Themed Runs & Reading Roadrunners

Last Updated on Thursday, 15 October 2009 06:00 Written by The Virtual Runner Thursday, 15 October 2009 06:00

It seems I’m getting into themed runs lately as I’m registered for the Halloween 5 Nite Run (31/10/2009) and the THc Santa Dash (29/11/2009).  One is at 9pm and comes with a skeleton t-shirt and headlamp and the other comes with a red suit and beard (you figure it out).

I’ve never done a 5k event before and I’m looking forward to doing these ones for a bit of fun and for the medals (I love the medals).  I’ve also managed to rope a few work colleagues into doing the Santa Dash and we’re raising money for Thames Hospicecare as well.  If any of you are interested in sponsoring our little team you can do so at www.justgiving.com/grouprisk.

I had a query on my post yesterday regarding the Reading Roadrunners.  I Run Because I Love Food asked “I’ve wondered about joining Reading Road Runners, but worry it might be a bit serious – are they the bunch that meet at Palmer Park?”

Yes, that’s them.  I’ve been a member for a while now but me and my mate Tony have only just started going to the Wed night track sessions again.  They also do track sessions on Fridays I believe but I don’t go to those ones.

When I first joined the running club I was a bit nervous because I thought it was just going to be a lot of elite runners and they’ll all be whipping past me constantly.  And the truth is, there are a lot of elite-ish runners who go whipping past me constantly, however the running club also has load of normal runners like me and my friend Tony.  They are a nice sociable bunch of people and very welcoming to new people.  In fact, the first couple of sessions are free so you can see whether you like it or not.

On a normal Wed night they have a little meeting with all of us by the track at about 6:30pm and let everyone know what runs are happening etc and then everyone splits up and heads off with different running coaches for some training.  There are loads of coaches and you can join any session you want.  All really flexible and a great way to spend cold Autumn and Winter evenings.

I do find that the membership seems to dramatically increase after new years when all the new joiners suddenly appear.  But on a normal night like last night there were quite a few people at the track.

On top of all that, by joining a running club you get discounts at Sweatshop in Reading and you also usually get reduced entry fees for events/races because Reading Roadrunners is UK Athletics affiliated.

Loads more info at www.readingroadrunners.org

Registered for Brighton Marathon

Last Updated on Wednesday, 5 August 2009 07:57 Written by The Virtual Runner Wednesday, 5 August 2009 07:53

I made the decision to register for the inaugural Brighton Marathon on Sunday, 18 April 2010.

I decided that I needed some sort of focus for the future and for training.  Also, the Brighton Marathon promises to reimburse a portion of the entry fee for those runners who have registered for the London Marathon (ballot).  This way, if I don’t get a ballot place for London I’ll still have my first marathon to train for!

I thought it was a fitting 2nd choice because it is Brighton’s 1st marathon and it will be my 1st marathon too!

I even get a lovely t-shirt that tells everyone what I’m training for!

I probably won’t really start focusing on marathon training until around October because that is when I’ll know for sure whether I’ll be running in Brighton or London.

The running is going okay at the moment and I’m still plodding along.  For example, I did the following recently:-

Today – 5.42km at at 05:32 min/km pace (did some weights and cycling as well)

04  Aug 2009 – 10.37km at a 05:47 min/km pace

02 Aug 2009 – 14.00km at a 05:44 min/km pace

28 Jul 2009 – 10.69km at a 05:36 min/km pace

I’m going to update my spreadsheet tonight after I’m done writing this post.  You’ll be able to see my total mileage to date as well as my total mileage covered on my virtual run across Canada.

Take care and happy running, walking, crawling….