Weekly News – Monday 23rd March 2020

Editor’s Piece 

COVID-19 is resulting in massive changes to our lives and daily routines. The fact that schools, pubs, cafe’s, and restaurants are closed demonstrates how seriously the government is taking it. Self-isolation is something we all need to adopt, and in many cases that means working from home, staying away from friends and family, and suspending many of the hobbies and interests we once had. I thoroughly enjoy my club training nights, club suppers and weekend social runs but this is something I’m having to put on hold to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.
Fortunately I can still undertake the activity I enjoy, namely running, just without the company of others. I also have good health and two loo rolls remaining, so must remain positive.
I would like to try and keep the weekly newsletter going as it helps keep us stay connected and focussed on running. To do this I will need your help and would really appreciate your contributions, otherwise I will just bore you with ‘Fact of the Week’ and nobody want’s that, including myself!

If you have an interesting running related story,  please tell me. Have you run an exciting race or discovered a new route, then do let me know. My e-mail is communication@westburyharriers.co.uk

Next month Dan Summers will be providing us with a piece about Ultra’s. I’ve never been brave enough to run an ultra so will be especially interested to learn more about these events.

We will also be reinvigorating the Club Person Profile. I’ve put all the committee names into a hat and have selected the following ‘volunteers’.
Next week we will hear about our vice-chairman and boys team manager, Neil. The following week we will hear from Judy, our club treasurer and Club Championship coordinator. I’m looking forward to reading all about you both.

Training and CV19

Club training was suspended until further notice on 16th March in accordance with government guidance. The EA has since provided further guidance to all athletic clubs.
The Club committee asks that all members respect and adhere to the official guidance. This means, that in addition to there being no Club training on Monday or Thursday, there should not be any group meetings associated with the Club or Club members on other days, such as informal evening and weekend meet-ups.

Members are urged to immediately social distance, particularly those over the age of 70, those with pre-existing health conditions or those who are pregnant.

You are reminded that you must:
1.       Frequently wash hands with soap and water or use a sanitiser gel for at least 20 seconds;
2.       Use disposable tissues or a sleeve to catch coughs and sneezes;
3.       Throw away used tissues and then wash hands;
4.       Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth;
5.       Avoid close contact with people who are unwell.

You are also reminded of the importance of:
1.       Staying two metres apart from others;
2.       Not having physical contact with others.

The government is regularly updating its guidance which you are encouraged to read: www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Lizzy’s Monday Challenge

Each week, we will be setting a running challenge in place of a Monday night run. You don’t have to complete it on a Monday, of course!

This Monday‘s challenge is… Complete a run – one run only – in which you run down roads where the first letter can spell WESTBURY. For example find a road beginning with a W, then another beginning with E, then S and so on. Ideally done in the correct order. It may take some route planning! It’s tricky! Photos of your road choices will be appreciated!

Social Distance Interval Training 

Even though the world is topsy-turvy at the moment it is advised to try and keep a routine in place, therefore you may wish to continue the interval training. Remember to warm up, mobilise before starting the session and if you do happen to be near another runner keep a safe distance.
I’m not suggesting a venue, that’s up to you to decide. Just try and avoid roads with busy traffic. If you have a running watch it’s likely you can programme it with the session below.

5 or 6 sets of (3 x 1 min) with 30 seconds rest between the 1 minute interval. After the third interval (which is the end of the set) have a 90 second recovery.

The aim of the session is to focus on cadence and speed. Ensure you keep the recoveries really slow as you otherwise will not be able to maintain the pace of the intervals

Photos from the Archive

Many thanks to Neil, John F and John C who are keeping us entertained with photos from the archives. For those of you not on Facebook here are a couple including Sara T (nee Lavis) and Rick W (who you may recognise from Up and Running). I can’t believe these pictures were taken 15 years ago and not yesterday. Either running keeps you young, or else you’ve all got fading self portraits hidden in the loft!

Club Championships

The last event would have been the Forest of Dean Half Marathon. Obviously that did not take place so the Club Championship season is now closed. You have until the end of the month to record your results on the Westbury Harriers website. Do check because prizes are awarded for a number of places and categories.

The results so far are shown below. Based on the current leaderboard we may be looking at Kay and Ewan as our new Club Champions.  We’ve also had some other top 10 position changes. Only 1 point separates Sophie and Tamsin, so especially important for Tamsin to check she’s recorded all her events. Interesting to note that Trevor (the Omnipotent One) has moved up to second place by a single point! Ian has checked he’s recorded all his events (several times) and just needs to try harder in the future!

Congratulations

I still have a few results to report from last week, before Coronavirus resulted in events being cancelled or deferred.

Well done to Elaine who took part in the Gloucester 20 Miler. Elaine had never raced this distance before so was understandable a little apprehensive. She had no need to be worried as in atrocious conditions she paced herself well to cross the finishing line in an impressive 2:53:45. She also tells me her club vest was worn underneath, it was cold and raining after all!

British Masters Cross Country Championships

The championships took place in Corwen, North Wales last week. Mike M took part in the Open 8K Championships. As the oldest runner there he took a very respectable 12th place in the V60 category. Well done.

Race Write – Ups

The Bath Half last week had a reduced field. Even so, we had a few Westbury runners. Joe in the Junior Men category came 26th in an impressive time of 1:10:11 (note he now runs with Bristol and West). Lucy was flying along, coming home in 1:23:12. We also had a very impressive result from Alison in 1:35:25. All that training Alison has certainly paid off. Alison, pictured below.

Finally, the San Domenico took place along the Taff Trail in Merthyr tydfil. Robin took home a 1st place category win in a very impressive time of 2:09:33. Hot on his heels, and also taking a first place category win was Anthony in 2:15:00. We also had impressive results from Ian 2:23:00 and Tim 3:07:39. Pontypridd Roadents (who had 23 runners in total) took first and second place in the team award but were denied third place by Westbury Harriers by 8 seconds!

From next week I will not be able to provide any race results. I would still like to keep this section going so why not tell me about a special run instead, including photographs if possible? For example something particularly scenic, such as a run in the mountains or along the coast. Why not tell me about a special achievement, perhaps you achieved a PB on one of your favourite routes or perhaps replicated an event you had booked like a 10K or half marathon? To give you some ideas I’ve had a quick search on Strava and can report the following.

Strava Results of the Week

Fantastic running by Oli who has claimed the Strava Segment Crown ‘2 sides of a school’ which can be located by Henleaze Junior School. Oli did this section in 1 minute 50 seconds, the next Westbury runner on the leaderboard is Finn in 2 minutes 29 seconds (although knowing Finn, I’m sure Oli won’t hold it for long!)

Well done to Vicky and Chris who set themselves the challenge of a 1 mile time trial. They both found a nice quiet stretch of road near Easter Compton which fortunately was just about a  mile long. Vicky did the distance in 5m 43s (or 3:31 min/km) and Chris Palmer in 5m 11s (3:10 min/km).

Interesting Fact of the Week

Life is very difficult because of Coronavirus but at least we can still go outside for fresh air and exercise (at the moment). Therefore, spare a thought for Elisha Nochomovitz who is in lock-down in France as the government has instructed individuals to stay indoors and self isolate.  Elisha completed an entire marathon on his apartment balcony in a respectable time of 6 hours and 48 minutes.  It is estimated that he completed over 6,000 laps of his short 7 metre balcony!!

Diary Dates

Events have been removed until further notice, pending outcome of Coronavirus.