BRR Blog – 26 May 2025
Most of the team at the D88 ELVIS race, Eastbrookend Country Park
Hi there, Road Runners!
I hope you’ve all been having a good Bank Holiday weekend, despite the rather changeable weather. Make the most of it; the next Bank Holiday will be at the end of August, when our 5k ELVIS race will be taking place.
We had two debuts over the past week: first, James Sheridan made his debut leading a track session, then Steve Colloff made his Barking parkrun Run Director debut. James’ ‘cat and mouse’ session went down very well, but finished with James spending three days in hospital with serious food poisoning (nothing to do with track, I hasten to add). Steve’s debut as RD at Barking went very well, but he did get a ‘boo’ for announcing that Barking parkrun would be cancelled for three weeks. Don’t shoot the messenger, I say!
May Committee Meeting
With thanks to Club Secretary Isabel, the minutes of the May Committee meeting can be found here. While I think about it, thank you to Greg for attending the meeting while on holiday, and for coming back to sort out all the Club competition tables. It’s not an easy job; I remember when I did it there were about 10 different spreadsheets all linked together with calculations so complex NASA would have been proud of them. Thanks Greg.
Carb Poll - Results
Last week I asked you, if you could only eat one of the staple carbs for the rest of your life, which would it be? It appears that we are a club of spud lovers, with the humble potato winning hands down. Personally, I went for the least popular option, rice; you can have it with Indian food, Chinese food, as a risotto, or a paella, or add some milk, suger, and a dollop of jam and have rice pudding!
Carb Poll results
Fake My Run
A while back I posted a story about ‘Strava mules’ – people you pay to run for you so you can post a good time or distance on Strava, improving your statistics. Now, new software lets you go one further, without going anywhere at all.
Arthur Bouffard, a runner and computer coder, was getting fed up with the way that running has changed from being a personal activity to being about optics – how the world sees you through the lens of Strava and other fitness platforms.
So he has set up a website called FakeMy.Run. The website allows you to generate realistic-looking GPS activities simply by entering a few details. Want to improve your marathon time? You can do that by simply going to the website, choosing your location, plotting a route, deciding your pace and – hey presto! – you can download a GPX file to upload on the fitness platform of your choice.
Bouffard insists the tool was made to poke fun at how store people place in digital records. And his site includes a disclaimer asking users to be respectful of app Terms of Service (Strava’s terms and conditions ban the uploading of ‘fabricated, false, or misleading data.’). But Bouffard is charging from 42 cents per download, so he stands to benefit from those people who want to cheat.
This may or may not be a example of such cheating. I was impressed to read about British ultrarunner William Goodge, who recently broke the record for running across Australia. Goodge completed the 3,800k run from Perth to Sydney in 35 days, four days quicker than the previous record set by Australian Chris Turnbull in 2023. But now critics have cast doubts over his achievement, suggesting that there are irregularities in his data. Goodge has raised over £55,000 for cancer charities so it is all in a good cause, but I guess that won’t make Turnbull feel any better if his record has been taken away from him unfairly.
This is not the first time that this sort of ultra record has been queried; a run across New Zealand by Russ Cook - aka the Hardest Geezer – has been called into question, as has a previous record-breaking run by Goodge across the USA. Perhaps future attempts at ultra records need to be accompanied by an independent witness to verify their accuracy.
Cool Hand Luke?
A study published on the National Library of Medicine website looked at whether palmar cooling between sprints can reduce fatigue and improve repeated sprint performance. Palmar cooling is a technique that involves cooling the palms of the hands during physical activity.
The study involved fifteen graduate students who were randomly assigned to either a palmar cooling intervention or a placebo (the palmar cooling group had a device that pumped cool water onto gloves they were wearing, the placebo group had the gloves but no cool water was pumped). After a ten-minute warm-up, participants completed ten sixty-metre shuttle sprints divided into two sets of five, with two minutes recovery in between sets. Data for sprint times, heart rate, and Rate of Perceived Effort were collected throughout testing. A muscle soreness rating was collected via a survey 48 hours after the test.
The researchers found that, although RPE remained the same for both groups, the palmar cooling group had less drop off in their sprint times, lower heart rates upon completion, and lower muscle soreness 48 hours after the test, showing better muscle recovery.
Although the study was quite small, and focused on sprinting rather than endurance running, its conclusions are still interesting for endurance runners like us. The palms are a good area for cooling because they have a high concentration of blood vessels close to the skin surface, which allows for efficient heat transfer. By cooling the blood flowing through your palms, you can help to lower the overall core body temperature. This, in turn, can help preserve muscle function, delaying the onset of fatigue and improving performance.
So perhaps next time you are training or racing on a hot day, instead of chucking water over your head you should pour it over your palms!
Useless Fact
Hope Nestle don’t mind me using a photo of their ‘mint with a hole.’
The pressure a Polo mint is put under when formed is 75 kilonewtons, which is equivalent to the weight of two elephants jumping on it.
Tip the Week
If you want to race better, race less. One of the most common running errors, for non-elite athletes, is racing too often. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t participate in the races, just use some as training runs and don’t push yourself too hard, so you can reserve energy for your ‘A’ races. Of course, this is a case of ‘do as I say, not as I do.’ Talking of which…
Greg’s Race Report
Paul Grange at the D88 race.
The ELVIS (East London fiVes Interclub Series) competition of 5-mile or 5k races began this week with a 5-mile race at Eastbrookend Country Park hosted by Dagenham 88 Runners.
First finisher for Barking Road Runners was Paul Grange who was 3rd place overall in a time of 27.40. Other BRR runners were Ayoyinka Obisesan 31:46, Paul Withyman 32:00, Daniel Plawiak 35:49, Martin Page 37:24, Tom Brennan 37:40, Rory Burr 38:06, Chandru Thayalan 40:21, Kevin Wotton 40:32, Ron Vialls 41:13, Jason Suddaby 41:10, Tom Shorey 42:06, Jason Li 44:41, Barry Rowell 46:33, Debra Jean Baptiste 46:36, Joyce Golder 47:23, Mick Davison 47:50, Steve Colloff 48:41, Rob Courtier 51:39, Clodagh Shorey 51:47, Sian Mansley 52:06, Alison Fryatt 52:07, Nikki Cranmer 53:46 and Les Jay 1:06:57.
Three BRR runners competed in the Thameside 10k race, at the Thameside Nature Discovery Centre in Stanford-Le-Hope. First finisher was Ron Vialls in 54:18, followed by Steve Colloff in 1:04:10 and Alison Fryatt in 1:10:56. Lizzie-Beth Garraghan ran in the 5k event finishing in a time of 30:53.
Steve, Alison, Lizzie-Beth and Ron at the Thameside 10k/5k
Derv Bartlett ran in the Clare Burren 10k, in the Burren, Ballyvaughan, County Clare, finishing in 8th place overall with an excellent time of 41:24.
[I confess, I thought Clare Burren was the name of a woman. Doh! - Alison].
Derv finishing his 10k race
Barry Rowling 57:59, LIzzie-Beth Garraghan 1:00:33, and Steve Colloff 1:03:29 took part in the Hatfield Broad Oak 10k on Bank Holiday Monday.
Steve C, Lizzie-Beth and Barry at Hatfield Broad Oak, with super supporter Alan Murphy
BRR parkrunners
Barking - Stephen Philcox 18:46, Jonathan Furlong 22:46, John Mitchell 24:13, Cristina Cooper 24:42, John Whan 27:04, Barry Rowell 27:34, George Hiller 27:53, Jason Li 28:41, Sian Mansley 28:58, Andy Hiller 30:23, John Lang 31:21, Dennis Spencer Perkins 32:41, Nikki Cranmer 35:39, Joe Stacey 47:44 and Alan Murphy 53:51.
Colchester Castle - Louise Chappell 31:33.
Harrow Lodge - Rory Burr 23:52.
Monsal Trail - Owen Wainhouse 21:52.
Oaklands - Belinda Riches 26:35.
Orpington - Rob Courtier 32:49
Pegwell Bay - Paul Withyman 18:39 and Peter Jackson 19:03.
Raphaels - Doug King 26:09.
Valentines - Kevin Wotton 28:50.
Wimpole Estate - Martin Brooks 28:49.
Highest BRR age gradings this week were Belinda Riches 65.52% for the women and Stephen Philcox 84.72% 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 27 May – Speed Session. Jim Peter’s Stadium, Mayesbrook Park. A few weeks ago we had Jess’ 4,3,2,1 session. This week we have the 1,2, 3 session:
1 min run, 1 min recovery
2 min run, 2 min recovery
3 min run, 3 min recovery
1 min run, 1 min recovery
2 min run, 2 min recovery
3 min run, 3 min recovery
1 min run, 1 min recovery
2 min run, 2 min recovery
3 min run, 3 min recovery
The runs should be at 5k race pace or slightly faster, the recover can be a jog or walk. You should try and keep a consistent pace throughout.
7.00pm, Thursday 29 May – Club Run. Castle Green Centre/Jo Richardson School, Gale Street. Road run of 4-5 miles.
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
10.00am, Sunday 8 June – the High Easter 10. GP04. The Village Hall, The Street, High Easter, CM1 4QS. A fast and flat single-looped course held on quiet, country lanes, starting and finishing in the picturesque village of High Easter. Enter here
7.00pm, Thursday 12 June – Handicap 03, or relays. Barking Park. Dependent on whether the music festival has cleared from the park. If it has, there will be handicap #03. If not, there will be relays around the field opposite the Splash Park. Either way, it will be fun!
7.30pm, Tuesday 17 June – ELR Olympic Park 5K. ELVIS 03. Hopkins Field, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, E20 3BS. Always a popular race consisting of two laps around the paths of the Olympic Park. Enter at https://events.kronosports.uk/event/1090
7.00pm, Thursday 26 June – Handicap 3 or 4. Barking Park.
Cracker Corner
Highlighter pens are going to be the must have stationery items, mark my words.
I was shocked when my friend told me she had taken up judo. She completely threw me.
I’m suffering from a condition where I think I’m a wheel. My doctor told me not to worry; it’s something that’s going round.
Extra Larfs
I found this video funny, not least because two of the scenarios remind me of me…
Quote of the Week
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
Arthur Ashe
And Finally…
Want to find love while running? Take it slow.
Tinder and training app Runna have set up the Tinder SoleMates Run Club, aimed at helping singles meet each other mid-stride.
Running has become one of the top-tagged interests on Tinder profiles, and mentions of “parkrun” in biographies jumped by 90% between March 2023 and March 2025. Research commissioned by Tinder found that nearly 30% of Gen Z singles (those born between the mid-to-late 1990s and the early 2010s) say they feel more confident during activity-based dates, and 45% think traditional sit-down dates feel too much like job interviews, although 39% confessed to faking a love for fitness just to win someone over.
Andrew Jones, Professor of Applied Physiology at the University of Exeter, who carried out the research for Tinder, has identified 12.1 minutes per mile (or 7.30 minutes per km) as the ideal pace. According to the Professor, this moderate pace is perfect for keeping the heart rate elevated enough to trigger those feel-good endorphins without overdoing it; it’s fast enough to feel energizing, but slow enough to hold a conversation.
Of course, some runners are lucky to find their soulmate running at a faster pace. But if your date drops back while you are recounting the full details of your running career, bear in mind it might not be because they can’t keep up with your pace. And if they start running in the other direction, they are definitely trying to tell you something…
Keep on Running
Alison
Chair, Barking Road Runners
