Club Captain’s Blog

Keith and Karen’s 1st Blogs

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 20:05:36 +0100

KAREN’S BLOG:

“Hello All,
What an honour!
Throughout my experiences within the club, I have made real strong friendships, at each stage of my running ability, I have found a training partner/ mate in the club ,through working together and encouraging each other we have got to the next level. I love all aspects of this running club, the spirit at races is overwhelming , I can personally say the best times are the relay’s where you work as a team, I have done Clarendon and test way, I have not laughed so much in any other activity! Then there is our trips, Crusaders on tour!!

We had a good turn out at the Tri event on Thursday evening at Bay House Gosport, Gogast Handidcap, The aim was to finish as close as possible to 7:45 NO watches, garmins or any other gizmos to be worn or carried, so we came third, but we had fun.

I look forward to doing you all proud over the coming year.
Karen x”

KEITH’S BLOG:

“I was introduced to the club two and a half years ago which is when I started running and quite honestly, I have never looked back. Why do I take part in some many races? They really are good fun, you meet some very friendly people and then, there are the cakes; if you know which ones to attend!
There are some great events throughout the year. My personal favourites are the more unusual ones; Clarendon, Test Way Relay and yes, Hell Runner! Relay for Life has become an annual event for the club and there is no better example of how the club comes together through not just participation but tremendous support as-well; this week-end has been a good example of that.
One thing I have found is that running can be ‘ageless’. Set you own goals and the club will support you but listen to your body and know when to slow down.
I have been known to score for the A team and then, the B team but my claim to fame has to be when I scored for the ladies team at the Salisbury 10; sorry Kirsty.
I think we have something that is unique; ‘inclusive’ not ‘exclusive’ and there’s a great social side to the club which just seems to happen without prompting.
The previous captains have done a truly fantastic job and it will be a hard act to follow.

Keith”

Kirsty SPittles, Ladies Captain - 2011-2012

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 11:10:32 +0100

Farewell....
Wow how quickly can a year go? It doesn’t seem two minutes since I was presented as the new ladies captain at the ‘Bond do’ at the Marriott, which is over a year ago now. I have to say I have loved every minute of it. I’ve been captain of a sports club before, holding the reigns for my netball club for about 9 years, until handing them over in February this year to allow me to focus on my running and marathon training. Netball to say the least was stressful most of the time, being captain for Fareham crusaders has been a great honour and pleasure, certainly not stressful. The support I have received from the whole club and especially Jim and Ken has been amazing and made the journey as captain one I didn’t want to end!

So what are my highlights of the last year...I think the number of new members cannot go without being mentioned. The mix of brand new runners, those wanting to improve their running or training for a specific event highlights the diversity of the club. Secondly, the social side of the club has evolved with events seeing more attendees and becoming more spontaneous. Thirdly, the supportive nature of the club with guaranteed support either in person (e.g. club members going along to support at the Brighton, London and South Downs Marathons) or through the Facebook pages and on club nights for those completing races both local and afar has been phenomenal.
The last year has also seen another strong performance from the ladies in all the Hampshire Road Race League races, with the teams and individuals placing strongly. With the new additions to the club I’m sure we will have a strong 2011/12 season with the ladies hopefully regaining their position in division one of the league.

So the time has come for me to hand over the captain’s torch to someone else. I know the lady who is to take over the role will do a fantastic job and will be an inspiration to the whole club. I look forward to watching her enjoy the next year and being there to support her along the way.
Thank you to everyone for their support over the last 16 months...it has been amazing!
Kirsty x

Ken Edwards. Men ‘s Captain 2010 - 2011

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 13:05:40 +0100

“What a year that was……

It was a big surprise and a huge honour to be asked by Jim and the then Men’s Captain, Martin Ward, to take on the role of captain this past year. It is a role that was completely new to me as I had never previously been asked to be captain of anything; however with a bit of help from the many good people at Fareham it was a role that soon became very enjoyable.
Together with the new Ladies Captain, Kirsty, we have once again seen the club grow in numbers, more people attending Tuesday and Thursday evenings for training, more people entering races, more people running for charity, more people running for fitness or weight loss, and even more people attending social events, making new friends and enjoying their lives. It is quite stunning to stand back from time to time and just look at the enormous variety of people that are turning up to some club event or other, making interesting connections with each other and making running with Fareham Crusaders a lifestyle choice.
As far as being men’s captain, I am happy to report that we had a good season in the Hampshire road Race League, our ‘A’ team came third in division 2 narrowly missing out on promotion, and our ‘B’ team finished a happy mid-table 7th in their division 1. Perhaps more importantly we managed to have 12 men finish in the first 100 runners in the league and 15 men scoring a result in the overall table by virtue of having completed enough races to qualify. As a participating club we are second to none on this score. We also had runners at each of the Today’s Runner cross country league meetings where we all adopt a more relaxed approach to running so that we have saved enough energy for the cake race at the end. A big showing of Crusader’s vest was again visible again this year at rather more off beat events such as Hell Runner and the Meon Valley Plod, many of our runners have enjoyed the summer promenade series of evening runs and all manner of one off races have been entered and enjoyed.
Perhaps some of my biggest satisfaction and pride comes with seeing a lot of our runners entering two types of races that I have not been involved with this year but still consider to be great achievements.
The first is marathon running, hats off to you guys I’m not sure I have the endurance for that. It was awe inspiring to see the effort involved in training for these runs, some of our more experienced runners put in amazing performances and achieved good times, but equally some of our novice or we could say “unlikely” runners finished marathons through determination and guts. Well done to you all.
The second is the amount of time and trouble that is put into running for charity. Again most of those who competed in marathons also raised huge sums of money for charity as did those who completed the Great South Run or any of the other many races for charity. Perhaps as a club the biggest single events is the Cancer Research UK, Relay For Life, a large number of runners of all abilities enjoying the festival atmosphere of a 24 hour relay.
I have had a hugely enjoyable year as Men’s captain and wish to thank every one of you who have turned up to any of the events for making it so much fun. As they say all good things have to come to an end so I’ll sign off by wishing the next captain the vey best of luck and hope that you will all support him as well as you have me.”
Ken.

Captain’s Blog

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 09:36:40 +0000

Bramley/Marathon/Plod Training
Spring it seems is a popular time for the loooong distance races. The marathon for many is the ultimate running challenge. It is a challenge that numerous Fareham Crusaders are encountering this spring. Others are working on marginally shorter distances of Bramley (yes Karen and Ken we will convince you to do a marathon at some point. If you’re going to train for the 20 you may as well go the extra mile or six!) Or the Meon Valley Plod. The Plod although shorter in distance is probably equivalent if not greater in demand than a marathon being 20ish miles cross country including Butser Hill, which is just 1 of 5 hills.
The long training runs kicked off on Boxing Day with a small, select group. However January saw numbers flourish and we now have a regular group of about 8-10 pounding the streets/hills/country lanes of Hampshire. Tip for the future, don’t ask Karen to plan a 20 mile route unless you want to see every hill north of Fareham including Hampton Hill (1 mile long uphill). Only kidding Karen it was a great route and has made every other long run since feel easy!
So who is taking on these crazy challenges? And which charities are they fundraising for? (Sorry if I’ve missed anyone, these are the ones I’m aware of)
Sussex Marathon (3rd April)
Paul Coates
Sharon Gwynn

Brighton Marathon (10th April)
Kirsty Spittles (Countess Mountbatten Hospice)
Ian Edwards (The Elizabeth Foundation)
Greg Braham

Paris Marathon (10th April)
David Fleet (Stroke Association)
Matt Fleet (Stroke Association)

London Marathon (17th April)
Colin Light
Phil Chamberlain
Jonathon Ellis
Sarah Donaghy (London City Mission)
Rick (Kidney Research)
Rak Kalidas (Naomi House)

White Peak Marathon (21st May)
Helen Chalk
Pete Barber

Edinburgh Marathon (22nd May)
Cathy Ellis
Tracey Lancaster
So Bramley and the Plod for those above are marathon training runs and a chance to see how the marathon training is going. For others (Karen, Ken, Debbie, Brian, Keith, Andy and Jason) it is the next challenge up from a half marathon and maybe a taste for some to see whether they want to push on to a full marathon.

So what does Marathon training entail?

Well loss of a lie in at the weekend with our training runs kicking off at 9am. Unfortunately too long a distance to be able to skip breakfast, which for most means an early morning wake- up call so you don’t feel your breakfast all the way round 16-22 miles. It does get it done and dusted in the morning though allowing time in the afternoon to do something else if you have the energy or snooze if you haven’t.

Numerous long runs ranging from 16 miles up to 20 or 22 miles. Some people and many marathon training plans stop at 20, for me however I intend to do one run of 22 miles to get over the psychological barrier of 20 miles prior to marathon day. Although the long runs are essential, the majority of training programmes will also incorporate speed work and hills sessions as well.

Aching legs; stairs on occasion can be an issue the next day.

Commitment...You may be able to blag your way through a 5-10 mile race but if you don’t put in the miles a marathon is not going to be ‘enjoyable’ – yes I did say enjoyable, the sense of achievement and the atmosphere is immense. But it takes hard work and determination to achieve your target. However to maintain sanity whilst training for 4 months leading up to a marathon socialising is also an essential component of training!!

Last but probably most important...A good appetite for cake and biscuits...tradition has it that if location allows we will stop either in a cafe or at someone’s house following the run for a well deserved cup of tea/coffee and some cake and biscuits. A certain cafe in Wickham square frequently hosts us on a Sunday morning in the summer following long runs up the railway line.

So if you’re tempted to take the challenge of a Marathon, Good Luck and feel free to ask any of those listed for their tips from experience. Maybe leave it at least a week after they have completed the marathon though when their legs have actually stopped aching and they can run/hobble/plod again.

Kirsty xx

Captain’s Blog

Wed, 5 Jan 2011 19:01:00 +0000

December has arrived as has the wintery conditions to go with it. This year has flown by; January 2010 saw a group of us having snow ball fights, attempting to sledge (but actually sinking the sledge into the snow) and making what has to be said was the best snowman Wickham had seen in the last decade. 11 months later we have seen snow again. I personally have lived in the south of England since 1986 and can only recall two occasions that enough snow fell and settled that provided sufficient snow to make a snowman. I’m still slightly bitter that my secondary school was the only school in Gosport to remain open!

Fortunately the second snow fall of 2010 didn’t stay for too long, although some may feel it stayed long enough to outstay its welcome. It’s not the fresh snow fall that as runners we need to be cautious of, I think its fair to say it keeps even the stalwarts of the club safely indoors in the warm. It is the icy conditions that we need to be wary of. Whether this is white pavements due to sub-zero conditions causing frosty surfaces or ice resultant from compacted snow they can both be dangerous. With arctic conditions set to continue, we all need to prioritise safety over training. The odd missed training session is far more bearable than months of missed training from an injury caused by risking icy conditions. Either enjoy an enforced rest day or find alternative methods of training for example hit the gym or the swimming pool.
Also bear in mind when you do hit the outdoors that the body is colder and not quite as ready for a high speed getaway. Try and build into each run gently to avoid unnecessary strains to those cold muscles. They’ll soon warm up once you get going, just a little longer than on those long, warm summer days.

So with the New Year in sight, the countdown is on for 16 crusaders and 1 chippenham harrier (Debbie Taylor’s Sister Kate) to board a plane to Barcelona! Once again the club goes on Tour this time it nicely ties in with New Year Celebrations. If anyone cracks on they are going to partake in a race abroad, then yes we are taking part in the San Silvestre 10k on New Years Eve but the biggest race will be to the bar on New Years Eve at the After Race Party/New Years Eve Party. It is set to be an amazing weekend, supported by the fact that all those who went to Benidorm in November 2009 are returning for more fun this time round. I’m sure there will be countless photos on our return, however the old motto ‘what goes on tour stays on tour’ stands so only those attending will know the true fun and stories of the weekend.
Following the festivities and the New Year just round the corner, some may decide to set new years resolutions. This may see an influx of new members to the club joining for many reasons, whether it is simply to get fit, lose weight or to train in a group for a marathon or shorter race. Whatever the reason I know for sure that despite the cold weather they will receive a warm welcome from all. I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise if I forget new member’s names and have to ask several times as a reminder. There are so many to remember these days, which is a great thing!

I know Men’s captain, Ken, supports me in saying that the club this year has grown stronger and stronger with numerous new members each month. This strength is demonstrated not only in the numbers that turns up weekly for training, and invades the races but also through the support within the club. I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone for supporting myself, Jon, Ken, Liz , Martin and anyone else who led a group during the eight weeks that Jim was absent from the club. It was a daunting task being responsible for such a large number, I’m only used to the 15-20 that turn up on a Thursday not the 40-50 that we achieve on a Tuesday. As enjoyable as it was, I was relieved when Jim returned!

So that’s me for this year, have a Fantastic Christmas, make sure you eat lots of food to fuel those long, cold weekend runs!
Happy New Year to all and to another great year for the club in 2011.
Kirsty x