March 2020
A Selection of Favourite Running Videos
Inspired by an email from Len R here are some of peoples’ “.. favourite athletics or running videos…”, mostly serious, and a few comedy ones
Lawrence A:
Kipchoge won’t be racing Bekele in April but they did go head to head in Beijing 2008 – epic race.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVXsHej-OYU&t=481s
Women’s steeplechase at London 2017:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4dCk4UYZEU&t=725s
And the women’s 1500m from the same champs, last two laps anyway:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJjeKxN8IGY&t=538s
For anyone who really wants to get in to this, Lets Run recently did a race of the decade competition featuring their top 64 races of the decade:
https://www.letsrun.com/events/letsrun-coms-race-of-the-decade/
Chris Q:
I grew up in the great time for Irish athletics where Sonia O’ Sullivan was dominating the tracks worldwide. I used to watch the Sydney Olympic Final regularly and hoped Sonia’s lanky stride would help her take gold but alas!
https://youtu.be/tsJYzZ1I8pw
Adrian L:
This lad was already pissed off about losing to Haille in the world Juniors…
https://youtu.be/RbxfKavcCdA
Neil P:
I like these ones Haile looks like he is jogging at world record pace then kicks off it! bugger, baumann broke 13 minutes as well not bad for a European.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJdgCPS6A20
Check John Ngugi’s acceleration after 11 minutes, right see yah!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bNL0Lb8l2Q
Cameron F:
This is a classic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE0EUG7Ikak
Gary S:
For me I’ve loved watching Steve Prefontaine races as his philosophy was to go balls out at a suicidal pace and lead from the front.
The 1972 Olympic final was epic. Crazy pace and and strategy but he admired for his bonkers attitude, grit and fierce will to suffer more than anyone else as he did here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iKt8_pkHgY
Jules G:
I like this one, London 1985 battle Jones vs Spedding. Also amazing to see how desolate Canary Wharf was in those days, way before any of it was built up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipG2VJx4II4
Ben C:
Bekele vs. Mo vs. Gebreselassie at the Great North Run in 2016, mainly because you can see a young Ian Ellwood in the background during the post race interviews.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rDoJdVz00Q&t=631s
I think what I like most about this one is the display of technique. Sometimes other athletes can make you feel very ordinary.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz3Y_9XHiO5/?igshid=11xn698prhghm
Ben H:
Here’s a video I made to introduce Dave Moorcroft as guest speaker at an event in Cambridge years ago:
https://youtu.be/AnUoebEp9uM
James B:
Dave Wottle 800m
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LHid-nC45k
Adrian L:
1. 1972 Olympic 800m Final
This is a mesmerising demonstration in even paced running and the discipline to do it your way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?edufilter=NULL&v=5LHid-nC45k
2. 2000 Olympic 10000m
Haile was still just about in his pomp, he was my hero and yet Tergat ran him so close, but never did get the better of him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?edufilter=NULL&v=5PEGZ0bILtw
3. 2015 World Championship 100m Final, Beijing
It was good vs evil. Bird’s Nest Stadium the atmosphere electric. I was in Athens in 2004 when Gatlin won Olympic Gold and that was similar, but for obvious reasons, that needs scrubbing. Only thing that has come close to this was GB World Champs 4×100 in London. That will always be amazing, but if Bolt’s Hammy hadn’t gone….I know, it did, and that’s running. The GOAT get’s it for me and is proof it’s not all about the long distance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?edufilter=NULL&v=TLJ82k-aflc
David D:
One of my heroes John Treacy
Track 5k: Beats an arrogant Ovett on the line
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDCYrlN3UeQ
Road: Marathon LA Olympics Silver
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiikQHsDu5E
XC: World champion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWiENIMbPjI
Richard G:
A bit off piste but this is a legendary story in the ironman world
https://youtu.be/zOVGVMiwPSA
Coronavirus update
Suspension of All Kent AC Activities With Immediate Effect Dear All, . I’m writing to let you know that we are suspending all Kent AC activities with immediate effect. Our governing body England Athletics updated their advice at 9am today Tuesday 17 March: https://www.englandathletics.org/athletics-and-running/news/coronavirus-statement/ As a result, England Athletics advises that all face-to-face activity such as club training sessions, events, competitions, club committee and face-to-face meetings, athlete camps, running groups and social events should be suspended until at least the end of April. These are extremely unusual times. Please support each other, we need to look out for everyone’s physical and mental health. Stay safe and keep in touch. We will send further updates as we have news. Alan Curtis, President Kent Athletic Club On behalf of KAC Committee |
News Update 9th March
News Update: 9th March 2020
While there was a lot of focus from the club’s point of view on the Big Half, a trio of our top runners ran in the Trafford 10k that took place on the same Sunday. The renowned trio, John Gilbert, Chris Greenwood and Russell Bentley ran well in tricky conditions. From what I hear the wind was stronger than it was down south. The organisers of this race always put together a good quality field and fast times are the order of the day. This was reflected by the fact that John ran 31:22 for twentieth place. Chris and Russell weren’t far behind John. Chris ran an excellent 31:37 for 25th place while Russell was only two places behind in 27th. Chris must have been pleased after having his National race ruined by a troublesome stich. His time wasn’t that far off his road PB and put him second in the V45 rankings. His time was a mere two seconds off that of Kojo Kyereme’s leading time – a time recorded in Doha – probably more conducive to fast times than the cold and windy north west. Russell was apparently just a shade slower than he was in the previous year’s race. However, he came home in exactly the same position – so can’t be faulted for consistency.
Last Saturday, March 7th, several of our runners competed for Kent in the Inter Counties Cross – Country championships. We actually had a number of runners selected to run for Kent, but some gave it a miss as they had other priorities. Jim Allchin ran well – not far off the top fifty in this high- quality race. Jim was 57th while Niall Stewart was 139th. In addition, a Kent AC member Sam Marshall ran in the colours of Oxfordshire – he was 247th in a field of nearly three hundred. On the women’s side we had Sarah Hanley getting a Kent County vest and running well. Sarah made the top hundred, 93rd out of a field of over two hundred and fifty. She was part of a Kent County team that came seventh while Jim and Niall’s men’s county team were sixth in the team competition.
Another event that took place over the weekend was the British Masters Indoor Championships at Lee Valley. As many will be aware, longstanding Kent AC member Joe Appiah has had considerable success as a masters’ runner. He’s won many medals and is a GB international. He won the V45 60m hurdles and narrowly missed out on the 60m sprint title. Whilst Joe has considerable experience on the boards, another Kent AC member taking part in the championships is something of a novice when it comes to indoor running. The person in question is none other than club secretary, John Barron. Regulars at Ladywell will no doubt have noticed John being put through his paces with the sprint group. It looks as though the gruelling sessions are paying off as John registered an impressive 800m PB on Sunday when he ran 2:31:45. He was seventh in the race but significantly his time would have placed him second in the V65 age group. John turns 65 in May and if his form holds for the outdoor season it looks as though he’s set to be near the top of his new age group rankings.
Club Presentation Feb 2020
The annual Club Presentation was held on Sat 1st 2020.
Jack Green picked up the Lifetime achievement award: ” Two-time Olympian, having competed in the 400m hurdles at the 2012 Games in London and in Rio four years later, also forming part of the 4x400m team to fin-ish fourth in London. He claimed world relay bronze in the London 2017 World Championships, also claiming bronze as part of the GB quartet at the European Championships in Amsterdam in 2016. His hurdles PB of 48.60, set in 2012, puts him seventh on the UK all-time list.”
The attached booklet lists all the awards and rankings for 2019, well done to all.
Kent AC’s women lean in to promote healthy, happy running
The club has more women members than ever before, and with the current surge of new female runners joining our ranks comes a greater responsibility for keeping them healthy and happy. With this in mind, Georgina Wiley, a Kent AC runner and, oncology specialist nurse, initiated what promises to be a fantastic addition to our burgeoning club – a health and wellbeing team – whose launch event, entitled In Discussion: Women’s Health and Running, took place on 28 February.
Longstanding club and committee member Ellie Brown kindly offered the use of her Fitness and Pilates studios in Greenwich Market for the event, and Georgina recruited an impressive team of guest speakers – all runners, of course – who also took questions from the floor.
Georgina’s decision to organise this event was exquisitely timed. The international running scene was still in meltdown following Mary Cain’s distressing revelations and the March issue of Women’s Running magazine cites yet another study about the link between exercise addiction and eating disorders.
This latest study, led by Anglia Ruskin University, examined data from 2,140 participants, and found that people displaying characteristics of disordered eating are 3.7 times more likely to suffer from addiction to exercise.
Among women, in particular, the study will ring alarm bells. We’re all aware of the banter about ‘running for cake’. Indeed, some magazines still run potentially harmful pieces about how far you need to run to ‘burn off’ ‘naughty’ foods like ice cream (summer holiday specials) and mince pies (the Christmas issue). It’s no wonder that running comes to be seen as another stick to beat women with – a punishment for overeating.
It’s against this rather depressing backdrop that sensible advice about food, nutrition and fuelling your running adequately is especially welcome. On the night, it came from guest speaker Ruth Tongue, a nutritionist for various athletics clubs and the Charlton Athletic women’s squad, who also writes, and teaches pilates. She was fielding questions about when and what to eat before, during and after long runs; that age-old quandary about needing to refuel asap following marathon, but feeling more than a little queasy; and dealing with confusion over all the vitamins, supplements, smoothies and superfoods health ‘influencers’ would have us necking for breakfast.
The Anglia Ruskin study about the risk of exercise addiction acknowledged the link between disordered eating and obsessive-compulsive behaviours, which brings me to the work of the next speaker at the event Lynne Drummond, consultant psychiatrist and author of the snappily titled Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: All You Want to Know about OCD for People Living with OCD, Carers and Clinicians. She told me that she started a running group for staff in her department to try to sell the idea of exercise to the compulsively sedentary. Addressing a group of keen-as-mustard female club runners, she was also
eloquent on the subject of how dedication to one’s running tips over into obsession.
Some of us have seen this happen, or even felt the first needlings of obsession as we compare our performances with those of our running sisters and wonder if upsizing our training load, downsizing our fuel or transforming our lives into the sleep/run/repeat (with less eat) model will give us the speedy body we crave. That’s why we need people like Ruth, Lynne and of course, Kent AC’s very own Doctor Kate Williams to dispense the sense. As a gynaecologist for Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust and a very fine runner, Kate has had years of giving expert advice to the likes of moaning me while warming up before cross-country. She has always put my mind at rest, and she did so with some style at the Women’s Health event. She dealt with concerns on the subject of amenorrhea (missing periods, a frequent sign of overtraining in young women), iron levels of women who run, running when pregnant, post natal training and, of course, the importance of continuing to run through the menopause.
It was an informative and upbeat evening. In these uncertain times, when we’re being made more uncomfortably aware than ever before that we cannot take our health and wellbeing for granted, it’s incredibly gratifying to know that there are some wise and generous experts out there – and right here in our athletics club – whose job it is to make us feel better. Here’s to the next discussion. Meanwhile, I’ll open it out to the floor: if any members, male or female, would like to get the ball rolling for the next health and wellbeing event, please get in touch with Georgina!
Piece by Ronnie Haydon
Mentions and resources:
Mary Cain’s NY Times piece: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/07/opinion/nike-running-mary-cain.html
Ruth Tongue: http://www.ruthtongue.com/
Lynne Drummond: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lynne_Drummond
Vitality Big Half 2020
The Vitality Big Half, Sunday 1st March 2020
Kent AC runners shine on the streets of London – some great runs and a host of PB’s.
There was another magnificent turn out of Kent AC runners in the Big Half on Sunday. Once again, the race featured our own half marathon championships and as in previous years there was a wide cross section of the club taking part. In addition, there was the usual enthusiastic vocal support from spectating friends and family.
Thankfully the rain held off and although the wind was a factor it wasn’t perhaps as bad as anticipated. There was even occasional sunshine.
At the sharp end in both the men’s and women’s race Kent AC were well represented. However, as the full results show, so many of our runners put in performances that they should be proud of. And make no mistake, although not of the order of the training required for a full marathon, for a half you have to put in a fair amount of running to get a decent result.
Owen Hind who has had an enormously encouraging winter was first home of the Kent AC contingent. Owen was 28th in a field that was stacked with high quality runners. Just by a fraction his time of 66:50 was a PB. There was so many vying for the run of the day and Anthony Johnston’s run certainly had to be a candidate. We’ve always known Anthony is good on the roads and this was further proof. Only ten places behind Owen in this high- quality field Anthony recorded 68:04 – a big PB. Then taking the third- place medal in our championships was Joe Hartley (69:56). From what I hear Joe has recently discovered his body had been low in iron, leading to fatigue and negatively impacting on his running. Seems the simple inclusion of iron tablets has had a transforming effect. He was also awarded with a big PB. Another who substantially revised their best time for the half was Ben Cook (71:46). Ben put out an email detailing the good performances of some of his fellow runners but made no mention of his own swift time – perhaps it was modesty.
A look at the results shows that Kent AC had an incredible number of men who ran under 1: 20 – something that surely bodes well for the forthcoming relays. Ben Cook noted the close tussle for bragging rights between the two Tom’s – Marshall and Sloan. They both recorded excellent times in their age group, with Tom Marshall coming out on top with an impressive 72:30. Apparently, he’s another reaping the benefits of upping the mileage.
There were several other runs that stood out for us in the men’s age group results. David Child (1:25:47) was actually the first V60 – a great result for someone who has had more than his fair share of injuries in recent years. Even quicker than David was Roger Beardsworth (1:22:23). He was third in the V55 category. Roger hits 60 later this year and if he stays fit it looks as though he is going to be right at the top of the rankings.
Whilst the men undoubtedly performed well our women were certainly not to be outdone. We had seven women running under 1: 30. In addition there were strong runs from many in their respective age groups – including Kate McCarthy coming third in her age category (W55) with an impressive 1:37:14. Sarah Hanley and Katie Rowland have had close races throughout the winter season. On this occasion it was Sarah (1:21:55) who came out on top – but not by much. In a high -quality field Sarah and Katie (1:22:18) were 42nd and 43rd. Then not too far behind Katie was Georgina Riley – another of our runners registering a PB (1:23:36). Also recording excellent times and both high up in their age group category were Jen Smith and Teresa Murphy. In between Jen and Teresa was Eliza Grant – another with a PB. And as is usually the case, Nicky Hayes was well up in her age category – she just missed out on third spot in her W55 age group.
Overall, it was another hugely successful day for the club – showing the quality and strength in depth we now possess.
Full results are on the Vitality Big Half Website. You can get all the Kent AC runners by putting us in the team box.
Our own championship results are listed below. Should there be any changes or amendments, there would be a follow up post.
Overall Women 1 Sarah Hanley 2 Katie Rowland 3 Georgina Riley | V35 Women Jennifer Smith Teresa Murphy Kersha Dwyer | V45 Women Andrea Barber Sarah Young Maeve Kelly | V55 Women Kate McCarthy Nicky Hayes Ronnie Haydon |
Overall Men 1 Owen Hind 2 Anthony Johnson 3 Joe Hartley | V40 Men Tom Marshall Tom Sloane Glyn Parry | V50 Men Roger Beardsworth Dan Hollas Julian Geevers | V60 Men David Child Gary Sullivan |