We are pleased to announce that the club is now reopen, New members are welcome - see our New Members page.
click here for our diary, including Tuesday club night schedules
See here for England Athletics' guidance for runners during the various stages of restrictions as we come out of lockdown.
Tuesday runs - we meet on the car park of the Stick & Wicket from 7pm. Could you please let Sue have your groups & routes in advance wherever possible.
Efforts groups have resumed, with two options. Les Reeves is running coached efforts sessions fortnightly and there are also weekly Race Training sessions following the 10k improvement plan detailed below. 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 6.15 - 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.
Tuesday runs - we meet on the car park of the Stick & Wicket from 7pm. Could you please let Sue have your groups & routes in advance wherever possible.
Efforts groups have resumed, with two options. Les Reeves is running coached efforts sessions fortnightly and there are also weekly Race Training sessions following the 10k improvement plan detailed below. 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 6.15 - 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:
- Well done to Chris and Karen Waple, who received their medals this week for completing the RAF Lancaster Challenge in memory of Chris’ s dad who flew with 115 Squadron in WW2. The challenge involved completing a total of 500k by cycling, running and/or walking.
- Well done to those members who completed the Coventry Chase the Sun events on Wednesday 16th: Henry Simpson completed the 10k race in 52:06, coming 2nd in his age category, whilst in the 5k race Marcus Nye achieved a PB of 20:23, coming 2nd in his age category and Lisa Wakeman was 3rd lady and 1st in her age category, finishing in 20:50. Congratulations all!
- Congratulations to two new members who completed triathlons over the weekend: On Saturday 19th Jen Hitchcock completed the Alderford Olympic distance triathlon (1500m swim, 40k cycle, 10k run) in a total time of 02.36.13, finishing with a run time of 43:02 and taking 8th place. Mark Fanning completed the Outlaw Half on Sunday 20th in 04:52:31. This involved a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile cycle and a Half Marathon run (which he completed in 01:19:23). Well done both on these stunning performances.
2021 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. 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 been replaced in 2020 by a weekly virtual challenge. Many thanks to Mark O'Rourke for organising. The results from the Spring/Summer handicap can be found here.
We also have a regular walking group. More details are on our About ARC page. All welcome.
2020 saw the Spring handicap in a different format - a weekly virtual challenge - results here
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 been replaced in 2020 by a weekly virtual challenge. Many thanks to Mark O'Rourke for organising. The results from the Spring/Summer handicap can be found here.
We also have a regular walking group. More details are on our About ARC page. All welcome.
2020 saw the Spring handicap in a different format - a weekly virtual challenge - results here
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.
10k Improvement Plan
Members who completed a half-marathon improvement plan, with some amazing results, are now embarking upon a 14-week 10k improvement plan, targeted at the Fradley 10k Details can be found here. It is aimed at those who have already completed a 10k and want to improve their time.
When reading the plan, "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.
Obviously this plan can be started at any time and/or adapted to meet individual needs. In particular, slower runners can benefit from the plan but would need to reduce the number of repetitions (sets) 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 previous half-marathon training plan is still available here.
When reading the plan, "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.
Obviously this plan can be started at any time and/or adapted to meet individual needs. In particular, slower runners can benefit from the plan but would need to reduce the number of repetitions (sets) 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 previous half-marathon training plan is still available here.