Family running country and city this week-end

Press, 31 May 1978, Page 11

Family running country and city this week-end

RUNNERS’ DIARY

By

John Drew

Family fun for runners of all ages and abilities is promised in Canterbury this week-end. This is largely the continued spin-off from big community fun runs like the recent annual “The Press” Park-to-r’ark event. Christchurch is already leading New Zealand in the promotion of community running. Now Canterbury country districts have' decided to take a hand in organising fun runs. The Cust fun run organisers are already threatening to outstrip their town counterparts in organising ability, drive and enthusiasm. As a result family groups from North, Mid and Central Canterbury, as well as from the city, will converge on Cust next Sunday for the big run there. It will be of about Bkm —d is part of a day of fun and frolic to raise funds for the Cust and District Community Centre. The run will have an enhanced family appeal becuase full arrangements are being made to cater for the younger members of families who do not wish to try the full distance. Youngsters of 10 or under have the option of running the last part of the course—about 2 km. Their str.rt at the Cust School will be timed to enable them to join in with their families in the run to the finish at the Cust Domain. The main run starts at 11 a.m. There are family bonus incentives for entrants in both senior and junior runs. One in every 25 of those who purchase the 50c run entry card and who complete the 8 km run. regardless of their placing, qualify for a special prize of meat. And one in every 25 in

the junior run who purchase the 50c entry card and complete the event qualify for a prize of chocolate and/or biscuits. The run cards also admit the holder to the Cust novelty sports day in the Cust Domain at the finish of the runs. The exceptionally active run organising committee h stnbuted thousands of run specification hand bills throughout the Oxford, Rangiora and Cust areas as well as in Ashburton and the city. Many runners intend to use .his event as a limbering up for the big Sedley Wells Mid-Winter Marathon which starts at QE II Park at 10 a.m. on Queen’s Birthday Monday, June 5. Even in this 42km event, which the world’s first sab-four-minute miler, Dr Roger Bannister, once called “the acme of athletic heroism,” there will be a strong family flavour. This is because the Long Distance Runners’ Club, which is organising the marathon in association with the Christchurch City Council’s parks, recreation and sports department, has included a nalf-marathon. h e half-marathon, which will start at the same time and place as the marathon, is attracting entries from many who see it as a natural progression from recent shorter outings in the Park-to-Park and the City-to-Sumner runs. Among the women entered in the half-mara-thon, one of the biggest groups will come from the Delbie Rhode running club based at the Y.W.C.A. Because both runs will start simultaneously at 10 a.m. starters in the halfmarathon, including youngsters who have relatives in the marathon

proper, will be able to participate in the ex» citement and glamour of the main race —finishing the final stages with friends and relatives going the full distance. All will receive certificates. This idea is appealing to a number of families, including that of Neville Reid, of the Olympic Club, who is a former Canterbury marathon title champion. While Neville runs the marathon his son Mark, aged 10, and his wife intend to run the half-mara-thon and may well do the final run in company. Like

many other familes they also intend to take a light training outing in the Cust run the day before. The Sedley Wells Marathon is expected to attract some 200 entries. The Long Distance Club’s winter marathon organising committee has been having regular meetings for weeks past. One of the most important arrangements is the accurate placing of the time stations. Nothing throws out a marathon runner more when he is under the full strain of the race than to be given a wrong time at a mis» placed time station. There have been examples of this in recent marathons here. On Monday dozens of

officials will be on duty. They will man the aid stations at the 11, 16, 21, 31 and 36 km marks. Another big team will man the sponge stations placed at 13.5, 18.5, 23.5, 28.5 and 38.5 km. An experienced team of timekeepers will call and record times at 10, 20 and 30 km and at the finish. Times for all runners will be called but not recorded at 5 km. Runners under the stress of the marathon often have difficulty in hearing times when spoken by inexperienced time stewards. On Monday all timekeepers have been briefed to call the times loudly. For this run plan to finish in a time within your capabilities. Regardless of your age, if you run at an even pace within your capabilities you can come to no harm and there should be nothing, bar going lame, to stop you. You have beaten any runner who does not finish the distance. If you make a humble beginning over the first quarter of the race you have a better chance of improving pace in the middle stages. And you will suffer less in the last six miles when the battle begins and the call for courage is greatest. The time checks help you monitor your pace. When the starter says “go” set your watch on a zero time so that you won’t have to do sums in the middle of the runs to check your elapsed time. A brief, brisk walk at certain times of the run may give “the pause that refreshes” and may mean a saving of several minutes in the long run. Even on a cool day, when there is not much dehydration, make sure you have your drinks little and often.

Start your drink intake before you feel thirsty. Don’t take a sponge if you are not hcrt. A dowse with a cold sponge can chill you and set you back., Take drinks that you know from experience suit you. Position them, with your race number attached, in the hands of the fee station manager at least half an hour before the start. Under the stress of the marathon it is usually your stomach which is the cause of trouble. The first call on your blood supply is to deal with anything in the stomach and this can cut your running efficiency by 30 per cent or more. So do not experiment with fancy feeding on race day. Take only what you know suits you. A sound guide is to take food you find palatable. This is less likely to upset you. Avoid a heavy cooked breakfast. A light snack of tea and toast and honey (if you like honey) is all you need. More than that can harass you and hasten stomach upsets which are common during the stress of the marathon. Take drinks up to 10 minutes of the start if you wish to. The food you had the day before mainly provices the fuel for the run. Tape the known trouble spots on your feet and then liberally smear the feet with vaseline.