October 2020 - Quicksilver Running

Training run

October 30, 2020/in Services /by vicvidder

I hadn’t planned it, but decided early Friday morning to get in the weeks long run before breakfast. The weather was good for running. Grey, but not cold and not raining. Still nervous about calf injury so decided to take it very easy. Velcro support strap on, shorts and a long sleeve top and heading out to Richmond Park. The outer track round the park is a bit over seven miles and very pleasant scenery. But its not an easy circuit with plenty of hills to slow down your times. I didn’t push it, just tried to keep it steady and not push too hard on the calf muscle. Worked fine and I revised my target to add a few extra miles. When I exited the park at Kingston gate I had done just over seven miles. Heading past Kingston hospital I added another loop coming back through the Coombe Estate to bring the total distance to just over 10 miles. Felt fine. Pretty slow time. If I ran at this pace for the full 26.2 distance I would finish in something under 5hrs 15min. But plenty of time to improve. Next week 12 miles or perhaps a half marathon?

Stats: 10.05 miles in 1hr 59.06. Average pace 11.51. 1235 calories burnt, 345ft elevation gain.

Peter

Quicksilver Christmas Marathon (virtual)

October 26, 2020/1 Comment/in Services /by vicvidder

I ran five miles in Richmond Park yesterday and for the first time in some while felt reasonably injury free. Perhaps the elasticated support on my dodgy calf helped, but whatever, it felt great to be running even in the wind and rain. Running always helps me crystalise my thoughts and two things occurred. First the importance of having goals and second, that this would be the first calendar year since 2001 when I had not run a marathon. Why not then make it a goal to run a marathon before the year end? Insufficient time to train properly, but enough to get round and that’s all I need to accomplish.

The above thoughts led to the decision to launch the Quicksilver Christmas Virtual Marathon 2020. The race will be free to enter, but we will encourage entrants to donate or raise funds for the homeless charity, Crisis at Christmas. All finishers will receive an exclusive marathon medal by post. If you are up for a marathon this December why not enter and do something for the homeless in this very difficult year?

Keep your eyes peeled for the race launch later this week!

The clocks go back...

October 20, 2020/in Services /by vicvidder

So we now head into winter with the clocks changing on Sunday heralding the start of early evening darkness. For some this marks a retreat indoors for long nights in front of the TV, but for the running community it just means readjusting a training programme to keep fit in winter.

Running outside has lots off positive benefits and will fight off physical lethargy and mental depression. If you need to run at night, find a well lit route and if possible run with friends or in a group. If you are working from home, get out for your run in daylight hours and adjust your schedule accordingly. Or if you are a gym member, in extremis you can resort to a running machine.

Whatever you do, try and keep to a regular schedule. It’s a good idea to have a goal. Why not enter the Quicksilver Hampton Court Half Marathon on February 21^st? Then when it looks cold and dark outside, just visualise yourself fit and in form on the start line. It’s a great incentive to get you out the door!

Brand new website!

October 5, 2020/in Services /by vicvidder

The six months from March this year have not been good for race organisation and despite our best efforts we have not been able to run any of our usual events. We have though been using the time to develop our communications, and are very excited to launch our new integrated Quicksilver Running website. Our previous individual race sites are being retired and now you will be able to see all of our events at one portal.

Each race can be accessed from the main site and you will of course be able to enter directly from the event pages. Do please come and take a look. We hope you will find the new website fresh and informative and a great way to keep in touch with future Quicksilver Running races or check out results from past events.

Hampton Court Half 2021

October 5, 2020/in Services /by vicvidder

Here at Quicksilver Running we are busy with the planning for the 2021 Hampton Court Half Marathon, which is scheduled for February 21st. This will be the eighth staging of the race, first run in 2014. Over the years we have had to cope with a variety of difficulties including flooding in the first year with parts of the course underwater up to 4 days before the first race. Last year storms caused many events to cancel, but we managed to stage a successful race in February, just weeks before the Covid-19 lockdown kicked in.

In 2021 we are determined to go ahead, even if we have to run a very different looking event. This has always been our flagship race and is immensely popular with the running community, so we hope to see lots of you at the startline. Update will follow to keep you informed!

London Marathon 2020

October 5, 2020/in Services /by vicvidder

What a strange year 2020 has been for running events. Yesterday the London Marathon took place, having been postponed from April. Only elite runners taking part around a tiny course with 19 laps. Heavy rain all day did little to raise the emotions and the traditional heavy spectator presence was missing, along with the usual 35000 mass entry runners.

While doubtless disappointed at missing the big race day, many entrants went out and ran a virtual marathon. Certainly there were a lot of runners wearing their marathon race numbers in Richmond Park. A great place to run but a very hilly circuit. Congratulations to all those that completed three laps of the park plus an additional 4.5 miles to make the full race distance. I hope you dried out afterwards in the warm glow of satisfaction for a marathon completed!