BRR Blog - 8 September 2025

Guten Tag, Road Runners!

Jason Li and Shuhel at the Big Half

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found the beginning of September difficult. I’m not sure if its the days getting shorter, the chillier mornings and evenings, or the return of wet weather, but it’s seemed a bit gloomy.

What has cheered me up this running with my buddies. Whether at track, tackling the stairs at Barking Riverside on Thursday, or trotting round Eastbrookend Country Park on Sunday morning, having folks to chat with brightens the run, and somehow makes it feel less effort. Sometimes it is nice to have the ‘headspace’ of run solo, and just get it done, but other times it is easier to get it done with company!

World Athletics Championships

The GB & NI team for the 2025 World Athletics Championships

The World Athletics Championships will take place from 13-21 September in Tokyo, Japan, marking the 20th edition of the track and field competition. Held at the state-of-the-art Japan National Stadium, the event will feature over 2,000 elite athletes from approximately 200 countries. They will compete across 49 events for a share of $8.5 million prize money that’s over £6 million.

On 1 September UK Athletics confirmed the Great Britain and Northern Ireland (GB & NI) team selection for the Championships, following the finalisation of the World Rankings positions. A team of 64 athletes will now travel to the Championships with 12 athletes achieving the required Road to Tokyo World Rankings Position. The competition will be broadcast on the BBC, so get ready for a lot of hours in front of the TV, cheering our guys and girls on.

Good Vits

We are always told that, if we have a varied and well-balanced diet, we don’t need to take vitamin supplements (except Vitamin D, which is recommended for everyone). But, hand on heart, how many of us can say that we eat that well? The pressures of a busy life often get in teh way of my good intentions, so I like to take a multivitamin and mineral to be on the safe side.

The market is so full of supplements it can be difficult to know what is best. Which magazine has done some research and it turns out that the most expensive isn’t necessarily the best. In fact, which assessed Asda A-Z Multivitamins & Minerals as the best all-round supplement on the market. It contains all 23 key nutrients, almost all at 100% of the recommended daily amount. And all for just 5 pence a day. The Asda tablets beat more expensive options like Solgar, Vitabiotics, Sanatogen, Seven Seas, and Centrum hands down. In fact, the only multivits tested by Which that were assessed as better were Dr Vegan ( 67 pence a day) and Inessa (45 pence a day), neither of which contain all the key micronutrients.

So, if you think your diet is great, perhaps you don’t really need supplements. But, otherwise, perhaps save yourself some dosh and go for the Asda option. PS - I’m not paid to endorse these products, so you know the reviews are genuine!

Good all-round and excellent value - Asda A-Z Multivitamins and Minerals

Your Pace or Mine?

A major new study reported on the Runners’ World website sheds light on the best way to run a marathon. The research used data across several years from over 146,000 people who ran the Valencia Marathon to find out what really works. 

The researchers split the marathon into nine sections, each 5 kilometres long. They looked at how people paced themselves—whether they kept a steady speed, started fast, or finished fast. They also checked when runners slowed down a lot (more than 7.3% between 25-35km), known as “hitting the wall,” and whether runners could speed up at the end.

Key findings include:

• Keep it steady: Runners who kept their speed steady finished the marathon 27 to 34 minutes faster than those who ran unevenly. This is an even bigger improvement than what you get from carbon-plated shoes. So, learning to keep a steady pace is one of the best ways to improve your marathon time, and save yourself several pounds on expensive trainers.

• Hitting the wall: The hardest part of the race is usually between 30 and 35 kilometres (18 to 22 miles). This is when most runners slow down the most. Older runners and those under 23 were especially likely to feel tired and slow down during this section. Taking on board carbs during the race is essential.

• Women vs men: Women tended to run at a steadier pace than men (77.6% compared to 74.3%), which helps them in longer races, too. However, women were a bit more likely to “hit the wall,” especially after 30km and 35km, so this is something to prepare for.

A to Z of Running

Episode four in the A-Z of running, and this week it is brought to you by the letter ‘D.’

Deferring - The act of carrying forward a race entry to a future race because of the inability to compete e.g. due to ill health/injury. This is not allowed by many races. Some, like the London marathon, allow deferral but you have to pay again.  

Dehydration - This is a condition in which the runner loses more fluids than they take in, leading to a drop in performance and other trouble. Some of the main symptoms of dehydration include dizziness, thirst, weakness, and fatigue.

Diamond League – An international track and field competition for professional athletes where the athlete (1 male, 1 female) in each discipline with the most amount of points after the series of 14 events receives the Diamond League trophy and a cash prize.

DNF - Did not finish. Used in results when an entrant begins an event but drops out before crossing the finish line.

DNS - Did not start. Used in results when a participant is entered for an event but never crosses the start line.

DOMS - Delayed onset muscle soreness, which is any sort of stiffness, pain or soreness in the muscles, usually occurring between 24 to 72 hours following a run. DOMS is the by-product of tiny tears of the muscles resulting from doing more work than they are used to. On the plus side, as those micro tears repair, your muscles will get stronger. You can use light cardio (such as walking), massage, foam rolling, and gentle stretching to improve blood flow, relieve stiffness and speed recovery. 

Doubles - Doing two runs in one day. Useful if you haven’t got the time for one long run, or if you are preparing for an ultra or an event where you will run multiple laps interspersed with rest periods (like the Spitfire Scramble).  

Dreadmill - A mocking term used to describe a treadmill. A lot of ‘outdoor’ runners are not very fond of the treadmill and regard it with such disdain, they to call it dreadmill instead. But a treadmill can be handy if the weather is really too bad to run outside (I mean ice and snow, not a drop of rain).

Drills - Any series of general strength and/or mobility exercises, usually referring to the series athletes perform prior to running. Drills we use at track include skips, high knees, bum flicks, carioca (grapevine), opening and closing the gate etc.

Chingford League

Thank you to everyone who has already put their name forward for the seven-race Chingford League series, the winter competition for clubs in North and East London, which starts with the race at Hog Hill (Redbridge Cycling Track) on Tuesday 7 October. The Club pays to be a member of the League, which means you and other BRR members can take part for free, so do make the most of the opportunity. Here is the latest list - please shout if I have managed to miss you, or if you would like to be added.

BRR Chingford League entrants, as of 7 September

The second race in the series takes place on Saturday, 1 November at Eastbrookend Country Park, and is organised by us. This means we need to field a team and also provide volunteers to help on the day. We’ll be canvassing for names closer to the date but, in the meantime, some of us went to the Country Park on Sunday to test out the course. This year, to avoid confusion, we will be using the same route that Dagenham 88 Runners used for their ELVIS race, back in May. It is a three-lap course but quite straightforward, which will reduce the number of marshals needed and allow more people to run.

The BRR Eastbrookend trial team.

Greg’s Race Report

Several Barking Road Runners members ran the Big Half in London at the weekend with Shuhel Khan being their first runner to finish in a time of 1:39:45, followed by Nehal Patel 1:42:34, James Sheridan 2:24:18, and Jason Li 2:25:42.

Dawn Curtis travelled a bit further to Newcastle for the Great North Run, the World’s biggest half-marathon, finishing her run in a time of 2:45:16.

Cristina and Trevor Cooper were in Romania for a triathlon, where an added incentive for a fast time was avoiding bears along the route.

Trevor, Cristina and friend in Romania

BRR parkrunners 

Barking - Owen Wainhouse 22:09, Jason Suddaby 22:38,  Rosie Fforde 23:39, Chris Muthaka 25:21, Doug King 25:45, Tom Shorey 26:30, Faye Spooner 27:20, John Lang 29:42, Joyce Golder 30:03, Emma Paisley 30:10, Martin Mason 33:32, Rob Courtier 33:57, Nikki Cranmer 37:16, Les Jay 43:21, Dennis Spencer Perkins 47:52, Alan Murphy 52:34 and Jason Li 59:19.

Rob, Dennis, and Alan (did you know it’s his birthday soon?) at Barking parkrun

Battersea - John Mitchell 31:11.

Gorleston Cliffs - Kevin Wotton 24:46.

Gunpowder - Paul Ward 27:37.

Lordship Recreation Ground - Jess Collett 22:34.

Peckham Rye - Rory Burr 25:27, Belinda Riches 31:57, Steve Colloff 31,58, Darren Graham 40:49, Denise Graham 54:33.

Denise, Belinda, Steve C, Darren, and Rory at Peckham Rye parkrun

South Woodham Ferrers - Gary Harford 31:30.

Valentines - Mark New 23:22.

Wimpole Estate - Martin Books 28:00.

Highest BRR age gradings this week were Jess Collett 68.69% for the women, and Jason Suddaby 64.65% for the men. Well done both! 

BRR Diary – September 

The highlights of the coming weeks are listed below but you can 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 9 September - speed session. Jim Peters Stadium, Mayesbrook Park. Rob’s evil twin will be in charge and he has an evil session for you:

15-minute warm-up, followed by short recovery, then:
6 minutes fast, recovery
6 x 1 minute, with recovery after each one

6 minutes fast
10-minute cool-down

Please remember where you got to in the first 6 minutes fast run, the aim is to match or go past in the second six minutes.

For the minute runs, the aim is to keep strong for all six. Whistle go, you run the minute. Whistle will stop you on the minute. Make a mental note of where you are on the track. Then turn around and get back to where you started as your recovery. No need to stop dead when the whistle goes but do start from the place the whistle went. You should try and run further, or at least the same distance, for each of the minutes. The cool down is part of the session, to see how you can keep going on tired legs.

For Garmin users:

15 min warm-up run
Lap button press rec (LBPR)
6 mins fast
LBPR
6 x (1 min fast, LBPR)
10 min cool-down run.

7.00pm, Thursday 11 September - Club road run. Castle Green Centre/Jo Richardson School. A road run, usually around four miles.  

10.30am, Sunday 14 September - Pleshey Half Marathon (GP06). Pleshey Village Hall, The Street, Pleshey, CM3 1HA. If you are fed up with the crowds of the central London half marathons, you’ll enjoy this race through the country lanes of Essex. Enter at https://www.atwevents.co.uk/e/springfield-striders-pleshey-and-essex-half-marathon-11528

11.00am, Sunday, 21 September - Ingatestone 5 (GP07). Anglo European School, Willow Green, Ingatestone CM4 ODG. Penultimate race in the grand prix series. This year is the 40th anniversary. Entry via Entry Central at https://www.entrycentral.com/Ingatestone5MileRoadRace

Various times, Saturday 27 September - Westminster Mile.

Various times, Sunday 28 September - Vitality 10,000.

2.00pm, Sunday 28 September - BRR versus the Builders charity football match. Barking Abbey School football pitch - South Park Drive. Come along and give our boys your support! More details nearer the time.

Cracker Corner - the Vuelta a España edition

What’s the difference between a poorly dressed woman on a bicycle and a well-dressed woman on a tricycle? Attire.

Why did the bicycle fall over? Because it was two-tyred.

A vicar was stopped by the police at night for not having a back light.

The vicar said: “I don’t need a back light, the Lord is with me”.

The policeman replied: “Two on a bike as well, that’s another offence”.

Quote of the week

“Everyone is an athlete. The only difference is some of us are in training, and some are not.”

 George Sheehan

And finally…

Mummy bear with her cubs - best to keep away.

It appears I was wrong when I told Cristina on WhatsApp that runners are too stringy and thin to make a good meal for a bear. Or maybe a hungry bear will take whatever is available.

At the beginning of the month, the Alaska Department of Public Safety confirmed in a news release that a 36-year-old woman had been attacked by a bear while jogging near her home. The woman survived the attack but was badly injured around the head and face. The bear is still on the run (pardon the pun).

If you happen to encounter a bear, the advice is:

• Make a lot of noise - hopefully they will be more afraid of you than you are of them, and run away. Singing ‘the teddy bears’ picnic’ at the top of your voice should do it.

• Don’t approach the bear - it is not the time for a selfie.

• Don’t try to feed them or pick up their cubs. That would be plain stupid.

• In case of sudden encounter, don’t run. Move away slowly. A bear can run at 35 miles an hour, so it would probably outpace you.

• If the bear acts aggressively, don’t move and stay calm (easier said than done).

• If you know you are going to bear country, you can buy bear spray, a type of pepper spray.

Of course, in the Alaska case the bear didn’t actually eat the woman jogger. So perhaps she was too stringy and thin after all...

Happy - bear free - running

Alison

BRR Chair