.  

Given that we had a bit of spare time we did one more round of the relay, this time to a slightly longer marker.  Yet again it was really close with Allen just outsprinting Cat for the win.  

We took the usual pics before heading back to Abbey Gardens for a cool-down.

Next week's session will meet at Sainsbury's at Badger farm, outside the Starbucks for 7pm

    

Race Reports

Here are a selection of wriyte-up from coach James' recent parkrun tourism.  Enjoy.

Tamar Trails parkrun

Unusually for me I found myself on holiday and unable to reach a parkrun that I hadn’t already done, I therefore headed back for a second visit to Tamar Trails parkrun, near Tavistock.  This time I had Olivia running alongside me and Elsie and Bertie in the buggy.  

It was a glorious morning as we crossed the Tamar from Cornwall back into Devon.  The parkrun is set at the Tamar Trails adventure centre and is a one lap course through the trails and woodland of the area. 

After parking and multiple loo trips (kids!) we trekked up to the start (about a half a km away) and encountered our first issue…the gates were too narrow for the double buggy.  We had to off road it a bit and lift it over some broken fence, but we eventually got to the start line.  

The field wasn’t huge, but as the initial part of the course is fairly narrow we started at the back so as not to hold anyone up.    

The course starts off fairly flat, but soon starts undulating as you get into the woods. The course winds it’s way along the side of a hill and there are some beautiful views en route over the Tamar Valley. You also run past an old copper mine that used to be active in the area up until the early 20^thcentury. 

As the course goes on you realise that you have predominantly been heading downhill towards the bottom of the valley.  The path then turns and heads down a really steep section.  It’s one of those hills that the combination of the steep slope and the loose uneven gravel under foot means that it is really hard to run down. As I had the kids in the buggy and I have a habit of falling over, we put the brakes on a bit to make sure we made it to the bottom in one piece.  

At the bottom you run along a flat section through the woodland.  It is around this point that you realise you are already past the 4km mark but are way down the valley and the finish is way up the hill!  

The last half a km is all up a very very steep hill.  It is uneven, and very very steep.  I really can’t emphasise how steep it is.  I didn’t see anyone other than us actually trying to run it.  Olivia took the challenge head on and started charging up the hill.  She ran so well that I had to shout for her to stop because I couldn’t see her any more! About half way up I had to revert to walking as pushing the buggy up was just too hard.  

We reached the brow of the hill and there was just 75m or so to go to the finish.  We were given a hero’s welcome (they don’t get many people running the course with a double buggy) with one guy getting on his knees and doing the “we’re not worthy” sign.  

It really is a stunning run and one I would really recommend, despite the hill! The café at the end is amazing with a good choice and some lovely cakes.  The car park can get really busy so I suggest you get there early.  

Higginson Marlow parkrun

I had to leave our recent holiday a day early to collect Olivia from ballet, which meant we could have some quality Daddy/Daughter time.  We therefore had the opportunity to go to a new parkrun!  

In order to make the most of not having the buggy we decided to head to a parkrun where buggies are not normally allowed.  It was for this reason that we ended up in Marlow on Thames at Higginson park.  

Marlow is a beautiful little town on the Thames, probably best known for it’s rowing.  In fact the park boasts a statue of Sir Steve Redgrave, which you run past twice.  To enhance it further two-time Olympic gold medallist Greg Searle was funnel manager for the day!

We arrived in the park and headed over to the start area.  I spotted that Paul Sinton-Hewitt (parkrun founder) was also in attendance.  I had a nice chat with him (even mentioning WFC RC) and managed to grab a fan-boy selfie with him.  

The course was two laps of Higginson Park, followed by a long out and back along the Thames.  The two laps were fairly short with a very small hill on each (as you go past Sir Steve).  

When you are on the out and back it is clear why buggies are not allowed.  The path is fairly narrow and has a number of small bridges that again, are very narrow.  You are running right next to the water so it is a lovely run with the waves lapping gently next to you.    Being an out and back course the turn around point was just a simple cone with a marshal stopping runners heading off towards London.  

Olivia has been running well of late and so we pushed for a sub-30 finish.  However the head wind on the way out and a little too slower start meant we fell just short.  She still managed her fastest time of the year though and was rightly pleased.

After the run we grabbed some pics with Sir Steve and Greg Searle before heading to the café.  This was probably the most disappointing part of the morning…with all the lovely coffee shops in Marlow it was a shame that they headed for the crappy leisure centre café where food was pre-packed and then microwaved and the tea was out of paper cups.    

This aside it was a great morning with Olivia and a run I would most certainly do again.

Hanworth parkrun

With Sarah snowed under with work she needed some time without the kids and me under her feet. I therefore decided to take the kids up the M3 to the fairly new Hanworth parkrun.  Set in South West London it is just a 50min drive from Winchester and really easy to find and park.

The park itself needs a little bit of TLC unfortunately.  It is a fantastic space but with just one small exercise section and a kid’s park on the far side and the rest of the park is overgrown grassland. The path that you run on goes round the majority of the outside of the grounds but other than that there is very little there.  

The run itself is two laps of the whole of the park.  There is a section of grassy, rabbit holed path, some concrete paths, some hard packed gravel and a section of long wet grass.    

Having been poorly most of the week I was really struggling and so found it more of a slog than an enjoyable run, regrettably.  The core team and volunteers were superb, however, and very supportive of all of the runners.

As per Marlow the café was also very disappointing with very little food choices, tea in paper cups and poor cake options.  The toilets also were filthy and had no loo roll in either the gents or the disabled (thankfully I had the kids wet wipes).  The staff could not have cared less when I told them.  

That aside, we did actually really enjoy our parkrun chat as there were a number of tourists there who I have come across on my travels and loads of interesting people to talk to. 

Sadly, this is not one I would recommend or will ever be returning to. 

General Announcements

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

The race calendar is now stored here:  https://wfcrunners.blogspot.com/2019/01/race-calendar-2019-and-beyond.html

Race Kit

The full range of kit available to purchase and instructions on how to order can be fou

nd in the following link:  https://wfcrunners.blogspot.com/2019/01/kit-details-and-prices.html