News
Welcome back!! I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and a very happy new year!
Just a bit of admin before we dive into the main blog! From the start of the year we will no longer be producing a Friday blog about the Thursday night session. The session write-up will now form part of the Tuesday blog. This is to reduce the workload for myself! Any articles or race reports you wish to write for the blog are gratefully received, and any suggestions for improvements to the content, please email me on wfcrunners@gmail.com.
Christmas and New Year parkrun Update
With the blog taking a well earned Christmas break and no one racing I thought I would start the first blog of the year by updating you with the Fit Club goings on in the parkrun world.
Saturday 22nd December
18 Fit Clubbers ran at 3 different venues. There were 14 of us at Winchester, with the highlight being a new new PB for Alex H of 26:02.
We had Allen and Catherine running at Vicarstown in Ireland and Stefan and Lucy running at Ipswich, including a new PB for Stefan of 21:56. Congratulations Alex and Stefan!
Here is the consolidated report: http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=26888&eventdate=2018-12-22
Tuesday 25th December - Christmas Day
The Christmas Day parkrun saw 14 Fit Clubbers running at 3 venues. There were 12 at Winchester with the Santa delivering Shelly O a shiny new PB of 27:01. The runners were also rewarded by pigs in blankets which had been cooked by Anne for our Christmas morning runners. A new tradition has started!
In addition we had Trish running at Cleethorpes and Alice running at Salisbury.
Here is the consolidated report: http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=26888&eventdate=2018-12-25
Saturday 29th December
The parkrun between Christmas and New Year saw Fit Clubbers spread far and wide with 13 runners at 6 different venues.
Starting at home there were 7 runners at Winchester. We also had Ben and Shelley T at Leamington, Sharon at Shepton Mallet, Alex at Tamar Lakes, Glenna at Portsmouth Lakeside and Coach James at Lydney.
Here is the consolidated report: http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=26888&eventdate=2018-12-29
Tuesday 1st January - New Years Day Double
In the UK on New Years Day you are allowed to run two parkruns. This mean that local parkruns get together and agree varied start times to allow runners to "double up". This year saw Winchester starting at 9am and a number of other local parkruns, including Eastleigh and Southampton, starting at 10:30.
So it was that 16 Fit Clubbers started the day at Winchester parkrun at 9am. We were even "papped" by the Hampshire Chronicle!
Of the 16 at Winchester a huge 12 doubled up at Eastleigh, making us the third best represented club at the parkrun! The 12 were also joined by Steve, who had decided his bed was preferable to the 9am start at Winchester! 8 of you were running at Eastleigh for the first time. Jenny also managed to pick up a course PB of 30:08. Coach James doubled up at Alice Holt (near Farnham) following a hurried 40 minute drive from Winchester!
Here is the consolidated report: http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=26888&eventdate=2019-01-01
Saturday 5th January
The first Saturday of the year saw an astonishing 25 Fit Clubbers running at 5 different parkruns. We had Alex at Southampton, Shelley and Ben at Whiteley, Rachel and Simon at Arrow Valley, Elise at Hogmoor Inclosure and a whopping 19 of us at Winchester. Not only was it a record turn out for us but we seemed to go PB crazy! Here is the list of new PBs:
Rachel Mills 24:55
Simon Mills 28:27
Ben Smith 19:39
Matthew Parker 22:51
Anna Hastie 23:18
Jenny Leishman 25:03
Anne Arnold 29:06
It was also pointed out after the run that we were the second best represented club at Winchester parkrun, second only to WADAC. It was also a record attendance at Winchester with 448 runners out on Saturday morning.
Here is the consolidated report: http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/?clubNum=26888&eventdate=2019-01-05
Thursday 3rd January - High Street Intervals
This week's session was a High Street sprint session. Unfortunately Coach James was unable to make it due to a poorly Bertie so the wonderful coaching dream team of Sharon, Anne and Mike H took control at short notice.They met at Abbey Gardens and were joined by 14 other Fit Clubbers, including the new faces of Lucy and Colin. After a warm-up, they headed out into the city for a short warm-up jog to get the legs going, ending up at Pret in the High Street. This was to be the start point for the session.
The session was simple; 8 sprints from Pret to the top of the High Street, with jog recovery back to the start. Each rep was a quarter of a km to the top (and all uphill), meaning each rep with recovery was half a km in length.
After the session the group headed back to Abbey Gardens for a cool down and stretch.Huge thank you to Sharon, Anne and Mike for helping me out at such short notice. It was really appreciated! And thank you to all of teh Fit Clubbers who made it such an excellent session.
Next week's session starts at South Winchester park and ride, at 7pm.
Runner Profile - Anne Arnold
Why did you start running?
I started running back in the 1990’s. In the same way as I am now I was a FOMO then and a group of colleagues at work all decided to enter the Reading Half Marathon in 1992 (the year the half marathon was shortened due to a bomb scare on the day). At the time I was relatively fit being keen on aerobic and step classes and actually went early morning swimming everyday before work. The foxy lifeguard helped to keep me motivated. So when the option to do the Reading Half came up I jumped at the chance never having really run before and that was the start of my sporadic relationship with running. Over the years I have done a number of Half marathons and Mini Triathlons etc but only ever trained for an event and then stopped. Since joining WFC this is the longest time I have run consistently.
What do you like most about running?
I like the fact I can now call myself a runner! There is nothing better than those days when you feel like you can run forever and you just zone out and your mind wanders to all sorts of things. I also love the social side of running I have now found with thanks to WFC Running club. A group of lovely like minded people who are always up for a challenge and a laugh and some amazing friendships made.
What aspect of running to you dislike?
The thought of going for a run sometimes fills me with dread especially when following a training plan and feeling the pressure you have to go …….but it is always worth it when it’s over!
Favourite race or training run?
Without a doubt the Denbies Wine Half Marathon last year what’ s not to love a tough run interspersed with wine whilst dressed in fancy dress...It made me feel like a proper runner!
Running moment you are most proud of?
was so proud the day I finished my first Reading Half Marathon in a time of 1 hour 51 minutes ( it was a long time ago and it was 700m short). I never thought I could have achieved it the feeling still stays with me…hopefully this will be overtaken when I run the London Marathon this year!
Favourite cake?
That’s easy I am a sucker for a chocolate cornflake/rice crispy cake ….I know to those of you whom are cake purists will be horrified as this is not really cake! To be honest I am not a sponge fan there I have said it out loud!
New Year Running Challenge
Here are the details about the 12 week New Year challenge! We had an astonishing 30 runners sign-up!
The 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.
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 details about the 12 week New Year challenge! We had an astonishing 30 runners sign-up!
The 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.
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.
Race Write-ups
Shepton Mallett parkrun - by Sharon "One R" Smith
Shepton Mallet parkrun only started up around 18 months ago.
It's local to my in-laws and they attend semi-regularly. I've been hoping to
try it for a while but it hasn't been on the last few times we've visited. This
time though Ben (my husband) and I both packed our running kit in the hope of
offloading the kids and escaping together. It very nearly didn't happen when
the night before everyone decided that they wanted to hit the sales early and
we lost our babysitters. We compromised by heading to my sister in law's who
lives right next to the park. We were instructed to run fast and be showered
and ready to leave by 10 am. N
We wandered down to the start and after a short briefing the
whistle blew and...not a lot. The paths in the park are all pretty narrow and
it was a congested start. It actually took me about 15-20 seconds to cross the
start line. Secretly glad that I now had a good excuse to not attempt a PB I
struggled past some of the slower runners and settled into a reasonable pace.
James had warned that the course was hilly and he was right, none of the course
is flat but it’s also not steep so it's a reasonably pleasant mix of up and
downhill.
On one narrow path I had to move out of the way of two runners
absolutely bombing it coming the opposite direction. I thought they'd chosen a
stupid time and place to go for a run until more runners followed them,
including Ben. The course actually takes a 180 degree turn around a post and
tracks back down the same path. It's a tricky part of a narrow course but I
still enjoyed it.
Shepton is a 3 lap course so my only real goal was not to be
lapped by my husband! Thankfully I managed it but wasn't that far into my 3rd
lap when I saw him finish. He managed to come in 15th place with a time of
20:22 and I was a reasonable 6th in my age category at 28:30. More importantly
we made our shopping curfew and could have a guilt free cake stop later.
Leamington parkrun - by Shelley Talbot
We arrived at Leamington parkrun and immediately ran into
someone I was at school with, so of course that added an extra challenge as I
wasn't going to get beaten! There is lots of free parking and pre and post run
coffee available for charity donations, which is lovely if, unlike me, you can
stomach a coffee before running.
The course starts on fields and then goes on to a gravel track,
up 'The Hill' and then on an undulating track past the golf course. It was a
winter course day, and so at the end you had to double back on yourself, which
was quite unmotivating as you thought you were at the end and had another 500
metres to go! I think it would be better as a summer course, as the views are
lovely too and would be even better on a summers day.
The finish area was the best part of the run, as it felt like a
party with music blaring out, coffee and cake. All in all a good atmosphere and
a nice run, but probably not a PB course!
Sarah had decided that after Christmas we needed some down time and so had booked us and the kids a small cottage in Gloucestershire for a few days. Fortunately this spanned a weekend and so I got to run a new parkrun. Conveniently for me only a few miles away was Lydney parkrun.
Up until the evening before I was going to run it with the double buggy, however after mentioning this on one of my running forums I was reliably informed that this would not be possible, for reasons which will become clear!
I must say it was a luxury not having to leave until 8:30 to visit a new parkrun, and so after a nice lie in I headed down to Lydney.
I met the run director before the run started and he explained the course to me. It was only a small field (90) and so the start seemed really strange, but once we were off it did mean that everyone had plenty of space.
The run it's self was very much a run of two halves. Set over three laps the first half of each lap was on a nice, wide, flat path. You then turned into the woods for the cross country section. this starts with a short, steep uphill section which is muddy and fairly tough to run. You then turned onto the canal path, across a narrow metal bridge before turning down a short sharp muddy hill. At the bottom of the hill was a large step to jump down, and through the woods you encountered a tree trunk blocking the path, which you had to jump. After that you headed back out onto the flat paved surface for lap 2.
It was a fun run, although the excesses of Christmas meant it was certainly not a fast run! Recommended if you are in the area!
Up until the evening before I was going to run it with the double buggy, however after mentioning this on one of my running forums I was reliably informed that this would not be possible, for reasons which will become clear!
I must say it was a luxury not having to leave until 8:30 to visit a new parkrun, and so after a nice lie in I headed down to Lydney.
I met the run director before the run started and he explained the course to me. It was only a small field (90) and so the start seemed really strange, but once we were off it did mean that everyone had plenty of space.
The run it's self was very much a run of two halves. Set over three laps the first half of each lap was on a nice, wide, flat path. You then turned into the woods for the cross country section. this starts with a short, steep uphill section which is muddy and fairly tough to run. You then turned onto the canal path, across a narrow metal bridge before turning down a short sharp muddy hill. At the bottom of the hill was a large step to jump down, and through the woods you encountered a tree trunk blocking the path, which you had to jump. After that you headed back out onto the flat paved surface for lap 2.
It was a fun run, although the excesses of Christmas meant it was certainly not a fast run! Recommended if you are in the area!
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!
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
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