Training Schedule
Tuesday and Thursday evenings are our training nights. We understand that people run for different reasons so for those who want to have a regular group to run with, have fun and feel safe, there is always a mix of different speeds and distances and you will be very welcome whatever your level.
The winter is generally road running, with some trail running and you do need a reflective vest and a head or body torch to be safe (come along to the club and ask advice if you are unsure). We also really encourage people to join in the Thames Valley cross country series, as a great strength-builder and fun, social races.
The summer is a mix of trail and road running. We are lucky to have lovely routes through Burnham Beeches and by the Thames and Jubilee rivers. We do encourage runners to wear long socks and insect repellent and to be tick-aware whenever running in areas with long grass, since Lyme Disease now covers the whole country. We also encourage all members to join the Thames Valley summer 5K series (with refreshments afterwards).
For those who want to improve their times (whether breaking through a magic number, or even working towards representing England or Great Britain in age group racing), we have a group of coaches and run leaders on hand to help you with any questions. In general we tend to focus sessions on interval work (for those who want to do this) on Tuesdays and more of a tempo run in groups on Thursdays. The sessions are usually posted on the members Facebook page as well as our pace-specific WhatsApp groups. You can decide which you want to join, or whether you just want to have a run with friends at the club.
We also offer a set of development programmes through the year:
Spring Marathon Programme – we start the year with a kick-off evening on best practice for endurance running. This can cover topics like using heartrate for training, recovery, foam rolling, nutrition. Then there is a programme that builds to spring marathons, with the Tuesday and Thursday sessions at the club – all welcome to join, whether they are planning to run a marathon or not. For those who do complete a marathon, we do have a celebration dinner together and share stories and tips. Sample Marathon Training Plan
A faster 10K – the summer is mainly focused on speed over the 5K and 10K distances. At the start of the summer we look to getting faster through the 5K series (May-July) and then the late summer on a progressive programme to a fast 10K, linked to our monthly ‘Staggered Jog’, which is a 10K with the start times staggered so that runners of all speeds should be sprint finishing together! The October race can be especially exciting as it is traditionally the last event of the Club Championship and can often be a decider with some amazing personal bests.
Keep moving through December – we are conscious that the festive season can be tough for fitness, so we have a daily one mile challenge (walk or run a mile each day and post a photo) and we also run some fun events like the ‘Reindeer Relays’ at the Maidenhead track and a fancy dress Staggered Jog.