BRR Blog – 19 May 2025
The winning BRR ladies team at the Great Baddow 10.
Hello Road Runners!
It has been a busy few days of racing for BRR members, starting with the second summer handicap last Thursday and finishing with a jam-packed weekend of events.
The BRR ladies at the Great Baddow 10 were pleasantly surprised to win the team trophy. You have never seen tired legs recover so quickly as we ran to the stage and up the rickety stairs to collect our prize! Details of the various events in Greg’s Race Report, below.
Wildlife Plea
A starling enjoying my birdbath.
It is not just the farmers who are suffering in the unseasonably dry weather we have been experiencing. Spare a thought for our fine feathered friends, who will be having trouble getting the water they need to survive. I filled my birdbath on Friday and almost immediately the little fella above was in there, having a wash and a drink. If you are able, please try and put out some water for the birds.
PS – the day after the above picture was taken, the bird bath was visited by other wildlife looking for a drink: a rather fat grey cat!
Record Breakers
The London Marathon had a record number of finishers this year, with 56,640 people crossing the line on The Mall, making it the biggest marathon in the world. Unfortunately for anyone hoping to get a place in next year’s race on 26 April 2026 , it has now broken another record, with an astonishing 1,133,813 people entering the ballot. Of those:
869,803 applications from the UK
264,010 applications in the international ballot
Of the UK applicants:
433,775 are men (49.87%)
430,983 are women (49.55%)
5,044 are non-binary (0.58%)
There will be around 15,000-20,000 ballot places available in the 2026 London Marathon, with results announced in early July. If you entered the ballot and are rejected, please make sure you keep your rejection email as you may be lucky and be entitled to one of the Club’s three guaranteed entries.
When the Lights Go Out
Advance notice that track will be closed on the 5th and 12th of August, while Everyone Active, the management company, replace the floodlights (they have very kindly said we will not be charged track hire fees while the track is shut!). Luckily, the closure is happening in the school holidays when folks may be on holiday anyway, but we will still be holding speed sessions, either in Mayesbrook Park or Barking Park. The sessions will be free of charge, as we’ll have no track fees to pay. We’ll provide further details nearer the time.
Favourite Carbs
We all know carbs, like potatoes, rice, bread, and pasta, are great for giving us the energy we need for our training runs and races. But, if you could only eat one of those staples for the rest of your life, which would it be? Vote here and I’ll publish the results next week.
Your RPE or Mine?
Thanks to Nehal; for posting a Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale on WhatsApp. If you’ve been coming to track for a while, you may remember my slightly more simplistic version. Still works, though!
· Level 1: I’m virtually stationary
· Level 2: I'm comfortable and could maintain this pace all day long
· Level 3: I'm still comfortable, but am breathing a bit harder
· Level 6: I can still talk, but am slightly breathless
· Level 7: I can still talk, but I don't really want to. I'm sweating profusely
· Level 8: I can just about grunt and can only keep this pace for a short time period
· Level 9: I am probably going to die
· Level 10: Goodbye cruel world
Tip of the Week: One Step Beyond!
Hip extension exercises strengthen the muscles that extend the hip joint, primarily the glutes and hamstrings. These exercises help improve stability, power, and overall lower body strength. If you have access to stairs, or just a step, try this: stand with your right foot on a step, knee bent. Pressing your foot into the step, straighten your right leg while driving your left knee up towards your chest, moving your arms in a running action (e.g. arms bent at right-angles, right arm going forward with the left leg). Lower the left foot back to the floor. Repeat the move 12-20 times then swap legs.
Greg’s Race Report
Please remember to flag to Greg if you have raced - he can’t include you in the race report if he didn’t know you were racing!
Runners and supporters at Handicap #02.
Barking Road Runners’ summer 5k Handicap Race #2 took place at Barking Park on Thursday. After finishing runner-up to George Hiller in race #1 Martin O’Toole went one better and finished in 1st place followed by Steve Colloff and Jason Suddaby. The first seven finishers all bettered their handicap and will have a tougher race in round #3.
Martin O’Toole collecting his winnings for Handicap #02.
On Sunday, round 3 of BRR’s Grand Prix series, the Great Baddow 10 mile, saw some good performances from members with Debra Jean Baptiste, Louise Chappell, Alison Fryatt, Clodagh Shorey and Dawn Curtis finishing 1st ladies’ team and both Martin Page and Rob Courtier finishing 2nd in their respective categories. Other BRR runners on the day were Tom Shorey, James Sheridan, Barry Rowell, Dennis Spencer-Perkins and Les Jay.
Most of the BRR team at Great Baddow
At the HackneyMoves running event Quyen Phan ran the Half Marathon finishing in a time of 2:05:53, whilst Belinda Riches 25:31, Nick Gorman 29:29, Steve Colloff 31:11, Nabeel Akram 34:30, Zahra Akram 39:21 and Darren Graham 43:47 ran the 5k.
Some of the BRR members at the Hackneymoves races
Derv Bartlett ran the Ferbane 5k race finishing in a time of 19:41.
Derv finishing the Ferbane 5k.
BRR parkrunners
Ashton Court - Rosie Fforde 28:46.
Barking - Paul Withyman 19:27, Joshua Ezissi 20:53, Peter Jackson 23:47, Owen Wainhouse 23:48, Jason Suddaby 24:21, Mark New 24:56, Jason Li 27:05, John Whan 27:10, George Hiller 27:21, Joyce Golder 30:03, Faye Spooner 31:30, Nikki Cranmer 36:46, Les Jay 39:24 and Alan Murphy 52:44.
Finsbury Park - Dennis Spencer Perkins 32:22, Belinda Riches 32:24, Stephen Colloff 32:24
Dennis, Belinda and Steve C at Finsbury Park parkrun
Harrow Lodge - Rory Burr 23:23.
Maidstone River Park - Jonathan Furlong 33:54.
Markshall Estate - Louise Chappell 31:47.
Louise and that bloke from D88 at the Markshall Estate parkrun
Oak Hill - Doug King 27:01.
Valentines - Kevin Wotton 24:08.
Walthamstow - Stuart Mackay 20:44.
Highest BRR age Gradings this week wereJoyce Golder 57.96% for the lwomen and Paul Withyman 72.32% for the men.
BRR Diary – May/June
To see the full diary of BRR events on the TeamUp app. Simply 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 Runners website: https://www.barkingroadrunners.org.uk/calendar.
7.00pm, Tuesday 20 May – Speed Session. This week James Sheridan will lead the session, which is called ‘cat and mouse.’
Slower runners (more than 24 minutes 5k time - the mice) will be paired with faster runners (less than 23 minutes 5k time - the cats). The mice will set off from our usual start line with the cats 100 metres back. When the whistle is blown the cats and mice will set off, with the cats trying to catch the mice before they complete the lap. It will all become clear on the night!
7.30pm, Wednesday 21 May - Dagenham ‘88 5 (miles). ELVIS 01. Eastbrookend Country Park, off Dagenham Road, Dagenham RM7 0SS. First race in the 2025 ELVIS competition. There is a new, three-lap course this year. Race HQ is the Eastbrookend Discovery Centre, and will be open from 6.00pm until 9.00pm for toilets and refreshments. Enter at https://www.entrycentral.com/Dagenham88Runners_2025
7.00pm, Thursday 22 May - Club Run. Castle Green Centre/Jo Richardson School, Gale Street. Road run of 4-5 miles.
10.00am, Sunday 25 May - Thameside 5k and 10k. Thameside Nature Discovery Centre, in Mucking. A lovely run alongside the Thames Estuary, with a fantastic medal. Early bird discount until 23 May. https://www.entrycentral.com/Thameside10512025Races
11.00am, Monday 26 May – Hatfield Broad Oak 10k. Coincides with the village fair. There’s a kids’ one-mile race too. https://www.atwevents.co.uk/e/hatfield-broad-oak-10k-9088
7.30pm, Tuesday 3 June – H90 Joggers Midweek 5. ELVIS 02. Raphael Park, Romford, RM2 5PA. Second race in the 2025 ELVIS, and it’s a nice, two-lap jaunt around Raphaels Park. Remember it’s 5 miles not 5k, so just a bit longer than the parkrun course! Enter at: https://events.kronosports.uk/event/1091
Cracker Corner
I lost my job in the garment alteration shop. I didn’t turn up enough.
I never have trouble getting up in the morning since I swapped my rooster for a duck. It wakes me up at the quack of dawn.
I planned to do a charity abseil down the local hospital, but my doctor told me I couldn’t abseil on medical grounds.
Quote of the Week
“I don’t want to beat other people - I want to beat the voice in my head telling me I can’t do it.”
Tom Grennan
Singer and runner (not to be confused with Tom Brennan, scaffolder and runner)
And Finally…
Milk - the drink of champions?
Canada’s Andre De Grasse, seven-time Olympic medallist over 100m and 200m, has revealed the secret to his success: drinking milk. “You don’t have to be an elite athlete to fuel like one,” De Grasse says. “Milk is one of the most accessible ways to support your performance.” Milk certainly contains a good range of nutrients and micronutrients, including protein, carbohydrates, fat, calcium, vitamin B12, phosphorus, potassium, and riboflavin (B2). It also contains smaller amounts of iron, iodine, magnesium, selenium, and zinc. And, of course, it provides fluid. So, it is no surprise that milk is helpful for preparation and recovery when training and racing. But it is also no surprise to read that De Grasse is in partnership with the Dairy Farmers of Ontario…
Happy Running
Alison
Chair, Barking Road Runners
