North East Running

 RunBritain Rankings gives each athlete a handicap score based on their best recent* five races. So how does their algorithm work? The vSSS score you get is how well you ran relative to your (a) previous performances and (b) other athletes in the race. The lower the number the better you did. ...and there is a slow decline in the relevance of the run as time passes (hence the asterisk * above). Looking at my current best five performances (25/4/23): All of these are in the last three months (so recent)  All are performances where I have put in strong times (17:22 to 18:00 parkruns). Al are parkruns - which is relatively speaking my best event - notice my 10K PB and my 20mi PB races are not scoring top 5 runs even though they were the best I have ever done Note that Durham parkrun is top scoring run even though it was 38s slower than Hartlepool. This is because that day it was windy and part of the course was a muddy field (see SSS score further down the field) vSSS scoring The SSS scor

Last year I got a sub-three marathon at Edinburgh . I looked at my training block for that race and made a few tweaks this year for my London effort. As always, in addition to doing a bit of online research, I picked the brains of some of the best runners I know. In particular a couple of runners who have ran sub 2:20 in the past and another who runs sub 2:30 who really know their stuff. Some bulleted notes: Started the training block having regularly done 21-25km every Sunday for some time just as 'the Sunday Long Run'. So this is a great starting point Worked hard for 14 weeks - a little longer than the Edinburgh plan Ran every day, but alternated hard efforts with easy runs. Put the effort in, then recover, then repeat. Kept a fast interval session in for the Tuesday (anything from 400 up to 1mi intervals) but put a longish tempo effort in for the Thursday. Worked this up from 10k to 16k through the training block Kept the Sunday Long Run at a decent pace (sub 4:30/km) - to

  I've done 16 races now at 10k distance over the last 4-5 years. My PB has gone from sub-40 to sub-36. I got a PB last year and then again another just recently. 10k is a tough distance. With 5k, it can be argued that you can get away with going hard and trying to hold on. Try the same tactic over 10k and you can find that by half way you'll be too tired and the pace will just drift away. So, first things first - you don't get a PB unless you have the basics right: Make sure you are in good form - you are not going to get a PB if you not in your best shape Pick a race that is pretty flat and has a good surface - enter a hilly, mudfest of a 10k - you're not getting a PB Think twice about building your hopes up if the weather forecast has a strong wind predicted So, if the stars are aligning on the three points above - then it is down to (a) pacing stategy and (b) race preparation and (c) how much your prepared to push yourself. A. Pacing strategy Every world record from

I pretty much ran every day through 2022. Typical week would be Mon-maintenance, Tue-effort, Wed-maintenance, Thu-effort, Fri-easy, Sat-parkrun, Sun-long-run. However, before Christmas I was absolutely knocked out with the flu. Terrible cough, shivering, having to wear 4-5 layers and waking up damp with sweat. There was no way I could run for nine days! My weight went from 78 to 73kg also. Xmas (lack of) runs I then had to consider two things (a) when do I start to run again? and (b) what amount of fitness I had lost? The first five days back I simply ran 8km slow runs. I still had a cough and when I stopped half-way through and at the end I found myself having to cough for 20-30s because of the cold air. Day six I tried to do 3x1km efforts keeping the pace below 4:00/km and just about managed this. Again coughing at the end. Day eight I decided it was time to return to the normal training schedule. My three parkruns leading up to having the flu were: Riverside 17:48 (fast course) Orme