Stride magazine autumn 2017

stride

the jogscotland magazine | Autumn 2017

Make your nominations for our Annual Awards!

Take part in Scotland’s first ever stadium stair challenge, SAMH Stomp From couch to ultramarathon Join the jogscotland start at the Great Scottish Run 10K Plus‌ the best autumn running events for your diary jogscotland.org.uk

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2 Our fun, friendly jogging groups are perfect for people who want to get active for the first time, or more experienced runners. Nobody is “too slow” to join jogscotland – total beginners welcome!

Mums on the Run helps mums enjoy the physical, social & psychological benefits of being active outdoors. You can take your wee one to class with you in the buggy too!

Running has never been so easy!

Whatever your age, whatever your ability Morning, noon and night • Towns, cities, villages Parks, pavements, trails, woodlands, beaches, schools and workplaces For more information visit www.jogscotland.org.uk or call 0131 539 7341 www.facebook.com/JogScotty • www.twitter.com/jogscotland

jogworks

Our Junior jogscotland resource pack is full of games to help you show primary school age children that stride physical activity is fun! jogscotland magazine Autumn | Autumn 2016 jogscotland magazine 2016 www.jogscotland.org.uk/ |

Encouraging employees to be more active makes good business sense. Jogworks can help avoid some of the physical and www.jogscotland.org.uk/ mental health issues affecting the workplace.

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Contents Warm-up: Ready, Steady, Go Pitreavie!

News and events SAMH Stomp jogscotland Awards 2017 jogscotland start at the Great Scottish Run 10K From couch to ultramarathon! jogscotland Challenge Series 2017 SAMH Update Women’s/Men’s Running Great groups - Tain Joggers David Syme - Jogging along Scottish Slimmers Race directory Cool down

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Just click on a title to go straight to the page!

Design: 3fiftysixmedia.com

sponsor and funder jogscotland magazine

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Meet the Jog Crew

Jo Stevens

Sue Gyford

Colin Hutchison

Membership Development Officer

Digital Communications and Press Officer

Head of Development

jo.stevens@ scottishathletics.org.uk 0131 539 7341

sue.gyford@ scottishathletics.org.uk 0131 539 7350

colin.hutchison@ scottishathletics.org.uk 07983 080 925

Carol Robison

Angie Sutherland

Membership Administrator

Coaching and welfare administrator (Jog Leader course bookings)

membership@ scottishathletics.org.uk 0131 476 7321

coaching@scottishathletics.org.uk 0131 476 7328

Stride – the jogscotland members’ magazine Editor: Sue Gyford

Designer: Adrian Hallam, 3-56 Media Ltd

Photographs: OUTRun (front cover, p16/17) – www.littleadventurephotography.co.uk Hawick 5K (p16/17) – Alex Corbett Published four times a year by scottishathletics. Copyright©2017 Scottish Athletics Ltd. www.jogscotland.org.uk

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Nicola Moriarty of Warm-up byReady, Steady, Go Pitreavie!

In each edition of Stride, a guest contributor shares their love of running…

As a Pitreavie AAC “athletics mum” who spends a lot of time hanging about the track, I initially opted to join Pitreavie Road Runners, however only went to training on the odd occasion as I couldn’t overcome the perception that I wasn’t a “real runner”. After reading a jogscotland article stating “you don’t have to be a fast runner to make a great Jog Leader” I decided to go on the course and persuaded another runner to join me. The plan was to start a group which could feed into the main running group, offering support and boosting confidence. In June last year Ready, Steady, Go Pitreavie! was born.

I remember the first C25K program and how Anita and I panicked that we would end up with disappointed runners when we got to the end and hadn’t reached 5K. But it worked and as our confidence grew we realised how fun and rewarding it was to see other people’s confidence grow.

We recognised that general fitness would be of benefit, so that spurred me to train to become a Coach in Running Fitness, allowing a more athlete-centred approach, and the introduction of “Friday Fitness”: A session focusing on ABCs (agility, balance and coordination) and all-round exercises to improve technique. We also recognise how exercise can aid mental health and we have been involved with project ALBA coordinated by SAMH (see page 18).

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Warm-Up continued We meet on Sundays with the main focus on running in a fun, informal and encouraging environment. No runner is too slow (or too fast!) and many of our sessions are handicapped to allow all runners to train on a level playing field. We focus on all types of sessions - hills/intervals/relays/speed/endurance and use a variety of local scenic venues to keep sessions fresh and enjoyable.

There is also a big focus with our group on dynamic (and fun) warm up; cones, ladders and hula hoops always go with the group to sessions, even to events like parkrun and always attracts some interest in the running community.

The group consists of READIES (those completing C25K), STEADIES (once you have graduated or can jog/run 30min) and GO signifies going further with the main club. Graduation is a big highlight for our READIES, it’s when you earn your group T-shirt and wear it with pride on graduation day at parkrun.

The last twelve months have been exciting to see our group grow and we also have another two Jog Leaders (Ash and Andrew) in our current team. All four of us bring different qualities (and running pace) to the group and I am very proud to be part of this wonderful team. We have also worked closely with Pitreavie Road Runners and saw their group rebrand and relaunch as PAACE (Pitreavie AAC Endurance), offering a full pathway from our complete beginners up to the competitive runner. This has been hugely successful and PAACE has almost doubled its members, with many of our STEADIES going on to join the club. The collaboration works so well that in addition to members of our group benefiting from the structured PAACE sessions, we often have PAACE members join us too. RSG and PAACE definitely prove that a jogscotland/club partnership can be very successful.

Being a Jog Leader and setting up a group has been one of the most enjoyable and rewarding things I have ever done; seeing people grow in both confidence and ability is amazing. I am now always keen to remind everyone that we are all “real runners”.

To sum up our group, in the words of my fellow Jog Leader and friend Anita: “ Ready, Steady, Go Pitreavie! Getting Fife Fit one jogger at a time”

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News and events Annual Awards nominations now open!

It’s that time of year again – we want you to tell us all about your star joggers, jog leaders and groups, so we can celebrate them at the scottishathletics and jogscotland awards. We’ve a brand new category this year in recognition of our partnership with SAMH. The SAMH Award for Mental Wellbeing will be awarded to a member, leader, or group which has used jogging to improve their own or others’ mental health.

So get nominating – full details on p10-p11!

Happy anniversaries!

Ardler Running Ladies have celebrated their 10th anniversary with a fun run, nibbles and lots of chat. Jog Leader Elaine Hughes says: “We have had members of all ages, shapes, sizes and running experience. We run two evenings a week and have a mix of distances and speed but the one thing we all have in common is that we are all runners. Over the years group members have taken part in 5Ks, 10Ks, 10 mile, half marathons and even ultramarathons, but the main attraction of the group is the support and encouragement we all receive, even if it is lamppost to lamppost. We are looking forward to the next successful and fun 10 years!”

At the other end of the scale, congratulations also to Culduthel jogscotland in Inverness (below), who marked their 1st anniversary with this fab cake – here’s to many more!

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News and events continued

Jethart Joggers Jed Joggers lent some two-legged support to this year’s Jethart Callant’s Festival in Jedburgh. The celebration, marking its 70th anniversary this year, includes a series of horseback ‘rideouts’ to nearby locations. The joggers took part in the ten mile cavalcade of horses, which as a result included 100 horses – and 23 runners!

Pride of Inverurie Tammy Wilson, founder and Jog Leader of jogscotland Kintore, has been named Inverurie Sports Personality of the Year at the inaugural Pride of Inverurie Awards. The recognition comes after Kintore were voted jogscotland Group of the Year in 2016. Tammy said she was “Shocked, delighted and proud,” to take the award, which recognised both her leadership of the group, and her own running achievements. Congratulations, Tammy!

Questionnaire All jogscotland members have been emailed a link to a short online survey, which we hope will help us gather vital data about the great work being carried out in jog groups across the country.

Following the announcement earlier this year that there would be a reduction in funding to jogscotland, scottishathletics (our parent organisation) has been working closely with the Scottish Government and sportscotland to ensure we are doing all we can to secure future investment.

A key part of this is providing evidence of the impact jogscotland is having across the country, and your answers to our survey will help us do that. The survey has been designed in partnership with the Scottish Government to ensure we are collecting the information that they are looking for.

If you’re a jogscotland member and haven’t received the link to the survey, drop an email to jogscotland@scottishathletics.org.uk and we’ll forward it to you. Thanks for your help!

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Freya signs up for SAMH Stomp

SCOTLAND’S first stadium stair climbing challenge, SAMH Stomp takes place on 7 October at BT Murrayfield, and this month it was revealed that 2012 Olympian Freya Ross has signed up to be a Stomp Superstar.

In doing so, Freya will be stepping up for our partners at SAMH, Scotland’s mental health charity.

Participants have the option of two different routes which challenge them to climb thousands of stairs at one of the world’s iconic stadia.

The standard Stomp route is over 4,200 steps taking in the lower bowl and the upper tier of the East Stand. The Extreme route features every staircase inside the stadium bowl, coming in at over 7,200 steps.

Britain’s fastest marathon runner at the 2012 games in London, Freya has committed to taking on the full route, a very different sort of challenge to her normal distance running!

“SAMH is an amazing charity so I’m pleased to be able to do something that will raise money to help them keep up their brilliant work,” Freya explains.

The athlete reveals that this endurance event appealed to her because everyone will be taking part within the stadium bowl with friends and family set to cheer the stompers on!

“This is a unique opportunity to take part in a unique event at an amazing venue in BT Murrayfield, raising money for a great FREYA’S TOP cause,” she adds.

P TIP SAMH STOM “I’m sure it will be hard work, but hopefully enjoyable as I think it Pace yourself! well, and I’ll look forward to the sense of achievement in g to go off will be temptin finishing it!” st flight fast for the fir of use Find out more at www.samhstomp.org.uk of stairs beca t of en m te ci ex e th Find our more about our partnership with SAMH on p18 the occasion.

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Awards 2017 Every year we celebrate the best of jogscotland with our awards, presented at the fabulous scottishathletics and jogscotland Annual Awards Night. This year’s celebration will be held on 4 November at the Hilton Hotel, Glasgow, with special guests Kelly Sotherton and Jenny Meadows.

CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE NOW!

This year, to mark our partnership with SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health), we have an extra award, the SAMH Award for Mental Wellbeing, which will be awarded to a member, leader, or group which has used jogging to improve their own or others’ mental health.

That’s in addition to our usual three categories – Achiever of the Year, Leader of the Year, and Group of the Year. Nominations close on Friday 8 September.

Categories: Achiever of the Year – will be presented to a jogscotland member who has made incredible improvements this year: A beginner jogger who has made great strides towards a new active lifestyle; a more experienced runner who has reached a challenging goal, or someone who has really overcome the odds to stay active.

Leader of the Year – At the heart of every jogscotland group are the Jog Leaders.

It’s their planning, enthusiasm and vision that help thousands of people get active with jogscotland every year. We’d love to hear about Jog Leaders who have gone above and beyond to help their joggers change their lives and achieve their goals.

Group of the Year – Our Group of the Year might be a tiny village group or a huge city network; It might be supporting local charities, going the extra mile to help members achieve, or making an impact in the wider community.

SAMH Mental Wellbeing Award – Nominees could be individual jogscotland members, jog leaders, or jog groups, which/who have used jogging to improve their own, or others’, mental wellbeing. Whether someone has tackled their own mental illness through physical activity, supported others through difficult times, or made their group a welcoming environment for people to open up about their experiences, we’d love to help you celebrate them.

Tickets are now on sale for the scottishathletics and jogscotland stride jogscotland magazine Dinner Annual Awards on Saturday 4 November at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow. | Autumn 2017

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Need some inspiration?

Meet last year’s winners…

Achiever of the Year - Allison Smith (Jog Stewarton) Allison is a Jog Leader with Jog Stewarton, who always puts others’ running goals before her own. A major achievement for Allison has been the decision to speak out about her own survival of child abuse. The personal strength she has gained from running gave her the courage to tell her family and friends, report the abuse and receive support to help her deal with her experiences, and identify as a survivor. She completed River Ayr Way ultramarathon to raise funds for Break the Silence, the charity which has supported her.

Leader of the Year - Neil Scott (JogScotland Haddington) Neil is the ‘heart’ of JogScotland Haddington, which he founded six years ago. His dedication also demonstrates just how well jogscotland can support the wider running community – the group has helped reinvigorate a long-standing local running club by the addition of a large number of new jogscotland members, most of whom would never previously have considered joining a ‘proper’ running club.

Group of the Year - jogscotland Kintore jogscotland Kintore was established around two years ago, and is run

by Jog Leaders Tammy Wilson and Stephen Simpson.

Many of those who nominated the group praised it as being not just a jog group, but a huge, happy family. With up to 90 joggers each week, the group has transformed not only the lives of its members but also the community in the small town of Kintore. jogscotland magazine

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1 OCTOBER

GLASGOW CITY CENTRE

BE PART OF SCOTLAND’S BIGGEST WEEKEND OF RUNNING

10K

ENTER NOW AT GREATSCOTTISHRUN.COM stride jogscotland magazine

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1 OCT

Great Run

GLASGOW CITY

The countdown is on for this year’s Great Scottish Run, and we can’t wait! For the third year running, we’ll have a dedicated start area for jogscotland members taking part in the 10K race, situated towards the front of the pink wave.

There’s always a fantastic atmosphere, gathering together with a whole rainbow of jogscotland T-shirts from all over the country, taking photos, and getting a special shout-out from the race announcers. Then we set off, running together up St Vincent Street with a clear road in front of us, and crowds cheering us on!

BE PART SCOTLAN BIGGE WEEKE OF RUNNI

All are welcome in the jogscotland pen, no matter what colour bib you have, so come along and bring your group members and other friends to be part of the gang!

We should be marked with some jogscotland flags – let the marshals know you want the jogscotland pen and come on through.

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ENTER NOW AT GREATSCOTTISHRUN

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From couch to ultramarathon!

When Derek Gibson started a Couch to 5K podcast at the age of 50, he little suspected it would lead him on the path to becoming an ultra runner…

I started running just over three years ago at the age of 50. As I was over 15 stone I had to do something to get the weight down and I was encouraged by a friend to try the NHS Couch 2 5K podcast.

As someone who couldn’t run for more than a couple of minutes without getting a little breathless this was an ideal way to get started. However, the thought of me being outside in a pair of shorts and pretending to run filled me with a mixture of horror and embarrassment. To overcome this, I decided to run very early in the morning when there was no-one around. Although it felt strange going out to run I was secretly enjoying the podcasts and the little improvements I was making encouraged me to keep going. Having completed the Couch 2 5K I was duly informed by my personal podcast trainer that I was now ‘a runner’.

By this time, I knew I was being bitten by the running bug – but what should I do next?

As the minister of the local Baptist Church I was looking for ways to be more involved in the community while at the same time wondering how I might continue to run. jogscotland Mid-Argyll was to be the perfect answer.

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15 The great thing I found about jogscotland was that it wasn’t competitive and that it catered for everyone whatever their running ability. I have made some great friends from jogscotland and discovered an abundance of local trails that I never knew were there. I began entering some 10K races and the occasional half marathon.

Towards the end of last year, I began to feel the need for a new challenge and decided to enter the John Muir Way Ultra, which is 31 miles and would take place on 1 April – it had to be, didn’t it! What was I thinking? I had never ran more than 20 miles and I had only managed that once. Anyway, April came soon enough and I managed to get round in just over 6 hours. Even though I walked most of the last mile I was now starting to think of myself as an ultra-runner – it’s funny the tricks the mind can play.

Next up was the Stirling Marathon in May. Fortunately, a few others from jogscotland had also entered and so we were able to train together. Hundreds of people lined the streets to cheer us on and clocking a time of just under 4 hrs 18 mins gave me a real boost.

I can’t say the discipline of running on a regular basis comes naturally. I find it helps me if I register for a race in advance then I am motivated to put in the training. As time has gone on I have grown to enjoy the longer runs probably as they are more suited to plodders than sprinters and I have also developed the rather insane habit of entering races that are longer than I have ever run before.

I just recently ran in the Clyde Stride which is a very scenic and enjoyable 40 mile run as it follows the River Clyde from Partick to New Lanark. In August I ran in the Speyside Way (36.5 miles), and the Ochil Ultra in September (50 miles).

I am so glad that I discovered the world of running. I often find myself wishing I had taken it up years ago – oh well, I’ll just have to make the most of it while I can!

Although in the grand scheme of things I am no great shakes as a runner I still have to pinch myself when I think of how I was some three years ago – although, thankfully I have a bit less to pinch these days.

By Derek Gibson

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Challenge Series 2017 The jogscotland Challenge Series has continued this summer with a fantastic 343 runners gathering in Kelvingrove Park on 18 August to take part in the 5 mile OUTrun, and 170 people gathering in Hawick for the Hawick 5K and its sister events on 27 August.

OUTrun (this row and facing page)

Hawick 5K (this row)

OUTrun was organised by Glasgow FrontRunners (GFR), Scotland’s largest LGBT+ sports club. The event was originally set up in 2015 with the dual purpose of celebrating GFR’s 5th birthday and, on a more serious note, to promote LGBT+ visibility in sport. It is held on the same weekend as Glasgow Pride and kicks off the party atmosphere. This is the first year it has been included in the jogscotland Challenge Series, and what a great addition!

Afterwards runners relaxed enjoying cake in Kelvingrove bandstand for prize-giving – a new course record was set by Jonathan Roebuck who completed the course in 27:47 and the fastest team prize went to Bellahouston Harriers’ Darren McQuade, George Taylor, and Paul Clawson.

Everyone from recreational runners, to jogscotland groups, parkrun devotees and club runners from Bellahouston, Garscube, Cambuslang, and Springburn Harriers, to name just a few took part. The event attracted over 150 FrontRunners from across the UK and Europe, including Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, Liverpool,

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Manchester, London, and Paris. Club President Jason Bohan said that “OUTrun is about strengthening community bonds across runners of different abilities and clubs by ensuring that there is a fun and welcoming atmosphere for everyone.”

Community bonds were strengthened further by the team of over 50 volunteers who supported the event. Volunteer co-ordinators Dawn Little and Stuart Comrie said: “The volunteers made the event. We received so many messages thanking us for the warmth and support from the marshals all along the course.”

The organisers even awarded a prize to the best home baking on the theme of running with pride. There were many delicious contributions, and the winner went to Graeme O’Boyle for his Newcastle FrontRunner’s branded rainbow-themed cupcakes.

Organisers managed to raise £960 for their charity partners Amnesty International and LGBT Health and Wellbeing.

The jogscotland Challenge Series then moved to the Borders on 27 August for the Hawick 5K. A warm Hawick welcome was enjoyed by all 49 runners who made their way through the scenic Wilton Lodge Park and out onto the route. The inspiring sight and sense of achievement was palpable as all ages and abilities tackled their own 5K challenge with smiles and sweat in equal measure.

Teviotdale Harriers Club Captain Bruce Hughes said: “After many months of planning, Teviotdale Harriers, along with the support of jogscotland, managed to host what proved to be a hugely popular run. As with every event such as this, it would not be possible without the many volunteers who so willingly gave up time to help in any way they could. The efforts behind the scenes were matched by all who stood on the start line and put one foot in front of the other to gain their hard-earned medal but more importantly the right to say, I did it.”

There are plenty more events left in the Challenge Series – on 17 September we’re in Pitlochry with the jogscotland Challenge Pitlochry 5K, held on the same day as their popular 10K event.

On 24 September we partner with the popular River Ness 5K and 10K events in Inverness, taking place alongside the Loch Ness marathon with all the buzz of a major festival of running. We finish up the year on 3 December with the traditional Christmas Cracker event, in Broadwood Stadium Cumbernauld.

Get the dates in your diary!

Pitlochry 5K

17 September

River Ness 5K & 10K, Inverness

24 September Christmas Cracker 5K 3 December

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SAMH Update Our partnership with SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health) is now well underway, with a number of exciting new projects up and running – Mental Health Awareness workshops for Jog Leaders After the initial announcement of our partnership in April, we celebrated with a launch event on 8 July at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. Jog Leaders from the Glasgow area gathered together to hear more about the partnership and had the opportunity to take part in a mental health awareness workshop.

We are now taking the workshop on the road, so Jog Leaders right around Scotland can benefit – The dates are: Edinburgh 2 September • Aberdeen 9 September Galashiels 30 September • Perth 14 October Places are FREE but should be booked in advance by emailing jo.stevens@scottishathletics.org.uk Online Mental Health Awareness Training for Jog Leaders We also took the opportunity to launch SAMH’s new online Mental Health Awareness course for Jog Leaders - with more than 160 people now signed up to take part. The course is specifically designed for exercise instructors and physical activity leaders, and covers subjects such as the triggers for mental illness; common symptoms and types of mental illnesses; and how to support someone when they come to your physical activity sessions. The aim is to help our Jog Leaders feel better equipped to support joggers who may have mental health problems, and each leader who completes it will gain a certificate of completion in Mental Health Awareness.

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ALBA – Active Living Becomes Achievable ALBA is a new physical activity intervention developed by SAMH, which aims to help individuals with long term physical or mental health conditions to increase and maintain their levels of physical activity.

Referrals to ALBA come from GPs, leisure centre staff, employment organisations and community groups. ALBA is a 16 week programme that looks at mental wellbeing and physical activity together. Participants are given activity trackers that track data such as number of steps and are offered gym sessions and links to other activity options. At the end of the 16 weeks they can choose to opt into a piece of longer term research on physical activity, which is being conducted with the help of Napier University, and they also receive training to act as a peer supporter for others going through the programme.

We are working to link ALBA with local jogscotland groups, so these can become one of the referral options for participants. By getting to know their local jogscotland groups, the ALBA practitioners can then work closely with Jog Leaders to support people as they start their new active lifestyle.

SAMH’s pilot ALBA Fife project has had 20 people through its referral scheme since it began in March. Behaviour Change Practitioners Kerry and Kelsey have joined some of our Fife jog groups recently to get a feel for the kind of support and encouragement that they offer. Kerry recently went along to a local Fife leader meet up to discuss the project in more detail with the leaders and to discuss the referral process for joggers.

ALBA West Lothian launched in June, and we are delighted to have been involved from the beginning of the new project. The team are based in Bathgate and have so far visited jog groups in Livingston and Armadale, with the hope of establishing contacts with others in the coming weeks.

ALBA North Ayrshire is even newer, having launched in July. The team are finding their feet, establishing links with other local community groups and GP’s and will make connections with the jogging network soon. jogscotland magazine

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Take your running off-road with the latest issue of Women’s Running magazine.

Our trail issue special is packed with advice for every runner: those new to trail running will find tips and advice on taking their first steps on the trails, while more seasoned off-road enthusiasts can brush up on their skills with tips from the pros.

Need a new pair of trail shoes but no clue what you should be looking for? GB ultra marathon runner and trail running enthusiast Damian Hall breaks down everything you need to know. When London-based ultra runner Cat Simpson took a trip to the Lake District, she got acquainted with some somewhat hillier trails than she’s accustomed to down South. She shares the key advice she picked up along the way.

Try Women’s Running totally FREE Go to www.freewrmag.co.uk to claim your FREE copy today or call 0845 286 3067 and quote ‘Runner’

ninguk.c

The October issue of Men’s Running magazine is a trail running special.

Our Beginner’s Guide to Trail contains everything you need to brave the world of off-road running – from nutrition, to kit, to learning to ignore your Garmin.

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If you’re already a seasoned trail runner, then our lead feature is sure to take your fancy as Asics frontrunner David Miller takes you on a tour of the Jurassic Coast – an archaeologist’s dream but also trail running paradise.

Once you’re chomping at the bit to get off the beaten track, you’re going to need to dress appropriately – so turn to page 32 for six pages of the best kit and shoes your hard-earned money can buy.

BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO TRAIL

So, what are you waiting for?

Try Men’s Running totally FREE Go to www.freemrmag.co.uk to claim your FREE copy today or call 0845 286 3067 and quote ‘Runner’ stride jogscotland magazine

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TO THE TRAIL

YET TO MUDDY YOUR TRAINERS IN WORLD OF OFF-ROAD RUNNING? OUR BEGINNER’S GUIDE WILL HAVE YOU CHARGING THROUGH WOODLAND AND LEAPING OVER STILES BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN THINK ABOUT STARTING YOUR GARMIN here’s that wooden signpost on the cross-country cut through you like to T drive sometimes. You know the one.

Half lost amongst the hedgerow, with brambles tangled round it. ‘Footpath’, it says.

Beneath there’s a wonky stile. And you’ve seen people clumsily swing their leg over it. Most of them are walkers. But just occasionally, there’s a flash of lycra, a wild-eyed grin or a headtorch after dark.

Liberated from tarmac and traffic, these are runners who get their kicks on paths less travelled. You don’t see them much. They’re normally whizzing through woods, over mountains or on the far side of that hedgerow. But when they do cross your path you sense they are the people having the most fun.

These are trail runners.

TRAIL RUNNING VS ROAD RUNNING If your typical road run was a fruit, it would be the humble banana. It’s available everywhere. It’s the default option of choice. And in moderation there’s no denying it’s good for you. Sometimes though – even if it’s the only option on the table – you just don’t fancy banana. You might plan on eating

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banana on Sunday morning, but when you wake up you just can’t face that mono-fruit monotony. And slowly your banana, just like your fitness goals, can turn stale in the proverbial fruit bowl.

The trail run is your fruit salad. It’s a crowd pleaser.

It’s brighter coloured and varied. Making a fruit salad takes a little longer, and you might need to buy a few more ingredients before you begin. But as you start peeling away the different layers, you discover you are free to be creative and choose the fruit that take your fancy. There’s rarely any palette fatigue. And best of all, it’s healthier: choosing lots of different fruit is kinder on your body than constantly bombarding it with banana.

GETTING OUT THERE Finding trails needs a little cunning; not a change of postcode. The average UK citizen is never more than a stone’s throw from an off-road footpath.

Trails aren’t just found on country roads. They also weave close to towns and through urban woodland. Quiet canal paths carve right through cities. Trafalgar Square in London is perhaps one of the busiest and least likely trail destinations. But next door is the Queen’s local trail network in Hyde

Words Matt Maynard Photography www.inov-8.com / Dave MacFarlane

@mensrunninguk

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Great Groups - Tain Joggers

By Cynth Duncan I run Tain Joggers club with Elaine Ross and Carolyn Munro. I formed the group myself in 2016 - on the first night I had 57 runners!

That dwindled through the year, but I had 19 diehards who stuck with me. Since then, I’ve held two more beginners groups, each bringing in more people, and we now have around 60 members.

Our first organised run was Tain 5K, followed by the River Ness 10K in Inverness. I also encourage virtual running, where organisations offer medals for completing an event in your own time, at your own pace. We have a regular run payday run ourselves, which we call the Prosecco Run as a few of the girls like prosecco. So when we saw that Virtual Runner had a medal for a 5K Prosecco Run, it had to be done! We had a great time.

I am so proud of my ladies.

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Jogging along

by David Syme There are members of my club who, when we reach the end point of a run, look at their watches and declare that they have another 340 yards to do, and off they go! They are training for an event and have to follow their coach’s set distances exactly.

When I once teased them for being too pernickety they looked hurt, said I didn’t understand, and set off, steely-eyed on their extra loop. They are programmed for “must do” miles and I don’t tease them now.

My idea of a good club run is a challenging route, a reasonable pace and a blether with friends. I’ve read of such running being called “junk miles,” covering distance without meeting any specific training goal. I prefer to call it “social miles,” and I love it. At the end of a route some might be inclined to run round the block to add on a wee bit to achieve a nice round figure – nothing wrong with “round miles.”

Jogging solo has different charms; the steady patter of the feet brings out a relaxing of the mind, musings, creative thinking and harmony. Let’s call this “meditative miles” an equally enjoyable exercise.

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Autumn 2017

There’s now another form of running which I sampled recently. As a solo runner I started using an app which records the distance, the height gained and so on, but – and this is the thing – it can record route PBs and share the stats with other runners! Gone are the meditative moments and the dreamy canters. My solo running took on a different form with urgency and focus; must crack on…. can’t stop to help lame dogs over stiles…. on, on….faster, faster! I admit that I was delighted with a PB or two, and encouraged by the thumbs up from friends and family who use the same app, but I could see that it was leading me away from my beloved jogging into a crazed state of competing against myself. Let’s call this app-driven running “junkie miles.”

But now for the warning. If any of you out there are tempted to employ an app for anything more than satisfying a mild curiosity in the distance you have run, be careful. The beast inside you is ready to take over. I think I stopped junkie miles just in time.

David has produced two collections of short stories about running world-wide: “Running Away From Home” and “Running Home and Away”. All proceeds from sales go to support Tong-Len UK, a charity for street children in Northern India.

11 M A R C H 2 0 1 8 1/2 MARATHON | 5K E A R L Y B I R D E N T R Y AVA I L A B L E

1/2 marathon, total achievement jogscotland magazine | www. invernesshalfmarathon.co.uk

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Name: Vicky O’Lenskie From: Dunblane Age: 45 Occupation: Housewife Class manager: Sandy Fleming

Weight before: 12 stone 9.5lbs Clothes before: 12/14 Weight now: 10 stone 0.5lbs Clothes now: 8/10 TOTAL WEIGHT LOST: 2 stone 9lbs

I still can’t believe I ran a marathon!

After a moment of madness – and a few glasses of champagne – mum of 4 Vicky O’Lenskie signed up for the first ever Stirling marathon this year (2017).

‘It was Saturday January 6th and I was at a friend’s house when we started talking about getting fit,’ Vicky laughs, ‘I woke up the next day and thought what have I done?

Believe me when I say I couldn’t run to save myself and my family and friends thought it was hilarious.’

Despite the laughter Vicky and her friends, Anne Marie Cairns and Angela Lamb decided to give it a try and raise money for a charity close to Vicky’s heart.

‘We have raised over £3,000 for tuberous sclerosis, a genetic condition that leads to growths in various organs of the body, but those most commonly affected are the brain, eyes, heart, kidney, skin and lungs. It is a condition that affects my son, mum, brother & myself,’ explains Vicky.

‘Weight had slowly crept on over a few years and I knew when I reached almost 13 stone on the scales that I had to do something about it. Friends had raved about Scottish Slimmers and how great it was so I decided to give it a try.

‘There is absolutely no way I would have managed to do a marathon if I hadn’t lost almost 3 stone,’ admits Vicky.

I got to my target weight in March and on the day of the marathon I completed the course in 6hours 10minutes – not bad for someone who couldn’t run!’

For more information about Scottish Slimmers log on to www.scottishslimmers.com or call FREE on 0800 36 26 36 stride jogscotland magazine

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Breakfast bright ideas for dark mornings!

Serves 4 250 cals 10 Checks per portion

Recent studies show that people who eat breakfast weigh less than those who don’t. Eating a good breakfast can help you concentrate and make you feel fuller throughout the day. On week days try porridge or unsweetened cereal with fruit and skimmed milk or a good oldfashioned boiled egg on wholemeal toast but if you have a little more time, why not try something different to start your day!

Ingredients

Directions

120g rolled porridge oats

1 P ut the oats, apple juice and water in a bowl.

Cover and leave to soak overnight.

Fruity muesli brunch

100ml unsweetened apple juice 200ml water 2 dessert apples, cored and grated grated zest of ½ orange 25g walnuts or pecans, chopped 150g 0% fat Greek yoghurt

2 T he following day, stir in the grated apple, orange zest, nuts and yoghurt.

3 D ivide between 4 bowls or jars and drizzle with the honey. Sprinkle over the blueberries and seeds, and serve.

2 tsp clear honey 200g blueberries 2 tsp linseeds, flax seeds or sunflower seeds

If you have enjoyed these recipes, try Flexislim – a new approach by Scottish Slimmers. Go to www.scottishslimmers.com for more ideas.

Stride Special Offer Join

FREE today!

● Take this voucher with you to any Scottish Slimmers class before 15th December 2017 to claim your special offer. ● This coupon entitles you to join any Scottish Slimmers class FREE! (pay weekly class fee only).

CODE: 549988

Call free 0800 36-26-36 visit scottishslimmers.com

Race Directory There’s an event for everyone, go to www.jogscotland.org.uk/news-and-events for full details.

Events in red are part of the jogscotland Challenge Series 2017 9 September Murieston Trail Race Dandara 5K, Hazlehead Park, Aberdeen 10 September City of Stirling 10K & 2K fun run Around Cumbrae 10 Mile Road Race Islay Jog Scotland 5K From Hel’nBack, Helensburgh Dumfries Half Marathon 16 September Arrochar 10K

17 September The jogscotland 5K Challenge and Pitlochry 10K 24 September River Ness 5K and 10K and Loch Ness Marathon Scottish Half Marathon & 10K 1 October Great Scottish Run 10K and Half Marathon – join the jogscotland start pen, see p13!

Giffordtown 5K 7 October Dunbar 10 Mile Trail Race

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Free parkrun events (5K) every Saturday at 9.30am

8 October Linlithgow 10K & Junior Fun Run 28 October The Muckletoon Pumpkin Run 5 November Men’s 10K, Edinburgh Strathaven Striders Run with the Wind 10K 12 November Jimmy Irvine Bella 10K 3 December jogscotland Christmas Cracker 5K, Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld

Aberdeen Alness Aviemore Ayr Camperdown Drumchapel Dunfermline Edinburgh Eglinton Elgin Ellon Falkirk Ganavan Sands Greenock Hazlehead Inverness

Kirkcaldy Linwood Livingston Montrose Perth Pollok Portobello Ruchill Springburn St Andrews Stonehaven Strathclyde Tollcross Victoria Vogrie

Junior parkrun events (2K) for four to 14-year-olds every Sunday at 9.30am

Dumfries Duthie (Aberdeen) Helix (Falkirk) Inverleith (Edinburgh) Perth

Prestwick Oval Rouken Glen Stirling Strathmartine (Dundee) Victoria (Glasgow)

Find out more at parkrun.org.uk

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Cool down

by Sue Gyford Lots of you will be aware of the phenomenon of “FOMO” – Fear of Missing Out. Made especially acute by our social media age, it’s the ever-present worry that we might not get to take part in something important or enjoyable, and will then find the rest of the world was there and we missed it.

Well, I have well and truly fallen victim to Runner’s FOMO. Several months ago, I noticed a friend post on facebook that entries were open for the Tiree Ultra. I knew another friend who has hankered for several years to complete this scenic 35-miler, and I also know that it sells out very quickly. So I tagged her, she signed up for it, and I felt satisfied. For all of about three minutes. Then the little voice in the back of my head started up. “Well, if your pal’s doing it, won’t you feel left out if you don’t?” It whispered.

“It sells out quickly, so you could just sign up now to make sure you’ve got a place, and if you change your mind you can drop out.” And other such pearls of wisdom.

Moments later I’d not only got a race place, I’d booked beds for us both in the bunkhouse and we were discussing transport options. How does this happen?!

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The only trifling detail left was the training. I’ve completed one marathon in my life, the Lakeland Trails marathon at Coniston, but that was five years ago and I’ve not run more than a half since. So I adopted my usual training method: • • • •

Research online F ind excellent training plan which will enable me to comfortably complete the race Place it somewhere prominent Look at it wistfully now and again while completely ignoring it

So, I’ve failed to embrace the recommended ‘back to back’ runs – two long runs on consecutive days; I’ve failed to run five days a week (probably three in a good week); I’ve pretty much made it up as I went along with regard to the length of my weekday runs. I’m a normal person, with a normal life full of other commitments, and running niggles, and days when I’m too tired, and holidays to squeeze in, and so on and so forth. Some day, some time, I’d love to think I’ll actually stick to a training plan, but this is not that time.

The one thing I have done consistently is the long run, with a series of graduallyincreasing Sunday-busters, usually carried out as a run/walk – first 18 miles, then 20, then 23, and – last week – the magical 26.2. The marathon distance, from North Berwick to Edinburgh, took me six hours, three peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and I finished in the rain and the dark at 9pm. The idea that I might then complete another nine miles on race day seems completely fantastical to me right now, but I’m counting on that fabled adrenaline, and the race day mantra that “Once you’ve finished this, you don’t ever have to do it again” that has got me round so many other events (even though in the back of my mind, I know that, inevitably, I will).

The good news is that I’m now into that blissful period of “the taper” when I get to reduce my mileage, eat pasta, and let my poor wee legs conserve a bit of energy before the race.

So on 10 September, all being well, I’ll be there on the start line, backpack full of peanut butter, the sand whipping about my well-rested legs, ready for the off. Wish me luck! jogscotland magazine

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stride Autumn 2017

jogscotland group finder

www.jogscotland.org.uk/local-groups With hundreds of groups across Scotland, here’s how to find your nearest one‌

1. go to www.jogscotland.org.uk/local-groups 2. enter postcode 3. find your nearest group 4. join in!