SPRINT Issue 69 -April 2020rev

sprint

IsssssIssue 63 – Spring 2018

Poole Runners

Issue 69 – April 2020

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Main Committee

Chairman

Vice Chairman

Club Secretary

Treasurer

Membership Secretary

Men’s Captain

Ladies Captain

Competitions Secretary

U18’s Committee Chair (Co-opted)

Committee Member – Club Champ’s

Committee Member

Committee Member

Committee Member – Club Kit

Committee Member

Committee Member

Committee Member – Social Secretary

Committee Member

Committee Member

Poole Festival of Running Chair (Co-opted)

Sarah Swift

Morgan Smith

Kirsty Cooper

Peter Ferenczy

Roger Cross

Neil Sexton

Paula Barker

Graeme Beckett

Kate Somers

Kelly Amos

Melanie Austreng

Robert Campbell-Smith

Laura Cornwell

Shannon Evans

Alison Gunn-Smith

Faye Law

Stuart Morris

Jason Wilkinson

Currently vacant

U18’s Committee

U18’s Chair

U18’s Vice Chair

U18’s Membership Secretary

U18’s Competition Secretary

U18’s Recruitment

U18’s Governance

Kate Somers

Morgan Smith

Jo Brodie

Helen Kimber

Emma Shore

Rob Forster

Club Welfare Officers

Jo Westhead & Howard Lewis

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SPRINT Editor Roger Cross sprintpoolerunners@gmail.com

CHAIRMAN’S CHATTER

It's been a unique and challenging few weeks for

everyone since our AGM on 26 February. Whilst we had

all heard about Covid-19, I certainly had not anticipated

the breadth and speed of how all of our lives would

change.

At the time of writing, we have not met face to face for

any club sessions or races since the 17th March. So much

has happened in those 4 weeks. We took the heartbreaking

decision to cancel Poole Festival of Running,

postpone our Couch 2 5k course and delay the start of

the Summer Series. My deepest thanks to the wonderful

teams who diligently reviewed the options,

communicated the updates and continue to manage the associated admin

tasks.

Although it has been a period of sadness & anxiety, there have been many

positives across our senior & under 18 sections. The compassionate support

which our members provide to each other continues, our coaches providing

advice & training sessions adapted to the new environment, our ability to

switch to operating individually & virtually for new weekday & weekend

challenges, announcements, committee meetings, quizzes and of course,

curry nights. Many thanks to everyone who has helped to coordinate this

new way of operating and to all of you for your support & encouragement.

The standout success however, is undoubtedly the Garden Marathon

Challenge which took place on Sunday 5th April. I am very proud of Poole

Runners, so many of whom took part in a variety of garden challenges to

raise money for Poole Hospital. They were joined by friends from other local

running clubs and the wider running community. It was lovely to see entire

families joining in with the challenges, along with providing great support.

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Well done to Colin Somers for the fantastic idea just a couple of weeks prior,

to James Skipworth for managing the promotion, live feed and commentary

on the day and to Lucy Tidbury for providing fabulous print at home medals!

Huge congratulations to everyone who took part and many thanks to

everyone who has donated! The money will be heading to Poole Hospital

Charity and their 'Hospital Heroes' campaign, making sure those working in

the NHS get looked after at this time of crisis. Donations are currently at

£11,186.68 + £2,326.41 gift aid, making an outstanding £13,513.09!!

It remains to be seen what the coming weeks and months will bring. Suffice

to say, we will continue to follow government and England Athletics guidance

until we are once again allowed to resume club activities. In the meantime, I

look forward to seeing you either on Zoom or if our paths cross whilst we are

out doing our daily exercise or during an essential shopping trip - all at a 2

meter plus distance of course!

Please take good care of yourselves and your families.

Sarah

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Club Welfare Officers

Jo Westhead & Howard Lewis

The club committee welcomes &

thanks Jo Westhead who has recently

volunteered to join Howie as the club’s

Welfare Officers.

Jo takes over the joint reigns from

Esther Downes. The committee would

like to express our appreciation and

thank Esther for her many years of

hard work & commitment in this role.

Jo introduces herself:

I have been a regular runner for 10

years and joined Poole Runner 4 years ago. I am a regular Poole park runner

and try to get to Wednesday club nights when I can. I also like to participate

in Club Championship races (the road variety!) when I can.

I have found being a member of Poole Runners a great confidence boost and

have met some great people and my running has improved!

I have volunteered for this role as I would like to support the club and its

members. Through my job as an HR Advisor I am also Metal Health First

Aider trained by Mental Health England and am passionate that people

should feel supported to be the best they can. Jo

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Editor’s Notes & Club Membership

Thank you

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this issue, another interesting,

informative & inspirational read. Thank you all.

Staying in touch

For those members that wish to keep connected with everything happening

within the club at present: weekly club virtual meetings, virtual training

sessions, virtual running challenges, virtual curry & quiz night etc please keep

a daily check on our members only facebook groups.

Poole Runners Membership Renewal -1st April 2020

The club decided last month that until it is clear when training and

competition can resume membership renewals will be suspended.

Thank you to everyone who already submitted their 2020/2021 membership

renewal forms & made full payment.

If you would like a refund please email your bank details to:

membership@poolerunners.co.uk & we will reimburse you.

100 CLUB (adult membership only) our monthly 100 club prize draw will

continue as normal, with a chance of winning up to £50 every month.

If you are a current 100 club member & haven’t already done so, can I please

ask that you submit a 2020/2021 membership renewal form ASAP.

Take care & stay safe.

Roger

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MEET THE COMMITTEE

Thanks to Kelly Amos who asked the new committee members to provide a

sort bio about themselves:

Sarah Swift - Chairman

I joined Poole Runners in 2013. Over time, I have

performed various roles, including Ladies Captain,

Club Secretary, Competitions Secretary and I am

now honoured to be Chair of our wonderful club.

I take part in races most weekends, ranging from

800m to marathon distance, on all 3 surfaces (road,

cross country & a little bit of track). I am the Dorset

County record holder for Masters Women 800m

with 2:49:6 and my marathon PB is 3:29:02.

Outside of running, I work for IBM and love

travelling, eating out, seeing live bands, dancing and

talking a LOT!

___________________________________

Morgan Smith – Vice Chair

Hey, I’m Morgan! I’ve been a member of Poole

Runners for the last 8 years, predominately as a

sprinter. Over the last year, I’ve been dabbling in

long distance, running my first 5k and now training

for Frankfurt Marathon in October!

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Outside of running and work, I’m Cub Leader for a local cub pack and I like to

swim, go spinning, eat good food and spend time with family and friends.

I’m currently the Vice Chair for the U18 Working Group and I’m looking

forward to joining the main committee as Vice Chair. It’s going to be a fun

year and I’m looking forward seeing what we can achieve!

Kirsty Cooper – Secretary

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__________________________

I’ve been an active member of Poole

Runners since 2012 in many different

guises – however as I rarely make it to

a Wednesday Club Run I know many

members don’t know who I am except

being that random woman who posts

on the Facebook page a lot!

I started my running life when I was 30

(having previously never exercised

regularly at all). My girl started school

and I had switched to working from home alone so needed something to get

me out of the house. I printed out the Couch to 5km schedule, taped it to my

fridge and started doing regular laps of Branksome Rep with Meatloaf, Bon

Jovi and The Bee Gees for company.

Within the year, I’d moved up to 10ks and recklessly signed up for my first

marathon in Rome – starting my love affair with longer distance running.

Since then I’ve run 12 marathons – with number 13 having been waylaid

many times over the last 2.5 years due to a back injury, having my knees

stitched back together and now Covid 19 (unlucky

for some as they say)I was part of Esther’s merry band of Couch to 5km

helpers from the very first session through to the start of last year, when I

stepped back and switched to more involvement with the U18s (as my

daughter Beth joined PR too). Since then, I’ve learned a lot about cross

country, Track and Field events and what an amazing bunch of juniors we

have running for us. I now happily sit back and largely just bask in the glory of

Beth’s achievements instead!

I joined the committee two years ago as a general committee member and

have just taken on the role of Secretary. Bit of an unexpectedly turbulent

start to the role (!) but what’s life without some unexpected turbulence?

________________________________________________________

Peter Ferenczy – Treasurer

Pete’s bio to appear in next issue

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Roger Cross – Membership Secretary

I have been a proud Poole Runners

member for over 21 years, having

been involved with the club when my

son and daughter were both Junior

Members.

My athletics & running career started

whilst at school, where I represented

Dorset in both 100m, 200m & both

horizontal jumps.

This is my 5th year on the committee

as Membership Secretary.

I am a UKA Level 3 Track Official, plus

a registered UKA Race Adjudicator.

Since 2011, I have been editor of SPRINT our club ‘magazine’ (contributions

welcomed any time). I am also responsible for 99.9% of the posts & result

listings on the Poole Runners public facebook page (the largest followed &

liked facebook group/page of all Dorset Athletics & Running clubs) together

with the Poole Runners Twitter feed & Instagram pages. In recent years I

have organised the o18’s annual awards & trophies.

In addition to liking to eat cake, I enjoy watching football & also a keen

enthusiast & spectator of athletics events around Europe, where my Poole

Runners Union flag has made many trackside appearances on TV.

My running C.V includes, twice finishing ahead in the London Marathon of a

sporting great that won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games & I’m

the only person in the world to have ran at Poole, Bournemouth, Moors

Valley, Upton House & Weymouth inaugural parkruns.

I look forward to another year of helping & supporting our club & all its

members, & maybe even representing the club & entering the odd race.

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Paula Barker – Ladies Captain

I started running in 2003 when my son Harvey

was born, I was always into my fitness and

used to play netball and go to the gym, but

running fitted with a young baby and I had

always had a dream to run the London

Marathon. I ran mainly on my own and in 2007

I ran London Marathon for my work Thomas

Cook. My time was 4:32 and I absolutely loved

it, I ran 4 more London marathons for Thomas

Cook children’s charity raising thousands of

pounds.

I joined Poole Runners in 2011, I had hit a very

tough time personally and was struggling. I

absolutely love running with friends and this alongside the amazing coaching

has improved my times massively. My PB for a marathon is 3:30, but more

important than that are the amazing people I have met.

I met my partner Tom and have made friends for life, and at times

counsellors and interview gurus !!!!! My biggest achievements since joining

are Club Road Champion in 2018, Dorset Marathon Champion in 2019, and

being nominated for Ladies Club Champion in 2019 and winning DRRL as a

Team. I am a very Proud Poole Runner and you are all amazing !!!!!

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Neil Sexton – Men’s Captain

Hi everyone. I am Neil and I’m the

men’s club captain. I started

running in 2014 as I was

overweight and had recently

retired from cricket and football. I

needed something to do to keep

me entertained so I started

running. Very slowly and not very

far at first, but I started to make

some progress.

I managed my first marathon in October 2014 in 5:03. A year later and I only

managed to knock 2 minutes off my time despite training all year. It was then

that I decided I needed some help and I joined Poole Runners in April 2016.

Since then my running has gone from strength to strength with the help of

the great team of coaches at the club, culminating in a first sub three

marathon last autumn. I have met so many awesome people through the

club and the wider running community. Running really is so much better

when you get to share it with your friends

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Stuart Morris

Hi, I’m Stuart and I joined Poole Runners last year.

Since being a member, I’ve been really impressed at

how welcoming the club is. I’ve made lots of friends

and feel like I’m making real progress.

With the encouragement of the members, I entered

my first half-marathon last year, and will run my first

marathon this year!

Melanie Austreng

Hi, my name is Mel and I’ve been a Poole Runner for

about 13 years. I enjoy all sorts of running although

the muddier, the hillier and the longer the better! Of

course, it’s the people that running brings you into

contact with that make it so enjoyable, and one of

the many reasons I love being part of a fabulous club

like Poole Runners.

In the past I’ve volunteered as a couch to 5km leader,

however this is my first year serving as a committee

member. I truly believe we have a brilliant club and

one we can all be proud to belong to. I look forward

to helping Sarah and the team in the best way I can.

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Kelly Amos

I’m Kelly and I have been a member of Poole

Runners for around 9 years.

My Mum and Dad have been members since

before I was born, so we have always been

around running. I did my first marathon in

2010 and we often attend events as team

“Frampton”, although since becoming an

Amos we go by the name “FrAmos”! Nearly a

year ago we welcomed baby Jenson into our

team.

This will be my 3rd year on committee

looking after our club championship race list, and along with Steve Amos we

compile and publish the points from each race.

Aside from running I like to socialise with friends, host dinner parties and

spend time with family. Oh yea, and work (when my maternity leave ends!)

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Faye Law

I’d not run outside since leaving school. I was only ever

good at 100/200m, the rest I’d try to avoid! I was a bit

of a gym freak and loved working out 4 times a week as

well as classes.

In 2013 I accepted a challenge at work as the whole

team agreed to run Birmingham Half. Ouch. This meant

I needed to run outside... I wasn’t sure where to start so

went out and did 3 miles. Hated every minute. Felt like

everyone was staring at me. Then a few days later I

tried again... still hated it. I knew I had to keep going as

the only problem with me is if I agree to a challenge I

have to complete it!

So I gave up the gym and started running. I printed off a

programme and went from there, no idea about pace,

hill training, strength training etc (still don’t)! I’ve had knee issues since I was

13 years old so sure enough training to 9 miles set it off. Totally annoying!!!

and upsetting at times as I’ve never finished a half without having to walk

due to my knee.

Late 2014 I moved to Dorset. Not having really run much other than on my

own, in this time I’d only completed 3 races... Birmingham half, 8.5 miles

known as cardiac Hill in Birmingham and 10k in Manchester. Upon moving to

Dorset I wanted to continue to run but as part of a club and to make friends.

Late 2015 I joined Poole Runners. In that time I’ve met so many fantastic

people and friends. I’ve even won awards which I never really thought I could

do:) Including most improved runner:)

I’m training for London Marathon thanks to the club and slowing my pace

down even more, along with strength training has allowed me to run

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distances I never thought I could with my knee:). Now I’ve started to also

run/train with my pooch. I’m thoroughly enjoying this and entered some fun

canine cross events. Definitely something I want to continue doing in the

future.

When I’m not running I like to go out on my kayak or paddle boarding. I think

it’s because I couldn’t do this in The Midlands. Also love to socialise hence

being the social rep of Poole Runners for the past two years. I’m also partial

to red wine, gin, vodka and pizza! Yet another reason to run! Well I think

that’s enough about me :-)!”

_____________

Alison Gunn-Smith

I’m Alison - I’ve been seriously running for about

two and a half years but I used to run before that,

along with playing tennis and going to the gym,

which I still love!

I joined Poole Runners about a year and a half ago

and it has been great! I’m very happy to be joining

the committee and help the club!

In my spare time, I enjoy the gym - I go spinning,

to HIIT classes, swimming and yoga! I love

cooking, food and drink and travelling as well as spending time with my

husband, family and friends!

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Kate Somers

I became a member of Poole Runners after

attending so many events supporting Colin and

the kids (Izzy and Charlie), where everyone always

seemed so happy and positive, that I wanted to

stop holding all the coats and jumpers and start

running myself!

I gradually increased my training from 5k to 10k

and then to half marathons, but have been

recently regaining fitness after an annoying back

niggle. I've never been super quick, but my aim at

the moment is to get back to where I left off!

I've always supported PR events where possible, and in Jan 2019 stepped into

the U18 chair role at the club. This has made me realise even more how

running can impact people. I see a group of U18 who are dedicated, friendly,

and who are not afraid of a bit of hard work to get the results they want! It's

awesome to see what this club can do, and long may it continue!

Graeme Beckett

I started running in 2011, when I first

became aware of parkrun. I recall

feeling anxious before my first run,

having not really run any distance

since school. The volunteers and

runners there provided plenty of

encouragement. I thoroughly

enjoyed my run & Parkrun quickly

became a regular part of my weekends.

Over the next few years I increased the distances I was running & completed

my first marathon in 2014.

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I moved back to Poole in 2017 and joined Poole Runners, initially only

running with the club on Wednesdays. Last year I started training at the track

and running in cross country events.

I look forward to being part of this year’s committee."

Jason Wilkinson

__________________

I have been running properly since 2016, and I have been a member of Poole

Runners since September 2019. I turned up to the first club night not

knowing many people and I was made to feel welcome straight away. After

that first club run I joined the club the next day.

The reason I run is for my mental health as

I was diagnosed with trauma related PTSD

in 2006 after returning from Iraq. The club

is amazing and I love that everyone is very

supportive and you feel no one judges you

or anyone for being different abilities.

I love the social events and it feels like I've

been part of the club for years because of

the friendliness of everyone and I have

made some great new friends.

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Laura Cornwell

I started running many years ago, not long after leaving university and before

park run was even born. I have now countless miles under my belt and have

completed 7 marathons. (3 London, 1 Paris, 1 Brighton, 1 Edinburgh and 1

Bournemouth)

I would love to one day achieve a sub-4hour marathon but as some of you

will know it takes a lot of training and dedication. When the time is right, I

will re-focus my attention on it.

I joined the club in 2015 shortly after

moving down to Poole from my

hometown, High Wycombe. I chose to

come to Dorset as I fell in love with the

area when I was a child. I have always

appreciated everything this area has to

offer.

I find myself more these days running for

the social aspect and for my mental

health. Being outside particularly,

socializing and exercise in general has a

positive impact on my wellbeing.

I remember Poole Runners welcoming me in with open arms and the club

since then has gone from strength to strength, in terms of support for

beginners and improvers, the encouraging and inspiring club culture,

competition and the warm and friendly social side. This club has become so

much more than a running club.

I am a returning member of the committee, serving on the committee allows

me to feel like I am helping in some way to keep our club amazing. I will have

met many of you as I am responsible for coordinating the club kit. Last year

you will have noticed our kit range was extended and we now have items

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ranging from Caps, Bandanas, Bags and Jackets which can be purchased from

our club shop.

The link to the shop. www.shop.poolerunners.co.uk

If you see me around, come and say hello.

______________________________________

Robert Campbell-smith

Hi everyone my name is Robert and I did my couch to

5k in 2018 with the fantastic Esther who is such a

friendly, supportive and encouraging leader.

When I first started running I could not run more

than 100 yards or so without nearly passing out, but

thanks to all the support and encouragement of

everyone at Poole Runners, I have managed to do

something I never thought possible. I have managed

to run parkruns, other races and last year my very

first ever 10 mile race (Wimborne 10).

This year hopefully I will run my first ever half

marathon. This would never have been possible

without all the friendly support and encouragement of everyone at Poole,

which is why I look forward to helping Poole Runners in any way I can.

You have helped so much and I would just like to help you all. I fully

understand that any disability I have does not matter, you are always

welcome in Poole Runners family.

Thank you so much everyone. If you see me please come and say hello, all

Garthe very best wishes to you all and happy running.

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Shannon Evans

I got into running with the Poole Runners

C25k course 3 years ago. Having been a

club level sprinter/long jumper in my

youth, I did competitive body-building and

powerlifting in my 20’s, kept fit with horse

riding and dancing in my 30s, but following

illness I gained a lot of weight and lost all

my fitness. I needed motivation! And

Esther and the Couch team provided that. I

finished the course still not quite managing

5k, but kept at it, and I am now running

10k and improving all the time, although I

am probably still one of the slowest PR

runners!

I set up ‘Plod Lite’ last year to enable us steadier runners to get out running,

joined Poole Runners officially and got my LiRF qualification. I’m now a

regular at the Thursday track sessions, (you’re going to hear a lot more about

that in the coming months!!) and with the amazing support of Lea, Matt and

Andy, just about to take an assistant coaching course so I can help and

encourage others! I’m hoping in my committee role I can help expand that

further.

In what little spare time I have now, I sing and play bass in a band, just for

fun!

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Garden Marathon Challenge

Colin Somers

On Saturday 21 March while running with my daughter, Izzy, down the

trailway towards Upton House, I was pondering the looming coronavirus

threat. I'd been reading about the full Italian lockdown in the paper, and

wondered if it was going to happen here, and what that would mean for

runners? Would I be able to get my (nearly) daily running fix? Then I recalled

the video I'd recently seen on Facebook, of a Frenchman who had run a

marathon on a 7m balcony, which made me think that at least we had a

garden that I could run around if leaving the house was banned...

It's amazing how a good run can clear the mind, and set the cogs whirring in

the brain. As we approached Upton House I was already telling Izzy that I

might run a marathon in the garden as an alternative to Manchester... by the

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time we got to the harbour I'd decided that I was definitely going to do it and

that I was also going to raise money for Poole Hospital Charity (PHC). Going

back up the trailway again, I had developed my plan to try to get some other

Poole Runners to join me in their own gardens.

When I got home I explained my plan to Kate, who said it wasn't completely

crazy and I should do it, so I messaged Sarah to get the chairperson's

approval to make it a club challenge. Sarah was enthusiastic and suggested

that the challenge included different distances, and whilst we both agreed

that raising money would be good, we thought that this should be a

secondary aim given the current situation.

I also messaged James Skipworth (PFoR chairman), who I knew was feeling

disappointed that the Poole Hosptial Charity was going to lose out from the

cancellation of the 2020 festival. James is a great doer and I knew that if he

liked the idea he'd get stuck in publicising it! His reply to my message

explaining my plan was 'That is awesome', - that was a good start!

So slightly nervously I posted my idea in the Poole Runners Facebook group...

and people started responding with interest... the Brodies were on board, the

Trent Family too. Then Lucy Tidbury posted a video of her garden course and

volunteered to help with the organisation and social media... and I knew then

that this was going to work!

Sarah then mentioned that she was thinking of doing a challenge

that included her trampoline which led to us thinking, why not open it up to

non-running challenges too, so bikes, bouncing, and walking all got a look in!

Everything snowballed from there... the donations started coming in and I

was happily updating the fundraising page with every new participant. Kirsty

Cooper had mentioned that she'd contacted the echo, but I was still surprised

when I was asked via social media to let them know my phone number...I had

a nice chat with their reporter and was very happy when I read the positive

article on the web the following day. However while out walking the dog in

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the afternoon, a neighbour rode past on his bike and happened to mention I

was on the front page. How cool!! I decided that going to get a copy of the

Echo counted as an essential trip (I did buy some milk too) and set

off on my bike to visit Raj at the newsagents.

The day before the challenge was spent mowing the lawn, setting out the

course in the garden, replying to messages on social media and trying to find

the best way to live stream the event. James had suggested I put my geek hat

on and try and find some way of having multiple people feed into one live

stream. I discovered that while there were lots of ways of doing this, they

were often complicated or too expensive. However, having played with a few

options, I settled on a web streaming platform called StreamYard. I messaged

James and volunteered him to man the feed... an hour later we had a test

stream up and running complete with logos, rolling news and multiple feeds.

Result!!

Saturday evening I got my kit ready, dug around in the cupboard for a couple

of Gu energy gels and some hydration tablets... then had a glass of wine.

Sunday arrived... I got up early and ate some porridge. I was feeling very

nervous at this point, not because I was running a marathon (I'd been so busy

it hadn't really given it much thought, plus I'd done all the training), but more

worrying about whether the day was going to work as I'd been hoping, with

everyone getting involved!

By 8:30 I could see the Garden Marathon Facebook page was already starting

to fill up with posts, so I began to relax a bit. After a quick chat with James I

fired up YouTube on the kitchen TV and pointed it at the live stream... Wow...

it looked pretty professional!! I did a few stretches, put all my bottles of

water and my 2 gels out on a chair next to the start line, then sat on the steps

and waited for my 'live' interview on the stream. The technology seemed to

work perfectly, and after a quick on-air chat with James, I was ready to go.

It's quite a bizarre experience going for a run in your own garden, but after a

couple of laps, I'd got over the strangeness and started settling into a rhythm.

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I lost count of the number of laps by about lap 11, but I was reassured to see

that the GPS on my watch was happily tracking me and seemed to be in line

with what I'd worked out. Kate and the kids kept coming out to keep my

company and give me updates on what everyone else was up to and the

current donation count, which amazingly was going up every time I ran past

the kitchen window.

After about an hour I was joined in the garden by Izzy doing her 10 miles, and

soon after by Kate doing her 5k. Our neighbour Adrian also started doing his

10k in and I had numerous chats with him as he ran past on the other side of

the hedge. Our neighbour Toby on the other side also kept popping his head

over to shout encouragement. So it actually felt like there was quite a lot

going on!!

After Kate finished her 5k and went back to the task of keeping me (and

James) updated, my son Charlie came out and joined us for his 10k. At this

point, Izzy had reached her 10-mile target but was feeling good, and enjoying

herself, so decided to carry on to try to reach a half marathon - a distance

she'd not run before. Adrian on the other side of the hedge was also still

running, and a quick shouted conversation let me know that he was also

going to try for a half, a new distance for him too.

At some point during this period, Kate announced that we'd reached the

seemingly unachievable target of £5000... so we had a good cheer!

Sometime around midday Isabelle and Adrian both finished their half

marathons... exhausted but happy. I was starting to get normal marathon

tired legs as I went through the 20 mile point but was still enjoying myself.

Our neighbours from over the road came and stood outside and cheered my

on for a bit too, which was lovely.

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Eventually, I started on my last mile... with the family and neighbours on both

sides cheering me on every lap, I started to feel quite emotional. As I ran

through the loo roll finish line (narrowly avoiding tripping over the dog, who

had decided to lie down right in the way), I felt a wave of emotion... similar to

my first ever marathon finish. Of all the marathons I've done, that's got to be

one of the highlights!!

A quick live chat with James, and then I was able to sit down and take stock. I

sat on the sofa and watched the live stream with Sarah bouncing up and

down, Graham and Amanda running round and round, and then Joe Godden

finishing his amazing back and forth marathon. I was quite sad when James

26

wrapped everything up, and the live stream finished, however the £8000

total raised made up for it!!

I spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on Facebook with what

everyone else had been up to, and just enjoying the amazing community

spirit that the event had created. I was also staggered as the total raised

continued to grow.

Now, nearly a week later the total currently stands with gift aid at over

£13,500 and money is still trickling in. So what can I say, but a massive thank

you to everyone who got involved, and/or donated. I've never been prouder

of being a runner, and especially a Poole Runner!

Colin

27

Garden Marathon Challenge participants – taken from

www.justgiving.com/fundraising/GardenMarathon

Poole Runners:

Colin Somers - Garden marathon (550 laps)

Joe Godden - Garden marathon

Tom Marshall - Garden marathon

Lucy Tidbury - Garden half marathon

The Brodie Family - Garden marathon relay

Claire Trent - Garden 10k

Kate Somers - Garden 5k

Mark Vallier - Garden 24 x 100m

Stephanie Green - Garden 5K

Barry Trowbridge - Garden/Living Room 5k

Rupert Pepper - Garden 10K

Marbellys Bayne - Garden 5k (maybe more!)

Lauren Downing - Garden treadmill 10k

Sarah Swift - 6 x (10 minutes trampolining + 20 minutes treadmill)

Kirsty Cooper - Garden marathon

Rosie Cook & daughter - Garden Minithon

Lucy Culkin - Garden 10k

Haydn Morris - Garden run tbc

The Kimber Family - Garden Marathon relay

Les Turner - Garden 3/5k

Louise Burridge - Garden (Hilly) 5k

Jim Cartwright - Garden Marathon pursuit (half marathon)

Tim Evans - Garden Marathon pursuit (half marathon)

Laura Cornwell - Garden 5k

Neil Sexton - Garden 18 miles

Claudia Howse - Garden 5k

Amanda Dennison - Garden 5k

Graham Dennison - Garden Marathon

Fiona Cope - Garden 5k

Lydia Burge - Garden 5k+

Jason Mumford - Garden exercise bike 50k

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Paula Barker - Garden half marathon

Rupert Tory - Farm half marathon

Grant Phillips - Garden 10k

Melanie Langer - Driveway run

Helen Guerrier - Garden 5k

Alison Gunn-Smith - Garden 5k

James Gunn-Smith - Garden 5k

Sarah Guppy - Garden 5k

Keith Fraser - Garden 10k

Paul Downes - Garden marathon

Libby Howse - Garden 5k

Joanna Westhead - Garden 10 miles

Sarah Godden - Garden 5k

Rob Forster - Garden 10k

Steve Wardman - Garden 5k

Charlie Bunch - Garden 10k

Graeme Beckett - Garden marathon

Jim Windebank - Garden turbo trainer marathon

Carole Ingham - Garden 5k relay

Paul Ingham - Garden 5k relay

Steve Claxton - Garden half marathon

Morgan Smith - Garden 10k

Kate Towner - Garden 10k

Howard Lewis - Garden 10 miles

Annette Mogg - Garden 10k

Francesca, Jamie & Liana Christopher - Garden 5k

James Hall - Garden 10k

Penny Jarvis - Garden 10 miles

Nicki Saxon - Garden 7 miles

Joanne Cleall - Garden 5k

Charli Phillips - Garden 10k

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Poole Runners U18s:

Isabelle S - Garden 10 Miles

Charlie S - Garden 10k

Maddy V - Garden Minithon

Alessandro P - Garden 2k

Beatrice P - Garden 3k

Beth C - Garden 5k

Emily T - Garden 10k

Charlie T - Garden 10k

Stephen G - Garden 5k

Freddie G - Garden 5k

Tyler - Garden 5k

Purbeck Runners:

Abigail Baker - Garden Marathon

Rose Clarke - Garden Marathon

Bev Trenwith - Garden Marathon

Other Local Runners:

Sarah Taylor - Garden 5k

Tony Clegg - Garden 5k

Ian Pendlebury - Garden 5k

Pippa Gillingham - Garden 5k

Michelle Poultney - Garden run

Adrian Kyte - Garden 10K

Louisa Elliott - Garden 5k

Judith Vlaarkamp - Garden run

Lou Em - Garden 5k

Patrick Dominey - Garden 5k

Sarah Dominey - Garden 5k

Jo Peasland - Garden Marathon

Laura Horswill - Garden 5k

Claire Berrett - Garden 5k

Mike Whelan - Garden 5k

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Fiona Bennett - Garden 5k

Hannah Claxton - Garden marathon

Tracy Thorns - Garden 10k

Ava W (U18) - Garden 2k

Mae Cotter - Garden marathon

Rae Cotter - Garden half marathon

Leon Cotter - Garden 12k

Eric Cotter - Garden 8k

Nicholson boys - Garden 50,000 steps

Sharon Taylor - Garden marathon (multi-day)

Ryde Harriers (for St Mary's IOW)

Rachel Powell - 10k

Niall Powell - as far as possible :-)

www.justgiving.com/fundraising/GardenMarath

31

(During the lockdown and beyond)

Matt East with small input from Rupert Pepper & David Ozanne

Running does wonders for physical and mental health but while we’re locked

away from each other it can be hard to maintain a routine, as the days blur

into weeks and our usual ‘go-to’s have been taken away from us.

This article is for those of us that might be wondering how to build a

structure into our running so we can get the most out of our limited

opportunities to get out and pound the roads, trails and (God forbid) the

treadmills?

Of course, right now the most important thing is to pay attention to the spirt

of the rules around isolation, not just the letter of them. These are

challenging times for everyone, and your priorities must be your health and

that of others, not any future aspirations in running. Despite that, it’s great to

get out of our houses and dust off a few cobwebs.

You don’t even have to run within a structured programme or routine,

getting out and just running because you like to, is the best advice I can offer

– so just go.

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-Run. Smile. Repeat-

With that said, many of us will have half an eye on the ‘Grand escape’ and

potential races and events we have on our radar. It can be good to have a

goal to aim for in the coming months to help define that routine we might

miss.

Many of us were training for races which have been cancelled. Holding on to

or building on the fitness gains from previous training could be that goal.

For others, it could be simply an informal personal routine you want to

adhere to, based on anything from repeating a ‘Couch to 5k’ programme to

finishing a route without walking, to simply running ‘x’ times a week.

So, set goals and make them personal to you. But,

make sure they’re realistic as well.

Wherever you set your benchmarks, be prepared to

forgive yourself if you don’t quite reach them and

forgive yourself for any loss of fitness; remove any

obligations on your running. Keep it free and relaxed, run because you want

to and do it, not because you feel you ought to.

If you are thinking of running with a “bit more structure”, what follows is a

guide about the different components of running that coaches and

experienced runners cater for when planning their running.

33

It’s a veritable wall of text, so there’s a summary at the end to draw it all

together.

Firstly, I’ll sneak this one in.

While you’re stuck inside, this is the perfect time to give your core

and stability muscles a little love.

Anyone who runs longer distances probably has weak glutes (your butt

cheeks!), which may also mean you have a lack of stability in your hips as

well.

There are a multitude of exercises that you

can employ to hit these areas and they’re

almost as valuable as the runs themselves.

Don’t be afraid to do a ‘runners leg exercise’

(or similarly titled) video on YouTube in

place of one of your planned runs. Try searching for:

1. “runners leg exercises”, or

2. “core workout for runners”

Scroll down the choices and there’ll be something for everyone. If you’d

rather not then try staple diet exercises, like ‘the plank’, ‘Clams’, ‘Squats’

(with one or both legs), but bear in mind they should be done right and if

they cause you any pain, STOP!

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If you’re still not sure of what to do, feel free to ask any of the coaches or

other experienced runners. Every single one of us has a whole bank of

exercises we can recommend, usually because a physio has repeatedly told

us to do them! Don’t be shy in asking.

‘Effort’ or ‘Pace’

Most of our efforts at the track are based on effort. This is because your

effort levels can be consistent regardless of the terrain, weather, your own

health or your own fitness.

For many runners with time-goals for certain distances, running set paces is

the right thing to do to help them meet their targets, if you’ve got a pace in

mind, set brackets around it to allow for anything the environment throws at

you.

If you don’t have any targets, start by running to effort and see where that

takes you.

Remember, if you keep your effort consistent, you will slow down in a longer

run. This is OK!

Don’t worry, as you get fitter, that slow-down will happen later and be more

gradual.

This is the opposite effect of running to a pace where anyone so equipped

will have noticed that for the same pace, their heart rate went up and it felt

harder.

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Different Effort Levels

There are three basic effort levels for endurance

runners. The terminology varies depending on

who you’re reading but they all amount to the

same thing in the end.

I personally use the terms ‘Base’, ‘Tempo’, and

‘Threshold’, though I say ‘Easy’ instead of ‘Base’ at the track because I need

the crazy people to slow down a bit, but that doesn’t mean these runs are

less important!

These are equally known as ‘Steady, ‘Fast’ and ‘Hard’, or ‘Aerobic threshold’,

‘lactate threshold’ and ‘Anaerobic threshold’ and a whole bunch of other

variations – choose your flavour, no one cares!!

36

The foundation for fitness for any runner is

their ‘aerobic base’. This is essentially how

efficient their heart, lungs and muscles work

to create energy. A rough indication is your

resting pulse rate which indicates how hard

your heart must work to ‘do its thing’. If

your heart rate is lower, it’s more efficient

for a given output.

In your normal daily routine, you’ll use fat as

a source of energy, but once you exercise

and start ‘breathing a bit harder’ you’ll start

to use carbohydrates as well, as it’s quicker

to get energy that way.

This is sometimes referred to as your

aerobic threshold – it’s not a specific point

but rather a transition phase as you start to

‘up’ your energy needs.

What’s a ‘good’ heart

rate?

A typically healthy individual

may expect to have a heart

rate of about 70 beats per

minute, at rest.

Those with a strong aerobic

base can see this number

drop into the 50’s and 40’s.

At peak fitness, top runners

may even have a heart rate in

the 30’s.

Un-prompted increases in

your resting heart rate are

often an indication of illness

or the beginnings of over

training.

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If you do no other running, this is the effort you should do.

It gives the most “bang for buck” and is the pre-cursor to, and foundation of

every training programme I’ve been witness to, in middle-long distance

running.

It’s also a factor for our sprinters, but that’s another ‘discussion’!

How it Should Feel

You feel relaxed, your legs usually feel comfortable and there’s little

discernible effort in moving forwards. You are aware you’re breathing more

than normal but can still hold full conversations and if you did stop, your

breathing would quickly go back to normal.

Summary for Base Training/Easy effort runs

Builds aerobic fitness.

It is the basic level of fitness for beginners and the first thing

that should be developed in any programme.

It enables longer runs, which help to build resistance to fatigue.

Good for weight loss (best zone for burning fat as it can be

maintained for longer)

It is the effort needed for recovery from hard sessions or overtraining

Anything from 10 minutes to 3 hours is useful, depending on

your body condition.

2 runs a week are probably the minimum you’ll get appreciable

benefits from, aim for 3-5 if you can.

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Once you’re ‘breathing a bit’ your body will start to produce waste products

as it generates energy. To a point, the body can get rid of them faster than

they are produced – ‘Tempo’ runs take you up to this point. Your body is

churning out the waste products as it struggles to keep up with your energy

needs, but it just copes.

At this effort level you should feel like you’re working, but it’s not getting any

worse and while you might not be ‘enjoying’ it, you can keep going and your

legs won’t feel too much stress till later in the effort. Your legs shouldn’t ever

feel that burn and if they do hurt it’s because of muscular damage from

running hard for so long.

How it Should Feel

Your breathing will be hard but controlled, often to a rhythm set by your

stride. You can talk, but probably not hold your breath! You may not want to,

but you could probably keep this going for up to an hour; initially these runs

will be limited by your musculoskeletal condition, not your heart and lungs!

Training at this level helps your body become efficient at getting rid of

those waste products and your mind at coping with the discomfort that

comes from pushing yourself harder for longer.

Summary for Tempo running

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Increases overall performance levels without over training.

It teaches you to run harder for longer by conditioning the body

(and mind) for increased intensity.

Running hard for more than 3-5 minutes will usually see you

settle at this effort level.

Try to avoid doing these sessions on consecutive days. If you’re

new to them, start with one a week making sure you spend time

stretching and working on your core afterwards.

I mentioned above that between ‘base training’ and ‘tempo’ efforts, your

body can get rid of the waste products it produces as it craves more energy.

Past this level we breach what is commonly referred to as our

‘Lactate’ or ‘Anaerobic’ threshold; where the body is generating

more waste products than it can get rid of. Running at this effort

trains our body to work beyond its normal limits, some may also

know these runs as VO2 max sessions.

Training at this level usually prompts an overriding desire to stop, led by the

chief ‘self-protection agency’, your brain. You’re pushing past natural limits

here and your body will want to protect you from doing this foolish thing –

but carry on!

Why? Because you know that at some point your body will give up its Trade

Union card and accept it must adapt – meaning you get faster and stronger!

40

How it should feel

Training at this intensity can be quite challenging and can ‘hurt’ your legs as

you fight the build-up of waste products. Your breathing may feel desperate

and for the most part you’ll probably want to stop after about 45-60s; after

that you’re in a fight with your central governor to keep going.

Gloomy forecast!?

Running this hard can feel desperate for some, it’s never ‘pleasant’ for

anyone, though the sense of satisfaction can be enormous after you’re done.

‘Smugsville’ - Tennessee – Population YOU.

I personally wouldn’t recommend doing these sessions more than once a

week unless you’re particularly conditioned to training hard; regardless,

always have a rest or recovery day planned for afterwards.

Summary for Threshold running

Improves aerobic capacity by optimising your maximal oxygen

consumption (how hard your heart and lungs can work)

Enhances performance in middle distance races by improving your

ability to tolerate excessive levels of waste products.

Builds muscular strength and your body’s ability to cope with

muscular fatigue.

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THOUGHT EXPERIMENT

“Why would I want to hurt myself in training”?

Imagine….

Your maximum effort level lets you run at 8 miles per hour (7 min 30s/mile)

Assume you can run at 80% effort (9 mins 23s/ mile) for the whole of parkrun’s 5km distan

That gives you a finishing time of about 29 minutes.

Now Imagine….

Tempo running will help you hold that 80% for longer (10k races, half marathons… )

Over time you increase your maximum speed to 10 miles per hour (6 min/mile).

You still run the parkrun at 80% of your effort, but it now equates to 7 min 30s/mile

Running at that new ‘80%’ worth of effort gives you a finishing time of just over 23 minutes.

Threshold running helps us build that speed.

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Summary of Effort levels in running

Training your Aerobic Base is the

foundation of all running. Without even

trying you work on this every time you go for

a jog.

If you do nothing else, do this, preferably

3-5 times a week, for 20-40 minutes (or

longer) each time.

Tempo runs

help you run near your

maximum sustainable effort

for longer, you learn to work

with what you have, better.

Threshold runs get you

faster, they give you ‘more’

to work with.

You can do tempo or threshold runs

anytime, but always try to lead into

and out of a ‘session day’ with an

‘easy day’ or a day off running.

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Fitting it all together

So, there’s the theory, but how do you put it in to practice?

Base training is what most of us do all the time, just make sure your base

runs feel easy, so that you can give your all in the harder runs.

How you fit these types of run together largely depends on how many times

a week you can run and also what you’re looking to improve upon.

If you’re hoping to build your speed, drop in 1 or 2 threshold sessions

a week and try to build the length of the repetitions over time

If you’d like to build strength, try tempo running and see if you can

last longer before you feel like you’re just ‘coasting’.

If you have a pace or distance goal in mind, build your speed and

then your strength consecutively. Repeat the cycle over time and

you’ll get eventually reach your goals.

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Ideas for Sessions

Ideas for Tempo Sessions

Typical sessions may start at 3x 4 minutes of effort, then taking

3 minutes to recover, perhaps by jogging slowly or fast

walking. You shouldn’t feel the need to stop altogether.

You can build to 6x 4 minutes, then repeat the pattern but with

either longer times for the repetition or shorten the recovery

periods by 30 seconds.

Over time, build to longer efforts of 1km, 1 mile and then

topping out at anything from 15 minutes upwards

Fartlek!!! Yes, I got it into this article. “Fart”! hehe... Fartlek

means ‘pace play’. Run and then every now and then change

the effort, sometimes faster, sometimes slower. Try doing this

2-3 times every 5 minutes on one of your longer runs and build

it up over time till you can ‘play’ for 20-30 minutes total.

Ideas for Threshold Sessions

For folks trying this to begin with, start with reps of 30-60s of effort

to begin with and have ‘double the time’ as a jog recovery, or walk if

you’ve really taken it to the well.

Build up to intervals of 2.5-3.5 mins with equal the amount of time

recovery.

Always have a good warm up (10+ mins) and include strides and drills

to activate and prepare your muscles for the effort to come.

Bigger sessions might include the likes of:

45

1-mile/10-minute warm-up, then do the following 6 times:

o 3 mins effort

o Followed by 3 mins of jog or walking recovery. (Over

time, cut this to 1 min 30 seconds)

Finish the session with a 1 mile/10-minute cool down

Or, try to add variety in your longer runs.

Longer run variations; Include 3-5 sets of:

o 30s of effort

o Followed by 30-60 seconds of jog or walking recovery.

o Take 2 minutes between each set.

I work on the practice that a typical phase of training will last about 4 weeks

and a typical training cycle will last about 8 (give or take!). To get the most

out of your training, think about focussing on one aspect for 4 weeks, before

backing off for a week and then shifting to training for another aspect.

This works for me, But it might not fit your lifestyle.

There’s a subtle art to blending the two phases together and if you want to

know the secret, get 100 coaches in a room to define it. They’ll come up with

101 secrets because no-two coaches work the same.

I say this because whatever you’re doing; it is probably right. There may be

more efficient ways to train for your goal but it’s unlikely that your methods

are utterly wrong!

This brings me back to my opening paragraph. Be kind to yourself, you’ll get

as much out of your running as you put in. If all you want is to feel relaxed

and stress free, then run with a smile on your face knowing you reached your

goals.

46

Feel free to chat to the coaches (by phone or over the internet of course!) or

other runners about how they structure their running if you’re not sure how

to develop your own.

Whatever reason you run for; I hope this guide will help you figure out how

you can get to your goal faster. Whether it’s to run harder for longer, faster

over a set time, or just to get through the shut-down with your sanity intact.

I wish the best of health to you all.

Training on Lockdown

Verity Ockenden

Adapting to life in lockdown as

an athlete who had hoped to be

targeting the European

Championships and the Tokyo

Olympics this year, has been an

interesting journey. As focused

as I remain on these now rescheduled

goals, they have been

put into stark perspective by the

scale of the global tragedy

caused by Covid-19.

I think as runners we are some

of the lucky ones. Our sport has

already instilled in us such

useful qualities as discipline,

patience, determination and

belief. We are adept at creating routines for ourselves and sticking to them.

We are comfortable both with spending time alone, and with enduring

difficulty.

However, this period is not without its obstacles. As hardened an athlete as I

am, there are still days when I wake up feeling helpless and hopeless. I know

that my usually strict routine needs to accommodate the effects of this

unpredictable situation on my mind and body by being flexible and forgiving.

I had planned to spend some of this year’s London Marathon funding on a

month at altitude in Flagstaff (Arizona), alongside some big races in Los

Angeles and San Francisco this April. Now evidently, pretty much the entire

track season has had to be canned. Anyway, after a rocky first couple of

weeks of anxious exhaustion, I am now learning how best to continue under

the circumstances and realising that I am actually in the privileged position of

48

being able to live even more like a professional athlete should with so much

extra time available to recover, fuel and look after myself.

Having already experienced being shut out of Salisbury track for a whole

season not so many moons ago, I know that I must be wary of the change of

surface for my Tuesday sessions. I am confident that this transition from track

to road won’t affect my performance having had one of my best crosscountry

seasons ever off the back of that period of road training in 2018 but I

am also aware that the subsequent stress fracture I sustained in my shin a

few months later was probably related to those extra days on hard surfaces.

Hopefully this time around, having been furloughed from my usual job as a

chef might compensate for the additional impact I’m putting my legs

through, as I am able to rest them better in between training sessions.

However, I am still consciously searching out grassier routes for all of my

other runs and resisting the urge to don my flats in favour of more cushioned

shoes. Injury prevention is now more important than ever as I will not be able

to visit my Physio Kyle Hackett’s clinic for any help.

49

As for the mental aspect of training, I accept that there are going to be

workouts that I struggle to master alone, outside of my usual facilities. I can’t

always anticipate which sessions these will be, but I have a few tactics in my

armory to help me feel good. For example, my GB kit usually remains sacred

until I am called up to wear it, but feeling low when confronted with the

prospect of 10 x 1k (1 minute recovery) a couple of weeks ago, I chose to

wear the vest for the workout.

How could I then give anything less than my best? I make new music playlists,

braid my hair differently, watch old race videos, or brew myself an extra

espresso… All tactics that help in their own small way, and no doubt when we

return to the normality of open competition, will remain important aspects of

my toolbox.

Verity

50

Verity Ockenden

Beneath my feet

stubborn roots grow

Parched as cacti

they drink deserts

Drowned as coral

they absorb oceans

and I remain grounded.

Beneath my feet

my roots remain

stronger than ever storm

They raise me up on tangles pedestals:

one day I’ll meet the sky.

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Nettle Soup Recipe

Verity Ockenden

This is a great one for feeling smug about foraging your own food,

weeding the garden and boosting your immune system all in one fell

swoop. Nettles are wonderful antioxidants and anti-inflammatories

(although not recommended for pregnant women, diabetics or anyone

taking blood thinners, blood pressure medication, diuretics or lithium).

Only pick the youngest leaves, not the flowers, wear rubber gloves and

wash the leaves well!

52

Ingredients (for 2):

Half an onion, finely chopped

Two cloves of garlic, minced

Knob of butter (or oil of any kind)

1 bay leaf

1 apple, peeled, cored and grated

Glug of sherry / white wine / cider

700ml vegetable stock

Two large handfuls of chopped nettle tops

Method: Gently sweat the onion and bay leaf in butter or oil, adding

the garlic a few minutes later, in a medium saucepan with the lid on

until translucent. Add your grated apple and continue to sauté over a

slightly higher heat with the lid off, until the apple begins to colour

slightly. Next, pour in your alcohol of choice and let it burn off. Add

your stock and bring to the boil before chucking in your chopped nettle

tops. They hardly require any cooking in order to lose their sting, and

will lose their greenness if you over do it. Remove from the heat when

they have wilted and blitz until smooth, being careful not to splash

yourself with hot liquid! Season to taste with salt and pepper, and

serve - with bread if you have any.

Mission Accomplished

Dave Heath

If you're wondering why I drove 300 miles just to run a 5 mile race at the

Forest of Dean last December, then all can now be revealed. Saturday 29th

February 2020 was the final piece of the jigsaw. Mission accomplished.

Back in 2014 I found out I had raced on 319 out of 366 days of the year. I

made it my mission to race on the other 47 dates but because there were lots

of dates in December, January and February I knew it would take a few years

for each date to fall upon a weekend.

By January 2018 I was down to only 4 more dates to complete my challenge, I

managed January 13th and February 10th but when it came to December

22nd I was taken ill before the parkrun at Poole. I was sent to hospital by

Sarah the 'shouty lady' which meant I would have to wait another year to

cross that date off my list.

2019 wasn't the best year for me when it came to my health and a stubborn

chest infection in September lasted until mid-December. I had planned to run

the Portsmouth Coastal Half Marathon but found they were sold out. If I

couldn't find another race I would have to wait another five years or more for

December 22nd to fall upon a weekend again.

I was lucky to find a 5 mile race at the Forest of Dean, I just hoped the car

wouldn't let me down. The car managed to get me to the Forest of Dean for

the race and I was able to cross that date off my list, now only February 29th

remained. I was lucky that it fell on a weekend this year so I kept my fingers

crossed that Sarah wouldn't send me off to hospital again or the car wouldn't

break down.

Everything went well on the day, apart from doing a crap time, and I was

relieved to cross the last date off my list. It also happened to be my 300th

consecutive volunteering role at Poole parkrun, if Sarah hadn't sent me to the

hospital it would also have been my 300th consecutive Poole parkrun, Poole

Sports Awards 2019instead I am only on 60 consecutive Poole parkruns now.

53

She meant well, if it wasn't for her I might now be running that big parkrun in

the sky, I think she deserves an extra cuddle next time I see her.

Dave Heath

Photo is of me sprinting for the finish line at the Polytechnic Marathon in

1992. The race went from Windsor to Chiswick and was the oldest

surviving marathon at the time. I finished in 3:09:28 still looking fresh as

a daisy ;-)

54

Poole Sports Awards 2019

Les Turner was presented with a

Certificate of Commendation at the

Poole Sports Awards for 2019, held

at the Magna Academy, Ashdown

on Wednesday 26 th February 2020.

. Presented by the Worshipful the

Mayor of Poole, Councillor Marion

Le Poidevin to recognise Les'

commitment to our club and

Athletics.

Haydn Morris & Roger Cross

attended the awards evening

together with Les' wife Eirian.

Poole Festival of Running also got a

mention at the beginning of the

evening as one of the highlights of

Poole sports year.

55

The Green Belt Relays

Ian Edwards

The Green Belt Relay is a not-for-profit annual running relay organised by

The Stragglers running club and has been going since 1995, and now

involves around 45-50 teams. Runners form teams of 11 people, and

each runner runs one stage each day.

The 22-stage running relay race around 220 miles of the Green Belt

around the outside of London takes place in May each year over a single

weekend.

Starting at Hampton Court Palace Saturday 8.30am the course weaves its

way around the villages, rivers and paths of London's green belt mainly

following footpaths, towpaths or minor roads. Going on to stop at

around 7:30pm at the end of stage 11 in Blackmore, Essex. It resumes at

8am Sunday, and finishes at around 6:30pm at the Stragglers club

headquarters in Kingston where there’s a barbecue and prize giving.

Although the race is a relay, each stage starts at a fixed time. This allows

each stage to be a competitive race in its own right, and also allows

teams of all different standards to stay roughly together as they advance

along the route.

Various prizes are on offer, and there is quite intense competition for the

honour of winning stages, setting stage records, and competing for the

team relays ranging from the "Green Belt" (fastest team) to the muchcoveted

"Toilet Seat" awarded to the slowest team to compete the full

course. The race also raises money for various charities, both from

individual teams and from surplus funds. The race is open to anyone

who can get 11 runners together to form a team, and is open to all

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standards of runners. This year (2020) will be only the 2nd time the event

has been cancelled, the other was 2001 due to Foot and Mouth.

Poole Runners mens winning team 1997 (L-R) Penwarden, Caldecourt,

Yates, Tiller, Hoey, Cutler, Boyes, Pepper, Edwards, Cook.

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1996 Poole runners first entered teams into the GBR in 1996 for its second

year of running. Up until 2005 the relay was a twenty-stage affair over a

slightly shorter course (214 miles).

Our men’s team placed 3 rd overall with stage wins for Rupert Pepper, Dave

Penwarden and Martin Thomas. The Ladies went one better finishing 11 th

overall and 2 nd Ladies team. Stage wins for Jayne Waller, Helen Ambrosen,

Carol Doe, Julie Moore, Debbie Lewis and Deirdre Ross. On an excellent

debut in the GBR many returned to Poole determined to return the following

year and do better.

1997 Much inspired and with the addition of a few useful 2 nd claim athletes

Poole runners returned with a Men’s, Ladies and Vets teams.

To say Poole runners dominated would be an understatement with 10 stage

wins for the men and 5 for the ladies, the club won all three categories.

Mens stage wins for Dave Cartwright (2), John Boyes (2), Len Slater, Ian

Barnes (2), Geoff Scott, Mike Hoey, and Dave Cox. With Jill Durham (2), Carol

Doe, Julie Moore, Helen Ambrosen stage winners for the ladies.

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An outstanding run for the Vets Don Doe saw him beat his senior club mate.

1997 mens winning team (L-R) Cartwright, Tiller, Pepper, Scott, Boyes,

Edwards, Barnes, Slater, Hoey (Cox not in photo).

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1998 The club returned again in force with 3 teams determined to repeat

our victories. With stage wins for Mike Hoey (2), Ian Edwards (2), Terry

Cutler (2), Rupert Pepper, Dave Penwarden, Mike Cook, John Boyes and John

Yates the men retained their title. John Boyes would have won both his

stages if it weren’t for a navigation error on a course he’d run and won the

year before.

Our Vets team also performed well to retain “The Walking Stick” trophy with

notable runs by Dave Cox and Geoff Scott beating our senior men on their

respective stages.

The Ladies were also victorious again with stage wins for Carole Doe (2),

Helen Ambrosan, Kath Boyes and Hannah Towner.

1998 Ladies winning team (L-R) Ross, Ambrosen, Swinford, Warmsley,

Tarrant, Towner, Boyes, Towner, Doe (Tipping not in photo).

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1999 Could the club make it 3 in a row for the men’s and ladies titles? Well

they certainly tried with Stage wins for Mike Hoey (2), Dave Cox (2), John

Boyes(2),Dave Penwarden and Dave Cartwright.

The men were on course for victory until having to incur a 10 minute penalty

for using a substitute runner due to injury - Mike Hoey ran his 2 nd stage of the

day and 3 rd of the weekend. Poole Runners men lost out on the hat-trick by

less than 2 minutes.

Against an outstanding Dulwich team and despite stage wins for Carole Doe

(2) and Helen Ambrosen it wasn’t enough and our ladies finished 3 rd .

Ian Edwards

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Weymouth Middle Distance Triathlon 7th July 2019

Jim Cartwright

With no excuse of not enough time I thought I would share with you my

favourite race, it was a tough call between this and Manchetser Marathon.

But this was a personal race for me.

Strap yourself in for a little bit of time travel.

1998, I’m stood in a corridor in Brockenhurst College with a rather fetching

shoulder length hair. I catch my lecturer and hand in another late lukewarm

assignment a three page effort at best. He took one quick look and brought

his hand to his forehead, looked me in the eyes and said, “Jim you are

possibly the greatest underachiever I have ever met”. At the time I brushed

this off as some kind of complement.

Fast forward to the Rio Olympics 2016, watching the Brownlee’s competing

sparks a conversation at work and the seed was planted. At this point I had

just started running and owned a bike but hadn’t swam for over 20 years.

I was out training along the beach one Sunday morning, the rain hammering

it down and the wind blowing off of the sea. I allowed my mind to drift back

to that conversation years earlier. It was at this point I decided that if I could

complete a half distance triathlon I would no longer be the greatest

underachiever. How hard could it be?

I joined Poole Runners in 2018 and in April of that year I competed in my first

sprint triathlon and loved it. I was addicted and on course to wasting

hundreds of pounds to feed my new addiction. I didn't want to have all the

gear and no idea but I knew I would need a wetsuit and tri-suit if I wanted to

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take things further. On a family holiday to Mallorca I swam in the sea for the

first time since I was a teenager. On returning I booked onto Bournemouth

International Triathlon.

1500m Swim 40k Bike 10k Run. All went well and I was happy with my result.

In 2019 I decided to concentrate my efforts on Manchester and pick up my

cycling and swimming once I had completed my marathon.

It was at this point I learnt that Middle Distance, half and 70.3 all meant the

same thing

1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run

I decided not to follow any specific training programme, just try to fit my

training around family life. (Not always easy). I wasn't going to break any

records and I only wanted to finish. I was a little concerned about the swim

cut off time. I did however make myself accountable and plan my training on

a calendar at work. This helped me log my miles and it was easy to see an

increase in mileage.

I started to swim in the sea a little too early and it was freezing. I couldn't get

my face in the water, it felt like I had been repeatedly slapped across the

head. My only option was the swimming pool, I'm not a fan it turns out I have

a chlorine allergy. So an antihistamine, ear plugs and nose clip are the tools

of the trade.

Training went well and the sea temperature slowly crept up. So after one

swim I cycled out to the New Forest for what should have been a 40 miler.

Being old-school I took out a printed map and made the wrong turn. This did

turn out to be a huge confidence boosting ride as it got me close to race

distance, my first 50 mile ride. The following 10k run was a slog but I knew I

could do it. So I packed my bike in the car and went home a happy man.

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It was about this time that I attended BustinSkins aquathlons on Wednesday

evenings, 1k swim followed by a 5k run. I knew that I needed practice

swimming around others. I have no fear on a bike and what can go wrong

running? But a whack on the back on the head could upset my race. Over the

following weeks my times and confidence improved but I was in ore on some

of the swim times…. Unbelievable.

One sunny Tuesday morning I cycled to work, 2mins from my house I felt an

odd pain, did what most people would do and carried on to work. About an

hour later the pain reappeared. Next thing I’m standing in the doctors with

my shorts around my knees, after a bit of prodding she leaves to get a second

opinion, the 2 minutes felt like a lifetime. Then Carry On style another doctor

walks in and twangs his rubber gloves all I could do was laugh. The diagnosis

was an inguinal hernia. Then I ask the important questions, “can I cycle, can I

run”. Yes to cycling, NO to running I even looked at the other doctor and

surprise surprise the answer was the same.

I took the rest of the week off and did what anyone would do, moped about

and ate my weight in chocolate. The only other thing they both agreed on

was rest, luckily I was off to Greece the following week.

A consultation with the surgeon on my return gave me a glimmer of hope.

Running slowly and carefully was back on. I was over the moon. The other

thing that would have to change was my position on the bike. Being

aerodynamic was far too uncomfortable, so the aero bars were dropped. It

was all about comfort over speed. A slight adjustment of my target times and

I was ready to go.

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The morning of the race I was up at silly O’clock. I arrived in Weymouth and

was the first one to register, number 13. I knew it was going to be a long day.

Time in transition seemed to fly and soon we were taking a short walk to the

beach. After a reassuring no

nonsense briefing we were off.

Due to the tides it seemed as if I

walked/ waded 400m of the swim

course, either way I didn't have any

issues, not even the jellyfish were

going to bother me. Now back on

dry land I slipped on my flip-flops for

a 400m dash back to transition.

I enjoyed the cycle route and as you know there are no easy routes out of

Weymouth. We headed towards Broadmayne, Dorchester, Troytown,

Puddletown it was here that myself and another cyclist got stopped by traffic

lights. We both looked at each other and stopped it wasn't worth risking our

lives for a few seconds and risking instant disqualification. The aid station was

at Bovington camp, I didn't stop because I decided to carry everything that I

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needed. As we headed towards Wareham I felt the need for a wee. Now I

had practised a cycling wee with varied success. (That was one to delete for

my search history) Luckily a gentleman had stopped ahead so I decided to

stop rather than risk a warm foot. I have cycled the route back to Weymouth

before and I spent a little too much effort into getting back.

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As soon as those shoes were on I just wanted to run, my feet had pins and

needles and I didn’t want to waste any advantage gained on the bike or the

swim. I set off a little too quickly and was aware of this and tried to slow

down. I kept saying to myself “control the pace, before it controls you”. The

run route was a 2 lap affair and when I made it to the first drinks station I

knew I was in for a tough time. I couldn't get going again. I played the lamp

post game, “I will run when I get to the next lamppost, that's right the one

after that”. A quick gel and I sluggishly set off again. It wasn't long before I

was beaten by an incline… I was empty with little to give. Then I remembered

why I was there and the fact that my son was waiting, a quick look at my

watch and I thought I can still get the time I want, the 2 hour, half looked

increasingly doubtful but I may still be able to make a respectful time. On

arrival at the next drink stations I opted for a flat coke, a warm one as well. It

was only made better by being sprayed with water pistols. This sugary drink

and a hand full of jelly beans were exactly what I needed. From then on

progress was steady and I stopped for a chat and a laugh at every drinks

station.

As I turned the final corner I saw my wife and son. Oscar and I had agreed

that if he crossed the finish line with me he could have my medal. So I found

the energy to pick him up. (Still not wanting to lose my position) I crossed the

finish line with him on my shoulders. They were good enough to give us both

a medal.

I was expecting quite an emotional finish, but I was so pleased to cross the

line with Oscar.

I guess the title of the greatest underachiever just drifted away.

Jim Cartwright

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Swim 38:59

Bike 2:51:39

Run 2:13:10

Total 5:48:41

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England's Toughest parkrun

Tyler Lawrence

On the 26 of October 2019 I ran the Woolacombe Dunes 5k parkrun because

we were in Devon for Jim's [my dad] birthday and it was the closeted one to

us. It is the known as the toughest parkrun in England.

When we got to the parkrun it was very windy and wet. Jim and I did not

what to get out the car. I only had one jacket and I had to wear it. Half way

through the run I took it off so it got wet on the inside as well.

The course is on a mixture of stone tracks, sand dunes and beach. It was a

very hard course. At first you run down a bumpy road and then diagonally

down sand dunes. Then onto the beach across about 2.5k. We were lucky as

the tide was out. The hardest bit of the course is running up a big sand hill.

Finally we came to another sand dune diagonally up hill to the bumpy road. It

is harder than it sounds.

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I found my performance was good as I came 19 place out of 55 runners. My

time was 28:41 for the Woolacombe Parkrun. My PB is 22:42 at Poole park

(flat) so I think my effort was good because it was not flat and it was windy

on the day.

I would recommend this parkrun if you are up for a challenge or want a fun

run. I think it is the toughest in England because it is on sand and you go up a

very steep hill.

Tyler

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Boscombe Winter Series 5k

Geoff Scott

Back in 1996 I Had the Idea to start a 5km winter series, I chose along the

Bournemouth prom starting at Boscombe Pier straight along towards

Southbourne, turning at the half point and back to the pier. Perfect fast and

flat!!

A series of 6 races starting in October finish with the last race and

presentations in March.

The very first race was October 1996, and with the help of several Poole

Runners I had 68 runners turn up for the start. We did entries and race

numbers from the back of a car in the car park above the pier.

The Atmosphere was fantastic racing under the lights along the prom.

Race numbers increased gradually and word got around and we had top

athletes coming from all over, Hampshire and Dorset. The Quality of the

Runners was fantastic, International Athletes mixed with Top local Runners.

We used to have race Articles in the Bournemouth Echo and Athletics Weekly

magazine.

The course Record holder Angus Maclean, Team Solent 14-25.

After 10 years of organising the 5km Series with the help of the likes of Mike

Bruce the results man, Anne Towner. Chis Hopkins, Brian and Maureen

Panton, Heather Brain, Pete Helyer and many others, I decided to call it a day

and hand it over to the capable hands of Alan Webb and it continued until

2015 but then with parkruns happening and work along the Prom it came to

a close.

I take with me many great memories from the series, it was such a unique

experience.

Geoff

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Results on next pages provided by Geoff, for one of the last Boscombe

Winter Series races he organised.

I have fond memories of both running & volunteering at the Boscombe Winter

series, including watching Steff Twell (Aldershot Farnham & District) finishing

1 st female on 17 th October 2008 in 16:18, which was the quickest 5k ran by a

British U20 women that year. Steff was awarded the 'Female Junior Athlete of

2008’ and has had considerable success at the highest level. And is currently

ranked 6 th all-time British Women for the marathon having ran 2:26:40 at

Frankfurt Marathon in October last year (2019) Editor

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Bazza’s Top 20 Netflix Recommendations (TV Series)

Barry Trowbridge

These are not necessarily in order as that’s too difficult however here are my

favourites:

Stranger Things

Dark Crystal - Age of Resistance

Jessica Jones

Daredevil

Luke Cage

The OA

Punisher

Sex Education

Ozark

Gotham

Iron Fist

Messiah

The Witcher

Altered Carbon

Black Mirror

Defenders

Limitless

Titans

The Umbrella Academy

Spinning Out

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My South African Ultra (ran 6 th March 2020)

Melanie Austreng

We all have our bucket list of races that call to us. These are the races that

seem to have our names on them. Something about these events appeals to

us and captures our hearts and imagination. These bucket list races become

firmly etched in our minds and refuse to be overlooked or forgotten. Like a

persistent itch that needs scratching- they simply need to be run.

For years the race that has topped my bucket list has been the Comrades

Marathon; a South African ultramarathon of approximately 55 miles. Not

only is it the world's largest and oldest ultramarathon, but it has an

atmosphere unlike any other. As any South African ultra-runner will inform

you, it is the event which dominates the South African running calendar and

the event which tends to come up most frequently in conversation. If you are

looking to run an ultra in Africa than Comrades is THE race.

Unfortunately, this is not a story about smashing my bucket list race. Nor can

I write about simply enjoying the experience and savouring the moment of

this internationally renowned event. Why? Because I didn’t get to run it. The

event sold out before I pressed the enter button. All 27, 500 places gone!

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Feeling rather defeated, I shared my disappointment with my South African

friend who suggested that things tend to happen for a reason and perhaps I

ought to consider other races in SA. Turns out he was right, I was actually

quite fortunate not to secure a place in the 2020 Comrades as it is uncertain

if the event will go ahead due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

I set about researching ultras in South Africa (of which there are many- SA

seems to be a nation of ultra-runners) and came across the Addo Elephant

Trail Run. This event jumped out at me as the course spanned 47 miles across

a stunning National Park and into remote bushland. This event would involve

negotiating technical terrain and potentially bring me into contact with wild

animals.

I could sense the adventure on offer and the trail runner in me was

captivated. Suddenly, Comrades, and the thought of running mile after mile

on pavement seemed less appealing.

Fast forward to race day at the start line. 3:45am and the sun wasn’t the only

one that had yet to fully wake up. I found myself in a bit of a dream state,

but was convinced I’d soon come to life once we got underway and from

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then on would comfortably cruise at a leisurely pace to the finish. Given that

this race would take me through some spectacular scenery which I’d likely

never see again, I made up my mind early on that I was going to run at a pace

that enabled me to soak up the experience. There would be no head down

and serious concentration on maintaining pace. I planned to savour my

surroundings and perhaps even stop and take photos. We had also been

briefed on the animals that wanted to kill or seriously injure us. Puff Adders

were number 1 on the ‘things to avoid’ list so after eyeballing the black and

white image of this snake which the race director had circulated I set off.

I think I was less than half a mile in when the gravity of the situation began to

dawn on me. I had been warned that the temperatures would soar once the

sun was fully up and thought it might be a good idea to start by running at a

slightly quicker pace to get some miles behind me before this happened. It

became apparent quite early on that this was not going to happen. The first

few miles took us through a valley of soft sand which zapped my legs of

energy. I was spending a tremendous amount of energy and covering very

little ground. Walk. Then came the first of what would be a long day of steep

climbs. Once again I was spending a tremendous amount of energy and

covering very little ground. Walk.

By the time I reached the second check point I was several hours into the

event and had only covered about 10 miles. I began to curse myself for not

reading the route description more carefully and failing to prepare for the

challenging terrain. I also began to consider the fact that I had maybe been a

little complacent with my training. Sure I had put in the miles but because my

intention and attention were on the whole trip, wider than the race itself, I

had decided against gruelling hill repetitions and strength training. I was

going to take my time and enjoy it so why would I need to train as if I were

racing? My base fitness would get me through, right?

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Eventually the sun started to swiftly rise taking the temperature with it. By

10am the temperature hit 38 degrees! This was certainly a shock to the

system after a season of winter running in the UK. I hadn’t incorporated any

heat acclimation into my training nor did I have a pair of the nifty white arm

covers which the more experienced South African runners were wearing.

Once again I began to curse myself, this time for failing to research and

prepare for the climate appropriately. As I said before though, hearing and

understanding that temperatures were going to be high is one thing,

experiencing and feeling it is another.

By the time I shuffled into check point four I was feeling pretty dreadful.

There was no shade in sight and my sunscreen had been removed long ago

when I stopped to roll in a shallow waterhole to cool off. A couple of British

runners had looked at the sight of me rolling in a shallow puddle like a hippo

with a sense of bemusement, but something I learned in my previous hot run

in Costa Rica is that its important take ANY opportunity to cool off. Even if

that does mean attracting some strange looks. There is no such thing as

dignity on an ultra-marathon. A kind marshal offered me a top up of

sunscreen but it wouldn’t absorb into my skin as I was drenched in sweat by

this point (as was everyone else).

As midday approached the temperature soared to 43 degrees! The medical

team were checking every runner and I now think that I had the beginnings of

heat stroke. I took a moment to rest and rehydrate at the check point and,

with the medical team satisfied that I wasn’t about to keel over, I pressed on.

However, I felt my heels and heart sink firmly into the ground when I

approached a steep ascent up the face of a mountain. I wasn’t prepared for

this as I hadn’t pictured mountains when I thought of African bushland. My

mind became a wash with negative thoughts as I bullied myself up the

incline. “Why hadn’t I researched the race properly? Why hadn’t I trained

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appropriately? I’m getting too hot. My legs are cramping up. I’ll be next

runner to be picked up by the medic truck.”

I crested the top and couldn’t get going again, so I walked. All the while lost

in self-criticism for walking. Head down and fully enmeshed with the demons

in my mind. There was no shade on the mountain ridge and no puddles to

cool off in. The sun beat down and temperatures peaked at 45 degrees! It all

became a bit blurry at that point and I’m not sure how long I carried on like

that, it may have been one hour it may have been several (I’d long stopped

taking an interest in my watch).

It got really quiet on the mountain ridge and there were no other runners in

sight. In that silence I somehow managed to hit the re-set button. Although

my body still ached and I felt overcome by the heat, I somehow found a way

to adjust my attitude. I managed to refocus my attention onto the beauty

around me and to savour the stunning views. That was, after all, why I was in

South Africa in the first place. Then, bringing my attention to each step and

acknowledging that whilst I may not be moving as quickly as I had hoped, I

was still moving forward. Of course the negative thoughts continued to rattle

on, but I was able to allow them to come and go in the background without

paying too much attention to them. In time I was even able to offer myself

words of encouragement, celebrating the distance I had already covered

rather than catastrophising about what lay ahead.

By the time I moved through check point six I was able to get jogging again.

Shortly after that came the rapid descent down the mountain, which turned

my legs over quickly enough to enable me to get back into the rhythm of

running again. I overtook some runners (some were running, some walking

and others were laying down under what little shade the small shrubs

offered). I passed the British runners who were now dripping wet from head

to toe after emerging themselves in a stream at the base of the mountain. I

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recognised that I wasn’t the only one suffering in the extreme heat and that

actually I was doing quite well all things considered. I completely changed my

view of my performance. This was the boost I needed and from this point

forward I ran continuously to the finish.

Despite all the walking I finished 8 th lady overall in a time of 12hours and

some odd minutes. Perhaps one of the toughest races I’ve run (and walked)

and one I won’t forget.

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So what did I take away from this experience and what lessons did I re-learn?

1. Always research your race. Be sure you know the topography/ terrain

and as far as possible train on this. Ensure you have an idea of the

climate and if you can, replicate this in training. Get familiar with

your race. Know it inside and out so there are no surprises on race

day.

2. Don’t underestimate the mind-body connection. Many people say

that races are run in the mind and I would agree with this. The longer

the distance, the more important the relationship between mind and

body becomes. Essentially you know that at some point your

thoughts are going to get rather dark. How you respond to this will

have a huge bearing on your performance. Allow yourself to

disappear into your negative thoughts and your mind won’t be the

only thing that feels sluggish and ground down. Instead try refocusing

your attention onto the environment or each individual

step.

If you’re familiar with mindfulness than use this to connect with the

moment as it unfolds- rather than panicking about what lies ahead. If

you can, offer yourself words of encouragement.

Focus on what’s going well (even if this is simply one step closer to

the finish). Celebrate your progress. Be your own cheering squad. Its

remarkable how the body responds to a bit of kindness and

positively.

I appreciate these points may seem a bit obvious, but the Addo Ultra

helped to remind me of these basics. On a non-running note:

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3. South Africa is a beautiful and awe-inspiring country. I feel very

fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit and take part in the

race. The trip was about so much more than the race though, it was

about connections, scenery, animals and the almost tangible feeling

of being somewhere very special indeed.

Mel

4. In my heat induced confusion, I managed to mix up Puff Adders and

the Rowan Atkinson character Black Adder. So I was running and

walking along looking for a black snake to avoid. It turns out that Puff

Adders are a yellow-brown colour with darker chevrons. Please don’t

get venomous reptiles mixed up with British sit-com characters; it’s a

recipe for potential disaster!

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Poole Runners ‘100 Club’

The ‘100 Club’ is an alternative way of paying your full club membership fees,

inc affiliation to England Athletics. You choose to pay a monthly direct debit

of £4 for full club membership, instead of the standard annual membership.

However, your name is entered into a monthly draw where you stand to win

monthly prizes of £50, £35, £20, £15 & 3 x £10

Nov 2019 Winners

Dec 2019 Winners

£50 Gavin Clegg £50 Darren Lock

£35 Jason Mumford £35 Alan Clasby

£20 Ron Mills £20 Andy Sorton

£15 Ron Walmsley £15 Amanda Dennison

£10 Keith Fraser £10 Ian Barnes

£10 Jill Daish £10 Esther Downes

£10 Anne Towner £10 Keith Fraser

Jan 2020 Winners

Feb 2020 Winners

£50 Ted Payne £50 Artur Majewski

£35 Martin Shore £35 Helen Guerrier

£20 David Ozanne £20 Carole Ingham

£15 Steve Amos £15 Steve Crockford

£10 Khalil Ghabaee £10 Roger Cross

£10 Christine Thomas £10 Catherine O’Callaghan

£10 Nigel Redman £10 Ellaine Adams

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Training Ideas for Sprinters

Les Turner

Lamp posts:

Here’s an idea using lampposts if they’re evenly spread out. You must do

your drills first.

That done you sprint between two lampposts, walk or jog back. Now you’re

going to start at original lamppost, sprint passed two lampposts.

Back at the start now sprint 3 lampposts and you’ve guessed it sprint 4

lampposts (this will be hard, and will be followed by recovery time.

You then do 3, 2, and 1 lamppost. Finish with a 4 lamppost run.

Remember heads down when you start, keep your arms moving, stay relaxed

and enjoy.

Please be aware of other pavement users, cars and dips in the pavement that

will throw you off balance. Wear light clothing.

DO NOT SPRINT ON THE ROAD, unless there is no alternative.

Starts revision:

Sprinters apart from lampposts you’ll need to keep starts lively but going

through the drills twice and make the arm movements snappy and fast to

make your legs move quicker! Run for 30m, the last 5 is for slowing down

GERMAN: (named after first group we saw using it). Step back and push

forwards, head down.

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FALLING: arms shoulder width apart in front of body. Go up on toes, lean

forward until falling then drive arms in opposite directions.

LEG LUNGE: leg lunge, lean forward, wait up to 2 seconds then push firmly

back to push body forward.

LAYING: you may need to see where you’re training. Lay down on floor.

When you start, get up and move forward at the same time.

TRIPOD: from the crouch start position, move to set and the side with knee

up raise arm on that side until its above back

FULL STARTS: you can use this to run 50 and/or 100.

That’s 12 starts to work on and no more. Will maintain starts at a reasonable

level for when we start again indoors or out!

Football Pitch:

You can jog both side lines of the pitch, increasing pace at each turn along

the goal lines, then back to jog for the next one.

Stand on goal line, and jog forward and at each white line turn back and

sprint back to where you started. Should be 5 or 6 lines if you go the whole

length of the pitch. You could walk instead of jog depending on tiredness.

You could alternate walking and jogging.

And reverse pyramid, speed across the goal line, cut across the diagonal turn,

to go up the goal line and speed again.

Should keep you occupied, and tired. Not sure you will complete it all.

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Hills:

You'll need a hill of more than 50m in length with a steepish slope, over 45

degrees.

This will help with coordinating arms and legs, improving, maintaining drive,

each run will start with head down

You start each hill rep with head down and fast arms. You'll run to top of

slope, up to 100m but I suggest you stick to 50/75m. You should jog one,

sprint one, jog half then sprint to top - a bit like maintaining your speed at

the end of the race

Do half with no arms (hold arms against chest) then at 3/4 distance use arms.

You appreciate using them afterwards

Alternate jog and sprint for 4 more runs. Finish with an all-out sprint

It's important to maintain height, with knees raised and arms going vertical

not horizontal. As you tire arms will slow making legs slow down as a result

If you have a much lower slope (20 degrees max) you can sprint down the

slope to get the feel of running faster. Stay in control

Parachutes:

Can be brought online and used for resistance training. Ideally two together.

They are used to develop driving phase from starts. You must not use if very

windy as side winds could blow athletes off course.

Les

90

An Ode to Parkrun - my long lost friend

Nicki Ream

On a Saturday morning when lying in bed

An internal battle goes on in my head

Should I get up and rush out my door

To run 3.1 miles or perhaps several more

Meet up with my friends for a Parkrun you see

Lifting my spirits, filling my heart with glee

This battle now seems a thing of the past

Memories of Parkrun, when was my last?

Poole Park or Upton, I have no idea

Trailway or roadway, I hold them both dear

Chasing a PB or enjoyment of Parkrun you see

Gives Saturdays purpose, with bonus cake and coffee

Now disappointment I feel when I wake up each week

No chance of an injury, not even a tweak

Solo runs are just not meeting my needs

Despite endless TV and multiple reads

To be running the course of a Parkrun you see

Means more than I realised, it's my sanity

Of course I get it, I'm not stupid or naive

We have to stay away for Corona virus to leave

Never again will I see things like I did

Gratitude and thankfulness are no longer hid

Can't wait to get back to Parkrun you see

A welcome return to my running family

91

Changes & Challenges for All

Claudia Howse

The last few weeks have brought changes and challenges for all. My hope is

that the important jobs undertaken by keyworkers will continue to be

recognised in the future.

My efforts to stay

active and fit include:

Alternating days 4 mile

walk or run from

home. A calf injury on

December meant 2

months of no running,

lots of physio exercises

then building up to gym

work of weights, cross

trainer, swimming then

progressing to treadmill

runs.

Social isolation coincided with my being able to increase my running and

venture back onto uneven terrain. So I am really thankful that we can

continue to exercise outdoors I am enjoying running whatever the distance

or speed in the fresh air listening to the birdsong.

Slow steady walks and runs seem to be gradually taking effect and muscle

tightness and ankle stiffness is improving. For strength and flexibility I

continue my physio stretches each day and several times a week do weights,

Pilates and yoga at home. All this combined with hours of gardening seem to

be working and allows for the extra food and alcohol consumption!

92

The garden marathon and club challenges have given incentives to keep

training and the amount raised for Poole hospital was just incredible. Thanks

to everyone for organising these events and the zoom quizzes, club

announcements and curry club- informative, fun and such a great way to stay

in touch with friends.

I look forward to club runs all together once it is safe to do so.

Claudia

93

A Big Welcome Back to the 'Virtual' Club

Lucy Culkin

When I joined Poole Runners, in 2016,

life was certainly less hectic! My

daughter was in nursery, my son in his

first year at primary school. I worked

locally and part time, albeit in a fairly

senior role, and when I look back, I

hardly knew how lucky I was to have

so much time to pursue my interests!

Fast forward 4 years and a familiar

story in most families: my children

pack out the week with after school

clubs, from Rainbows to swimming

and taekwondo and Tutors (that's

Monday-Thursday booked up!); I

commute 2 hours a day for work and

my now full time job is demanding

outside of the 9-5 (if only it were 9-

5!).

The friendships and camaraderie which had been built with Poole Runners

had fallen away due to not being able to commit to attending weekly runs;

instead of Monday night 'Plod' from Poole Park, I would squeeze a lonesome

45 minute run between dropping and picking up my daughter from

Rainbows; Wednesday night club runs were substituted for an hour 'speed

session' to the beach and back whilst my son was at Taekwondo!

But, I never lost the love, need or desire to run, I probably spend more time

running than ever before, regularly hitting 20+ miles per week, but I am

unable to commit to set days or sessions. Fortunately, through my children's

school and via friends of friends, I became part of an informal group of

94

likeminded mums, we meet up and do those sociable runs as and when

commitments allow.

I did, however, miss the friendly competition and gentle encouragement that

came from being a Poole Runner and so here comes a silver lining from

Covid-19! The creation of virtual events such as the weekly 5km virtual time

trial, the 5 mile run and the amazing garden marathon challenge has enabled

me to participate in club events, and despite not having met many of the

newer members, they kindly 'like' and write lovely encouraging messages on

my posts; this has made me feel part of the club again- a welcome back if you

like!

Like everyone else, I will be relieved when this situation is over and lockdown

is released, but I will also be a little sad, as life goes back to normal and I

know I won't be able to continue regular involvement with Poole Runners

again, I will remain a member and may see familiar faces at races so please

say hello; but for now, it is amazing to be part of the new virtual club!

Lucy

95

UPTON SUMMER SERIES 2020

As many of you will be aware we have currently put entries to our Summers

Series “on hold”. We have also agreed new dates with both UK Athletes and

the Upton House events team. Our race licence has been amended

according. (All Clubs have received notification from UKA that their

insurance will be invalid if race licences are NOT amended, thus last minute

date changes are difficult)

There are many unknowns and variables, however we will be doing our

utmost to have some form of Summer Series. It may be a reduced series

starting in July with four out of the five races to count. Though we are “on

the case” no further decisions can be made until both the government and

UKA give us some idea of when the “lockdown will come to an end.

Mike Towner

96

ANNOUNCEMENTS………….

Freddie Neil Sorton born on 16th January 2020 at 15:01

weighing 5 lbs 12 ozs

Caught us by surprise as he wasn't due until 19th February and Jo had

been jogging at St Albans parkrun on Saturday 11th January!

Andy & Jo

Loving the choice of bedtime story – Ed

97

WORD SEARCH

Can you find 19 words associated with a Track & Field meeting – single

or double words joined together (example LONGJUMP) maybe easier

to print the page.– answers on page 113: Ed

98

As part of last Thursday’s Poole Runners U18’s

Group Virtual Club Night, Rupert Pepper

devised & presented an excellent quiz, a

section of which follows, with answers printed

on page 114.

99

Q1.

Q2

100

Q3.

Q4

101

Q5.

Q6.

102

Q7.

Q8.

103

Q9.

Q10.

104

Q11.

Q12.

105

Q13.

Q14.

106

Q16.

Q17.

107

World Wide Web Most Searched Questions

“Why is running…”

Jim Windebank

108

Why is running good for you?

Running can significantly improve physical and mental health. As a form of

aerobic exercise, running can reduce stress, improve heart health, and even

help alleviate symptoms of depression. Some researchers think running may

be so good for us because it's something we evolved to do.

www.businessinsider.com/health-benefits-of-running-2018-4

Why is running so hard?

If running feels ridiculously hard all the time, most experts agree that it's

probably due to you doing too much, too soon. Research shows that your

body “hits a wall” when it's depleted of glycogen stores in the muscles and

liver, which results in fatigue and low energy.

www.aaptiv.com/magazine/does-running-get-easier

Why is running in water beneficial to athletes?

Underwater running can be used as a complementary exercise that is less

stressful on the body, such as underwater treadmill training. Underwater

treadmill running requires the use of different muscles in order to

push through the viscosity (drag) of the water. This, in turn, provides

additional power when on land.

www.hydroworx.com/blog/5-reasons-athletes-train-underwater/

109

Why is running bad for you?

The short answer is that some injuries can be attributed to running. The good

news, though, is that running injuries are largely preventable and there are a

number of easy-to-implement strategies you can start using today to stay

safe, no matter what distance you plan to conquer next.

www.popsugar.co.uk/fitness/Running-Bad-You-44688109

Why is running addictive?

The addictive part of running mainly comes when endorphins are released by

exercise. Endorphins are a naturally occurring opiate that acts a lot like

morphine when released into your brain. Not to say that chasing a runner’s

high will turn you into some sort of addict, but it will make your body crave

that high again—which can be a great motivator to keep training! Endorphins

are like home-brewed happy chemicals that are also released in response to

positive emotions like love.

www.roadrunnersports.com/blog/achieve-ultimate-runners-high/

Why is running good for mental health?

Researchers have found that participating in physical activity such as running

and jogging are directly related to better self-esteem. Regular exercise led to

improved perceptions of fitness and improved body image, both of which

were linked to improved self-esteem.

110

Stress relief is another valuable benefit of running. Going for a jog might

improve your mood in the short-term by helping get your mind off your

troubles, but it can also lead to longer-lasting stress relief benefits.

www.verywellfit.com/the-mental-benefits-of-jogging-2911666

Why is running outside harder?

There's a reason that running outdoors can feel harder than running on a

treadmill: It is. “When you run on hills or against the wind, you have to

expend more energy to maintain the same pace,” says former NCAA distance

coach and New York City-based running coach Sean Fortune.

www.gq.com/story/treadmill-runs-vs-outside-runs-explained

Why is running uphill harder?

You not only have to propel your body forward, but upward, doing work

against the force of gravity.

www.runnersconnect.net/hill-running-training/

Why is running so hard on the body?

Caught the running bug? That's great, but don't forget about rest days.

Running more than three days a week might not give your muscles time to

recover appropriately and from a mental perspective, running every day

could make you feel burned out or at least plateaued.

www.refinery29.com/en-us/why-is-running-so-hard

111

Why is running better than walking?

Regular cardio (at any speed) is part of a healthy lifestyle. But, lap for

lap, running burns about 2.5 times more calories than walking. Running may

also help control appetite, so runners may lose more weight than walkers no

matter how far the walkers go.

www.greatist.com/fitness/walking-good-workout-running#1

112

113

Word Search Answers

Quiz Answers

Q1. B. Colin Somers

Q2. A. Kate Somers

Q3. A. Claire Trent

Q4. D. Neil Chivers

Q5. D. Emma Shore

Q6. A. Haydn Morris

114

Q7. A. Morgan Smith

Q8. B. Jo Brodie

Q9. C. Kirsty Cooper

Q10. C. Les Turner

Q11. C. Gavin Newbury

Q12. A. Mark Vallier

Q13. D. Haydn Morris

Q14. B. Neil Sexton

Q15. C. Kirsty Cooper

115

Q16. Favourite T.V. Shows A = 1, B=2 etc

The written material and information published in SPRINT express the views &

opinions of the individual contributors & do not necessarily represent the official

views of Poole Runners.

Poole Runners cannot be held responsible for possible violations of copyright

resulting from the publishing of any written material in this ‘magazine’

© Copyright Poole Runners

All rights including those in copyright in the content of this publication are owned by

or controlled for these purposes by Poole Runners.

Except as otherwise expressly permitted under copyright law the content of SPRINT

magazine may not be copied, reproduced, republished, downloaded, posted,

broadcast or transmitted in any way without first obtaining Poole Runners written

permission via the Editor.

116

www.poolerunners.com

Public group: facebook.com/PooleRunners

Members only group: facebook.com/groups/279100532132960/

Couch 25k Group: facebook.com/pooleparkcouch25k

Monday Plod Group: facebook.com/Park-to-Poole-Runners

Poole Festival of Running: facebook.com/runpoole

Upton Summer Series: facebook.com/uptonsummerseries

Broadstone Quarter Marathon:

facebook.com/BroadstoneQuarterMarathon

Twitter:

@poolerunners

Instagram: @poolerunners

117

SPRINT Issue 69 -April 2020rev

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