BRR Blog – 28 April 2025
BRR London Marathoners
Greetings Road Runners!
Wow, what a weekend that was! Fantastic performances from our runners, in very warm conditions, and great volunteer work on the new mile 15 water station. We thought we might have to invoke contingency measures after hearing of a car on the course ahead of us, and protesters on the course behind us, but luckily everything went without a hitch, other than the 21-degree temperature! Time for a well-deserved rest today for everyone who was involved.
Thank You, Volunteers
The fabulous water station volunteers
There’s not much more I can add to the thanks that Mel has already expressed to our amazing Water Station volunteers. We had several challenges this year, including the new location, transport mayhem, and very strange chemical smells emanating from the air vents behind us. Oh, and did we mention the hot weather?). But, as always, the team pulled together to ensure that every runner got the water - and the encouragement - they needed. Our Welfare Manager, Roger, was very impressed, as were our sector managers. If you have friends or family who helped out but haven’t got access to WhatsApp or the blog, please pass on our heartfelt thanks. And hopefully see you all again next year!
BRR London Marathon Places
Rob, Steve C, and Tom all ran London this year with places guaranteed through BRR. But, as places are precious, there are strict rules for earning one.
The Club receives two guaranteed London Marathon entries for organising the water station and one for having over 40 first claim EA-registered members over the age of 18.
To allocate these places to first claim members, the Committee allocates points for running or volunteering in Club competitions (except the handicaps) or activities. Those members with the highest points will be offered a place at the next London Marathon.
To be eligible for a marathon place a member must:
1) have entered the London Marathon ballot for the year in question and been rejected (keep your rejection email as proof!)
2) be affiliated to EA; and
3) not have run the London Marathon in the previous year, regardless how the place was obtained (ballot, club, championship, good for age, charity etc).
For the full eligibility conditions, please see the club rules on the BRR website.
Convoy!
Ride London might not be happening this year, but if you fancy a gentle community cycle, the London Cycling Campaign (LCC) are organising a London Cycling Festival, with a number of events across the Capital.
Most of the events take place on 25 May, but the festival kicks off with Ride Redbridge on Sunday 11 May. The gently-paced, fully-marshalled, cycle has several start points, all making their way to Fairlop Waters:
Start points:
Goodmayes Park at 10:45 am (meet at the Emerald Cafe)
South Park at 11am (meet at the corner of South Park/South Park Crescent Gate)
Wanstead Park at 11am (meet at the Tea Hut)
Ray Park at 11:15am (meet at James Leal Cafe)
Seven Kings Park at 11:15am (meet at Wallington Road Gate)
Ilford Town Hall at 11:20 (meet at High Road/Oakfield Road next to town Hall)
Valentines Park at 11:20 (meet at Valentines Park Mansion)
Hainault Forest at 11:30am (meet at the visitor centre)
Claybury Park at 11:45am (meet at the outdoor gym)
After a picnic at Fairlop Waters (bring your own or use the café) the rides will return to the start points mid-afternoon. Of course, you can make your own way back earlier if you wish.
Chris and I have joined LCC organised cycle rides into the City before, as part of the Freecycle that accompanied Ride London, and it is great fun to be part of a mob of cyclists (and annoying motorists along the way!). We’ll be going from South Park on the 11th.
For more details and to sign-up: London Cycling Festival Map - London Cycling Campaign
Reverse Taper
If you’ve run a marathon, you should have tapered (i.e. gradually reduced your training volume) in the weeks leading up to it. Now you are on the other side of the race, it is time to reverse taper. In other words, gradually build your running back up again while your body has time to recover from its exertions.
There is plenty of advice on how you should do a reverse taper but everyone is different and so will be there reverse taper. If your body is conditioned to regular long runs, you will need less time to recover then some who is new to marathon running. Alas, if you are a – ahem – more mature person, your body will need longer to recover.
At its simplest, a reverse taper might be taking your weekly mileage going into the marathon and mirroring it in your return to running after completing a marathon.
For instance, if your weekly mileage the three weeks leading up to the marathon were 40 miles, 30 miles, and finally 20 miles the last week, then in theory, you could run 20 miles, 30 miles, and then 40 miles coming off the marathon.
Or, if you reduced your workload by 75%/50%/25% in the lead-up, you could reverse out using the same percentages.
What is important is that you listen to your body, and don’t just try and copy what other people are doing. Keep the intensity low for a bit until your legs fully recover. Otherwise, you could risk burn-out, fatigue, and/or a potential injury. It’s perfectly fine to start with very low mileage (a couple of miles) in the first week post-race if your legs are sore, and to build up mileage over a longer period. And, of course, you don’t need to get back to peak mileage unless you already have another marathon – or longer – lined up.
At the same time, don’t veg out, as it can then be difficult to get motivated to start again. Try and keep your fitness ticking over, with gentle runs, walks, and cross-training. Why not spend some of your downtime looking for new challenges? There are plenty of ELVIS races and Grand Prix races coming up over the summer to get your teeth into.
Tip of the Week
If you are lucky enough to go to the seaside, try some barefoot running on the sand. It can help improve foot strength and stride mechanics, and burn more calories than road running. But don’t do too much if you are not used to barefoot running, as it can take feet time to adjust if they are used to cushioned shoes.
Here Comes the Summer (Handicap)
It’s time to look forward to the ‘real’ summer handicap season. Each race will take place on the Barking parkrun course, with the clock starting at 7.00pm. Organiser Greg will give each runner a handicap, with the slowest starting first and the fastest starting last. Here are the dates for this year’s competition:
1. 8 May
2. 15 May
3. 12 June (may be relay races if the handicap course is out of commission due to the festival)
4. 26 June
5. 3 July
6. 24 July
7. 7 August
8. 28 August
Entry is £1 (or £5 in advance for the whole series), with a tenner prize to the first person across the finish line in each race. Also, trophies for first, second, and third place in the series, based on the best five of seven results. Non-members are welcome to take part – they don’t pay the entry fee but can’t win the tenner or score competition points either.
Just like the virtual Winter Handicap, everyone has an equal chance of winning the Summer Handicap, so come along and have a go!
Greg’s Race Report
Massive thanks to Greg for writing the race report despite being on holiday in Australia.
The London Marathon took centre stage for Barking Road Runners this week with runners and the volunteers at the (new for this year) 15-mile water station instead of the usual 14-mile station.
First finisher for BRR was Stuart McKay 3:44:08, followed by Jess Collett 3:55:01, Kaye Jackson 4:19:13, Bobby Mack 4:19:13, Sunny Bulchandani 4:24:00, Tom Shorey 4:34:58, James Hall 4:40:07, Steve Colloff 5:52:46 and Rob Courtier 6:28:13. Ken Summerfield did the virtual race, finishing in 8:54:30.
Belinda Riches ran the Manchester Marathon on the same day finishing in 4:21:10.
Emma Paisley ran the Tissington Trail Marathon in a time of 5:16:41.
Emma at the Tissington trail marathon
Kallliopi Fouseki completed the Madrid Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in 4:48:17. And finally, finishing a weekend of marathon action, Cristina Cooper ran the Shakespeare Marathon in Stratford-upon-Avon, finishing in 4:27:49.
Cristina enjoying her marathon
In non-marathon events, Derv Bartlett ran in the Rhodes 5k race finishing in a time of 20:06.
Derv finishing his 5k Race
BRR parkrunners
Barking - Joshua Ezissi 21:02, Owen Wainhouse 21:26, Jonathan Furlong 22:47, Mark New 24:25, Chris Muthaka 26:29, Barry Rowell 27:08, Jason Li 27:36, Clodagh Shorey 30:07, John Lang 31:30, Joyce Golder 32:37, Martin Mason 33:59, Rosie Fforde 35:33, Nikki Cranmer 36:16 and Alan Murphy 51:19.
Canons Park - Doug King 27:05.
Chalkwell Beach - Ron Vialls 24:33 and Dennis Spencer Perkins 33:17.
Chelmsford Central - Gary Harford 28:11.
Harrow Lodge - Rory Burr 23:44 and James Sheridan 24:12.
Raphaels Park - Faye Spooner 34:43.
Valentines - Peter Jackson 20:49, Kevin Wotton 23:45 and Andrew Gwilliam 37:05.
Highest BRR gradings this week were Joyce Golder 53.4% for the women and Ron Vialls 73.66% for the men (a good birthday present!).
BRR Diary – Mostly May
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 29 April – Speed Session. Jim Peters Stadium, Mayesbrook Park. This week we have a lovely diminishing recovery session:
4 x (2 minutes run, 1 minute recovery)
2 minutes rest
4 x (2 minutes run, 45 seconds recovery)
2 minutes rest
4 x (2 minutes run, 30 seconds recovery)
7.00pm, Thursday 1 May – Road Run. Castle Green Centre, Gale Street, Dagenham. Usually between 4-6 miles.
12.00 noon, Sunday 4 May – Wings for Life World Run. Eastcross Bridge, Stratford, London, E20 1DY. The Wings for Life World Run is a global race raising money for spinal cord injury research. Instead of a finish line, competitors race side by side to keep ahead of a Virtual Catcher Car (which tracks you using an app). The Virtual Catcher Car takes off 30 minutes after the start at 14 km/h and steadily increases its speed until the last athletes are caught. More details at https://www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com/en
10.30am, Monday 5 May – Witham May Day 10 (miles). Starting and finishing at Witham Rugby Club. An Essex Championship race this year. https://www.withamrc.org.uk/races/may-day-10/
7.00pm, Thursday 8 May – Handicap 01. Barking Park. Do let Greg know if you will be taking part, nearer the time, so he can make sure he has a handicap time for you.
From 10.45am, Sunday 11 May - Ride Redbridge. Various starting points. See details, above.
7.00pm, Thursday 15 May – Handicap 02. Barking Park
10.00am, Sunday 18 May – Great Baddow 10 (miles). GP03. Great Baddow Recreation Ground, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, CM2 9RL. Otherwise known as the Great Baddy because of the hill towards the end, this 10-miler is a great step-up from 10k to half-marathon distance, and coincides with the community fair, which is always fun. And, of course, you earn points for Club place in next year’s London marathon. More info and sign-up at https://baddowraces.co.uk/
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
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
Cracker Corner
I’ve hired the Incredible Hulk to tend my garden. Apparently, he’s got green fingers.
I went to the hospital about my fear of lifts. Luckily the specialist told me there were steps I could take.
I hate it when people stop me in the street and ask for directions. I tell them where to go.
Quote of the Week
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts."
Winston Churchill
And Finally…
It’s very difficult to predict exactly how much water you will need to put out on the tables at the London Marathon. LM Events ask us not to open more than we need, but we have to keep the tables stocked until the last runners/walkers come through, so there will inevitably be some left over. When we were at Mile 14 on the Highway we could hand the leftovers across to people coming back the other way, but that isn’t an option at Mile 15, so we had a few hundred or so bottles spare when the sweeper car came through.
Rather than just leave them on the kerbside (the delivery driver can’t take back open packs), it was suggested that we bring them home, to use for our August Bank Holiday ELVIS race. Chris assured us that he’d parked the car close by, so we all set off, some with bottles in carrier bags but the bulk being carried by Jason, Jagbir, and Raj (Jagbir’s friend) in one of the big, white, rubble sacks.
Of course, Chris’s ‘close by’ ended up being a trudge of roughly a kilometre, across the race route in Ming Street, Poplar High Street, and finally crossing East India Dock Road. I guess you should never trust a former cabbie when he says something is just a few minutes away…
Enjoy the Sun
Alison
Chair, Barking Road Runners
