BRR Blog - 8 June 2026
The BRR Team at the H90 Midweek 5
Howdie, Road Runners
What a fantastic turnout we had at the Havering ‘90 Joggers Midweek 5 last Wednesday. At the moment ELVIS (East London fiVes Interclub Series) races are coming along like buses, with another race this Wednesday (details below). It is fun racing against other clubs, but we also have our own, internal, BRR ELVIS competition, with trophies for the top three male and female performancers over the series (excluding our own race), so do come along and join in.
Greg’s Race Report
ELVIS race No 2 this week for Barking Road Runners. The race was hosted by Havering 90 Joggers at Raphaels Park and was well attended by BRR with over 20 runners.
First female finisher for BRR was Shantelle Keech followed by Belinda Riches, Debra Jean Baptiste, Nikki Cranmer, Emma Paisley, Louise Chappell, Sian Mansley, Alison Fryatt, and Dawn Curtis.
For the men Dominic Herring was first finisher followed by Jack Stanford, Joshua Ezissi, Daniel Plawiak, Tom Brennan, Jason Suddaby, Kevin Wotton, John George, Barry Rowell, Gary Rowell, Dennis Spencer Perkins, Rob Courtier, and Darren Graham.
BRR parkrunners
ARU Writtle - Rory Burr 22:52.
Rory at ARU Writtle parkrun
Beckton - Sian Mansley 32:52.
Bournemouth - Mark New 25:333.
Canons Park - Shantelle Keech 24:17.
Castle Park - Barry Rowell 30:14, Belinda Riches 34:13, Darren Graham 46:01, and Denise Graham 52:47.
Barry, Darren, Belinda, Denise and Steve at Castle Park parkrun
Cirencester - Stuart Mackey 20:53.
Ingrebourne Hill - Emma Paisley 33:48.
Emma (and Stanley) at Ingrebourne Hill
Raphaels Park - Doug King 25:08, Jason Li 28:30, and Alison Fryatt 34:36.
Jason L, Doug, Alison (and Lee Parker) at Raphael parkrun
Thorney Bay Beach - Dennis Spencer Perkins 33:34, Rob Courtier 34:17, Nikki Cranmer 39:35, Dawn Curtis 40:32 and Louise Chappell 46:38.
Dawn, Dawn, Nikki, Dennis, Louise and Rob at Thorney Bay Beach parkrun
Valentines - Jess Collett 23:07, Richard Dudman 24:47, Kevin Wotton 25:34, Andrew Gwilliam 32:47 and Alan Murphy 49:34.
Highest BRR age gradings this week were Jess Collett 67.05% the women and Stuart Mackay 70.63% for the men.
BRR Diary - June
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 9 June - speed session. Jim Peters Stadium, Mayesbrook Park. Some short(ish), sharp, reps this week:
5 x (90 sec run, 90 sec recovery)
5 x (1 min run, 1 min recovery)
5 x (30 sec run, 30 sec recovery)
5 x (15 sec run, 15 sec recovery)
7.30pm, Wednesday 10 June - ELR Valentines 5k. Valentines Park, Valentines Park, Melbourne Road Entrance, IG1 4LG. Enter at:krono:sports - Entry System & Race Timing Solutions - East London Runners - Valentines 5K . Entries close Midnight the day before.
7.00pm, Thursday 11 June - Road Run. Castle Green Centre, Gale Street, Becontree. A shortish route is planned for this week: left from the Castle Green Centre, left Goresbrook/Maplestead Rd, right Lodge Ave, into Mayesbrook Park via the ‘Roundhouse’ gate, a lap of the lake and then back to Castle Green. Suitable for all abilities; faster runners can loop back and get more distance in.
9.00am, Saturday 13 June - Barking parkrun will be back!
7.00pm, Thursday 18 June - Summer Handicap #01. Barking Park, parkrun course. Just £1 per race or £6 in advance for the series of eight races, and the first past the post has a chance of winning a tenner each time. Plus trophies for first, second, and third for the best performers across the competition (five best scores to count). Maybe the Acorn afterwards for a cheeky beverage (well, that’s where I’m going…).
7.30pm, Friday 19 June - 30th John Clarke Memorial Fell Race. Jubilee Retreat, Bury Road, Chingford, E4 7QJ The only Category A fell race within the M25. To be classified as Cat A a race must: average not less than 50m climb per kilometre; have more than 20% of the race distance on road; and be at least 1.5 kilometres in length (this race is about 5k). It’s a real challenge! Enter on the night by 7.00pm or in advance at: https://www.orionharriers.com/fixtures/fell-race/
7.30pm, Tuesday 23 June - EERR Olympic Park 5k. Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Enter at:krono:sports - Entry System & Race Timing Solutions - East End Road Runners - Olympic Park 5K ELVIS #4.TRACK CANCELLED.
7.00pm, Thursday 25 June - Summer Handicap #02.
Diamond Lights
Amy Hunt celebrating her new PB - courtesy of the BBC
We are already five rounds through the 2026 Diamond League season, and its fair to say there have been mixed results for team GB athletes, although many have achieved season‑best performances across the opening meetings in Shanghai/Keqiao, Xiamen, Rabat, Rome and Stockholm, which perhaps promises better things to come.
At the Rabat meet on 31 May, the best results were from Matthew Hudson-Smith who came second in the men’s 400m (44.25) and Max Burgin, who was first in the men’s 800m (1:42.98). At the Rome meet on 4 June, Georgia Hunter-Bell cruised home first in the women’s 1,500m (3:58.63) and Molly Caudery jumped the highest in the women’s pole vault (4.80m). In Stockholm, Amy Hunt came second in the women’s 100, with a new PB of 10.97. Elise Thorner was secod in the women’s 3000m steeplechase in 9:11.01. Keely Hodgkinson got a new National Record in the women’s 800m, finishing in 10.97, but that only earned her second place behind Switzerland’s Audrey Werro.
The season’s structure — beginning with back‑to‑back meetings in China before moving through Africa and Europe — has given British athletes valuable opportunities to test form ahead of the London Diamond League in July, followd by the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships. With 14 meetings culminating in the Brussels final, GB competitors are well‑placed to build momentum as the circuit progresses. Fingers crossed!
The Art of Not Getting Tired
Last week we looked at how to keep going by mastering your fuelling strategy. But good fuleiing isn’t just about what your eat before a run. Here’s the next top tip for running further without getting tired:
Healthy food for runners
#5: Check Your Diet
Runners should follow a balanced diet with plenty of complex carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fats.
A balanced diet with whole grains, vegetables, fruit, low-fat dairy, nuts, seeds, lean proteins, eggs, and similarly nutritious foods will provide you with the electrolytes, carbohydrates, and amino acids to repair muscle damage your body needs for optimal energy levels and recovery from training.
You should be eating enough calories to support your workouts as well as your daily physical activity outside of your training plan. Remember, you are burning calories even when you are sitting in front of the TV - just not that many…
Being in a caloric deficit, such as if you are trying to lose weight or following a restrictive diet where you aren’t eating enough carbs, healthy fats, or protein for your body weight and activity level, will leave you feeling depleted before you even try to exercise. So, eat sensibly but always enough to fuel your runs.
The Man Who Changed the Marathon
Jim Peters - the original GOAT?
This 13th June marks 73 years since a pretty unassuming guy from Essex changed long-distance running for good.
His name was Jim Peters — and he wasn’t a full-time athlete. He was a part-time optician, fitting his training in around work. No high-tech kit, no sponsorship deals, no team of coaches and physios. He’d head out onto the streets around his London practice, often in plimsolls, and just run.
At the old Polytechnic Marathon — a point-to-point race from Windsor to Chiswick which pre-dated the London marathon — Peters ran 2:18:40. At the time, that wasn’t just fast, it was almost unbelievable; the first time anyone had run a marathon in less than two hours, 20 minutes. He smashed his own world record and finished nearly eight minutes ahead of second place.
Over the next couple of years, he kept pushing things forward. Between 1952 and 1954, he broke the marathon world record four times, taking it from 2:20:42 down to 2:17:39. Each time, he chipped away at what people thought was possible.
Sadly, his career didn’t come a fairytale ending. He never won an Olympic medal — he dropped out in Helsinki in 1952. And in 1954, at the Empire Games in Vancouver, he collapsed within sight of the finish line. After that, he never raced the marathon again.
Jim Peters’ legacy was shifting expectations on what was thought achievable over the marathon distance. Oh, and the running track in Mayesbrook Park named after him.
Cracker Corner
How many politicians does it take to change a light bulb? Two—one to change the bulb and one to change it back again.
A robber held up a woman in Westminster, pointing his gun and yelling, “Give me all your money!” The woman replied, “Don’t you know who I am? I’m the Chancellor of the Exchequer” The robber retorted, “In that case, give me all my money!”
I was arrested for impersonating a politician … but all I was doing was sitting in the office doing nothing!
Quote of the Week
“Never limit where running can take you. I mean that geographically, spiritually, and of course, physically.”
Bart Yasso
And Finally
Adidas has unveiled a futuristic “speed suit” designed to make runners faster — but the world’s top marathoners aren’t convinced they want it.
The one-piece suit looks more like something from a velodrome than a road race. But, unlike skinsuits worn by cyclists, the Adidas outfit isn’t aimed at reducing drag and improving aerodynamics. Instead, it is aimed at improving biomechanics. As runners fatigue over 26 miles, their form breaks down: the hips drop, the pelvis tilts, efficiency falls apart. The suit’s structure is designed to slow that process and maintain good form for longer. Adidas claims it could offer measurable performance gains, especially over long distances where efficiency matters.
The suit was worn by Yomif Kejelcha at the London Marathon, where he finished second in 1:59:41. Kejelcha wore the suit. But Sebastian Sawe, who won the London Marathon, had trained in the suit and seemed ready to race in it, showed up at the start line in a plain white singlet and black shorts instead. Perhaps, like some other elite runners, he was hesitant to use it on race day. Some feel the suit is too restrictive, others worry it changes the nature of racing, and a few simply don’t want to be the first to test something so radical on the world stage. There’s also the ongoing debate about where innovation ends and unfair advantage begins.
My main concern wouldn’t be getting an unfair advantage. It would be how easy the suit is to get out of if you get caught short during a run…
