baRUNNER - a website for the British Airways Athletics Club

BA Athletics Club News Digest 18th January 2021

 For future weeks: inclusions, with photos, please to Roderick Hoffman at news@barunner.org.uk.

Unrestricted races are currently off so the club continues to operate with Solo and Shared runs as listed above - for restrictions and advice see the Coronavirus footnote at the end of this digest.  Due to the Tier 4 lockdown all shared runs are off the agenda until March or April.

Club Event Map: [Clickable link to Google Maps]

Roderick Hoffman

This week's Events

Please help me by sending me your results, for instance by filling in the tables below and forwarding to News@barunner.org.uk. Some events, such as the weekend achievement, will have "Prompts" set up in Facebook. These allow the posting of a single image and some text and make it easy to flip through everyone's entries.

This week's Midweek challenge is the Cooper Test, see later. But I'll also open up for entries in the Track-on-Field and Ross Barkley exercises both due at the end of next week:

Track-on-Field (by 5pm on the last Friday of the month):

Ross Barkley 5k (by the end of the month):

Weekend Achievement (by 5pm on the Monday) or use the Facebook prompt that will be added on Friday:

Roderick Hoffman

This Week's Midweek Challenge - The Cooper Test (12 minutes) reminder

Basically the test is very simple;  See how far you can run in 12 minutes (to the nearest 10 metres or 11 yards).  The time, along with gender and age, can then be used to calculate VO2max and a general rating (e.g. good, average, poor).  VO2max stands for maximal oxygen uptake and refers to the amount of oxygen your body is capable of utilizing in one minute. It is a measure of your capacity for aerobic work and can be a predictor of your potential as an endurance athlete. Although there are many factors that affect your VO2max, it is a commonly accepted measure of cardio respiratory fitness.

Ideally the test is carried out at a 400m/440yd running track with markers on the inside of lane 1 every 10m.  Athletes should warm-up for at least 10 minutes and be advised not to start too fast as those who maintain a good but sustainable pace will obtain the best results.  Please act responsibly, don't set off too fast and send your result to Steve Newell (time, gender and age).

Steve Newell

Ed: Please take this seriously with a good ten minute warm-up, recover, then a standing start for an intense 12minute run over a flat course on which you can measure the distance covered.

January Monthly Mile Results

Eight runners this month and for most of the week it was Amanda who was edging out the boys at the front but then first Adrian posted his time and then Caroline joined in for the first time from Australia. There was a big contrast in the conditions between Caroline's run and Neil's in the Northumberland snow.

In terms of all time records for this event, going back to last April, Maria Jovani remains our fastest woman with 6:15 in Bushy Park last August. Caroline secures second place and then follows Julie Barclay (6:51), Emma Moreton (6:55) and Christine Munden (6:59) all with times under 7minutes.

Mike Dennison has our fastest male time with 5:40 in Bushy (and three other times under 5:50) followed by Paul Prescott (5:43) and surprisingly back in third place Adrian with his 5:51. Perhaps worth pointing out though that Adrian's run this month was part of a single session of five separate miles which he averaged at 5:59. Gary Rushmer (5:58) and Chris Kelly (6:02) are our only other male runner to have beaten Maria's time.

Roderick Hoffman

Cross-Country Update

It came as no surprise to receive an email on Saturday confirming the cancellation of the Surrey League cross-country season, following the latest national lockdown. “The feedback from England Athletics is that cross-country nationally has been pretty much a ‘write-off’ with only 4 licenced races having taken place across the whole of England in 2020/21.”

Here’s to brighter days ahead, and hopefully a return to a full cross-country programme this coming autumn.

You may be aware of the UK Athletics consultation on equal opportunities and the equalisation of race distances for men and women in cross-country running. Already 7,500 people have taken the survey. If you haven’t done so and would like to have your say, the survey takes 5 minutes to complete and closes on 29th January.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/crosscountryequal?utm_source=emailmarketing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cross_country_consultation_with_athletes&utm_content=2021-01-16

Amanda Coombs

Five Mile Handicap Series Dilemma

We are unable to meet this month for our Five Mile Handicap event, and it is unlikely that we will be permitted to meet on next month's scheduled date. We have been able to do two of the winter series events - in October and December. So we have had to decide what to do for the series.

We have decided to continue with the aim of completing the 'winter' series with at least two more in-person events or more if they can be fitted in (perhaps this will be known as the "Covid winter series", particularly if it ends in August). We are assuming that there will be a two-month period whereby the club will be permitted to organise Covid-safe internal events but before open events start up. Whether that will be March and April, or June and July, we can't tell yet so we won't schedule anything but we will review this each month.

It will be good to be able to meet up with club runners of all abilities for the handicap events - to include the thrill of the chase (or being chased), pace judgment from beginning to end, psyching out your nearest rival, the final chase up Hatton Road and then wondering if you had arrived back at the car park too soon.  Although probably running on your own most of the way round you will be aware that you were also part of a race against other runners and also your own limitations (admitted and acknowledged).

So...coming soon.

On the same principle we could also try to fit in a BA Club Cross-Country Championship in that two month bridging period - but obviously it would be pointless to propose a date for that now.

Roderick Hoffman obo the Club Committee

SOLO Activity Achievements, Weekend 15th to 18th January 2021

This week we've got four entries from last week that didn't make the cut last digest (at least one of which, from Melanie, was sent on time).

 Then 22 members and friends reported activities for this week.  Please try to make future submissions by Monday 5pm, or 6pm at the latest, either by email to me or using the "Prompt" in Facebook, and I'll try to include them all.

Newsflash: Kelly's glove has been found, it is soggy but expected to make a full recovery.

Roderick Hoffman

parkrun Progress

There was a UK inaugural last Saturday! Mount Pleasant parkrun on the RAF base in the Falklands become the second parkrun on the islands. It is logged as a restricted access parkrun since there are restrictions on who is allowed to enter the base though I'm informed that most islanders can apply for access. But if you are a tourist then Cape Pembroke Lighthouse remains the better bet. Oddly Mount Pleasant also has an unusual start time of 12:00. There were definitely some who ran both parkruns on Saturday including driving or being driven the 80km between them. However only one result will be allowed to stand.

Most parkruns in the Australian State of Victoria restarted last Saturday meaning that almost all Australian parkruns have now restarted - 361 versus the record 380 on 29th February last year. That includes a number of new parkruns including S.S. Koopa Trail parkrun near Brisbane which attracted 391 runners to its inaugural on Saturday.

Meanwhile at Curl Curl parkrun in Sydney one of our number, Caroline Yarnell, earned a volunteer credit.

Overall there were 428 events held on Saturday (and three Australian Junior parkruns on Sunday) with 53,405 participants and 4,594 volunteers. It may now be a while until there is a further significant increase but parkrun will be back in other countries before too long, including here.

Roderick Hoffman

Training Camp in Dordogne/Bergerac

A reminder that I asked for any interest in a trip later on this year with running training as the excuse for a stay in the Bordeaux area.

There is space for some photographs this week...

The property is regularly rented out and includes 5 bedrooms. Adrian can let you know relevant costs and details.

Contact me in the first instance if you are interested in the training camp idea or for a family for a whole property hire.

Roderick Hoffman

Coronavirus Warning Footnote [changes from last week underlined or struck-through] (no changes)

In the UK exercise outside is permitted because it will boost physical and mental health and because the risk of catching Coronavirus outdoors is very low provided social distancing advice is kept to.

• Do not exercise outside the house if you have been asked to isolate or you are unwell, particularly if you have symptoms of the coronavirus such as a fever, or if you share a house with someone who has these symptoms, or if you consider yourself to be vulnerable, such as being elderly or with pre-existing health conditions,
• You may drive to outdoor publicly accessible open spaces but you are advised to stay 'local' (defined as "in the village, town, or part of the city where you live."), you are also advised to minimise the amount of time spent outside your home and you should follow social distancing guidance whilst you are out. Further advice is to reduce public transport and shared car journeys and do not cross the "Tier 3" boundary (in either direction).
• Tier 4 rules only allow you to exercise on your own, with people in your linked household (bubble), as part of child-care or with one other person. You are advised to exercise just once per day and to minimise the variety of people you meet over the weeks of lockdown. Exercising your pet is allowed in addition, but only on your own.
• As you exercise, keep 2m away from all others including those you run with as well as those you meet on the run, by default diverting around those you meet (don't leave it up to them to avoid you),
• Do not push yourself too far, this may weaken your defences against the virus and/or increase the probability of requiring assistance. We all have different limits so you need to judge what would be too far for you,
• If government instructions are updated to limit or prevent exercising outside your homes, or to meet with fewer people, please respect such instructions - we should be fighting the virus, not authority.

If you are unwell yourself, especially if you have symptoms of the virus:

• Put your needs first...
• but please let me (Roderick Hoffman) or Steve Hillier know of your condition/status, but we will keep it to ourselves unless you ask us to pass information on.

Shared club activities are not permitted in Tier 4.  For when the situation changes any club member may be permitted to organise a shared activity. We recommend the social distancing gap of 2metres although "1meter+" can be followed during the activity itself.  To legitimize a run with more than six participants:

• The chairman (Roderick) or the secretary (Steve Hillier) must be notified in advance that the event is taking place,
• One of the participants must be a paid-up member of the BA Athletics Club and must be prepared to perform the duties of a "Covid-19 Coordinator", if more than six attend we recommend that that member wears a BAAC top or distinctive clothing,
• Participants, and the activity, should not cross the "Tier 3" boundary or the "Tier 4" boundary (in either directions).
• A risk assessment has to be raised based on this template,
• The considerations within the risk assessment must be followed,
• After the activity perform a review of the risk assessment and log and pass on any issues or lessons learned.

Next Digest - Results, news, pictures, feedback, jokes, stories - send them to the editor, Roderick Hoffman, at news@barunner.org.uk.

Not for you, no longer interested? remove me please.

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