click here for our diary, including Tuesday club night schedules
Tuesday runs - we meet at the Stick & Wicket from 7pm. Please make sure you sign in on arrival.
One option for Tuesdays are our Race Training sessions. If you wish to join in the race training sessions please contact Toby Oury, Adam Smith or Daniel Day to be added to the messaging group for updates.
Thursday social runs are also available, starting at 6.30pm from the gate and there is usually a 9 mile group leaving from the gate at 9am on Sundays. A separate group often runs in Cannock Chase on Sunday mornings - see Steve Blakemore or Kevin Adams for details.
One option for Tuesdays are our Race Training sessions. If you wish to join in the race training sessions please contact Toby Oury, Adam Smith or Daniel Day to be added to the messaging group for updates.
Thursday social runs are also available, starting at 6.30pm from the gate and there is usually a 9 mile group leaving from the gate at 9am on Sundays. A separate group often runs in Cannock Chase on Sunday mornings - see Steve Blakemore or Kevin Adams for details.
This week's Club News:
ARC had 50 parkrunners on Saturday June 25th, with 26 at Walsall Arboretum and 10 at Chasewater for their 3rd birthday celebration.
Well done to our top-10 finishers: Alex Dicken (1st, PB), Louise Booker (2nd lady) and Jo Stephens (4th lady), also to those who finished in the top 10 of the age-graded table for their event: Alex Dicken (6th) and Anne Kelsall (7th).
Congratulations to Jacob Barton, Emily Grimwade, Lucy Baker and Victoria O'Connor, who joined Alex in setting parkrun PBs this weekend.
Our runners:
Many thanks, as always, to those club members who volunteered in any capacity.
Congratulations also to those members who completed races over the last week:
Saturday 25th:
Sunday 26th:
It was also good to hear this week that Lisa Wakeman has received confirmation of her Championship place at this year's London Marathon. Congratulations Lisa.
Well done to our top-10 finishers: Alex Dicken (1st, PB), Louise Booker (2nd lady) and Jo Stephens (4th lady), also to those who finished in the top 10 of the age-graded table for their event: Alex Dicken (6th) and Anne Kelsall (7th).
Congratulations to Jacob Barton, Emily Grimwade, Lucy Baker and Victoria O'Connor, who joined Alex in setting parkrun PBs this weekend.
Our runners:
- Walsall Arboretum: Alex Dicken, Simon Rhodes, Harshad Patel, Thomas Pledger-Barton, Peter Dimbleby, Jacob Barton, Tom Neal, Louise Booker, Michael Morley, Daniel Day, Gordon Walker, Anne Kelsall, John Quinn, Jason Vigrass, Roxy Babla, Lucy Baker, Claire Crook, Sarah Baggott, Victoria O'Connor, Sally Gordon, Jane Quinn, Thomas Hender, Anita Passmore, Stephanie Elcock, Emily Grimwade, Eamon Lyons.
- Sutton Park: Geoff Card.
- Chasewater: Tom Glibbery, Andrew Fisher, Jo Stephens, Rebecca Beale, Barbara Johnson, Simon Brown, Lucy Farrington, Nicola Baker, Nicola James and Tim Farmer.
- Cannock Chase: Sue Desborough and Richard Moore.
- Hanley: Kevin Adams.
- Woodgate Valley Country Park: Rebecca Steele, Kat Stevenson and Sarah-Anne Fitzsimmons.
- Bramshall Road (Uttoxeter): Simon Hudson, Rob Foster, Lynda Elmore and Jo Yarnall.
- Penrose: Chris Waple and Karen Waple.
- Torbay Velopark: Kevin Attwood.
Many thanks, as always, to those club members who volunteered in any capacity.
Congratulations also to those members who completed races over the last week:
Saturday 25th:
- Cannock Chase Ultra 50 miles: Steve Blakemore (11:05)
Sunday 26th:
- St Michael's 10k, Stone: Philip Brayford (40:50, 1st MV60), John Pearce (48:01, New club MV65 10k record), Rachael Jones (49:17, PB) and Henry Simpson (50:51).
- Tamworth Gate Gallop (GP): Liam Harrold (2nd place), Lee Harris, Lorraine Beesley (1st FV55), Stephen Mcann.
- Snickerthon (GP): Jo Yarnall (Marathon, 06:50:38)), Lucy Baker (HM, 02:27:39), Simon Hudson (10k, 01:01:15) and Barbara Johnson (5k, 00:31:53)
- Run Through Redditch HM: Marcus Nye (02:02:17) and Tony Dutton (02:09:44)
- Leamington Spa HM: Luke White and Duncan Gould
- Torbay HM: Kevin Attwood (02:00:20)
It was also good to hear this week that Lisa Wakeman has received confirmation of her Championship place at this year's London Marathon. Congratulations Lisa.
2022 in (some) pictures will be built up over the year below: Hover over the main photo and press 'play' to scroll through photos of events so far this year, or click on the thumbnails.
We like to think of ARC as a friendly, supportive club and we are gaining a reputation for the enthusiasm of our support. The video clip below, taken from Cannon Hill Park, on the route of the Birmingham Marathon and Half on October 15 2017 shows us at our best. Some of the supporters had entered one of the races but had to pull out due to injury but instead of moping about it they came and cheered on all those who were running, despite the logistical difficulties of getting there with all the road closures. Well done Sarah Hinkley and crew!
Information for members:
Help us give credit to all who take part in races by letting us know your achievements. Email using this link by Monday lunchtime please.
See the Diary section for races that we know about, either local or that our members have enjoyed in the past. Social events now have their own page here although social events are currently on hold due to the pandemic.
Our annual handicap races have now resumed and will continue once a month until September. It's not too late to join in - just register your interest with Steve Blakemore (or email us). The most recent results can be found here.
We also have a regular walking group. More details are on our About ARC page. All welcome.
See the Diary section for races that we know about, either local or that our members have enjoyed in the past. Social events now have their own page here although social events are currently on hold due to the pandemic.
Our annual handicap races have now resumed and will continue once a month until September. It's not too late to join in - just register your interest with Steve Blakemore (or email us). The most recent results can be found here.
We also have a regular walking group. More details are on our About ARC page. All welcome.
New Members
If you are new to running or looking to improve we can help & support you all the way. To find out more, check out the About ARC page and the New Members section. We will be announcting new dates for our next Couch to 5k course after current restrictions due to COVID-19 are lifted - click here for details.
Club Training Plans
Members of the Race Training Group generally work through programmes designed by club members, targeted at specific races/distances. These are aimed at those who have already completed the target distance and want to improve their time. They are full training plans but it outlines two 'effort' sessions a week, which can be done with others.
When reading the plans, "off" shows the recovery between efforts, so "1k, 800m, 600m, 400m off 2mins, 3 mins
between sets" means "1k effort, 2 min recovery, 800m effort, 2 min recovery, 600m effort, 2 min recover,400m effort, 2 min recovery, 3 min rest then repeat." Recovery can be jog or walk, or a mixture, depending on individual fitness and preference. The length of recovery can also be adjusted if necessary. 'Tempo is generally defined as a pace you can comfortably keep up for about an hour.
Obviously these plans can be started at any time and/or adapted to meet individual needs. In particular, slower runners can benefit from the plans but would need to reduce the number of repetitions (sets) or the individual distances in most of the sessions. If you just want to try out some efforts sessions to make your training a bit more interesting and productive there are a good number included here that you can try.
The current 5k training plan is here. Previous training programmes from this group are still available. Two Half-Marathon plans are here and here, whilst a 10k plan is here
When reading the plans, "off" shows the recovery between efforts, so "1k, 800m, 600m, 400m off 2mins, 3 mins
between sets" means "1k effort, 2 min recovery, 800m effort, 2 min recovery, 600m effort, 2 min recover,400m effort, 2 min recovery, 3 min rest then repeat." Recovery can be jog or walk, or a mixture, depending on individual fitness and preference. The length of recovery can also be adjusted if necessary. 'Tempo is generally defined as a pace you can comfortably keep up for about an hour.
Obviously these plans can be started at any time and/or adapted to meet individual needs. In particular, slower runners can benefit from the plans but would need to reduce the number of repetitions (sets) or the individual distances in most of the sessions. If you just want to try out some efforts sessions to make your training a bit more interesting and productive there are a good number included here that you can try.
The current 5k training plan is here. Previous training programmes from this group are still available. Two Half-Marathon plans are here and here, whilst a 10k plan is here