CRY Heart Screening Session Sunday 5th November

The next free screenings for those aged 14-35 will take place at The Florence Road Health Centre, 26 Florence Road, Ealing, W5 3TX, on Sunday, November 5.

Because demand is usually extremely high, we are once again operating a password-protected priority booking system for one week only. After that, booking is open to all. If you would like to give the password to family, friends, your organisation or business, please feel free to do so but we would be grateful if you did not share it on social media. 

The instructions from CRY are:

Please go to www.testmyheart.org.uk

1. At the top of the page is the header “PRIVATE SCREENINGS”, click on this link and you will see Florence Road Surgery listed for the 5thNovember 2017.
2. Click on the name and you will be asked for a password, this is Ealing17 . Please ensure the first letter of the password is capitalised. Click on the “Places Available” link and choose a time slot. Please do not give out this password as this screening is currently PRIVATE.
3. Fill in the required details and then click book.
4. You will receive a pending email which means the appointment is booked (please check your junk email folder if you do not receive this in your inbox). Nearer the time of the screening you will be sent a confirmation email; this will include a medical questionnaire and consent form. Please download the documents, read carefully, complete the required information and take them with you on the day.

If you have questions re the event, please contact CRY, not us or the surgery. CRY's contact details are Contact Us - c-r-y.org.uk

The Jungfrau Marathon by Andy Guy

The Jungfrau Marathon markets itself as 'The Most Beautiful Marathon in the World'.  This beauty is certainly not a reflection of the course profile but typically based on the photogenic beauty of the valleys and mountains of the Swiss Alps.  Not this year:

This year was the 25th Anniversary of the Jungfrau Marathon and over a few too many glasses of wine during Christmas 2016 I was convinced to enter it.  The Berner Oberland region has a special meaning to me and I decided that running a non-road marathon would help keep my fitness up during the summer.  I conveniently forgot that I now live in London and there is a rather different course profile to this marathon – with over a vertical mile to climb during the last 10 miles:

I'd done a recce of the steepest sections (both conveniently highlighted in green above) and found them to be horrific!  A couple of other mountain runs and a 16km race in the region during July confirmed that I'm simply not very good at hiking up the steepest points at speed.

The Race

The weather forecast had been consistent all week.  A cold, cloudy day in Interlaken (around 12 degrees) with rain/snow forecast (and 2 degrees) for the top of the race at around midday.  The temperature change involved more than the usual faffing in terms of 'what to wear'.  The race started at 0830 so it was the usual early start, get a train down to Interlaken and run up a mountain, into a cloud.

Starting waves were invoked for the first time and the timings were stuck to with Swiss precision.  As part of Block 2 I started at 0835 with the question that had been playing on my mind for months: how to pace this?  In terms of expectations, my main aim was to finish – a Swiss friend who has completed this race twice mentioned recently that he has seen this course reduce grown men to tears.  Of all the advice I'd received the best was to simply enjoy the run and the views.  Given a combination of the terrain, route profile and weather, this seemed unlikely! But the sentiment was spot on – and confirmed a conservative approach was probably sensible.  In addition, the rough guidance from the organisers was to add 1.5 hours to a recent road marathon time, so based on that I'd decided to pick up a 4h 45m pace band and set out at 5 min/km.

The atmosphere in Interlaken for the start was fantastic in spite of the poor weather.  Alpine horns, traditional flag throwing and the Swiss National Anthem all preceded the start.  Given it was the 25th Anniversary there were an additional 1,000 runners or so (around 5,100) and a certain nervousness about how this would play out on the single track paths above. 

The first 26.5km are described by most people who look at the route profile as 'flat' – except that they're not and climb some 300m!  The first 5km are flat though and it was a bizarre and almost eerie feeling as we set off.  I've never been in a race before where virtually everybody is holding back and thoughts already flicking ahead to the wall that will meet us at the 26.5km mark.  The lack of racing meant that a few conversations broke out; the Eagles vest being an advertisement to anyone wishing to converse in English and the FiveFingers shoes being the usual icebreaker from anyone who drew up next to me.  In short: yes, I've run in them before (this is a marathon afterall) and yes, I've considered my shoe choice (I'm an adult and dress myself).

Each hamlet or village we pass on the way was great – applause, 'Hopp Hopp' cheering, Trychler groups with their huge cow bells, Fasnacht bands, solo guitarists with huge speakers and various other bands.  The event is clearly an important part of the region and each of the small villages that the route passes through.

I had now hit each of my pace targets within 20 or so seconds. This was going well in spite of the high heart rate brought on by a head cold and the not so flat first half.  Now for the right turn towards the wall to Wengen.  Deep breathe. The glacial valley on top of which Wengen is perched means that there is no simple route up to this car free village – presumably the reason it is car free!  The steep switchback section of the narrow path is only about 2km long but took me 24 minutes during my recce run. The flow of people past me confirmed my fears that I don't speed-hike as quickly as others. Having said that it looks from the results that I held my own and didn't lose as much time as I feared.  Significantly I started running again as soon as the tarmac section appeared and managed to run all the way up the next 2km to Wengen passing many of those frustratingly quick walkers.  I'd agreed that I'd see my one-man support crew in Wengen to replace water bottles etc but when I got there I didn't need a new supply – mainly because the fuelling stations had been so good and it certainly wasn't warm.  Indeed, it struck me that Simon looked freezing with his down jacket, additional waterproof and hat pulled down tightly.  An ominous sign for what was to come! Wengen is at 1283m above sea level and marked the 30km mark.  I think I was right on target – about 2h 55m.  Only 12km to go. Good?  Nope - it was going to take me at least another 1h 50m…

The route now follows the route of the mountain railway quite closely and it was a boost to see the support crew again at the Allmend station (the slow pace and the trains up the mountain means some parts of the course are quite accessible for spectators).  However the rain had now well and truly set it and the cloud was hovering above us.  Running into the cloud was when it became really miserable and much colder, although thankfully, after Allmend, there were some decent sections where something resembling a run could break out.  It's worth pointing out at this stage that along with kilometre markers at each and every kilometre – held by incredibly positive and increasingly cold looking volunteers – there are markers every 250m such is the time taken to pass each of these.  The very fact they need to do that on this course freaked me out and helped keep moral up in equal measure.

Usually when I reach the Wixi skilift I'm disappointed that the skiing has temporarily ended.  On this occasion it was with a sense of relief at there being only being 4km to 'run' but also the intrepidation of what lay ahead.  Now above the tree line this climb is brutal. Especially when you've run 38km (23.5 miles).  It's pretty much single file scrambling up a narrow rocky path. The good news is you cannot go too fast; the bad news is that if you lose contact with the runner in front you have the feeling you're holding 5,000 people back! 

The 41st kilometre is possibly the hardest – it climbs up a ridge called the 'Moräne' (glacial moraine).  It is exposed, and climbing through the freezing cloud in single file was truly miserable. That kilometre took me the best part of 18 minutes – only 44 seconds quicker than my best Gunnersbury Parkrun time!

For some bizarre reason a bagpiper stands at the highest point of the course – the sound of was eerie and he suddenly appeared out of the cloud at an altitude of 2,320m.   Never have I been so happy to hear the pipes!  My feelings at this point fluctuated widely between disbelief, inspiration and even amusement (I remembered that in these parts, the bagpipes are called the ‘Doodlesac’), but the overriding emotion was relief: the finish can’t be far away now.

These guys are from 'Block 1' – the front of the field.  Moräne, 2017

Down now – almost down…  for the final kilometre, still mostly in single file.  A couple of people raced past taking no account of the health of their ankles.  Others were wincing in pain as quads and calves started cramping up.  But after scrambling through a gap in the rocks, before you know it you've finished.

Done. I’d lost a couple of minutes in the last climb and had fallen slightly behind my pace band, but still finished in 4h 50, cracking the 5 hours that I'd been hoping to do. 

I'd envisaged drinking a couple of cold beers, lying on the alpine meadow overlooking the Finish and valleys below and savouring the fact that I'd finished the Jungfrau Marathon.  However, given the weather (and the fact I'd now lost feeling in the ends of my fingers) the key was now to get warm, gather medal, slab of chocolate and Finisher T-shirt and get back to a warm restaurant.  Outside, it really was miserable – and getting worse.

My heart went out to a couple of finishers who sat near us on the train on the way back to Grindelwald in the valley below – one asked if you could normally see the mountains.  He'd run the Jungfrau Marathon and not even glimpsed the Jungfrau itself. If only he knew the foot of the world-famous Eiger Nordwand was only a couple of hundred metres away.  I didn’t have the heart to tell him.

The view my train companion missed…

Overall the event was brilliantly organised; an incredible challenge; a once in a lifetime experience and - much as it sounds ridiculous - the atrocious conditions made it even more satisfying (once I’d finished!). A lot of people asked ‘why run that marathon?’.  Well, the race itself was mostly too painful to think about an answer but afterwards I’d include it in that category where the greater the hardship and discomfort during, the greater the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction at the end.  Once the heat and feeling started coming back in my fingers – an hour after I'd finished - my mind had already started wandering to parts of the race where time had been won and lost… was this really only ‘once’ in a lifetime?

Lessons Learned

In case anyone’s tempted (and if you look at the odds, the weather next year must be better!), entries for the Jungfrau Marathon 2018 open on 14 February 2018 and will sell out within a week.  So for anyone who does fancy a trot up a Swiss mountain, here are a couple of observations and lessons learned:

•    [Obviously,] It’s not a regular marathon, you can’t compare it to a ‘normal’ course. It’s more two races – the first 26 kms or so (a slight uphill road race), and the final 16 kms (a monster hill – hiking with intermittent running off-road)
•    Walking uphill is a skill in itself requiring different technique and muscle groups than running so needs specific training – would have been a good idea!
•    Time on your feet – adding 1.5 hours to a normal marathon is a large percentage for any marathoner.  I ran a 30 miles training run in the North Downs at a very slow pace with a knowledgeable guide – that really helped. Should have done more.
•    There’s also no (or very little) downhill. So bearing in mind the havoc that steep downhills plays on your legs, the best hill training would be to find the steepest long slopes possible, but somehow defy the ‘what does up must go down’ law and avoid the pounding that coming back down a couple of thousand metre climb normally entails. Save your legs and recover faster for more uphills. Unfortunately, trail runs often don’t have a slide back 2 kilometres to the bottom
•    On pacing, there’s a school of thought that says embrace the two stage nature of the race, go harder and more aggressive than normal for the first half, knowing that the second half is a more evenly paced walk, often single file with no passing opportunities – the opportunity to recover and hang in there.  It sounds high risk and I wasn’t game to try, but…

I hope this was interesting.  For anyone thinking about the Jungfrau Marathon, I hope this helps.  It’s a truly beautiful part of the world (usually) and I’d urge anyone to give it a try. 
And maybe I’ll see you there.
 

How Can I Get Back Into Running?

An experienced runner who hasn’t been running for a while, perhaps because of injury, and now wanting to get back into running?

A graduate from the beginners’ programme who’s been busy over the summer and you’re not quite sure if you’ll be able to run the whole of the short club run, even at conversational pace, without taking a walking break?

Somewhere in the middle – life’s been busy and you don’t know what to do?

What can Ealing Eagles offer to help you?

First of all, if you need to go right back to basics, our beginners’ programme starting at the end of September is a run / walk programme which means that it may be compatible with your return from injury run / walk programme. The first session will be run 2mins, walk a minute and repeat for about 30mins; the amount of running is increased gradually over 6 to 8 weeks until beginners can run for the whole session, covering about 5.5k (the short club run) in about 45 to 50mins. All sessions encourage beginners to run at a pace at which they can talk as it will be their long run; this may be gentler than your normal pace so you can use the time to concentrate on your running form while chatting to the beginners. You may also find that you do not need to go through the whole beginners’ programme. If you want to take up this option, please email beginners@ealingeagles.com for more information.

If you are able to run about 5k but not sure what else to do, then why not try our Improver or Starter sessions (see separate article) starting end of September / beginning of October? Aimed at graduates from the beginners’ programme, the sessions are designed to introduce you to speedwork and also to increase the distance for which you can run. One advantage of being able to run further than 5k and to do speedwork is that it will help you to fit in a “shorter” session if you don’t have time to go for that 10k run you were intending to do. Consistency is an important feature of being able to keep running and to enjoy running.

If you’re a bit more experienced and/or a bit faster (we won’t put a pace range here in case it worries anyone), then you may simply need to identify some training buddies or a race to train for. Come along to a club social (first Wednesday of the month) at the New Inn and meet some of the other Eagles. Or, have a look at the list of club championship races and choose one to train for and to go along to – there’ll be other Eagles there. The local parkruns are another place where you are likely to see plenty of Eagles on a Saturday morning – favourites are Gunnersbury, Osterley and Northala or there may be a few Eagles doing a bit of parkrun tourism.

And what if you’re not at any of these levels? Perhaps you’ve done beginners and you don’t need to go right back to the beginning but 5k still feels like a long distance? If anyone, particularly beginners who graduated in June 2017, hasn’t been doing much running over the summer and is not confident about being able to do even the short club run at a conversational pace, please get in touch with Wei Hei at whkipling@talktalk.net and we will see what extra sessions, if any, need to be organised.

The Next Step After 5k - Autumn Improvers!

Have you completed the club beginners’ programme or are otherwise able to run 5k?

Currently running at or willing to run at a pace of 8min/k (parkrun 5k in 40mins)?

Want to run faster and further?

Improvers will be restarting on Monday 2 October meeting at 10am. This course will aim to progress Eagles from running 5.5k to running Osterley 10k on Saturday 9 December (so get your entry in before it sells out http://osterleypark10k.co.uk/) and to provide an introduction to speed work. There is no requirement to attend all the sessions but you will make most progress if you do and you will also be expected to do “homework” outside the Monday sessions if you wish to take part in a training plan for 10k. The length of the sessions will necessarily depend on the distance being run that day but you should allow from about an hour to 1 ½ hours. The sessions will move around depending on the focus of the session but the first session will meet at the gazebo in Walpole Park by the café / play area with an informal workshop afterwards. (Daytime runners who can already run 10k are welcome to join us for any of the sessions; details of individual sessions will be advertised each week.)

For those who can’t make daytime sessions, there are plenty of training sessions going on in the evenings. All sessions are open to everyone in the club. The sessions that appear to be hardcore – intervals, track and hills – are, in practice, more beginner-friendly because everyone stays in the same place so there is no worry about getting lost. For those who still feel a bit daunted, Starter sessions will be offered on an ad hoc (and trial) basis to introduce you to the options available. A provisional programme is set out below – all meeting times at 7.30pm.

Wed 27 Sept Starter short club run (meeting at Ealing Green for anyone who isn’t feeling confident after the summer)

Wed 11 Oct Starter speedplay (meeting at Ealing Green and using the short club run with little bits of running at faster pace so that you learn to run at more than one pace)

Wed 18 Oct Starter hill strides (meeting at Ealing Green but then going to the area near the Town Hall and using either the bridge or the pedestrian ramps to do some short sharp hill strides after appropriate warm-up and drills to prepare to do hills)

Wed 25 Oct Starter long club run (meeting at Ealing Green and reassuring you that you can have a go at doing the long club run)

Thu 2 Nov Starter hills – meeting at Haven Green to go to West Walk

Tue 21 Nov Starter track – meeting at Osterley track

There will be an informal workshop after club run on Wednesday 27 September for those people who would like to work out how to put all these sessions together to make a training plan for Osterley 10k on Saturday 9 December (so get your entry in before it sells out http://osterleypark10k.co.uk/).

If you’ve already done a few short club runs or parkruns and are free on Wednesday evenings, then the combination of beginners and a club run can also help to extend your distance.

If anyone, particularly beginners who graduated in June 2017, hasn’t been doing much running over the summer and is not confident about being able to do even the short club run at a conversational pace, please get in touch with Wei Hei at whkipling@talktalk.net and we will see what extra sessions, if any, need to be organised.

Beginner's Programme Autumn 2017 - Volunteers!

Are you interested in volunteering with beginners or even learning to lead runs or to coach for the club but don’t have any experience of what this might involve?

The Ealing Eagles Beginners Programme has proved very popular (invitations to the autumn 2017 programme have been sent out to over 148 people). The programme starts with run / walking with all the running at a comfortable pace at which people can talk and gradually builds up to the short club run. Beginners don’t need to have any special equipment to start or to have any particular level of fitness or to be able to run a certain distance to qualify – they just need to turn up on the day with enthusiasm and a commitment to follow the programme! Our experience is that most people will take six to eight weeks, going out twice a week, to progress from not running at all to running 5k.

Fixed length beginners’ courses will be starting at the end of September as follows:

There is no clubhouse so please arrive dressed ready to run. If you have any bags with you, you can leave them in Crispin's Wine bar on Wednesday evenings or in FarmW5 on Thursday mornings. Both of these businesses are located opposite Ealing Green.

In addition to the run / walking element of the programme present in all Eagles beginners’ programmes, some of the sessions in the next programme will include units focusing on running technique.

The sessions are led by our experienced coaches who are qualified UKA Leaders in Running Fitness. Some beginners’ leaders specialise in working with beginners; others started with beginners and have moved on to leading sessions for the club as whole; while others work with both groups. The qualified leaders are supported by a team of volunteers – some simply enjoy encouraging new people to start running while others are inspired to take on other volunteering opportunities. It is not essential for volunteers to be available for the whole programme though obviously volunteers who attend more sessions will find it easier to get to know the beginners. Eagles interested in volunteering with either beginners or the club as whole can gain experience with beginners in a variety of training roles including: run leading; leading warm-ups or cool-downs; or working with a small group of beginners.

If you are on facebook, there is a dedicated facebook group for beginners’ volunteers.

Please email beginners@ealingeagles.com if you would like more information.

Opportunity to Volunteer with A Mile in Her Shoes

A Mile In Her Shoes is a small charity that helps women affected by homelessness to find their feet through running fitness. It was founded four years ago by Ealing Eagle Nicola Miller and remains entirely volunteer led, with involvement over the years from several other Eagles including Celia Roberts, who is a trustee. 

The charity is currently expanding and adding several new running fitness groups from September 2017, thanks to funding from the Greater London Authority and support from England Athletics to celebrate the London 2017 World Athletics Championships and the IPC World Para Athletics Championships.

These groups will encourage women who may have been affected by issues related to homelessness to experience running as a way of exercising, socialising, boosting confidence and raising self-esteem.

The charity is really excited to be offering new opportunities for volunteers at locations in London, including one local to us in Acton. 

They are offering a couple of practical 'taster' experience days so volunteers can learn how we work and explore opportunities that would suit them. The next one is on Saturday 9th September at London South Bank University. 

All the run leaders need to be female, but there are ways for men to volunteer with the charity too. There is no requirement to have LiRF or other coaching qualifications and there is no minimum speed or ability needed - just time and a commitment to the charity's values to help women feel good about themselves. 

Interested? Please visit http://www.amileinhershoes.org.uk/volunteer-with-us for more details.  If you’d like to join a taster experience, please complete the contact form on the website choosing ‘Volunteering with a Run Group’.

Eagles Raise Money for Tom Clabburn Fund

Local running club raises money for heart charity

The Ealing Eagles’ running club has raised nearly £1,800 for The Tom Clabburn Memorial Fund and Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).

The memorial fund was set-up following the death of 14-year-old Ealing schoolboy Tom Clabburn in 2007 from an undiagnosed heart condition. CRY administer the fund for Tom’s family who fund-raise and organise local cardiac screenings.

In the 10 years since it was set up, the fund has raised more than £160,000, enabling more than 2,500 young people aged between 14-35 to be tested for heart conditions. It has also funded the purchase of new screening equipment and research. 

Ealing Eagles’ club chairman Thom Martini said: “The Eagles have supported CRY for many years through its involvement in the Ealing Half Marathon and the Andrew Carter Memorial Mile. It seemed a natural progression to make Tom’s fund our nominated charity for this year as we believe it is important that young people have the opportunity to access cardiac screening locally.“

Thom added: “We held several running and social events to raise the money and we are delighted that it will be used to support such vital work. Being runners we tend to think that we are all fit and healthy but tragically, as we’ve seen, that is not necessarily the case.”

Photo Copyright to Paul Clabburn

Many of the club’s runners take part in September’s award winning Ealing Half Marathon, which has again named CRY as an associated charity partner for the 2017. Members also turn out in large numbers to support the annual Andrew Carter Memorial Mile. Andrew died of an undiagnosed heart condition while taking part in the 2014 Ealing Half Marathon and his parents allow proceeds from the race to be paid into the Tom Clabburn Memorial Fund.

Tom’s dad, Paul Clabburn, said: “We are honoured to have been nominated as the Ealing Eagles’ charity for the year. Both individually and collectively, they have been extremely supportive to us over the years and we can only thank them for yet again putting such a tremendous effort into raising money for the fund. They are an incredibly generous group of people.”

Upcoming Tuesday Track Sessions!

We’ve got a bumper track programme for July at Osterley, including the return of the amazing Mara. The next few weeks of sessions will be as follows:

Tuesday 4th July
5-7 x 1k intervals, 400m recovery jogs

Tuesday 11th July
Back by popular demand, Mara Yamamauchi, 2nd fastest British female Olympian over 26.2 miles is returning to coach all you lovely people. See separate event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1525380630869359/?acontext=%7B%22source%22%3A4%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D&source=4&action_history=null

Tuesday 18th July
1 x 1600m, 1 x 1200m, 1 x 800m, 2 x 400m, 2 x 200m. At 5k pace. 90 seconds recovery.
OR 1 x 1200m, 1 x 800m, 1 x 400m, 1 x 200m. At 5k pace. 90 seconds recovery.

Tuesday 25th July
Yasso 800s: 6-10 x 800m, 400m recovery jogs

In the run up to the Ealing Half Marathon, these sessions will have an emphasis on endurance. If done properly, these are hard sessions that will be tough to complete, but will really lead to improvement.

There will be variations for runners of different abilities so don’t afraid if you’re new to track, you won’t be left behind. The best bit about track is that you’re constantly seeing other Eagles so there is plenty of support. Everyone has their own goals but we encourage each other. Ideally you need a running watch, a simple stop watch will do. If you don’t have one we’ll try and buddy you up with someone of a similar pace.

Osterley track is located at 120 Wood Lane, Isleworth, TW7 5FF.

All sessions start at 7.30pm.

Please ensure you pay on your way in, Eagles get a reduced rate of £2.80, and there are lockers available for a refundable £1. You can also leave your bags at the trackside, but do so at your own risk.

Bring a bottle of water, especially if it’s a warm day.

10k - The Next Step After 5k

Have you completed the club beginners’ programme or are otherwise able to run 5.5k?

Want to run faster and further?

Come along to beginners’ graduation and find out more about increasing your distance, talk about training plans and discuss opportunities for training.

You will find us in the Rose & Crown on Wednesday 21 June from 7.30pm and in FarmW5 on Thursday 22 June from 11am.

In particular, with the current beginners’ programme finishing next week, another Improvers course will be starting. This time, there will be speedwork sessions at 10am on Mondays starting Monday 3 July and sessions to increase your distance / endurance at 10am on Thursdays starting Thursday 6 July. This course will aim to progress Eagles from running 5.5k to running a 10k race in the middle of August (Battersea Summer League) and to provide an introduction to speed work. There is no requirement to attend all the sessions but you will make most progress if you do and you will also be expected to do “homework” outside the sessions as part of a training plan for 10k. The length of the distance sessions will necessarily depend on the distance being run that day but you should allow from about an hour to 1 ½ hours.

The speedwork sessions will last no longer than an hour and, because we will stay in the same place for each session, will be suitable for all abilities.

For those beginner graduates not available during the day over the school holidays, there is likely to be an Improvers course in the autumn probably on Mondays at 10am starting in October and targeting the Osterley winter 10k in December.

Flying High at Welsh Castles Relay!

Ealing Eagles competed in the Welsh Castles Relay hosted by Les Croupiers Running Club over the weekend of 10 and 11 June 2017. 

The Welsh Castles Relay is a 2 day, 20 stage, 206 mile relay race from Caernarfon to Cardiff. The event has grown since its inception in 1982 and this year 64 teams competed across four categories – ‘open’, ‘ladies’, ‘masters’ and ‘business house’. 

The Eagles have competed in the relay since 2013, and in this year’s event the club entered teams in both the open and ladies categories. The open team improved on last year’s 12th place, eventually finishing in 7th place overall with a time of 22 hours 19 minutes and 59 seconds. The ladies team equalled their placing from last year and took 2nd place in their category with a time of 25 hours 39 minutes and 12 seconds. 

Open team captain Kieran Santry said: “This year’s performance far exceeded my expectations. We did very well to finish in 13th place last year. It was consistency that got us up to 7th place out of 66 teams. The overall times were much quicker this year than in other years, which makes the team's placing even more impressive. The standard at the top end of the field is very high and includes many ex-national champions and record holders. We got 20 outstanding performances from 20 guys who gave 100% and that’s all you can ask for.”

Ladies team captain Jennifer Watt said: “When we first brought a women's team to the Castles, the goal was not to come last in the ladies’ category. That was back in 2014 and we didn’t finish last - we were 7th (out of 10 teams) in a total time of 28:33. In 2015 we finished 4th in 27:54. But it wasn’t until last year, 2016, when we had our real breakthrough; we ran more than hour and half quicker than 2015 bringing our total time down to 26:16 and bagging second place - only 26 minutes behind the winners, the Les Croupiers ladies. This year the team ran 37 minutes quicker - finishing in second place on the podium in total time of 25:39 and proving that last year was no fluke.”

The full teams of runners and their times were:

Stage 1    9.1 Miles Claire Morris 1:09:03 Harry Claxton 1:02:55

Stage 2    10.7 Miles Yvonne Linney 1:15:45, Tom Rowles 1:02:27

Stage 3    12.3 Miles Harriet Betteridge 1:34:00 Colin Overton 01:15:16

Stage 4    9.5 Miles Malgorzata 1:11:36 Bernard Sexton 01:01:54

Stage 5    9.6 Miles Lucy Rigg 01:18:11, Phill Turner 01:08:35

Stage 6    6.9 Miles Michelle Verbossche 01:19:19, Rob Willin 01:13:30

Stage 7   10.7 Michelle Tanner 01:19:35, Ewan Fryatt 01:03:37

Stage 8    10.8 Miles Jenny Bushell 01:20:11, Chris Wiciak 01:08:36

Stage 9    9.6 Miles Kira King 00:58:41, Chris Lambert 00:51:33

Stage 10   13.1 Miles Sarah Bailey 01:31:55 Tom Easten 01:21:27

Stage 11   12.3 Miles Jen Watt 01:32:38, Matt Kaufman 01:19:30

Stage 12   11.2 Miles Olivia Parker-Scott 01:23:04 Mike Lawrence 01:10:04

Stage 13   10.6 Miles Emily Schmidt 01:19:14 Kieran Santry 01:09:23

Stage 14   10.8 Miles Ellen Easten 01:24:03 Andy Guy 01:21:18

Stage 15   12.8 Miles Francesca Cooper 01:26:05 Kieran Morrisroe 01:20:25

Stage 16   8.8 Miles Sarah Mackenzie 01:14:14 Jose Manuel Pabon 55:41

Stage 17   9.2 Miles Kelly Scanlon 01:01:40 Raf Mac 56:31

Stage 18   9.1 Miles Sophie Foxall 01:10:40 Greg Lawes 01:00:15

Stage 19   7.7 Miles Elizabeth Adams 01:06:23 Ralph Dadswell 01:00:34

Stage 20   10.7 Miles Rebecca Jackson 01:06:23 John Foxall 01:00:34

Comrades Marathon 2017 by Ralph Dadswell

A double marathon in the heat of South Africa, run either uphill or downhill on alternate years? And this year it was uphill? 

Well why wouldn't you want to do that?! 

Here is Ralph's report of all that unfolded during this gruelling race on 4th June 2017. 

http://www.deapp.co.uk/_uploads/uploads/Comrades%202017.pdf

Well done Ralph - amazing stuff! 

2016 - 2017 Club Championships & Club Awards

At the Summer Party on Saturday night we finally found out who had taken home the silverware in the 2016 - 2017 Club Championships!

The ladies results are as follows:

Female Club Champion - Sarah Bailey
Senior Female Winner - Rebecca Jackson
Female V30 Winner - Melissah Gibson
Female V35 Winner - Maria Fitzgerald
Female V40 Winner - Yvonne Linney
Female V45 Winner - Jennifer Watt
Female V50 Winner - Elizabeth Adams

And the men's results were:

Male Club Champion - Tom Easten
Senior Male Winner - John Foxall
Male V30 Winner - Jose Manuel Pabon
Male V35 Winner - Tom Corbett
Male V40 Winner - Harry Claxton
Male V45 Winner - Ralph Dadswell
Male V50 Winner - Rob Willin

We were also delighted to hand out more trophies for the different club awards categories, which this year were:

Club Personality -Frank Doyle
Clubman - Jennifer Watt
Most Improved Runner - Yvette Burton
Most Improved Beginner – Darren Loftus
 

Well done to all the winners and to everyone who has raced, volunteered, taken part and run for the club over the last year for helping to make it a fantastically successful season. 

Eagles Soar at London Marathon

23rd April 2017

Huge flock of Ealing Eagles soar at 2017 London Marathon

A total of 49 members of local running club Ealing Eagles completed the 2017 London Marathon on Sunday 23rd April. 

In a record breaking year for the London Marathon 40,382 runners took on the course, which starts in Greenwich and covers 26.2 miles through East London and the Docklands area before heading past the Tower of London, Big Ben, and finally finishing on the Mall close to Buckingham Palace. 

The annual marathon is the biggest single fundraising event in the world. Several of the Eagles taking part this year were raising money for charity, altogether raising an incredible total of just under £39k for their various good causes.

Four Eagles had a different but equally important role on race day as official volunteers; Rachel Job, Paul Thomas, and the team behind the Ealing Half Marathon Sandra Courtney and Kelvin Walker were part of the team looking after the runners at one of the three start areas.

Many other members of the club were on hand to cheer the runners on from various points around the course and from their regular spot at the 23rd mile, providing a much needed boost for the final push to the finish. 

Chair Thom Martini commented ‘the London Marathon is a very special event and every year it demonstrates both the diverse range of runners we have and the supportive nature of the club. This year our runner’s times ranged from 2 hours and 41 minutes to just over 6 hours, and they were all cheered into the home straight by their club mates’. 

The full marathon results for the Ealing Eagles are as follows:

Easten, Tom 02:41:53
Overton, Colin 02:48:30
Kaufman, Matthew Alexander 02:54:36
Pabon, Jose Manuel 02:59:16
Dadswell, Ralph 03:06:58
Fryatt, Ewan 03:08:54
Claxton, Harry 03:11:43
Gibson, Melissah 03:18:30
Lawes, Greg - 3:21:22
Keenleyside, Piers 03:23:18
Tanner, Michelle 03:34:12
Lambert, Chris 03:34:53
Sanderson, Carole 03:36:29
Schmidt, Emily 03:36:58
Verbossche, Michelle 03:37:40
Kucharska, Malgorzata 03:39:46
Robinson, Paul 03:40:17
Mackenzie, Sarah Jane 03:42:07
Luksch, Kerstin 03:42:59
Johnson, Charlotte 03:50:19
Sexton, Bernard - 3:51:28
Goodman, Luke - 3:55:10
Vickery, Heidi 03:56:58
Gaga, Laura 03:57:22
Minhas, Pardip 03:57:30
Adams, Elizabeth 04:00:57
Burton, Yvette 04:02:28
Szczech, Bernard 04:02:50
Maryniak, Marcin 04:11:36
Lang, Paul 04:15:02
Baker, Jennifer 04:19:58
Lewis, Holly 04:20:31
O'Hare, Christina 04:26:44
Chybowski, Stefan 04:33:35
McClements, Rachel 04:34:06
Mirza, Naveed 04:38:48
Fernandes, Kim 04:42:53
Duff, Angela 04:46:31
Hart, Suzy 04:46:43
Wiggins, Pamela 04:54:15
Burton, Faye 04:59:25
Panton, Nigel 05:03:09
Cann, Laura 05:11:55
Thakker, Jesal 05:12:30
Bennett, Steph 05:18:49
Mulrenan, Catherine 05:22:45
Mizzi, Peter 5:27:20
Moran, Carol 5:45:04
Müller-Choudhury, Tasnia Taniqua 6:06:01
 

Juniors Winter Season Achievements

As XC season comes to a close, we take a moment to hi-light and celebrate the achievements of our juniors in their first winter of competitive racing.

• Our juniors participated in two XC leagues this winter- Met League & the NW London XC League;
• 13 juniors ran over 10 league fixtures, some raced in a single fixture, some raced consistently;
• 3 juniors represented their boroughs in the London Youth Games at Parliament Hill;
• 2 juniors raced at the Southern XC Championships;
• 3 juniors raced at the Middlesex XC Championships.

By no means was it easy for our juniors to put themselves up against other well established clubs. But, at every event, they showed grit, determination and heart. We are proud of their achievements this winter and we hope you are too.

None of this, of course, is possible without our dedicated team of volunteers and we are grateful to them for their assistance with the development of our juniors. But, we need more volunteers to train as coaches (either as athletic coaches or cirfs), particularly to help train our older juniors. If you think working with young people is for you, then please be in touch with us at juniors@ealingeagles.com. We'd be delighted to hear from you.

We now look forward to our first spring/summer season of competitive track and field events....so watch this space!

Eagles Clubhouse Update

At the 2016 AGM, it was agreed that a sub committee would investigate various sites where the Eagles could establish a base.

This sub-committee has been working hard over the past year and at the 2017 AGM, Nigel Panton and Kelvin Walker gave an update on the progress.

Kelvin has also put together this summary on the progress. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-AC0rbRvI1HQ2NMSkVLbm9rdDA/view?usp=sharing

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me at chair@ealingeagles.com

Facebook Events & Mr. Eagle Profile

Hello everyone - quite an important public service announcement....Facebook has suspended Mr. Eagle's account because they suspect he is not real. This means that we're not able to post as Mr. Eagle, and also that some of you might notice that events have disappeared from what you can see.

This is very much a live situation for the committee, we're just working out how much this has affected things and also how to fix it so we really need you to bear with us please.

If you have had an event SET UP by Mr. Eagle and you now can't see it please email us at info@ealingeagles.com and we will try to work out a way to make it live again or transfer the host from Mr. Eagle to someone else.

Please DO NOT email us just to say you can't see an event you are attending because that will get extremely confusing.

#justiceformreagle #realmreagle #ifsantaisrealsoismreagle

Ready As I'm Going to Be

The last week I only had time for two more four mile runs.  Each time there was a fair amount of pain in the foot to start off with but then it eased off and the rest of it felt much better.  My foot had healed in the last month but not as much as I would have liked.  I had long abandoned any hope of having a pain free day, but it was a bit of a concern just how much it still hurt.  With no significant runs done in a long time, I had no idea how it would go over marathon distance.  I had some last minute misgivings about going through with it but I felt like deferring would let too many people down.  Happily, I didn't get a cold or sick in any other way like a lot of people do in the final days.  Maybe this was because I already had something to worry about.  I went to the expo on the Wednesday evening.  I only stuck around long enough to grab my number and drink a couple of the free samples of beer.  I was a bit sad that I had gone there on my own and not made the most of it.  With so much going on, I hadn’t managed to get too excited about the event.  Having learned a lesson from my previous marathons, I didn’t go overboard with the eating during the final days.  The Saturday evening meal was nothing too rich, just pasta, tuna, cheese and tomato sauce.  I slept OK because I didn’t quite appreciate what was coming.

Very early on Sunday morning I joined the big group of fellow Eagles for the coach to Blackheath.  Naturally, my foot was hurting a bit more than it had been.  It wasn’t until I got to the start area that the enormity of what I was about to do properly started to sink in.  I run a lot, but 26 miles still seems a ridiculously long distance to me.  Thankfully there was ample toilet provision and fast queues, because you can never go enough.  I still wanted to go even after I had ducked out of the starting pen with only minutes left.  The nerves and the adrenaline was unbearable.  As we set off, I let the crowd of runners sweep me along and my injury was soon forgotten.  The first few miles of it could rightfully be described as carnage.  In no other race have I been so pressed in by bodies.  Just when it thinned out, we merged with the streams of runners from the other starts and the chaos escalated.  I saw someone dressed as a giraffe take another guy out because he couldn’t see properly.  I like to have my personal space when I’m running and I think being crowded in makes me run faster because I just want to get around people.  A couple of miles in I was firmly on three hour pace and it seemed impossible for me to go any slower.  My plan of trying a steady 7:30 or 8:00 pace to start off with had gone out the window.  I felt good though and it seemed like I might do well at this in spite of everything. 

At this point I should probably mention that I was wearing a tutu and had my name written on my vest in bright pink letters.  The latter was Brenda’s idea.  The purpose of this was to stand out for the people that knew me, but this did backfire somewhat because it meant that everyone noticed me.  With so many people shouting my name I ended up missing those that mattered.  The encouragement, which was complementary for the most part, was amazing and I it felt good to finally find out why the London Marathon is so rewarding.

I got a huge buzz going over Tower Bridge and soon after I hit the halfway point in an hour and 31 minutes.  It was my fastest half marathon of the year.  Unfortunately, I then had to run another half.  Within the next few miles my troublesome left calf started to twinge and threaten to cramp up.  I had no choice but to slow up in the hope that it would behave itself at a gentler pace.  A few miles later, my right calf started playing up as well.  The section around the docklands passed slowly.  Every mile took longer and became more of a challenge, and the only thing that kept me going was the knowledge that every painful step was taking me closer to the finish.  This was turning into last year’s Manchester Marathon all over again.  That time I went to the loo and found I couldn’t start running again.  This time I once again gave in to my bladder and hoped the same thing wouldn’t happen again.  It slowed me down but I kept running, and I managed to continue to do so for a few miles at least, counting down the distance to the magic mile 23.

I couldn’t sustain it though.  When I reached the City, the calves completely seized up and I had no choice but to stop and stretch them.  Not even the crescendo of crowd support could keep me going anymore.  Mile 23 and the Eagles cheer squad came finally, and I couldn’t miss it with all the signs before it.  I had to put on a brave face and run past the outstretched hands as best I could, although, as the photo shows, my face told the story all too well.  I had to stop and stretch again as soon as got past, and from then on each attempt to run was increasingly futile.  My calves just weren’t having it: walking was bad enough but running was out of the question.  So for my second consecutive marathon I was hobbling to the finish line.  I was having a good time though.  The crowd was cheering my name constantly and that put a smile on my face.  At about mile 24, my tutu got the attention of a BBC crew and I found myself being interviewed about it by Colin Jackson.  My mind was so elsewhere that it didn’t immediately sink in that I was on live television.

From then on I could only walk as fast as I could manage, the final roads becoming a blur as the emotion of it all welled up within me.  I ran the last few yards the best I could with calves that didn’t work and the relief at finishing was enormous.  My time was 3:34:53, something close to the time I was expecting although not at the even pace that I had planned.  It might have been worse if I had done the first half slower; I don’t know.  I had an extra unexpected challenge of having to walk a surprisingly long way along the rest of the Mall, but then a lie down on the grass and a beer made me feel a bit better.

I’m really glad to have had the opportunity to run it this year.  It was the right thing to go ahead with it even with my injury.  I would like to thank the Eagles for giving me the place and everyone that gave their support.  Thanks most of all to Brenda for sticking by me, even through the times of emotional as well as physical hardship. 

Thankfully, I didn’t do any serious damage to my foot, but it is going to take a while longer to heal and I won’t be able to do as much running as I did previously.  I said right at the start that this might be my last marathon.  Now, I am not quite so sure.  I would certainly jump at the chance of running London again.  There is always the chance that the next one may go better.

Volunteering - We Need You!

Ealing Eagles Running Club is entirely run by volunteers.

We say this all the time, so most of you are probably well aware of this. But did you know how many volunteers it takes to keep the club going?

Well, there are currently 8 committee members for a start. Then two club runs every week, which each have a leader and two tail runners. That's 14. We then have coached sessions on a Tuesday and Thursday, so that's two more. Plus Beginners twice, sometimes three times a week and the Improver's sessions, which are commonly two additional coached sessions a week. That takes us up to 21. We also have 4 club members who manage the Junior section. Plus the person who collates all the club champs information. Plus Mr. Kit, the fabulous Piers Express.

That's a bare minimum of 26 volunteers needed each week to keep this club of around 800 members going. That's over 1,250 opportunities to volunteer every year, most of which are filled by the same small group of amazing regular volunteers. 

And that doesn't even count the additional volunteers we need for the Juniors and Beginner's sessions. It doesn't include the 10k committee, or the team who arrange the Gunnersbury summer league. It doesn't include captains for events like the Welsh Castles or the Green Belt, Summer League and Cross Country. It doesn't include marshals, pacers, timekeepers. It doesn't include the people who bring the tea urn and cakes to events. And it doesn't include all the club coaches who work behind the scenes putting together training plans and meeting with their coachees in their spare time. 

We ask all club members to volunteer for something twice each year. This isn;t a nice to have, it's vital for the club to run effectively.

There are loads of things you can do - at the moment these include:

• Run leader for club run - check out the schedule under the training section on the Eagles Nest and add your name! You just need to turn up on time, welcome new people, make the weekly announcements, and lead some stretches at the end (or ask a pal to do that). The full information is under 'volunteer roles' on the Eagles Nest. Please note if you would like to be a run leader, send us a quick email to info@ealingeagles.com so we can add you to the email list and the Google sheet we use for new member information and announcements.
• Tail running - even easier - you just need to add your name to the same schedule as above, turn up on time, and run at the pace of the slowest runner for the short or long club run. You get a nice chat and an enormous sense of well-being from helping people along. 
• Volunteer with the beginners - Wei Hei runs the beginner's like a well oiled machine, but she can't do it on her own! Volunteers are always needed so that different groups can run at the same session. If you're not sure what it's all about email us or offer to run with the beginners at parkrun first to get an idea of how it works. Again you get that chat and the pleasure of helping someone on their way.   
• Gunnersbury Summer League - you can volunteer to help organise this event, or volunteer on the day as a marshal or a water station attendant. We also need Summer League captains for both the men's and ladies teams this year. 
• Coaching - the club offers support for members who would like to support the club by achieving the recognised LiRF and CiRF qualifications. Volunteers are also always welcome to assist the coaches at specific sessions. Contact coaching@ealingeagles.com if you would like to help or are interested in gaining a coaching qualification. 
• Juniors - the juniors section meets on Monday evenings and still needs volunteers. Is Monday your rest day? There you go then! 

To volunteer for any of the above roles, register your interest by emailing us at info@ealingeagles.com. Other opportunities for specific events come up all the time, so keep an eye out on the newsletter and Facebook. 
 

2017 - 2018 XC Fixtures

I know we're all loving these longer days and pushing all thoughts of winter to one side, but in preparation for the next Cross Country season here all the provisional dates for all the fixtures so get them in your diaries now so there are no excuses when the XC Captains come calling...

Met League:
 
14 October – Claybury
11 November – Stevenage
2 December – Hillingdon
13 January – Wormwood Scrubs
10 February – Trent Park

Sunday League:
 
29 October – Cheshunt
12 November – Trent Park
17 December – Willian (early start at 10.00am)
14 January – Cassiobury Park, Watford (we also need to provide marshals for this event)
18 February – Royston

SEAA XC Fixtures:
21st October 2017 - Cross Country Relays at Wormwood Scrubs        
18th November 2017 - London Cross Country Champs at Parliament Hill  
9th December 2017 - Cross Country Masters & Inter Counties Championship at Horspath Track, Oxford
27th January 2018 - Cross Country Main Champs, Venue TBC
 
Other XC Fixtures:
Middlesex Champs – first weekend in Jan
Nationals – last weekend in Feb

Post Marathon Blues...?

For those of you that have been training hard through the long, cold winter, in preparation for your spring marathon, now it's all done (or nearly done for those that have yet to run your marathon!) you may be thinking what do I do next??  Don't despair as there are plenty of racing opportunities coming up over the summer to get you out of your post marathon blues!

Whilst it may be nice to have a bit of a break after all those miles and it's very important that you have some recovery time, if you're on good form it would be a shame to waste it wouldn't it?!  So why don't you put your feet up for a bit and read all about the Club Championship races?!  The new Club Champs year starts at the beginning of May and there are plenty of races to sign up for, across a variety of distances!  This can all be done from the comfort of your sofa (except the actual running part!)!

Check out this link for all things Club Champs related and look out for the event pages on Facebook!  http://www.ealingeagles.com/club-championships

We also compete in a Summer League with a number of other London based clubs and these 5 miles / 10km races will be on throughout the summer.  If you don't fancy running then we are hosting the first fixture of the League at Gunnersbury Park so why not come along and help out?!

http://www.ealingeagles.com/summer-league/

http://www.ealingeagles.com/news/2017/4/18/volunteers-for-gunnersbury-summer-league

Below are some of the races coming up over the next few months:

May

14th May 5 miles - http://www.secondsunday5.com/

28th May 1 mile - https://www.vitalitywestminstermile.co.uk/

June

4th June Summer League at Gunnersbury Park (hosted by the Eagles)

18th June Summer League at Harrow

25th June 5km - http://www.nice-work.org.uk/events.php?id=205

July

2nd July Summer League at Dulwich

16th July Summer League at Regent's Park (Club Champs event)

28th July 7km - Wedding Day 7km

August

13th August Half Marathon - http://bbhm.burnhamjoggers.org.uk/

20th August Summer League at Battersea Park (Club Champs event)

September

3rd September 10 miles - http://www.thehrc.org.uk/harlow102017.htm

Looking forward to a good turnout at these events!