Our fun, friendly jogging groups are perfect for people who want to get active for the first time, or more experienced runners. Nobody is “too slow” to join jogscotland –total beginners welcome!
Running has never been so easy! Whatever your age, whatever your ability Morning, noon and night • Towns, cities, villages Parks, pavements, trails, woodlands, beaches, schools and workplaces For more information visit www.jogscotland.org.uk or call 0131 539 7341 www.facebook.com/JogScotty • www.twitter.com/jogscotland
Encouraging employees to be more active makes good business sense. Jogworks can help avoid some of the physical and mental health issues affecting the workplace.
Our welcoming Menopause Friendly groups are committed to flexible sessions and open conversations to help you stay active through this stage of life. Mums on the Run helps mums enjoy the physical, social & psychological benefits of being active outdoors. You can take your wee one to class with you in the buggy too!
@scottishathletics.org.uk 07880 037 574 Stride – the
Editor: Morven Bruce
Cover photo: Bobby Gavin
@scottishathletics.org.uk 07391 845 783
Designer:
@scottishathletics.org.uk 07960 582 838
Morven Bruce
Stevens
Carol Robison
Welcome!
by Morven Bruce
Stride magazine | Autumn 2024
Welcome to the Autumn edition of Stride magazine!
And hello from me, scottishathletics new Marketing and Digital Communications Manager, and new editor of Stride.
I joined jogscotland and scottishathletics in July, and am really enjoying it so far. I know I have some big shoes to fill, following Sue’s departure in March after 12 years in the role.
It’s been a busy summer and we know the end of the school holidays is often a busy time for our jog groups, with lots of new couch to 5k programmes taking place as people look to make a new start or get back into the swing of things.
If you, like me, are new here, then welcome, and I’m looking forward to going on this journey together.
July marked a significant milestone for the scottishathletics and jogscotland community with the 100th anniversary Eric Liddell’s famous gold medal at the Paris 1924 Olympic Games. We asked joggers and groups to celebrate by taking part in our EL100 virtual 5k – see some of the results on p8-9.
We also hear from Roddy Simpson of Let’s Go Linlinthgow, who was inspired by the EL100 campaign to get back out walking and running following health issues and resulting surgery (p12-13).
You can also read the inspiring story of Kirkcaldy Wizards’ Race in memory of member Derek Adamson, who sadly passed away earlier this year. All Derek’s medals were donated by his dad, Andy and presented to everyone who took part.
Thanks to everyone who I have already had the pleasure to chat to that has helped me settle into my new role. I’m looking forward to getting out and about and meeting many more of you soon.
If you have any news or stories you are looking to share from your personal experience or group, please let me know by emailing jogscotland@scottishathletics.org
Morven Bruce, Editor
p12
p16
Roddy Simpson
Wizard race
Eric Liddell 5k
A New Role for Jo
After 10 years as jogscotland’s Development Officer, we are pleased to announce that Jo Stevens will now be stepping into the role of jogscotland Programme Manager.
With jogscotland’s new strategy, Keep Moving Forward 2024-2027, launching next month, Jo’s main tasks will be to deliver the actions created under the strategy. Membership, education, network growth and support, partnerships and research will be key areas of work.
Speaking about her new role, Jo said:
‘I am excited and looking forward the challenges and opportunities this new role will bring. jogscotland has big dreams and ambitions and I have loved seeing it grow and develop across my ten years as Development Officer,
‘jogscotland has yet to reach its full potential and I am honoured to take on the role of Programme Manager to help jogscotland’s vision become a reality.’
Head of Development for Scottish Athletics and jogscotland David Fallon said:
‘We are thrilled to have Jo stepping into the role of jogscotland Programme Manager. Her years of development experience, partnership working and leading and coaching at her own community jog group means she brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the role,
‘The launch of the new strategy means that exciting changes are coming, allowing jogscotland to grow and positively impact more people and communities. I firmly believe we now have in place the beginnings of a more effective structure to help us deliver the jogscotland programme and projects.’
Introducing our Jog Leader Forum
jogscotland will proudly publish its new strategy in the coming weeks.
Over the past 20 years we’ve trailblazed by providing a local community health and wellbeing programme that excels at getting people active and keeping them active. Delivering these ambitions will require change, collaboration and innovation both nationally and locally. The greatest strength of jogscotland is in the groups and the outstanding Jog Leaders that are at the heart of what jogscotland is and what jogscotland does.
To assist with the first step in our strategy, we have recruited 13 Jog Leaders for our new Jog Leaders Forum.
The Forum will provide a voice to the network, sharing valuable insights from group level and bringing their knowledge and experience to a platform which will explore the planning, development and delivery of the jogscotland programme.
Key focus areas of the Forum will be the jogscotland Strategy; growth and retention of members; mental health; and jogscotland programme development.
The forum will aim to meet face to face twice in a 12-month period, with the first meeting due to take place on Saturday 26.
Forum members:
Michelle Brown
John Carty
Rachel Cox
George Findlay
Michael Gowans
Phil Hume-Hopper
Irene Leask
Elaine Leitch
Laura Lennon
Marjorie Marshall
Anne Purves
Karen Richards
Craig Sneddon
Jog Scotland Bridge of Don
Victoria Park Road Runners
Monkton Milers Jog Scotland
Anster Allsorts
Migo Run Club
Glasgow Southside Slowies
Jog Cowdenbeath
Jiggly Joggers
Victoria Park Road Runners
On the Run Cumbernauld
Gala Harrier Joggers
Kirkcaldy Wizards / Leven Las Vegas
Jog Cowdenbeath
EL100 5k
It’s been a special summer for athletics in Scotland with the Olympics in Paris marking 100 years since the great Eric Liddell won gold.
And, to help celebrate that historic achievement and inspire folk to get out running, we have been asking joggers and groups from across the country to complete the jogscotland Eric Liddell Big 100 Virtual 5k.
Proceeds from the run will help two very worthy causes; the Eric Liddell Community and our mental health charity partner, SAMH.
Entry is set at £8.99 with 10 percent of that going to each of these two charities.
Sign up and complete your 5K however you choose – walk, jog, run, do it all at once or in stages. Sign ups are open until the end of October so if you’re getting back into the swing of things after a busy summer, why not make this your target?
We don’t need proof that you have completed the challenge, and everyone who enters will receive an exclusive EL100 medal.
We would love to see you in action, so please share or send us your photos of the challenge in progress. You can post them on social media using the hashtag #JSEL100, or email them to jogscotland@scottishathletics.org.uk
Enter the Eric Liddell Big 100 virtual 5k
Check out some of our groups that have already completed the challenge:
The Anster Allsorts celebrated the 100th anniversary of Eric Liddell’s Olympic win in Paris in 1924 with a Chariots of Fire style 5K at West Sands Beach, St Andrews.
The Stirling Striders headed to Plean Country Park for their event, and even managed to get goodie bags for everyone taking part donated by Scurry Events.
LiRF Course Dates
Our fun, inspiring course, called Leadership in Running Fitness, is all you need to become a jog leader by setting up your own group, or by helping at an existing group. It is available via blended learning, with four online modules and a half day practical session.
You don’t need to be super-fit to become a jog leader – some of the best leaders are people who were recently beginners themselves and so have real empathy with others who are just starting to get active. The best qualities you can possess are to be enthusiastic, approachable and encouraging to others.
Course Dates:
Location: Motherwell
Starting Date: 13 October 2024
Time: 9:00am-12:00pm or 1:00pm-4:00pm
Find Out More
Location: Alloa
Starting Date: 27 October 2024
Time: 9:00am-12:00pm or 1:00pm-4:00pm
Find Out More
Location: Glasgow
Starting Date: 3 November 2024
Time: 1:00pm-4:00pm
Find Out More
Location: Grangemouth
Starting Date: 7 December 2024
Time: 9:00am-12:00pm or 1:00pm-4:00pm
Find Out More
Menopause Webinar
We are delighted to confirm the final information session in our menopause series with Dr Juliet McGrattan
The hour-long webinar will take place on World Mental Health Day, Thursday 10 October, at 7:30pm.
The session will cover menopause symptoms, the impact they can have on mental health and running, and some useful tips to support mental health during the peri and menopause years.
The webinar is part of our Menopause Friendly campaign, and is open to all scottishathletics and jogscotland members, as well as Jog Leaders, coaches and any other roles connected to club activity.
A menopause expert and award-winning author and speaker, Juliet has hosted a number of webinars for us previously that have been incredibly informative and wellreceived.
Whether you’re experiencing menopause yourself or just want to be more informed, we’d encourage you to attend.
We’d positively encourage men to join the call, as it’s a chance for everyone to understand this stage of life better, and the ways it can affect our ability to stay active or support others.
Places will be first-come-first-served. The session will be recorded and circulated afterwards to all attendees.
Register for the webinar.
Big 100 Blog by
During recent health problems, I realised how important being a Jog Leader and my jogscotland group was for me, and how it played a major part in my recovery.
Over a few months I noticed I was increasingly struggling with my stamina and fitness. I eventually went to my GP who had some concerns and did various tests. I was sent for a CT scan of my chest, and while nothing was detected with my lungs, it was noticed that my right kidney was severely inflamed, caused by my bladder not emptying properly. I was in danger of kidney failure, and was admitted urgently to the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh. There, I had a urinary catheter inserted to relieve the pressure on the kidneys and was told I would have to keep it until I had an operation on my prostate.
Roddy Simpson
All this happened so quickly and had a devastating effect on me, mentally as well as physically. My whole lifestyle had dramatically changed overnight. I took time to adjust to the physical requirements of living with a catheter and leg bag, but the mental adjustment was much more difficult. My self-confidence plummeted. I was very self-conscious of having the leg bag and became anxious and depressed.
I wanted to try to continue to be active and began to go for little walks near my house. I had the catheter inserted at the beginning of July 2023, which was around the same time jogscotland was promoting the SAMH Big 100 campaign. One day when I was out for a walk beside Linlithgow Loch, the thought came to me about how many times I could walk round the Loch before the end of the year. It had previously been a regular jogging and walking route for me, and from my home and back was about 5k. I thought 100 was potentially unrealistic, but sometimes having a target to work towards is what matters.
It took me two weeks before I managed it for the first time with my catheter, but I struggled. It took me over two more weeks to try again but I managed better this time and during August began to complete it every few days. I felt I was beginning to get some momentum as well as benefitting physically and mentally. On Boxing Day I completed my 100th walk round Linlithgow Loch since I came out of hospital. I had a sense of achievement and it help to raise my self-confidence. I wouldn’t have even thought about it if it had not been for The Big 100 campaign.
Before my diagnosis, I had been one of the leaders with a jog/walk group which continued and I was kept in contact through their WhatsApp group. For their last meeting before Christmas, I was invited along for a walk only session they arranged especially for me. Coincidentally, the route was around Linlithgow Loch, although no one knew about my personal target. Following on from that, Let’s Go Linlithgow started a walk only group in January which included some of the jog/walk group members and allowed me to take part as one of the Jog Leaders and be regularly involved again. This group continued until Easter, shortly before I went into hospital for my prostate operation.
The operation went well and I had to be very careful for a few weeks, but coming out of hospital without the catheter was a massive relief. It was slow process but when I saw my consultant six weeks post-op he was pleased with my progress and confirmed that everything had healed. I was told I could start to get back into jogging, but was advised to take it very gently at first.
It took me over a week to feel confident enough to start to jog, even in a very limited way. I could identify much more closely with the joggers who had come along to couch-to-5k groups where I had been a leader. When I had done those, I was a regular jogger but now I hadn’t jogged for nearly a year and had been through a lot. I could easily make excuses like ‘I’m not ready yet’ or ‘I’ll wait until the weather is better’, but I began to think what I would say to others, and how I would encourage them to just do what is comfortable, and that the programme is just a guide. This spurred me to get out and do the first week of the couch-to-5k programme. I got a huge boost from doing it but realised that the programme was going to take me a little longer to complete. I didn’t mind though, as I was at least back doing something I loved.
Members of the jog/walk group invited me to join them, offering to fit what they were doing with what I was able to do. So, nearly a full a year after I had last been with the group, I joined in again and we did a jog/walk around Linlithgow Loch. There was lots of chat and it was so much better than doing the couch-to-5k on my own. It meant so much to me. From my diagnosis and throughout my illness, I always had the motivation to get back jogging. That focus and the encouragement I received, directly and indirectly, from being part of the jogscotland community, helped me achieve it.
Getting back to the jog/walk group coincided with jogscotland promoting the Eric Liddell Big 100 Virtual 5k. I knew I had to take part as the Big 100 had become a theme of my recovery. I started from my house and jog/walked around Linlithgow Loch and back, the route that had been such an important focus for me last year. It felt symbolic in marking my return to health and to be able to look forward to fully participating in being a jogger and Jog Leader again.
Happy Birthday KH Jog Squad!
Congratulations to the KH Jog Squad, who are celebrating their one year anniversary.
The group was created when Kilmarnock Harriers were looking to attract more adults into the club. They decided to create a jogscotland group to attract new runners, as there is a myth that you need to be ‘good’ or competitive to join an athletics club.
The group meets at the Ayrshire Athletics Arena on Mondays and Wednesdays, two of the same nights as the KH sessions. This helps to provide an opportunity for parents of the junior athletes who attend on those nights.
Having started with an initial block of Couch to 5k, the group now has a core of 20-25 members, with 20 more who have just started their current Couch to 5k programme. This is the third C25k intake since launching last year, and they have also run a 5k – 10k block in the lead up to the club’s annual 10k event, Roon the Toon. At the end of each block, everyone is encouraged to take part in the local Parkrun at Dean Country Park.
Jog Squad members are given the option to engage with the wider club as much or as little as they want. There is an open invitation to all club social events, and there is the opportunity to join club social running events, Parkruns and local road races.
However, it is entirely up to the individual as they are aware not everyone wants to compete, and the focus on this squad remains running fitness.
When the group first started, it was led by 4 qualified leaders and coaches from the main club, with a further 7 volunteering. These members were put through their Leadership in Running Fitness course, with another member recently having completing the course and starting to help out with one of the three jog groups.
Three more are signed up to complete their training this autumn, a hugely positive sign showing that leaders are now coming from within the Jog Squad.
Current Leaders
Lindsay McMahon - Coordinator
Mark Alexander – Group 1 Lead
Russell Duncan / Kate Todd – Group 2 Leads
Sal Monachello – Group 3 Lead
Matt Fergusion
Hannah Connell
Lauren Carter
Natalie Sharp
Amanda Bryden
Amy Mitchell
Wizard Race
Derek Adamson was a well-loved coach, leader and friend at Kirkcaldy Wizards, playing a huge role in the group.
In March 2024, Derek was in Inverness for the weekend to support at the half marathon and decided to take part in Alness Parkrun while he was there.
Unfortunately, Derek took very ill during the Parkrun, and sadly passed away the next weekend.
With many of the Kirkcaldy Wizards due to take part in the Inverness event, there were group members there who were able to be with Derek while he was ill, and support each other and Derek’s family.
In August, the Wizards held a 5k trail run event in Beveridge Park in Derek’s memory. There was no fee to take part, but participants could make a donation to charity.
Derek had run hundreds of races all over the country, including several London Marathons, and had been collecting medals for many years. For the event, Derek’s dad, Andy, decided to donate all of Derek’s medals, so that every finisher could receive one. He was present for the event, and was able to start the race in memory of his son.
Over 130 runners took part, with the event raising over £1000 for Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland.
Such a loved member, the group plan to keep doing things in Derek’s memory in the future.
Book corner
Jog leader with Anster Allsorts, George Findlay, dips into the ever-growing genre of ‘books about running’ and reviews some of his favourites.
Voices From the Hills - Steve Chilton
Steve Chilton’s excellent book highlights lady fell runners fight against discrimination and their right to gain equality in fell running circles. It traces the history of these lady runners from the 1950s, at a time when fellrunning officialdom was maleorientated and actively discouraged and resisted ladies taking part. The attitudes of many race organisers are summed up by this quote, ‘a woman’s place is in the home – not running up and down hills’.
The early lady fell pioneers commonly had a love of the outdoors, enjoyed hiking and hillwalking, running the fells for health, fitness and fun. The first female fell race, under AAA rules, was not held until 1974. At the time, ladies were separated or started races later, behind the men. Official race reports were often sexist, and prizes often emphasised the disregard for ladies’ achievements, winning prizes such as cake stands and quiche dishes! On the other hand, fellow male competitors were much more encouraging and respectful of the lady racers than male race organisers.
The first lady’s fell running championship was in 1979, and it took until the 1980s for ladies to run fell distance races in parity with men.
The author is himself a seasoned fell runner, a UKA long distance running coach and a member of the Fell Runners Association. Steve’s book is a good mixture of history and testimonials from lady fell runners. The interviews with over thirty ladies are most interesting and enlightening. These ladies are unassuming in their achievements and memories of the time, not seeing themselves as pioneers but just loved running the hills.
This is a book for all interested in running and equality.
Jogging along
By Craig Wilson
Keeping Motivated this Autumn
For many, Autumn is peak racing season. All the hard yards through the warm summer months – and yes I use the word warm advisedly here as we all know how this summer has gone – bear fruit as the temperatures cool down and goal races arrive.
September through November sees a crescendo of race dates in the calendar, with runners from Scotland taking part in events here, the rest of the UK and across the world. If you are one of the many eagerly anticipating your big day, then I hope you have a fabulous time!
However, as temperatures cool, so the days begin to shorten, the dampness starts to set in and the advent of autumn heralds dark mornings and evenings. Of course, this is often when many of us have the time to run. It can be dispiriting through this time to find the motivation to get out and keep up the miles when the sofa seems so inviting.
If you think the struggle to find the urge to run is unique to you, then fear not, you are most definitely not alone. All of us go through peaks and troughs with our running, and if you feel you are in a bit of down patch at the moment, then here are three things to consider.
Set a schedule – one of the great things about a jogscotland group is that it can help make running part of your routine. Putting that date and time in your calendar every week is a great way to normalise running. Parkrun is another great way to do this.
Run with friends – I know plenty of people who are really good runners but hate running on their own. Finding those one or two running buddies who will drag you out regardless can be a massive help. Often when one of you doesn’t really fancy it, the pester power of the other can get you out the door.
Take the pressure off – Running is supposed to be fun, right? If we are constantly training for races or pushing ourselves really hard, this not only increases the chances of injury, but can also run the risk of making you see running as a chore as opposed to an activity which brings so many benefits to both our physical and mental health.
Finally then, good luck to everyone racing this autumn, but racing is not everything about running. For everyone else getting out and getting it done remember to enjoy yourselves, enjoy these foggy mornings and evenings, enjoy the cooler air filling your lungs and when we get to winter? Well, let’s think about that another time.
Get fit and have fun with our sociable, supportive jogging groups for all levels – beginners welcome! Affordable, friendly sessions with trained Jog Leaders.
Find your nearest group at www.jogscotland.org.uk/local-groups
