Lockdown no hindrance to local runners of all abilities

Lockdown no hindrance to local runners of all abilities

6 May 2020

A LOT is being said and reported about the absence of sporting activities on foot of the cancellation or postponement of many major events, including Sunday’s River Rock Belfast City Marathon, because of the need for social distancing to combat the spread of the Coronavirus.

The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics will impact seriously on all the athletes who had been training for the races of their lives this summer, some as the culmination of their careers.

But it is not only the elite runners, throwers and jumpers who have had their plans and lives disrupted by the world wide pandemic.

It affects everybody who takes exercise in any shape or form, including the runners of all abilities who may not be a member of any athletics club but have been running for years and for whom running has become a way of life. 

I know that runners often go out on their own to train and in fact many have been resourceful over the past week in finding places which are virtually people free to enable them to complete their training sessions in safe surroundings. I haven’t been running for a few years now but I was persuaded to get up off my rear end and try to mark the 50th anniversary of the postponed London marathon due to be held on the very appropriate 26th April by running or walking or generally moving over a distance of 26 or 2.6 miles or kilometres.

And having sorted out a route around my garden, estimated to be 120 metres long, I worked out that 16 laps per mile would be achievable over the five days specified — i.e. I could walk 40 laps to count as 2.6 miles. And I also asked my friends for some sponsorship towards the Cure Parkinson’s Trust (CPT). I am hugely indebted to everyone who contributed towards this charity, and raised £457.00 plus £104.25 Gift Aid. Which reminds me I must go and finish the last eight laps.

At the top end of the sport, international marathon runner and Rio Olympian Paul Pollock, while naturally disappointed that the Olympics have been postponed until 2021, feels that it could well prove to be a blessing in disguise in his case at least.

He reasons that it will give him an opportunity to concentrate on clocking up stress-free miles in training, enabling him to recover from old injuries and come to the competition, for the first time ever, in the best shape of his life.

Portaferry star Ciara Mageean, Ireland’s greatest hope of an Olympic track medal since the halcyon days of Sonia O’Sullivan, is also disappointed, having been, as she says, in the form of her life, but, like Paul, will continue with her planned training regime and sees it as an opportunity to build up her strength and thus make up the ground on her nearest rivals.

Eoghan’s view

Newcastle’s Eoghan Totten, who aspires to taking part in a future Olympic Games as a marathon runner, in a recent interview published in the Athletics NI webpages said: “When I recorded a 64:58 personal best over the half marathon in Barcelona in mid-February, the virus was relatively undocumented in Europe.

“By mid-March, I understood that I would not be racing for a long time. My biggest (and somewhat selfish) fear was that there would be a blanket ban on exercise. Nonetheless, the sanctions under which we are all living have forced me to reconsider the spirit in which I run. I decided that I would follow lockdown protocol as strictly as possible to do my part.

Double runs (two runs a day) have always been a staple part of my training, allowing me to hit the high mileage required to prepare for the marathon. Completing the same mileage across the week off one daily training session was initially challenging. However, I eventually adapted after two weeks of attrition. In the process, I learned that I benefit from the extra recovery time between runs. This pleasant surprise helped me come to terms with what seems like a more or less empty race calendar in 2020.

I can understand that many of you will be disappointed not to be running the Belfast Marathon this weekend, but your chance to do so will come around again in the future. Anyone who is brave enough to step on the start line of a marathon is a special type of person, irrespective of fitness. More so those who run to raise money for a cause. It takes courage to do this. Bank that courage and build on it over the coming months.” 

Athletes are creatures of habit. We are conditioned to race on a monthly or two-monthly basis. Having the options restricted has enabled me to focus on the process of training without looking too far ahead. It has reminded me that, despite thriving off pushing to my limits in races, I love the journey, equally as much.

“Yes, it is all about achieving in races, but also, to get there a long time is spent training (12 years and counting). So we have to love the training too.

Right now, I have to wait. We all have to wait. Runners are resilient. Focus on whatever training you can do right now and enjoy the journey.

“To those friends and family in the health service, who have been tackling the virus over the past six weeks, I am amazed beyond words. Thank you for what you are doing.”

Club update

These words echo the sentiment of all of us and we commend all key workers who have been put in the front line in the course of their work. We have many EDAC members who are in that position and we send them our best wishes.

So what of the last six weeks? The clubrooms were closed with immediate effect and the committee advised all members of the governmental advice to stay home and stay safe. The only good news was that there was no ban on exercising so long as training was done solo or in household groups.

It may seem crass to be concerned about the ability to train when there are much bigger issues at stake, but it is well known that sticking to some routine is beneficial in keeping mental health in good order and anything which allows us to be positive will help us to cope with the situation that has evolved.

Most have been taking daily exercise as prescribed by the government as it is already a part of our daily routine. However, because of the restrictions on movements and associations and the change of routine for many, whether through being laid off work, working from home, working for NHS at the coal face so to speak, or any of above combined with the added difficulties of home schooling kids of whatever age, it means that many runners are no longer free to go for a run whenever they chose or indeed will have to make significant changes to their daily routine to fit it in.

Some have turned their daily run into a practical outing where they can essential items to those who are shielding. Others have managed to combine their exercise with fund raising for charities involved in the frontline or for organisations who will see their funding hit by the economic fallout of the pandemic.

Our juniors could be forgiven for thinking this is an unexpected long summer break, but they report back from time to time to log that fact that they are knuckling down to home schooling while using exercise to take a break.

Jarlath and Anna Kearney have committed to a daily 2.5k run, Mackenzie and Kelsey Murray have been out with their dad, Dee, making sure he doesn’t slack. Mackenzie even recorded an unofficial 5K PB this week.

Ollie and Alex Robinson have the good fortune to be able to train as a family and they push each other as well as mum Marguerite. It is no surprise that dedicated athlete Lauren Madine is training away in between exercising the horses. Others such as Emily Burns have opted to cross train.

If baking was an Olympic event, there would be a few EDAC records set there too by the sound of things. Tik Tok also seems to be a favourite occupation with some slick dance routines doing the rounds. The one thing that is clear is that our juniors miss their club mates but that physical exercise in any form is a big help. We are proud of our juniors for this mature approach and urge them to continue their efforts.

Virtual challenges

Some of the races that have been cancelled have then gone ahead in a virtual form, the Titanic 10K being one. Runners were invited to run a solo 10K on any course near their home and record the time.

Three EDAC runners claimed the reward — a T-shirt and medal in the post. Gareth Reilly was the quickest of the trio, posting a 49-minute time. Hallie Jennings stole a march on Donal Smith by a couple of minutes — 53 minutes to his 55 — but with all runners doing different courses it was mainly for fun.

Also for fun and the motivation to keep going was the Galbally Runners April Challenge. A simple concept where each runner chose a target of 25,50, or 75 miles etc and then had a month to complete. Evidence was submitted by Strava or fitness watch records.

Kelly Smith and Donal Smith blew their goals out of the water with totals over 150 miles each. Marguerite Robinson, Hallie Jennings and Suzy Smith broke 100 miles in their individual sessions and Alison Carroll completed a conservative 50 miles to start a new regime. They all agreed that it was a good way to keep base fitness. Buffs are apparently in the post and thanks are due to Galbally Runners for sorting this.

Some runners were racking up the miles and others were thinking of improving speed. Jimmy Sloan has been following a programme which is hard without club members to egg him on, but he has been very successful nonetheless with a new 5K PB of 15.46. All times are, of course, unofficial as they are not on measured courses but they are a good indicator of form.

Jimmy was taking part in the NHS Run 5, Donate 5, Nominate 5. Many of our members will have taken part and the fun can be in nominating friends who would hate to run  five km, let alone five miles — they can’t really refuse when it is for such a good cause!

Every club has its mile munchers and in normal times Phillip Vint would see a weekend without a marathon as a waste of a free day. Like others, he has had to get used to a new normal, but when the weekend of the postponed London Marathon came round, he couldn’t resist setting off on a 26.2 mile course close to home to mark the day.

No crowds to cheer him on and no sights of London to entertain him en route, but he was glad that he had the health to complete it. Predictably with the Belfast Marathon also called off, he repeated his endeavours seven days later and clocked another marathon with ease.

The best bit is that the finish line is his own back door so no painful walk back to get the car or the train. He was straight to the sofa in seconds and recovery could begin. 

Donal Smith was to have completed his inaugural marathon at Belfast 2020, as was his daughter, Kelly. Again their hard training seemed lost without a cause, but they had followed the programme to the letter and felt that they needed to test the waters.

They set off to give it a rattle and coped well with the dry run of the full marathon distance. They were delighted to get the odd toot and cheer as a substitute for race day atmosphere and they received hearty congratulations when they posted their achievement on social media.

While it would have been nice to have friends and family there to greet them at the finish line, it just means that they will have the incentive to do it all again when an official Belfast Marathon can eventually take place. At least they know that they can cope with the mileage and surely with the crowd support it can only be easier?

Last, but not least, EDAC ultra man himself Keith Reilly has been thinking up ways to raise money and satisfy his need for a challenge at the same time. He decided that his lockdown event would be a treadmill ultra and that he would appeal for funds for NHS Charities Together.

He managed 33.36 miles running in hourly shifts which is no mean feat on a treadmill  and logged his 10th ultra marathon. He was delighted to announce a total of £1,150 for the frontline workers dealing with Covid-19 patients. A good day’s work all round.

So there you have it from both ends of the scale — what the top runners think and do and what the rest of us do. Not a lot of difference really is there? Let’s all continue to play by the rules and hope for better times. Stay safe and see you all when the lockdown is lifted.