Coached Sessions 12th to 24th April 2021

Please read the instructions

Ealing Eagles is normally a very sociable running club with an informal and relaxed approach to our training but we know many members have missed being able to train together during lockdown. The Eagles Coaches and the Committee have worked behind the scenes to see what we might be able to offer while minimising the risk of Covid-19 transmission. This has involved the setting up of a Covid 19 team, and the writing of a Covid 19 plan, risk registers and risk assessments to identify Covid 19 secure environments.

It also means that your access to coached sessions might involve different arrangements and certainly more admin than we would like. SO PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS.

  • Meeting points may be different from normal (particularly at West Walk) so that the meeting arrangements can more easily satisfy the requirements for social distancing so please read the instructions which say where you should meet.

  • It’s a pain to have to book sessions and what should you do if you can’t make the session and have to cancel? The cancellation instructions are set out on the relevant Eagles webpage and have now been added to the information you get sent when you book. There is an option to cancel via Eventbrite if you have an account - if you don’t have an account (or aren’t sure), please email coaching@ealingeagles.com Please don’t offer your place at the session on Facebook as all attendees need to answer various questions before they attend the session.

  • In a club of over 800 members with a limited number of spaces on coached sessions, we want to give as many people as possible the chance to take part in a coached session. We are therefore offering the sessions in two week booking periods and members are asked to book only one session when the sessions are first advertised. If places are still available for any session a week after this first advertisement (as notified in your News from the Nest email), then members will be allowed to book a second session in the booking period to encourage all places to be taken. (If this all sounds confusing, please feel free to check arrangements by emailing coaching@ealingeagles.com). Please don’t think that all the sessions look exciting and so book more than one session at the same time - this will simply result in you being sent to the back of the queue so that you only get a place if there are spaces left after the booking period has closed.

Don’t worry if there’s a problem - we all make mistakes (and the mistake may be in the original instructions for which apologies in advance). However, it will help your coaching co-ordinator and reduce the total amount of admin if you try, as far as possible, to read and follow instructions.

Spaces on sessions in previous booking period Mon 29 Mar to Sat 10 April

The following sessions had spaces at the time of writing and have been advertised more than once. Please feel free to book even if you have attended another session in the period Mon 29 Mar to 10 Apr

Thu 8 Apr 6.30pm to 7.30pm PILOT Parkrun Prep at Perivale Park - intervals with Angela Duff (booking deadline Tue 6 Apr at 11.30pm) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pilot-parkrun-prep-at-perivale-park-thu-8-apr-tickets-149052757811

Sat 10 Apr 8.15am to 9.15am Blondin Park - Intervals with Dineke Austin (booking deadline Thu 8 Apr at 11.30pm) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blondin-intervals-sat-10-apr-tickets-147281971341

Coached Sessions for the booking period Mon 12th to Sat 24th April

Following a successful pilot for our first midweek evening session under Covid 19 restrictions, the coaching team is pleased to be able to offer a session at West Walk in this booking period. In addition, a pilot for a second midweek evening session, Perivale Park, will take place on Thursday 8th April - if the pilot is successful, then booking for a session at the same venue will open next weekend. These new venues are in addition to Lammas Park, Churchfields Recreation Ground and Blondin Park.

The full list of options available for the booking period Mon 12th to Sat 24th April is set out below (please click on links to see separate events on Eventbrite - please choose only ONE from the options available over that period):

Mon 12 Apr 10am to 11am Lammas Park - intervals with Mike Limpert (booking deadline Sat 10 Apr at 11.30pm) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lammas-intervals-mon-12-apr-tickets-149435382251

Thu 15 Apr 7pm to 8pm West Walk - hills with Rhiannon Williams (booking deadline Tue 13 Apr at 11.30pm) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/west-walk-hills-thu-15-apr-tickets-149435478539

Sat 17 Apr 8.30am to 9.30am Churchfields - intervals with Rachel Job (booking deadline Thu 15 Apr at 11.30pm) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/churchfields-intervals-sat-17-apr-tickets-149434644043

Mon 19 Apr 10am to 11am Lammas Park - intervals with Wei Hei Kipling (booking deadline Sat 17 Apr at 11.30pm) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lammas-intervals-mon-19-apr-tickets-149435568809

TO BE CONFIRMED Thu 22 Apr 6.30pm to 7.30pm Parkrun Prep at Perivale Park - intervals with Angela Duff (booking will open on Sat 10 Apr at 11.30pm depending on the results of the pilot on Thu 8 Apr; deadline for booking Tue 20 Apr at 11.30pm) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/parkrun-prep-at-perivale-park-thu-22-apr-tickets-149435701205

Sat 24 Apr 8.30am to 9.30am Churchfields - intervals with Rachel Job (booking deadline Thu 22 Apr at 11.30pm) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/churchfields-intervals-sat-24-apr-tickets-149435257879

How we’re mitigating Covid-19 risks

The Eagles Coaches and the Committee have been working behind the scenes to see what we might be able to offer while minimising the risk of Covid-19 transmission. This has involved the setting up of a Covid 19 team, and the writing of a Covid 19 plan, risk registers and risk assessments to identify Covid 19 secure environments.

How you can safely participate

The demands of Covid-19 planning to allow us even to attempt to offer any training sessions together with the size of the club means that we will need to ask people:

  • To book a session in advance.

  • To supply your contact details for track and trace (and also in case a session needs to be cancelled or arrangements changed)

  • To answer a pre-activity health questionnaire included in the booking – and not to book or attend the session if you are not able to answer the questions positively

  • To note and follow arrangements set out by the Coach to enable social distancing during the session including overtaking lanes where offered.

  • To treat members of the public with courtesy which may include slowing down or even stopping in your training if a member of the public comes too close to the area being used for the Club session.

  • Not to socialise together before or after the session

More details of the questions, notes and disclaimers are set out in the appendix.

How to book a session

We are aiming to offer coached sessions on a regular basis, subject to the availability of coaches as well as changes in Government, London, Local Authority and England Athletics guidance, which can change at short notice. 

The sessions will be booked via Eventbrite - the link for each event is set out above. Tickets are limited and issued as one per booking. Deadline for booking subject to availability is 11.30pm two days before a session takes place (so Thursday 11.30pm for a Saturday session and Saturday 11.30pm for a Monday session).

To enable as many members as possible to attend a session, we will be offering the sessions in two week booking periods and members are asked to book only one session when the sessions are first advertised. If places are still available for any session a week after this first advertisement (as notified in your News from the Nest email), then members will be allowed to book a second session in the booking period to encourage all places to be taken. (If this all sounds confusing, please feel free to check arrangements by emailing coaching@ealingeagles.com).

And finally, we ask that you do not go to a session meeting point if you have not been able to book a place. It will not be possible for you to join on the day. Your presence may mean that the session is not Covid 19 secure.

If you have any questions, please contact coaching@ealingeagles.com

How to cancel a session

If you do book a session but then decide that you are unable to attend, there are two preferred ways for you to cancel.

  • If you are able to cancel on Eventbrite yourself, that releases the space as soon as possible in case someone else can book it and will automatically inform the club that you have cancelled.

  • However, as that may require an Eventbrite account - the alternative is to email coaching@ealingeagles.com (messaging Wei Hei Kipling on facebook runs the risk of the message being overlooked and emailing info@ealingeagles.com adds an extra step in requiring the email to be forwarded to coaching@ealingeagles.com ).

Please don’t make a private arrangement with someone else or offer your place on Facebook as all attendees need to answer various questions before they attend the session.

Appendix 

During the booking, the pre-activity health questionnaire will ask you to state:

  • "I do not display any of the typical symptoms of active Covid-19 infection (fever, cough persisting more than 4 hours, loss of taste and smell, etc - pls check official guidance for details)"

  • "I have not tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 7 days"

  • "I have followed all social distancing guidelines set by the government or appropriate for my occupation for the last 7 days."

If this changes, please could you contact coaching@ealingeagles.com asap.If you can not meet the disclaimers above you should not book a session. 

In addition, the following disclaimers and notes will apply regarding the coached sessions offered by the Club – if you are not willing to accept these disclaimers and notes, please do not book a session.

  1. I agree that attending this session is done so at my own risk.

  2. I understand that the session may be cancelled at short notice if the Coach is unwell and no substitute Coach is available or if the risks at the time of the session are considered too great.

  3. I will arrive dressed to run.

  4. I will keep to a minimum what I bring to the session. I will make arrangements to look after my own valuables (keys, card, phone) and will not expect anyone else to look after them.

  5. I intend to follow all social distancing guidance with anyone who is not a part of my own household during the Club’s coached session – so no physical greeting, hi-fiving or supporting one another during stretches etc. 

  6. As well as following the social distancing guidelines between people, I will not touch with my hands anything belonging to anyone else (including any cones) and will not share drinks, snacks or hand sanitiser.

  7. I will note and follow arrangements set out by the Coach to enable social distancing during the session including overtaking lanes where offered.

  8. The session will be taking place in a public area and I will treat members of the public with courtesy which may include slowing down or even stopping in my training if a member of the public comes too close to the area being used for the Club session.

  9. If I show symptoms of Covid 19 within 48 hours of attending the session, I will inform the Coach / Coaching coordinator on coaching@ealingeagles.com

Chairman's Report, AGM Update and 2021-22 Free Membership

Ealing Eagles Running Club – Annual General Meeting (AGM)

(Circulated via weekly newsletter, Facebook and Eagles website)

Date: 27th April 2021
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Virtual meeting until Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted

Committee: 

Chair: David Carlin
Coaching: Wei Hei Kipling
Communications: Jodie Vickery (Maggie Roxburgh & Anna Shierson)
Membership: Terena De Abaitua-Hind & Phil Cairns
Race: Alix Burge
Social: Claudia Aviles
Treasurer: Greg Fernandes-Lawes

Index - Item by

Welcome - Chair 
Chairperson’s Report - Chair
Annual Accounts - Treasurer
Election of Committee - Chair

Chairperson’s Report

The last 12 months have been extraordinary! The Covid-19 pandemic meant we had to cancel all our social nights, Eagles 10k event, weekly coaching sessions and club runs. We also missed out on other well-loved events such as Green Belt Relay, Summer League, Norfolk Relay, Cross Country and the Ealing Half Marathon!! 

Once again, I’d like to convey a big thank you from The Committee to all members for adhering to the Social Distancing rules. Your care and thoughtfulness when you have been running around Ealing, or wherever you may now live, has been exceptional. We know runners have had a bad press in local Facebook groups, however, our understanding is that the club has been mindful of the rules and adhered to them.

The Committee’s main concern has been the Health & Safety (H&S) of our members throughout the pandemic. Our focus moving forward will be continuing with your H&S in mind and so our plans to open up the club activities will be controlled with a gradual move back to face-to-face coaching and club runs. With this focus, as events start to go ahead, we can all remain as safe as possible as individuals and as a club. We will, as always, adhere to both government and England Athletics (EA) guidelines through this transition back to the ‘new normal', until hopefully the ‘normal’ does return!

We remain aware that some of our members will have had family illnesses due to the virus, mental health challenges and some may have lost their businesses/jobs due to the economic knock-on effects of the lockdowns. Our members will have different views on risk, so we need to make sure we are sensitive to our peers around us. Future coaching sessions and club runs, when these do start to open up again, will come with expectations of respect and care for each other. Many of us may have had one or both Covid jabs by the time we open up, however, this doesn’t make us invincible! We all still need to follow the EA guidelines to maintain our EA membership and insurance cover. 

A few ‘Thank You's' before I move on to the proposed AGM
 

  • Thank you to Wei Hei Kipling, Dineke Austin, Angela Duff, Rachael Job, Mike Limpert and Rhiannon Williams for continuing to provide face to face coach sessions when this has been possible and virtual events or programmes to keep us involved with running-related programmes. Also thank you to Jenny Bushell and Rhiannon Williams for putting together the Zoom session on Garmin tricks etc.

  • Thank you to Lisa Emerson who manages our Club Championship table (CC). Although the CC had to be dramatically cut back (2019-20), this is always an unenvious task to manage due to the solid numbers of members taking part. Obviously, the 2020-21 Champs couldn’t take place due to Covid-19. We are looking at how we can encompass a 2021-22 season at our next committee meeting.

  • Thank you to Dan Vandenburg for his regular Mental Health posts.

  • Thank you to Catherine Mulrenan for the weekly ‘Eagles Run Corner’ posts.

  • Thank you to our two Welfare Officers, Teresa Connolly for the Adult section and Ann Gallagher for the Junior section.

  • The committee also received much support from Gerbrand Alkema and Catherine Mulrenan to review our Covid-19 Risk Assessments which allowed face to face coaching to take place when we were allowed to do so.

  • Lastly thank you to our local sponsors/partnerships who have been making online fitness available to us all during Lockdown and are always promoting the club on our behalf.


Coaching

We would like some additional club coaches, especially for our Juniors. If you have an interest in coaching, please contact coaching@ealingeagles.com The club will cover all coaching fees for those members who are accepted onto EA training courses.

Awards 2020

There are some outstanding awards from 2020. Due to our social events being cancelled we were unable to present these formally, however, a trophy will be handed over to the winners as soon as possible!

  • Most Improved Beginner – Christina Wilson

  • Most Improved Runner – Jack Whitebury

  • Club Personality of The Year – Abi Barber

  • Club Person of the Year – Piers Keenlyside

  • Club Championship (Female) – TBC

  • Club Championship (Male) – TBC


Life Members

We have five ‘Life members’ Alan and Liz Brown, Kelvin Walker, Godfrey Rust and Richard Tuson. They were recognised by the club for their part in setting the running club up and/or for the work they had undertaken on behalf of the club. There have not been any new Life Members for some 5 years or so. Life Membership is not awarded liberally, however, the committee has decided to award two more members Life Memberships this year.

Congratulations go to both Lisa Dumais and Jennifer Watt for their work and commitment in setting up the Junior Eagles section. The Junior section has been very successful, and our thanks go to both Lisa and Jen for their time and commitment over the past five years or so. They have now passed the Juniors baton and I am sure that this section of the club will continue to thrive.

Lastly, I’d like to thank the current committee for their help and support to me as Chairperson but also for all their hard work and commitment to make sure our great club has been virtually active and for the work now in hand to energise us all post Lockdown.

The Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting will not take place on 27th April 2021 on a face-to-face basis. We have decided to see if there is interest in a virtual AGM.

Please complete the linked spreadsheet if you wish to attend. If you could simply add your name by 17th April so we can make the necessary arrangements on Zoom to ensure we buy the package to cater for the expected numbers.

Last year we declared that the majority of the committee wanted to stand again, and members approved this. The Communications role was taken up by Jodie Vickery with Maggie and Anna both taking on additional aspects of the Comms role, so we have a team of three, although only one officially is on the committee.

Whilst the majority of the committee members wish to stand for another year, there are two committee positions that need filling: Race and Membership. After 3 years of dedicated service, Phil Cairns would like to step back from his role as co-Membership Secretary. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Phil for his hard work. As we move towards a hopefully ‘racier’ future, the committee is seeking to also recruit for the role of Race. If you are interested in either position, please contact membership@ealingeagles.com.

Further information on the election of the committee members is at the end of this document.

Membership Fees 2021-22

Due to the reduced club activity last year together with the club’s healthy financial position, the membership secretaries proposed that we, the club, cover the 2021-22 membership fees whether in full or part. After careful consideration and reviewing the financial implications, the committee has decided to renew all members EA membership (£15) and not charge a club membership fee for those members who paid last year (April 2020 to March 2021). To clarify… free membership for 2021-22 for current members.

We are working with EA to make this happen seamlessly!! If you have had dealings with EA before you will know this is not an easy exercise! Terena and Phil will make this happen and be in touch soon. If you receive a payment request before we contact you, please do not pay this!

We hope this news on membership fees will be both a pleasant surprise and one which shows we are committed to ensuring we want to do what is best for the club members and continue giving value for money for the membership fee. Any returning members who didn’t join last year and new members from 1st April 2021 will pay £30 (or £15 for second club status).

We will, assuming we are able to under government regulations and EA guidance, continue to raise funds for our two club charities and for an additional charity related to Scott Mitchell (Move Clinics) who sadly passed away last year after a long fight against cancer. We hope that members will support the club events and in turn support our charities.

Financials

We have a cash balance of £36,598.32. In order for the club to meet the EA fees in 2021-22 we have accrued £8,021 of our 2020-21 income into next year’s accounts. This means our 2020-21 profit is £100.97. We are holding a retained surplus will be £25,659.54.

It’s wise to leave the accounts to be signed off until we have our AGM, however, please be assured that Greg reports to the committee at each Committee meeting. Last year we introduced the Annual Accounts being reviewed by two other financially qualified members of the club.

Last year the independent reviewers were happy with the administration of the accounts and from their review commented “there is a good audit for our financial processes, and we were compliant”. The financial report is attached. If you have any questions about the accounts, please email chair@ealingeagles.com so we have a separation of duties and I’ll get the response(s) from Greg and include the two independent reviewers as well, so our response is transparent. I will then publish the Q&As to the club in my next report. This approach worked well last year.

So 2021…what does this mean for the club and our community

1. Club

I am sure we will rejuvenate our club ethos of socialising and being a strong community running club as soon as external decisions support us doing so. Please continue to be responsible when running around your community and we will soon be back together trying to remember how to order a drink, whether a soft or an alcoholic one! No doubt there will be some Social Distancing rules to obey but we won’t rush into this, our socials may be the last part of our club DNA we get back!

We decided to delay any decisions about the Eagles 10k until we have more clarity regarding government and EA policies, however, we are hopeful that we may go for an early September date as a preparation for the Ealing Half Marathon.

2. Community

Through our own charity, the Ealing Eagles Charitable Foundation we are pursuing a permanent base for both the Adult and Junior Sections. This will hopefully include a clubhouse, inside training facilities and an outdoor track (not necessarily a full track).

This will be in partnership with another sporting organisation and is a longer-term plan. The EECF committee is having positive meetings with Ealing Council’s town planners, another Ealing sports club and England Athletics to pursue these facilities on our behalf. Ealing Eagles would be a strong stakeholder in these facilities. There will be no financial liability for the club itself.

The club beginners programme has an excellent reputation in the local community and so the run leaders intend to wait until restrictions are relaxed to the extent necessary for a similar programme to be offered again and subject to the availability of volunteers. In the meantime, the beginners' run leaders have been offering virtual support to a small group of people making use of the Couch to 5k programme

3. Election of the Committee

Once again, I have enjoyed another year as Club Chairperson, and I wish to stand again for another year. The stability in keeping most of the committee together last year would have made the operational side of the club stronger, however, COVID-19 placed our plans on hold.

Once again If you are interested in the Race committee role, Membership committee role or any other role please email membership@ealingeagles.com.  We meet once a month for 1 to 2 hours.

Committee members only have a one-year term, so each role has to be elected/re-elected at the AGM.

Proposed Chairperson: David Carlin
Proposed Coaching: Wei Hei Kipling
Proposed Communications: Maggie Roxburgh
Proposed Membership: Terena De Abaitua-Hind & TBC
Proposed Race: TBC
Proposed Social: Claudia Aviles
Proposed Treasurer: Greg Fernandes-Lawes

If you are interested in any of the positions, please follow the timeline below.

4th April 2021 Letter sent to the membership

16th April 2021 Nominations for the Committee places to be sent to membership@ealingeagles.com
(Please supply your name and which role you want to be elected for). If only one application made, the applicant will be moved to ‘Proposed status’ at the AGM.

19th April 2021 If more than one member applies you will be requested to send a short personal statement to  membership@ealingeagles.com in the near future.

20th April 2021 Vote for candidates will start.

25th April 2021 Vote counted if there is competition for the role(s).

27th April 2021 Chairperson’s report, Financial accounts to date and election of the committee.

If you want to speak to me about the roles and expectations of committee posts please do contact me at chair@ealingeagles.com. 

I look forward to seeing you via Facebook, Strava or in-person while out exercising and in the longer term at a social or a running event!!

David Carlin
Chairperson, Ealing Eagles Running Club

Guidance for Running Under the Current Lockdown Restrictions

Today marks the next step in the Government's roadmap easing lockdown. This means:

  • People will be allowed to meet outside, either with one other household or within the "rule of six", allowing for more social running. However, as we share paths and roads with other users who are likely to be anxious as we adjust to relaxed restrictions, we advise against running in groups of 5 or 6 at the moment.

  • Organised, Covid secure outdoor sports can return, meaning we can restart our coached sessions.

  • Coffee shops and pubs are now allowed to serve takeaway food and beverages (although pubs can not serve alcohol) to customers who can now gather outdoors in socially distanced, rule of six/two household groups to enjoy post-run refreshments.

  • The stay at home rule will end, extending the reach of your training routes, although the Government is urging people to stay local as much as possible.

We must remember that the Government's roadmap is conditional on continuing to mitigate the transmission of Covid 19, and we must remain considerate to our community. With that in mind, we recommend that you:

  • Maintain at least a 2m social distance whenever possible

  • Be courteous to other people who may be running, cycling or walking in the same area

  • Avoid times, and places you know will be busy

Coached sessions from 29 March 2021

The Government roadmap says that people will be able to take part in formally organised outdoor sports from 29 March and the corresponding England Athletics guidelines indicates that qualified coaches can offer coached sessions for up to 12 athletes in a Covid 19 secure environment (essentially the arrangements allowed in the autumn of 2020 before the Christmas / New Year tier 4 / lockdown).

The Eagles Coaching Team has consulted with the Covid 19 team and the Committee and has decided to offer coached sessions from the first possible date of 29 March rather than waiting to see how use of the parks and other areas will be impacted by school holidays, other people going out more because of rule of 6 and the like which would lose us several weeks. Our experience is that members of the public tend to respect the training space and not go into it once it has been defined and we can always cancel on the day if there are problems.

Details of coached sessions

In addition to sessions at Lammas Park, Churchfields Recreation Ground and Blondin Park, the coaching team is pleased to announce a pilot for our first midweek evening session under Covid 19 restrictions. The pilot will take place at West Walk on Thursday 1 April at 7pm with 8 athletes.

The full list of options available for the booking period Mon 29 March to Saturday 10 April is set out below (please click on links to see separate events on Eventbrite - please choose only ONE from the options available over that period):

Mon 29 Mar 10am to 11am Lammas Park - intervals with Wei Hei Kipling (booking deadline Sat 27 Mar at 11.30pm) https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lammas-intervals-mon-29-mar-tickets-147277550117

Thu 1 Apr 7pm to 8pm PILOT West Walk - hills with Rhiannon Williams (booking deadline Tue 30 Mar at 11.30pm https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pilot-west-walk-hills-thu-1-apr-tickets-147280123815

Sat 3 Apr 8.30am to 9.30am Churchfields - intervals with Rachel Job (booking deadline Thu 1 Apr at 11.30pm) https://www.eventbrite.com/e/churchfields-intervals-sat-3-apr-tickets-147281299331

Mon 5 Apr 10am to 11am Lammas Park - intervals with Wei Hei Kipling (booking deadline Sat 3 Apr at 11.30pm) https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lammas-intervals-mon-5-apr-tickets-147278888119

Sat 10 Apr 8.15am to 9.15am Blondin Park - Intervals with Dineke Austin (booking deadline Thu 8 Apr at 11.30pm) https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blondin-intervals-sat-10-apr-tickets-147281971341

How we’re mitigating Covid-19 risks

The Eagles Coaches and the Committee have been working behind the scenes to see what we might be able to offer while minimising the risk of Covid-19 transmission. This has involved the setting up of a Covid 19 team, and the writing of a Covid 19 plan, risk registers and risk assessments to identify Covid 19 secure environments.

How you can safely participate

The demands of Covid-19 planning to allow us even to attempt to offer any training sessions together with the size of the club means that we will need to ask people:

  • To book a session in advance.

  • To supply your contact details for track and trace (and also in case a session needs to be cancelled or arrangements changed)

  • To answer a pre-activity health questionnaire included in the booking – and not to book or attend the session if you are not able to answer the questions positively

  • To note and follow arrangements set out by the Coach to enable social distancing during the session including overtaking lanes where offered.

  • To treat members of the public with courtesy which may include slowing down or even stopping in your training if a member of the public comes too close to the area being used for the Club session.

  • Not to socialise together before or after the session

More details of the questions, notes and disclaimers are set out in the appendix.

How to book a session

We are aiming to offer coached sessions on a regular basis, subject to the availability of coaches as well as changes in Government, London, Local Authority and England Athletics guidance, which can change at short notice. 

The sessions will be booked via Eventbrite - the link for each event is set out above. Tickets are limited and issued as one per booking. Deadline for booking subject to availability is 11.30pm two days before a session takes place (so Thursday 11.30pm for a Saturday session and Saturday 11.30pm for a Monday session).

To enable as many members as possible to attend a session, we will be offering the sessions in two week booking periods and members are asked to book only one session when the sessions are first advertised. If places are still available for any session a week after this first advertisement (as notified in your News from the Nest email), then members will be allowed to book a second session in the booking period to encourage all places to be taken. (If this all sounds confusing, please feel free to check arrangements by emailing coaching@ealingeagles.com).

If you do book a session but then decide that you are unable to attend, there are two preferred ways for you to cancel.

  • If you are able to cancel on Eventbrite yourself, that releases the space as soon as possible in case someone else can book it and will automatically inform the club that you have cancelled.

  • However, as that may require an Eventbrite account - the alternative is to email coaching@ealingeagles.com (messaging Wei Hei Kipling on facebook runs the risk of the message being overlooked and emailing info@ealingeagles.com adds an extra step in requiring the email to be forwarded to coaching@ealingeagles.com ).

And finally, we ask that you do not go to a session meeting point if you have not been able to book a place. It will not be possible for you to join on the day. Your presence may mean that the session is not Covid 19 secure.

If you have any questions, please contact coaching@ealingeagles.com

Appendix 

During the booking, the pre-activity health questionnaire will ask you to state:

  • "I do not display any of the typical symptoms of active Covid-19 infection (fever, cough persisting more than 4 hours, loss of taste and smell, etc - pls check official guidance for details)"

  • "I have not tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 7 days"

  • "I have followed all social distancing guidelines set by the government or appropriate for my occupation for the last 7 days."

If this changes, please could you contact coaching@ealingeagles.com asap.If you can not meet the disclaimers above you should not book a session. 

In addition, the following disclaimers and notes will apply regarding the coached sessions offered by the Club – if you are not willing to accept these disclaimers and notes, please do not book a session.

  1. I agree that attending this session is done so at my own risk.

  2. I understand that the session may be cancelled at short notice if the Coach is unwell and no substitute Coach is available or if the risks at the time of the session are considered too great.

  3. I will arrive dressed to run.

  4. I will keep to a minimum what I bring to the session. I will make arrangements to look after my own valuables (keys, card, phone) and will not expect anyone else to look after them.

  5. I intend to follow all social distancing guidance with anyone who is not a part of my own household during the Club’s coached session – so no physical greeting, hi-fiving or supporting one another during stretches etc. 

  6. As well as following the social distancing guidelines between people, I will not touch with my hands anything belonging to anyone else (including any cones) and will not share drinks, snacks or hand sanitiser.

  7. I will note and follow arrangements set out by the Coach to enable social distancing during the session including overtaking lanes where offered.

  8. The session will be taking place in a public area and I will treat members of the public with courtesy which may include slowing down or even stopping in my training if a member of the public comes too close to the area being used for the Club session.

  9. If I show symptoms of Covid 19 within 48 hours of attending the session, I will inform the Coach / Coaching coordinator on coaching@ealingeagles.com

Our response to the latest Government guidance on lockdown restrictions

There was a lot to take in from the roadmap the Government set out on Monday 22 February but the overall message seems to be cautious optimism. England Athletics have released a statement saying that they are seeking further clarification from Sport England and DCMS and that they

“remain optimistic about the return on 29 March of athletics, running, training and other activity in clubs and groups and then for the safe return of competition and the sport more widely."

We will keep a close eye on developments and intend to share our own plans in advance of 29 March. In the meantime, the guidance for running remains unchanged.

Stay safe and continue to be considerate to our neighbours, better days are ahead Eagles!

The Eagles Virtual 5m FebruaRelay

Following last year’s popular virtual Team Relays (Baton & Not-the-Green-Belt) the Coaching Team thought that Members would be up for another Relay Team Challenge. As a lot of people have been working on improving their 5k time recently in Rachel’s 5k Time Trial series, we thought we would create a Team event with a slight step-up in distance to 5m, which will also encourage people to work towards possible 10k events in the near future.

This event is intended as a Fun event above all else but with a competitive edge for people wanting to challenge themselves and compete. It is open to everyone. We will try and create as many teams as necessary based on the final number of entries. The more virtual teams, the better.

Event Date:

We are inviting people participate between Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th FebruaRelay. The Thursday start is to provide a little more flexibility for people who have the option to run before the weekend when routes & Parks are likely to be more busy.

Entry start & close date

You can enter the event today by entering your details in the Google sheet in the link below, including your recent relevant time results for team allocations. Entries will close on Thursday 18th FebruaRelay to allow sufficient time to allocate runners and announce the Teams on Friday 19th FebruaRelay. This will allow five days until Wednesday 24th FebruaRelay for teams to select a Captain and to coordinate amongst themselves.

Link to Entry sheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ejmejIWOamb9UC7EdIsoooN4lfvnIehGcoPefQeMjiE/edit#gid=0

The number of teams and team sizes will be decided based on the number of applicants, as we want to include all entries. Runners will then be allocated to teams based on their most recent 5m time, or 5k time if it is more recent and you feel it is more indicative of your current form (we can convert). Participants in the recent 5k Time Trials can use those results if they wish.

The Rules

1 Run in your favourite running Top and, when you Post your result screenshot, also explain why it is your favourite (your best performance? most enjoyable event? special occasion? finally beat your nearest rival?).

2 The Run will be a 5m route of your choice. No specific rule about net elevation gain but it should not be a straight downhill route. It should reflect a normal 5m route you would run. Remember we will see your result screenshot! Keep the event Fun and also Real!

3 Based on current Covid restriction rules, you are allowed to run together with one other person if you wish (in your Bubble? with House mate? a team mate? competitor team? Boris Johnson?).

4 There is no particular Run order due to Winter weather and shorter days. We want to provide the flexibility for everyone to choose the best moment for themselves (to avoid rain, snow, etc). Hopefully you will not all Run at the same time!

5 Each team must elect a Captain to help coordinate a Team name, help identify routes and ensure all participants submit their results on the Google sheet.

6 After the Run, every participant should post a a selfie on Facebook (on the Event Post) together with a Garmin/Strava/etc screenshot with the required information - distance, time and route. Please take care to stop accurately at 5m because if your result shows a slightly longer distance then that time will be used as your result. If you have a watch that has the ability to set-up a Run workout to stop at your goal of 5m distance you are encouraged to use that function (look out for Rhiannon’s Williams’ ‘Garmin Tips & Tricks’ demo planned a few days before the event start!).

Prize

As the Competition technically ends midnight Sunday 28th FebruaRelay, one minute later is Golden Globes Awards 2021 Day! So the prize for each member of the winning team will be a box of Ferrero Rocher! (We will invite requests for a suitable equivalent alternative for Dietary reasons at the time).

Have Fun!

More Virtual Support in January 2021

The start of 2021 is proving to be as challenging as 2020 with a national lockdown in England and the possibility of more restrictions to come as Covid 19 cases rise and a major incident is declared for London. However, we are being encouraged to exercise for both our physical and mental health and so the coaches at Ealing Eagles and our mental health champion Dan VandenBurg have put some thought into ways to keep us motivated.

In particular, you may want to make use of some of your allowance of one outdoor exercise session a day to train for a distance, even if there is not yet a real race scheduled for the end of the training period. To help motivate you to do this, we are reinvigorating the various facebook groups so that Eagles can encourage one another virtually to train for the different distances even though we can't meet in person. (see Eagles virtual support for longer distances below)

Social Distancing and Covid 19 Etiquette

There are many important differences between Tier 4 and the new lockdown.

Exercise had already been significantly restricted in Tier 4 so the main difference with lockdown is that:

  • exercise is limited to once per day, and

  • you should not travel outside your local area.

You are allowed to exercise with your household (or support bubble) or one other person. We know, from the first lockdown, how important exercise is for managing our mental and physical health, so we hope that you continue to find opportunities to run.

Please stay safe when running

  • Maintain at least a 2m social distance where possible

  • Be courteous to other people who may be running, cycling or walking in the same area

  • Make sure you're wearing high viz in darker hours

  • Adjust your routes to the weather conditions

If you're running alone, please let someone know where you're going and when you expect to be back

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home

January Bingo Card

Exercise can be a tool to help us manage every day stresses. The sense of achievement gained by setting a goal and seeing it through, along with the physical effects of regular exercise can help to transform our mental health and our approach to managing it. Dan VandenBurg, our mental health champion, has put together a bingo card of 31 suggested activities for you to do in January. The idea is based on a challenge called Red January – as their website says:

‘January seemed like the perfect month for such an initiative, providing an opportunity to kick-start the year in a positive way. It’s a time when many are setting new goals, are low on funds and motivation, with less social occasions to keep us connected. RED was an empowering colour for dark times that could inspire those taking part to ‘get active every day, to beat the blues away.’

The bingo card is not a training plan and the activities can be done in any order and at any level from simply going out for a walk and trying new activities to long runs for marathon training and designing Strava art. The bingo card can be downloaded from here (for some of the ideas, there is a link to a webpage with further information).

Dan hopes to make use of his weekly Wellbeing Wednesday facebook post to encourage us to share ideas and how we are getting on with the January Bingo Card.

Eagles virtual support for Couch to 5k

Even before the Tier 4 restrictions and now lockdown, the run leaders for the beginners programme had decided that we could not offer an in-person beginners programme while social distancing and rule of 6 restrictions applied. However, we are conscious that there are people both inside and outside the club who might benefit from regular input and encouragement to start running again after time away. The beginners run leaders have therefore decided to offer virtual support for people wanting to start running again with a combination of facebook and zoom sessions. The first zoom workshops took place on Tuesday 5 January and there will be a second set of zoom workshops this coming Tuesday 12 January at 11.30am and 7pm. If this would be of interest to you, please email beginners@ealingeagles.com using the title “Virtual support: couch to 5k”

Eagles virtual support for longer distances

With many Eagles starting to think about running in 2021, we have decided to reinvigorate the various facebook groups so that Eagles can encourage one another virtually to train for the different distances even though we can't meet in person (I would suggest that you choose the group for the longest distance for which you will be training up to end of April 2021 as the primary focus of the 5k, 10k and 10miles groups will be endurance rather than pace).

Zoom workshops have been set up over the next few weeks for distances up to and including half marathon - you will be able to find the details in the event pages in the different facebook groups. If you are not on facebook but would like to attend a zoom workshop, please email coaching@ealingeagles.com for more information.

5k to 10k - try Next Step Improvers https://www.facebook.com/groups/EalingEaglesNextStepImprovers Zoom workshops available on Thursday 14 January at 11.30am and 7pm

10k to 10miles - try TT Improvers https://www.facebook.com/groups/EaglesTTImprovers Zoom workshop available on Monday 18 January at 7pm

5k to spring half marathon - may be useful for anyone targeting the Vitality Big Half at the end of April 2021 - try Spring Half Marathon https://www.facebook.com/groups/eagleshalfmarathon Zoom workshops on Thursday 28 January at 11.30am and 8pm

Marathon training - try Marathon training (for members of Ealing Eagles Running Club) https://www.facebook.com/groups/EaglesMarathon

Ultras - try UltraEagles https://www.facebook.com/groups/ultraeagles

Virtual Relays

The Eagles Coaches are playing with the idea of offering another Virtual Relay, possibly in the second half of January or February. More information later this month.

Virtual challenges in January 2021

2020 has been a challenging year for many of us and the Tier 4 restrictions announced just before Christmas have been an unexpected further stumbling block as we end 2020 and move to 2021. However, we are being encouraged to exercise for both our physical and mental health and so the coaches at Ealing Eagles and our mental health champion Dan VandenBurg have put some thought into ways to keep us motivated.

Social Distancing and Covid 19 Etiquette

The Government's announcement suggests that runners in Tier 4 can meet outside with one person of another household for exercise. We know, from the first lockdown, how important exercise is for managing our mental and physical health, so we hope that you continue to find opportunities to run.

Please stay safe when running

  • Maintain at least a 2m social distance where possible

  • Be courteous to other people who may be running, cycling or walking in the same area

  • Make sure you're wearing high viz in darker hours

  • Adjust your routes to the weather conditions

If you're running alone, please let someone know where you're going and when you expect to be back

January Bingo Card

Exercise can be a tool to help us manage every day stresses. The sense of achievement gained by setting a goal and seeing it through, along with the physical effects of regular exercise can help to transform our mental health and our approach to managing it. Dan VandenBurg, our mental health champion, has put together a bingo card of 31 suggested activities for you to do in January. The idea is based on a challenge called Red January – as their website says:

‘January seemed like the perfect month for such an initiative, providing an opportunity to kick-start the year in a positive way. It’s a time when many are setting new goals, are low on funds and motivation, with less social occasions to keep us connected. RED was an empowering colour for dark times that could inspire those taking part to ‘get active every day, to beat the blues away.’

The bingo card is not a training plan and the activities can be done in any order and at any level from simply going out for a walk and trying new activities to long runs for marathon training and designing Strava art. The bingo card can be downloaded from here (for some of the ideas, there is a link to a webpage with further information).

Dan hopes to make use of his weekly Wellbeing Wednesday facebook post to encourage us to share ideas and how we are getting on with the January Bingo Card.

Eagles virtual support for Couch to 5k

Even before the Tier 4 restrictions, the run leaders for the beginners programme had decided that we could not offer an in-person beginners programme while social distancing and rule of 6 restrictions applied. However, we are conscious that there are people both inside and outside the club who might benefit from regular input and encouragement to start running again after time away. The beginners run leaders have therefore decided to offer virtual support for people wanting to start running again with a combination of facebook, zoom sessions and possibly other social media starting in the first full week of January with a zoom on (update) ***Tuesday 5th*** January. If this would be of interest to you, please email beginners@ealingeagles.com using the title “Virtual support: couch to 5k”

Eagles 5k time trial

Blast away those January blues and set yourself a New Year challenge with the first 5K Eagles Time Trial of 2021. The window to complete your TT is between Saturday 2 January and Sunday 10 January. The google sheet will be open from 2 Jan for entries (use tab = Jan - Input). Newcomers welcome, please enter your name and details at the bottom of the sheet and please read the tab 'The Rules'.

Virtual Relays

The Eagles Coaches are playing with the idea of offering another Virtual Relay, possibly in the second half of January or February. More information in January 2021.

Santa Run 2020

Join us on Saturday 12th December 2020 (virtually and socially distanced of course) and run a 5km route no matter where in Ealing, the UK or further afield you are! Can't run on the 12th? No worries, you can still participate by donating to our wonderful charity and run on another day!

We have set up a Just Giving page that you can share with your family, friends and colleagues, so they can donate to this amazing cause and help spread positivity throughout the holiday season.

You're also encouraged to wear a Santa suit/ outfit/ anything holiday season-related whilst you run/jog your 5K Santa Run and help raise even more money.

Don't already have a Santa Suit? Are you even an Eagle? Not to worry we have a limited stock of Santa suits we can provide for a suggested £10 donation to our charity. If you'd like a suit please contact Claudia (Eagles Social Secretary) via Facebook messenger if you would like a suit and she'll arrange collection with you.

And of course, we want to see and hear all about your Santa Run's so please share your stories and pictures in our Facebook Group, on the local Facebook Groups and on Instagram. Join us and spread the holiday spirit and help us raise money for a wonderful cause.

Eagles Advent Calendar

It's been a rollercoaster of a year, we've blinked and Christmas is nearly upon us! We know that many Eagles have been missing organised events and the very social side of being a member of this club, so we thought we'd finish the year in style by putting together our very own Eagles Advent Calendar for you to enjoy!

The calendar runs from 1st - 25th December and there will be a different suggestion for activity each day. Not all of them are running related! This is just as much about spreading some seasonal cheer and about finding some time for yourself as we head towards what will be a slightly different Christmas.

You don't have to do all of the activities, you can pick and choose, and we have left all distances or times for the runs completely up to you - this is NOT a training plan, it's a festive fun plan.

From 1st December you will see a post each day on our Facebook Group to remind you of that day's activity and for you to share pictures, comments and thoughts as we go.

Advent Calendars (so much to do we had to split it into two!)

1st to 13th December and 14th to 25th December

FESTIVE DRILLS

Festive Drills

Baking Ideas

Tropical Christmas Cake

Ginger Snowmen

Festive Brownies

We are really looking forward to an ongoing Eagles festive get together starting from next week.

Merry Christmas from your Coaching Team!

NOVEMBER 7 SUMMITS CHALLENGE!

The Seven Summits* are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Climbing to the summit of all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first achieved on 30 April 1985 by Richard Bass. (Completing the Seven Summits and additionally reaching the north and south poles has been dubbed the Explorers Grand Slam!).

So especially for Eagles, starting this Monday 9th November, until Monday 30th November, inclusive, a club effort: to run the equivalent accumulated elevation of these 7 peaks combined: 

  1. Everest 8,894m

  2. Elbrus 5,642m 

  3. Kilimanjaro 5,895m

  4. Aconcagua 6,961m

  5. Vinson Massif 4,892m

  6. McKinley 6,194m

  7. Carstensz 4,884m     

= Total: 43,362 meters!

Elevation Challenge Guidelines:

  1. Run or walk as many elevation meters as possible in 3 weeks, submit your progress on this form (as for Round the World in 80 Days):

  2. Running or walking stairs or steps, indoors or outdoors, also counts (in itself a serious challenge!). To save angst-ridden measurements, use the formula 10 stairs/steps = 3 meters elevation (we’ve tried this out!).

  3. No Garmin/Strava etc evidence required (unless you want to illustrate a particularly stupendous climb): we trust you all!

  4. Please share tips for particularly good hills/steps to run: e.g. West Walk, Northala mounds, Trumpers Way, Gunnersbury steps, etc.

  5. If you know the elevation of certain routes, please share: this will help any without the technology, or when walking (which doesn’t always provide elevation), and also our Juniors, who will have a similar challenge.

  6. Please post photos on Facebook, &/or anecdotes, as so many did for RTWI80. Any quotes, mantras, pithy sayings, poems (acrostic: EEKAVMC?), also fun.     

  7. BONUS challenge: peaks #8 & 9 (Mont Blanc 4,810m & Mount Kosciuszko 2,228m)!

*Different lists include slight variations, but generally, the same core is maintained. The seven summits depend on the definition used for a continent – in particular the location of the border of that continent. This results in two points of variation: the first is Mont Blanc versus Mount Elbrus for Europe; the second depends on whether one includes all of Oceania or only mainland Australia, which results in either Carstensz Pyramid or Mount Kosciuszko, respectively.

GUIDANCE FOR SAFE RUNNING DURING THE SECOND LOCKDOWN

We know, from the first lockdown, how important exercise is for managing our mental and physical health, and we're heartened that under these restrictions we are permitted to run with someone else from another household. We hope that you continue to find opportunities to run safely.  

Please stay safe when running

  • Maintain at least a 2m social distance where possible

  • Be courteous to other people who may be running, cycling or walking in the same area

  • Make sure you're wearing high-viz in darker hours

  • Adjust your routes to the weather conditions

  • If you're running alone, please let someone know where you're going and when you expect to be back

In the meantime the Coaching team has created a new club challenge for us to continue to run together while we are apart.

Ealing Eagles Running Club - Survey May 2020

Picture 1.png

Summary of comments

1          It’s good value

  • lots of comparisons to cost of a gym membership, trip to the cinema, night out etc

  • financial value - money off races (£2/race), summer league & XC (£3.80/race) and discount in running shops

  • should there be a membership card?

2      The club is supportive and inclusive

  • a supportive environment helps mental health and very sociable

  • here is something for everybody regardless of age and ability

  • opportunity to make new friends 

3      Importance of coaching and groups sessions

  • There is training most days of the week, races throughout the year, socials, beginners programmes & special one-off training events & more ...

  • The Beginners’ programme plus all the other activities that the Eagles offer.

  • Free training plans and advice

Picture 2.png

 Summary of comments:

  • Interest in all facilities but some concern at additional cost on top of the membership

Picture 3.png
Picture 4.png

Summary of Comments

  • Amount members would be willing to Pay would depend on the mix of facilities – value proposition

  • Suggestions that facilities should be charged separately if not free

  • Location of any facilities is key – needs to be central

Picture 5.png
Picture 6.png

Summary of comments

  • Widespread support for the Juniors section whether members have kids or not

  • Importance for club members and wider community and sport benefit

  • Juniors and their achievements should be given a higher profile in the Club

  • Retention and Transition from juniors to senior part of the club needs to be encouraged  

  • Juniors need proper facilities to develop a strong junior section

 

Summary of other comments

Charities

  • Keen to change charities we support every few years, ideally focus on local charities

Club funds and activities

  • Ongoing and repeated communication of club activities, coaching and spend is helpful

Advice to members on running during the lockdown

due to the current Covid-19 restrictions on group exercise, we have temporarily suspended any group training sessions or socials but we hope to be back a soon as it is safe to do so.

We are waiting for updated guidance from England Athletics following the measures announced by the Government last week, easing some more lockdown restrictions. The Eagles coaching team will be reviewing what we can offer after that. 

1. The government's ‘Rule of Six’ means that socially distanced groups of up to 6 can meet inside and outdoors. However, we share paths and roads with other users and it is not possible to run considerately as a group of 6 in Ealing yet. We advise members to continue to run in 2s or 3s but we would discourage any larger groups at this stage.

2. The club is offering many virtual options to motivate members to train at different levels which can be found in the members’ area of the website, we hope you are enjoying these.

Please stay safe when running

  • Maintain at least a 2m social distance where possible

  • Be courteous to other people who may be running, cycling or walking in the same area

  • Avoid places you know will be busy

  • Try to avoid running in the road and pay attention to road crossings

Mental Wellbeing w/c 15 June 2020

Introduction

Many of you may know Dan Vandenburg as the club's Mental Health Champion, which is a scheme sponsored by England Athletics. He does various talks and things related to looking after your mental health.

As such, Dan wanted to do something for the club during what is probably a testing time mentally for many of us. Towards this, he will be aiming to post on facebook every weekday with a tip on how to look after your mental health during lockdown.

Tips for week 1 are also set out in this article Mental Wellbeing during Covid 19 Week1

Tips for week 2 are also set out in this article Mental Wellbeing during Covid 19 Week2

Tips for week 3 are also set out in this article Mental Wellbeing during Covid 19 Week 3

Tips for week 4 are also set out in this article Mental Wellbeing during Covid 19 Week 4

Tips for week 5 are also set out in this article Mental Wellbeing during Covid 19 Week 5

Tips for week 6 are also set out in this article Mental Wellbeing during Covid 19 Week 6

Welcome to Dan’s tips from facebook for w/c 15 June 2020on how to look after your mental health during lockdown. The text of these posts is repeated below in his words.

1: Monday - useful services / apps for free

2: Tuesday - be active

3: Wednesday - sleep

4. Thursday - kindness

4: Friday

If you ever want to talk to Dan in private, he is a trained Mental health First Aider and you can reach him on wellbeing@ealingeagles.com.

In the immortal words of Jerry Springer "Look after eachother and yourselves".

Monday - useful services / apps for free

Hello Eagles! I'm back refreshed from my week off so hope you are ready for some more tips.

Many services and apps have been made free during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can find a good run down here:

https://covid19.shanehastings.eu/giveback/#health

Thre's plenty there from meditation apps through to online learning and also business resources so do take a look.

I'm not sure when these offers will end but I think they are still open!

Do email me if you would like to talk to someone about your own wellbeing. You can reach me on wellbeing@ealingeagles.com

See you tomorrow!

Tuesday - be active

Hello all. Sorry today’s tip is very late work is crazy busy. As a result I actually can't commit to publishing regularly at 3pm at the moment even with the scheduling feature but will do a tip every day at some time!

I had a difficult run today, I really had to force my legs through the last 2 miles of 6 (coaches will tell you good arms action helps here). That experience got me thinking about why we all do this at all, especially at the moment.

That bought me to reflect on some things I said before but wanted to put altogether:

  • Right now is (IMO) not the time to be pushing yourself for a new PB or cranking up the schedule. If you want to do this and are able to then do so but dont pressure yourself to

  • Run right now to enjoy it. Each run I do, I enjoy. They are all different and I have different experiences each time.

  • Allow yourself to have bad runs and bad days, not every day needs to be a 100% day.

  • Get fitter each time slowly, have fun, feel relaxed and happy you did a run and were able to run (many cant right now for various reasons)

  • If you can't run, know that one day you can and will

  • Be kind to yourself and others in general and also in your apporach to running/exercise/race plans right now

Also, Eagles have been great at organising virtual races and non-competitive things like the round the world and rainbow runs which are great at motivating Eagles who can run/walk/exercise right now and want to.

That’s it for today see you tomorrow at some time!

Wednesday - sleep

Hello Eagles.

Hope you are well and enjoying the slightly cooler weather. Hope it stays dry though, clouds are looking a bit threatening.

I wanted to point out all my tips are collated by the imcomparible Wei Hei Kipling and published on my page on the Eagles Nest website thanks to Sam Royle’s talents. If you want to review or catch up on any tips they are arranged there each week

https://www.ealingeagles.com/mental-health-champion

Today's tip is about sleep, are you getting enough?

Sleep is essential to our physical and psychological wellbeing and at times of stress can be affected. With lockdown, the aftermath of George Floyd's death and other worries we all have, now is an important time to help yourself sleep.

Sleep was also a theme of Mental Health Awareness Week which was last month. Sadly lockdown and work got in the way of me doing an event then.

Here's some tips on how to improve your sleep quality and time:

  1. Prioritise sleep, anxiety or lack of motivation from lockdown and other effects can leave you more tired than usual

  2. Build structure into your day, try to stick to a routine as to bed times and when you get up. Sleep and tiredness are due to biological cycles in our body and keeping regular timings helps regulate these.

  3. Stay active as best you can.

  4. Keep your sleep space tidy and free of clutter and distractions

  5. Avoid bright light/screens/TV 30 minutes before bedtime. These things all excite your brain and senses making it harder to sleep.

  6. Try to slowly calm your mind as bedtime approaches

I sleep a lot myself compared to average and as I have got older sleep is more and more attractive and important! 😆

How are you sleeping at the moment? Do you have a routine or any tips to share?

Keep well

Daniel

Thursday - kindness

Hello lovely Eagles

Yesterday I mentioned that sleep was the theme of Mental Health Awareness Week but guess what? I lied!

Kind of, it was a joint theme, the other being kindness! This is highly unusual but the story goes that sleep was the planned theme for 2020 then COVID-19 took off and the organisers wanted to join the global discussion on kindness so worked it in! Wild!

I've mentioned kindness quite a lot the past 7 week but here's some further thoughts on the positive effects kindness can have on both giver and reciever:

  • what may be percieved by the giver to be a small act can make a huge difference to the reciever

  • Kindness makes both sides feel happy and produce feel good hormones

  • That hormone is oxytocin, also responsibe for love and bonding between couples and parent/child.

  • Being kind can reduce stress and have a positive impact on your wellbeing. Oxytocin helps reduce blood pressure and helps improve overall heart health

  • Altruism can increase feelings of optimism, happiness confidence and feeling in control.

  • But remember kindness is done to selflessly help another in need not your the givers feelings or needs :)

I wonder once the pandemic is behind us whether we will come out into a kinder society for it? I hope so (trying not to be cynical!).

Thats it for today, a reminder you can always contact me on wellbeing@ealingeagles.com

Friday

Friday’s tip will be published here after it has been published in facebook

Not the Summer League 2020 (revised)

Ealing Eagles is pleased to announce that several of the clubs who normally compete in the Summer League have agreed to organise a virtual competition. The arrangements are set out below for the interclub competition and also for the internal Ealing Eagles league modified where appropriate.

Introduction

An opportunity to take part in running activities over the two distances used by the Summer League races (5 miles or 10k), but where you design your own route and choose when you run in the specified period ending at 5pm on a Sunday.

There is also a competition between the clubs as well as a competition between the teams within Ealing Eagles.

Above is the schedule of dates and distances (note changes from original schedule).

Above is the schedule of dates and distances (note changes from original schedule).

This google spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QIkqaVWGeul9SfgU-nqhA1n8uc0xMJYmriE0iztiINM/edit?usp=sharing shows allocations to teams for everyone who signed up before 9pm on 10 June. Add your name to this list by 9pm on Wednesday 24 June and you will be allocated to a team for “Perivale”.

Rules – Ealing Eagles internal league

1. After signing up, you will be allocated to one of eight teams. For each event, the first 10 runners of the team will earn points for the team but others can still affect the scoring by finishing ahead of scoring runners from other teams. The first finisher will gain 100 points for their team and there will be a combined scoring of men and women.

2. For each event, runners must sign up by 9pm on the Wednesday of the period of the event to be allocated to a team. Other runners can still sign up after the deadline but will be classed as guest runners for that event and then assigned to a team for the following event(s).

3. Teams must provide a team name and team colour(s) with a design for a team vest corresponding to the style of club vests shown on the Summer League website (not Ealing Eagles). http://www.thesummerleague.uk/ (now completed)

4. Runs for each event must take place in the time periods indicated.

5. Evidence of the run must be posted in the club facebook group or emailed to coaching@ealingeagles.com before the end of the indicated time period. It is essential that you post evidence of time and distance and desirable if you can include the map (by starting at a distance from your home you maintain a level of privacy). Suggestions for the format of the evidence are given below.

Map_examples.jpg

Route guidance

6. Ealing Eagles Running Club is a mixed ability club and we welcome all members who are able to cover the distances for Not the Summer League to take part. We also want to provide events which will challenge those who are more confident as well as be accessible to everyone.

7. Summer League events take place at different locations and so the expectation is that runners will run a different route for each event. Although Summer League is competitive, it also embodies community spirit and so those who simply want to join in for the running and be involved in the social side of the event may prefer not to adhere to the route guidance. An extreme example is that someone who is shielding and not running outside their accommodation is allowed to run the distance on a treadmill.

8. It is likely that the guidance (for events after Event 1) will be to design routes centred on, north, south, east and west of your home location but we will confirm guidance nearer the date of each event when we know the latest Government and England Athletics guidance on social distancing and how runs may be organised.

9. To enable all members of the club to participate we are asking you to run in your local area. This means that variation in routes due to terrain and amount of ascent (and deviation from your planned route due to the requirements of social distancing and being courteous to others) will have a small effect on your time and hence your position. Enjoyment of your run is the objective!

10. Routes may involve crossing roads (or stopping because of the requirements of social distancing). Safety is top priority and you may wish to think in advance as to where to cross a main road if it might be busy.

11. You should not pause your watch when you stop for whatever reason.

Event 3 – internal club competition only

For our third event you run 10k (6.21 miles) between 5am on Monday 22 June and 5pm on Sunday 28 June.

For this event we would like you to devise a circuit south of your home which generally avoids repeating the same road or path. An exception is made for using a bridge over a main road, railway or water on the way out and on the return. You should stop your watch at 10k. It does not matter if you have not closed your circuit or are returning home by a different route.

South may be interpreted as south west or south east; the aim is different routes for each race. If you live outside the Ealing area there may be geographical constraints and we would not insist on the direction and repetition guidance. The plan is for the 5 mile “Regents Park” event to be an ‘east’ route and for the 10k “Battersea” event to be a ‘west’ route.

You are expected to avoid laps, repetition of a previous route and to run in the designated area. All runs should be completed by 5pm on Sunday and results posted on Facebook. If you are not on Facebook you may send results by email to coaching@ealingeagles.com.

Orienteering Options

Looking to spice up your weekly run in Richmond/Gunnersbury/Wimbledon?

South London Orienteers has introduced a series of runs with a bit of basic map reading to help you to refresh old runs with only your mobile phone with app required. You can print off maps if you prefer but work off a phone if you have a big enough screen.

Information on the app (MapRunF) and courses in Wimbledon and Gunnersbury can be found here: https://slow.org.uk/about/poc/ More information about Richmond Park is set out below.

Please send Duncan Grassie an email Duncan.Grassie@gmail.com if you are keen and want help getting set up!

Richmond Park

The course can be found on the MapRunF app; it's called "Richmond Park May20" and the code is 3472.
Some details about this course setup:
- It's a linear course as before with 16 controls. Because it's a bit long at almost 10km, I've set it up as a score event in the system, where you get 20 points per control visited and you have unlimited time to visit them (well technically, 999 minutes!)
- This means you'll get a result however many controls you visit, although runners will be ranked by controls visited first and time second. Don't forget to return to the place where you started to finish your run!
- As before, you can start / finish at any control, in which case you don't get any points for that control but the 'official' start/finish becomes a counting control. So you can get a maximum of 16 x 20 points wherever you start.
Some details about the course itself:
- The controls have all been selected to be 'vegetation-proof', so fingers crossed this course will be good to go all summer
- It is possible to run close to the straight line between controls in most places, so I'd encourage you to try that rather than going the long way around on the paths!
- There is more bracken than marked on the map, particularly in the 'white' forest areas but also on some open areas. All the pieces of 'white' forest with controls inside are of course accessible!
- Please use the paper map (click on link ) for navigation, not the map loaded into the App
- The map scale is 1:12.500 and it should print nicely onto A4 portrait

Mental Wellbeing during Covid 19 Week6

Introduction

Many of you may know Dan Vandenburg as the club's Mental Health Champion, which is a scheme sponsored by England Athletics. He does various talks and things related to looking after your mental health.

As such, Dan wanted to do something for the club during what is probably a testing time mentally for many of us. Towards this, he will be posting on facebook every weekday around 3pm with a tip on how to look after your mental health during lockdown.

Tips for week 1 are also set out in this article Mental Wellbeing during Covid 19 Week1

Tips for week 2 are also set out in this article Mental Wellbeing during Covid 19 Week2

Tips for week 3 are also set out in this article Mental Wellbeing during Covid 19 Week 3

Tips for week 4 are also set out in this article Mental Wellbeing during Covid 19 Week 4

Tips for week 5 are also set out in this article Mental Wellbeing during Covid 19 Week 5

Welcome to week 6 of Dan’s tips from facebook on how to look after your mental health during lockdown. The text of these posts is repeated below in his words.

These tips are based on a tried and tested 5 point wellbeing model. Each weekday will be linked to one point in the model. The points and days related to each one are (click on the link to go straight to the that tip for this week):

1: Connect with people around you - Monday

2: Be active (hopefully an easier one for Eagles!) - Tuesday

3: Racism

4: Take notice of your feelings and the world around you - Friday

If you ever want to talk to Dan in private, he is a trained Mental health First Aider and you can reach him on wellbeing@ealingeagles.com.

In the immortal words of Jerry Springer "Look after eachother and yourselves".

Monday - Connect with People

Hello all

It's day 25 of my wellbeing at home tips. It's Monday today so we are talking about Connecting with people around you.

When I gave my talk the other week I included a 5 point conversation you can have with yourself, or someone you trust about your wellbeing.

The conversation takes 5 stages looking at:

  1. How are you today?

  2. What drains you and your wellbeing?

  3. What can you or someone else look out for that might tell them/you something might be slipping?

  4. Who can you turn to for support?

  5. How can you plan to keep your wellbeing high/good?

This went down well at the talk so I said I would share a version with you all, so here you go!

It's a picture file so do contact me on wellbeing@ealingeagles.com if this format doesn't work for you.

I hope you find this conversation structure useful for yourself and maybe those you care about (friends, family, work colleagues).

One important point is that it should be entered into in good faith and with the consent of both parties.

any questions do email me on the above email address

see you tomorrow!

200601_5pointwellbeing.jpg

Tuesday - Be active

it's day 26 of my wellbeing at home tips. I hope you liked the wellbeing conversation I posted yesterday.

Today is Tuesday and so we are talking about, Staying Active.

Most obvious thing to say is do take part in the Around the World Challenge the club started yesterday, You can submit distance of any length from runs, walks, mixture of both, inside, outside, treadmill etc I believe.

Other than that we can now go outside as much as we want in groups of no more than 6 people as long as we stay 2m apart and don't share food,utensils etc. Why not go for more walks than the previous 1 day or run with a friend or someone you live with?

I've noticed some people doing socially distanced runs with their running buds so you could consider doing this now as long as you follow the above paragraph

People shielding still need to do so.

Very importantly only do something if it helps you get through lockdown. Right now we shouldn't be worrying and burdening ourselves with, "shoulds", "coulds" etc. Be kind to yourself and just do what you want to do in this space. There will be a tomorrow to get that new PB, run further etc.

See you tomorrow for another tip

Racism

Hi all

I wanted to take a break from the wellbeing at home tips and focus on something which I know is affecting many Eagles right now. That is the death of George Floyd.

With events escalating in the USA and also some protesting happening here at home I wanted to recognise many Eagles whether they identify as BAME/ People of Colour (POC) or not might be upset, scared, angry etc or otherwise having their mental health suffering as a result either indirectly or directly from racism.

I wanted to share two resources I know of aimed at BAME people.

Firstly is Black Minds Matter who offer free counselling for POC, you can also donate to their cause.

www.blackmindsmatteruk.com

The second is an eye opening blog on The Conversation on how grief is an impact of racism and gives an 8 point plan you can use to support yourself.

https://theconversation.com/grief-is-a-direct-impact-of-racism-eight-ways-to-support-yourself-91750

I'm not an expert on the content of this blog but will endeavor to get to grips with it.

Lastly I am available to support any Eagle member suffering a loss of wellbeing for any reason, do reach out to me on wellbeing@ealingeagles.com.

Many thanks

Daniel

Friday - Take notice

Hello all it's day X (I've forgotten!) of my wellbeing at home tips. I'll get the numbering sorted for next time! Maybe some of the rest of you have forgotten what day of lockdown or even which day of the week it is at times?

I do know it is a Friday today though and so we are talking about Taking notice of your feelings and the world around you.

The world is a diffcult at upsetting place often these days. We may feel different about life and our place in the world on a daily basis or even throughout a single day.

My last post on Wednesday was quite serious so I wanted to be more lighthearted today.

How are you feeling today on a scale of Moo the Cat from Instagram/Twitter? There are 9 Moo's in the grid below which one sums up how you feel right now?

I'm a 5 as I've had a crazy work week but also just finished early due to taking some TOIL :D

thats it for today. Have a good weekend

200605_Moo.jpg

Not the Summer League 2020 (revised)

Ealing Eagles is pleased to announce that several of the clubs who normally compete in the Summer League have agreed to organise a virtual competition. The arrangements are set out below for the interclub competition and also for the internal Ealing Eagles league modified where appropriate.

Introduction

An opportunity to take part in running activities over the two distances used by the Summer League races (5 miles or 10k), but where you design your own route and choose when you run in the specified period ending at 5pm on a Sunday.

Following a video meeting with representatives of the Summer League running clubs, there will be also be a competition between the clubs as well as a competition between the teams within Ealing Eagles.

Here is the schedule of dates and distances (note changes from original schedule).

NSL_table_20200604.jpg

This google spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QIkqaVWGeul9SfgU-nqhA1n8uc0xMJYmriE0iztiINM/edit?usp=sharing shows allocations to teams for everyone who signed up before 9pm on 25 May. Add your name to this list by 9pm on Wednesday 10 June and you will be allocated to a team for “Harrow”.

Rules – Ealing Eagles internal league

1.     After signing up, you will be allocated to one of eight teams. For each event, the first 10 runners of the team will earn points for the team but others can still affect the scoring by finishing ahead of scoring runners from other teams. The first finisher will gain 100 points for their team and there will be a combined scoring of men and women.

2.     For each event, runners must sign up by 9pm on the Wednesday during the period of the event to be allocated to a team. Other runners can still sign up after the deadline but will be classed as guest runners for that event and then assigned to a team for the following event(s).

3.     Teams must provide a team name and team colour(s) with a design for a team vest corresponding to the style of club vests shown on the Summer League website (not Ealing Eagles). http://www.thesummerleague.uk/ (now completed)

4.     Runs for each event must take place in the time periods indicated.

5.     Evidence of the run must be posted in the club facebook group or emailed to coaching@ealingeagles.com before the end of the indicated time period. It is essential that you post evidence of time and distance and desirable if you can include the map (by starting at a distance from your home you maintain a level of privacy). Suggestions for the format of the evidence are given below.

Map_examples.jpg

ROUTE GUIDANCE

6.     Ealing Eagles Running Club is a mixed ability club and we welcome all members who are able to cover the distances for Not the Summer League to take part. We also want to provide events which will challenge those who are more confident as well as be accessible to everyone.

7.     Summer League events take place at different locations and so the expectation is that runners will run a different route for each event. Although Summer League is competitive, it also embodies community spirit and so those who simply want to join in for the running and be involved in the social side of the event may prefer not to adhere to the route guidance. An extreme example is that someone who is shielding and not running outside their accommodation is allowed to run the distance on a treadmill.

8.     It is likely that the guidance (for events after Event 1) will be to design routes centred on, north, south, east and west of your home location but we will confirm guidance nearer the date of each event when we know the latest Government and England Athletics guidance on social distancing and how runs may be organised.

9.     To enable all members of the club to participate we are asking you to run in your local area. This means that variation in routes due to terrain and amount of ascent (and deviation from your planned route due to the requirements of social distancing and being courteous to others) will have a small effect on your time and hence your position. Enjoyment of your run is the objective!

10.     Routes may involve crossing roads (or stopping because of the requirements of social distancing). Safety is top priority and you may wish to think in advance as to where to cross a main road if it might be busy.

11.     You should not pause your watch when you stop for whatever reason.

Event 2 – includes interclub competition

For our second event you run 10k (6.21 miles) between 5am on Monday 8 June and 5pm on Sunday 14 June.

For this event we would like you to devise a circuit north of your home which generally avoids repeating the same road or path. An exception is made for using a bridge over a main road, railway or water on the way out and on the return. You should stop your watch at 10k. It does not matter if you have not closed your circuit or a returning home by a different route.

You may wish to plan ahead to choose the four different areas for your ‘north’, ‘south’, ‘east’ and ‘west’ routes. North may be interpreted as north west or north east; the aim is different routes for each race. If you live outside the Ealing area there may be geographical constraints and we would not insist on the direction and repetition guidance.

The first event was also part of the cross country event which had different rules so we were tolerant of a few routes not meeting the guidance. The interclub competition only requires the route to be the set distance and not downhill. If you are contributing to the team score for the internal league you are expected to avoid laps, repetition of a previous route and to run in the designated area. All runs of the set distance completed by 5pm on Sunday will be considered for inclusion in the published internal league results and for forwarding to the interclub completion.

The summer league website sets out the additional features of the interclub competition which were not present for “Dulwich”.

http://www.thesummerleague.uk/fixtures.php

There will be a 1 mile race for juniors. Nils-Kristian Liborg will arrange for the collation of results.

There will be a relay for which you choose your own 400m route. You may run at any time but the route must not be downhill. Any adult or junior may submit an entry to be considered for the relay. The Summer League scoring will apply, so older Eagles and juniors are encouraged to run as well as the fastest men and women. The selection of the entries for the four relay teams will be made based on times and age bonus.

The organisers would like clubs to provide photos:

(a)   of themselves before or after their run

(b)   of a cake creation which can be an actual bake, a drawing or, even decorate a plate to look like the top of your ideal Summer League cake.

You are invited to contribute a photo to the designated post in the Ealing Eagles Facebook group. These will then be collaged together to create club photos. Claudia Aviles has kindly offered to create the collages to be sent for posting on the summer league website and on its Instagram account (@summerleaguelondon). Provision of photos will indicate consent for the photos to be published outside the club facebook group including supply to other clubs and the summer league website and social media.

There will be separate Facebook posts for your 10k result, your 400m result and photos of runners and cakes. If you are not on Facebook you may send results and photos by email to coaching@ealingeagles.com.