Round Up 21st February 2021
We are now well into month 11 of Covid restrictions, so some people may be thinking Tuff Fitty are unable to function much. Not a bit of it as the following Round Up highlights. Your committee’s work continues unabated, and what is pleasing is how some members have stepped up to stage bespoke motivational activities, like Scavenger hunts, & the Tag Trot as explained below, so thanks to Paul Atkinson, Jason Rae & Trevor Harvey:-
Andy Ward has worked hard to keep an overall coordinating eye on the coaching proceedings and has been organising a 70.3 training plan for members with one eye on the Middle Distance Club champ race; very well received and utilised. Together with Dave March they have compensated for our lack of a running track night, with a ‘not the track night, track session’. Two further specialist sessions which have been getting fantastic reviews are from our Zwift Maestro Richard Hobbs and our own Level three personal trainer (& BTF Level II) Nikki Gatland. Thanks to everyone for pulling together during these difficult times and keeping our great club united.
DARKSTAR RIVER MARATHON
The end of January should have seen the annual Darkstar River marathon staged by Sussex Trail Events and our very own Chris, Danny & Jay. These gents meet conditions head on and offered it as a virtual event. Unfortunately after dreadful weather, and perhaps some ‘virtual race’ fatigue, just 9 competitors ran the course. However what was particularly impressive was that a third of the field were Tuffs: Jon Babbage & Simon Thistlethwaite, who ran together and the next day Dom Mason. Whilst Dom is one of our more recent members this was his first ever marathon (and an ultra at that). What an event to pick, as two race reports testify. Dom has clearly demonstrated his qualities as a Tuff already. First up Jon reports and then some thoughts from Dom, who provided the banner photo for this round up.
“So 2021 started and yet again, another lockdown which meant the Darkstar marathon would not be going ahead. The good people at Sussex trail events said on 3rd Jan if anyone wanted to take on the Darkstar marathon you could do it on own in your own time time within the month of January, so challenge accepted. I did the Darkstar in 2020 so I knew what I was letting myself in for and knew it would be sensible to do it with 1 other person. A post was put out to the tuffs and after 2 weeks no takers then a week before late one evening, ping my phone goes off, and Simon Thistlethwaite asks if I had a partner to run with, so after a chat that was it. Simon agreed to take on his 1st trail marathon and 2 ever marathon what I forgot to mention is it was 28.2 mile so a couple of miles more and only told him on on the morning we started.”
“We decided we was going to go early we met at 630 then drove to Shoreham to start at 7am the weather forecast was 100% rain all morning so not looking good. 2 miles in we were going well when Simon stopped to unload a bit of extra weight he was carrying 😂 💩”
“We started to noticed the mud was getting worse as we got further into the run it started to become a challenge to see who could stay, up we were slipping and sliding all over the place I won the fall over competition 2-1. The mud and flooded fields just kept giving; we dug deep and carried on. Plenty of runners and walkers on route to have a laugh and joke with. I did tell an old gentleman don’t worry we’re doing this for fun; we’re not running from the police. We were very lucky with the weather, it only rained for about a total of an hour. This was such a good morning out I really enjoyed the company and the laughs. This was definitely a lot muddier than last year and one of the muddiest runs I’ve done. Thank you to Simon for being great support and to Sussex trail events for the opportunity of added to my bling collection.
Jon
“Conditions ranged from slippery, slimy tracks to submerged stiles. East bank slow but West bank a little easier on return. Coffee at Partridge Green was a huge boost and relied on the staple classics of Snickers and jelly babies throughout. Learned loads. Massive kudos to Jon B for the inspiration and tips.”
Dom
COTSWOLD MIDDLE DISTANCE TRIATHLON
So much of the 2021 season remains uncertain, yet last year the Cotswold Classic went ahead in a Covid friendly manner, and the venue oftens sees Tuffs present. Therefore this race was selected as Tuff Fitty’s Middle Distance Championship race. (The situation is still being monitored carefully to see whether any local sprint or Standard distances can be included). We are grateful to James Brock for contacting the event organiser & he reports on a very successful initiative for our club as follows:-
“A reassuring Zoom meeting was held with Graeme Hardie from 113 Events”.
“The evening was put on as another exclusive event for Tuff Fitty on behalf of our forthcoming middle distance club championship race in the Cotswolds”.
“Graeme very kindly took us through the race history, 113 events ethos and then took us leg by leg of the race”.
“The zoom meeting was well attended. If you did happen to miss the meeting it has been recorded and can be watched back via Spond. We have had some great feedback from nervous newbies to excited more experienced athletes. We have been offered our own starting wave and an area put to one side post-race to do our own awards”.
“The swim seems relatively ‘calm’ with sand bars at different intervals so if you did feel a bit panicked you could stand up or roll over on your back, raise your hand and wait for one of the kayaks to come and assist you. If you hold onto the nose of the boat and compose yourself then you can set off again or if you wanted to can go back to the start and have another go. The bike course was described as ‘mirror flat’ and then run is laps of the lake so again no nasty climbs”.
“There are still spaces available so if you are still thinking about joining some 40 Tuffs then this has got to be the race for you!” Editors note – further Tuffs signed up following the Zoom meet, so… what are you waiting for!
Jimbo
CLUB ZWIFT RIDES
In the last Round Up it was pleasing to report that after 10 weeks of regular Tuesday night Club Zwifting, more Tuffs were joining in, including some more new to Zwift. Whilst appreciating that many don’t have the kit and other virtual cycles are available, this growth has continued throughout, and we are now on week 15.
41 different club members have now taken part with rides aligned with the discord app for riders to hear instructions, banter (and much puffing)!
Richard Hobbs has accomplished a superb Tuesday training session; a group ride with just Tuffs visible on screen. With the positive feedback and great camaraderie (and occasional virtual awards), Hobbsie volunteered to run a separate Friday evening ride. These rides are more bespoke enabling him to add more twists and turns, literally, each week.
Hobbsie has taken Tuffs on a virtual tour of the world, including London, Paris & New York, putting in a lot of work behind the scenes. He plans the routes and designs the Friday workouts, and is always on hand for any Zwift queries or issues that arise.
Hobbsie reports:- “I have seen a noticeable increase in the power figures for each Tuff, with all involved embracing the sessions. I can’t wait to hear about everyone’s improvement on the road.”
Anyone considering joining in, don’t hesitate to ask. A huge thanks Hobbsie, truly winter miles that will pay dividends post lockdown.
STRENGTH & CONDITIONING
Nikki Gatland has been another one coming to the aid of club members during lockdown with her twice weekly Strength & Conditioning sessions. Held on Monday and Thursdays, the half hour slots are applicable for all. The sessions are held via Zoom with nothing required except space to move around and an expectation to log off a lot warmer than when you signed in. Any good? Muscles will certainly let you know it was a great session the next day. Nikki recently ran a special where participants were asked to have stretchy bands at the ready to work swim specific muscles which attracted a large audience, and was very favourably received.
Perhaps symbolic of how the country is starting to look towards the lifting of restrictions, Nikki’s employment is starting to build up again. Therefore 1st March will be the last Monday session, although she is looking to continue Thursday’s meets for a further lockdown period. Monday 1st will be another session that requires the use of a resistance band of some sort – all welcome.
THE TUFF TAG TEAM TROT
The Tuff Tag Team Trot saw members go out for a run and on their return communicate with the next person on the list in their team to continue the train. Whilst devised as a mean of encouraging members out to run, equally important was getting members to reach out to other team members working out when was best to go out, or hand over allowing for work/family commitments, and maintain contact with each other. This goal was achieved, so important with the current restrictions preventing group training. Trevor Harvey kindly coordinated the event which proved successful, so much so that the teams ran through the chain for a second time. Trev reports:-
A ‘big up’ to both the Terrific Tuffs & Fantastic Fitties for completing the Tuff Tag Team Trot, & Tuff Tag Team Trot Two. The Terrific Tuffs completed first, (both first & second time), and also covered the most Km this time – Fantastic Fitties furthest last time, (even though it was never about the distance). It was designed as a way to nudge people to get out the door and run …….& from first hand experience, my first outing was in rain, the second in Arctic temperatures – so it certainly achieved that aim! So thanks again to all who took part. In round terms, on both outings, we ran the equivalent of Littlehampton to Carlisle – some 580km! Well done all – Tuff by name, Tuff by nature!
Trevor
SCAVENGER HUNT
One of the challenges to Tuffs during January was to go on a Scavenger Hunt whilst out on their daily permitted exercise. The list of 50 items to track down was diverse, ranging from a pig as an example in the wildlife section, through to ‘Streetlife’, ‘Highlife’, ‘Sign of the Times’ & ‘Random Stuff’. There were some interesting twists on what photos would make the cut as some were quite hard to find in Sussex. However lots of Tuffs embraced the challenge as organiser Geordie Paul Atkinson summarises:-
“What a fantastic month of scavenging. Thanks everyone who took part, hope you enjoyed it, and hope it added some brief excitement to your daily excursion into the outside world. We saw plenty of activity in the final weekend and some impressive late surges. In total, we bagged 622 items on the list (and many more that weren’t on the list lol)👏👏👏 Congratulations to Danny, Debbie, Anthony (and me…. oh please…stop🤗) for bagging the full set. And tough luck to those who got soooo close to a full set – Jase, Ian, Becky, Tiff, Les..
Geordie
