The Shropshire Shuffler SS17 by The Shropshire Shuffler

Contents Stories Championship Placings

Our Trip To Benidorm

Adventure Racing

Resevior Roundabout

Once Upon A Time

Who’s Who?

Are We The Only Shufflers?

Ebrey Farm

Advice

Chat With A Coach

Give Yourself A Lift

Coaches Corner

Emma’s Eats!

Injury Proof Your Running

Contributors Nick Pollock Sheridan Beaman Liz Hird Alan Morris Claire Bilgic Kelly Booth Sarah Hall Sam Ostermeyer Tony Welsby Emma Sheekey Joe Brocklehurst Gail Clayton

Editors Helen Grime

Upcoming Events

Emma Humphreys Chris Purcell

Coastal Canters

Graham Evans

Attingham Park Relays

Design StudioPayne www.studiopayne.com

CHAT FROM THE CHAIR Hello and welcome to the new edition of the Shuffler magazine, the first of 2017. Thank you to everyone who renewed their membership and to all of you who have joined the club since I last wrote these notes. The club’s membership numbers remain very strong and it’s great to see so many people out training at the Quarry, the Column and at the track. It’s fantastic that a dozen of our members stepped up to take their coaching qualification last year. One of the things your membership fee pays for is to ensure we have enough qualified coaches to cope with all the runners who attend training nights. Without our dedicated team of coaches we’d be lost. If you feel you could help out with the coaching, please speak to any of our current coaches or to Tony Welsby. Lots of support and mentoring is given to new coaches so there’s no reason to be scared! Three of our longest serving committee members will have stepped down between me writing these notes and you reading them. Liz Hird, Carol Beard and Brian Morris have served the club superbly over many years and the contributions will not be forgotten. I am very grateful to the people who have offered to take over and to ensure the (mostly) smooth running of the club. It always amazes me how, at the start of the year, the streets and footpaths seem be filled with extra runners. Shrewsbury is very much a ‘running town’ and it’s always fantastic to see so many people joining in with the sport when I’m out and about. Some friends of mine recently moved to Shrewsbury from an East Midlands town (which shall remain nameless). They both noted how much fitter and healthier the typical Shrewsbury resident is compared to those in their previous town. Perhaps it’s the sheer variety of routes on offer, from pavements, to trails to open hills, all within easy reach, that keeps us stepping into our trainers and out of our front doors? Back in January, it was great to enjoy the company of so many of our runners at the recent Shropshire Cross Country Championships. We had a record turnout this year of around 50 runners and came home with lots of medals. As ever, the club aims to be a great and welcoming running club so, if you’d like to contact me about club matters – positive comments or suggestions for improvements - you can find me at training most Monday nights or you can contact me via Facebook. I hope to see you at training or a race soon. Don’t forget we have lots of ‘alternative runs’ coming up over the spring and summer months. If you like your runs to end with food or a pub, you’re sure to find something to enjoy. Keep your eye on the website and Facebook or listen to the announcements at training for details. Happy running! Nick Pollock Chairman

Mercedes Benz of Shrewsbury 10K Some great results from the Shrewsbury 10k. The senior men had a real battle with Thomas Vaughan coming out on top in 11th. There was less than 10 seconds separating James Craig, Rob Corcoran and Richard Mckenna. They all finished in the top 25 in a field of 1873. First Shuffler lady was Emma Humphreys. The first lady home was Nicola Davies, once a Shuffler and hopefully will be again soon. Special mention for Iain Day, Steve Price and Richard Mckenna who won their age categories. Bill Dargue got second in his. It was great to see so many Shufflers (officially 50 but there were more than that) out on a such blustery day.

NAME

BIB

CATEGORY

GUN TIME

CHIP TIME

Chris Wood 1956 M60 0:54:21 0:53:32 Jo Whittingham 1904 F40 0:54:23 0:53:59 Laure Pepper 1371 F45 0:55:19 0:54:41 Jenny Jones 949 F40 0:56:17 0:55:56 Margaret Connarty 320 F40 0:56:19 0:54:50 Des Mulholland 1267 M40 0:56:30 0:54:38 Kristofor Kelly 1009 MSEN 0:57:09 0:56:05 Max Birchwood 141 M60 0:57:21 0:54:28 John Baxter 94 M45 0:57:47 0:54:31 Simon Lee 1078 M50 0:58:22 0:55:25 Tracy Bugiel 220 F35 0:58:55 0:55:28 Christopher Price 1438 M50 0:59:10 0:56:16 Naomi Aitkin 8 FSEN 0:59:56 0:57:31 David Sims 1617 M55 1:00:12 0:57:56 Ian Davies 2030 M55 1:00:23 0:57:01 Kelly Booth 2086 F35 1:00:36 0:58:15 Kath Edwards 489 F60 1:00:40 0:58:31 Sian Hulme 848 FSEN 1:01:51 1:00:41 Rose Worthy 1970 F40 1:03:00 0:59:35 Giles Birt 2084 M50 1:04:48 1:01:35 Peter Vernon 2293 M50 1:06:28 1:03:10 Leonard East 480 M65 1:07:42 1:03:56 Emily Williams 1923 FSEN 1:07:50 1:04:04 Chris Williams 1917 M35 1:08:21 1:04:32 Nicola Cooke 326 F40 1:08:55 1:08:29 Emma Gubbins 676 FSEN 1:13:50 1:10:04 Graeme Storey 1699 M55 1:13:50 1:09:28 Joanne Lewis 1091 F45 1:15:17 1:13:33 Julie Thornton 1762 F50 1:15:20 1:13:36

The top 10 female and male in club championship listed alphabetically at the time of writing are: Amanda Baxter Libby Collinson Heather Fras Annabel Hodgson Francesca Hutcheson Emma Preston Laura Smith

Claire Sproston Nicki Trow Susan Vuli Darren Beale Paul Bowes Ian Ford Robert Fox

Christopher Huss Philip Jones Samuel Ostermeyer Richard Price Stuart Smith Thomas Vaughan

Our Trip to Benidorm On a cold February shuffler running night in 2016, I planted a seed! Not literally, but you get my drift. Plans were afoot (thanks to Amy Doyle and Louise Coss) to arrange a trip to foreign shores in order to add some more bling to our collection! So Jane Atkins, Louise Smith, Amy Doyle, Louise Coss and I spent the next few months planning this new adventure. The chosen destination was’ Benidorm’, either an option to run a half marathon or a 10k. After months of training and preparation our departure day was here and our mini bus to the airport had arrived. Joining us on our trip was Louise Coss’s sister in law. She wasn’t running but had kindly nominated herself as the bag lady! She had offered to hold our bags when we were racing. We flew from Birmingham airport about midday and settled down to much conversation and a few mojitos! To discuss our pending weekend and of course out race tactics. It was early evening when we landed at Alicante airport and our hotel was only a short ride away. Once we had established our surroundings and a quick bite to eat, it was time to see the sights of Benidorm on a girly night out. One drink led to another! Then another! Then another!!!! It’s not looking so good, our race preparations were not what you would expect from athletes of our high standard and calibre. Plus, our coaches would not have been impressed! Our foreign pb s were hanging in the balance! With little sleep and weary eyes Saturday morning had arrived and it was our day of sight-seeing and taking in the culture and atmosphere of this great town! This day was also a chance to stretch our legs ready for the big race the next day and an opportunity to visit the local town hall to collect our race numbers. We spent our time roaming around the old and the new town, buying gifts, souvenirs and taking a few photos to remember our great adventure. We tried the local cuisine and there may have been a beer or two! Saturday evening was a sombre one, as our excitement started to build. It is traditional to eat pasta the night before a race and keep alcohol to a minimum! After all, it was also a girly weekend, we were going to be rebels and break tradition! Once dinner was over we headed back to our hotel, ready for an early night and a night cap! Mmmmmm early night! Our night cap of protein shake of choice was Bailey’s and bananas! 6

Beep! Beep! Beep! 7am alarm and its race day! After a careful choice of breakfast, we headed into central Benidorm, where we bumped into fellow Shuffler Lindy Bailey! Then it was time to get to start line and we were off! The course took us down many roads of Benidorm that we hadn’t been and along the sea front. At

the end of the race we were greeted by our much wanted new bling!! Once showered and changed we headed to the old town for a tapas night and a few vinos to celebrate the day’s success! And now to start planning the next road trip… Sheridan Beaman

Chat with a coach... So I’ve been asked to write a piece about becoming a coach and coaching with the shufflers. As you will find out in the next couple of minutes my running is a lot better than my journalistic skills. After seeing a post on the Shufflers Facebook site asking if anyone would be interested in becoming a coach I pondered for a while, until I got persuaded by Angela Gregory. So I went for it, after, a day’s training (which I turned up 24hrs early for as I hadn’t read the email properly, classic Walley) I was ready for my first session! Ready might be an over statement but thankfully the club have experienced coaches that mentor. I’ve been lucky enough to coach Mondays and Wednesdays with a mixture of groups and its always so impressive the amount of people we have in our club. But my real love (maybe a little strong but I do enjoy them a lot) is Thursdays nights track sessions. I really believe that these sessions are something that can be a real boost for everyone, from someone who wants to improve their Parkrun time to training for that Marathon you’ve always wanted to do. When planning my sessions on the track I try and see what everyone is training for, at the moment it’s all about marathons, so we did a nice (not everyone would agree with the word” nice track session”) block of Yasso’s 800s which you should be aiming to run in the time you aim to do your marathon at, i.e. 3hr marathon means a 3 min 800 m. We also do lots WALLEY’S TOP TIPS: of variations from shorter 200 m near sprints to the longer 2 km reps. I normally find my sessions from everyone’s favourite sauce of information; “google” I’ve also been lucky enough to have been coached by exceptional coaches and picking their brains on sessions that work for them and follow how they are coaching others on as well. Then I like to put my own spin on it. I’ve only been running and training more seriously for the last 3 years but I’ve learnt so much from the amazing coaches we have at the club. If you are thinking about becoming a coach, I can only whole heartedly say that it’s an amazing thing to do. When you see people running faster, stronger and getting PB’s it’s a great feeling. Although I’m a little worried that I am going to have to up my game to catch up with them.

Be specific with your training, don’t just do mileage; have a plan. When you’re on a Long Slow Run, run slowly It’s easy to run quickly but slow down. Enjoy your running, we are here to have fun and when you do it becomes easy.

Emma Humphreys 7

Adventure Racing

down hills to safely negotiate. It was still raining but I was still enjoying it! The first part of the cycle was brilliant, and the great thing with these races is the camaraderie amongst competitors, it’s fantastic everyone encourages each other on. I managed the climbs without getting off to push, enjoyed the down hills but then we got directed off road on to a rough track. I had been expecting this as it was in the race details, but the rain What is it? Basically, it’s a triathlon but with a kayaking discipline instead of swimming – though if had made the track even worse than normal so getting off and pushing the you are unlucky you could end up with both! bike through became inevitable. I made it in one piece to the next transition, drop the bike off and head off for stage five to do Gaelforce West 67km Race the mountain run up and down Croagh Patrick. It started about four years ago now with the words from Alan Morris; “I’m thinking of doing a race in Killarney in Ireland, it does involve cycling, kayaking and running though”. Well I was one of a number of Shufflers who went along to this race and absolutely loved it! I went back the following year to have another go at it and found I enjoyed it just as much so decided to try and find another similar event. Thus, in August 2016 I found myself at the start line on a beach in Connemara ready to start the 67km Gaelforce West Adventure Race which finishes in Westport Co Mayo. The rain had hammered down all night on our tent so little sleep was to be had; not great preparation. I wasn’t too surprised when Alan Morris appeared at 5am at the tent door saying he had decided to skip it and go back to bed. (Alan had already done this event before so missing it wasn’t a big deal). I thought well I’m here now I’m going to give it a go. Les took me down into the town centre at 5.30am to get on to the bus that was to take us to the start line. It was still drizzling as we lined up on the beach, I knew conditions underfoot were going to be rough! Stage one was a 13km beach, road and trail run and it was as tough and rough as expected, extremely muddy and uneven on the trail which lead us to stage two the 1km Kayak across Killary Fjord. It was still quite windy which made the water a little choppy but these kayaks are designed to be extremely stable and you get paired up with whoever is waiting to go so between the two of you no matter how inexperienced you get through it. We reached the other side of the fjord where stage three and a 3.5km run across a boggy moor with long tufted grass was the next challenge. Mud up to the knees and no matter which way you went, it was tough – but you know what – it was also fun! Off the moor onto a road for about a km to where the bike transition point was waiting, stage four a 33.5km cycle with big hills to climb and extreme 8

By this time the legs were feeling weary and the thought of climbing the mountain was the last thing I felt like, especially as the weather had again taken a turn for the worse; low cloud and wind and rain now as we headed higher and higher. We reached the checkpoint on the calf of the mountain about 100m from the summit when the marshals took a safety call and decided it was too dangerous to proceed any higher up so we were sent back down. It was a mixture of emotions, relief, cheated, grateful, disappointed as I made my way back down to the bike transition once again. Stage six another cycle 10.5k back to Westport, I set off thinking woohoo nearly finished but soon the sting in the tail, we were directed once more to an offroad section. The track we were on eventually changed into a very rocky surface with lots of water running through it, it wasn’t possible to push your bike through this lot, so it was pick it up and carry it. It seemed to go on forever until we reached a decent road surface again and on to the final stage. Stage seven the final run in, only about 2k but with very tired legs, running once again through mud and water, it was tough. But with other people around willing you on to the finish it was fantastic and I was elated to cross the finishing line in 6hrs and 25 mins and to see Les, Alan and Marian there waiting was brilliant. It was a lot of hard work but I was so pleased with the achievement... so what was next! I spotted an advert saying NEW FOR 2017 – Dublin Adventure Race... mmm sounds interesting.

Dublin Adventure Race So here I was again. This time accompanied by Les Rowlinson whom I had persuaded to have a go at the sprint distance (30km) and my two brothers Fred and Michael who would do the 50km distance with me. Training through the winter is a lot more difficult than during the summer months particularly for the cycling. Working full time and dark evenings meant long bike rides were restricted to a weekend when you are also trying to get a long hilly run in, but we did our best. We had worried a bit throughout training that the weather might be particularly bad at the end of February, so we had got kit for every eventuality, however on the morning of the race it was dry and bright which was good news. The race start was from Shamrock Rovers football stadium just outside of Dublin and after a warm up we were off on the 1km run round to the bike transition. The big difference with this race was to be the amount of cycling, there was far more cycling than running in this one, what’s more the cycling was…well only way to describe it..brutal! We left the main road and started to head up a gentle incline that was to become steeper and steeper. As more and more people got off their bikes and started to push, I too gave in thinking I would save my legs for the rest of the race. We reached the top and after an off-road section I was thankful to reach a road with some downhill!! I enjoy down hills and as the road surface was good here I could go past quite a few people and make it safely to the Kayak section. Once again I found myself with a good paddler and we managed the 1.5km out and back in a good time. Straight onto the 13km mountain run, this was actually the easiest of all the adventure races I have done, there was a clear track, not too rocky and it gently wound its way up and never became too severe. Back down the mountain as quick as possible, I saw brother Fred just making his way up, he is generally a far better runner than me but I can beat him on the cycle so the plan was to keep in front of him hah! It went through my head at this point –where is brother Michael?? I also saw Les at this point who had started his wave later than us for the shorter distance, he looked absolutely elated – why? Because he had managed to do the kayaking without capsizing – it had been his main worry for the months leading up to the event. Anyway, no time to ponder, back to the bike for the next tough section 17km cycle back to the finish. We

were at first directed to another off-road section but at least this bit you could cycle it with care, back onto a main road, just thinking this is ok, when yes, you remember it is an adventure race and we are pointed up another brutal climb! Again, I tried to cycle up as far as I could but had to give in and push to the summit. Reaching the top, it was very foggy and drizzly but once on the decent it cleared. The decent was fantastic and I once again managed to overtake people including three ladies who had passed me previously. The finish was now in sight and after racking the bike and a final run over the finish line it was over... I felt great! Les had already finished his event and was really happy with his time, he finished 4th overall in the Super Vet category. We waited for my brothers and about 45mins later brother Fred came over the line, we waited and waited no sign still of brother Michael.

I went off to the prize giving whilst Fred waited to see where Michal was. I was delighted to hear I had won 1st Female super vet and was also 10th female overall in the race, all the hard work and training was worth it. We got back to the hotel which was just across the road from the stadium to find out that Michael was actually in A & E after cycling into the back of a car that had braked suddenly in front of him whilst he was taking a drink! After stitches to his eye and a lovely bruised face he was fine, but we didn’t expect to be at A&E instead of being in the Guinness Factory. Adventure racing is great fun, it makes such a change from just running and there is no real pressure on you to do a speedy run, great as you get older! It’s much more of a level playing field with people being better at some disciplines than others. I would recommend anyone to have a go at one, I can guarantee you would enjoy it – in a sadistic sort of way!

Liz Hird 9

61 87

Resevoir Roundabout I hadn’t done this event for some time and knowing that they had changed the course and the long range forecast was good, I decided I would give it a another go. The event takes place around the lakes at Elan Valley in Mid Wales, but isn’t to be confused with the Round the Lakes Road Race held in March as a warm up to London. This event is run by the Long Distance Walkers Association and it is an off road challenge open to runners and walkers alike. The last forecast was for fog and low cloud and after picking up Maria Spurling and Sarah Hayward, we hadn’t gone far when we hit the dense fog and began to think we weren’t even going to make the 9 am start. Fortunately it cleared and we arrived at the visitor centre below the Caban Coch Dam with plenty of time in hand. From the start we went round the back of the Valve House and immediately on to the steps to climb to the top of the dam. From there we followed the water’s edge before turning up a side valley to a footbridge and checkpoint number one. It was then along a footpath past the small derelict dam, apparently used by the Dambusters for practice in the war. We then continued towards Claerwen Dam along a very rough and wet track used by off roading vehicles, where we were passed by a dozen motorbikes, it was rewarding to us when one broke down and several got stuck. As we approached the dam, we made the mistake of following someone we thought knew the best way, he led us to a ford which was much deeper than expected and freezing cold. We had climbed up the side of the dam before we had warmed up again. After about 200 yards we turned and took a bee line across the moor, where paths are virtually non existent and the going became typical Welsh moorland tussocks and bog. This has never been my favourite terrain, but it has to be done and is, they say, “good for the soul”! It was a beautiful descent overlooking Garreg-Ddu Reservoir to checkpoint five and the first food stop where hot dogs were the order of the day;“Yum Yum”. We then followed the footpath along the length of the lake, passing through a beautiful wooded beech glade where Sarah commented; “I can just imagine the Tellytubbies coming over the hill” - I must admit that thought had not crossed my mind. As we approached Penygarreg the temperature dropped a few degrees, being cooled by the water cascading down the front of the Dam. The path then climbed up alongside the dam going very close to the cascade, - mesmerizing! We could have stopped for longer but admiring views never gets you to the finish! From there we followed a steady incline of about a mile to the top of Craig Goch, the last Dam, for tea and cake and spectacular views. From here we turned once again on to the open moorland to head for an old Roman encampment, it turned out to be just a grassy bank, I doubt Romans had ever been there. Turning due south we headed over the moorland for about three miles, passing the Crugyn Trig Point at 533 metres before descending steeply to the rear of the water works and the finish. We then collected our certificates, shared some recovery time and refreshments with our new found friends who had been with us most of the route. A superb day, this to me is what running is all about. Alan Morris

Once upon a time... many years ago we three girls were sat at a child’s birthday party discussing the value of exercise. Sarah had been a shuffler since beginners the previous April and suggested we join her, “It’ll be a laugh” she said! So one wet January Monday evening we joined the walk jog group. The trio adventure began that January evening four years ago. Claire and Kelly signed up. In September together with Sarah we all ran the shufflers 10k, this was the start of our crazy running adventures. We progressed to improvers where we found that running and talking was the perfect combination, we all mastered this so well with the expert help of Gill, sometimes Gill would happily talk whilst we remembered to breath. We took up track every Thursday, which was mostly a chore, however we liked the fact we were always at the front of the group; what with it being a circle. We would laugh that one day we would make the fast group, we often joked with Richard about this. We talked about running races but the prospect was too scary to go any further but eventually we braved our first races individually ranging from 10k to half marathons on road and trail. We soon realised the bling was quite lovely too and this became our focus. Sarah became competitive with Darren for the quest for the best, biggest and most bling, to date Sarah still wins! Today we still run strong together, we love all the different people that have come into our lives through Shufflers; the cake making and eating, going to the different social events, supporting all the Charity events, taking crazy selfies with Mandy and gang.

Running together has become our way of life, and the greatest of friendships have formed from this, including so many more people than just the three of us. The coaches are amazing and have offered so much support and encouragement; Gill and Tony have become our running mum and dad and Dave Webb the thoughtful uncle, always making sure they take the time to tell us how proud they are of all that we have achieved. They believe in us more than we believe in ourselves. Running has also become a way for others to show their affection, Darren suggested that he and Sarah could run London marathon together to celebrate 10 years of marriage, luckily for Darren, Sarah did not secure a place. Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would be in the running for a Shufflers award. The awards evening was spent winding up Darren about the possibility of securing a place in the London marathon which he successfully did much to our amusement. We couldn’t have been more pleased to win the award from Gill and Tony; our running parents. The award was quite fitting, as it proves you don’t have to be an elite runner to gain recognition even if it was given for puddle jumping, gossiping, having fun and generally being silly which sums us up nicely.

Claire Bilgic Kelly Booth Sarah Hall

WHO’S WHO? We have randomly chosen a shuffler from our large membership, who will then in turn nominate another shuffler and so the chain begins…

Name: Sam Ostermeyer Age: 31 Occupation: Primary School Teacher at Oakmeadow, Bayston Hill

What made you join Shufflers? Motivation to get back to a good level of running having been injured for a good year, and never getting back to it. Came across the large group of Hi-Viz people one night by the park and found out who they were! What was your favourite run or race? ‘Hell Up North’ in Delamere Forest back in 2009. Really horrible weather, and a cold ‘Bog of Doom’, but came 65 out of 1500 odd which was great. Last year’s Snowdonia Half in Llanrwst was also beautiful, despite the endless rain. I came 24th. (Seem to enjoy races I perceive myself to do well in!) What has been your biggest achievement in running? Back as a youth, I was Staffordshire County and District hurdles champion (taught myself at school with two old wooden hurdles!). I also broke my high school record by 2.5 seconds. Nowadays it’s making it out three times a week with a young daughter - and a very understanding wife... What are your future goals and aspiration? I am doing Wrexham 20 in March with the hope of pushing on to do my first marathon, possibly Chester in October. Would love to do the Snowdonia marathon one day. What’s your favourite running song? Not a song as such, but music wise when running, I like fast music such as trance. Simon Patterson Essential Mix has had many a play during half marathons. What’s your best bit of kit? Asics Gel DS trainers. Used to suffer from knee problems, but since switching to them this has disappeared. On my 5th pair now What’s your favourite post-run food or drink? Anything. Usually a protein shake after a long run. Pizza and a beer? If you could race anywhere in the world, and money was no object, where would you go? My sister works for Facebook in Sydney, so would probably do the coastal route there. Would also love to visit the Himalayas, although probably not a lot of running going on there. If you could run alongside anyone dead or alive, who would you choose? Mo Farah is a huge inspiration to me, and has me on my feet during the Olympics. Would love to try and keep up for one mile!

Nominate the next Shuffler to be interviewed and your reason why: Amy Doyle - I have seen her extensive medal collection and would be interested to know which of them she classes as her favourite race :) 13

Shufflers on Tour...

Are we the only Shufflers? Turns out not, there are other ‘shufflers’ out there and here’s some information about them. So if you found yourself near their patch and see a fellow shuffler, say hello or give them a wave – one shuffler to another!

Sheen Shufflers South West London

Sheen Shufflers started in 1986 by our two founders, myself and a lady called Georgina. We decided to form our own small social running group and didn’t want the words; Athletic Club, Harriers or Running Club in the name and Shufflers went so well with Sheen (a part of South West London), we plumped for that. And because we do most of our running in Richmond Park, where deer run freely, we took our logo as a deer’s head (white on a royal blue top). Initially our numbers stayed really low...5, 6, 7 on a running night, but we joined the Thames Valley Cross Country League (three years after our inception) and our numbers suddenly went up. We now have about 100 members, and we run on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings (as well as Monday and Wednesday evenings!). In 2014 we started our junior section which meet eight months of the year on a local running track - this has mushroomed to the extent that we have six coaches and still can’t cope (a waiting list is to be implemented). We have three main races that we target each year....Grizzly in March in Devon, Transbaie in Normandy, France (as its tidal this is a moveable feast - this year in May) and The Wedding Day 7K on the last Friday evening in July. Wishing your club all the best. Bob www.sheenshufflers.co.uk 16

Horsley Shufflers South West London

The Horsley Shufflers are a community running group, we are not actually an official running club and don’t charge any membership fees. Having said that the group is growing and gathering momentum with new runners turning up each week. Our story is... a guy named Geoff McDonald had entered the Royal Parks Half Marathon in 2011 and put a poster in the village cafe window, looking for training partners. Three runners turned up and we did a road run every Saturday morning for 3 months leading up to the race. Geoff did his half-marathon and got injured and two of us from the group kept running. We always start from the village cafe and have coffee afterwards. Slowly the group started to expand and we now have a database of around 90 local runners. We mainly run off-road routes of between 10-12k and we email a map of the route out two days prior to the Saturday run. We also do a shorter village run on a Tuesday evening. We have a website, facebook page, club t-shirts and arrange a couple of social events each year. Races we enter are The Surrey Half Marathon, The Box Hill Fell Race, The Denbies 10 and the Hog’s Back race. It’s a great community story which has featured in the local surrey news and we have also been nominated for a community award. Jane www.horsleyshufflers.co.uk

Woodbridge Shufflers Suffolk

The Woodbridge Shufflers is a small, friendly, running club formed in 1980 and currently has approximately 100 members catering for runners, joggers and even shufflers! We welcome male and female runners over the age of 18 of all standards for short or long runs and running training in a friendly club atmosphere. Our Club Runs are on Tuesday evenings and Sunday mornings.

Singapore Shufflers Founded in May 2008 with currently around 2,256 runners. Sadly no further information available apart their evening training sessions cater for those runners that run 5k between 15:00 and 28:00 minutes. www.meetup.com/shufflers

The club hosts two events a year: the Woodbridge Round the Town Charity 10km road race in May and a Cross Country event (forming part of the Suffolk Cross Country Winter League) in December. www.woodbridgeshufflers.org.uk

Chris Purcell 17

lift Give yourself a We all know that running is good for your physical health. There is evidence to suggest that its also beneficial for your mental wellbeing. So much so that England Athletics recently ran a ‘run and talk’ initiative and are actively looking for mental health ambassadors. Take a look at www.englandathletics.org to find out more.

“

We often talk about the mind and body as though they are completely separate – but they aren’t. The mind can’t function unless your body is working properly – but it also works the other way. The state of your mind affects your body. The Royal College of Psychiatrists

Why bother with exercise? To work properly, your body needs regular exercise - and most of us feel good when we are active. Until the last 100 years or so, you had to be quite active to just live your everyday life. Now, in modern Western societies, so much of what we used to do is done by machines. We drive cars, so we walk less, vacuum cleaners make cleaning easy, and washing is done by a machine. At work we may not even have to move around in the office - it’s enough to sit at the computer. It doesn’t help that modern high-energy foods make us put on too much weight – or that, (in the West at least), food has never been cheaper or easier to buy.’

You feel tired or depressed You do even less and miss out on things you enjoy

So you do less

So you feel more tired or depressed

What happens if you don’t do very much?

Some people can get away with doing very little and live to a ripe old age – but most of us can’t. Broadly speaking, the less you do, the more likely you are to end up with: low mood / depression tension and worry If you keep active, you are: less likely to be depressed, anxious or tense more likely to feel good about yourself more likely to concentrate and focus better more likely to sleep better more likely to cope with cravings and withdrawal symptoms if you try to give up a habit, such as smoking or alcohol more likely to be able to keep mobile and independent as you get older

So don’t worry about not doing enough...

possibly less likely to have problems with memory and dementia

...get started by building a bit more physical activity into your daily life now. Even a small change can boost your morale, give you a sense of achievement and help you to feel better in yourself.’ Find out more at: www.rcpsych.ac.uk To a degree, we are preaching to the converted here, but it’s worth remembering, especially when you are injured or recovering from injury to get those trainers on as soon as possible even if you don’t particularly feel that way inclined. We can all think of examples where exercise has helped lift a mood. The most touching story I’ve heard was given by Francesca H in her four by 40 presentation at this years AGM. GE 18

Coaches Corner In this edition of the shuffler I thought I would give a brief explanation of the reasons for the way in which we train in this fantastic club. Primarily our club is a fun running club, a training club, where, hopefully we all enjoy the sessions we have, we do not train you for specific events, for that you have to go out yourselves and do the long runs necessary. So although the training is not event specific it does give you a general fitness which then enables you to go on to do your longer runs. We practice interval training, sometimes giving you efforts and slower runs to recover. The efforts should be slightly above your race pace, this will then improve your lactate threshold (sometimes referred to as threshold or tempo training), which is your ability to utilise energy more efficiently. It will also improve your ability to absorb more oxygen which is used by the energy cells to produce the energy for muscle movement. We also provide some slightly longer runs and if that pace is slightly less than your race pace this will encourage the body to burn fat reserves rather than the glycogen stored for immediate energy release. To encourage this fat burning process this is where you need to do your own long slow runs as we do not have the time in an hour to do more than introduce you to the running training referred to above. You need to train your body to burn your fat reserves on long races, especially half and marathon races and so you need to deal with this in the weeks before you race with long slow runs. At the end of each run you will need to cool down fully, a very steady five to ten min jog will do with static stretches. This is only a brief explanation of why and how we train. I would always suggest you try track sessions as well as Monday and Wednesday sessions, track sessions really help with speed endurance and cater for most abilities. Tony Welsby 19

EMMA’S EATS! Chunky Tomato Beef Soup Ingredients 1 lb. steak or good mince 1 Tbsp. oil 1 onion, diced 1 carrot, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 litre reduced-sodium beef stock, if not just stock 2 cans (14 oz. each) diced tomatoes, undrained 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce ½ tsp. dried thyme 200g cup elbow or mini macaroni ¼ tsp. salt ¼ tsp. ground black pepper

Meaty and filling without being overly rich, this soup is ideal after a tough run when you need to refuel but don’t want to feel weighed down. Makes 6 servings.

Instructions Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the mince and cook for 3 minutes or until no longer pink. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Add the oil, onion, and carrot to the pot. Cook for 4 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds longer. Add the stock, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, beef, and thyme. Raise heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Add the pasta. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 8 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Add the salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan.

2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan

GROUP APPS

Garmin Connect Just to let everyone know; if you use a Garmin watch there’s a Shropshire Shufflers Group on Garmin Connect – which you can search for via the Groups tab on the main menu.

Here is the first in a series of recipes aimed at supporting runners on longer training runs. Each edition Emma Sheekey will try out different recipes for pre-running food, food on the go and post running recovery food. Here she tries out two post run soups which can also be frozen.

Sweet Potato Chicken Soup Ingredients 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 1 sweet onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 700ml cups reduced-sodium chicken stock, if not just stock 1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained 1 can (15 oz.) cannellini beans, drained 1 tsp. smoked paprika 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½” cubes 250g shredded cooked chicken ¼ tsp. salt ¼ tsp. ground black pepper 2 tbsp. chopped parsley

For gluten-free runners, sweet spuds offer energising carbs. This quick stew gets its deep flavour from smoked paprika, making it taste like it simmered for hours. For vegetarians substitute the chicken for Quorn. Makes 4 servings.

Instructions In a large pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook for 3 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in the stock, tomatoes, beans, and paprika. Raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Add sweet potatoes, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Take out 1 cup of the soup and puree in a blender, then return to the pan. Add chicken and simmer until heated. Add the salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with parsley.

Strava Also we have a group on running Strava (running app & website connecting millions of runners & cyclists worldwide) which you can search for via the Explore menu. So why not join and see where other Shufflers are running. (and how well they are doing too!)

Injury Proof Your Running Body You’ve trained hard through the dark cold winter months, now you’re in the shape of your life ready for the big day. Then disaster... you pick up an injury and miss the final weeks of preparation or even worse race day. If this sounds familiar to you you’re not alone, up to 80% of runners get injured throughout the year. If you want to be the 20% that stay injury free then keep reading. It only takes 15 minutes of injury prevention training four times a week to dramatically decrease your risk of getting injured. Here’s what you need to include in your training program:

STRENGTH TRAINING

BALANCE AND PROPRICEPTION TRAINING

It’s important to have some sort of resistance or strength training in your routine. Running uses the same muscles over and over again, so you need to train the opposite muscles to keep your body balanced.

This type of training is very important for knee and ankle stability. A simple way to start is by standing on one leg and balancing for one minute, then close your eyes to change from balance to proprioception. To progress this you can add movement, a great exercise for this is the single leg deadlift. Another brilliant way to train your balance and proprioception is using a balance board. You’ll feel all the stabilising muscles in your legs and hips working to try and keep you upright... so get on that board and wobble away!

There’s loads of exercises out there that are great to strengthen your running body, here’s a few of my favourites that you can add to your routine. Side plank leg raises

MOBILITY We need a certain amount of mobility for good running form, the most important areas to keep mobile are the hips and ankles.

Marching bridge Mountain climbers Scorpion fighter Lunge matrix Check out my website for descriptions of the above exercises www.jb-sportstherapy.co.uk Once you have built-up a sufficient amount of strength you can move on to plyometrics. However you want to be careful with this type of training, it’s recommended to have guidance from a professional to progress safely from low to high intensity levels.

To get good hip drive when running you need hip extension. When sitting down for long periods of time (which a lot of us have to do these days) the opposing muscles will tighten-up, which are your hip flexors. Here’s a great mobility drill for your hip flexors: Another area that often gets tight and restricted are your ankles, if you don’t have enough dorsiflexion then you will end up compensating higher up, which again will affect your running form and leave you more prone to injury. Here are a couple of simple but effective mobility drills to keep your ankles moving: For best results try doing these mobility drills for at least two minutes in total, repeating a sequence of holding for five seconds then relaxing.

I hope you’ve found this article useful, if you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Happy Running! Joe Brocklehurst Sports Therapist BSc www.jb-sportstherapy.co.uk | info@jb-sportstherapy.co.uk | 07532012188

JB Sports Therapy aims to keep you moving forward 20% DISCOUNT FOR SHROPSHIRE SHUFFLER MEMBERS 22

Shuffler Coaches List With an ever increasing membership; currently standing around 500 members, the Shropshire Shufflers would be nothing without our fabulous coaching team. These hardy souls brave all weathers, so that our members have groups that cater for all abilities. Both at the Monday training sessions and from the faster improvers upwards on the Wednesday training sessions, and the formal coached track sessions on a Thursday. All our coaches are volunteers and spend a good amount of their own time planning and test-running the routes; and I know they do love to have thanks and feedback on their sessions, and rightly so! We Shufflers are very lucky in that we have both male and female coaches with varying levels of experience, ages, speeds, and coaching techniques. The perfect mix! Here is a list of our current coaches: Tony Welsby

Andy Prosser

Gill Welsby

Andy is coming back from long term injury

Carol Beard

Martin Ottey

Paul Williams

Carol currently is only involved in the beginners

Martin currently takes only the beginners group and track

Norman Titley

Sharon Williams

Sue Ottey

Ed Morris

Glenn Francke

Richard Paddock

Ed is coming back from injury and

Geoff Black

Alex Rankin

Wendy Taylor

Mathew Whalley

Lee Pearce

Richard is currently injured

Liz Herd Chris Davies

Chris is currently injured

Graham Evans Graham currently takes only the beginners group

Chris Wood

Mathew is currently injured

Mark Perez John Milner Bill Cork

recently only the beginners group

Paul Smith

Dave Webb

Ian Richards

Eileen Williams

Annabel Hodgson

Richard Bishop

Ian Ford

Lin Osbourne

Helen Richardson Crook

Lin is currently injured

Dave Perry

Dave is currently injured

Mike Morley

Emma Humphries

On behalf of the Shufflers membership...

A HUGE THANK YOU!

Amy Doyle Kevin Heade 23

Ebrey Farm It seemed like a good idea early in 2016 to volunteer to host one of the club’s summer alternative runs from the farm, until that is I received the news on 5th May that I had been diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. Fortunately, by then most of the preparations for the event on 3rd August had been arranged – marquee, bar and barbecue booked, balloon decorations agreed and most importantly the portaloos ordered! I had been collecting raffle prizes over the past few months but there still remained the routes and group leaders to be sorted. In stepped John Milner (and what a star he was!!). A couple of the routes used were variations of previously devised Coffee and Cake runs, but John organised additional ones, as well as printing directions for those runners not wishing to join a led group and a very efficient runners booking out and in system. We had a record attendance of 118 runners as well as some partners and children. It was an overcast and windy evening but nothing deters runners especially where cake is involved. The cake tables were bulging with sweet temptations and sincere thanks must be given to a merry bunch of Shuffler bakers. My enthusiastic young team of raffle ticket sellers exceeded expectations with the money raised from their efforts and a very special thank you must go to Connie Ivos, who on her own initiative, organised a sponsored walk prior to 3rd August which raised any amazing £341. This 24

swelled the total on the evening to a staggering £1233.60. The money raised went to two charities very close to my heart. Locally, Lingen Davies Cancer Fund based at The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital which is a charity committed to improving cancer services for cancer patients in Shropshire and mid Wales. Over the years the charity has raised and invested millions of pounds to improve the facilities for local cancer patients. The second charity; Marie Curie provides care and support for those people with terminal illnesses and their families. For over 65 years the charity has been carrying out this vital work. Last year alone caring for over 40,000 people UK wide. Personally I feel the event was a great success due to the fantastic generosity shown by the Shufflers and also those who gave their time to bake, help with the marquee preparations, sell cake and raffle tickets, book runners out and in (special thanks to Stacey and Sarah), lead a group or gave their support in any other capacity. I must confess it was hard work but worthwhile to see how enjoyable an evening it turned out to be. Everyone involved should be very proud that they contributed to raising such an amazing amount of money. Will I do it again this year? I suppose I may just decide to do so! Gail Clayton

You’re invited to take part in the 7th

SHUFFLERS COASTAL CANTER on Saturday 29th July 2017 ROUTE The Plan this year is to return to the west coast of Anglesey and run the section of the Coast Path taking in the spectacular scenery of South and North Stack which at this time of year should be teeming with sea birds including guillemots, razorbills and puffins. There will be starting points at Rhosneigr 26 miles for the tough guys, Four mile Bridge 19miles for mere mortals and Treaddur Bay 10miles for walkers and South Stack 5miles for a lazy day. Also, due to the twisting nature of the coastline here it is not difficult to do more or less than those above. All routes finish at Breakwater Country Park near Holyhead. For full details of the route go to www.visitanglesey.co.uk and click on coastal path where you should find a map and written instructions. Not even a Shuffler should get lost, just keep the sea on your left. There will be a delicious two course meal at the finish and as much tea and coffee as you like included in the price. Bring your own cold drinks or, patronise the shop at the finish.

SUPPORT Once on the run you are entirely responsible for yourself. There are lots of cafes and ice cream shops on the way.

EQUIPMENT Apart from any food and drink you may require on the run you should also be prepared for any weather conditions be it hot, cold, wet, dry, or draughty and have some first aid, just in case. Will issue contact phone number in due course.

TIMING Leave Shrewsbury 7:00am and leave for home at about 5:30pm to be back in Shrewsbury by 8:00pm We will have a short stop at Bangor on the way and be running by 10:00am. We should aim to be finished no later than 4:00pm. Food will be served from 3:00pm onwards.

GUESTS You may bring guests if you wish.

COST The cost this year will be no more than £30 per person. Coach travel, meal, and fantastic route all for no more than Shrewsbury half marathon Bargain! The trail marathon over a similar route costs in excess of £50 without transport or food.

BOOKING Let me know if you are interested and that you want to come asap by Tel. 01952 770321, e-mail morris@southolme.freeserve.co.uk or on club nights. I haven’t got it all sorted out yet but I would like to know the interest.

This is a great opportunity to try trail running with like minded fellow Shufflers.

Attingham Park Relays The very popular Attingham Park relays return for a 4th year on Thursday 18th May 2017 at 7.30pm. Enter a team in this year’s Relays at: www.stuweb.co.uk/events/2017/05/18/2528

Race Information:

Entries & Awards Categories:

It is a relay race for teams of three runners, each of whom will have to run a two mile loop (with chip timing) around the beautiful grounds of Attingham Park. When you have finished, refreshments will available.

Men’s team

Mixed Junior team

Women’s team

Fastest Male

Fastest Junior Male

Fastest Female

Mixed gender team

Fastest Junior Female

Community team

Plus SPOT PRIZES too

Start Time: 19:30 Location: Attingham Park, Atcham, SY4 4TP

Additional Information: Teams can only be eligible for one category. All runners must be aged 15 or over on race day. Runners are not permitted to complete more than one leg or enter in more than one team. Changes to teams or running order are permitted online. However all team registrations and changes must be submitted before 7pm on race day. Running order must be as kept accurate on the night as chipped numbers will be registered to individuals, not teams. All athletes aged 17 and under on the day of the race are considered “Juniors” for team and award purposes. Mixed teams may consist of either 1 male and 2 female runners or 2 male and 1 female runner. All runners in a Mixed Junior team must be aged 17 and under on the day. Junior runners may run in senior teams. Community teams may consist of members from the same place of work, non-running club, family or friends, but must not contain more than one affiliated runner or member of a running/athletic club. Mixed gender teams are permitted. IMPORTANT: when entering a community team please put COMMUNITY in front of your team name. If one or more of your team is unaffiliated you must enter the whole team as unaffiliated. 26