Coaching and Training May – September 2011

This is the part of the year where all the hard work of the winter and spring should start paying off. Many will be undertaking or have undertaken half and full marathons and will have  a good level of fitness. Now is the ideal time to focus on shorter distances like 5 and  10k and there is plenty of opportunity at the club for all runners.

Pre-run announcements on Mondays and Thursdays will be at about 7.20pm so that we can aim to begin running promptly at 7.30pm.

MONDAY EVENINGS

From May there are TWO club options for Monday evenings. For faster runners and those wanting to concentrate on 5k and 3k distances, coach Joe Lewis will be organising rep sessions.  From June, on alternate Mondays, Joe will also take a track session at Birmingham University (start time 7.30pm) for anyone wanting to get track experience prior to racing this summer. Joe’s Monday session will be a good 1.5 hours duration.

Club runs on Monday will take advantage of the lighter nights and better (!) weather. There will be some old favourites which incorporate some of the local parks and canals. Monday runs will be around the 6 mile / 10k distance to allow you to concentrate on improving speed over this distance. Newer members of the club might llike to familiarise themselves with the routes – they are all downloadable from the website. (Please see Monday runs on the website for the schedule of these routes).

THURSDAY EVENINGS (Please see Thursday training for further details)

A ‘Rep’ session will be available for those not training on Saturday mornings or racing at the weekend

These will often be split into 2 groups

  • for beginners/ steady runners
  • faster and more experienced runners

The focus of Thursday evenings is on improving speed for those wanting to run 5 and 10k races in the summer months. It is also geared towards those wanting to take part in the annual BVH Tour of Bournville (which starts the week of 18th July).

There will also be a normal Club run for those not wishing to take part in reps.

SATURDAY MORNING (please see Saturday training for further details)

Joe Lewis will continue Saturday morning reps at Cofton through the summer. This is an off-road ‘rep’ session/cross country training starting at 8.00am at Cofton Park. Focus through the summer will be on 5 and 10k racing

  • Open to all club members
  • Excellent way to build strength, stamina and endurance
  • Vital for anyone wanting to prepare for cross country or off road events

For those who have never trained at Cofton, this is an ideal time to try.  Nice and early on a bright Saturday morning – you can be home by 10.00 for breakfast.

High visibility bibs are available to purchase from Rachel Partridge.

If you have any questions concerning the changes or you have a question for the coaching team please email

Mick James, Coaching Co-ordinator