News

Australia loses a running legend

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kerryn1Australia has lost one if its most legendary running legends – Kerryn McCann, who has succumbed to cancer at the young age of 41.  I have a poster of her on my office door showing her crossing the line at the 2006 Commonwealth Games triumphant after an emphatic victory thanks to her courageous attitude towards running.

She no doubt applied this tenacity to her fight with cancer but unfortunately she has lost her battle and leaves behind a husband and three children.  Even before her passing, she has been widely recognised as being a warm and generous person who touched many.  She set an example for us in running and in life.  Long may her memory inspire others, especially women, to achieve all they can whilst they can.

What To Do When A Muscle Goes ‘Twang!’

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If you are a runner then you will at some point strain a muscle.  I did today. I didn’t expect it, and I didn’t feel it straight away. I blew a calf muscle, whcih is very common for runners. Of all the requests for “what should I do now?” that I get as a run coachmost of them are for calf strains.

I have spent a lot of money getting myself back on the road just before a major race and have built up a fairly good knowledge of what to do [with my body].

[Note: this does not constitute authoritative advice, only what I have found does the trick.Compare this to your own info and if you have a bad injury always see a physio.]

Here’s my plan of attack when I blow a calf muscle:

  1. Stop running straight away and get home a.s.a.p. so that you can ice it.
  2. I have a flexible ice pack and an elastic bandage ready always so that I can strap on the ice pack for 20-20minutes.
  3. Ice 3-4 times during the first day, try and stay off feet if you can.
  4. Wait for the pain[and any swelling] to go down, whilst you keep on icing. This should take about 3 days.
  5. Once the pain has gone you can start stretching and massaging.
  6. Always massage in the direction of your heart.
  7. The reason you must stretch and massage is to break up the scar tissue that initially helped knit your muscle back together.Once it has done that it needs to go.
  8. Start exercising again by walking first, then light jogging, eventually increasing back to full training. Don’t rush it or you will find yourself back at square one and with serious cabin fever!

Here’s a video on how to do calf stretches:

Mooloolaba Triathlon Challenge

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triA growing number of Striders have taken on the challenge of racing each other at the 2009 Mooloolaba Tri.  Most of the entrants from Striders have strengths in at least one of the disciplines and also weaknesses in at least one if not two!

It is a great way of cross training and we plan on having our marquee in the finishing area and making a great weekend of it.  If we can get enough orders we are currently looking at putting together a Striders cycling kit in the same style as our running kit.

To find out more and book your place go the the Mooloolaba Tri website.

The Anatomy Of A Race

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This weekend I found myself in an unusual and unexpected situation in a race: in the lead bunch.  Instead of running against my watch I found myself in a situation where if I raced wisely I could win.  Here’s the anatomy of a race as it unfolded and the strategic thinking involved: Continue reading “The Anatomy Of A Race” →

Toowoomba Results Released

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The results for the Toowoomba 10km, Half, & Marathon have been released, helping to solve a mystery on the day.  The category results were called out during the prize giving and much to our surprise Wendy Clark was called out as the winner of the 50-59 year old age group.  after an initial squeal of delight and a rousing cheer from other Striders, we all realise that Wendy was nowhere near 50-59 years old.

The presenter also realised this after looking at her and doing a double take.  It turns out Wendy got the award for the 30-39 year old age group and another Clark won the 50-59 year old age group.  Now that we have that little mystery sorted out we can stop calling her Granny?

Check out the results here.

Check out more piccies here.

Strider takes out Toowoomba Marathon

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Striders club members get ready to hit the road

A group of 9 Striders travelled up to Toowoomba on the weekend to compete in the various distances on offer.

Julie Turner is awarded silver for the 10km

In tough conditions, Julie Turner took out silver in the Women’s 10km, with Wendy Clark just missing out on a podium finish.

Stan and Mary took on the Marathon, which took in 4 loops of the course based around the Uni.

Stan Fetting welcomed home

Stan held on in the lead group and then moved to the front at 15km.

He shared the lead with another runner until the 33km mark when he moved

out far in front to eventually finish well ahead of second for his first ever marathon win.

Stan is presented the marathon trophies

‘Spirit of the Marathon’ Film showing in Brisbane

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We are ordering 20 tickets.  Contact us to reserve yours:The film “Spirit of the Marathon”, opens in Brisbane on Thursday 30th October 2008.

The Brisbane River City Runners have secured a private screening, at a special price, which all S-E QLD running clubs can use as a Fund Raiser for their club on opening night, at:

The Dendy Cinema complex, Portside, Hamilton (Southern end of Nudgee Rd).

This deal is not just for runners, you can also use it for any social club which you are associated with.

This is the Deal:

We have negotiated the following:

-Tickets at $10-00/person

-Free Nibblies before the screening
-A small discount on drinks(Which you can take into the cinema, if you wish).