Training Update
By tomorrow we will have had 8 weeks of training sessions and for the most recent 6 weeks we have had a capacity of 40 each Tuesday and been full every week. Everyone who is a current junior member is entitled to come to our training sessions at Leos. But attendance is by invitation only as, with around 80 members in total, we clearly cannot accommodate everyone every week, even in holiday weeks.
All members who would like to attend a session on 18 August and/or 25 August and/or 1 September please read https://www.valleystriders.org.uk/junior-sessions-at-leos-summer-2020-rules-dates-sessions-groups-names/ . This explains the changes that we have had to do to comply with social distancing and cleanliness of equipment, and what you need to do when you come.
At the bottom of the website page is a link to a questionnaire/survey which lets you state which of the 3 dates you are available and your preferred session time (5:30pm or 6:15pm).
Everyone, whether or not they’ve been to previous sessions, should fill in the survey, and if one of your preferred dates is 18 August, you must fill in by Wednesday 12 August at 9pm.
Everyone who applies will get at least one of these dates, most will get two.
Please note that the standard method for us to invite juniors to sessions is by a post in the V S Juniors Facebook Group. If you are not in this Group, we will email you. If you are in the Group, please look there from the Friday onwards for the following week’s invitations.
If you don’t reply (by commenting in the post or by email) by Monday noon we will reallocate your place.
Weekend Activities
We have also been very active at weekends. We’ve taken part in four virtual races, one against Pudsey & Bramley, one against the clubs in the Peco XC league, and two against all the other junior clubs in Leeds.
But not everything has been about racing. We’ve also had a treasure hunt (plan a training route to go past local landmarks) and Strava Art (plan a route that when plotted on a map makes a picture). You can see the art in our Gallery
https://www.valleystriders.org.uk/juniors-strava-art-exhibition-summer-2020/
13 – 18 August – Hill Reps Challenge
Next weekend (actually an elongated weekend from Thursday 13th to Tuesday 18th) we are taking part in a Hill Reps Challenge against the other 9 junior running clubs in Leeds.
Everyone who takes part scores points for the club. And you don’t need any technical equipment other than a digital watch (something that records minutes and seconds!)
You will need to run up and down a hill several times. If you’re school year 6 or under, you’ll be running for 8 minutes, for year 7 or older, it’s 12 minutes. (this is the school year you’ve just left, not the one you’re about to go into)
Choose a hill that’s reasonably steep but is safe to run up and, in particular, down. It doesn’t have to be a long hill, maybe something that takes 30 to 60 seconds to run up. It also has to be measurable – choose a start point and a finish point that are visible on the satellite views you can get on a PC or mobile. Then measure it using mapmyrun or similar free online app.
I found a good one in Roundhay Park https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/3324897553 My hill is 19ft gain according to mapmyrun.
Then go and do the run. Run for 8 (or 12) minutes (counting the reps), and when time is up, continue to finish the current rep (i.e. if going uphill continue to the top and come back down). Stop your watch when you get to the bottom.
Then email to [email protected] with the hill height, number of reps and total time by Wednesday 19th August at 6pm (NB don’t send later than this as it won’t be counted)
You can do this with Strava but tests done by myself and an Abbey Runners member seem to suggest Strava is inaccurate for hill reps. If anyone is interested in helping me investigate this, please email me [email protected]! (I won’t be upset if I don’t get any replies!)
For full details of the event see http://www.leedsathletics.net/Junior_Clubs_Virtual_Races.htm
And just a reminder that everyone who runs scores points for the club!
Junior Awards Autumn/Winter 2019/20
We present 4 awards every 6 months but those for the 6 months from September 2019 to February 2020 had been delayed.
Last Tuesday we presented the trophies for the Performance Awards – the fastest race performance at parkrun (based on age grade).
- The overall best performance was by Edward Nabozny who ran 21:35 at Roundhay parkrun when aged 9.
- The best performance for a girl was by Tally Diamond who ran 21:01 at Heslington parkrun when aged 15.
- For more details about age-grading there is a post on the parkrun website which is a good introduction
https://support.parkrun.com/hc/en-us/articles/200565263-What-is-age-grading-
This Tuesday we’ll present the Participation Awards – for attendance at training and taking part in events.
Unless you’re at Leos on Tuesday, you’ll need to wait till Wednesday to find out who has won these https://www.valleystriders.org.uk/juniors/awards/
Valley Striders Club Handicap (adults)
I’m very pleased to report that the recent Club Handicap (a virtual race on a 10k route on the towpaths and access roads near Eccup Reservoir) was won by Jamie Walker.
Another virtual club handicap race has just started, it is open to anyone aged 15 and above. The route is 5 miles of footpaths near Eccup and Harewood. Details on the website.