If you haven’t entered the Gold Coast Marathon yet today is the cut off for early bird registration is today. To wet your appetite here’s an excellent promo video for the GCM.
Tag: Brisbane running club
Striders Girl Debuts In London Marathon
Wendy Clark made her marathon debut at the London Marathon on April 26 in a fantastic time of 3hrs38min. The London Marathon snakes its way past plenty of iconic landmarks and attracts an enormous field of British and international runners.
After a lengthy and dedicated training run up which included plenty of long runs and sore muscles, Wendy easily nailed her first marathon, joining the select few Striders women to have completed a marathon. Training included plenty of early morning interval and hill sessions, lots of lunchtime running and also plenty of Saturday long runs. wendy was supported by her sisters on plenty of the runs and also by fellow Striders.
Congratulations Wendy, we are looking forward to seeing you unleashed on the Queensland marathon scene! For those of you who read this and are inspired remember that we have two coaches in Striders who are very experienced at the marathon and ultra-marathon – so why not give it a go? There are plenty of opportunities on the SE QLD running calendar for half marathons and 3 options for marathons.
To read the story of the race go to the official site here for men, and here for women. The womens winner is 36 years of age, which should serve as an inspiration to many.
Pinnacles Classic Report
Greg Hall edged out Stan Fetting in a thrilling finish to the Striders unofficial King of the Mountains race at Pinnacles Classic this Saturday. After 18km of gruelling trail running 4 seconds was all that seperated the jubilant Greg Hall from Stan. The young gun has been chasing the sly fox for some time now and it was only a matter of time before Greg’s hard work paid off. The two came together just before the halfway mark after the tough ascent up ‘The Mother’ and from there on it was hammer and tongue all the way to the finish with each runner trying to get away from the other. Greg opened up a lead of about 100 metres with 2km to go but the two were abreast again with about 1km to go down a steep descent. By the time both runners got to the bottom they were sprinting and Greg timed his well to edge ahead of Stan.
Erik Anderson and Mary Jackson also put in solid performances in possibly the biggest field that Pinnacles has had in its existence. OVer 60 runner lined up at the start for the tough challenge with climbs called ‘The Mother’, ‘The B******d’, ‘The Mongrel’, but to name a few. Congratulations to Greg Hall on an excellent performance to knock the old boy off his perch. Greg was quoted as saying “It’s all downhill for him from here!”, and in reply Stan was heard to say “No this simply means WAR!!!”. We look forward to the next tussle between these two!
Pinnacles Classic
This years Pinnacles Classic will be run on Saturday 18th April. This is a charming but challenging run, which is not widely known but growing in popularity. Once you’ve done it you’ll always come back. The report from last years race reads:
Previously a secret to a small group of runners, the course climbs and drops 1,060 metres in a series of mean sharp hills, most with names which define their characteristics.
Example hills: “The Brute”, “The Mother” (a one kilometer plus slog up a real heartbreaker) and the “Double Whammy” which despite warnings still manages to produce groans when the second part comes into view. The run which attracts a small field is run clockwise and anti-clockwise in alternate years and is followed by a BBQ (and a beer) for those who enjoy the post run de-brief.
Read the full report here.
A number of Striders will be heading over for an enjoyable Saturday morning. If you are interested let Stan know so that we can car pool.
Weekend Race Reports
It was a busy weekend for a number of Striders both in running and triathlon. Julie, Wendy and Lisa took on the Bayside 5km which is held on the last Saturday of each month at Sandgate. This event is organised by Phil Hungerford of the Runn Inn in Enogerra, a great servant of the running and triathlon community. For more info check out the Runn Inn website here.
Julie has been threatening to break through the 20 min barrier for the 5km and on Saturday morning she smashed it with a scorching 19:32. Wendy is in tapering mode for her first marathon [London Marathon in April] and ran a good 21 and Lisa shook off recent injuries for an excellent 22min.
For more info on the London Marathon check out the site here.
Up at Mooloolaba a number of Striders entered the individual triathlon and we had a Striders team made up of 3 evening runners, Glenn [swim], Gabriel [bike] & Greg [run]. Steve Meharg took out bragging rights for the fastest individual tri time. Other Striders included Stan, Joey, Emily, Fabian, Scott, and Mary.
Weather conditions were bad with rough seas forcing the swim into the canal rather than the beach where the waves were thundering in, and driving wind hitting riders at the turnaround point of the 40km bike ride. The rain began pelting down during the run so competitors were given a good workout. The rain did help keep things cool and that was a good bonus.
The Running Shoe Debate
You may have noticed a story circulatingf recently about research done in NSW that shows that training shoes supposedly make very little difference to your feet, particularly with injuries. A study found there was no evidence to support the belief that some specially-designed trainers can prevent injuries or improve performance. Experts at the University of Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia, made the claim after analysing 60 years of medical literature.
I am no scientist, but I am a runner who has racked up over 7000km in the last 5 years. My personal experience contradicts these findings. My advice is to listen more to experienced runners than to this research, otherwise it could cost you in injuries and shorten your running life. Here’s why: Continue reading “The Running Shoe Debate”
Run for Cancer – Saturday 4 April
I love Saturday races! [cos I work Sundays], and this one caught my interest cos its for a good cause: Continue reading “Run for Cancer – Saturday 4 April”
In 2 Adventure Trail 6km Run
There is an excellent opportunity to sample Trail Running this weekend at what looks to be an excellent event. In 2 Adventure are organising a weekend of trail biking and trail running events. The main attraction for Striders will be the Active Strides 6km Trail Run, which starts at 3:45pm. A few of the ‘morning Striders’ will be competing.
Check out the website here. Check out the map, and the course profile.
Warning: entry closes Wednesday 4 March, no entries on the day! Register now.
Australia loses a running legend
Australia 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!’
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:
- Stop running straight away and get home a.s.a.p. so that you can ice it.
- I have a flexible ice pack and an elastic bandage ready always so that I can strap on the ice pack for 20-20minutes.
- Ice 3-4 times during the first day, try and stay off feet if you can.
- Wait for the pain[and any swelling] to go down, whilst you keep on icing. This should take about 3 days.
- Once the pain has gone you can start stretching and massaging.
- Always massage in the direction of your heart.
- 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.
- 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:
South Pine Striders 