Club Training Session Report

Date: 2010-01-19

The London Club Training Session continues to attract a sizable core of members, at the December 2010 session in Kensington Gardens we missed the severe weather, attracting eight runners and was filmed. At the January 2011 session in Regents' Park another seven turned out. The new Birmingham session in January 2011 attracted four members as did the first London session.

Hyde Park, London, 6 February 2011

It was a windy day for our Hyde Park session otherwise it would have been a pleasant day for training. Ah well you need to experience running into wind for possible race conditions! Standing around at our meeting point exposed to the wind made it feel chilly and we started with extra layers of clothing to aid the warm-up. Despite the central location, the turnout was low this time, Annette was focusing on a long run as part of her marathon training.

Marcus, as part of his marathon training decided to run from Ealing, about 6 miles, maybe wind assisted! Cherryl also preparing for her 1st marathon on 3 April had been cross-training recently by cycling to work in central London, a round trip of 28 miles, a lot for an occasional cyclist. As trainer I responded to there wishes for an easier session. It turned out to be a group run of three large different loops totalling about 50 minutes with Cherryl & myself taking off layers as we warmed up.

We visited the Serpentine Cafe but made the mistake of buying from the takeaway counter. We were refused entry to the seating area although outside overlooking the lake it was almost empty. We probably found a better place in a dip away from the wind. All of a sudden there were five squirrels nearby!

That afternoon I took the opportunity of visiting other possible training venues in west London including Wormwood Scrubs (not a good image!) and Gunnersbury Park. Adjoining the Scrubs is the Linford Christie Stadium, basically a club track (Thames Valley Harriers) that appeared to be open to the public as there was no security.

Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, 23 January 2011

The session went fairly well with four of us present and two others suggesting they were coming. The weather helped by keeping dry and not too cold. We started with a slow group run, looping the park, followed by intervals of 1 min fast, regroup and repeat until full loop completed. Next we had a group run following the path alongside the stream (Rea?) until the path ended and returned to Cannon Hill Park via Pershore Road. Finally we ran another 3/4 loop near race pace. Retired to the café in the large council facility near the car park which caters well for vegans notably their chocolate cake.

Not yet decided on a date for the next one but Sutton Park is under consideration.

We also discussed today the weekly 5K Park Runs at Cannon Hill Park, held on Saturdays starting at 9am. They are free but before your first one you need to register through the website for a bar code that you take along for scanning at the end of your run. For details of Park Runs around the UK click on Park Run.

Regents' Park, London, 16 January 2011

We were lucky to have good weather for this session if rather overcast and breezy. We met in The Hub, a sports facility supporting the outdoor activities in the north of the park. With public transport not quiet on the doorstep as we come to expect in London and this was the first visit for many of the runners attending, we did start late but nevertheless once we got started it was soon forgotten.

Waiting for the last runner to get ready we started with a couple of 600 metre loops outside the Hub. We then headed south at warm-up pace via the park perimeter to the lake, full of wildlife as usual, notably herons. At the south-east corner we stopped momentarily. From here we started our planned intervals of 1 min fast, 1 min recovery, 2 mins fast, 1 min rec, 3 mins fast, 2 mins rec. Reaching the monument at the highest point in the park, we started a hilly loop and headed back south towards our start point, stepping down to 2 mins fast then 1 min. We still had some way to go and at this point when Dave decided to take the photo in this new item with the assistance of a passerby. We continued at a recovery pace back to our starting point and onto the long straight at the southern end.

Here we started a tempo run to the northern limit of the park, each runner deciding a suitable pace they could sustain and test themselves. Dave as expected was the first to cover the approximate mile, uphill to the monument and down to the entrance. After regrouping we slowly jogged back in the direction of The Hub and on the way we considered finishing off with a visit to the track across the road. Despite some runners feeling tired we all visited the track with a few running 800 metres or two laps, one straight was tough into the wind. We then retired back to The Hub.

Noted for our sociable end to sessions, Vanessa was suitably inspired to suggest that we retire to the Inspiral Vegetarian Cafe in nearby Camden where we stayed until 3pm.

Cassiobury Park, 3 October 2010

Going by the weather forecast it was going to be very wet but luckily the worst of the weather was further to the west. Cassiobury Park is home to many annual running events including the Watford Half Marathon in February, 10K in May and the 5 miles cross country in November. Despite the gloomy forecast an encouraging six members turned out: Marcus McTurk, Steve Davies, Hallam Smallpeice, Chris Dziadel, Annette Herold and Peter Simpson. With two refreshment points in the large park, one just a kiosk we had chosen the indoor cafe which turned out to be appropriate where the staff kindly allowed us to deposit our bags. There was some confusion at first with the car park near the kiosk where a few members waited. We all eventually met and our first leisurely group run following the flat route of the half marathon runners from where they enter the park around to the finish, a distance of about 3/4 mile and back to the cafe. We then headed west down to the Grand Union Canal for our handicap stage, following the paths. After a regroup we returned at a fast pace following a different uphill path and around to the cafe. As a recovery run we followed the first step in the opposite direction. Having now covered the main paths, we chose a figure of '8' course for our next step setting runners off in pairs, the slowest first. The final stage was a leisurely run back down to the canal and a short run on the towpath and back to the cafe. It was estimated that we covered about 7 miles.

We retired to the cafe where they catered for vegans with tomato soup, houmous/olives/salad and there was soya milk available.

The next training session is scheduled for 6 February at Hyde Park, meeting 11am at the Bandstand near Hyde Park Corner tube station and Serpentine Lake.

Story by: Peter Simpson

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VRUK blog - latest news

 http://veganrunnersuk.blogspot.com/

Vegan running shoe guide - as featured in "Vegan" Summer 2011

http://www.veganrunners.org.uk/articles/vegan_running_shoes_and_trainers_1398.html

Club Training and Meetups

The monthly London meet up and training run has a base at Regent's Park from The Hub sports facility & cafe in the north of the park. Members, supporters, or indeed anyone who would like to try out our sessions are more than welcome. Attendance at the January & March 2012 sessions were 8 & 7 runners respectively.

The next London meetup & training session is scheduled for Sunday 20 May 2012, meet 1030am at the Highgate Harriers track, Hampstead Heath for an off-road / trail session, more details to follow.

The next Birmingham meetup and training session held in Cannon Hill Park, south of the city centre has been scheduled for Sunday 13 May 2012. Meet 11am inside the park at the entrance to the mac building / cafe.

Other local or regional Vegan Runners groups include:

• South Wales VR - meet-up at open events including the Cardiff Parkrun on Saturdays at 9am
• Brighton VR - open events and the Hove Park 5K Parkrun on some Saturdays.

We are also trying to establish VR groups in

• Bristol
• Bath
• Leicester - meets at the Braunstone Park Run, 9am Saturdays

Check the VRUK diary to see if there are any dates for training sessions or event meet-ups. Alternatively, for a free 5K run, we suggest you visit Parkrun to check for a local venue. They are held weekly on Saturdays starting at 9am, you just need to register for a barcode at least a day before your first Parkrun and take a printout along.

For an idea of how recent London training sessions have turned out click here.

If you would like to arrange sessions in a different area of the UK we can publicise it through VRUK and this website. Please contact Peter Simpson on Protected email address.

Summary of 2010 Activities

Depending on the location of members, the club was represented in most regions of the UK sometime during the year. In the Winter season more members were taking part in off-road events or training for Spring marathons otherwise generally road & park races throughout the year. Here we  focus on a sample of events where members met either through popularity or locality. Click title to open report.

London Marathon 2010

Eight members of Vegan Runners UK successfully completed the London Marathon, five wearing the club kit. In the photo from the left: Cedric David, Helen Watkinson, Maria Hamilton, Peter Simpson (support), Chloe Vincent & Keith Hammond (Vegetarian C&AC). In the 2009 event we had one of our strongest teams, the highlight being our 4 sub 3-hour runners, this year the focus was on our core members. Some of our runners set large personal bests, others their first marathon or first London event. Congratulations go to all our runners who achieved the following times:

• Colin Braybrook 3:02:41
• Cedric David 3:46:51
• Verna Burgess 3:49:36
• Chloe Vincent 4:04:56
• Helen Watkinson 4:10:36
• Maria Hamilton 4:11:40
• Laurence Klein 5:12:04
• Teressa Longhurst 5:27:05

Anna Finn Reaches 100 Marathons

33 Year old Anna Finn, a maths teacher and member of Vegan Runners UK, has run 100 Marathons. She seems to be the youngest woman to achieve the feat, and is awaiting news from Guinness about the World Record.

Vegan Runners Cross Country Season: Victors, Veterans and Virgins …

Winter is another busy period for several members who enjoy cross country. Vegan Runners of all abilities and ambitions have taken part in races large and small over the last few weeks. Peter Simpson reports on the South of England XC Champs held on the 30th January 2010. Beside his own well-paced race, Peter reports on Vannessa Hudson’s battle with road shoes and the mud, and a well-placed Colin Braybrook (a vegan runner competing under the St Albans Striders banner). Neil Ford marks his come-back with a victory in the Berwick Cross Country, which was ‘somewhere between four and five miles’. A winter-loving Clare Coombes has been mud-running through the cross country season, sporting her club vest, finally breaking the top 100 places.

Club Training Session Report

The London Club Training Session continues to attract a sizable core of members, at the December 2010 session in Kensington Gardens we missed the severe weather, attracting eight runners and was filmed. At the January 2011 session in Regents' Park another seven turned out. The new Birmingham session in January 2011 attracted four members as did the first London session.

Rainforest Foundation 10K, 1/11/09

The Rainforest 10K was chosen as our main event for World Vegan Day and with Vanessa in her new role as Press Secretary we had high hopes of good coverage for veganism and the club. With the experience behind her, Vanessa contacted the national press and the Vegan Society who were leading the media coverage. After last year's turnout of 8 members, the most members of clubs present, a similar number would have been good publicity.

Robin Hood Half & Full Marathon 13/9/09

The Robin Hood events in Nottingham attracted in the region of 10,000 runners this year with approaching 7,000 in the half marathon and 1,400 in the Marathon. Running for Vegan Runners UK we had Mick Morgan from Doncaster, Anna Finn of North London and James Millington of East London. In the half we were represented by Clare Coombes a local and Peter Simpson of Milton Keynes with Vanessa Hudson our support crew and photographer. To view Vanessa's album clickhere. On the eve of the events some members of VRUK & the Vegetarian Cycling & Athletic Club met up at the Alley Cafe-bar for a meal and social.

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