It was that time of the year again when the running trainers come out. Yes – every year I enter the Two Castles Run.
The Two Castles Run is a 10k running event, well organised by the Rotary Club of Kenilworth and Leamington Cycling and Athletic Club, entirely put on by unpaid volunteers, with all proceeds being donated to charitable causes.
I think the Two Castles is a truly special run.
Why?
Well around 4000 runners start off inside the glorious grounds of Warwick Castle with a fantastic atmosphere, and end up inside Kenilworth Castle. Starting and finishing in a castle are pretty impressive USPs!
My hat goes off to Patrick Roddy who won the event. He made it in a staggering 33 minutes and 18 seconds. Those serious club runners are really quick!
It’s also a very challenging 10K run. The route is mainly uphill and there are some killer hill sections in Warwick, Leek Wootten and Kenilworth. It’s not for the faint-hearted but all sorts attempt it… including people dressed as trojans and knights!
The reason I run in this event is partly to help and inspire some of my clients prepare for the run. With the various cutting edge running conditioning skills I’ve learnt from various leaders over the past 2 years, I can help people become fitter, faster and reduce their chances of injury.
Running as fast as they can isn’t for everyone though; some people just love running as it’s their hobby – and run for the fun of it! (Seriously!)
Me personally?
I’m results-driven so I use this opportunity to try and produce the best results I can. I aim to work with my clients in the run up to the event so that we can be together as a group and all enjoy the day.
The day was fantastic for all of us and of course we had fun, but we all managed to produce running times faster than we had predicted, too!
You can find out the runners’ finishing times online now.
If you want to improve your running times then you’ll want to take the approach I do…
In my experience, people are often found pounding the road far too much. This will only result in fatigue and probably injury.
Training with various intensities and over a shorter period of time is my advice. This is of course after we have looked at your running pattern and technique. (If you are a member at PSPT you will be familiar with drills.)
These little gems of homework are partly the reason my members are producing great results.
I always get questions about what to eat before a race. Now this is where my advice may be different to that of the ‘internet’.
People always assume that you need to load up on carbohydrates before a run. This isn’t the London Marathon, so this advice is daft to me. Your body will always have enough glucose to train for 60 minutes, if you have a very well-balanced approach.
The trouble with eating carbohydrates before an event is serotonin levels rise which is great at night… if you want to sleep!
What I advised the people running with me is to do was keep things fairly normal. Treat the event like they were turning up to a Personal Training session with me. I recommended some carbs on Saturday evening and to have a protein and fat breakfast Sunday morning.
