The Running Thread Vol 2

[Abbott]

naturals said:

Abbott said:

I went into Paris centre a couple of times this week and apart from the plies of rubbish it was generally quite calm.
If you are driving over be prepared, there have been quite a few ferry cancellations and delays this week due to bad weather and it looks like the high winds are due to continue.
Also as a result of fuel distribution strikes there may be queues for fuel so make sure you top up in the UK before crossing.

Thanks for the tips Abbott. You've just reminded me I didn't stop for fuel on the way home from work, and with a 3.30am alarm I may not have time tomorrow. Doh!

How did it go?

[naturals]

Abbott said:

How did it go?

Pretty good thanks! The route itself is waaaay hillier that I thought. 270m of climbs according to my Garmin. I'd run most of the route before but along the banks of the Seine. The actual route follows the road and has a lot of up and down ramps. Then the last stretch up to the Bois de Boulogne (which they changed from previous years) was pretty torturous.

And the last five kilometres the crowd basically pushed forward from both sides narrowing the route a lot which made for slow progress.

Anyway, I got round in 4:02 which is a PB by a full 16min but sadly I didn't have enough in the tank to get sub 4. Next time!

How did you do Inspire?

[Abbott]

naturals said:

Abbott said:

How did it go?

Pretty good thanks! The route itself is waaaay hillier that I thought. 270m of climbs according to my Garmin. I'd run most of the route before but along the banks of the Seine. The actual route follows the road and has a lot of up and down ramps. Then the last stretch up to the Bois de Boulogne (which they changed from previous years) was pretty torturous.

And the last five kilometres the crowd basically pushed forward from both sides narrowing the route a lot which made for slow progress.

Anyway, I got round in 4:02 which is a PB by a full 16min but sadly I didn't have enough in the tank to get sub 4. Next time!

How did you do Inspire?

Well done I did it after the Covid closures and took 4:45. 1st 20k was far too fast pushed on by the crowds and the up down ramps through the tunnels were horrific. Nearly gave up at 30k past the Eiffel Tower but flogged on.

[Inspire]

naturals said:

Pretty good thanks! The route itself is waaaay hillier that I thought. 270m of climbs according to my Garmin. I'd run most of the route before but along the banks of the Seine. The actual route follows the road and has a lot of up and down ramps. Then the last stretch up to the Bois de Boulogne (which they changed from previous years) was pretty torturous.

And the last five kilometres the crowd basically pushed forward from both sides narrowing the route a lot which made for slow progress.

Anyway, I got round in 4:02 which is a PB by a full 16min but sadly I didn't have enough in the tank to get sub 4. Next time!

How did you do Inspire?

I really enjoyed it. I got round in 4:47 which was slower than I hoped but I had nothing left in the tank at the end. I could see the 4:30 pacer gently accelerating away from me at about 36k!

I thought the course was beautiful for the first 10k as a snaked through the city. I agree with you on how hilly the course was (the ramps on and off the Seine were a killer!)

It felt very crowded at the end as the course narrowed with all the crowds and there were a fair few spectators crossing over the course, which was a bit annoying at times.

The bib collection on Saturday was a bit chaotic. We queued for almost 2 hours to collect my bib which led to two over grumpy children.

Overall, I really enjoyed it (even the tough bits where I questioned why I was doing it!) and would definitely do it again. That said, I’d like to try Berlin or Valencia first.

Glad you made it over on Saturday and Sunday went well!

Thanks

Rob

[naturals]

Inspire said:

I really enjoyed it. I got round in 4:47 which was slower than I hoped but I had nothing left in the tank at the end. I could see the 4:30 pacer gently accelerating away from me at about 36k!

I thought the course was beautiful for the first 10k as a snaked through the city. I agree with you on how hilly the course was (the ramps on and off the Seine were a killer!)

It felt very crowded at the end as the course narrowed with all the crowds and there were a fair few spectators crossing over the course, which was a bit annoying at times.

The bib collection on Saturday was a bit chaotic. We queued for almost 2 hours to collect my bib which led to two over grumpy children.

Overall, I really enjoyed it (even the tough bits where I questioned why I was doing it!) and would definitely do it again. That said, I’d like to try Berlin or Valencia first.

Glad you made it over on Saturday and Sunday went well!

Thanks

Rob

I agree about Valencia / Berlin. Berlin is the only other marathon I've run and it was my favourite of the two. No narrow pinch points (which frankly felt dangerous at times such was the risk of tripping and falling), 1/3rd of the elevation of Paris, no motorbikes crossing the route in front of runners (I saw many of these). The flip side is that there felt like a lot more "filler" miles in Berlin which were a bit dull. Aside the stretch out past Bastille to Vincennes, most of the Paris route was stunning.

Well done on making it round. See you at the next one!

[The jiffle king]

I was a member of our club's 12 stage road relays race on Sunday 60 teams running around Olympic park.

For the 45 miles, our clubs average pace was 5:41/mile which is pretty rapid but the winning team won with an average of about 4:46/mile.
Great to see those runners really shifting and nice to see so many fast runners in 1 place. Lets just say that we did not finish in the top 25 who made it through to the nationals

this is the type of event that a little running club like ours does for experience and also to see quality runners (I'm told the winning team had 6 internationals in their team) Amazing to see those people really run at pace. Ellis (Who beat Mo Farah in that 10K) was there and ran a casual 20:32 for 7.2km (4.5 miles)

Some amazing running and well worth going to an event like this to see how it plays out.

[fiatpower]

The jiffle king said:

I was a member of our club's 12 stage road relays race on Sunday 60 teams running around Olympic park.

For the 45 miles, our clubs average pace was 5:41/mile which is pretty rapid but the winning team won with an average of about 4:46/mile.
Great to see those runners really shifting and nice to see so many fast runners in 1 place. Lets just say that we did not finish in the top 25 who made it through to the nationals

this is the type of event that a little running club like ours does for experience and also to see quality runners (I'm told the winning team had 6 internationals in their team) Amazing to see those people really run at pace. Ellis (Who beat Mo Farah in that 10K) was there and ran a casual 20:32 for 7.2km (4.5 miles)

Some amazing running and well worth going to an event like this to see how it plays out.

There's road relays in my local park a few times a year. Last week was the midlands road relays and next week is the nationals I believe. Always enjoy going down and watching some of the ridiculous paces and how effortless they make it look.

[Smitters]

scz4 said:

Afternoon all.

Just wondering how effective compression socks are to keeping shin splints at bay? Any recomendations?

I've not been bothered by then for 10+ years since I stopped playing football and squash. But I'm now onto week 3 of 16 for my marathon training plan and feeling them ever so slightly and worried that they'll get worse as I pass half marathon distance next weekend. I've been gradually building up 1km a week since mid Jan, so not jumped into it. Although I do think the increase in hill reps could be the issue rather than slower longer runs.

In my experience, it's more in the mind than anything else. Doesn't stop me wearing them though. I use 1000 Mile compression socks.

I have also found that intensity is far more provocative to painful shins than long slow distance - it seems the running dynamics of hills or short intervals which get you up on your toes and abusing the calves are what get mine going. A good roll out of the affected calf straight after a run and another before bed really helps mine from getting over tight and thus irritating the shin area, but the only long lasting solution I found was lots and lots of calf raises. Bent leg, straight leg, high volume bodyweight, all the time. Waiting for the kettle to boil? Calf raises. On the phone, calf raises. Everywhere. All the time. For the first few weeks you may well find this actually aggravates them a bit, so rolling out plenty too will help.

I have one of these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ELT-Foam-Roller-Set-Exerc...

Which works really well as you can start off soft and then switch to the harder bit for stubborn tight sports.

And, of course, IANAD, or physio. Go and see a physio.

And if you must do an intense session, could you try it on a spin bike instead for a few weeks while you let things recover? Early days of the plan - so better to sort things now than carry a niggle all the way through.

[Stephanie Plum]

Can I ask a question about where you all go looking for a good quality race? So not a fun/fancy dress race but a serious race as described in some of the posts above. Do you have a go to resource you use online? I ask as we need to publicise our annual club race and I am a bit stuck as to what to do for the best. We have mailed our previous entrants and leafleted all the local clubs, parkruns etc but I'm looking to do a bit more than that. We did sponsored facebook posts last year which fell a bit flat, so I'm interested in how you guys seek out events. Thanks

[Candellara]

Anyone running Hamburg on the 23rd?

[redrabbit29]

Stephanie Plum said:

Can I ask a question about where you all go looking for a good quality race? So not a fun/fancy dress race but a serious race as described in some of the posts above. Do you have a go to resource you use online? I ask as we need to publicise our annual club race and I am a bit stuck as to what to do for the best. We have mailed our previous entrants and leafleted all the local clubs, parkruns etc but I'm looking to do a bit more than that. We did sponsored facebook posts last year which fell a bit flat, so I'm interested in how you guys seek out events. Thanks

RunThrough
Lets Do This
FindaRace.com

They are what I use the most. Also my local running club publishes quite a few smaller and local ones which are good too

If you do an event, often you'll find it's run by a certain brand, if you like it then look up that brand to see what other events they do

[Still Mulling]

Stephanie Plum said:

Can I ask a question about where you all go looking for a good quality race? So not a fun/fancy dress race but a serious race as described in some of the posts above. Do you have a go to resource you use online? I ask as we need to publicise our annual club race and I am a bit stuck as to what to do for the best. We have mailed our previous entrants and leafleted all the local clubs, parkruns etc but I'm looking to do a bit more than that. We did sponsored facebook posts last year which fell a bit flat, so I'm interested in how you guys seek out events. Thanks

Race Nation.
Look for local promotors’ banners.
Runners’ World?

[The jiffle king]

Stephanie Plum said:

Can I ask a question about where you all go looking for a good quality race? So not a fun/fancy dress race but a serious race as described in some of the posts above. Do you have a go to resource you use online? I ask as we need to publicise our annual club race and I am a bit stuck as to what to do for the best. We have mailed our previous entrants and leafleted all the local clubs, parkruns etc but I'm looking to do a bit more than that. We did sponsored facebook posts last year which fell a bit flat, so I'm interested in how you guys seek out events. Thanks

We do a few things:
- Leaflet other clubs and other clubs races
-speak directly to other club chair's to see if they will make it a club championship race (This can get you 40-90 entries, so maybe offer a discount)
- Ask people to put things up in their workplaces
- go to local Tri clubs who will have a lot of members who need some speed work
- get people at the school gate to hand out leaflets
- Ask everyone to recruit 2 runners (not all will do it but some will)
- Ask club members to encourage their family members to sign up

Good luck

[naturals]

Has anyone here run Brighton?

Entry opened today. £59.99 and only an hour's drive from me. After the hassle of physically getting to Paris this weekend, and given how much I'm looking forward to running the super local Royal Parks Half, I'm seriously considering a Brighton entry.

Is it PB-worthy? Is the crowd support decent? I know it's changed 'ownership' during the last year. Has anyone heard any feedback from the new organisers (I think it's the London Marathon company).

[smn159]

naturals said:

Has anyone here run Brighton?

Entry opened today. £59.99 and only an hour's drive from me. After the hassle of physically getting to Paris this weekend, and given how much I'm looking forward to running the super local Royal Parks Half, I'm seriously considering a Brighton entry.

Is it PB-worthy? Is the crowd support decent? I know it's changed 'ownership' during the last year. Has anyone heard any feedback from the new organisers (I think it's the London Marathon company).

I found the first half to be hillier than I'd expected. Not steep, just long draining climbs if you're trying to hold a quick pace. Crowd was decent, especially coming through the town at half way.

Well organised when I did it - well, apart from the course being the wrong distance!

[RizzoTheRat]

redrabbit29 said:

Stephanie Plum said:

Can I ask a question about where you all go looking for a good quality race? So not a fun/fancy dress race but a serious race as described in some of the posts above. Do you have a go to resource you use online? I ask as we need to publicise our annual club race and I am a bit stuck as to what to do for the best. We have mailed our previous entrants and leafleted all the local clubs, parkruns etc but I'm looking to do a bit more than that. We did sponsored facebook posts last year which fell a bit flat, so I'm interested in how you guys seek out events. Thanks

RunThrough
Lets Do This
FindaRace.com

They are what I use the most. Also my local running club publishes quite a few smaller and local ones which are good too

If you do an event, often you'll find it's run by a certain brand, if you like it then look up that brand to see what other events they do

Fetch Everyone lists a lot of races too.

[Smitters]

Stephanie Plum said:

Can I ask a question about where you all go looking for a good quality race? So not a fun/fancy dress race but a serious race as described in some of the posts above. Do you have a go to resource you use online? I ask as we need to publicise our annual club race and I am a bit stuck as to what to do for the best. We have mailed our previous entrants and leafleted all the local clubs, parkruns etc but I'm looking to do a bit more than that. We did sponsored facebook posts last year which fell a bit flat, so I'm interested in how you guys seek out events. Thanks

I definitely use online resources far more than paying attention to physical flyers. I know our club and others locally reciprocate race advertising on Facebook so you are immediately targeting club runners without letting the algorithm stick it's nose in.

Another question would be, why serious? If you are only marketing to club level runners, you're cutting out a huge slice of the population who would like to race, but won't be up the front. London is a serious marathon. It also has fancy dress. Doesn't have to be mutually exclusive.

[Stephanie Plum]

Thanks all - there are some good ideas there. Trouble is we can't do sites like Let's Do This as our entries are tied into our timekeeping company. Runners World used to have a listing but that now diverts to Let's Do This. We're already part of the Surrey Road Race Championships so that definitely does help.

Food for thought in your posts though and I will defo investigate a couple of the options listed. Thanks again and good luck in your various races. I admire all those who do the longer distances - I'm a 10k trail run girl at most distance wise!

[Stephanie Plum]

Smitters said:

Stephanie Plum said:

Can I ask a question about where you all go looking for a good quality race? So not a fun/fancy dress race but a serious race as described in some of the posts above. Do you have a go to resource you use online? I ask as we need to publicise our annual club race and I am a bit stuck as to what to do for the best. We have mailed our previous entrants and leafleted all the local clubs, parkruns etc but I'm looking to do a bit more than that. We did sponsored facebook posts last year which fell a bit flat, so I'm interested in how you guys seek out events. Thanks

I definitely use online resources far more than paying attention to physical flyers. I know our club and others locally reciprocate race advertising on Facebook so you are immediately targeting club runners without letting the algorithm stick it's nose in.

Another question would be, why serious? If you are only marketing to club level runners, you're cutting out a huge slice of the population who would like to race, but won't be up the front. London is a serious marathon. It also has fancy dress. Doesn't have to be mutually exclusive.

We've always steered away from fancy dress - there are plenty of options in Surrey for that, and as part of a championship we are wary of devaluing the series.

[RizzoTheRat]

You say you leafleted local running clubs, but it could be worth an e-mail to clubs as well, I'm assuming most, like ours, send out a club e-mail fairly regularly that includes local races people are aware of and results of races people have done.

One easy way to find local clubs is look at the results of local parkruns and see which clubs have lots of people running.