If you've got a story to tell then let us know.
Make sure it's about athletics though.
Road Running Ramblings Feb 2016
by Road Running Manager - 20:39 on 22 February 2016
This month’s Road Running Manager’s blog includes the latest updates on the 2015/16 Winter League, the unveiling of the 2016 Summer Road Running schedule (including some news on the Hill Running fixtures) and the regular features of Training Tip and Motivation Corner!
Winter League 2015/16
The 6th event in the league was held last weekend in the shape of the River Race – unfortunately due to poor weather conditions and high tide the race was relocated to Annan Academy grounds. At time of writing I have not received the official results but hopefully the scores will be updated by the end of the week – from memory there was 9 ADAC runners in the Seniors’ race and I understand that the team prize was won by Mark Whitelaw, Adam Anderson and Graham McLellan – congratulations guys for a great effort. With two races to go (Tour De Moffat on 6th March and Potholm on 19th March) there is still all to run for. Latest Winter League Standings - Male & Female
Summer Championship 2016
There was a tsunami of feedback to last month’s blog (thanks Alan) and in conversation with others there seems to a general contentment with the structure of the Championship and the main players although there was also an openness to some new ideas and variation. Armed with this clear brief I have pulled together the summer fixture list based on confirmed race dates which are currently available. In liaison with the Hill Running section we have sought to minimise any conflict between the championships whilst also accommodating some other feature races and non-championship events. The link takes you to the race listings including the non-champs events whilst this link gives you a timeline of the summer with each various events listed chronologically.
The new features this season when compared to last year are:
- The inclusion of the Buckland Burn Up 5m race in Kirkcudbright in place of Castle Douglas 5m – the main reason for this is that the Buckland race is on a Saturday which is possibly more convenient for more runners than a Tuesday evening.
- The inclusion of the Gretna Green 10k in place of the Black Esk 7.5m – the reason being that Black Esk was felt slightly more suited to a Winter League event and the changes to the summer festival had resulted in this popular course not being used last summer.
- A slight change to the way the Carlisle Parkrun is used in the Championship – rather than a free choice of any weekend in the summer there are 7 designated weekends available for runners to take on the course and their fastest times will be ranked and scored. It is hoped that this may result in stronger numbers representing the club on these weekends and leading to a bit more competition.
My thanks go to Jean and John Robson for once again agreeing to host the Hightae event in April and to George Fraser and his merry band of helpers for catering for the hordes after the Lockerbie 10k in June.
Training Tip
We all enjoy running (at least most of the time!!) and it is understandable that we focus most of our training effort on running activity. However in order to raise our performance noticeably it is highly recommended that some core training or circuits be incorporated into a weekly training programme. This can also help contribute to a reduce risk of injury and possibly also raise metabolic rate which raises your body’s ability to burn those pesky calories.
You can find any number of core workout sessions on the internet and there are alos training apps that can be downloaded to phones and tablets which you can do with basic equipment in your kitchen without expense of gym membership. My tip would be to try several variations to find one that you can fit into your schedule and make a point noting a time in your diary or setting a reminder to do it on your phone until it becomes as routine as going for your regular weekend run.
Some of the regular exercises include the plank (basic or variations including side-plank, stretched plank, straight arm or backwards), tricep dips, step ups, squats, press ups and abdominal crunches. 30 second efforts with 10 to 15 seconds between each exercise is a good starting point and perhaps 2 or 3 sets of six different exercises in total.
Motivation Corner
I’ll leave you this month with another of my favourite motivation quotes
“The only bad run is the one you didn’t do”
Good running everyone – I’’ be back at the end of March!
Bring on the roads !!
Add your comment