 Running just does not get better than this I promise you.....!! Welcome into our portal to everything you may need that is running related. We cover Races - Training and kit and where to buy it. We have links to sports injury clinic's and give running advice plus much much more... We hope that this site caters to all aspects of running - athletics and beyond. So please feel free to explore this great world of running from the comfort of your chair........
"The most comprehensive directory of British running sites and manifacturers and a good looking site. Nice Job!" - Tim Young - Running Co op.co.uk
"Excellent site - keep it up!" Graham Richards - Director - HILLY Clothing Ltd
We all need advice now and then - be it regading training - events to do - even the correct kit we all have questions to ask - but were to ge the answer...? We let us help and try to answer them for you - Contact ask@reason2run.co.uk and let us help you get the best from your running.
 Urban Runner - A new Birmingham City Centre based store is due to open at the beginning of October all being well. Possibly the most advanced running store in the UK, full Gait Analysis with three analysis protocols – from the simple 'spot-check" to the in-depth pro analysis where customers' original shoes, barefoot functions and a number of test shoes are analysed to find out the perfect running shoe. Including a** biomechanical analysis from 'Hip-to-Toe', Full & detailed analysis reports and Stretching and
strengthening strategies. The store is focusing on providing the
ultimate customer service, top items with thorough advice and at the
best prices. We also diversify into football fittings and court sports
to promote an overall healthy lifestyle backed by trained members of
staff to provide the best advice www.urbanrunner.co.uk
 Ransaker - The running shoes comparison that is the UK’s only running shoes comparison website that saves you time, money and benefits others by donating 50% of its revenue to charity.
 Sports Test Our services include a range of laboratory and/or field-based physiological tests, tailored to the athlete’s individual needs and sporting level. Testing can be undertaken at our head office in the West Midlands, or can be undertaken at a location suited to your needs.
 Boobydoo - Many women are still unaware that unrestricted breast movement during exercise can permanently stretch the ‘Coopers Ligament’ in the breast, causing the breast to sag. This stretching effect can be minimized by wearing the correct SPORTS BRA or supportive top. Booby Doo are specialist internet mail order suppliers of leading British and American sports bras that can help to prevent the damaging stretching of the ligament. No one would consider taking part in any sport or exercise without adequate equipment, i.e. safety headgear whilst riding or mountain biking, proper training shoes whilst running etc. Correct support bras are essential for the long term wellbeing of active women. www.boobydoo.co.uk
 www.shoeguide.co.uk At www.shoeguide.co.uk you can find the essential information on every training shoe you need to know about. Expert reviews rank and analyse each running shoe. The trainers are also sorted by various categories and criteria you can find the running shoe that is most suited to your needs. You can also sign up to write your own running shoe reviews on the footwear you have worn and to receive updates on the latest product news.
Adventure Racing The series is designed to offer a different experience for those wishing to take the challenge of running a marathon to the next level. All our marathons will be run in difficult environments to push runners just that little bit further. Across the Divide was established in 1996 by Mark and Karen Hannaford, using their many years of experience in organising expeditions and managing large events. Across The Divide has ten years of working closely with our charity clients to deliver exceptional worldwide challenges. Please visit Across the Divide for further information.
 www.purplepatchrunning.com - We believe that running, at every level, should be challenging, achievable and enjoyable. All too often, however, we get caught up in the day to day stresses and strains of fitting in runs, staying motivated, finding new routes, finding new running partners, achieving times, etc. At the end of the day, however, we feel better when we run than when we don’t so don’t let these niggles put you off your stride…...We at Purple Patch strive to offer you that extra something. Not ‘just a running weekend’ but a quality, informative, engrossing, fun weekend. Not ‘just coaching’ but targeted, innovative, personalised guidance. Racing events that challenge all your senses, not just your stopwatch (or wallet!). There is no better way to make sure that the time and effort you spend training is effective and appropriate than one-on-one Coaching. For a small monthly amount (about the same amount as you spend on your newspapers!) you can have a personalised programme and ongoing support & advice via email, telephone or face to face. We look forward to hearing from you …..Chris & Claire www.purplepatchrunning.com
 www.runinthesun.com We offer running holidays for all levels of ability of runner. From a simple weekend, 4, 5, or 7 night stay.Many runners stay with us and race during the week, as thereare many races every weekend, from April through to Dec.
 All guests have free membership to a local gym, which offers Yoga, Pilates, spinning, etc everyday of the week. Guests are free to use the classes and all the facilities the luxury gym has to offer. www.runinthesun.com
 Brian Smiths Running Gallery - If you run events in the Midlands Brian maybe a regular face on the finishline or at various vantage points around the course ready to capture the pain and anguish of your pained expresions or the delight and joy of a personal best performance. Brian with his trusty lens has built up an extensive photo gallery charting many of the best races and runners that the region can muster - Brian Smiths Running Gallery
 Steve Edwards is back on the Marathon challenge of completing 500 marathons by 2012. Steve has recorded many mile stones his latest being his 100th sub 3.10 marathon recorded in Leicester 14/10/2007 - Read his report of his latest marathon here.
Namibian Ultra Marathon - The toughest footrace on earth?
by Jayne Freer
As memories of the aches, pains and blisters begin to fade for the 35 000 runners who competed in this year's London Marathon, a handful may now be looking to take on an even bigger challenge to push their limits further. With the infamous Marathon des Sables booked up until 2011, what is left for those athletes brave and mad enough to take their running to the next level? I travelled to Africa with nine runners of all ages and from all walks of life for the first-ever Namibian 24-hour Ultra Marathon and now ask: Could this be the toughest footrace on earth?
It's 8:00 and the sun is slowly creeping over the tip of the Brandberg. The temperature is already rising.
One-by-one, nine male runners emerge from their tents with a look of nervous but eager anticipation in their eyes. Each is about to embark on a remarkable journey that will remain etched in their minds forever.
The setting is the striking but forbidding Namib Desert. The event, the first-ever Namibian Ultra Marathon, which kicks off in just under an hour's time.
Racing 120 kilometres in 24 hours, competitors will battle it out along the dusty gravel plains, dry riverbeds and vast sand expanses of the oldest desert in the world, before passing through the spectacular Messum Crater and finishing at one of the most hostile coastlines on earth, the Skeleton Coast.
Runners will have to be self-sufficient throughout, carrying all their food, water, energy bars and change of clothing on their backs to equip them for temperatures topping 40 degrees Celsius and plummeting to two degrees at night.
It's a race that will test their physical and mental strength to the limit.
As 9:00 looms, the nine intrepid competitors approach the start line, marked by four-wheel-drive tyre tracks in the sand.
The firing pistol sounds and they are off. Feet crunch across the gravel plains as the runners, caked in sun lotion, head off into the Namibian bush, which stretches as far as the eye can see. Behind them, the sun casts its orange morning glow over the majestic Brandberg, Namibia's highest mountain. With its tallest peak standing proudly at 2 573 metres, the massif creates a stunning backdrop to history in the making.
Split into 20-kilometre sections with five water and rest stations en route, the journey is mapped out with tin route markers. All the runners have a GPS (global positioning system) to help guide them along the way.
As the kilometres accomplished begin to increase, so does the heat. One runner clocks an unbelievable 46 degrees C on the temperature gauge of his watch as heat waves shimmer across the sand in the distance. Just four hours in and the Namib Desert has turned into a cauldron. Heat exhaustion is setting in, calf muscles are beginning to ache and heat-provoked hallucinations become plenty. Visions of the next 'check point' turn out to be little more than marks on rock faces, but despite these moral sappers, the trekkers trudge on.
Rest stations provide much-needed relief from the beating sun, a chance to take on more water, refuel with specialist, freeze-dried meals such as spaghetti bolognaise (race experts say you should take in 4 000 calories during the race), which the runners re-hydrate with water boiled on gas burners carried in their backpacks. It also gives them a chance to catch up on the progress of other fellow contenders – everyone, including the ultra specialists, is finding the going tough.
One runner falls foul of the sun, suffering from severe leg cramps and heat exhaustion, and is pulled out by the race doctor. For the remaining eight, the race goes on.
The Messum Crater is a magnificent 20-kilometre-wide groove on the landscape created by a meteorite impact 115 million years ago. It is rarely traversed and is the stage for some of the most amazing sights as the sun begins to set, and day turns to night for the gritty competitors.
Head torches soon become the only light source apart from the spectacular Milky Way display above and random glow sticks that mark the route ahead. It's a lonely time when all you have is a solitary beam for comfort, one competitor seeing in his the terrifying glare of a hyena’s eyes!
The temperature quickly plummets and the chilling winds kick in. A long dark night lies ahead.
A strobe light marks the next checkpoint. It seems within a spitting distance away, but the reality is there's still four kilometres to go. No matter how many steps you take, the light seems just as far.
The long, long night drags on. Will this journey ever end?
Eventually dawn begins to break, but the kilometres continue to stretch ahead into the shadowy distance.
Leaving the Messum Crater behind, gravel plains head out towards the coast in what is the final section of the race. And some may say the worst. By now the blisters are bloody and burning, the body aching and the leg muscles have turned to iron. Lack of sleep and sheer exhaustion leaves contenders feeling nauseous and ready to give in. Powers of endurance are beginning to wane.
The last leg is truly horrific – punishing on the mind, body and soul. Eighteen kilometres down a road that never ends, followed by a further two down to the sea at the Mile 72 campsite. Each and every step is punishing, painstaking and pure hell.
Eventually for most, after 23 long hours, the end is in sight. The finishing line beckons. And so does a cup of tea, a hearty breakfast and a kip under canvas, still clad in sweaty clothes that have seen so many miles and a chance to relay the experiences of a race that won't be forgotten in a hurry.
www.adventure-racing.org
 No Balls from New Supplier!
Rather Special Women’s Running Wear at Advance Performance-
The Advance Performance running stores in Peterborough and Cambridge have a bright new range of performance women’s running wear in stock, with the contemporary branding of ‘No Balls’! The latest range is manufactured from soft high quality performance fabric in styles to fit and flatter the feminine form.
The new luxurious brand is the brainchild of Sue Wallis from Cambridge, a former Marketing Director of a large technology company. About five years ago, when Sue took up running, she discovered that there was a shortage of performance brands which really made women look and feel good. As a result, Sue has designed a range which incorporates beautiful, flattering details to slim thighs and enhances waists with no tight seams. The products have soft waistbands and are expertly cut to fit and flatter. In a range of beautiful colours, the No Balls’ range is aimed at women who like to look good and keep active through running, fitness, yoga or triathlon.
No Balls Limited is a relative newcomer to the sportswear market, having officially launched in May this year. An exciting new development is in ecological sustainable sourcing of natural performance fabrics, including bamboo which will be available from January 2009. Advance Performance is the exclusive stockist in Cambridgeshire of the No Balls product range.
Managing Director of Advance Performance, Samantha Hale explains, “The products look great, feel fantastic and the fit makes the price worth it. We have had lots of interest in the No Balls range, since introducing the products in our Peterborough and Cambridge stores in August. We are delighted to be working in partnership with Sue Wallis and her team at the start of what is likely to be a very successful and long run in the performance sportswear market.” www.noballs.co.uk
 At approx 12:57 on Sunday 18th May 2008, Steve Edwards, a 45 year old athlete from the Cotswold town of Moreton In Marsh smashed the world record by running 10 marathons in 10 days in the fastest ever combined finish time - 35 hours 20 minutes which totally blew away the old record of 37 hours 39 minutes set last year. This new record equates to running each and every marathon in just 3 hours 32 minutes on each of the 10 days which means that every one of the total 262 miles was run in about 8 minutes. A truly staggering performance that will surely sit deservedly in the record books for some time to come
WBH, small, friendly club, catering for all abilities. If you are looking for Social/fun/fitness or competition, then please come along to one of our training nights. We meet at Aston University Recreation Grounds, Birmingham Road, Walsall, WS5 3LQ, 7.15pm every Wednesday. http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/westbromwichharriers
For more events goto Uk Events - Overseas Events
A great sporting day in Agios Tychonas for the whole family
NIKI Sports Management and Agios Tychonas Community Board invite runners of all ages and abilities to take part in the 3rd Cyprus Amathunta Half Marathon & 10 km festival, which will be held on Sunday 23rd November 2008. Most of the field is expected to comprise of overseas runners, many of whom will be taking part in the event to sample the Cyprus hospitality. The course of the running event is almost flat giving runners the opportunity to achieve a personal best. Both the start and finish areas are located at the historic ancient city Kingdom of Amathus. It is always a tremendously well organised event, and one thing you can be sure of is a warm Cyprus welcome!
The social activity programme includes a Pasta Dinner on the evening before the race day which will be host at the Golden Arches Hotel (http://www.goldenarcheshotel.com/ ). On race day the entertainment activity programme will include a Dancing Group who will perform Cypriot folk dance and invite participants / spectators to join in. All runners will be offered free of charge KEO beer, ample quantities of the KEO fruit juice, Saint Nicholas Natural Mineral Water, Isostar high performance drinks and ample quantities of seasonal fruit (oranges & bananas). Each participant will be given a quality, commemorative T-shirt sponsored by Aristo Developers and an engraved medal. Awards will be given to the first three runners in each of the 32 age group categories.
Enjoy the race, enjoy the atmosphere! Your reward will be a fantastic medal & T-shirt and the unforgettable experience in the finish line! We will be very happy if You could join it.
With all best wishes for a happy and good running year.
Stavros Kakourides - Race Director
 So London have finally clinched the 2012 Olympics and as from 12.45pm on the 6th July 2005 the race is now on to bring the best games ever to the capital follow the progress at www.london2012.org or goto our 2012 Olympic page....Have you signed up as a volunteer yet...?
Messageboard - Guestbook - We like to hear your feedback
 |
