Most sport and fitness clubs and groups wouldn't be able to function without volunteers like these. Their get-up-and-go helps others stay healthy, make friends, enter competitions and more. Read on to find out what inspires them to make it happen for others.

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Wednesday May 28, 2008

A 10k run

I love London. I always have. That's why I moved here for university and never left. I love the architecture, I love the public transport, I love the parks – just everything. So when I got an email inviting me to run the inaugural Bupa London 10,000, I signed up immediately. A May Bank Holiday Monday running the future Olympic course, starting in Green Park, down the Embankment, up to the Tower and back again – what could be nicer?

Well, opening the curtains on Monday morning and not seeing torrential rain would be a start.  My phone beeped at 7.30am with a text from a friend fretting about the weather.  It was all right for him, he was only going to cheer me on.  I was the one who'd be donning a running vest and lashings of Lycra to cover seven miles of London road terrain.

I arrived at Green Park at 8.45am, and the weather hadn't improved.  I was wrapped up in a fleece and rain jacket but was still cold, and the grass was disintegrating underfoot.  I took shelter under a tree – not brilliant, but better than nothing – and soon I could delay the moment no longer.  I went into the changing tent, removed my lovely warming layers, and trudged out to the start line.

Bizarrely, my family managed to find me straight away, and my sister began to complain about her hat getting wet, seemingly missing the fact that I was in short sleeves and leggings and had no hat whatsoever.  As I chatted to them, I continued my warm-up, and I began to realise I was already soaked to the skin.

The race start was organised in waves, and I was in the final batch to go, crossing the start line at around 10.15am.  As I ran up towards Westminster, I had the sounds of Blondie booming into my ears, with my trusty iPod strapped to my arm.  Slightly uphill, but fine, as you'd expect that early on.

Down to the Embankment, and that's a long, long stretch of road, especially when you're facing the wind and the rain head on.  It doesn't help when you're beginning to really feel the searing pain in your calf muscles after 2.5k – and the elite athletes are running towards the finish on the other side of the road, having already completed the course.

To Blackfriars, then up into the City.  This was a really odd moment – deserted tube stations, empty offices, and a random drum group in the shopping arcade near Fenchurch Street (a lovely idea, but really eerie in the deserted City – and I had to be really careful at this point what with the cobbled road and my tendency to fall over when faced with uneven ground).  It was at this point I had to stop and re-lace my right trainer, because my sock was so wet and my toes so cold under my ankle strapping that my big toe had begun to go numb.  My fingers were surprisingly dextrous bearing in mind how cold I was, and I was delayed for less than a minute.

As I headed out of the City and back towards the centre of town, I started to feel surprisingly good.  I don't know if it was endorphins kicking in, or simply the fact that I couldn't get any wetter or colder so I was bound to warm up and stop suffering, but it was easy to sprint on past Mansion House and towards St Paul's.  I usually love standing around marvelling at that cathedral – not today.  By this time the music in my ears had moved on to Girls Aloud, and I was racing on, back down to the Embankment, which this time seemed far shorter and far more manageable.

Tiredness set in as I reached Whitehall, but I knew I'd have friends and family waiting for me in the home straight, who'd give me the incentive to pick my tired legs up and kick on.  Sure enough, 300m to go, and my friends were waving madly at me from the right, and my family were on the left – all taking pictures and cheering.  I found the energy for a final sprint, and I crossed the line utterly exhausted, but in a time quicker than I expected.  

I've never claimed to be good at running, either in terms of talent or technique.  I find it really difficult, actually – I'm not a naturally sporty person and my inherent clumsiness means I incur dozens of injuries on a regular basis.  However, raising money for the Alzheimer's Society gives me the impetus I need to get to the gym and get round the course – no matter how long it takes or how much it hurts.

And it does hurt.  I wish I could say I breezed through it thanks to my terrific training schedule, but I didn't – it's now 50-odd hours since I crossed the line and my thighs still ache a bit.  Weirdly, the most painful injury was one I didn't anticipate at all.  When I went to the very lovely Ragdale Hall spa yesterday to recuperate, one of the therapists was appalled to notice what seemed to be a large weeping burn on my left arm, and needed to be reassured that I hadn't been attacked with an iron, but rather it was the friction from my iPod armband combined with incessant rain that had left the mark.

Anyway, that's it from me for now.  I've entered the online ballot for London Marathon places next year, though I'm not hopeful about getting a place.  If I do, you can bet I'll be blogging here again.

Posted by Carrie ( 6:36 PM )
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Friday May 16, 2008

Tips for running

Youthnet asked me to put together some tips for novice runners, so I thought I'd post them here with some explanation!

I'm a sports journalist by trade.  That means I love watching sport, and know a fair bit about a lot of things, but I've certainly never claimed to be an expert on running technique.

Then I began running.  And though I still have no idea about technique, if I'm honest, I know a lot about how to make training and racing a heck of a lot easier for yourself.  Here are my top three tips on how to train for a distance run.  (Incidentally, if you want technical advice rather than the trial-by-error words of wisdom from a total amateur, the brilliant Hayley Yelling gave me some recommendations before I ran my first 5k. )

First, I can't stress this bit highly enough – get some good running shoes.  That doesn't mean the most expensive or the nicest-looking ones.  Go to a specialist shop, get gait analysis, and take the advice of the professionals.  You might have pronating or supinating feet (when your feet roll in or roll out as you walk or run), which means you need shoes that correct that.  Otherwise you'll end up with ankle, knee, and hip pain.  Trust me, I speak from experience. 

Second, do the right training.  That doesn't mean just running and running and running.  You need to build up to the distance you're racing over, otherwise you'll peak too early.  I get bored easily when I'm running in the gym, so I intersperse stints of running with other cardio activity, such as cycling and rowing and cross-training, and I never step onto a machine without my iPod.  Or a lot of water.  It's thirsty work.  Don't judge yourself against the other people in the gym, particularly those scary muscle-bound ones who seem to be able to exercise for hours without breaking a sweat.  You need to set your own targets and gauge your progress against them.  And STOP if it hurts.  You're not doing yourself any favours by carrying on.   

Third, keep your goal in mind.  After your training, you should have some kind of idea of how long it should take you to complete the course, so break that down.  How long should it take you to get to the 1k mark?  The 5k mark?  The halfway point?  It'll keep you going when you're thinking that your legs are tired and you can't carry on any further.  You can, and you will.  Get your friends and family to come and cheer you on.  When I ran the HydroActive Women's Challenge last September, seeing my parents, my sister, my brother-in-law and my boyfriend shouting encouragement and waving a banner at the 4.5k mark gave me extra impetus to kick on and sprint the final stretch.  And of course remember that once you've finished the course, you'll have raised loads of money for a really good cause!

 

Posted by Carrie ( 1:22 PM )
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