BRR Blog - 22 June 2026
Martin O with his handicap winnings
NEWSFLASH: the handicap race on Thursday 25 June has been postponed due to the severe weather warning in place until 9.00pm that night. Your safety is our priority, and we don’t want to risk anyone damaging their health. The replacement race will be on 20 August. Hopefully it will be cooler then.
Howdie Road Runners,
You know summer is finally here when the summer handicap starts, and last Thursday didn’t disappoint. I know some of the runners didn’t appreciate the warm weather, but it was a lot better than the torrential rain we have had on some occasions in the past. Big thanks to Greg for all the organisation and timing on the night, and to the other volunteers, and well done to all the runners, including the deserved winner. More details in Greg’s race report, below.
We have the EERR ELVIS race at the Olympic Park on Tuesday. It should be HOT so do bring your own water (EERR like to be environmentally friendly, so it’s not guaranteed they will provide bottles, though you would hope they would respond to the weather conditions).
Greg’s Race Report
Round one of Barking Roadrunners summer handicap series of 5k races at Barking Park, on the Barking parkrun course. Maysen Davies was the first finisher on the night but as this was a handicap setting race for her, Martin O’Toole - who was second across the line - received the winner’s prize, and Joyce Golder finished in third place.
Runners and supporters at Summer Handicap number 1
Martin Page ran in the Robertsbridge Midsummer 10k in East Sussex despite it being a tough course Martin finished 1st in his category in a time of 50:37.
Martin Mason with his 10k medal
BRR parkrunners
Barking - Dominic Herring 21:14, Jack Stanford 23:11, Joyce Golder 27:27, Faye Spooner 29:45, Jason Li 29:46, Paul Manson 36:36, Nikki Cranmer 38:33, Rob Courtier, Astrid Effendi 41:32 and Alan Murphy 51:45.
Bens’ Yard Ely - James Lowndes 20:47.
James at Ben’s Yard, Ely, parkrun
Harlow - Gary Harford 30:55.
Holkham - Owen Wainhouse 22:37.
Kingston - Barry Rowell 30:54 and Dennis Spencer Perkins 33:06.
It may not be Kingston Jamaica, - Dennis and Barry at Kingston parkrun
Lymington - Mark New 25:45
Mark at Lymington Woodside parkrun
Richmond - Belinda Riches 28:21, Steve Colloff 35:25, Darren Graham 43:21 and Denise Graham 54:04.
Denise, Steve, Belinda and Darren at Richmond Park parkrun
Sheringham - Paul Ward 26:23.
St Albans - Rory Burr 24:23.
Rory and friend at St. Albans parkrun
Thornbury - Clodagh Shorey 33:16.
Thorney Bay Beach - Ron Vialls 25:20.
Valentines - Daniel Plawiak 23:31, Kevin Wotton 25:34 and Martin O’Toole 32:47.
Walton Promenade - Louise Chappell 46:48.
Louise having a paddle, at Walton Promenade parkrun
Wimpole Estate - Martin Brooks 27:01.
Highest BRR age gradings this week were Joyce Golder 64.24% for the ladies and Ron Vialls 73.55% for the men.
BRR Diary - June/July
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 Runners website: https://www.barkingroadrunners.org.uk/calendar.
7.30pm, Tuesday 23 June - EERR Olympic Park 5k. Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Online registration closes 22 June 2026 23:59 at: https://events.kronosports.uk/event/2301. Entries on the day accepted until 7.00pm at the price of £18 affiliated runners/£20 for non-affiliated. TRACK CANCELLED.
7.00pm, Thursday 25 June - Summer Handicap #02. CANCELLED due to severe weather warning. We will add an extra date to the end of the competition.
4.00pm, Sunday 28 June - BRR Football Match. Parsloes Park. It was a close game last time - can our boys smash it this time? With support, I’m sure they can!
7.00pm, Thursday 2 July - Summer Handicap #02. Barking Park, parkrun course. Just £1 per race, or you can pay £6 for the remaining seven races. First past the post has a chance of winning a tenner, like Martin O. Why not pop into the Acorn for a drink afterwards?
10.00am, Sunday 5 July - Felsted 10k (GP04). Felsted School, Felsted, Dunmow CM6 3LL. The return of a popular race through the Essex countryside, finishing with a lap round the school playing field. Organised by Nice Work in conjunction with Grange Farm and Dunmow Runners. £22 EA/ £24 non-EA. Free parking and bespoke medal. Enter at nice-work.org.uk/e/felsted-10k-14657
7.30pm, Wednesday 8 July - Newman Hilly 5 (ELVIS 05). Hainault Forest, Fox Burrow Road, off Romford Road, IG7 4QN. A two lap, hilly, 5-mile course (the clue is in the name!). One big lap followed by a slightly smaller lap around the beautiful Hainault forest. Enter at: https://www.entrycentral.com/newmanhilly5.
Committee Minutes June 2026
With thanks to Isabel, the minutes of the June 2026 Committee meeting can be found here.
The Japanese U-Turn
Unless the route of the East End Road Runners’ ELVIS race in the Olympic Park has changed, you’ll find that there is a very sharp U-turn that you have to negotiate twice. Of course, you could just run at the turn head on in the normal way. But Japanese endurance athletes, faced with some pretty sharp bends in major home marathons, have developed an alternative technique that involves pivoting around 180º corners.
Mastering this running manoeuvre relies on some fancy footwork:
Approach & Rotate: As you approach a sharp bend or hairpin, shift your momentum and rotate your torso in the opposite direction of the turn.
Plant the Pivot: Firmly plant your inside foot flat on the ground to act as a rotational axis point. For example, if you are turning right, you plant the right foot, and vice versa.
Drift & Exit: Swing your outside leg around the pivot point, taking a couple of quick, snappy steps to complete the 180° turn and accelerate straight out of the bend.
Here’s a YouTube link, if it helps: Bing Videos.
The method is intended to help get round a sharp turn without breaking stride and with greater stability, maybe slashing a few seconds off your time. I’d advise practising it a few times during training before trying it out at a race. And watching out for other runners, who may not expect someone to be pivoting ahead of them.
How to Treat a Stinging Nettle Sting
You may remember the photos of Cristina’s legs after she was attacked by stinging nettles the other week. If you’ve brushed past a patch of nettles on a run, you’ll know the feeling: a sudden sharp sting followed by itching and irritation. The good news is it’s usually easy to deal with.
The first thing is to try not to touch or rub the area. Nettles leave tiny hairs in the skin that release the irritating chemicals, and rubbing can make things worse. Instead, gently remove them using something like sticky tape or by rinsing the area with water.
Once the skin is clear, cooling it down is the most effective way to settle the sting. A cold compress or damp cloth held on the area for 10–15 minutes can quickly reduce the burning sensation.
If the itching lingers, over-the-counter options like antihistamine or hydrocortisone creams can help calm things down. For something more natural, aloe vera gel or even a simple paste of bicarbonate of soda and water can soothe the skin.
You might have heard of dock leaves as a traditional remedy; I always remember being told to rub a nettle sting with a dock leaf when I was a kid. They can provide relief, if only by cooling the area - that is, if you can find a dock leaf!
In most cases, the discomfort fades within a few hours. So, while nettle stings are not pleasant, they’re more nuisance than danger, and easy to handle with a few simple steps.
Beet(le) Juice
Beetroot juice - wonder drink for runners?
Social media is full of wonder foods but beetroot juice is one of the few with solid science behind it. Its power comes from dietary nitrates, which your body converts into nitric oxide — a compound that widens blood vessels, improves muscle efficiency, and reduces the oxygen cost of running. In other words, you can run at the same pace while using slightly less energy.
Research shows beetroot juice can give runners a 1–2% performance boost in events lasting 5–30 minutes. That’s small but meaningful: around 2–3 minutes for a marathoner, depending on pace. Every little counts! Some runners respond really well; others notice very little, so it’s worth testing in training.
The evidence-backed dose is 6.5 mmol of nitrate, usually found in a 70 ml beetroot “shot”. You should take it 2–3 hours before running. For bigger races, many athletes use a 3–6 day loading phase, taking one shot daily and a final one before the event.
Things to Watch
Beeturia (pink wee) can be a bit scarey but is harmless. However, beetroot can cause GI (gastro-intestinal) issues for about 10–15% of runners. So practise in training, never on race day. Also, avoid antibacterial mouthwash around dosing, as it blocks the nitrate‑to‑nitrite conversion, making the beetroot juice ineffective.
Cracker Corner
What do you call an M&M that went to university? A smarty.
What do you call something that’s easy to get into, but hard to get out of? Trouble.
What do you do to make a robot angry? Push all of its buttons.
Quote of the Week
Not running related, but I like it:
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."
Credited to Einstein
And Finally…
Cameron Hanes with his Eugene Marathon medal - but will he keep it?
At 58 years old, Cameron Hanes won his age group at this year’s Eugene Marathon. He subsequently posted on Instagram that he had injected a banned peptide, BPC-157, as part of his injury recovery.
Peptides are the building blocks of proteins that already exist in the body. BPC-157, however, is lab-made and marketed online as a recovery aid for injuries like tendon or muscle problems. Early lab studies in animals suggest it may help tissues heal faster by improving blood flow and reducing inflammation.
But there’s a catch: there’s very little solid research in humans. Peptides like BPC‑157 aren’t approved for general use and only three small studies exist, none of which focus on runners or are randomized controlled trials. One looked at 12 patients with bladder pain. One looked at 16 patients with knee pain. One was a two-person safety study. In other words, most of the hype is based on theory and personal stories rather than robust evidence.
It remains to be seen if the anti-doping agencies take any action after Hanes’ public admission. I’d just love to run fast enough one day for someone to think I might be doping…
