Longford Striders Coventry

Sunday mornings done right! ☀️

A brilliant turnout for Longford Striders this morning, with our main group and Run Walk Jeffing group enjoying a scenic route around Sutton Stop and the Oxford Canal.

Great to see some familiar faces and to welcome several of our recent Couch to 5K graduates along too. Well done everyone! 🏃‍♀️☀️🏃‍♂️

An interesting, if slightly cynical, article from Runner’s World about the reality of joining a running club or group. It raises some fair points around welcoming newcomers, managing different paces and whether “all abilities welcome” always works in practice. With some running groups going out with 100+ runners, how anyone manages those numbers safely is beyond me!

Three tests we always advise any runner looking for a club or group to consider are: are they local, when do they train and, most importantly, where do you feel most at home? Do look around, try different groups and find what works for you. Also look for qualified and insured leaders or coaches, a constitution and clear policies, including safeguarding.

We certainly don’t promote or support running groups becoming the new dating app! Friendships naturally develop through running together, but ultimately it’s about finding somewhere you enjoy your running.

Runner’s World article:

‘All Paces Are Welcome’ and 3 Other Lies that Made Me Quit Run Clubs Run clubs are booming, but not every group delivers on community, inclusivity, and other promises.

🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️ What’s coming up at Longford Striders?

We’ve got a good mix of sessions coming up, whether you’re looking for a social run, getting back into running or want to give your running a bit of a boost.

Our regular Sunday sessions include our Social 5K and our Run/Walk Jeffing Group, using 4 minutes running and 1 minute walking to make the 5K more accessible and enjoyable at your own pace.

Every 4 to 6 weeks, we also run a mixed-ability coached session. These sessions offer something a little different from our regular runs and are designed to help give your running a boost, whatever your current pace or ability.

All our sessions are free and we meet at Longford Park, Coventry.

Take a look at our upcoming sessions and book your place below 👇

https://clubspark.englandathletics.org/LONGFORDSTRIDERS/Coaching

Sunday miles done! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

A good turnout for our Sunday Social and Run Walk groups this morning, heading along the canal and passing through Sutton Stop.

A cooler start, but it soon warmed up! Great effort from everyone, and we’re looking forward to seeing some of our new Couch to 5K grads joining us over the coming weeks. 👍

Congratulations and well done to all our Couch to 5K graduates! 🎉

A huge thank you to our graduates, group helpers and supporters for coming along to Coventry parkrun for our celebration 5K. Everyone put in an amazing effort, and as a group we’re incredibly proud of each and every one of you.

A special thank you to Coventry parkrun for putting on another fantastic event and making us all feel so welcome.

We look forward to watching your running progress and, hopefully, running with you all again very soon! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

🤯There’s never been more information available to runners.

Training plans, watches, apps, podcasts, YouTube and social media telling us how to train, recover, run, eat and even where our feet should land.

Some of it is excellent. Some of it is questionable. And a lot of it sits somewhere in between.

Even from a coaching perspective, sometimes I look at the amount of information being thrown at runners and think: wow, that’s a lot to take in.

So how do you separate useful advice from the noise?

Be cautious of absolute statements such as “every runner should…” or “this is the correct way to run.” Running is rarely that simple. What works for one runner may not be appropriate for another.

Context matters too. A training method used by an elite marathon runner might be interesting, but that doesn’t automatically make it suitable for someone running three times a week around work, family and everything else life throws at us.

Before changing something, ask yourself:

1. Who is giving the advice, and what are they basing it on?
2. Does it actually apply to me?
3. What problem am I trying to solve?
4. Is what I’m currently doing actually a problem?

The same applies to all the data from our watches. Pace, heart rate, cadence, recovery scores and training load can all be useful, but your watch doesn’t know everything about your work stress, family life, motivation or how you actually feel.

And try not to change everything at once. New shoes, different cadence, a new training plan and a strength programme all in the same week makes it pretty difficult to know what is actually helping.

For most runners, the basics still matter: train consistently, build gradually, include easier running, recover properly and make your training fit your life rather than trying to make your life fit somebody else’s training.

Stay curious and keep asking questions.

Sometimes the most useful thing you can do is leave something alone and give good training enough time to work.

And if you’re unsure, consider working with a coach who takes the time to understand you, your aims and the life your training needs to fit around.

🎉 A huge congratulations to everyone who completed their 30-minute continuous run this morning as part of our Couch to 5K course.

Eight weeks ago many of the group had never run continuously for any length of time. This morning they completed 30 minutes without stopping, showing just how much progress can be made by following the programme and turning up week after week.

We’re incredibly proud of every single one of you.

A huge thank you from me to our fantastic group helpers and run leaders, who have given up their time over the last eight weeks to encourage, support and motivate the group every step of the way.

On Saturday 15th August we’ll be heading to Coventry parkrun for our celebration 5K, followed by a coffee afterwards to top off the course.

If you’ve been inspired by what you’ve seen over the last eight weeks and are thinking about giving running a go yourself, you can find out more about our Couch to 5K programme via the link below.

Our website contains all the latest information about the course, and you can also register your interest for the next one.

Everyone who registers their interest receives a 48-hour priority booking window before places are released to the general public.

https://longfordstriders.co.uk/couch-to-5k-coventry/

Well done everyone 👏

Stuart Sahan
Longford Striders Group Leader

What a brilliant morning at Coventry parkrun on a beautiful sunny day! ☀️

Joe Wicks (The Body Coach) was there as part of his parkrun tour, with over 1,400 people taking part and a fantastic atmosphere around the park.

I was marshalling and we had a number of the Longford Striders group taking part.

If you managed to bag a selfie with Joe, why not share it with us in the comments! 📸🙌

🎉A huge well done to all three Longford Striders groups who were out with us this morning!

We started with our Sunday Social and Run Walk groups. A warm welcome to Julie, who joined us for her first run with us today. We hope you enjoyed it and look forward to seeing you again soon.

Our Couch to 5K group then completed their 25 minute continuous run, a huge milestone and a fantastic achievement. The progress everyone has made over the last seven weeks has been brilliant to see, and there’s now just one week to go until their 30 minute graduation run.

A big thank you, as always, to our fantastic group helpers for all your encouragement and support throughout the morning. Your time and enthusiasm make a real difference.

Just a reminder that there will be no 9am Sunday Social or Run Walk groups next week, as we’re encouraging members to come along and run with our Couch to 5K group for their graduation run. It’s a great opportunity to support our newest runners and get to know some new faces along the way.

If you’d like to find out more about Longford Striders, please get in touch or visit our website. I’ll pop the link in the comments below.