March not only heralds the start of spring, but is also an important time in the running calendar. The club cross country season is over (see our report on the National cross country race held recently in Leeds), and many runners are now concentrating on training for road races, including The London Marathon and numerous other half and full marathons around the UK. Good luck to all of you who are stepping up the training towards these.

Of course, the race listings calendar is full of races of all types of terrain, so if you enjoy running off-road all is not lost! In this issue we have included a few tips on coping with long distance training runs during marathon training and also have an article on different approaches to route measurement to help you accurately measure your runs. Lets hope the weather continues to improve and we can finally enjoy putting on those trainers and experiencing the great outside!

Louise at GRG
www.GoodRunGuide.co.uk

Measuring Routes

How far did you run today? Unfortunately this question is not as easy to answer as it might seem. However we all measure our runs, it is virtually impossible get a precise measurement. All measurement systems have an inherent level of inaccuracy and none can measure the exact line that a runner took around a route. So, how accurate can we expect to be?

We looked at several popular methods for measuring routes and compared general levels of accuracy.

1.Jones Counter

This is the benchmark for accurate measurement of running routes and is the method used to certify the accuracy of many UK and International races. A Jones Counter is a small device attached to a bicycle wheel that measures distance by counting the revolutions, or partial revolutions, of the wheel. It is not something that can be used by an everyday runner but achieves accuracy levels of +/- 0.1%. Obviously if you deviate from the measured line, the distance you run will differ from the route measurement.

2.Online Route Mapping

We tested the accuracy of the Good Run Guide Route Measurer by measuring four laps of a 400m athletics track using the satellite map view (see picture above) and repeated the exercise 20 times. The measurements ranged from 1598.344m to 1603.518m, all within 0.22% of the correct distance. The vast majority were within 0.1% of the correct distance, although accuracy levels do depend a lot on plotting points in the right place!

3.GPS Devices

We repeated the same athletics track test with two popular running GPS devices. The test was carried out on two different open air athletics tracks, each with a clear view of the sky giving a good GPS signal. Two runners recorded 20 separate measurements of a 1600m route by running four 400m laps of the track. The measurements ranged from 1571.693m to 1734.660m. The maximum innaccuracy was 8.4% but the majority of measurements were within 4% of the correct distance. These tests were conducted with good GPS reception, so in areas where GPS signals are obscured or reflected from buildings, additional inaccuracies could be introduced if satellite signals are delayed or prevented from reaching the device.

4.Pedometers

Pedometers estimate how far you’ve run by counting your steps and using an average stride length. While they can give a guide to how far you are running, high levels of inaccuracy are not uncommon; Ghent University carried out a study on 1000 pedometers and found that most were inaccurate. Three in four were over 10% inaccurate, one in three were more than 50% inaccurate.

5.Footpods

Footpods are small devices worn in or around the running shoe that measure distance by detecting the motion of your foot. They are also not dependent on satellite signals so can be used anywhere. We haven't tested these oursevles but manufacturers claim accuracy levels of around 1% to 2% after calibration.

Summary

No method of measuring routes is perfect. As a guide, the following table shows indicative levels of accuracy using different methods. However, as it is almost impossible to measure the exact route you actually took, we recommend you always allow for a potential error factor of at least 0.5% regardless of which method you use.

This is an abridged version of our article on Measuring Routes, the full version of which is available on the Good Run Guide website.

Marathon Training

The winter is drawing to a close, the evenings are getting lighter and going out running generally seems much more attractive, which is just as well as many of us are contemplating some serious training towards various spring Half Marathons and Full Marathons.

Those long training runs during the next few weeks may seem very daunting, but you don't have to run the same old route again and again. To add interest, why not try out a new route from our database of over 800 recommended running routes across the UK. You can search by location, terrain, length of run and hilliness to find a route that suits your training schedule, and remember that you can always repeat a shorter route to achieve your distance (our main GRG routes are chosen with scenery and interest in mind so you shouldn't get bored doing this!).

Of course, another way to combat boredom on those long runs is to run with others.  Many clubs have long run training groups so this can be worth while investigating.  Alternatively, many runners enjoy listening to music. Have a look at the Forum Topic ‘Music for Running To’ for Members’ advice on music choice, but remember to take great care and not to have the music so loud to block out attention to safety. Also, many races now ban runners from listening to music for safety reasons so bear this in mind.  There is also a very interesting Forum Topic on Long Run Nutrition, so if you need some advice then have a look and please join in if you have something else to add.

Members' Challenges

Good Run Guide Member Paul Clifford from Barnsley is planning to run the Sheffield Half Marathon in April in order to raise some much needed sponsorship for Isabella Ramsbottom. Paul started running seriously just over 12 months ago. During the last year he has completed a number of 10k races but this is his first attempt at a half marathon. He is enjoying the challenge and if he can successfully get through this distance he may even consider a marathon next!Any donations to the fundraising would be greatly appreciated. A PayPal facility is available through the webste at www.IsabellaIvy.co.uk or pledges can be made at the Isabella Ivy Sheffield Half Marathon facebook group.

If you have a story of a personal challenge that you would like us to consider for a future issue, please let us know.

English Nationals Report

The Nationals is the final event in the official English Cross Country year, and at this year's event, which was held at Roundhay Park in Leeds, there were a total of nearly 600 club runners in the Senior Womens event and 1500 in the Mens. There is no qualifying time to join in this event, but you do need to be a member of an official club based in England. Of course, there are similar events held for Welsh and Scottish clubs.

The course was predictably heavy going from the start of the day and by the time the junior races had cut it up further, it provided a truly tough test. The undulating course features the infamous 'Hill 60', a strength sapping supposedly 60 degree steep climb, to be negotiated at the end of each lap. Watching the Women's race it was clear Stephanie Twell was over her dip in form, experienced at the European Cross, as she ran serenely away from the field on the second lap, unperturbed by the deep mud or the hills, to claim the title of English National Champion. A little further back I spotted GRG Member and Ranelagh Harrier Marie Synnott-Wells having a great run to finish 118th and Louise from GRG working nicely through the field into the top 300. The first lady home was indeed Stephanie Twell of Aldershot F & D and the leading club was Charnwood AC.

The start of the Mens National is an event in itself. You line up in single file in predicted finishing order so that made me 5th amongst my 10 Ranelagh Harriers club mates. The gun goes and its a sprint to the first corner to avoid the bottle neck as 1500 club runners funnel down from 200 abreast to about 10. Of course there is some inevitable slowing down and pushing and shoving at this point, but after a mile or so the race settles down and you can start to run your own race. Apparently I was running very near GRG Member Peter Hutchinson but never saw him such is the density (and intensity) of the race. Personally I had a good run, losing a few places each lap on Hill 60, but generally in credit to finish just outside the top 500. First place went to Andy Vernon of Aldershot F & D and the leading club was Aldershot F & D.

Race report by Andy Bickerstaff

If you would like to write a race report for us to consider for a future issue of the Newsletter, please let us know.

League Talk

If you ran cross country last month, it is unlikely you will have improved your age graded percentage, as the underfoot conditions have been extremely difficult. Therefore, unsurprisingly, there has been little change in league positions this month. We look forward to seeing any changes in the forthcoming, drier, off-road and on-road conditions.

Last month's league winners are listed in the panel on the right - congratulations to them and everyone else who improved their league positions during the month.

Sport Relief Mile

If you want to raise some money for Sport Relief and at the same time perhaps encourage other family members to experience the ‘joys of running’, why not take part in the Sport Relief Mile events that take place on the 21st March, at venues all over the UK?

You can choose between 1 mile, 3 mile and 6 mile distances, which are usually laps of the same course. These events are non-competitive and without timing so you don’t need to think of it as a race (but there’s nothing stopping you timing yourself if you want!). Most importantly, however, there is always a wonderful fun atmosphere, with families running together and lots of children of all ages taking part. So, it’s a great way to encourage others to jog along with you and experience the achievement of running a set distance and raising some sponsorship for a good cause at the same time. You never know, you may encourage a future champion to take up running!

back to top

Site News

Over the last month we've continued to introduce enhancements across different areas of the site. The main changes have been:

• terrain logging - to track and analyse runs by type of terrain
  
  
• auto hill profiles - now automatically generated when you save a mapped route
  
  
• new activity summary page - bringing together all relevant information about a run or other logged activity
  
  
• new member leagues - Fastest Runner (10K Equivalent)
  
  
• race route sharing - facility for members to share race routes with each other

Looking ahead, we are currently developing a new Route Viewer tool, which will provide both 2D and 3D views of any route on the site. The new tool integrates the route's map, hill profile and directions so that you can see all the relevant information for any point along the route in one place. This should be ready for implementation very shortly.

A few people have suggested a couple of extra terrain types to add to the list of options when logging a run: Track and Treadmill. We can just about squeeze two more into the Graph Tool so will add both of these during the next month too.

As always, if you have any feedback about changes to the site or have a suggestion you would like to put forward, please let us know.

back to top