Another successful graduation!

Well done to all those who graduated the latest couch to 5K course. I have added a news item to the Abingdon Athletics Club website.

Be inspired! From C25K to a half marathon in 14 months

Abingdon Athletics Club | From C25K to a half marathon in 14 months

Week 6 round up

Well the couch to 5K groups have just completed week six of the program and things are looking good. Everyone is progressing really well and it is lovely to see the smiles of achievement and the end of the session.

parkrun

The Saturday group is now approaching the point where we will be doing the full two lap course. Therefore it is time for you all to sign up, if you haven't already.
parkrun is international and free to all, you just need to create an athlete account and print your barcode. It's easy to do.
With your barcode you will be able to get a time for the 5K (we'll be doing run/walk but it still counts!).

Just visit the parkrun registration page to get yourself your athlete barcode - http://www.parkrun.org.uk/register/

Don't forget to check out the Abingdon parkrun photos page. You might find yourself in there somewhere.

Advice and guidance for new runners

I have collected together a few links to online help for runners, especially one's just getting started. The websites cover things such as injury prevention advice, strength training and stretching.

• Run School
• Kinetic Revolution
• Run Competitor

Don't forget you will also find info on the Abingdon Athletics Club website.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the next session, providing I can still walk after Sunday's marathon!

Information for runners!

Below is a link to the latest information for runners who have signed up for our new couch-to-5k courses.

The document includes the times for the sessions as well as what you will be doing for each session.

Course information

New couch to 5K course starting in September 2016

The popular couch to 5K course is starting again in September. Sessions are on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings: people can come to either or both. First sessions are Tuesday 13th and Saturday 17th September and the course is 12 weeks.

Entries are now closed and emails with details will be sent out soon. There are always dropouts, so email us near the end of September if you would like to take a place that's freed up.

Note: Our run leaders are insured for children 12 and over. Younger children are welcome to join the course but they must stay with their parent or guardian.

Couch to 5K graduates going the distance

Former couch to 5K graduates are training for their first 10K at the Town and Gown in May.
Fran Long, and others, are in training after completing the AAC couch to 5K programme.

Fran said "Running has had a big impact on our lives and we have posted our individual stories on a dedicated Facebook page to encourage others as we aim to hopefully also raise lots of money for Muscular Dystrophy UK in the process."

After being inspired by the 5K programme and then running subsequent parkruns, the groups have decided to step up.

"We love taking part in the weekly parkrun and have found everyone to be so encouraging and friendly. Saturday mornings wouldn't be the same without it! Thank you for all the work behind the scenes to make it happen."

This is fabulous news and very encouraging to those of us who lead the groups. We hope that it will also encourage people who may be thinking of giving it a go themselves.

We wish Fran and the rest of team AbFab all the best for the race and hope they all have fun!

Visit their Facebook page and fundraising page to read more.

Victory lap

Ok so we are approaching week 4 of the couch to 5K programme and everyone is doing really well. This week we'll do a full lap of the main parkrun course.

Don't let that worry you though, it is much prettier than what we've been doing so far and the distance is the same. It will take us along the river to a large meadow that we'll circle and then we'll come back along the track to Kingfisher Barns and back onto the road.

It is likely to be muddy so don't wear your favourite trainers, although they will clean up quite well (but don't out them in the washing machine!).

It will be good to get a feel for the course that you will be running in full in coming weeks. I'll post information about signing up to parkrun in a future blog (it's free but will mean that once we start running the full course you'll get your times).

Week 4 Run 3mins walk 90secs / Run 5mins walk 2mins. Repeat twice (23 mins)

Stretching

For those of you who would like to have a reference for some of the stretches we do, below is a link to the NHS couch to 5k programme information about stretching. I've also added a few more links for great stretching for backs and other problem areas as well as great exercises to keep you strong.
As you can see, we don't just make this stuff up!

• http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/how-to-stretch-after-a-run.aspx
• Runners World stretches (including lower back)
• Six best exercises for new runners

There are literally thousands of pages on the internet with great workouts and stretches for runners. Look for ones from trusted sources like Runners World (and other publications) or those from medical websites (NHS and some private clinics). The best ones include videos that will help make sure you are doing it right. I'll add more links as I find them.

The first two weeks

Well done to everyone who has made it to the first two weeks of the course. You have all been doing really well. I really do hope that you are enjoying it.

This is just a quick update to remind you of what we did in the first two sessions and what we'll being doing next week (this is the programme for the Saturday morning group, the Tuesday evening group is slightly different).

Week 1 Run one min, walk 90 seconds. Repeat eight times. (20 mins)

Week 2 Run 90secs, walk two min. Repeat 6 times. (21 mins)

Next week

We'll do the same route as we did for the first two sessions except that we'll do it reverse so hopefully there will be less clashing with the parkrunners. The following week will be a bit different route as we'll be ready to do a lap of the parkrun course. I'll give details of that next week.

Week 3 Run 2 mins walk 90 secs / Run 3mins walk 3mins. Repeat twice times. (19 mins).

Homework

Don't forget that to get the most out of the couch to 5k programme it's really worth trying to get another session of run/walk in during the week. Just do what you did on the previous Saturday and don't get carried away!

The full programme

Always a warm-up for 5mins brisk walk and drills then:

Week 1 Run one min, walk 90 seconds. Repeat eight times. (20 mins)

Week 2 Run 90secs, walk two min. Repeat 6 times. (21 mins)

Week 3 Run 2 mins walk 90 secs / Run 3mins walk 3mins. Repeat twice times. (19 mins)

Week 4 Run 3mins walk 90secs / Run 5mins walk 2mins. Repeat twice (23 mins)

Week 5 Run five mins, walk three mins. Repeat twice times then run 7mins. (23 mins)

Week 6 Run 7 mins, walk three mins Repeat twice then run five mins. (25 mins)

Week 7 Run 9 mins, walk two mins. Repeat twice then run five mins (27 mins)

Week 8 Run 12 mins, walk two min. Repeat twice (28 mins)

Week 9 Run 15 mins, walk one min, Run fifteen mins. (31 mins)

Week 10 parkrun! (whoop whoop!)

Two new beginners groups starting in January

Abingdon AC will be starting two couch to 5K courses in January. The first kicks off on Saturday 16 January and will again be run alongside parkrun. The second will start on Tuesday 26 January and will be alongside the Tuesday evening club run.

For full details, including the sign-up forms, visit the Abingdon AC website.