Stride magazine summer 2017

stride

the jogscotland magazine | Summer 2017

Our new partnership with SAMH From transplant to triumph On the podium in my 50s Exercise guide – the step up Plus‌ the best summer 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 2016 jogscotland magazine 2016 | Autumn

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: Milestones 5 News and events 7 Aftershokz 9 Activity tracker app 10 Meet Colin Hutchison 11 From transplant to triumph 12 jogscotland start areas at Great Run events 15 On the podium in my 50s 16 jogscotland Challenge Series 2017 18 New partnership with SAMH 20 Better in body, better in mind 22 Exercise guide - Step-up 25 David Syme - Jogging along 26 Scottish Slimmers 28 Women’s/Men’s Running 30 Race directory 31 Cool down 33 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 Membership Administrator membership@ scottishathletics.org.uk 0131 476 7321

Stride – the jogscotland members’ magazine Editor: Sue Gyford

Designer: Adrian Hallam, 3-56 Media Ltd

Photographs: SAMH pictures (front cover and p18) Lenny Warren/Warren Media Published four times a year by scottishathletics. Copyright©2017 Scottish Athletics Ltd. www.jogscotland.org.uk

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Summer 2017

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Warm-up

Catriona Whitelaw – Milestones jogscotland, Mayfield and Musselburgh

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

Milestones jogscotland - three small friendly groups, two beginners and one improvers. The group are not all about speed but time on our feet, encouraging and supporting each other to improve fitness and a healthier lifestyle.

I love being a Jog Leader, although I’m mostly found with the back runner - at 56 I’m never going to get any faster! I started running about five years ago. Two years ago I got second place in my age group for a 10K midnight run in Koh Samui, which was a proud moment for me! I decided to become a Jog Leader to give something back to the community and to help beginners who think they can’t run, believe they can do it. Personal experience highlighted this for me - I couldn’t run to the end of the street a few years ago, and I was fairly fit!

Once our members achieve their first 5K they are rewarded with a token gift, a lovely painted/lacquered stone with 5K on it – a genuine milestone! Before setting up the group, I pondered over group names for about a month. Then I was at the beach, picked up a stone and asked my talented husband (an airbrush expert) if it was possible to airbrush and lacquer the stone. He said yes, so I gave it a go and Milestones was born.

Members love their milestones - they are airbrush painted, then I put the required decal on and finally they are lacquered so can be displayed inside or outdoors. It can be quite time-consuming, and the lacquer and paint is costly, but to see their smiling faces when presented makes it worthwhile. I have also given out stones to members who compete in runs outside the group. A number of the group have gone on to run in 10K events and the Kilomathon, they are again rewarded with another milestone. jogscotland magazine

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Warm-Up continued The cost of each running session is £1 and so far all the money has gone to various charities - Teenage Cancer Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Cystic Fibrosis, Alzheimer’s Society, and even helped send a young local swimmer and bowler, Sophie Connor, to the Special Olympics in Sheffield in July. She has to raise £700 to pay for the trip, so we’re delighted to have been able to help her.

My own next challenge is climbing Ben Nevis in July and then running the Scottish Half Marathon in September, in memory of my brother Michael. I’m hoping to raise some cash for The Alzheimer’s Society – all donations welcome! www.justgiving.com/catriona-whitelaw Among the group members, there have been so many achievements - Karen has gone from zero to 13.1K, she said if someone had told her a year ago that she could do that, she would have laughed it off. Lynne has overcome an injury (from other activities) to running 5K consistently, and never gives up. Cara and Donna are committed to increasing their distance and are up to 4 miles. Cara said she is feeling more confident to go out and run 5K on her own on non group days. Donna is a great support for me. Karen and Julie are almost back up to their 5K after a short break. Adelle ran 4 miles on her first night at the improvers group! Corrie has just joined us and did amazingly on her first session.

I’m really proud of all their achievements – and all the milestones they’ve reached.

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News and events New partnership with SAMH We are delighted to announce that jogscotland has entered into a partnership with SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health). Both organisations share a belief in the value of physical activity and sport as a means to achieve both physical and mental health, and have committed to working together to promote Scotland’s wellbeing. We hope the partnership will bring new training opportunities for Jog Leaders, better support for members dealing with their own or a loved one’s mental health issues, and the chance to promote the work of both organisations to members. For more information, turn to p.20

Jail break Inveraray jogscotland hosted their eighth Jail Break event on 14 May. The 7K run starts in front of Inveraray Jail, ascends 250 meters where participants run around a tower folly, then finishes back in front of the Castle. This year there were jogscotland members from not just Inveraray, but also Mid Argyll and Rothesay. Congratulations to all involved!

Who run it?

An inventive fundraiser was held by Just Jog Inverkip/Greenock on 8 May when they raised £400 for Macmillan Cancer with a murder mystery 5K. They used the charity’s murder mystery fundraising pack, dividing into teams with six characters and dressing up accordingly. Each team then ran to places where a volunteer was waiting with the clues and they acted out their scripts before moving on to the next point.

Jog Leader Cheryl Thomas said: “The night was brilliant fun with everyone really getting into their role. As well as the fantastic amount raised for Macmillan it also generated a lot of interest in our group as 30 people running along the main road all dressed up was a sight to behold!”

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News and events continued

Black Rock Jog Cowdenbeath held a ‘Pseudo Black Rock Run’ on 24 May, raising £299 for MND Scotland.

It gave members a chance to get their feet wet on a ‘jog friendly’ 3.5 mile version of the route used by the popular Black Rock 5 race. The route takes joggers out onto the sands at Kinghorn in Fife at low tide, and around the outside of the Black Rock, which lies offshore. There were 65 runners and 10 walkers, including members of Jog Dunfermline, Falkland Trail Runners, Jog Dalgety Bay and Leven Las Vegas. With perfect weather, it was a great event for everyone taking part.

On the road Ten years ago, jogscotland Strathclyde Park took their first trip to Girona in Spain, and they decided to mark the anniversary with a return visit. With a group of 15 walkers and runners, they did a selection of runs, including an off road route up to the castle, and added in yoga and circuits in a local park. Jog Leader Angela Mason says the group will be certain to return: “It was such fun, we all had a blast!”

Hooray for Hazel!

Hazel Wyness had even more reason to celebrate than most at this year’s London Marathon when she helped Metro Aberdeen to win the GB and Scottish Women’s Team Championships with a 13 minute PB of 2.56! Hazel started out her running life with jogscotland Westhill, and is a great example of how jogscotland provides a great start for everyone, from those looking for a gentle jog, right up to national medal level. * Turn to page 14 to read about another speedy jogscotland member, Joyce Allardice, who started running aged 48 and is now a regular on event podiums.

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Aftershokz – discounts for jogscotland members!

We are pleased to announce an exciting new partnership with AfterShokz, the number one bone conducting headphone brand.

Following the success of its current partnership with England Athletics, this latest association will further promote our efforts to encourage safe running among professional and enthusiast athletes.

In addition all members of jogscotland have received a discount code via email on AfterShokz’s range of sports headphones (sent out to members’ registered emails when the partnership was launched in March, and included in new member and renewal confirmation emails).

Fully-approved for use in all road races under the UK Athletics rules of competition, AfterShokz’s bone conducting headphones are available from £49.95 and in a range of different colours.

All AfterShokz headphones have a two-year warranty and have won a number of international design awards.

Mark Munro, CEO of jogscotland’s parent body scottishathletics, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to partner with AfterShokz. “jogscotland, scottishathletics and AfterShokz are passionate about getting more people participating in running and athletics. Whether taking part in events, running solo or running socially with others, it’s key that their experience is safe and enjoyable.

“We recognise that many of our participants across track and field and running enjoy listening to music while warming up or competing, so partnering with the number one bone conducting headphone brand means that we can better ensure their safety.

“At jogscotland and scottishathletics, we are really looking forward to working in partnership with Aftershokz over the coming months to promote safe running in events to our members and offering them discount.”

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Activity tracker app

The jogscotland activity tracker app is now being trialled by groups across the country, with 136 Jog Leaders from 70 different groups already signing up to use it.

The app has been developed in partnership with parkrun, to provide us with better statistics on all the great work being done in jog groups all over Scotland, day in, day out. As you may know, jogscotland lost its funding from the Scottish Government earlier this year. While our partnership with SAMH (see p20) and further talks with the Scottish Government have resulted in some funding being available to us, we know that in order to secure future funding, it will be crucial to provide concrete proof of what we are all achieving as a community, and this app will help us do that.

Jog Leaders who choose to support us by using the app can email us to register and then download it to their phones. Contact jo.stevens@scottishathletics.org.uk for more information.

Jog Leaders can also access a full set of user guides, in both written and video formats, on our website – just go to www.jogscotland.org.uk/jog-leaders/ activity-tracker-app and use the menu on the left of the page to access both the user guides and FAQs. jogscotland members whose Jog Leaders are using the app should sign up for a parkrun account, and then take their parkrun barcode along to jog sessions to be scanned by the leader. If your leader is using the app, they will have told you all about it – we’d love to see you supporting them by taking part. It is important that as many people as possible use the app so that we can provide the best possible data.

You can register for a barcode at www.parkrun.org.uk/register/

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Meet Colin Hutchison We are delighted to introduce Colin Hutchison, who has joined scottishathletics as Head of Development – a role which includes overseeing jogscotland.

He comes to us from his previous role as National Development Manager with Bowls Scotland.

Father-of-two Colin, who lives in Edinburgh, has worked in development at a local and national level for more than ten years.

With a membership of over 60,000 individuals and 860 clubs at Bowls Scotland, he has been instrumental in providing a strong focus on development within the sport and became National Development Manager with Bowls Scotland in 2013 after three years as National Development Officer. Interested in a range of sports, Colin is a keen runner.

His work will include overseeing both jogscotland, and the modernisation programme for scottishathletics clubs, and we hope this will enable our jogging groups to benefit from some of the great work going on within the athletics club network. This could include improved CPD opportunities for leaders, closer links between jogscotland groups and their local athletics clubs, and stronger data collection, to help us attract funding in future.

Colin said: “I am delighted to have been appointed as the Head of Development for scottishathletics and to be leading the team at jogscotland. This is an exciting time to be joining the organisation with membership of both athletics clubs and jogging groups growing significantly.

“Within jogscotland the first few months in post have presented some challenges with a reduction in funding, however, as a result we have seen, across Scotland, the overwhelming support for jogscotland amongst the Jog Leaders and members, and growing evidence of the wider impact that jogscotland has on our members’ lives. The newly-established partnership with SAMH is another exciting development and we look forward to working together to continue enhancing the jogging provision and experience for both leaders and members.

“I look forward to working together with you all to continue growing the jogscotland network and to showcase the wider impact of jogging on people lives.” jogscotland magazine

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From transplant to triumph When Lesley Forrest suffered complete kidney failure, she faced nightly dialysis. But a transplant gave her a new lease of life‌

In 1995 doctors informed me that I needed a transplant after suffering complete kidney failure caused by a hereditary disease. I suddenly found myself trying to hold down a full time job and raise three children whilst spending up to eight hours every night attached to a machine for dialysis treatment while on the organ donor list.

After nine months of daily struggles, I received a life-changing phone call on Easter Monday 1996. There was a kidney for me, and my transplant was scheduled for the next morning. Following the surgery I couldn’t believe how quickly I was able to return to my normal life and feeling healthy again. I felt a duty to not only take care of this special gift that someone had donated by staying fit and healthy, but also to raise awareness to help those in similar situations to myself.

I became a member of the Edinburgh Transplant Team and now compete in swimming and athletics at the British Transplant Games which are held every year in a different UK city, and through selection to represent Great Britain in the World Transplant Games in 2007, 2011 and 2017.

Being a part of the team, I have been able to raise awareness for the need of organ donation and raise funds to support transplant sport and research. We have hosted race nights, charity bag packing and involve ourselves in local fun runs and even marathons.

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13 In 2009 I was awarded the Edinburgh University Principal’s medal for helping to raise awareness about organ donation within the community.

I also received an MBE from the Queen in 2011 for my support of transplant sports and I carried the Olympic Torch to Edinburgh Castle and lit the cauldron in 2012.

With the 20th anniversary of my transplant looming I crazily suggested to family members that I should take part in 20 sporting events to help raise awareness about organ donation. I then decided with the help of work colleagues at Edinburgh University to join jogscotland to start the process of trying to run a 5K. I went out every Tuesday and Thursday with the beginners group who met at Bristo Square at lunchtime. We started with the 1 minute walk and 1 minute jog and after 4 months I was jogging round Arthur’s Seat. We went out in the rain, hail and snow but with the support of the group I knew it was the only way I would keep it up. I never thought of myself as a runner but now enjoy taking part with my group who are always very supportive and good fun.

During 2016 I competed in 20 events either jogging or swimming. Events included New Years’ Day Triathlon, Edinburgh 5K Great Run, the Glasgow Kiltwalk, Gung Ho obstacle race in the Meadows, 5K Sports Relief Swimathon, numerous 5K Fun Runs and a leg in the Edinburgh Marathon relay team.

I would never have been able to complete these events without the support of jogscotland, but of course it isn’t always about winning races or being the first across the finish line. jogscotland helps you reach your own goals and shows you that just taking part and being a part of something can feel like winning and I would recommend to anyone who wants to improve their fitness.

By Lesley Forrest

Join the organ donor register – visit www.organdonationscotland.org or call 0300 123 2323 to find out more.

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jogscotland start areas at Great Run events

jogscotland members gathered together in our dedicated start area for the 5 mile race at the Great Edinburgh Run (pictured) on 23 April. It continued our tradition of dedicated starts at Great Run events, with our very own Sue Gyford being handed the mic before race start to give a special shout-out to some of the jogscotland groups in attendance on the day, including the Galavanters and Chirnside Chasers.

Sue said: “There were lots of jogscotland runners out on both the 5 mile and 10 mile routes. I took part in the 10 mile race myself, wearing my jogscotland T shirt, and twice had Jog Leaders come and say ‘Hi’ while we were actually running – that was a first for me, and just added to the great sense of community you get from being a jogscotland member at events like these.”

Last year’s Great Scottish Run

The next jogscotland starts will be at the 10K races in the brand new Great Aberdeen Run on 27 August and the Great Scottish Run on 1 October – come and find us!

See www.greatrun.org for entry information. jogscotland magazine

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I first ran aged 48

– now I’m on the podium!

By Joyce Allardice of Carluke jogscotland

In April 2012, at the tender age of 48 and being an ex-smoker, I tentatively made my way to the John Cumming Stadium, Carluke. It was enrolment night for jogscotland and as I timidly registered for the beginners 1 group I could never have imagined how my life was about to change. It was on that Wednesday evening that I got my first and possibly best piece of good running advice from Jog Leader Siobhan Lindsay: “Get yourself a good sports bra”. So, it was the following Wednesday night that I arrived for Week 1 of Beginners 1 (suitably-attired) and my first run in more than three decades. To my surprise and joy, I was not the slowest in the group and over the following 10 weeks with the encouragement and support of Jog Leaders and fellow runners I found myself steadily progressing. I didn’t realise it at the time but it was during this first 10 week block that I must have caught the running bug!

The following weeks and months flashed by as I worked my way through beginners, inters and finally into the advanced group. As well as the obvious benefits to my health I was enjoying meeting new people, socialising outwith the jogscotland nights and going on weekend runs with my new running buddies.

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17 On 4 November 2012 I ran my first (and almost last) race, Strathaven Striders Run With the Wind 10K, in a time of 52:05. To date I have competed in well over 50 races at 3K, 5K, 6K, and 10K plus a couple of half marathons and Clydestride relays. I have met some amazing people and made some great friends along the way. I have also been fortunate enough to pick up a few age graded prizes on my travels which are nice to show off to the grandchildren who are now keen to follow in my footsteps and run themselves.

Most recently at the end of 2016 I became a member of Motherwell AC and through them also became involved with “The Thursday Thrashers”, a social running group under the leadership of fellow Motherwell AC member Jo Clark. My first outing in a Motherwell vest amazingly resulted in bronze medals in the FV50 category for myself and team mates Phylis Hands and Mae McIsaac at the Scottish National Road Relays at Livingston on Sunday 26 March this year. The following week I was delighted to pick up the 1st female vet’ prize at the Tom Scott Round the Loch 6K at Strathclyde Park. The unbelievable feeling of pride in your own achievements when standing on the podium or lining up with all the winners for group photos is one I never imagined I’d experience.

Although most of my running now is with competition in mind I still enjoy helping out at Carluke jogscotland and think it’s only right that I should put back into the organisation that made it all possible for me in the first place and I take great pleasure in giving to new runners the guidance and encouragement that I was so grateful and fortunate to receive myself not so long ago.

My main goal for the future is to remain healthy and injury free as long as possible and to enjoy every race as it comes along. My dream would be to knock a couple of seconds off my PBs at every distance and achieve my first 80per cent WAVA score.

Thanks to all at jogscotland and the general running community for letting me in and making me feel welcome - I am glad to be one of you.

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Challenge Series 2017 This year’s jogscotland Challenge Series is well underway for 2017! Every year we partner with a series of events that we particularly recommend for joggers of all levels, and which particularly embody the jogscotland ethos – inclusive, fun and friendly, celebrating achievement at all levels.

This year’s Series kicked off with The TRAC Wee Trail Race on 23 April as part of the Run Balmoral weekend. The 3 mile race was one of many across the weekend which saw 5000 runners decend upon the spectacular grounds to help celebrate the event’s 20th year. jogscotland groups including Alness, Blackburn, Stonehaven and Hazelhead were spotted among the crowds, proving that whether you are running 3 miles or 15 miles, you do it in style with the support from your fellow running buddies and jogscotland!

Our second event in the Challenge Series took us to Coatbridge for the Monklands 5K, organised by North Lanarkshire Leisure. Numbers across all races that day were the highest they had ever been and Jog Scotty proved to be a huge hit with everyone as he posed for selfies and helped with the children’s warm ups.

A big thank to Jog Leaders Neil Nairn, Andrea Gavin and Ted McPake for helping out on the day with marquee set up, promoting jogscotland and our new partner SAMH - and of course mascot duties!

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Next stop for the Challenge Series is Glasgow, when we join Glasgow FrontRunners for the OUTrun, a five mile race in Kelvingrove Park on 19 August.

Glasgow FrontRunners are one of Scotland’s largest LGBT+ friendly sports clubs, and the OUTrun takes place on the same weekend as Glasgow Pride. It is open to all joggers regardless of gender, sex, sexuality or age, and we encourage everyone to go along and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere (and cake!) on the day.

We’ll then head to the Borders for the Hawick 5K on 27 August, organised by Teviotdale Harriers. It’s always a really friendly event, with a beautiful setting, and a flat route starting and finishing in Wilton Lodge Park.

On 17 September we’ll be at the jogscotland Challenge Pitlochry 5K, organised

by Live Active Leisure on the same day as their 10K distance – two tremendously scenic races, both starting and finishing in the centre of Pitlochry.

We’ll be a part of the huge Loch Ness Marathon festival in Inverness on 24 September, with both the River Ness 5K and 10K a part of the Series. The crowds, atmosphere, and event village make for a fantastic day out for both runners and supporters.

Drawing the series to a close on 3 December will be the Christmas Cracker 5K at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld. Festive fancy dress is the order of the day, with each entry pack including a Santa hat. It’s part of a whole day of events, including three children’s Santa Dashes for different ages, so bring the whole family along!

Full details of the events, including entry links, are available at http://jogscotland.org.uk/news-and-events/jogscotland-challenges/

Get the dates in your diary!

OUTRun

19 August

Hawick 5K

27 August

Pitlochry 5K

17 September

River Ness 5K & 10K, Inverness

24 September Christmas Cracker 5K 3 December

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New partnership with You may be aware that jogscotland has entered into a new collaborative partnership with SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health). Both partners have worked together on projects for a number of years and the next natural step of partnership is to secure and develop jogscotland for the future. This will include some financial support from SAMH for the jogscotland programme. Current jogscotland staff will continue to work for scottishathletics, in the same roles as before, but develop closer ties to SAMH and its resources.

Benefits of the partnership will include new, structured opportunities for Jog Leaders and jogscotland groups such as: • Mental health awareness sessions and training for Jog Leaders • Signposting and support for members with mental health problems • A range of resources (including online) that will raise awareness of mental health and also provide support for those with mental health problems or for those supporting a loved one.

• Information about forthcoming SAMH events and how you can become involved in their work.

The principles of the new partnership include: • A shared belief in the value of physical activity and sport as a means to achieve both physical and mental wellbeing.

• A shared vision to see continued delivery and development of jogscotland • A joint managing-partners approach for the delivery of jogscotland Mark Munro, CEO of scottishathletics said: “We have been working away in the background with SAMH for the past nine months.

“SAMH are a fantastic, forward-thinking charitable organisation and there is a clear

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21 natural link between physical and mental wellbeing. With one in four of the Scottish public affected by mental health problems, it makes absolute sense to progress this partnership and the programme can only be enhanced by SAMH support and expertise.”

Billy Watson, Chief Executive of SAMH said: “We are delighted to be working with scottishathletics to maintain Scotland’s recreational running network; jogscotland.

“We will look to offer exciting new opportunities to jogscotland members and groups across the country.

“For many years SAMH has been committed to promoting good mental health and has a number of other sport and physical activity programmes which align positively with this new development.

Progress so far It’s early days in the partnership, but our membership development officer, Jo Stevens, has been meeting with the SAMH team to plan how we can work together.

She has been looking at two SAMH online training modules called Mental Health Awareness and Supporting Behaviour Change, with a view to making these available to Jog Leaders. We hope this will help Jog Leaders feel better prepared to support group members with mental health problems. We’ll get in touch with Jog Leaders in due course as work progresses.

SAMH’s ALBA (Active Living Becomes Achievable) project aims to support people in Fife, North Lanarkshire and West Lothian with exercise referral schemes, encouraging them to get active and stay active to improve their mental health. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) practitioners working for the project in Fife have visited several groups including Jog Cowdenbeath, Leven Las Vegas and Ready Steady Go Pitreavie, to get a feel for how we support our joggers, with the hope of referring clients into the jogging network.

We shared SAMH resources at the jogscotland Challenge Series event Monklands 5K, and jogscotland information was available at the SAMH stand at Edinburgh Marathon Festival.

Want to know more about how running can help your mental health?

Turn the page for David’s story...

SAMH launched the ‘Going To Be’ campaign in May to help young people get the help they need for mental health problems.

You may have seen three campaign ads, which show young people talking about what they’re going to be, featured on STV and in the cinema. The campaign is running online and in the media and will last for two years. Visit samh.org.uk to find out how you can join the campaign and why it’s important that you do.

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Better in body, better in mind David Lawson has gained control over his depression – and lost 10 stone – since he took up running. The jogscotland Meadowmill member shares his story A few years ago, I was tipping the scales at 30 stone plus and was suffering from bad depression. I was trying to put up with fighting it every day, watching my family and friends around me trying to help, but I kept pushing them away.

When I first met my wife Jay in 2004, we were the life and soul of the party but I’d got to the point I didn’t like to go out. I had been physically and mentally abused as a child, and I think that started coming out once I had my son and thought about how much I wanted to give him a good childhood. It didn’t help that he was about a year and a half at time, he was running about and I couldn’t run after him, I couldn’t even lean over to tie my shoelaces.

Jay was at her wits’ end, she’d done so much for me but was about to give up on us if I didn’t get help. She was always raising money for various charities, even though she was tipping the scales at 29 stone herself and could hardly walk. But she was still trying to help me and others, and it made me think “Hang on, if Jay can do it, then so can I.” So I asked for her help. This was the biggest step - asking!

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A friend of hers at work had been diagnosed with a severe form of cancer and needed urgent treatment but the only place to send her to was Mexico, so Jay suggested that I should register for a 5K, try to lose weight to train for it, and people would sponsor me to run. It was a daunting thought, as I could hardly get off the couch. But I agreed to it and asked close friends who ran for help training. I ran my first 5K in January 2014 and ran it in 38 minutes. What a great achievement it was the feeling was tremendous and I raised over £1200 for the treatment.

That was it, I had the bug, I started to train regularly and loved it. My other friends suggested that I start to register to do other challenging activities for charity and I seemed to have the backing - and people were keen to see if I could achieve it, being so heavy. As my training got more the weight started to drop off, I have lost ten stone now, climbed Ben Nevis twice, 24 munros, ran 2 half marathons, a 10 mile run, eight 5K’s, four 10K’S, a 6.5K Kilomathon and I feel so alive. I have also abseiled down a lighthouse in aid of the Bethany Homeless trust. Oh, and by the way, I am scared of heights! more overleaf

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24 When I first started running, I used to go out with friends in the mornings, but I was looking for more structure. I posted on facebook to see if anyone knew of a group I could join, and my friend Joanna suggested Meadowmill jogscotland. It was nervewracking to go along for the first time and to be the newbie, even though I’d done a 5K and a 10K at that point, but they welcomed me with open arms, it was really good. It was great knowing that I had to go on a Thursday night, and they helped me with a lot of things, pushing me to keep going. The runs are fantastic, our Jog Leader Tracey Frame knows the backstreets of Prestonpans really well and she plans them all out, and Audrey Ferguson is also a great leader.

All my medals are displayed taking pride of joy on my wall at home and I have just recently been able to purchase some brand new proper running gear and I am now starting to look the part. This is a huge boost for me as I have not been able to wear any of the sports tops you get in the goodie bags after each race as the companies don’t seem to make them big enough and their XL tops would not even fit my butt.

It’s disappointing after the race when you get a group photo done with your tops and medals and you’re the only one without a top to show off!

I’ve now lost 10 stone, and am down to 20 stone. I look better and I feel brilliant, not just for me but for my family, for my kids. It still helps with my mood – if I’m down I just like to get out and get my run in, then I’m better.

My weight is still coming off and I will continue to run as much as I can, I love it and I am really looking forward to the Great North Run in which I am training hard for.

By David Lawson

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Summer 2017

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Exercise guide:

Step-up In each edition of Stride magazine, we bring you a simple guide to exercises you might like to incorporate into your fitness routine. They’re designed to help your strength and/or flexibility, which will improve your running and reduce your risk of injury.

The step-up will help to strength your calves, quadriceps (thigh muscles), hamstrings and glutes (bum muscles).

Runners often have weak glutes, which can contribute to injury elsewhere in the legs, lower back etc.

• Stand

in front of a solid, stable step that will not tip over • Place

one foot onto the centre of the step and step up, working the leg that’s on the step, rather than springing from the leg on the ground.

• Step

right up until the leg on the step is straight.

• Step

back down, until both feet are back on the floor.

• Be sure to scoop your tummy in and stay upright, not bent forward.

• As you get stronger, you can progress to lifting the leg that was on the ground until the thigh (and sole of the foot) is parallel with the ground.

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Jogging along by David Syme The devil on the run The first time the devil spoke to me was on my third or fourth marathon – in Berlin, I think it was.

Unlike the present day, in the 80s we were a select breed, we runners who had completed a full marathon. We had done the distance, been there. I wore my finisher T-shirts with pride. For the race in question a group of us trained hard and travelled out together.

With a few under my belt I tried to help first-timers overcome their anxieties. “We’ve done the hard miles in training, relax, enjoy the atmosphere, adrenalin will kick in... you’ll be fine....” Patronising, when I look back!

I set off confidently and enjoyed the terrific atmosphere, but became aware that the adrenalin was losing its kick, I had lower back stiffness and my footfall sounded wrong. I gasped when I saw a distance sign of 20km! Less than half gone! The devil saw his chance and started speaking to me in a gentle voice. “You don’t need to do this, you know. That back pain could develop into a serious problem. You have nothing to prove, you’ve done this before. Today is not your day, just accept it. Don’t be pig-headed; running is meant to be enjoyable, so if you are hurting, what’s the point? You’re just being stupid if you carry on like this.”

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Summer 2017

There are counter-arguments, of course, so I talked back to the devil. “I know that it hurts, but the feeling of completion is wonderful. I’ve paid the fee so I’ll keep going..... I’ve started, so I’ll finish. No pain, no gain!” As I struggled along the course, the debate with the devil raged in my mind, and distracted me from any enjoyment of the event. Fear kept me going, the fear of the sympathy extended to the DNF (Did Not Finish) as we travelled home, the only one not wearing a medal and a tired smile. I think this debate dominated my running from 20km to 35km, and it slowed me down. Once I reached 35km I knew there was only 8km to go, less in fact! That’s only 5 miles, I could do that in my sleep.... the worst was over, and I plodded on to the finish. In the relief of completing the course I could hear the devil saying firmly.

“All right you got away with it this time, but don’t ever, ever think of doing another marathon.” I gave the devil a weak nod of acceptance.

Well, that was a long time ago; time is a great healer and on later marathons the devil’s voice was not heard.

The sad thing is that he is now talking to me in a very convincing voice on 10K runs!

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.

If you’re going to put yourself through hell, you might as well do it in heaven.

24.09.17

Marathon | 10K | 5K | Wee Nessie lochnessmarathon.com

The Event Frontrunners

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Name: Hannah Ker Weight before: 17 stone From: Reddingmuirhead, Kirkwall, Clothes before: 18/20 Orkney (originally from Irvine) Weight now: 12 stone 7lbs Age: 25 Clothes now: 12 Profession: HR Development Officer FOUR sizes SMALLER! Class manager: Shona Reid 4 stone 7lbs LIGHTER!

It’s all about balance!

‘At school I was always very aware that I was the biggest out of my friends, and at school people often made comments, kids can be very cruel. But it wasn’t until I went to university and as I got older that I realised how big I actually was,’ says Hannah, 25 from Orkney.

Hannah always had a difficult relationship with food and allowed herself to be controlled by emotional eating, ‘I found it harder as I got older as I became more aware of how different I was to my friends. Instead of doing something about it, I would just eat to make myself feel better and pretend my weight didn’t bother me,’ After her first year of university and hearing a number of hurtful comments, Hannah joined Scottish Slimmers and a gym to get in shape, and successfully lost 2½ stone.

It wasn’t until the end of university and travelling to Australia for 5 weeks that she realised her weight had crept back on.

After securing a job in Orkney, Hannah decided to once again take control of her weight and re-join Scottish Slimmers where she lost another 2 stone.

Hannah’s motivation for re-joining wasn’t just her big move, her holiday snaps or her new job. In May 2017, Hannah will be a bridesmaid for one of her friends and would love to be at her target weight by then.

She is more active than she has ever been, ‘I never thought I would see the day where I could enjoy exercise, I attend regular circuit and high intensity classes, I go jogging, and have recently joined a netball team!’

Hannah has lost a total of 4 stone 8lbs and has slimmed from a size 20 to a 12, she credits Scottish Slimmers and her inspirational sister Lesley for getting this far.

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Summer 2017

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

29

Low check cheeseburger Feelgood Count 7 and Classic Checks 16

Who needs a takeaway when you can have a fakeaway?

Ingredients

Directions

120g lean minced beef (10% fat or less)

1 M ix the mince, grated onion, ketchup and enough beaten egg to form a firm but moist mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

½ small onion, grated 1 tsp tomato ketchup

2 S hape the mixture in your hands into one thick burger. Spray lightly with oil and cook under a hot grill for 5 mins each side or however you like your burger cooked.

Shake of Worcestershire sauce 1 small egg, beaten spray oil

3 P lace the cheese slice on top of the burger and melt under the grill.

salt and pepper 15g half fat Cheese slice

4 S plit the bun and add lettuce and tomato slices. Top with the burger and cheese and add the sliced pickle and mustard and enjoy!

1 burger bun lettuce leaves 1 tomato, sliced 1 pickled gherkin, sliced

Stride Special Offer Join

FREE today

● Take this voucher with you to any Scottish Slimmers class before 31st August 2017 to claim your special offer. ● This coupon entitles you to join any Scottish Slimmers class FREE! (pay weekly class fee only).

Code: 547402

Call free 0800 36 26 36 or visit scottishslimmers.com

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Start running today with Women’s Running magazine!

There’s nothing like a blast of sunshine to get your motivation fired up – you can find out everything you need to know in the July issue of Women’s Running, on sale now.

Simple steps to get started - “Run until you feel tired, walk until you feel guilty,” says coach Lorn Pearson. Find more tips in this guide to your first few weeks of running.

Think about drinking - the truth about how much you should drink in this in-depth guide.

Front runner - Cover star Helen Bly says: “I still remember running my first mile – it was incredible!” she says. Now five stone lighter, Helen has found a new lease of life and has never felt better.

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’ m freedo Total the art Zen andrunning of trail

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Our lead feature asks, is the Marathon des Sables worthy of its claim to be the ‘toughest race on earth’? Rapid reporter Damian Hall heads to the Moroccan Sahara to battle scorpions and heatstroke in order to find out.

the 100 2017 RACES of

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The July issue of Men’s Running magazine is your go-to guide for the latest news, reviews, in-depth features and race reports.

Our Ultimate Race Guide is a comprehensive list of the 100 best races on the planet. Whether you’re looking for a local 5K or a destination marathon, we’ve got you covered.

017 11:18

12/05/2

We’ve also got expert training tips from marathon expert Steve Way. This issue, he explains the difference between tempo and threshold training – and reveals how you can use both methods to maximise your performance.

Pick up the latest issue of Men’s Running from your local WHSmith, or head to mensrunninguk.co.uk/magazine stride jogscotland magazine

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Summer 2017

PROFILE

TRAIL BLAZER FUSING WORLD-CLASS ULTRAMARATHON RESULTS WITH DARING TRAIL-RUNNING ADVENTURES, BRITISH RUNNER AND UTMB WINNER JEZ BRAGG’S INTREPID PHILOSOPHY IS GUARANTEED TO INSPIRE ANY RUNNER TO HIT THE TRAILS THIS SUMMER

hen Jez Bragg signed up do his first London W to Marathon, as a university student in 2002, it was supposed to be a one-off for charity.

Until then, his main athletic feats were on the rugby pitch, where he played open-side flanker in a pack of hulking forwards. Bragg had dabbled with fiveand eight-mile fun runs in his teens and completed the Great North Run half marathon in 1999, but what happened next surprised even the man himself.

With his first marathon conquered in the impressive time of 3:19, Bragg started exploring the world of trail running and ultramarathons, seduced by the promise of epic scenery and adventure. After not only competing in, but winning his first multi-day trail event, a 175-mile, six-day race across the Midlands in 2004, he was hooked.

In 2006 he set a new course record at the 95-mile West Highland Way Race in the wilds of Scotland; in 2009 he

46 mensrunninguk.co.uk • July 2017

Words Mark Bailey Photography Ben Read

@mensrunninguk

secured the first of his three victories at the Fellsman, a 60-mile traverse of rugged moorland in the Yorkshire Dales; and in 2010, aged just 29, Bragg was victorious in the legendary 103mile Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) event around the mountainous borders of France, Italy and Switzerland.

Since that attention-grabbing result, Bragg has continued to enjoy international success, but the Dorset runner has also accomplished a range of personal trail-running challenges.

Most spectacular was his recordbreaking, 53-day run across the Te Araroa Trail, a 3,054K-long network of footpaths that stretches across the entire length of New Zealand. He crossed mountainous terrain, coastal paths and volcanic landscapes, and blazed through 12 pairs of shoes in the process. In 2015 he broke the 26-yearold course record for the Ramsay’s Round challenge in Scotland, running up 24 munros in 18 hours 12 minutes.

July 2017 • mensrunninguk.co.uk 47

31

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 3 June

17 June

Haddington 5K & 10K Road Race

Edinburgh Frontrunners Pride Run

Grantown 10K Anagach Forest Race and 3K Fun Run

18 June

4 June

25 June

Great Women’s Run – Glasgow

Peterhead 5K & Half marathon

Berriedale 10K & 5K Fun Run/Walk

9 July

8 June

Crieff 10K & Junior Mile Race

Giffnock North AAC Rouken Glen 10K

20 July

10 June Vale of Leven 10K 11 June Roon the Toon 10K 16 June Brian Goodwin Memorial 10K

Men’s 10K

Stonehaven Half Marathon 30 July Ballater 10 Fort William Marathon 31 July Lochwinnoch 8K 1 August Garscube 7K Trail race 3 August Bella Belter 10K 5 August Dunoon Half Marathon and 10K 8 August Dalbeattie 10K Road Race

32

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

19 August Glasgow Frontrunners OUTRun 20 August Paisley 10K & Fun Run The 8th Annual ERN LP Run, Edinburgh 25 August Eyemouth Twilight 5K 27 August Hawick 5K and 10K Great Aberdeen Run 17 September Pitlochry 5K and 10K 24 September River Ness 5K and 10K, Loch Ness Marathon

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Summer 2017

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

Linwood Livingston 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

Rouken Glen

Helix (Falkirk)

Stirling

Inverleith

Strathmartine

Perth

Victoria

Prestwick Oval

Find out more at parkrun.org.uk

33

Cool down

by Sue Gyford After five years of working for jogscotland behind a desk, I’ve finally taken the plunge, and become a Jog Leader for the first time!

I took the Jog Leader course several years ago to help me understand what it was all about, but haven’t used it until now. So it’s been great to finally put it all into practice.

My new group is a partnership with a brilliant Edinburgh charity called The Welcoming, which supports newcomers to Edinburgh. It offers activities including English lessons, befriending, and social and cultural outings etc., to people including refugees/asylum seekers, students, and workers who have moved to Edinburgh.

When I contacted them with the idea of setting up a jogging group to add to their list of activities, they were really keen on the idea, so we set a date, and I started trying to remember everything I’d learned on the Jog Leader course!

I was delighted when ten people came along to the first session. Since then, several more people have joined. And what an international gang they are! We have members from Syria, Sudan, Russia, Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, and Scotland.

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stride Summer 2017

34 Lots of the stories people write for us to put into Stride describe how members felt going along to their first jogging group: Usually rather nervous to begin with, but soon finding themselves put at their ease by the warmth and positivity of the group.

Well, I can say pretty much the same about my first experience as Jog Leader!

I’ve spent years reading the Jog Leader facebook group, seeing all our experienced Leaders passing great advice back and forth, but knowing the answers in theory is different to standing in a field with lots of expectant faces looking at you!

I went along to Saughton Park the day before and worked out the best places for us to warm up, jog, and cool down, timed it all out, wrote and printed a session plan – I could not have been better prepared. And it all paid off. Everyone worked hard, completed the session, and I managed to deliver most of it from memory. What I hadn’t been able to plan for was just how happy everyone was! The group gelled really quickly, and there was lots of laughing, joking and happiness all the way round.

Having such an international group definitely adds to the atmosphere - everyone has different stories and jokes to bring to the session. When I was leading the group through various warm-up exercises in the first session, I had them all rotating their hips, and then suggested they try doing the same movement in a figure of eight.

One of the joggers, Saad, told us that in Arabic the number 8 was written ˄, so perhaps he’d do the exercise in Arabic, because it was easier!

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We’re now five weeks into our first beginners block, and everyone’s doing really well.

Some of the joggers who are a bit more advanced choose to match the pace of the group so they can all jog together and enjoy the chat; people are posting photos of themselves in our WhatsApp group, doing their ‘homework’, for which I award gold star emoticons – we even had Kristin, who went away to Portugal for the week on holiday, post a picture of herself, having done two sessions during her holiday to make up for missing our weekly group!

We’ve also had our first medal – Valentin from Spain (pictured) signed up for the 5K event at the Edinburgh Marathon Festival and got round despite the huge hill. Other members have already started chatting about what races they might like to do one day – more than one has mused about how great it would be to do a marathon, and it’s lovely to hear their ambitions and know that they’ll get there if they stick with it.

It’s been such a rewarding experience, in ways I probably couldn’t have imagined before I started. And now I really understand all the Jog Leaders who have told me over the years that they get far more out of leading than they give – seeing everyone making progress and having fun as they do it is just brilliant.

So, if you’ve ever thought you might like to lead a group one day, I can only say – do it! It’s fun, and rewarding and surprising in many good ways.

Find out more about becoming a Jog Leader at jogscotland.org.uk/jog-leaders/.

Our one-day courses end for the summer on June 25 with a course in Perth, but there’ll be plenty more later in the year – keep an eye on the website and they’ll be posted as we confirm venues.

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stride Summer 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!