Round Up 21st January 2021

With the Country back in a further lockdown; it is now over 21 days since Tuff Fitty’s last group training session. This means that all our Track & Trace records from such activities can now be destroyed. We are very grateful to all members in following set guidelines relating to when and how we could meet up. This meant that we came through the five month period from mid July finishing prior to Christmas without any consequences – thank you. Clearly information disseminated by the media looks as though we will be unable to resume group activities for the foreseeable future, so thank you for your continued patience. Particular thanks to all Tuffs who are key workers during these difficult times.

Against this backdrop, the committee are very grateful to all our members who have renewed their membership for this year – thank you, it is appreciated and never taken for granted.

With lockdown does Tuff Fitty have to stop? not at all as there have been some tremendous activities staged under our #Together Apart focus and our members communication App has been buzzing. Charlotte has continued to post some thought provoking mental health information under our #Not2Tuff2Talk initiative. Your coaches under Andy Ward’s guidance and your committee have been busy, and below are some of the activities staged to try and motivate our members during these difficult times:-

TUFF “WE ❤️ TRIGS” CHALLENGE

Our last Round Up reported on Tuff’s Trig Challenge which was underway. This was a way of motivating members out onto the hills individually, preferably running or cycling and it caught the imagination with Tuffs venturing out very early on the way to work, through to late at night requiring headtorches. The event concluded at the end of January and we’re pleased to report our membership remains intact, no one is missing on the South Downs! Principal organiser was Paul ‘Geordie’ Atkinson, ably assisted by Jason Rae.

The final total saw 181 visits to Triangulation Points by an assortment of Tuffs with 64 different ones ‘bagged’ which was an amazing performance. Thanks to Paul for controlling the flow of evidence to produce the following results table.

🥇Anthony 266,058🤩🤩🤩                     🥈Geordie Paul 120,215 🥉Jason 117,577  4. Becky LC 72,595🤩🤩🤩 5. Danny 56,711 6. Les 56,100 7. Adrian 32,661 8. The Boss 19,696 9. Debbie 18,645 👏 10. Lee 16,122 11. Edgy 16,111 12. Hazel 16,068 13. Dom 14,117 14. Clare 10,121 15. Gavin 10,121 16. Sir Trevor of Royal Berkshire 9896 17. Graham 8,001 18. Jon Babbage 7,056 19. Lunatic Eddy 5,060 20. Nicole & Zackie 5,011 21. Jon Rumens 5,001 22. Tiff 5,000 23. Janet 4,997 24. Elaine 4,014  25. Glenn 4,000 26. Jon Five Cakes 4,000

It is acknowledged that several members utilise Peleton, but the most popular platform for static riding is Zwift. Richard Hobbs has been doing a fantastic job in creating and providing great leadership during Club Zwift rides. Hobbsie has now delivered 10 consecutive weeks of these on Tuesday evenings and has introduced a second ride on Fridays. Hobbsie sets up a scheduled ride showing the Tuff attendees. Most importantly it is structured within a ‘band’. This means that everyone is kept together, provided they keep pedalling, regardless of the speed they are going, although the effort and power output remains their individual effort. That everyone is in a group and that running parallel is a Discord voice channel, the banter and encouragement helps the miles to whizz by. The rides are proving a great way to bring together all abilities of rider and every week has seen someone different join in with numbers rising. Hobbsie liaises with Andy Ward to ensure the rides align with training plans – anyone still looking to join in? don’t be afraid to ask, there is plenty of advice within the club.

STRENGH & CONDITIONING CLASSES

Nikki Gatland one of our BTF level 2 coaches is also a Level three personal trainer. She commenced last week a twice weekly strength and Conditioning class via Zoom. These are held on Monday evenings at 5pm and Thursday evenings at 7pm. Any good? Absolutely…. your muscles will let you know the next day that the session was very worthwhile, and Nikki does a great job in explaining each set during the 30 minute programme. All welcome, simply accept the session on our app and dial into the Zoom link, oh and find a bit of floorspace in readiness. A sneaky screenshot from the latest session is above.

THE TUFF TAG TEAM TROT

Our next Tuff caper to keep everyone motivated is the forthcoming Tuff Tag Team Trot, to commence next week. We already have 40 signed up. Most of our members are still getting out for a run at some point during the week under the individual permitted exercise rule, so it was suggested by Trevor Harvey that we harness this to strengthen the bond of the club and engender cameraderie and spirit amongst us. For this reason the stipulation about the run is that it is nothing to do with how speedy runners are, how far they can run. Listings will be formulated by Trev and upon commencement the first on the list simply goes for a run. On their return they ‘pass the baton’ by communicating on our app saying -‘completed, go on Rupert’ (as an example), and then it is up to him to pick up the baton and complete their run and pass to the next runner. Clearly, family, work commitments, Government guidelines, and safety (ie, not going out on icy pavements) are paramount, so of course they will be delays between the virtual baton being passed, it could be lengthy with work commitments which is acceptable. The aim is to keep an eye of the list to try and schedule as soon as practical. This is a great initiative by Trevor enabling everyone who wants, to get involved, enabling members to come together with banter and contact. Indeed one participant has already said he will contact the person after him in advance which will be a brilliant way of opening communications when most of us are getting stir crazy with the ever increasing lockdown alone. (Why not use the message service on our app). Not yet registered for the event? don’t worry we can include you, even once it has started so you needn’t be left out. As stated mileage is NOT a requirement but when passing the baton we request you list the miles run (from 1k 10 miles) so Trevor can keep a tab of how far the club has run…. London, Birmingham.. further?

TUFF FITTY COACHING

As illustrated, the club committee and club coaches are working more closely together than ever to ensure our activities link effectively whether through virtual events or group training when permitted. In addition to the above, we are seeing our track maestro’s Dave & Andy post some ‘Not on the Track Night’, track sessions, whilst the facility is closed. The training programme aimed towards the Cotswold 70.3 in July (which currently has an impressive 37 Tuffs registered) has been well received, so there is plenty of things amongst others, to keep the membership occupied.

Several of our coaches are working on the next stage of their qualifications, but some excellent news to report in that Wendy Frost has been been successful in passing the next stage in her qualifications upgrading her BTF Level 1to a BTF Level 1Plus – congratulations from us all.

To our membership, your club are keen to support people who wish to get into coaching, with the majority of our coaching team ‘home grown’. As we look towards the new normal, if anyone would like a chat about what is entailed and how we can support you in this role, please speak to Andy Ward or Clive Harvey

CHEEKY LITTLE CHRISTMAS POP UP RUN

Only days before the Tiered lockdown measures dramatically closed in, Trevor & Clive Harvey had entered ‘The Cheeky Little Christmas Pop Up Run’. Very Covid secure with runners starting one or two at a time and what had appealed was that held on a Friday the entry field was very small making it even more Covid friendly. The route along the Thames towpath was constantly shrouded in drizzle but the majority of time this turned to rainfall. Starting from Runnymede the route was an out and back loop of 3.275 miles and runners could do as many laps as they wanted. Whilst part of the course was tarmac by the Runnymede Hotel and under the M25, the rest was wooded trail and from the off the going was muddy and slippery. Runners going back and forth churned the mud even more and as well as constantly wet, it was becoming increasingly difficult to stay upright. Clive & Trev had always intended to complete four laps for the Half marathon. The trouble is with these two is that where bling is at stake they are likely to keep going. As they met on the out and back route it was decided to go for a fifth lap to accrue 16.5 miles. Why, when conditions were so appalling? It meant they earnt a further badge to go on their stonking great medal saying ‘Mega Half’. With 15 runners not starting or dropped out there were just 46 finishers. Well organised, a veritable sweetshop of goodies which were handed out by long tongs securely as runners passed the aid station, a well stocked goody bag, oh and of course the large piece of ‘Despicable Run’ bling. It was indeed a fun ‘cheeky little Pop Up’ way to spend a morning