Prestwich AC Newsletter April 2022

Springing into Spring

Firstly we have to say congratulations to all our marathon runners yesterday - whether it was your first one or your tenth and you were trying for a PB you all put in huge amounts of training and commitment and those hours paid off. We raise a glass to you all!!

Now the dark nights of running are now behind us and we are finally springing into the daylight. So remember that club runs now start from the clubhouse at Prestwich Cricket, Tennis and Bowling club.

The championship races are also in full swing and one recent one was Lostock 6 mile. For one of our members. Phil Quigley this was his first PAC race, he tells us below what it feels like to have the support of PAC behind you at a club race.

Phil's first PAC race

Just in case you didn’t know - I think I let the whole world know - I entered my very first PAC race at Lostock 6M on 27th February, a mere five years (possibly more?) after joining the club. When asked if I’d write a race report I was tempted to look back at some of the previous reports that other PAC members had written to get an idea of what was expected, but then I felt it would be much more ‘real’ if it was NOT influenced by those great write ups.

So, I can’t tell you why it is six miles and not 10km, I can’t tell you about the history of the event and I can’t tell you much about the route - I’m not apologising for that though, if you want that info you’d be better off researching it on the web and it would be a much better source than anything I could write.

I set off to Lostock with an array of sound advice from you guys, ranging from ‘have 10 wees before you start’ (five proved sufficient - just) to ‘DON’T BE SHIT’. Thanks Rob, that really helped settle my nerves! I thought I had arrived early, a whole hour before the start, and yet it looked like everyone was already at the Barnstormers pub (sadly closed) and ready to race. I had already decided to park at the nearby Tesco car park, just as well as the pub car park was full. I was also warned that there would be a lot of waiting around and therefore dress for bad weather. Well, you might be aware I’m not a fan of ‘weather’. My opinion of this race may have been slightly less positive if we’d had to face typical February conditions. But thankfully, despite a biting chill on arrival, I’d have to say the conditions were near perfect. And Mel the Motivator’s thumping beat warm-up really got the blood flowing. Then a little walk down to the start line, my race number poorly fastened to my vest. And once I saw the big digital start clock it dawned on me, this was going to be a little more competitive than I’d anticipated. With Rob’s advice ringing in my ears, the gun fired.

I was pre-warned about the long, very long incline from the very start. Having done most of my running in Prestwich I felt well prepared for this hill, I simply channelled my ‘Angina Hill’ self. It was actually my favourite part of the course, a lovely country road section and closed to traffic. The rest of the course levelled out and if I’m honest was fairly non-descript - that’s probably unfair as at this point I was deep in thought as I focused on ticking off the miles. I’m a kilometres guy so ticking off the kilometers was easier, and the mental conversion was a great distraction. My aim had been to run for as long as I could until I’d eventually have to have a little walk - I’ve struggled recently after a bout of Xmas COVID and committing to this race was my way of pushing myself back to fitness. Whether it was the energetic warm up, the lovely enthusiastic support scattered along the course, the hill reps with Mr C earlier that week, or our regular PAC Thursdays, I felt really strong and never considered walking. And then came the best bits - you hit the five mile marker, turning left off the main road and head downhill towards the finish. I found another gear and was actually passing a few runners at this point! And the final stretch was THE highlight - to be cheered in so loudly and enthusiastically by my fellow PAC members (obviously every last one of them had already finished), and cheers from other club runners too - I didn’t expect it to be THAT good a feeling.

Wobbly legs as I had my chip removed, tee shirt adorned, photos taken, and race stories swapped. No medal - at first, I was a little disappointed, but it would only clutter up a kitchen drawer - and no I will not be buying a medal shelf (well, not yet anyway). I suppose the only underwhelming aspect to the race was the scale of it - being spoilt with the fantastic Heaton parkrun on my doorstep, I kind of expected a race to be on a much grander scale - but that says more about our special parkrun I suppose. So now that I’ve broken my duck, I’ll be straight on to the club website to book my next race - Salford 10k. And I’ve made my first appearance on the club’s Road Championship Leaderboard with maximum points - that’s a good thing, right? The beauty of this club is that, while every opportunity exists to take part in every event, and you are surrounded by lovely people encouraging you to push yourself, there is absolutely no pressure or expectation that you should, or must ‘step up’.

I’ll see you all at another race soon - just don’t expect me to make it to any half marathons or off-road nonsense. Maybe this will encourage someone to do their first race, or return after a break? If so, remember to enjoy it, but most of all - DON’T BE SHIT x

Next club races

So now you are inspired by Phil's report the next club races are:

• Road - Salford 10K on 15 April
• Off road - Tour of Tameside X-trail on 16 June
• Fell - Tour of Tameside Hell on the Fell on 17 June

Getting to know PAC members

In the second of our series of getting to know the lovely members of PAC we find out about Lou Warwick our mega-efficient Member Secretary who manages to keep all the memberships and renewals going whilst also ensuring the future of the club by giving birth to our latest club member Aldous. Here are Lou's answers to 10 questions:

1. How and when did you start running? I started running 7 years ago. A group from school were asked to run the Manchester 10k to raise money for Francis House. If you’d have told me back then I would still be running now, part of a club and done 6 marathons, I’d have thought you were crazy.
2. What is your favourite race of all time? I’ve done lots of races that I loved. I’m not sure I can pick just one! But I did love the Warsaw marathon because we got to run through Warsaw Zoo and Warsaw was a gorgeous city to run through (and the finishers t-shirt was ace).
3. Which bit of running kit could you not do without and why? Probably my "Lucy Locket Loves" leggings. I don’t think I own any plain leggings anymore!
4. What’s the most embarrassing or funniest thing you have seen or has happened to you whilst out running or on a race? Not sure if it’s funny or embarrassing but we did the Tatton Yule Yomp in 2019 dressed as a herd of reindeers. It was great fun running in group- until we reached quite a big puddle. Everyone else ran around it but I decided to splash through it. Little did I know it was more of a small lake than a puddle and fell face first into the water! Thankfully the race photographer was behind me!!
5. What is the hardest run you have ever done and why was it so hard? I think the Hans Christian Anderson marathon was possibly my hardest run- mentally and physically. Training hadn’t gone to plan so I was already doubtful of doing the race. The route was two laps around Odense, which was ok for the first loop as there were plenty of other runners but a lot were doing the half so by the second loop, there weren’t many people around and it got a bit lonely. There was a lot of temptation to stop at the half way point but I kept going and got around in just under 5 hours which I was super chuffed to bits with.
6. Which runner do you most admire and why? I admire our Super Steph. She is the most amazing person to run with, always has a smile on her face and without fail, wins her age category at race. She is such an inspiration. I also have a soft spot for Eliud Kipchoge. He is just amazing and I love watching him run, especially when he starts to smile- my favourite quote of his is “When you smile and you’re happy, you can trigger the mind not to feel your legs”
7. If you could do any race in the world that you haven’t already done which would it be? I’d love to do the Tenzing-Hillary Marathon. It starts at Everest Base Camp and runs down the mountain. Only problem is I’m not keen on the cold and I hate heights.
8. What do you think about when you are running? I’m a bit of an overthinker normally and think about everything possible when I’m running. I can go from thinking about my pace and how far I’ve got to run, to what’s for tea tonight or what I’m going to watch on TV.
9. What’s your favourite post run food? I quite like poached eggs on toast with a brew. And chocolate- lots of chocolate. Oh, and cake.
10. And finally, what do you get out of running? Running has changed my life, it’s taken me to places I’d never have thought I’d visit and I’ve made some amazing friends and memories. I’ve had to take a bit of time out from running due to having a baby and I can’t wait to get back to it x

Caption competition…… win a PRIZE!

We’re introducing something to create a bit of fun and competition in the Club, we know none of you are competitive 😉 but we're sure you'll give this a go.....

Please submit your caption for this lovely photo of Jo (not being competitive) to prestwichacnews@gmail.com. We’ll publish the best responses in the next newsletter. The lucky winner will win a new PAC mug (see below!). The deadline for entries is 5pm on Monday 25th April.