Getting our Breath Back

Very pleased to have my piece 'Getting our breath back' published in Like the Wind magazine #24, accompanied by a fine illustration by Atul Vinayak and Jakob Owens. It is a short prose meditation on the experience of breathing in running which  started out as a spoken word piece at a 'Footnotes' runners open mic arranged by Vybarr Cregan-Reid a few years ago. In the time of Covid it has assumed a new relevance as we have all grown to appreciate the fragility of our breathing apparatus.

'Picture the start of a race on an icy winter’s morning – runners trying to keep warm, hands clamped under our arms, a few words, misty clouds of breath hanging above us in the air. The gun goes off and so do we. There is no more speaking, our mouths are occupied with taking in air and expelling carbon dioxide. Individually our respiration settles down into a steady pattern, part of a collective bodily polyrhythm of breaths, heartbeats and footsteps....

The French feminist philosopher Luce Irigaray talks of ‘the age of breath’:  breathing is a form of exchange between human, animals and plants, and amongst humans it is a fundamental shared experience that precedes any differences between us. She proposes recognising our breathing together as the basis of being together as an ethical community. To an extent that's what happens when we run together. The race is a mobile community of breath, sharing some moments in time and space, even if we are also competing against each other.'  

You can read the full article in the magazine, along with lots of other interesting reflections on running and Covid, Black Lives Matter and some great running challenges and experiences.

Night of the 10,000m PBs

Last weekend's Night of the 10,000m  PBs, hosted by Highgate Harriers at the Parliament Fields track, was a great success (Saturday 16th May). This was the third year of this groundbreaking event aiming to raise standards in the 10,000m through creating a festival of long distance running in London - and maybe even as the programme put it 'provide a platform to find the next Mo Farah and Paula Radcliffe'.

After some earlier school competitions, there were six races getting progressively faster, with the final two races acting as the British and English national championships for men and women

The first race gets underway -  first woman finisher Julia Davis (Mornington Chasers)  near the front.

A feature of the event is to crank up the atmosphere and excitement, with a samba band, DJs, beer tent and the crowd encouraged to stand in lane three and give up close and personal encouragement to the runners.

Danielle Fegan (Armagh AC) - who lead the women for much of the 1st race - runs past the samba band

Runners were each asked to choose one inspirational tune for the DJ to play when they were racing -
I can report that the tracklist included Dexys Midnight Runners 'Geno' and New Order's 'Blue Monday'.

Athletics legend David Bedford (who held the 10,000m world record from 1973-1977) was on hand to give out prizes, as was snooker player and keen runner Ronnie O'Sullivan

David Bedford with winner of the 1st race, Davide Covolo
(who is also an international alpine skier)

But if the event was a lot of fun, it certainly wasn't a fun run - there were some very serious performances. The final men's race/national champs was won by Jonny Mellor (Liverpool Harriers) in 28.46.80, with the first 18 runners all coming in sub-30. In the women's champs, Jessica Coulson (Stockport Harriers) led for much of the race, before a great finish by Rhona Auckland  (Banchory-Stonehaven AC) saw the latter close a big gap in the last couple of laps to win comfortably in 32.28.32. Auckland, Coulson and third place Aly Dixon all got PBs.

The Knight of 10,000m PBs

 So Night of 10,000m PBs did what it said on the tin. Look out for it next year, it's a great event for spectators and admission is free.

Rhona Auckland being interviewed after her victory - watch the interview on Eight Lane

The latest issue of Like the Wind magazine was launched at the event, by coincidence (or was it magic?) an article on Night of 10,000 m PBs in it features a picture of a dejected looking Rhona Auckland at last year's event. What a difference a year makes.

Simon Freeman, editor of Like the Wind, at the track

For more, see England Athletics report (includes link to full results)

Video footage on Vinco-  watch from about 1:59 to catch last few laps of women's champs, followed by men's.

Stuart Beaney, Kent AC (centre)

Running London: Victoria Park with 1. Chris McDougall and 2. 314 Assembly League Runners

I've had a couple of good runs at East London's Victoria Park in the past two weeks, one of London's great running parks.

Last night Chris McDougall was in town. The author of the influential 'Born to Run' is promoting his new book, 'Natural Born Heroes', and 'Like the Wind' magazine with Run Dem Crew arranged for a group of us to go for a run/chat with him. We met up at the Proud Archivist canalside bar in Haggerston, and ran along the Regents Canal followed by a circuit of the park.

Chris McDougall by the Proud Archivist in Haggerston

We stopped for a photo in one of these two alcoves - originally part of the old London Bridge, they were moved to the park in 1860 after the bridge was demolished (there's also one at Guys Hospital).

Chris McDougall (centre) in Victoria Park - thought I'd fly the flag for the club with Kent AC vest
(photo from Like the Wind on twitter)

After the run we headed back to the Proud Archivist for food, drink and Chris in conversation with Run Dem Crew's Charlie Dark and Simon Freeman, editor of Like the Wind (new issue just out by the way).  Looking forward to reading Chris's new book, its starting point is how anti-Nazi resistance fighters in Second World War Crete managed to survive while hiding out, leading on to discussion of human agility, parkour, fat burning running and much more besides.

Chris commented how much he had enjoyed running along the canal and into the park, where despite having to constantly dodge cyclists, walkers and bargees, runners get to see a never ending panorama of humanity.

 There always seems to be runners heading up and down the canal paths and into the park. Even though I live on the other side of London, I count myself  amongst them. Earlier in the year in London Marathon training a group of us regularly headed from South London, through the Greenwich foot tunnel, across the Isle of Dogs and up the canal path, pausing in Victoria Park before running home. 

And of course the park is home to a lively running club - Victoria Park Harriers and Tower Hamlets Athletics Club (VPHTH). It was thanks to them that I found myself racing at the park a couple of weeks ago.

The Assembly League in Victoria Park

The second of this year's Assembly League races was held in Victoria Park on Thursday 7th May, with 314 runners from 13 clubs completing the 3.5 mile course (see here for some Assembly League history/background).

The race was won by Chris Greenwood (Kent AC) in 17:40, followed by Mark Hall (Kent AC) in 17:50 and Alan Barnes (Stock Exchange) in 17:55. In the women's competition the winner was Amy Clements (Kent AC) in 19.22, with Clare Elms (Dulwich Runners) runner up in 20:21 and Sarah Pemberton (Serpentine) third in 20:37.

In the team competition, first three teams were as follows:

- Men's team: 1. Kent; 2. Stock Exchange; 3. VPHTH

- Men's B-team: 1. Kent; 2. VPHTH; 3. Serpentine

- Women's team: Joint first: Dulwich and Kent; 3. VPTH

- Women's B-team: 1. Kent; 2. Dulwich 3. VPTH

So after two races, Kent are leading in both men's competitions, while Kent and Dulwich are neck and neck in points in the two women's competitions (full results here)

Park and politics

It was General Election night, so perhaps appropriate to be in this historic park where Chartist and Suffragettes once assembled. Clashes at a Chartist meeting in 1848 led to claims in the House of Commons that 'certain outrages were committed on peaceable, loyal, and unoffending individuals' by the police. Suffragette protests included a 'Women's May Day' demonstration in 1913, which saw Sylvia Pankhurst arrested in Victoria Park. The Park was also the scene of the famous 1978 Rock Against Racism 'Carnival Against the Nazis' with The Clash and Steel Pulse - not to mention the scene of me dancing under a disco ball and watching Goldfrapp and Flaming Lips at the Lovebox festival thirty years later.

But for the duration of the race at least, politics and indeed  music was off the agenda. We met up at the Victoria Park Harriers clubhouse in the park, near to the start. The 3.5 mile course consisted of a short 1 mile loop, followed by 2.5 mile 'figure-of-8'. Obviously that did make the second lap feel a bit on the long side! But we all got there eventually... and back to the clubhouse and its well stocked bar. Next Assembly League race is at Battersea Park on June 4th. 

See previously: Staying out for the summer - start of 2015 Assembly League in Beckenham

Some of the Kent AC contingent in Victoria Park

Like the Wind Birthday Party

I really enjoyed the Like the Wind party in London last week. The event at Blackall Gallery in Shoreditch was held to mark the 1st birthday of the magazine, and launch its 4th issue. There was beer, curry and good running chat.

Cover design for Like the Wind #4 by Fergus McHugh

 When I first started this blog, I mused on twitter about whether anybody had thought about a running equivalent of high end cycling magazines like Rouleur. Of course there's lots of other running magazines - I love Athletics Weekly for its coverage of the sport side of running, and Runners World etc. cover all the fitness and kit angles. But there didn't seem to be anything that was focused on writing/photography/art about running. Someone soon told me about the plans for Like the Wind, launched by Simon Freeman and Jullie Freeman Kummer with the strapline 'it's not how we run, it's why we run'.

A year after its launch, the magazine is well loved and established, getting support and contributions from a range of runners, bloggers/writers and illustrators, including articles from US ultra-marathon legends Dean Karnazes and Scott Jurek.

Email from Dean Karnazes proudly displayed at Blackall Gallery last week

I was proud to have an article and photographs published in the new issue, based on my run round the track last year at the wonderful Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, a site steeped in history as the place where the first modern Olympic Marathon finished in 1896. I won't say more because you can read the article!

Contents of Like the Wind #4

You can order copies of the magazine online, but there are a few specialist shops that stock it, including The Running Works in London.

On the podium in Athens
(not one of the photos used in the magazine)