Yes, we can all run a mile

Yes, we can all run a mile

23 September 2020

AS runners, we often hear non-runners say “Oh I couldn’t run a mile if you paid me”.

Our usual response is that anyone could manage a mile. It is just a question of building up gradually and once you can complete one mile without stopping for a breather, then it becomes a growing addiction. 

By this, I mean that each time you go out to run, you will try to go further than the time before and when you do reach a distance that satisfies you, then you start trying to become quicker.

Or maybe you set a goal to take part in an event so you can test yourself against others, or it could be that you decide to try other types of running on the trails or up mountains or on a track. 

The joy of running is that it never becomes boring as there are endless opportunities and the key is to mix it up from time to time to avoid becoming stale.

Lockdown was probably the biggest shake up that many have known as it was a prolonged period where running with others was not allowed.

Even on a personal level it was curtailed as there were limitations on the time that could be spent out exercising or the distances that could be travelled to partake, or the locations that could be accessed.

When the easement of regulations allowed us to meet as a club in groups of ten and then in groups of 30, the club members were enthusiastic to do so and training sessions have been well attended despite social distancing and trace and contact details needing to be observed. “The New Normal” as we have all got used to saying. Let’s hope it can continue.

Since the opportunities to race are still few and far between, the East Down AC committee decided to host a mini in-club competition with a series of events which could athletes could do as part of group training or complete in their own time.  

Paul Burns, as coach, has the task of collating the results and crunching the numbers through the Age Grading System to create a handicap ranking.

Age grading is a way to measure the relative strength of a performance for an athlete of a given age. Most people agree that a 55-year-old running a 20-minute 5K is a more impressive time than a 25-year-old running 19:00, even though the younger runner is quicker.

So your age-graded score takes World Record performances for each age and distance, for men and women, and uses these as benchmarks to create a percentage each result.

The first event in the EDAC series was a straightforward 5K which is a familiar distance especially since the advent of park run. This took place at the Downshire and went off smoothly.

The challenge last Monday was received with more apprehension. It was to run a mile flat-out. So back to the theory that anyone can run a mile. Yes that is the case, but even the seasoned runners in the club were thrown by how to approach ‘racing’ a mile.

Many had never tried this distance as a serious attempt and as it was on the road and not the track there were considerations of slight undulations and a sharpish turn to be taken into account. 

The venue was the Quoile, so after a warm-up the runners assembled at Steamboat Quay. They were split according to predicted times and the more cautious, aka less speed/more endurance based crowd set off first. This meant that they were done and dusted and able to watch the sprinters screech towards the finish line. 

There was some fierce competition and it was good to see the differing approaches. In the end, fast or slow, all enjoyed giving it a go and many admitted to being tempted to return to have another bash as they were convinced with better pacing they could have recorded a quicker time.

Thanks to Paul for setting up an enjoyable session and to Joe Quinn for marshal duties. All are now looking forward to hearing what will be next in the series and how the rankings will be affected.

Neil Curran was the sole representative at the Night of 3,000m hosted jointly by North Belfast Harriers and Annadale Striders attire Mary Peters Track. 

There were five races all increasing in calibre as the night went on. Neil was in the C race and his time of 9.49.6 placed him 11th in that heat while it would have had him in the top five of the preceding D race.

With no other events on the track this represents a season’s best, although he did go a few seconds quicker at Armagh 3K which was on the road.

Compared to his first attempts at the track last year, Neil says he was better prepared as to what to expect. On the other hand with no real speed work under his belt, he was not necessarily primed for a personal best. He felt he could have pushed a little more on the last laps, although he was happy overall with the race.

Many of you will know John Manley as the political correspondent of the Irish News and others as the weekly gardening columnist in that newspaper. However, he is better known to East Down AC members as a keen, fit, and active runner.

It was therefore something of a shock to hear of his recent illness, which coincided with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and at one stage was thought to be the dreaded Covid -19. However, it turned out to be a case of septic shock or Sepsis as it is better known, which is caused by an infection which can lead to tissue damage, multiple organ failure and in its most extreme form, death.

Not by any means an easy alternative to the coronavirus but it wasn’t a case of having the choice. Sepsis is what John had, courtesy of a bite from the family pet wire-haired whippet, delivered when he intervened in a dispute she was having with his dad’s Jack Russell over the ownership of his Chinese takeaway leftovers.

Anyway, over the course of the next month John experienced significantly reduced breathing capacity, which resulted in him receiving100% oxygen, but avoiding ventilation because he persevered with wearing an uncomfortable face mask and kidney failure resulting in near constant dialysis while an in patient and three days a week attendance as an out-patient at the Ulster Hospital for three weeks after his discharge.

All in all, it was an experience which he would not wish to repeat but he as high in praise of the dedication and professionalism of all the staff who cared for him throughout his period of incapacity.

Thankfully, all his organs have mended completely and John has resumed his jogging in and around his home.

He puts down his quite “remarkable recovery”, which can often take years to accomplish, to his level of fitness beforehand, to the expert care and attention provided by the NHS staff and of course, to the love and attention lavished on him by his family during and since his illness.