Stride Magazine - Spring 2014

the jogscotlandmagazine

jogscotland.org.uk

Spring 2014

WIN! Places at the jogscotland Challenge Series 2014

Inspiration: Celebrating my 70th birthday with my jog group

Cross training: Parkour

Going Dopey: Running at Disney World

plus… the best Spring running events for your diary

make a run

how to claimjust bring this voucher with you to our shop for a 15% discount on anything you buy excsale items.

valid for one use only.

achilles heel Ltd.running made better

593 Great Western Rd.Glasgow G12 8HX0141 342 5722achillesheel.co.uk

15% offfor stride readers at

to the shop

time to

achilles heel

contents 04

contents

sponsors and funders

Warm-Up - 06Elissa Steven

News and Events 08

Are you Dopey Enough? 10

New Jog Leader Course 12

Membership Changes 13

Inspiration 15Anne Sutherland

jogscotland Challenge Series 18

Christmas Cracker Pics 20

Red Run 22

Race Directory 23

Mini Strides 25

Scottish Slimmers 26

Event Previews 28

Meet Jo Skead 30

In Shorts 32

Cross Training - Parkour 34

Doing it for Dad 36

Event Review - Tri Trail 28

Cool Down 40

David Syme - Jogging Along 42

jogscotlandmagazineSpring 2014

Designed and Printed byFront cover photograph: BUPA Great Winter Run 2014


Meet the Jog Crew Meet the Jog Crew

05

Stride – the jogscotland members’ magazine

Billy MitchellHead of jogscotland

[email protected] 634198

Ann DavidsonProgrammes Co-ordinator

[email protected] 539 7341

Sue GyfordDigital Communications and Press Officer

[email protected] 539 7350Winning is noteverything, but the effort to win is.

Editor: Sue Gyford [email protected]

Designer: Simon Gray, 3-56 Media Ltd

Photographers: Bob Marshall Photography (p38)Other photographs submitted by jogscotlandmembers and supporters.

Published four times a year by scottishathletics. Copyright©2014 Scottish Athletics Ltd.

www.jogscotland.org.uk www.twitter.com/jogscotland www.facebook.com/jogscotty

Main Office


Jog Scotty The Jog Dog!Mascot of jogscotland

Jo SkeadMembership DevelopmentOfficer


Warm-Up:Northern ExposureIn each edition of Stride, a guestcontributor shares their love of running…

Warm-Up 06


Turning 30 inspired Elissa Steven setup Kyle of Sutherland Joggers – andnow she’s passing the inspiration onto others.

I turned 30 at the beginning of 2013 andafter a friend had devised her '30 list' Idecided to make up my own list of 30 thingsI wanted to do while I was 30. I have been akeen runner for a few years, completing5Ks, 10Ks and one half marathon. Running(for me) isn't just about keeping fit, it's agreat way to see the beautiful area that welive in and make new friends.

On my list I put ‘attend a Jog Leader course’and at the start of February my workcolleage had organised a course at TainRoyal Academy Community Complex.Obviously I wanted to start a local grouponce I was qualified but realised I didn'twant to do this myself so I managed torecruit three other ladies to attend thecourse with me - Caroline Cook, GemmaMurray and Karen Reid. I then applied to theKyle of Sutherland Development Trust tohelp fund our places, and was successful.

The course was excellent and reallyequipped us with the necessary informationand advice to set up the 'Kyle of SutherlandJoggers'. We held an initial meeting togauge the interest in the group then gotstarted in March with two sessions a week,Monday and Wednesday. With postersaround the villages and a page on Facebookwe were ready for the crowds and to get outjogging. Both sessions proved popular witha good mix of complete beginners to moreexperienced runners. Every six to eightweeks the meeting place was changed sowe experienced a different route and triednew surfaces and gradients. We have a largevariety of routes in the local area, some moretechnical and hilly and others nice and flat.

Once the event season was upon us, someof our joggers were taking part in local 10Ksas well as Gemma completing the LondonMarathon, Caroline completing theEdinburgh Marathon and Karen workingtowards the Kielder Marathon!

We joined forces with the local Youth Groupto organise Kyle of Sutherland 'Get Active'which consisted of a 10K, 5K, walk andcycle for all the family to take part in. It wasa great day for the event and we saw quitea few of our joggers completing a 10K,some their first. It was so brilliant to seehow far they had come. It wasn't theeasiest 10K with a long hill at the start, buta lovely run alongside Migdale Loch.

The two sessions ran throughout thesummer with the Monday night sessionsmeeting at local woods. Even though someof the joggers weren't so keen on the hillysections, over time they enjoyed the route,mostly the down hills. As it was completelyoff road we were accompanied by thejoggers dogs! It was good for the joggersto experience a different running surfacethan just tarmac. After a while theWednesday night numbers started to drop.Caroline and Gemma got their headstogether and decided to start up aThursday session leading up to Christmas -Get Fit for Christmas, a 10 weekprogramme which saw some new faces,which was really encouraging. We alsointroduced Sunday runs, starting inOctober, as the dark nights were upon us.There is a lovely trail at Ferrycoft at Lairgso we met there, did our session, then hada cuppa and cake in the cafe. Our secondSunday run was also hosted at Lairg butone of our joggers led us on a lovely loopwhich crossed a swing bridge and througha forestry followed by a lovely tea at herhouse!

opposite page top (L to R) Xmas Meal at Bonar/Ardgay Golf Club; Sunday Run at Lairg - October 2013; our Xmas jog in December 2013. opposite page main coming home through the cut down forestry.

Warm-Up 07

I had envisaged that we would stop thesessions for maybe a month or two overChristmas but I was pleasantly surprisedwhen no-one agreed and they all wanted tocontinue up to and then straight afterChristmas. I know we have quite a few newjoggers who never thought they would enjoyjogging so it is fantastic to see them comingback each week and trying their hardest.

We had a Christmas night out in the localGolf Club, it was nice to get together tohave a sit down meal, a blether and seeeach other in something other than lycra!

After Christmas we gained some more newmembers who have continued to comealong, some even going to both sessions.We now have a core of around 15 joggerswho attend the weekly sessions and bravethe Sunday sessions too. The most recentSunday jog was at the start of February, the

weather was lovely when we started out butafter 10 mins the heavens opened and itwas verging on sleet. We kept going to theend with the knowledge that a cuppa andcake awaited us in the new cafe in Ardgay.It certainly was welcome and much needed!

We are now looking forward to theInverness Half Marathon and 5K Fun Runon 9 March; a few of the joggers are doingthe Half Marathon and others are doing the5K, it will be great to see so many from ourgroup at the event.

The ethos behind our group is not justabout getting fit and running for longer, wereally enjoy the chat on the way around andhaving time for ourselves. I know that aslong as we continue to make the sessionsenjoyable that people will come back eachweek and see jogging as part of their weeknot a chore they make themselves do.

Elissa Steven

Full steam ahead!It’s been a busy time at jogscotland HQ.This year we’ve welcomed a new memberof staff, Jo Skead, to the team – see page30 to find out all about her! We’ve also beenworking on our new, simplified membershipscheme, which will launch on 1 May – seepage 13 to find out more. Our Jog Leadercourse has been revised (p12) to make sureit’s bang up-to-date, and we’ve launchedthe jogscotland Challenge Series 2014(p18). What a year it’s been already!

Scotty on tourJog Scotty travelled to Dumfriesshire inJanuary to help the Dalbeattie Civic RunningClub launch its first ever jogscotlandbeginners’ group. He was joined byjogscotland staff Billy Mitchell and Jo Skeadfor the gathering (see pic above). Despitethe rain, an impressive 32 people turned upto the first session, and the group has beensuch a hit that there already plans to trainmore Jog Leaders so it can continue to grow.

Record relayJoggers from Asco JogWorks jogscotlandgroup (above right) will be taking part in theGreat British Relay 2014.

The joggers will be making their way fromBoddam to St Combs in Aberdeenshire aspart of the event, nicknamed The People’sRelay. The relay is an attempt to break aworld record for the longest ever 24/7 relay,

with around 2000 runners taking a specially-designed GPS baton around the coastline ofmainland Britain. With 7000K and 594stages to cover, it’s quite an undertaking.The Asco group have signed up for threeconsecutive stages. Freddie Dick, EuanSimpson and Kelly Green will take a 10K legeach, and will be joined on parts of theroute by another six colleagues. The teamwill be raising money for Macmillan, viaAsco’s charity section, Lifestyle. Visitwww.gbrelay.com to find out more.

Happy birthday, Inverness!Inverness Leisure jogscotland group(below) received congratulations from theorganisation’s Chief Executive JamesMartin on its second birthday. Mr Martinsaid: “I would just like to thank all the JogLeaders and volunteers involved in makingour jogscotland group one of the biggestand we believe best in the country.

“I can only hope that this successfulformula continues to develop and growover the next few years and attracts manymore people to become involved inrecreational activity.”

The group is led by Mike Dignan, who said:“We have seen some amazing achievementover the two years we have been running.Examples of this would be people who hadnever actually ran recreationally in theirlives and who have now completed 10K

News andEvents


New

s and Events 08

above Inverness jogscotland

above Billy, Jo, Scotty and Dalbeattie Civic Running Club

runs and even half marathons with many ofthese self-same people eyeing up some ofthe more famous marathons including theLoch Ness one.”

5x50 ChallengeThis year’s 5x50 Challenge kicks off on 30March and there’s still plenty of time to getinvolved. The challenge encourages peopleto run, walk, jog or cycle 5K (or 30 minuteexercise equivalent) every day for 50 dayswith the aim ofchanging exercisehabits for a lifetime.The £5 sign-up feegoes to Sport Reliefand you can track your progress online, aswell as creating teams so you and yourfriends can support one another. Last year’sevent saw 803,865kms tracked by 4029challengers, raising £83,000 for charity. Goto www.5x50.org to find out more.

Run GariochAnd last but not least… a team fromjogscotland HQ will be taking part in thisyear’s Run Garioch 10K event in Inverurieon 23 March. Already confirmed on theteam are our staff members Billy Mitchell,Ann Davidson and Jo Skead. We’re lookingforward to seeing lots of other jogscottiesthere, thanks to the organisers’ generousoffer of £100 cash prize to the jogscotlandgroup with the most runners across all ofthe festival’s races. We’ll see you there!

Great Groups 09

Congratulations to members of theBridge of Don group, who have justmarked their 10th Anniversary. The groupstarted on 6 January 2004 and was oneof the first in the Aberdeen area, theresult of Raymond and MargaretSimpson’s inspiration. There were onlysix joggers in the group for the first fewweeks, of whom five still run on a regularbasis. It quickly grew, however, and itsfirst race as a group was the BakerHughes 10K race in May 2004.

Since then, members have taken part in avariety of race distances includingmarathons and ultras, from the Aberdeenarea to as far away as Dubai.

The number of joggers and coaches hasincreased over the years to amembership of about 100, and they nowoffer several training programmes fordifferent abilities two nights a week.

The group has also contributedgenerously to local charities includingCLAN, Grampian Autistic Society,Aberdeen Mountain Rescue and Befrienda Child.

The group’s Dave Barclay said: “Ourcoaching philosophy is to support, befriendly, helpful and have a great sense ofhumour - we have a lot of fun and lots oflaughs.”

Great Groups:jogscotland Aberdeen - Bridge of Don Group 10th Anniversary

above Jogworks ASCO

above Run Garioch 10K start

Dopey Challenge 10

I’ve always been someone who’s up for achallenge and when I found out that therewas a marathon in Walt Disney World inOrlando, Florida then I knew I just had to doit. Then I found out that they wereintroducing a new event called the DopeyChallenge and the event would take placefrom Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th January2014. The Challenge is a 5K run on theThursday, a 10K run on the Friday, a HalfMarathon on the Saturday and FullMarathon on the Sunday.

I got booked onto the Dopey within minutesof the registration opening in April 2013 andI’m glad I did, because all 7000 of the entriessold out within 24 hours. January 2014 camearound very quickly and we were off toFlorida. What a fantastic place it is - andDisney World is a magical place where youcan relax and just be a big kid again.

If you stay at a Disney Resort then they puton buses to take you to the start line, whichis a good thing because the 5K starts at6.15am and the other three runs start at5.30am! I was out the hotel room by 3.15ameach morning to get the buses since theresort was heaving with runners andspectators trying to get to the start.

The first run was the Pluto 5K and it wasstill dark, but the start line and corrals werewell lit up. The atmosphere was totallyelectric with 10,000 runners around me.Each corral was started with a magnificentfirework display and since I was in corral B,I got to see them twice. The plan was totake the run as easy and as slowly aspossible since it was basically just aroundEpcot. When I got into the park I wasoverwhelmed by the place with asensational “wow factor” becauseeverything was lit up in the dark and lookedbrilliant. As it turned out, the slow easy runwas a definite because I ended up stopping

to take pictures and to get my photo takenwith some of the Disney characters. Themedal at the end was a brilliant colourfulPluto and well worth the effort.

The following day, the inaugural MinnieMouse 10K also started with fireworks andwe then headed out along the roads aroundDisney for a few kilometres before turningback into Epcot and following the sameroute as the 5K. The temperature at 5.30amwas 25 degrees Celsius and 100 per centhumidity. Sweaty wasn’t the word for it!

On Day three, the Donald Duck HalfMarathon was a little different to the start ofthe previous two runs because there were20,000 runners taking part. After morefireworks the race was started by DonaldDuck and we were off. The heat was 21degrees Celsius and 95 per cent humidityso this was going to be another tough,draining run. I just had to keep stopping forthose “wow factor” photos and to get mypicture taken with a few of the characters. Itwas still dark and once inside MagicKingdom at about mile five, you run upMain Street and that has to be the mostspectacular thing I’ve seen with thebuildings all lit up and the crowd ofspectators cheering us on as we headtowards the magnificent Cinderella’s Castle.At mile six we ran through the castle and atthat point I have to say that even this bigsoppy git had a tear in his eye and a lumpin the throat!

I got so carried away with the photo takinginside Magic Kingdom that I actually forgot Iwas doing a race! In the end I did a slowthree hour half marathon but it was themost enjoyable and memorable race I’veever taken part in.


Are you Dopeyenough?Jog Leader Charles McDonaldfrom Dalkeith sure was…

The last day was by no means least, withthe Mickey Mouse Marathon. This time itwas 26,000 runners taking part in a muchmore comfortable 22 degree Celsius heatand a low 60 per cent humidity, perfect! Thestart was exactly the same as the previousday’s half marathon but this time it wasstarted by Mickey himself with support fromMinnie, Goofy, Donald and Dopey. Brilliant!

This time I didn’t stop for the photos quiteas often so got through the park and backonto the main roads at about the seven milemark, where I was overwhelmed by supportfrom the spectators and the on-courseentertainment. I just had to stop to get morephotos!

Once past mile nine we had loads of Disneycharacters to stop and get our photostaken with as we started heading towardsthe Walt Disney World Speedway. Now thatis the point where I wasted about 45minutes walking around the hundreds ofrace, vintage and custom cars that were ondisplay to get my photo with each andevery one of them!

Once out of the speedway we headedtowards Animal Kingdom and entered thepark near the animal enclosures. We wentthrough the park, running past Everest,Nemo and a few other things beforeheading back onto the roads for the longhard slog towards ESPN Wide World Sports.The spectators are so friendly and werehanding out jelly babies, oranges, bananasand other treats. It was mile 20 when we leftESPN and headed towards HollywoodStudios. There was another breathtakingmoment around some of the back lots thatthe public don’t get to see, where therewere lots of props lying around with loads ofcharacters, presenting even more photostops. By this time the parks were open tothe public so when we finally got into themain bit of the park we were being cheeredon by thousands of spectators.

We left Hollywood Studios at mile 23 andheaded towards Epcot and the finish line.As if by magic, there was the 26 milemarker and a choir was singing the songsfrom Sister Act. It’s amazing how thischanges your mood and spurs you on. Irounded the next corner and there was themost beautiful sight in the world, the finishline. It was just up ahead but so were somemore characters and photo stops. I couldeven see my wife Michelle and son Nathanin the spectator stand cheering me onwhich brought a tear to my eye.

I finally crossed the finish line after covering26.74 miles on the day and over 48.6 milesover the last four days. It was possibly theproudest moment of my life and I was intears.

I walked up to the finishers’ area to get mymarathon medal, the Goofy Race and HalfChallenge medal (for doing the half and fullmarathons) and finally the one I’d beenwaiting for, the Dopey Challenge medal.What an achievement and what a sense ofpride!

I am now hooked on doing Disney runs andI’ve already booked up to do the DumboDouble Dare (10K and half marathon) inDisneyland in Anaheim California in Augustthis year. I’m also going to do the WaltDisney World Tower of Terror 10 miler inOctober 2015. I better win the lottery soonto pay for all these runs - sorry - holidays!

Charles McDonald

Dopey Challenge 11

New

Jog Leader Course 12

If you’d like to help others while getting fit,why not take our newly-revised Jog Leadercourse and help them follow in yourfootsteps?

We have refreshed our Jog Leader coursethis year to make sure it is bang up-to-dateand give the best possible training topeople who want to help others on theirjogging journey. You don’t have to besuper-fit to be a great leader – in fact,some of the best are those with recentmemories of being a beginner themselves.

Once you’ve taken our comprehensiveone-day course, you can set up your ownjogging group or help lead at an existinggroup.

The revised version of the course will belaunched in April. It builds on the previouscurriculum and with the same subjects andideas that have made the course such asuccess in the past. The new version of thecourse includes some improvementsbased on feedback we have gathered fromthe experienced tutors who deliver thecourse, making the content as relevant anduseful as possible to people wishing tobecome Jog Leaders.

The changes also bring the course into linewith the UK Athletics Leader in RunningFitness course, so anyone who wants tobuild on their Jog Leader course by takingfurther training in future will find theprogression smoother. Keeping the courseup-to-date and relevant also makes surethat our insurance can be maintained, soqualified Jog Leaders can continue to taketheir members out with confidence.

The course is divided into theory andpractical sessions which will give you theknowledge and skill to lead groups ofwalkers and/or joggers. The classroom-based sessions involve interactive groupexercises, discussions and feedback whilethe practical ones deal with leadingbeginners and mixed-ability jogginggroups.

When you complete your course, you willreceive a hi-vis Jog Leader bib (pictured)and become a Jog Leader memberof jogscotland. This membershipentitles you to a Jog Leader’smanual, a jogscotland logbook, aquarterly edition of Stride magazine,access to the Jog Leaders’facebook group, and depending onyour requirements, insurance.

At the same time the new course begins,the cost will increase to £75. We alwaysstrive to make our training as affordable aspossible, and this is the first time we haveincreased the price of the Jog Leadercourse since 2007. The actual cost of thecourse is now £85, but during 2014 we aredelighted to be able to make a £10 subsidyfor each Leader, enabling us to charge only£75.

For more information contact your localgroup or the jogscotland office on 0131 539 7341 or [email protected]


Lead on!New Jog Leader course

Mem

bership Changes 13

By Billy Mitchell,Head of jogscotlandDuring the pastyear I have had thechance to look atthe ways wesupport our

wonderful network of groups, JogLeaders and joggers and to speakwith many of you about how we canadapt and improve what we do. Thisyear will see the introduction ofsome changes to the way we dothings, which we hope will makejogscotland even better foreveryone, from our newest jogger toour most experienced Jog Leader.

FREE AND FULLMEMBERSHIP

The biggest change is that we will bebringing in a new membership structurefrom 1 May. Instead of Bronze, Silverand Gold memberships, we will bemoving to a simpler, two-tier structure,offering a choice of Free or Fullmembership. The free Jog Leadermembership will remain for everyonewho has completed our training course(see p.12 for details of excitingdevelopments here).

ANNUAL RENEWAL

The other major change is that we willrequire all members to renew theirmembership annually – even those withfree membership. This will ensure wehave up-to-date details for you and willalso make sure we know how manyactive jogscotland members there are.

FREE MEMBERSHIP

Free membership will remain essentiallythe same as our current Bronzemembership. Free members will stillreceive a logbook, four free copies ofStride magazine mailed to their addressand the ability to join in sessions withlocal jogscotland groups. After your firstyear is up, you can renew your freemembership and receive digital copiesof Stride via email, or take the option topay a small annual subscription tocontinue to receive hard copies of themagazine.


MembershipChanges

Mem

bership Changes 14

FULL MEMBERSHIPThe great news is that Full membership, at£18, will be much cheaper than itspredecessor, Gold membership, which was£27. The package no longer includes a T-shirt, but we were aware that offering a T-shirt every single year with membershiprenewal meant that many of our most loyalGold members were groaning under theweight of their collection of identicaljogscotland T-shirts! (Don’t forget you cannow buy a whole range of jogscotland kitfrom Run 4 It – see page 38). In addition toall the benefits of free membership, Fullmembers will receive membership ofscottishathletics, discounted race entriesat scottishathletics permitted events, andthe option to receive hard copies of eitherStride magazine, or PB, the officialmagazine of scottishathletics.

Existing Gold members who renewed theirmembership between the One BigWeekend events in August last year and1st May this year will still be able to claimtheir free entry in an event in this year’sjogscotland Challenge Series 2014 –just email [email protected] details. If you are a Gold memberwhose membership expires before May,and would like to take advantage of this,please make sure you have renewed yourGold membership by 30 April. Goldmemberships will no longer be availableafter that date.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO?Nothing! We will contact you when yourmembership is due for renewal, remindingyou the details of the new membershipbenefits, and you can choose then whichtype of membership you would like to takeup. We will also contact you every yearafter that, asking you to check your detailsand confirm that you are still an activejogscotland member. You can, of course,change your membership type at renewaltime if you wish.

The new membership scheme will beadministered directly from our offices, byJo Skead, who joined us as membershipdevelopment officer in January. She will behelping to recruit new members, supportexisting groups and guide new ones. Jowill be assisted by scottishathleticsmembership administrator Carol Robison.Ann Davidson will take on a new rolefocused on Jog Leader education.

You can see a simple table summarisingthe new membership packages below, butif you have any questions, please don’thesitate to contact us using the details onthe contact page.

Membership Changes cont’d

Benefits CostFree • Able to participate in jogscotland group sessions Free

• Free copy of jogscotland logbook• Subscription to hard copies of Stride magazine for one year, with option to pay a subscription annually thereafter or receive electronic version• 10 per cent member discount at our sponsor, Run4It

Full • Able to participate in jogscotland group sessions £18• Free copy of jogscotland logbook• 10 per cent member discount at our sponsor, Run4It• Full membership of scottishathletics• Discounted race entries at scottishathletics permitted events• Option to receive either hard copies of Stride or PB magazine

Jog Leader • Able to participate in or lead jogscotland sessions Free(Open to qualified • Free subscription to hard copies of Stride magazine for (Continuation requires you to Jog Leaders only) renew your free membership annually, updating your details)

• 10 per cent member discount at our sponsor, Run4It, plus special Jog Leader-only offers

When a nervous Anne Sutherlandturned up to a jogging group atGrangemouth Stadium in March 1984,little did she know that almost 30 yearslater she would celebrate her 70thbirthday there – with her fellow joggers.

The retired school helper tells us aboutthe decades of enjoyment andachievement – and that she has noplans to hang up her trainers.

I started jogging in March 1984, after a few years of watching my brother-in-lawdoing marathons. In August 1983 a member of Falkirk Victoria Harriers, IanCluggie, had started a jogging group in Grangemouth and my friend’s daughter-in-law, Caroline Lawless, was a member of the group so I kept hearing aboutwhat she was up to. Eventually I went along, because I’d been quite taken withwatching my brother-in-law run.

I found it quite difficult to begin with, and I had thought I was quite fit! Theydidn’t build up as gradually as they do now with jogscotland – there was nowalking included. But although I was a bit nervous, and found it hard work, Iabsolutely loved it from the moment I went. When we first arrived, Ian, askedwhat our intentions were and I said I wanted to run a marathon, so from March1984 until September the following year was build up to that.

I ran the Glasgow marathon in September 1985 – I’ve got mixed memories ofthat! It was raining and we had bin liners on, even on our heads, for about 13miles. My training had gone well, but my friend and I got caught up in somecongestion at the beginning of the race, so we lost a bit of time at the start andtried to make it up and tried to go at a different pace than we should have, so itwas a difficult finish.

Fortunately, the experience didn’t put me off running. I ran regularly until1999 when my grandson was born, and I took five years off to look after him.But I started again 10 years ago, in February 2004. I’d been in and out of thestadium for a while checking if there was a jogging group, and then I met

Inspiration –AnneSutherland


Inspiration 15

below Anne withher giantbirthdaycupcake

someone who was taking a jogscotland group in Linlithgow, so I joined them. Butafter a while I decided I would do a bit more and I went to Grangemouth Stadiumon my own to train, and found that by then they had a jogscotland group theretoo, so I went to both groups for a while.

Before I started back 10 years ago, I came off the phone to the group organiserand told my husband I was starting running again, but then suddenly thought ‘Idon’t feel confident enough to do it, they’ll be all young ones, I’ll never keep upwith them’, so I was about to call her back and tell her I’d changed my mind, butmy husband said ‘You’re going!’” I’m so glad he did. I wasn’t fit at all when Istarted back and had doubts whether I’d keep up with the group but because itwas so gradual and we started off on the same foot, it was great.

It’s really the love of running that keeps me going along, I absolutely love it andjogscotland couldn’t be better at helping - they’re absolutely fantastic. I wouldn’tbe out there at nights now without the group, as I don’t really like going runningon my own now when it’s dark.

I just wouldn’t feel right if I wasn’t doing it, it gives you such a buzz. It motivatesyou for doing things with your days rather than doing nothing at all, and I getall the benefits of being a bit fitter. I would advise anyone who’s a runner to keepgoing as long as they’re able. Even if you slow up, what does it matter? And oneof the benefits of going to the group is that without them you’d just go at yourown pace, but with a group you want to keep up, so you don’t slow down as muchas you might running on your own.

It was absolutely fantastic when jogscotland Grangemouth held a party for my70th birthday at the Stadium in August – it was a very big surprise! I didn’teven realise they knew my date of birth, but I’d been away and had left mydetails with someone so she could enter me into a run, and I think they musthave spotted my date of birth.

At the start of the session, just after the warm-up, Caroline made anannouncement and I was chatting away to somebody beside me and suddenlyrealised she was talking about me! It was a tea and scones night, which we haveevery five weeks after the run, and they announced that they’d make it into aparty for me that night. Jeanette Stevenson baked me a cake - it was absolutelybeautiful, like a giant cupcake, and I got lots of lovely gifts.

Inspiration 16 jogscotlandmagazine

Spring 2014

Inspirationcontinued… above Anne (no 50, second right) with the rest of jogscotland Grangemouth

above Anne far left (no.173) at Stirling half marathon, June 1989

I now go to jogscotland inGrangemouth every Thursday, andmeet up with some people from thegroup at the stadium on a Mondaynight. On a Sunday, I go out runningwith a friend from the Linlithgowjogscotland group. I ran the Vale ofLeven 10K last year, and willprobably do it again this year.

All the Jog Leaders have beenparticularly good, especially Caroline.She puts a lot of effort into makingthings very sociable – she organisesnights out after our breaks forChristmas and summer, and evenbakes cakes and brings picnics. Shearranges transport so that we cantravel as a group to events, whichmakes a big difference.

I would never have got as far as Ihave got today if I hadn’t been goingto jogscotland for 10 years. It gives usall the motivation that we need.

above Anne receiving her flowers from Carolineand friend Helen Reilly (right)

It’s not just the long-time membersthat make Grangemouth jogscotlandsuch a great place to get active – newmembers like Grant Glading are alsoan important part of the group.

Grant was just like many parents,chauffeuring his children to trainingsessions with the local athletics club,Falkirk Victoria Harriers, while a busy jobmeant convenience food and big caloriecoffees were his staple diet. Towards theend of 2012 he realised he had to dosomething about his fitness, and loseweight. He had seen members from thejogscotland Grangemouth group duringhis frequent visits to Grangemouth stadiumand knowing some of the Jog Leaders,made enquiries, thinking he would not befit enough to join. Reassured thatjogscotland is for everyone, withprogrammes for all abilities, Grant signedup at the start of the first block in the dark,cold winter nights in January 2013.

The evening classes are scheduled todovetail with the Harriers training times,allowing Grant to train at the same time ashis children instead of sitting in the standor cafe watching with a large coffee. This,combined with a family commitment to eathealthier food, resulted in weight loss, andGrant was bitten by the running bug! Helearnt that the group organised an annualouting to the Vale of Leven 5 and 10Kraces in June and set his sights on beingable to complete the 5K in under 30mins,on the day finishing in 27mins. He hassince completed 5 mile and 10K races.

Grant is now in the top level group atGrangemouth jogscotland. His lifestylehas changed from that of junk food-eatingspectator to passionate health consciousrunner. He has achieved almost 4 stones ofweight loss, feeling the healthiest he has inmost of his adult life and gaining a wholenew social circle.

Glad to be here

Grant Glading 17

jogscotland Challenge Series 2014 18

We are delighted to launch our 2014Challenge Series, which will be bigger andmore diverse than ever before.

This year we are joining forces with localevent organisers to help stage eventssuitable for beginners. They will take placein locations right across the country, andrange from one-off events to routes whichare part of larger running festivals.

Talks are well underway to finalise the fullseries, taking in as wide a range oflocations as possible. The first to beconfirmed are listed opposite.

WIN! You could win one of two free places atany one of the Challenge Series 2014Events!

Email [email protected] the words “CHALLENGE 2014” in thesubject of the message.

In the message itself, include your nameand the event you would like to enter.

Entries close midnight March 31st

Head of jogscotland Billy Mitchell said:“We’re really excited to be launching thisseries of events, which will take placethroughout the year and right across thecountry. We’re currently working on a finalschedule that will include trail runs androad runs, reaching the Highlands and theIslands as well as cities and towns.

“The routes and locations might befantastically varied, but one thing we canguarantee is that when joggers see that an

event is part of the jogscotland ChallengeSeries, it will be fun, friendly andwelcoming for beginners, as well as beingsuitable for more experienced runners.

“By linking up with other organisations toback their events, we can make the mostof their local expertise and help them reachan audience of joggers right across thecountry. It also means we can host ourChallenges in a much wider range ofvenues than ever before, giving morepeople the opportunity to take part in ajogscotland event.”

Chairman of Run Balmoral, JamesKnowles, said: “We are delighted to beworking with jogscotland to promoteopportunities for less experienced runnersto sample some fantastic new events.

“Our Wee Trail race is held over aspectacular three mile route within thegrounds of Balmoral Castle on RoyalDeeside. It's a new addition to ourprogramme of races for 2014 and itspurpose is primarily to give people thechance to sample trail running in anattractive and safe environment.

“The Royal estate provides a unique andstunning setting for a run of this type andthe whole family can enjoy the occasion.We are looking forward to welcomingeveryone to what promises to be anexciting day.”

Sarah McMillan, event manager for TheMen's 10K Festival, said: “We areabsolutely delighted to be working with


Challenge Series 2014

jogscotland and to be able to introduce aMen's 5K event to our Festival this year.

“It's so important to us to be able toprovide events that encourage all men tobe fit and active, so to include a Men's 5Kfor those for whom the 10K isunachievable, or just not their distance, isreally exciting for us. We're especiallythrilled that the 5K will be part of this year'sjogscotland Challenge series and that boththe 5K and the Men's 10K will be ScottishAthletics affiliated events. We hope towelcome a whole new batch of guys torunning events this summer and hopefullyinspire them to keep fit and active all yearround with the help and support of theexcellent jogscotland programme.”

James Quinlan, One Big Weekend eventmanager said: “We’re proud to be workingagain with jogscotland to bring four runs tofour cities over one unforgettable bigweekend.

“After last year’ssuccess, jogscotlandOne Big Weekend isfast becoming aworthy addition to theScottish running

calendar. Go for Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perthor Aberdeen - whichever 5K you sign upfor, it’s the perfect chance for some action-packed fitness and fun this summer.”

Entries for each of the events should besubmitted directly to event organisers – forthe latest list of events and entry links visitwww.jogscotland.org.uk/challenges-2014.

jogscotland Gold members can claim theirfree sign-up for an event in the ChallengeSeries by [email protected].

More information on individual eventscan be found at the web links below:

27 Apr •Run Balmoral 3 mile Wee Trail Racewww.runbalmoral.com/eventinfo/weetrail

18 May • Monklands 5K Fun Run, North Lanarkshire Leisure link tbc

14 Jun • Glasgow – Men’s 5K – a new distance for the Men’s 10K Festivalwww.mens10k.com/events/mens-5k-june-14th-2014/

29 Jun • Peterhead Running Festival Shell5K Walk/Jog/Runwww.peterheadjogscotland.com/peterhead-running-festival/

2 Aug • One Big Weekend 5K, Aberdeen (am)www.jogscotlandonebigweekend.com/?aberdeen

2 Aug • One Big Weekend 5K, Perth (pm)www.jogscotlandonebigweekend.com/?perth

3 Aug • One Big Weekend 5K, Glasgow (am)www.jogscotlandonebigweekend.com/?glasgow

3 Aug • One Big Weekend 5K, Edinburgh (pm)www.jogscotlandonebigweekend.com/?edinburgh

14 Dec • Christmas Cracker Festive 5K, Strathclyde Park, North Lanarkshire Leisure(provisional date) link tbc

Christmas Cracker5K ChallengeXm

as Cracker Pics 20 jogscotlandmagazine

Spring 2014

A festive crowd came along to the2013 Christmas Cracker Challengein Strathclyde Country Park on15th December – scores ofjogscotties pulled on their bestfancy dress and joined us for ourlast Challenge of the year.

0300 1212 444 or

[email protected]

Contact us on

Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland and CHSS are operating names of The Chest, Heart & Stroke Association Scotland, a registered Scottish Charity Registration No. SC018761. Registered in Scotland as a company limited by guarantee No SC129114

www.happyfeetteam.com

& help Chest Heart & Stroke Scotlandbeat Scotland’s Biggest Killers

Run with the

Put a Spring in your training and join the Happy Feet Team today

We Are Scotland’s Health Charity

Now supporting runners in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival, Scottish Half Marathon, Loch Ness Marathon and

10K and many more!

HAPPY FEETTEAM

HAPP

Run with the

Y PPPY FEE

Run with the

Y FEE

TY FEE

C & h l

S&Ch

l dSk STEA

dMTEA

join the Happy Feet Team todayPut a Spring in your training and



Put a Spring in your training and

Festival, Scottish Half Marathon, Loch Ness Marathon and

A

Now supporting runners in the Edinburgh Marathon

join the Happy Feet Team today

e W

10K and many more!

s H

Festival, Scottish Half Marathon, Loch Ness Marathon and Now supporting runners in the Edinburgh Marathon


’’s Health dotlancSe rA

10K and many more!

y



thariCs Health



ww

hapSoke rtSt & rChest Hea

teetfyp.hapwwwt us on

ee No SC129114tnary guabed ty liminompacotland as a cSed in retisgeRcStion associAoke rtSt & r, Heathe ChesTting names ofare operotland and CHSS acS

ctanoC

eet@chsfyphap0300 1212 444

omceam.tt us on

ee No SC129114. SC018761. otion NaristgeRy tirottish ChacSed retisger, a dotlanc

.ukgr.osor 0300 1212 444

Glasgow FrontRunners held theirinaugural Red Run in December to markWorld AIDS Day.

The day, which falls on December 1st, is aninternational event dedicated to raisingawareness of HIV and AIDS. As Scotland’slargest LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, andtransgender) sports club, GlasgowFrontRunners took the opportunity to helpmembers and friends better understand HIVand AIDS while encouraging everyone outfor a Sunday morning run.

Cheered on by a group of spectators, 36runners took to the canal supported byjogscotland Jog Leaders. Runners wereencouraged to wear red, the traditionalcolour of HIV awareness, and take part in a5K group run along Glasgow’s Forth andClyde Canal.

The morning’s strenuous activities werefollowed by a bake sale where the clubraised over £230 for the Terrence HigginsTrust.

The group was joined by Sandra Andersonfrom Terrence Higgins Trust in Glasgow totell them more about the charity and offerthe runners support. Fellow FrontRunnerclubs in Edinburgh and London also joggedwith the group for the first time.

The run was organised by club Committeemember Eamonn Butler, who said:“Although HIV isn’t the terminal illness itwas in the 1980s, it is still life-changing forthose diagnosed and for their families andfriends. We believe that it doesn’t have tobe that way and that we can all play a rolein beating the virus. Regular testing andaccepting that HIV is nothing to beashamed of will make a difference. Just asimportantly, HIV doesn’t have to be a barrierto a healthy and active life. Running is animportant part of that.”

For further information on GlasgowFrontRunners please visitwww.glasgowfrontrunners.org

Red Ru

n 22

Red Run


FrontRunners had a visit from Jog Scottyand jogscotland staff member Jo Skead on16 February. Jo and Scotty took part in the

group’s annual Rainbow Run, donningtheir coloured T-shirts to join the running

rainbow alongside the canal.

jogscotlandmagazineWinter 2013

9 March

Resolution Run 5k and 10k,Bellahouston Park, Glasgow

16 March

Resolution Run 5k and 10k, Dundee

Errol 6k Fun Run, Errol

30 March

Elgin 10k and 3k Fun Run, Elgin

Resolution Run 5k and 10k, Kirkcaldy

Running Sisters Tayside 5k, MonikieCountry Park (women only)

5 April

Dunbar 10k, Dunbar

6 April

Round the Houses/Jim DingwallMemorial 10k and 2k, Grangemouth

12 April

Deafblind Scottish Canal 5k and 10k,Leisuredrome, Bishopbriggs

13 April

Resolution Run 5k, Aberdeen

Tom Scott 10 mile and 6k road races,Carluke

Glenlivet 10k, Glenlivet Distillery

26 April

Run Balmoral 1.5k, 2.5k, 5k and 10k,Balmoral Castle Estate

27April

Crinan Puffer 8.5k, Ardrishaig

Run Balmoral 3 mile Wee Trail Race,Balmoral Castle Estate

3 May

Mud Run Mayhem 5k, ScottishAssault Courses, Kilmarnock

Tiree 10k, Isle of Tiree

10 May

Loch Leven Half Marathon, Kinross

11 May

Castle of Mey 10k, Thurso

BUPA Great Women’s 10k, Glasgow(women only)

Inveraray Jail Break 7k, Inveraray

Race Directory Race Directory 23

There’s an event for everyone, go to

www.jogscotland.org.uk/eventsfor full details.

– Events in pink are part of the jogscotland Challenge Series 2014 –


17 May

Langholm Trail 10k and HalfMarathon, Langholm Rugby FootballClub

18 May

City of Aberdeen Baker Hughes 10kand Fun Run, Aberdeen

Monklands 5k and Half Marathon,Coatbridge

24 May

Edinburgh Marathon festival 5k and10k, Edinburgh

25 May

Edinburgh Marathon Festival HalfMarathon, Marathon and TeamRelay, Edinburgh

14 June

Men’s 5k and 10k and Family 3k,Bellahouston Park, Glasgow

29 June

Peterhead Running Festival,including Shell 5k, Peterhead

2 August

One Big Weekend Aberdeen (5k)

One Big Weekend Perth (5k)

3 August

One Big Weekend Glasgow (5k)

One Big Weekend Edinburgh (5k)

Race Directory cont’d

Free parkrun eventsevery Saturday at 9.30am at:

Cramond, EdinburghStrathclyde Park, Lanarkshire

Pollok Park, GlasgowTollcross Park, GlasgowVictoria Park, GlasgowCallendar Park, Falkirk

North Inch, PerthEglinton Country Park, IrvineBeach Esplanade, Aberdeen

Bught Park, InvernessCraigtoun Country Park,

St AndrewsCamperdown Park, Dundee

AndPark’n’Run, Balloch

www.parkrun.org.uk

There’s an event for everyone, go to www.jogscotland.org.uk/events for full details.

Race Directory 24

– Events in pink are part of the jogscotland Challenge Series 2014 –

Girls 2 RunGroups of girls can be seen stridingalong the tracks around StirlingUniversity, a workout that willultimately lead to a 5K run. Beforetheir cardio exercise, they takepart in brief interactive sessionscentred on building self-confidenceand reinforcing social skills.

The eight-week program, called Girls2Run,seeks to help girls aged 10-13 with issuesaround self-esteem, healthy lifestyle andsocial skills while they train for a celebratory5K run. The Girls2Run goal is to address allaspects of girls’ development includingtheir physical, emotional, mental, social andspiritual well-being.

This initiative is headed by KristinHenderson whose lifelong passion forsport, combined with her own desire toprepare girls for a lifetime of self-respectand healthy living, led to the first pilotprogram at Wallace High School. After agreat response, Girls2Run started at StirlingUniversity and is run in the Autumn andSpring Terms.

“I knew what running had done for me. Itmade me feel empowered,” said Kristin. “Iwanted to share my love of exercise withgirls particularly because researchconsistently shows that there is a hugedrop off in sports participation when girlsreach their teen years. I have twin eight-year-old daughters of my own and want tomake sure that exercise remains an integralpart of their lives. My main focus withGirls2Run has always been to create aprogram that improves self-esteem andbuilds confidence through running.”

“It feels good when we run and learn newthings,” said participant Meg, fromDunblane: “People encourage me.”

Friends Sophie and Katie said: “On the firstweek of Girls2Run we were both a bitunsure, as neither of us liked running andwe weren’t very good at it. We got to knowall the girls in the group and we found outmore about each other. We went overrunning technique and that helped us botha lot. We also learnt to be strong, confidentgirls. On the third week, we talked aboutour body language and how it made up 55per cent of our communication to otherpeople”.

Rebecca and Bethany, S1 pupils who tookpart, said: “We really enjoy Girls2Run, itslots of fun and we have learned a lot. Wethink that the first lesson on runningtechniques was very good. We now knowthat when we run our shoulders have to beback, we have to land in the middle to ballof our feet and then roll on to our toes, lookahead and SMILE! We think that Girls2Runis a great chance for us to learn to run andenjoy it. We love everything aboutGirls2Run and it is great.”

For more information, please contact Kristin Henderson [email protected]

Mini Strides for Junior jogscotties


Mini S

trides 25

Scottish

Slimmers 2

6 jogscotlandmagazineSpring 2014

Reaching new heights!

Mhairi Jack from Strathaven gained weight when she went tocollege – but she wasn’t sure how much as she didn’t weigh herself.

Mhairi joined Scottish Slimmers after leaving college and was horrified to weigh almost 19stone, but the weight soon came off.

However, when Mhairi saw photos of herself at her 30th birthday party, she realised thatthe weight had come back. “I lost nearly 3 stone the first time round and I felt great – but Istopped going to the Scottish Slimmers class and slowly the weight crept back on” shesays.

Coming back to Scottish Slimmers, Mhairi says her life had to change. “I knew the ScottishSlimmers eating plan worked, and that as I am quite a fussyeater I knew it’s the only eating plan I can stick to.”

As well as changing the way she ate, Mhairi decided to makeeven more changes to her life. “As the weight came off, I startedto feel fitter and healthier than I had in a very long time, sodecided I could use this new energy to get fitter – and raisemoney for some really worthy charities as well.”

At first Mhairi started military fitness classes 3 times per week,as well as cycling and running. She took part in the Rob Royrunning/cycle Challenge, Etape Caledonia and the CorrieyairckChallenge.

Recently Mhairi climbed Ben Lomond, took part in the GreatScottish Run and is now preparing to head to Everest BaseCamp in September. “I am going with two friends and we areraising money for Yorkhill Hospital,” she said.

“I can’t believe how much life has changed since I lost weight,”says Mhairi, “I love running and cycling – and now I am addingclimbing to my list as well!”

If you would like to support Mhairi’s Everest climb, visit www.yorkhillyetiyomp.co.uk.

Name: Mhairi JackOccupation: Research AssistantHeight: 5’7”Age: 31

NowWeight: 12 stone 11lbDress Size: 146 stone 1lb lighter

BeforeWeight: 18 stone 12lbDress Size: 22

Stride Special Offer Take this voucher with you to any

Scottish Slimmers class before 30th June 2014 to claim your special offer.

This coupon entitles you to join at a reduced fee and save £9 (pay weekly class fee only).

Stride Special Offer

Join today for just £1

R: 539687N: 539687

Call free 0800 36-26-36 or visit scottishslimmers.com

Scottish

Slimmers

27

Sweetcorn and redonion frittersA perfect post-workout treat!

Serves one

Prep: 15 minsCook: 10 mins245 Calories10 Checks 6.5g fat per serving

Put the sweetcorn in a small pan with alittle water to cover. Bring to the boil andcook for 2 minutes.

Drain well and set aside.

Sift the flour into a bowl, add the salt andpepper and make a well in the middle. In aseparate bowl, whisk the egg yolk and milkand then beat in the flour until you have astiff batter.

Beat the egg white in a clean, dry bowl untilstiff, then fold it gently in a figure-of-eightmovement into the batter.

Gently stir in the sweetcorn kernels, redonion and herbs, distributing them evenlythroughout the batter.

Lightly spray a non-stick frying pan with oiland place over a high heat. When the pan ishot, add spoonfuls of the mixture,flattening them a little with a spatula, andcook for 1–2 minutes until set and goldenbrown underneath. Flip the fritters over andcook the other side.

Serve the fritters immediately with sweetchilli dipping sauce and some No-Checksalad.

Ingredients

60g canned sweetcorn, drained30g self-raising floursalt and freshly ground black pepper1 medium egg, separated2–3 tsp skimmed milk¼ small red onion, finely choppedfew sprigs of fresh parsley or coriander,finely choppedspray oil1 tbsp sweet chilli dipping sauceGreen salad, to serve

Even

t Pr

eviews

28

Bupa Great Edinburgh RunThe famous streets of Scotland’s capitalhave hosted the Bupa Great Edinburgh Runsince 2005. For 2014, the event has movedto the spring date of Sunday 27 April andthere is a brand new 10-mile course toenjoy too!

The launch of this spectacular ‘ten-milerunning tour’ will see runners make theirway past iconic landmarks such as theRoyal Mile, Scott Monument and EdinburghCastle.

There is also the opportunity to make it aday for all the family with the Bupa Junior &Mini Great Edinburgh Run. The juniorcategory features a 2.5K course and issuitable for 9-14 year olds, while the minievent is 1.5K and suitable for 3-8 year olds.

Once everyone, little and larger, havecrossed the finish line there will be well-earned, goodie-filled Finishers Packwaiting. Medal and T-shirt are included.

For further information on how to enter, visitgreatrun.org/edinburgh. You can also follow@Great_Run on Twitter, use#greatedinburghrun, or join theconversation on Facebook atfacebook.com/greatedinburghrun.

Bupa Great Women’s 10kThe Bupa Great Women’s 10K Glasgow is aunique celebration of female camaraderie.

One for the girls, every spring the streets ofGlasgow welcome more than 10,000women to the soundtrack of drummers andpipers as they run through Scotland’slargest city.

Every stride towards Mosspark Boulevardand the finish line is special as theanticipation grows for the big day onSunday 11 May.

This year, the event expects to seethousands return to experience the fun andfriendship, as well as the post-race cakeand coffee!

So if you like the sound of women gettingtogether to share and accomplish theirindividual goals, then this is the race foryou. Enjoy the training and get involved inthis special, uplifting event.

Find out more and enter atgreatrun.org/womens10k and keep up todate with event information atfacebook.com/BupaGreatWomens10k orfollow @Womens_Run on Twitter.

Bank of Scotland Great Scottish RunThe Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run isreturning to the streets of Glasgow over theweekend of 4 and 5 October, live on BBCTelevision.

Featuring a full timetable of running, theweekend will include family events on theSaturday, followed by both 10K and halfmarathon distances on Sunday. A fantasticopportunity for family, friends and people ofall ages and abilities to participate together.

The Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Runwill be the first major mass participationrunning event post Commonwealth Gamesand will provide a unique opportunity toexperience the host city.

Entry is now available via the websitewww.greatscottishrun.com and you cankeep up to date with event information atwww.facebook.com/GreatScottishRun orfollow @GreatScotRun on Twitter.


Discounted entries available for runnersentering both the Bupa Great Women’s 10k and the Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run

(10k or half marathon).

Event previews:

Even

t Pr

eview 2

9


Mee

t Jo Ske

ad 3

0

I started running at the age of 23. A guy Iwas going out with at the time was afootballer and he encouraged me to startrunning. I really struggled early on to get tothe end of the street without buckling overholding a stitch but I set myself littlemilestones like “get to the end of thestreet”, “get to the end of the next street,”and built it up gradually.

After I’d been going for a little while, I joineda jogscotland beginners’ group in Penicuik.Like everyone, I started out a bit nervousand unsure if I was able to run – I had all theusual beginners’ stresses and worries.

It took me over a year of being a runnerbefore I signed up for an event. I wasadamant that I was never going to run arace - I just didn’t want to. (I also refused towear proper running clothes for a longtime, I wouldn’t buy any leggings!) I thinkthe first one I did was the Bupa GreatWinter Run 5K around Arthur’s Seat so Ichose a hard one, but I got the bug, anddid the British Heart Foundation 5K and theRace for Life.

In 2010 I did my first half marathon - theEdinburgh half marathon. I didn’t follow atraining programme, which wasn’t a goodidea! I think I ran about 10K as the longestrun during my training and just assumed Icould do the rest of it! It was tough, but Iwas really chuffed with myself when Ifinished.

In 2012, I saw the advert in the jogscotlandemails for leaders to help at the Speed ofLight.They were recruiting people to leadgroups of runners over Arthur’s Seatwearing light suits during the festival. I justthought it sounded great, and thought “I’mgoing to do that”. It was a good experience,and it encouraged me to start somethingnew - hill running.

The jogscotland Team has anew member, with the arrivalof Jo Skead as membershipdevelopment officer. Jo mightbe new to the staff team, butshe is a long-time friend andparticipant of jogscotland, asshe tells us here…

Meet Jo Skeadabove Jo and fiancee Chris Stevens at Edinburgh half marathon

I had done the jogscotland Jog Leadercourse around 2008 but I didn’t really leadvery much with the group at the time as Iwasn’t that confident. Then, eventually, I leftthe beginners’ group because the timingdidn’t work for me and felt I’d progressedon from the level the group was at. Iassumed the group was still going until Julylast year, when I bumped into the guy thathad been organising it, and he said hewasn’t doing it any more. I thought ‘Thatcan’t be!” So I decided to start a groupmyself.

My sister is a “Keep Well” nurse, and sheand I joined together to start up a weightloss group called Happy Healthy Active inPenicuik. The idea was to do away with thefads that people take up to lose weightwhich mean they never keep it off, and tohave a group for people who wanted tomake lifestyle changes and stick with them.As part of it, we offered a jogging coursewhich ran for eight weeks, and at the end,some of the people involved said theywanted to keep going so we made itweekly.

It’s been great seeing people that joined tolose weight who are now at their targetweights. People who had got stuck at aplateau have found that since they’veadded running their weight loss hasspeeded up a little bit. One of the girls inthe group has lost five stone since she firststarted adopting a healthier lifestyle, andher confidence has transformed - she’s justtrained as a Jog Leader and is reallymotivated to help others achieve the samethings that she has.

Before coming to jogscotland, I workedwith North Glasgow Healthy LivingCommunity. I’m a trained Walk Leader withPaths for All and part of my job was tocoordinate the walking network across

Glasgow, recruiting volunteers and so on. Ialso gave healthy cookery workshops,taught a course called Health Issues in theCommunity, and we organised the NG 5Krun once a year.

It’s been great to come to jogscotland andbe a part of such an enthusiastic, vibrantnetwork of people right across Scotland.The first week that I was here I got out andabout really quickly, as Billy and I took JogScotty down to the launch of DalbeattieCivic Running Club’s first ever jogscotlandbeginners’ course – what a great way tostart a new job! Back at the office, I’ve beenbusy updating all the group information onour website, which has been a goodchance to speak to lots of people. Best ofall, it’s just brilliant to have a job that is soclosely related to your hobby – it doesn’tfeel like work!

You can contact Jo [email protected] or 0131 539 7341.

Mee

t Jo Ske

ad 3

1

above With Penicuik group memberDiane Kirkwood at the BUPA GreatWinter Run

above Jo with the jogscotland team

In sho

rts…

men

’s run

ning

32 jogscotlandmagazine

Spring 2014

In Shorts…jogscotland and top running magazines Men’s Running and Women’s Running haveteamed up to deliver the latest headlines, tips and gossip straight from their pages tothe pages of Stride.

Men’s ShortsIf you want to improve your running, thenthe April issue of Men’s Running really is amust-read. From purging your body oflife’s toxins to improving your sleep – andhence your recovery – we’ve really got itcovered.

For marathon first-timers, we cover the 10most common mistakes – and how to avoidthem. This includes everything from notprioritizing your rest and recovery to notpracticing your nutrition strategy; it alsoexplains how to tell if you are overtraining.Fortunately, as Jeff Archer explains: “Formarathon preparation, overtraining is verycommon and also very easily remedied witha few days rest.”

On the subject of rest, we have afascinating article on how sleep isa vital part of your trainingprogramme. During sleep thebody rebuilds itself and balanceshormonally. It is when the recoveryprocess takes place within themuscles. “Think of your scheduleas three key components: training,nutrition and rest. If these threeare treated with equal importance,

you have a recipe for success. And thatincludes lots of sleep,” says author andrunning coach Phoebe Thomas.

But this issue is as much about inspirationas it is about performance. Our feature onfinishers’ medals is a perfect example.Whether it takes pride of place on yourmantelpiece or is stuffed down the back ofyour sock drawer, every finisher’s medalhas a tale to tell. Medals come in all shapesand sizes and range from the classy to thedownright gaudy. But it’s the story of howyou earned that bit of bling that makes itmore than simply a chunk of cheap metalwith a fancy ribbon threaded through it. Inthis issue, four readers share their medalstories.

You can also catch up with all the progressof our Project 26.2 team. Colds, niggles andthe incessant rain can all play havoc withspring marathon preparations. Fortunately,our team seems to be riding the storm, bothmetaphorically and literally. With the help ofcoach Martin Yelling, the sessions are beingbagged and mileage is heading up. Not thatit hasn’t been challenging. But being part ofthe team has added that little bit of extraimpetus and motivation to keepclocking up the miles, no matter whatthe elements throw at them.

We also have the usual mix of recipesand tips on how to stay healthy andimprove your running life, plus acomprehensive test of the latestrunning kit and reviews of three of thebest running cameras on the market.

Try Men’s Running totally FREE.Text ‘Runner’ to 60300 to claim your FREE issue todayOr call 0845 286 3067 & quote ‘Runner’

The UK’s first running magazine just for men.Whether it’s racing, losing weight, getting fit, looking for newgear and gadgets or reading the most eye-popping,inspirational stories from the world of running, we take pridein offering you all this and more in the only magazinededicated to running men everywhere.Helping you improve

your running.

Men’s Running -Order your FREEcopy today

1CONSISTENCY

4 LOCK DOWN

2IT’S NOT A LIE-IN

5AVOID STIMULANTS

3SMALL STEPS

6GET NAPPING

8

8ROUGH CALCULATION

April 2014 mensrunninguk.co.uk 43

7SLEEP HYGIENE

d

sw changes yee a fe arHer

eps t st8 8

e thaou can makw changes yer dreeto sweps t

our sleepe yvve yot will impre thaeamser dr

YVERORECAND T RES

our sleep

Y

w changes yee a fe arHer

e thaou can makw changes y

k earlier nighed on in th

a sleep needs ttrx he evt of us ha

LIE-INNOIT’S

our sleepe yvve yot will impre tha

ts, notthink earlier nigh

ening:vadded on in the eo bea sleep needs t

.o be up earlye tvLIE-IN

AT NO

our sleep

t

d l’ totour body inool y f

r one-off early nigheek up with a huge w

eek and then trying ttsng minimal amoun

y of sleep is vitaenctng and nutrition,

y ofenctonsise ctey wa the same w

YTENCONSIS

r mornings.

.eencere a big diffmakt wece efftivcumulathe ac

t buemenvominimal impre y sound likhis mat. Tnigh

ves earlier e30-60 minuto bed juting ttry geTTEPSSSMALL 3

er mornings.

o

y

kiashing upving the weaL.saryesou think necthan y

s much earliesocor bed prfeating rtBegin the ge

WNDOOCK L4

.erttork be will werytly eentonsis sleep c

ed. A liervoecs r’ng it

ysleep qualitouromising yomprrisk c

oid them orve bed. Aorbefedttimulabody and mind s

ts – all will leaxeo teplies tre-minuttork emails, lasw

ohol, social mets, alceews, sugary drinks,eineaffC

STIMULANTSOIDVOAV5

o

o

being pushed back.tanonst bedtime isn’t ctha

tart all of these jobs sou syt we a time avended. Hatin

er thantan hour or so lao st tou gebed’ will mean yot befo ‘juse emails tminut

-ted lunches and laspack, kiashing upving the weaL

.ysleep qualit

h

-

d

e s

6

els.vgy leand enereryvoecerms of rs in tonder

ork, will wya long run daernoon naps, particularly on

,yleteshas the time or life someone whoou arIf yNAPPINGGET 6

GIENHYYGIENESLEEP 7

hould add 30 minrunning 30 miles a

so someoneleep time (our usual nigho yes tminut

t number ineek and add thawou run perumber of miles y

ts is ttisports scien rule of thumb us

CULAALCROUGH8

s a’). Itesshould add 30 minuteekrunning 30 miles a w

so someonetlyour usual nigh

t number inou run per

e theo takts is tyy manA rule of thumb used b

TIONLAT

o

y

.gieneyour sleep hyvingos of impryae all good war

y the bedes bviconic detrelec) and noallyture namor

e upakou wt yso thasound (ther thanat rude lighxt etha

ooms, alarm cloDark r7

t it has.eche effeeks and seeour wo fee tf thr

or this ft. Aim fecffertainly has a positiv c

o do the same -s ty runnermanself and advisedyried it m

tion but I haoad calcular

mensrunninguk.•14 0

eeks and seeor a periodor this f

eertainly has a positivo do the same -

self and advisedevtion but I ha

). It

43.ukoc mensrunninguk.

OU R R U NP IMP Y

AA R R

NNIICCAACAAC

GGNN

aasvid Cvid CDDaoking fooking fLL

TTSSTSSTAA R R

u ound-up of the yu a rou a re yes y tle givtle giva i

asacing kit fr o e sleek ror some sleek r f f

PPIIRRTTNNIICCAACAAC

s early leader’’eard u of the ynd-up of the yt et e exour neo yor y kit fng kit f

SSEEPPGGNN

ly leaders early leaderoor dit editMRR MRR t? t? nenvvet e

aasv vid CDDa

r n earing it is wn d windividual ws it depends on hos it depends on hoguesgues

oo d to Brding tc orcac orking garmenh r wd-his is a har

S ll, £28T

S ll, £28quilibrium Squilibrium SEE

SSBROOKBROOK

u ound-up of the yu a rou a re yes y e gtle givas

orking). t is wng it is wd thed thew harw har on ho on ho

( o oks (although Itt,g rmrking garmen

£28 , £28

s early leadereard u of the ynd-up of the y

and takand takh he brm . Tnameognise the rognise the recect rt rmighmigh

t aficionados among ytics aficionados among y athlethe at hearen’t hearvv ou ha

70If y

70££ee,eeZip T TeeZip T TeeHalfHalf

ADADIFFLEY ROIFFLEY RO

ly leaders early leader

itses its a takoots of theoots of the the r the r

n s o you ionados among y,oad, Ry Rd of Iffled of Iffle

0en’t hear

0

r ry and Laurie sks old Fs an old Fh e’hertial Short, £2

Ttial Short, £2sensen5” Es5” Es

ering without being tering without being tttttflaflah with the body and isches with the body and ist tetr

ms

omt t. C narm nighwwer on a surprisinglyer on a surprisinglyffansanse tre trturturmoismois

than ce than c) mort) morja kejack under a ro the skin under a re t txne

o o t ct cesesunder our tunder our ty lighely ligh finits definit ’But it

r n earing it is wn d windividual w

hch d u k tery and Laurie sk66 t £2 rt, £2

t.t.oo tighoo tigh t being t t being t body and is e body and is

rtable on, itortable on, itr on a surprisinglyf

r on a surprisinglyp d with theoped with the n c

ainain er a r under a rornornwwnditions (nditions ( nt, andgeightwtely ligh

orking). t is wng it is w

e isn’t!yle isn’t! then stbut then stwtely lighely lighe tieptivddec

pe poly orms likrfperfon but acon but acttotote ce ceels likeels likffb i abric looks andl s felease fD i rDri-ro tition. Tompe cthe c

es it ses it swhich makwhich make ling is definityling is definit

mile barrierts

e mile barriern-minutrourer

fer ttannisannisoger Boger BRR

o om the tro tion frp ainspirand takand takh he brm . Tname

t. Not cheapyle isn’t!

,t. Not cheapeigheigh, so is

w, so ise ertestually

e polytually ut ac ut ac

looks andc looks andh espokehe bespok

omtition. T

omtand out frtand out frta ,tagely vinely vin

ehe er. T e barriere thee theokokr brr brack whereack wher h the tr itses its a tak

o o om Brom Br5” short fr5” short fr a halfor a half g e looking frar

2 n guyen 12” kind of guyvvou a 3.5”, a 5”, 8” or

eou a 3.5”, a 5”, 8” ore ye yof short – arof short – ar

a about the acages about the ac

r T MRR t . Aeplyh the ree I’m a V, I’m a VNeither“Neither

Fry chars the F y?” samman ye y Ar. “ r youser flyrtr

sing the bessing the bese discuse discusarar main pro main pr twe the twwherry and Laurie skry and Laurie sks old Fs an old Fh e’herT

s a goods a goodereroks offoks off , this h ey housewaw

r those whoor a half

or those who? ? Fu a 3.5”, a 5”, 8” or

en 12” kind of guyu a 3.5”, a 5”, 8” or

eptable lengtheptable length h b

cages about the acets, the debaeer

omeswo T To

omes c” co man,o man,elcrelcrc .ertac hry char

a zip or but ontou a zip or butype ofype oft tt t e bes e besa stsotagonis pr main pr

hchry and Laurie sk tery and Laurie sk

e these shorts fre these shorts frery much likery much likvv full of design deed full of design dekock tas s

he same onew

t the same one ghad bough eey choicy choicme on mme on m

, she did c, she did chchaset suit pur he same fuse the same fus ie quitkmak

hile the ashile the as W. Weeororttsss s flagship Flora maul Smith’

e in P

ood behind Noel G c te sI onc£60£60Shorts,Shorts,

yle isn’t!yle isn’t! then stbut then s

omom hese shorts fr hese shorts fr f design details, of design de

ut suithha m n . T ame onetly Noeltly Noelenen Appar. Appar

tto iomplimen did c e did c o mys about m m us ame fus

t didn’tt didn’ttantansissis as ase teea tral S Flor agship Flor

l g eallagher d Noel G ind Noel G

n t!

ooksrunning.ooksrunning..br.brwwwwwwboba draru e summer we e o esolution. Definit

.uk.ukooccning.ning.

a f our.obe

ely part of our good

ccoad.oad.yryr.ifflee.iffleewwwwwwt red on offt tailor mthe mosa which woad, which wy Ry R

y much likIffle

y much lik

mensrunninguk. mensrunninguk.1 •14 r April 20

omomcce .er d on off definitelye definit wer h w

c 79.ukoc r n runninguk.

Helpful. Friendly.Accessible.

Try Women’s Running totally FREE.Text ‘Runner’ to 60300 to claim your FREE issue todayOr call 0845 286 3067 & quote ‘Runner’

Women’s ShortsThe new issue of Women’s Running ispacked with advice, motivational tips andinspirational stories to help you get themost from your running and staymotivated during these rainy winter andspring months.

Age is no barrier to running, so long asyou’re healthy, as one lady found out. 65-year-old Penny Lovegrove took up runningat the age of 60, after telling her neighbourthat she wasn’t interested in doingembroidery on the doorstep like an oldperson. She has since run over 40marathons and not only that, but she isgetting faster with each one. Find out whather secret is to improving her race timesand how she went from strength to strengthwith her running. Penny says: ‘Running hashelped me become the person I alwaysimagined myself to be: a tall, slim womanwith a ponytail running outside,’ she says.‘It’s also given me self-belief – and a host ofnew friends.’

Anyone starting out running for thefirst time may be daunted by how itfeels if they start too fast or toosoon. Setting a comfortable pacefrom the beginning is the best wayto start and Women’s Running’s 12top tips for new runners will alsomake it easier. In her feature, whichreveals how to start running theeasy way, WR Sub-Editor ClaireChamberlain also talks about theimportance of having a goal.‘Knowing what your goal is and

keeping it in mind is the best kind ofmotivation. Importantly, your goal should beyours and yours alone. It should also beachievable, so you don’t lose heart, and notso far in the future that you lose sight of it.’

If you are running a springmarathon and your training is goingwell, then make sure you stay ontarget and avoid injury by readingthe feature on common marathonmistakes. Personal trainer,marathon runner and triathlete JeffArcher, talks about things that canoften go wrong, such as not gettingenough rest. He says: “It can bevery tempting, particularly when training isgoing well, to run more and more often. It'slikely, however, that your training has beensuccessful so far precisely because you'veobserved a good balance between trainingand recovery. Time to rest and recuperateshould be viewed as an active part of yourtraining schedule and so rest days shouldbe planned and respected.

Obstacle races are increasing in popularity,with more and more of us seeking a newkind of challenge that isn’t just about howfar or how fast we can run. Obstacle races,which involve us getting from a start tofinish line by running but also climbing,scrambling or weaving our way throughnumerous obstacles, offer variety andstimulation. And they’re fun too. But youhave to train for them in a differentway, says Advanced PersonalTrainer and running coach PhoebeThomas in her extensive guide togetting obstacle race fit. ‘This isbrilliant for building strength,endurance and power, all of whichare essential components to anadventure race.’

Developing upper body strength is also key.‘Many of the challenges will involve heavingyourself over, under and through obstacles,so getting good at lifting your own bodyweight, with exercises such as press-ups,chin-ups and dips are essential. All of thesecan be achieved in the gym.’

The UK’s first running magazine just for women.Women's Running provides practical information and inspiringstories to help you achieve your running goals - whether you're abeginner or an experienced runner. Every issue of Women'sRunning has all the expert advice and information you need onhow to improve your running plus detailed features on how to loseweight, tone up, improve your health and take care of your body.

Women’s Running -Order your FREEcopy today

Cros

s Training


Spring 2014

Before going to my first parkourclass, I thought it was all aboutleaping off high roofs andsomersaulting over railings. Butwhen I got in touch with John Hallof Edinburgh-based AccessParkour, he reassured me that hisclasses were suitable for beginners.As I love exercising outside, Ithought it might be fun anddecided to go along.

Parkour, also known as Freerunning, isdefined by the sport’s governing body,Parkour UK, as “the non-competitivephysical discipline of training to move freelyover and through any terrain using only theabilities of the body”. It developed in Francefrom military obstacle course training, andthere have been a few documentaries aboutit which show people doing incredibly daring– and dangerous – urban climbs and jumps.

But Access Parkour offers two classessuitable for beginners, an access class andparkour class. They are taught by John,who is a Level 2 coach certified by ParkourUK, and certainly knows his stuff.The access class takes place indoors, andis aimed at those with little experience ofexercise. It aims to boost physical wellbeingby practising specific movements toimprove the way you use your body. Johnsays: “The class is parkour, but the aim isthat we want to provide access tomovement - we’re talking about the abilityto have a full range of motion, the ability topick up something heavy, to reach the topshelf, to reach behind you, to be free fromtrying to get up from the couch and findyour quads are cramping. It’s about

relearning how to move properly so thatyou have less pain in your life - basically tomove in an inherently safe manner so thatwhen you go to other sports you’re usinggood movement patterns.

“What I’m also trying to do is teach thenature of challenge, the idea that whatwe’re doing is overcoming a challengingenvironment. You can overcome anyobstacle, and that is the basic philosophyof Parkour - we challenge ourselves and weovercome challenges.”

In this spirit of challenge, I decide to gostraight for the outdoor class, which is alsoaimed at beginners, but perhaps those witha little more confidence and fitness.

We met at Bristo Square in Edinburgh at7pm and warmed up with a jog and somejoint mobilisation exercises. We started outwith a very simple, safe exercise – jumpingfrom the ground onto a step about 6 incheshigh. The aim is to land with both feettogether and bend your knees right downso that you come to an immediate stop,rather than falling or stepping forward – itsounds simple, but is surprisingly difficult toget right. John offered us advice to improveour jumps – going higher to absorb somespeed, or jumping with our feet out in frontof us rather than underneath. There wassomething quite relaxing and meditativeabout doing the same small jump again andagain, and I could quickly feelimprovements – though the muscles justabove my knees were exhausted.

Then we moved to the walls - fortunatelyjust small ones a couple of feet high. Johnintroduced a series of simple moves –rolling on and off the walls in a sittingposition, jumping on and off them using theskills we’d just practiced, and turning

Cross Training -Parkour by Sue Gyford

Cros

s Training

35

around while standing on them. Evensimple moves were quite tricky to executeprecisely but it soon started to get easier aswe practiced them, and felt almost likeballet when we got them right.

Then we moved onto the flat ground topractice quadripedal movement –walking onyour hands and feet. It sounds easy, but youshould try it some time – really tough, butbrilliant exercise. Not only does it get yourheart pumping, your core and arms will haveto work harder than ever before, and youneed to co-ordinate the whole of your body.

As I stood up to stretch my aching thighs,John told me I had ‘classic runner issues’.He explains: “The classic runner is normallyquite fit, has probably been wearing bigtrainers most of their life so they have aheel strike, they often sit a lot so their hipflexors are tight, they have tight quads, andhaven’t got much mobility. Theircardiovascular system works well but theymight find themselves getting injuredregularly and perhaps aren’t as mobile asother sports people.

“It’s a really great basis to work frombecause you’ve got that basic fitness, butit’s got very standard problems. Runnersneed to relearn how to squat, to extendthose hip flexors, and branch out to do moremovement than running. I’m not going tomake them faster, but I’m going to reducethe risk of repetitive injury that they have.”

Then came the only part of the class whereI felt out of my depth – John announced wewere going to do this quadripedalmovement along the tops of the walls allthe way round the square. He leapt onto ahigh wall to demonstrate. I was determinedto give it a go, but the first moment ofbalancing on top of the wall and lookingstraight downwards to the ground scared

me, and I decided this needed adapting tomy own abilities. Fortunately there wereplenty of low walls, so I started on those. Itonly took a few metres until I wasexhausted and had to rest, but John gentlyencouraged me to keep going, at one pointshowing me some stretches to loosen myaching thighs.

About half way round the square, I suddenlyrealised I was concentrating so hard on themovement that I was going along one of thehigh walls without any concerns. In fact, mymain worry was that I was mostly on myown by then as the other class memberswere going faster than me. All the studentsgoing into the neighbouring Teviot studentunion for a drink must have thought I wassome kind of crazy Spiderwoman,clambering around the walls on my ownwith my bum in the air.

Much to my surprise, I eventually made it allthe way round the square, and got a realsense of achievement at doing somethingso far beyond my expectations.

By this point I was exhausted, but we trieda few more moves, practicing the buildingblocks of vaulting over low walls; again,there were some things I found too difficult,but John showed me how to break themdown into smaller, easier moves.

I left the session very tired but buzzing withachievement and having enjoyed doingsomething so different from my normalexercise. My legs were very sore for thenext few days from the unaccustomedmoves, but my days were brightened up bysuddenly finding myself looking at walls andstreet furniture with a whole new sense ofpossibility!

See www.accessparkour.com for moreinformation.

Doing

it fo

r Dad


Spring 2014

When Ali Figures father Roy diedfrom pancreatic cancer two yearsago, it was a huge loss. But thebereavement inspired teacher Ali,33, to raise money and awareness forPancreatic Cancer UK by taking on 13challenges in 2013. Not only did sheraise thousands of pounds, thechallenges brought her jogscotlandbuddies closer than ever before.

I’ve been running with jogscotland forabout seven years, with the groups inDunfermline and Dalgety Bay. I just took awhim about getting fit and looked it uponline. I was really quite nervous to startwith, but after the first week it was fun.

Last spring I started jog buddying, givingsupport to newer members of the group,and then in November I took the Jog Leadercourse. It’s been great becoming a JogLeader - I’ve been working with the samegroup of people since then, so it’s great tosee them coming on and asking for advice.My dad passed away in February 2012 ofpancreatic cancer. It was all quite sudden –with pancreatic cancer, by the time you findout you’ve got it, it’s really serious. By then,it’s terminal and progresses quickly. It alsodoesn’t get much funding from thegovernment for research, so I wanted toraise money and awareness for PancreaticCancer UK.

A few of the jogscotland group haddecided to do the Edinburgh marathon lastyear, and that’s where the challenge ideastarted. I thought I’d have to do sometraining events before that, and before Iknew it I was up to six events and thought Imight as well do 13 and find some differenttypes of challenges. I chose 13 because itwas 2013, and I thought I’d better get onand do it before the number went up!

Tough Mudder was probably the mostchallenging. I did that with my sister andhadn’t done a lot of climbing or upper bodytraining so it was difficult, but there werelots of people to stand on, so it went allright!

I also did the Lime Kilns Dragon Boat Race.That was a team of six of us, and most ofthem were from jogscotland. It was just afun thing, but we got into the final - and itwas great the way that everyone helped meto get a team together.

I did the Edinburgh Marathon, and it wasmy first and probably my last marathon – itwas hard work and I was quite emotional. Ihad a sign on my back explaining why I wasrunning and people were speaking to meabout it and so that was making meemotional. I had family and friends andpeople from jogscotland cheering me alongmost of the way, but after mile 18 I didn’tsee anyone I knew, and it was tough. WhenI first crossed the line, I couldn’t quitebelieve I’d done it. I was totally non-emotional and then I went over to get the

Ali Figures -Doing it for Dad

medal and saw my family and had a weebawl. But I think it took a few weeks for it toreally sink in - now I can’t quite believe I didit.

I set out to raise £2,000 and hit £2,500, andwith the rest of my family doing fundraisingevents as well, we probably raised about£3,000 in all.

It was quite a hard year - there wassomething on every weekend. I couldn’thave done it without the help, support,advice and listening ears of my fellowjogscotland members. They helpedorganise runs and service vehicles withfood and supplies, they organised runnersto meet the marathoners at various pointson run routes for company, they took partwith me and came to watch and cheer meon - as well as listening to me moan, groanand ask for advice.

The great thing is that it’s actually broughtthe jogscotland group together a lot. I hadlots of people coming to do differentevents, and I was posting on our group’sjogscotland facebook page a lot saying“Join me in this race”. Since I completedthe challenge we’ve kept that going, doingdifferent races. A few of us are going to dothe Isle of Skye half marathon together andwe’ve never done an away half marathonbefore. For some people it’ll be their firsthalf marathon, so I think it’ll be a greatweekend away. It just shows that we’vebecome such good friends – and allthrough the running.

Doing

it fo

r Dad

37

Ali Figures

Even

t Re

view


Spring 2014

This trail race is part of a series of trailruns organised by Edinburgh’s TriCentre, but this one had a twist – whileit was over the same route as the otherevents in the series, it was also part ofthe John Muir Winter Carnival. Thatmeant that, as well as the 14K run theday included cyclocross, an outdoorswim, (with hot tub to warm upafterwards!), outdoor rowingcompetition, and food stalls.

I went along with a few friends, none of usvery fast. There was a five-minute walk fromthe car park down to the registration andstart line, which were located by the lake.After a short race briefing, we were off. Thefirst section, around a field, was reallymuddy, but the scenery was great if youremembered to look up from your feetoccasionally! Then we were down andrunning right alongside the coast. Again, itwas very slippery, but beautiful. There wasa very strong wind blowing throughout themorning, which made it a tough run asthere wasn’t a lot of shelter on many of thestretches. The route is roughly a figure of 8,with a water station at the point where thepaths crossed, so you got to top up onfluids twice.

It’s a very varied route - one minute you’re

right by the water’s edge, then alongsidethe fringes of some woodland, and then wedashed across the wet sands before turningback. Fortunately the tide was out so ourfeet were only slightly soaked!

It was a fast field – not many fun runnershere. That meant I quickly dropped to nearthe back and stayed there, with the front-runners heading home past me before I’deven reached the half-way point. It was ashame to be so far back, but my time of1h33 was about what I’d expected, and Icertainly wasn’t alone.

By the time we were heading back to thefinish line, which was at the same point asthe start, the variety of Carnival activitiesand sunny weather had brought lots ofpeople out to enjoy the event. Sadly thefinish line was a short distance away fromthe crowds, so we didn’t get the benefit ofbeing cheered over the line by bystanders,but it was close enough to walk straightinto the huddle afterwards and enjoy theatmosphere. If you’ve never tried it, I canalso recommend a hot tub as a great way torelax your legs after a tough run!

It was a well-organised but relaxed andfriendly event, with fantastic scenery and aninteresting, varied route. I’d definitely like togo back and try the route again by takingpart in another event in the series – maybeon a less windy day!

Event Review -

Tri Trail 14K Foxlake,near Dunbar, East Lothian 2nd February

by Sue Gyford

28.09.14Marathon | 10K | 5K | Wee Nessie

lochnessmarathon.com

The Event F rontrunners

If you’re going to put yourself through hell, you might as well do it in heaven.

F rontrunnersThe Event F rontrunners

A great range of jogscotland Official Merchandise is availablefrom our partners, Run 4 It. Everything in the range comeswith jogscotland logos as standard, while T-shirts, vests,

hoodies and jackets can all be customised, so you can add thename of your group. What’s more, as a jogscotland memberyou can use your 10 per cent member discount at run 4 It to

unlock reductions on the entire range.

Just visit www.run4it.com/shop/ jogscotland and orderonline using the code jog2014 to get your discount.

You can also pop into your local Run 4 It shop to try samples.

Official M

erch

andise 39

Cool

Dow

n 40

Cool Down


Ever since I started working atjogscotland, it’s been on my To Do listto take the Jog Leader course. Thecourses are very popular and usuallybook up well in advance, but Imanaged to persuade Ann, who takescare of the bookings, to let me in!

I took a course based at Heriot-WattUniversity and found myself rolling up to abusy classroom for an early start with tutorSarah Robertson. Sarah’s an ExerciseDevelopment Officer at the Uni, and hasalso been a tutor on this course since 2008,so she knows her stuff.

She was also really cheerful and relaxed –and broke the ice by admitting that shealthough she loved most sorts of exercise,she actually didn’t like running very much! We started out with a ‘getting to know you’exercise where we had to work in pairs tofind out a wee bit about each other. It wasreally interesting to discover how differenteveryone was, even though we were allthere for the same reason.

The course was based in Edinburgh, butparticipants had travelled from as far afieldas Berwick-Upon-Tweed and Perthshire totake part.

There were long-term professional fitnesstrainers who wanted another string to theirbow, and people fairly new to exercise whowere enjoying a new lease of life havingrecently achieved incredible weight loss.Some folk had come up throughjogscotland as joggers and now wanted tohelp out at their group in the same way thatthey themselves had been helped. Otherswanted to set up their own groups fromscratch and bring jogscotland to their areafor the first time.

The best thing was that the atmosphere wasreally friendly and supportive, which I thinkwas a relief to some people who had fearedthat having lots of sporty people in oneroom would create a competitiveatmosphere – not at all.

Sarah started out with an introduction tojogscotland and then moved on to talkingabout joggers and leaders. We talked aboutthe different reasons people have forjogging, and for wanting to be leaders;about the attitudes and approaches ofsuccessful Jog Leaders, such as patienceand encouragement. There was informationon the benefits of exercise and we learnedabout the process of coaching and helpingmembers’ to improve their fitness, as well asdiscussing the practical aspects of runninga session, like choosing a venue andadvertising. We also learned about some ofthe different activities and games that couldbe used to provide variety for jog sessions.After a busy morning of classroom learning,we ventured outside for practical sessions insmall groups. One person did a warm-up,then we took it in turns to put ourcolleagues through their paces in one of thesessions we had learned from Sarah. It’sone thing to read about it, but doing it forreal was quite different – in a good way. Iactually found it quite liberating to hear myown voice shouting instructions across theplaying field for the first time – and then seepeople following my guidance and lookingto me for more.

The weather was pretty wild, but we bravedthe mud, wind and horizontal rain, andpracticed leading a cool down beforeheading in to the gym, where Sarah showeda full range of cool down stretches.

We’d all been advised to bring a change ofclothes, and were glad to get out of our wet,muddy kit before breaking for lunch.

Cool

Dow

n 41

The afternoon session started off with somegroup work. We were given cards with thedifferent possible roles of a Jog Leader –coach, friend, - even dictator! We were thenasked to decide which were appropriateroles for leaders to take on in relation todifferent types of jogger and which (such asdictator!) were not appropriate. It was quitethought-provoking. Soon we were havingdiscussions about issues I’d never reallythought about – for example, where do youdraw the line between encouraging joggersto achieve their goals and getting them totake responsibility for improvements in theirown fitness?

I’d really recommend anyone who has everthought about taking a Jog Leader course togive it a go. It doesn’t matter if you’re notthe fittest or fastest person in the world –the ability to work well with people is by farthe most important thing. In fact, knowingfrom personal experience how tough it is tostart jogging can be incredibly helpful.

The Jog Leader course is being updated(see p.12) so some of the contents will beslightly different in future from the coursethat I took, but it will take the sameapproach to making sure leaders areequipped with all the knowledge and skillsthey need.

As well as learning how to help others,taking the course helps you to reflect onyour own running and think about thephysical and emotional aspects of whatmakes you run and keeps you going. Thepractical sessions were also fantastic forbuilding confidence.

By the end of the day, I felt like I’d learned alot about the grassroots of jogscotland, andgot a whole new appreciation for ourwonderful Jog Leaders. At surface level, itmight seem as if they just turn up, makefriendly chat and jog with their group. Inreality, they are making all kinds of decisionsall the time. How do they keep sessionsvaried and interesting? How do they makesure joggers of different abilities can takepart without the faster ones feeling bored orthe slower ones getting left behind? Is theroute they planned safe in today’s weatherconditions? Is someone in the groupstruggling but reluctant to speak up? Whatis an appropriate challenge to motivatemembers them rather than discouragethem? It takes a very special person tobalance all of these – so next time you turnup to your jogscotland group, take a minuteto say a special thank you to your JogLeader. They might just look like a JogLeader, but they’re actually by turns anorganiser, teacher, motivator, role model andfriend!

By Sue Gyford

Jogg

ing

Alo

ng 4

2

Nice day for a runI was out on a solo run the other day when Icame up to a postman’s van. Sure enough,our friendly postie, David, came out of agate, recognised me and said: “Nice day fora run....” I agreed and jogged on.

He was right, I thought, it was a fine day forthe time of year. It was dry and bright witha gusty wind – not bad for the middle ofwinter. I mused on - as you do on a solorun. What day is not a nice day for a run?Let’s say you have planned a run but it’swindy and cold, so not a nice day. Whenyou look out of a rain-lashed window youhave second thoughts – ignore them. Aslong as you have hat, gloves and a cagouleto keep the wind out you’ll be OK. After tenminutes you will be comfortable with theweather, and your trainers will dry out aftera day or two. In fact, the wilder the day, themore alive you feel when you are out in theelements. As you lean into the gale, orsplash through puddles a perverse feelingof elation will conquer the weather. Bring iton!

If the weather is good, of course it’s a no-brainer. How lucky you are to be outside onsuch a day, how wonderful it is to see thecountryside at its best! In such conditionsyou should head for the more remote routesin your area; choose a challenging runners’route away from pram-pushers, horse-riders, cyclists and dog-walkers and enjoythe freedom, the views and the sense ofachievement such a day will offer.

Yes, I thought as I reached my home, youare quite right, David. Today was a nice dayfor a run. But really every day is a nice dayfor a run!

Racing with acronymsEvery runner who takes part in races knowsthe acronym PB for Personal Best. Westrive for it, we applaud it. Even the runnerwho comes in far behind the winner isrightly delighted if he or she achieved a PBin a race! At 71 years old I have reached thestage in life when PBs are highly unlikely,but I still want to take part in races – sowhat should be my aim? An obvious one isa high place in the age group – let’s call thisan Age Group Podium Finish, or AGPF;that’s a fine achievement! However, thereare races where anyone over 45 is classedas a super-vet, so the seriously vet runnerhas little chance of beating the 46-year-old.Here a more realistic goal might be simplythe Decent Time or DT.

A sub-classification might be Decent Time,Strong Finish or DTSF – that would be oneto cherish in the logbook! Variations mightbe Decent Time Despite Toilet Stops -DTDTS, or DTDA – Decent Time DespiteAlcohol for a race after an evening out.

Acronyms in any social group are useful in-house slang; we make them up, we enjoyusing them. There is only one which wehope never to use – DNF or Did Not Finish.

Jogging Along by David Syme


What’s your favourite running jargon?

[email protected]

and we will publish the best.

Loca

l Con

tact

s 43jogscotlandmagazine

Spring 2014

www.jogscotland.org.uk/local-groupsjogscotland group finder

With hundreds of groups across Scotland, here’s how to find your nearest one…1. go to www.jogscotland.org.uk/local-groups 2. enter postcode3. find your nearest group4. join in!

Evaluate Assess FootAnalysis

Review YourOptions

TreadmillAnalysis

Recommend PerfectShoe

aberdeen br. of allan edinburgh dundee glasgow city glasgow tiso inverness

ateulavE ssessA

n allf a l. orbnedereba

sislyanAtoFo ewievR mocRe

salgeednu dhgurbinnbden

dnemmsisylanAllimdaerT

sonitpOruYo

nvio siw togsalgy tiw cogs

ehoStcefreP

ssenrenv

Stride Magazine - Spring 2014

Documents

Transcript of Stride Magazine - Spring 2014