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
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
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
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.
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.
Here are a selection of wriyte-up from coach James' recent parkrun tourism. Enjoy.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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 20thcentury.
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
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).
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 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
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
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
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