Sziasztok* Barking Road Runners!

What a cracking weekend it’s been for athletics. For three evenings I was glued to the World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest — seeing the best in their disciplines compete for big prize money at the end of the athletics season. I loved the format, the graphics (though I hope the athletes couldn’t see when the computer predicted they would finish last), and even the pink sand in the long jump pit (did Zahra arrange that?). Not so sure about Josh Kerr, after winning the men’s 1500m and the associated $150,000 prize money, complaining that he couldn’t run in his sponsor’s colours and make even more money!

Of course, we had our own fantastic event in the UK, with tens of thousands of runners filling the streets of North East England for the iconic Great North Run, proving once again that the heart of the sport beats just as loudly in a mass participation event as it does with the elites in a stadium.

Greg’s Race Report

With no league or Grand Prix races on offer, several Barking Road Runners took on other challenges this weekend. Maysen Davies and Joyce Golder travelled to Newcastle for the Great North Run Half Marathon finishing in times of 2:20:04 and 2:20:06 respectively.

Closer to home, Gary Harford successfully completed the Pleshey Half Marathon, his first half marathon in more than three years.

Even closer to home, in Epping Forest, Isabel Pinedo Borobio and Alison Fryatt took part in an Orienteering event organised by the Chigwell and Epping Orienteering Club taking on the Orange course. The course was 3.1k as the crow flies. Unfortunately for the ladies it was not quite as straightforward for them to find the checkpoint markers as they finished it on just over 5k. Isabel finished in 56:12 and Alison 58:08.

Isabel and Alison at the CHIG Epping Forest SE orienteering event

BRR parkrunners

ARU Writtle - Martin Page 22:35.

Barking - Joshua Ezissi 20:44, Daniel Plawiak 22:34, Trevor Cooper 27:58, Barry Rowell 28:44, James Hall 31:01, Jason Li 31:02, Sian Mansley 31:18, Faye Spooner 32:55, Cristina Cooper 33:14, James Sheridan 33:27, Nikki Cranmer 38:18, Nigel Swaby 41:16, Alan Murphy 49:11 and Trevor Parkin 54:23.

Bournemouth - Mark New 26:10.

Chelmsford Central - Gary Harford 29:37

Eastbourne - Owen Wainhouse 20:58.

Harrow Lodge - Rory Burr 22:22.

Ingrebourne Hill - Louise Chappell 42:54.

Queens Glasgow - Belinda Riches 27:44, Steve Colloff 36:06, Darren Graham 41:00, and Denise Graham 57:54.

Darren, Belinda, Denise and Steve at Queen’s Glasgow parkrun

Thorney Bay Beach - Ron Vialls 24:13.

Valentines - Kevin Wotton 25:32, Martin O’toole 31:27 and Andrew Gwilliam 53:25.

BRR highest age gradings this week were Belinda Riches 63.58% for the women and Martin Page 77.2% for the men.

BRR Diary - September/October

The highlights of the coming weeks are listed below but you can see the full diary of BRR events on the TeamUp app. Just download the TeamUp app to your phone, then enter the calendar key: ks67p21gt8p5gzdo66 when prompted. If you don’t want another app on your phone, you can also find it under the ‘events’ tab on the Barking Road Runnerswebsite: https://www.barkingroadrunners.org.uk/calendar.

7.00pm, Tuesday 15 September - Speed Work. Jim Peter’s Stadium, Mayesbrook Park. Zahra is taking the session this week is called Falling Leaves 🍂 :

5 min hard , 2 min rec
3 min hard , 90 sec rec
1 min hard, 1 min rec
30 sec hard , 2 min rec
5 min hard , 2 min rec
3 min hard , 90 sec rec
1 min hard, 1 min rec
30 sec hard , 2 min rec

Try to wear autumn colours please 🍂.

7.00pm, Thursday 17 August - Training from the at May and Baker Social Club. Dagenham Rd, Dagenham, Romford RM7 0QX. Nige will be away this week. Instead, there is the option to join the cross-club training session led by Rob Sargent. This week’s planned session is:

Warm-up then

5 x 90 secs over the slight hill in Eastbrookend country park

Then, as darkness draws in,

6 x 2mins along Dagenham Rd

It is suitable for all standards as we regroup after each rep.

There are toilets where you can change and plenty of cars to leave your gear in if you come by public transport (nearest station Dagenham East).

10.00am, Sunday 4 October - Southend 10k (GP07). Southchurch Park East, Lifstan Way, Southend on Sea, Essex SS1 2XD. A nice route along the coast to Shoeburyness, then back to Southchurch Park, with the stinger that you have to go past the park turning and double back on yourself. I forecast fish and chips and an ice cream afterwards. Sign up here: Southend 10K 2026 | njuko.com

10.00am, Sunday 11 October - Tiptree 10 (GP08). This is the last race in the 2026 Grand Prix series, and nobody from BRR has signed up yet (Dennis and are are at the Great Eastern Run. Rob should have been there with us…), so there is a good chance of earning serious GP points if you a chasing a trophy. It is also an Essex Championships race. Sign up at : Tiptree 10 Mile.

7.30pm, Wednesday 14 October - Redbridge Cycle Centre (Hog Hill) 5k (Chingford League 01). Redbridge Cycle Centre, Forest Road, Hainault, IG6 3HP. A competition for clubs in North East London consisting of three road races, three trail races, and one relay race. Runners from members clubs, like BRR, get to compete for free. If you complete all six road/trail races, you have the chance to buy a unique and highly sought-after Chingford League mug/coaster. No online sign-up; in the next week or so I will be asking who wants to take part, and will allocate bib numbers which you keep for the whole season (except the relays). More information available at: https://chingfordleague.co.uk/

Spitfire Scramble

Some of us have already signed up teams for the Spitfire Scramble, which takes place from midday on Saturday 10 July to midday on Sunday 11 July 2027.

If you've never heard of it before, it's a 24-hour endurance relay where teams of 2-8 members (or solo runners) take turns to run/walk an approx six-mile lap around the historic former RAF airfield at Hornchurch. The objective is simple: complete as many laps as possible in 24 hours!

If you are not a solo runner, the event is as much about teamwork, camaraderie and determination as it is about running. Expect sunshine, darkness, tired legs, questionable sleeping arrangements, plenty of laughs, and the unique experience of heading out for a run at 3am while your teammates cheer you on (or try and get some shut-eye).

The good news is that you don't need to be an ultra-runner to take part. Most runners will complete a handful of laps spread across the 24 hours, making it an achievable but memorable challenge for club runners of all abilities.

If you're thinking about joining us, don't worry about training just yet. I'll be putting together and sharing a 16-week Spitfire Scramble training plan, starting in March 2027, designed specifically around our usual Tuesday track sessions, parkruns, long runs, recovery guidance and some relay-specific training.

Watch this space... July 2027 may seem a long way off, but it'll be here before we know it! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️✈️

Too Hard for Women?

“The race is too hard for women. They are simply not tough enough to do it.” Those words were spoken by Barkley Marathons race director Lazarus Lake in 2015. The Barkley is notorious: around 1,000 runners have started it, and only 20 have ever finished. For decades, no woman was among them. in 2024, that changed when British ultra‑runner Jasmin Paris completed the brutal 100‑mile course with just one minute and 39 seconds to spare. As BBC Sport reports, her finish didn’t just make history — it shattered a long‑standing myth that women couldn’t run tough endurance races.

And she’s not alone. Women are increasingly winning, breaking records, and dominating extreme endurance events. Last summer brought the first female one‑two at the Montane Summer Spine Race. Rachel Entrekin set a course record at the Cocodona 250. Sophie Woods smashed the Via Alpina record by six days. These achievements aren’t anomalies; they’re momentum.

The BBC highlights that while men hold advantages over shorter distances, the performance gap narrows dramatically as races extend. In 100‑mile events, it drops to 0.25%, and beyond 195 miles, women may even have the potential to be faster.

What was once dismissed as “too hard for women” is now a space where they excel, given the opportunity. Go girls!

London Marathon 2027: What’s Going On?

The one-off two-day London Marathon in 2027 promises to be the biggest ever, with 100,000 runners taking part across 24th and 25th April. But despite the excitement, there is still very little information about how the weekend will actually work in practice.

On the plus side, I have now managed to speak to the new volunteer coordinator for London Marathon Events (LME), Caitlyn Limmer. Of course, I should refer to the volunteers as ‘activators’!

Caitlyn has been approaching existing activator groups to see who would be able to help on Saturday. Not surprisingly, they don’t want to leave it to entirely new groups who have no experience to manage on the day, and are hoping that some activators from existing Sunday groups will be willing to help out. They are also looking for ‘mentors’ from the Sunday groups to provide support and wise counsel.

In return, they are offering a higher payment to groups (we usually spend ours on the post marathon meet-up) and additional marathon places. Individuals will get their free lunch, activator kit (if they haven’t got it already), and free TfL travel on the days.

You may have received my email about your willingness to volunteer on Saturday and/or Sunday next year. If not, grateful if you could indicate your potential availability via this link: https://forms.gle/AGwQ5EN9mazDtDEL6 (please only complete the poll once.This is to give us an indication of whether we will be able to provide enough activators on Saturday to form a team - we will contact all activators again in the new year to confirm who can actually attend.

If you have any friends or family who haven’t volunteered before but would like to, they can join our activator group via this link: https://londonmarathonevents.rosterfy.eu/invite/prwA4eAwqPe8FPzVWE6gbuB6a3GxNKHqbcCJMEZ3bSGVzzH7U2DMwNr5Zbep

Copenhagen here we come!

While BRR's Paul M and Steph will be flying the club flag at the Copenhagen Half Marathon on 20 September, they'll be sharing the city with some of the world's best distance runners at the World Athletics Road Running Championships.

One athlete attracting particular attention is France's Jimmy Gressier, who has entered both the 5K on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday morning, just 19 hours apart. He isn't alone, with a small group of elite athletes also attempting the demanding double.

Gressier certainly has the credentials. The reigning world 10,000m champion and European half marathon champion has enjoyed a superb 2026 season, collecting records and medals across a range of distances. Whether he can successfully back up a world-class 5K with a top half marathon performance remains to be seen.

It promises to be a fantastic weekend of running in Copenhagen, from club runners chasing personal goals to world champions testing themselves across two very different events. Good luck to Steph and Paul, and everyone taking part!

A Brief History of Ingrebourne Hill

The Ingrebourne Valley, which includes Hornchurch Country Park and Ingrebourne Hill, is one of East London's most successful landscape restoration projects. What is now a popular area for walking, running, cycling and wildlife watching was once heavily influenced by military, quarrying and landfill activities. This week we’ll focus on the Spitfire Scramble runners nightmare: Ingrebourne Hill.

Lying immediately south of Hornchurch Country Park, Ingrebourne Hill is a 58-hectare site that was formerly a sand and gravel quarry. After quarrying ceased, the site was filled with a range of materials including construction waste and landfill. In the early 2000s, the land was acquired and restored through a partnership involving the Forestry Commission (now Forestry England) and the Ingrebourne Valley Limited restoration project.

Large-scale restoration works improved soil, established woodland planting, created lakes and grassland habitats, and laid around 4 km of paths linking to Hornchurch Country Park. Some of the open areas were deliberately retained to support wildlife and provide long-distance views across East London. Today, Ingrebourne Hill is recognised as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation, supporting woodland, wildflower grassland, wetland habitats and species such as the nationally scarce brown-banded carder bee. It is also popular for walking, cycling, running and - since December 2024 - parkrun.

Cracker Corner

I recently ran a half marathon in northern Sweden...I realised that I had gone way off course as soon as I crossed the Finnish line.
The other day I downloaded maps of England, Scotland and Wales. I was shocked to see that the total file size was 1GB.
My recently married colleague told me he and his wife were thinking of going on their honeymoon to northern Italy. I said "How lovely - Genoa?" He replied “Well if I didn't I certainly wouldn't have married her."

Boom! Boom!

Quote of the Week

“Today was not about times, it was about getting in there, enjoying the race, and enjoying the atmosphere.”

Paula Radcliffe

And Finally…

It appears it isn’t all peace and love in the world of men’s elite 1500m running and, for a change, Josh Kerr wasn’t involved.

Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigtsenhas apologised for calling his 1500m rivals "losers" following the Diamond League final in Brussels earlier this month, admitting the remark was made in the heat of the moment. However, he has stood by his criticism of Olympic champion Cole Hocker and his team over race tactics.

“I shouldn’t have called anyone losers. I apologise for that. It was beneath me, regardless of the adrenaline and emotions,” he said in a statement reported by the Guardian. “But I stand by what I said about Cole and his team acting cowardly.”

The comments sparked a swift response from Hocker's agent, who accused Ingebrigtsen of making excuses after being beaten. Despite the public back-and-forth, Ingebrigtsen says he and Hocker have already spoken and put the matter behind them. That said, Ingebrigtsen dropped out of the Ultimate championships 1500m, where he would have been competing against a number of the runners he called cowards, including Carl Hocker.

What is that old saying? If you haven’t got anything nice to say…

Happy - and polite - Running!

Alison

Chair, Barking Road Runners

*Sziasztok is ‘hello’ if you are talking to a group of peoplein Hungarian. In honour of the Ultimate Championships in Budapest.

BRR Blog - 14 September 2026