Goodbye, Run Harrogate

Hi Everyone,

It is with heavy heart that I have made the decision to end Run Harrogate for the time being. I can't actually do the qualification they're asking for until October at the earliest - so carrying on is impossible.

Here's the last communication I received from HBC - I don't feel they've answered our questions regarding what constitutes an 'event', but wanted to share with you so you can make up your own minds:

Dear Miss Ward

RUN HARROGATE - THE STRAY

Further to our email correspondence regarding the 3K Run Harrogate being held each Thursday on The Stray, I have now heard a little more about your event.

Based on the information the council now has, it appears that you are operating a Running Club.  In fact you have yourself thought about public liability as you say you have asked everyone taking part with Run Harrogate to sign a disclaimer form.  It will be for you to decide whether that disclaimer would cover any liability you may have personally for running the Club.

The council has to make sure, when organised events are taking place on public land it owns or manages, that all public liability is being met and that appropriate risk assessments have been carried out so that it can take into account the safety and well-being of those involved.  This is the climate we have to operate in and you may wish to clarify your own liability if you are to continue and/or expand the Club. 

As I have said earlier, running on The Stray with friends or family is fine, that’s what the area is to be used for.  But when sessions are carried out on a regular more formalised basis and you are inviting people or groups to attend (as your piece in the local paper was doing), then we have to consider this as an organised event and one which has to follow guidelines put in place to protect not only those taking part but other users of the council’s facilities too.

The council is very happy for such organised events to be held on The Stray but there are guidelines for organisers who should:

• check with the land owner or those responsible for it (Harrogate Borough Council in this instance as managers on behalf of the Duchy of Lancaster) that they are happy for this organised activity to take place on their land.

• follow the guidelines set out for the use of that piece of land for that specific event or activity; these would be assessed from the application form submitted by the applicant.

• have sufficient public liability insurance, and also has sufficient skills to provide the event or activity in a safe manner.

We also ask such organisers to read and sign, as part of the application form, a section which indemnifies the council as follows - 

I understand that organisers must indemnify the council against all actions, claims and expenses arising directly or indirectly out of the event or the presence of any of the organisers or of their goods and materials present on the land during the event or not properly removed therefrom unless the claims and expenses are as a result of the negligence of the council, its agents or officers.

The guidance notes and application form are attached and we will happily help you complete the application form.  You may want to think about contacting the Athletics’ Association who will also be able to give you advice and guidance particularly in relation to insurance.

If you wish to carry on with your run informally with just your friends or family, then that will be fine and we will be happy for you to do so.  But if you do wish to carry on with the Running Club then we will have to ask you not to promote it to the general public until you have followed the guidelines in regard to insurance and risk assessments.

Please let me know what you decide to do.

Here's my reply:

Dear Mr Middleton,

Further to your e-mail below, I can confirm that Run Harrogate has now been disbanded.

I have sent out a Tweet to that effect, and will be closing down the Twitter account within the next week.

It's such a shame that the encouragement of physical activity (I maintain that this was a support group, not a club) is so discouraged by HBC - especially when just over a quarter of adults were classified as obese in 2010. I'm sure you don't need to be made aware of the serious health risks associated with obesity - not to mention that it's set to cost the NHS around £6.3 billion in just three years' time.

Whilst you make it clear that The Stray is available for all to use - perhaps a review of what constitutes an event - and indeed the way in which communications are made - is necessary. I feel that 'events' like Run Harrogate should be supported - encouraged, even. You could supply contact information for the relevant organisations (Run England, insurance companies etc) on a simple fact sheet - at least that way you're seen as being slightly more helpful.

Still, thank you for taking the time to contact me and review our situation.

Kind regards,

Sam

So, there we have it. Consider the CLUB disbanded.

Luckily, I have met some lovely friends through Run Harrogate - and I hope that we shall all continue to run together every Thursday evening. Same time, same place.

Much love,

Sam x

A Reply...

Hello,

I've had a reply to my e-mail from HBC. Here's the full communication so far - just so everything's totally transparent:

Dear Ms Ward

It has been brought to my attention and from reading the local newspaper that you are holding fitness activities on The Stray.

Although there isn’t a problem with you using The Stray to hold these activities, as events, The Council does need to manage activities that take place on land that it manages, and as with Park Run we need to ensure that you have completed a sufficient risk assessment and hold public liability insurance to a minimum of £5 million and have completed the relevant paperwork, we also need to ensure that the staff holding the activity have sufficient qualifications to carry out these activities.

Please can I ask that you submit the relevant information prior to continuing your activities on The Stray.

A copy of the relevant paperwork can be downloaded from our website at http://www.harrogate.gov.uk/pos/Pages/harrogate-5878.aspx or please feel free to contact me via the details below.

Dear Michael,

Thank you for your e-mail. I've informed the group that we can no longer meet to run as I have neither a qualification or PLI. I wasn't aware that this would be required, as we are just like minded people meeting to go for a run. No education takes place, and everyone signs a sheet to say that they are running entirely at their own risk.

I am going to be taking a Leadership in Running course in a couple of months and will look into PLI, however this won't be until October.

I do feel that this is an area that requires clarification - where are the boundary lines drawn? If I were to text a couple of friends to see if they wanted to go for a run, would that be okay - what's the maximum number before this becomes 'an event'? Please don't think I'm being facetious - I've just had a lot of people get in touch to say that it's unclear - and I don't know what to say!

Happy to abide by any rules, would just be good to have all the facts.

I have to say though, I thought HBC would be more supportive of a free running support group that encourages fitness and a healthy lifestyle, especially on the back of the Olympics. 

Anyway, totally appreciate you're just doing your job, would just like clarification if possible.

Thanks so much,

Sam

Dear Sam,

I can understand how frustrating this is, as with any organised event we do need to ensure that these activities are carried out in a safe and secure manner, we also need to know who is using any Harrogate Borough Council land, to ensure that these activities don’t clash alongside other activities.

We encourage people to use the facilities, just sometimes we have to check we are happy with what is taking place, I would ask that if any of your friends or colleagues are thinking of similar projects that they take a look at our event paperwork  at http://www.harrogate.gov.uk/pos/Pages/harrogate-5878.aspx  which will give you some idea of the details we need.

Running along The Stray with a couple of friends or family is fine, that’s what the area is to be used, you just need to be a little more careful when you start to carry out these sessions on a regular basis and are inviting people or groups to attend, we felt that your piece in the local paper was maybe some kind of advertising campaign, which is why it was brought to my attention to have a look at.

I am happy to help you move things forward as quickly as possible, but think for the time being you need to look at getting some sort of qualification, and for the protection of yourself and those taking your sessions you will need to have public liability to a minimum of £5 million.

Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any further help

So that's where we're at. Thoughts?

Sam x

All By Myself... :'(

Hi Everyone,

So, I thought I'd better post to give you my views on the recent RunHarrogate furore that's sent Twitter into a bit of a frenzy.

As a bit of background (and those of you who know all this, I'm sorry - I'll keep it brief), I started RunHarrogate back in May because, quite frankly, I was petrified. The thought of running by myself was daunting to sway the least - I'd just had a baby, I knew nothing about running and I ran under the cover of darkness.
I figured other people must feel the same, so I sent out a Tweet - would anyone like to come and run with me? We could support each other - safety in number and all that. RunHarrogate was born.

Fast forward a few months and we now have a core group of 15-20 runners, with more dipping in and out as commitments allow. I love this group - they make me smile (and, admittedly, beam with complete pride) every week; I've seen people (myself included) go from walking around the course to running, full pelt, head held high. Their fitness levels have improved beyond belief and they now take part in the weekly 5km Park Run as well.

Anyway, without getting too teary-eyed about it, Harrogate Council got in touch to say that unless I had a running qualification and £5million public liability insurance then I was to stop the group.

I was taken aback, to say the least. Bearing in mind I don't teach anyone - I've always been very honest about not knowing the first thing about running - and it's a free group that is literally there just so that people have the motivation to get healthy. I also send out a fortnightly newsletter to everyone with a disclaimer to say that they run entirely at their own risk.

I don't want to ride on the back of the Olympic coat tails but, really? We've just seen the biggest sporting event in the UK, well...Ever. Everyone's excited and energised to get involved in sport. Just let us run.

I don't want to fall out with anyone and totally understand sanctions are put in place for a reason but where does it end? The Stray is a public place - what if a group of mates wanted to get together once a week for a game of football or picnic? Is this an 'event'?

It remains to be seen. The local media has been amazing - I've done interviews with the Yorkshire Post and BBC Radio York, with another on StrayFM on Monday. People feel so strongly about this and the support has been amazing. Hopefully we can work with Harrogate Borough Council and reach a solution - it would be such a shame if we had to lose the group.

In the meantime, I'm off running on Thursday next week, around 6:30pm. Might see you there (coincidentally, of course).

Finally, I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone on Twitter who has sent a supportive message or retweeted our concerns - every single one has been absolutely AWESOME.

Sam x

I'm Just Going To Stick A Needle In You...

Er... What?

When I went to visit my lovely physiotherapist, Vicky last night, I have to say I wasn't expecting her to say she was going to stick a needle in my leg. However, acupuncture has been used for years as a way of encouraging blood circulation to the affected area, promoting repair - magic!

Anyway, it has worked an absolute treat - my hip is feeling much better and I think I'm going to attempt a very slow jog with the Run Harrogate crew this evening. I have a massage booked tomorrow and a further physio session on Saturday morning, so fingers crossed I won't be too far behind schedule.

Vicky also noticed that my hamstrings are incredibly tight and suggested that may be partly to blame for my injury - my hips could be overcompensating. So more than ever, I am learning that stretching properly is as important as the run itself. I have some new stretches to incorporate now, so fingers crossed it will help. I am also going to start taking ibuprofen half an hour before my runs and when I get back - this will prevent a build up of muscle inflammation, which is obviously a huge problem for me at the moment.

Anyway, I'll keep this one short, I know I've already posted about food today!

Sam x

Olympic Food Challenge: Palau

Over the next few days, you’ll be seeing daily blog posts from me under a completely different theme. Those of you who even vaguely know me understand my obsession with food, so this will probably come as no surprise; I signed up to do the #OlympicFoodChallenge with a group of fabulous food bloggers – the aim is to cook a traditional meal from each of the 204 countries over the 19 days of the Olympics between us – 19 recipes each.

My list is hilarious. There are countries I have (unsurprisingly, given my basic knowledge of geography) never heard of, and it’s one of these that I decided to kick off the challenge with; Palau.

Palau is part of the archipelago known as ‘The Black Islands’ and has a population of just 21,000. In spite of this, a healthy amount of tourists head to the island each year and as a result, Palauan cuisine has sadly diminished over the years. Young people on the island are increasingly choosing Western food and culture – although why they would poo-poo chomping down on a fruit bat or two is beyond me.

Japanese and Korean traditions heavily influence Palauan culture, and as such, I dipped in and out of three different recipes to create my Palauan fish dish; Palauan Fish with Coconut Rice and Plantain.

I was meant to use mackerel for this, but I hate all the fiddly little bones – I’m such a fish heathen – so I used sea bass instead. Baking a whole mackerel in the oven instead of using fillets on the hob would work fantastically, I would imagine – if you like that sort of thing.

For the Palauan Fish

2 good-sized sea bass fillets

1Tbsp hot chilli paste

1tsp minced garlic (I used smoked garlic – it was immense)

1Tbsp sesame oil

1tsp finely grated ginger

1tsp oyster sauce

1Tbsp soy sauce

1Tbsp brown sugar

1Tbsp lemon juice

1Tbsp sesame seeds

1 bunch of spring onions, chopped (just the green bits)

For the Plantain

1 plantain

1Tbsp sesame oil

For the Coconut Rice

Rice, cooked according to the instructions

Coconut milk

1 stick lemongrass, well bruised

Coriander

Method

Start with the rice. Make it up according to the instructions on the packet. In the meantime, warm the coconut milk in a pan and add the bashed lemongrass. Just before the rice is fully cooked (a few minutes or so) add the coconut/lemongrass mixture and allow the rice to fully soak up the liquid. You only need a few tablespoons of the liquid.

Now for the plantain – warm a good slosh of sesame oil in a frying pan and slice the plantain into diagonal chunks around 1cm thick. Pop them in the pan and turn occasionally until you’ve plated everything else up.

Don’t forget them.

Meanwhile, heat the sesame oil for your fish in a separate frying pan.

While you’re waiting for it to become smoking hot, mix all the other ingredients together in a bowl. Don’t be shy, just whack it all in and give it a good mix.

Add your fish to your hot oil, skin side down and leave for a few minutes until the skin becomes crispy.

Baste the fish generously with the sauce, flipping over to baste the skin side as well.

Tip the rest of the sauce into the pan along with the spring onions.

Stir the chopped coriander through the rice, and lay out on your serving plates. Lay your fish out on top and spoon the sauce over the top. Arrange your plantain in a fancy way on the side.

Eat and enjoy*.

*So, there are a couple of things to mention here. Firstly, I know a lot of people like their fish skin crispy – it won’t work with the way I’ve done it, but it does mean that the fish takes on the maximum amount of delicious flavor. Secondly, the plantain brings absolutely nothing to this dish at all, but I like the way it looks.

Tonight: Poland.

What Goes Up...

So, last night I ran 16km. And I was gutted. I know it sounds silly, but I had my heart (and mind) set on 21km – my first half marathon.

I think a few things were against me – I can appreciate now that any change in routine can have a huge effect on your performance, and there were certainly a few changes.

Firstly, I missed my regular Thursday run last week as I was preparing for my friend Sarah’s beautiful wedding. I drank at the wedding (not loads, but a little all the same). I got a tummy bug. The day of my run was incredibly hot and sunny.

All of these factors mingled together in one catastrophic bang – and my hip went. Seriously, I hate this hip.

My old nemesis is back – the piriformis injury I managed to beat earlier in my training programme. I felt a twang at 14km but ignored it, hoping it was all in my mind, and carried on for another 2km – it was so painful but I was determined to reach 16km – my first ever 10 miles. As soon as I hit it I almost fell over; I was so angry with myself for pushing it and even more angry with my rubbish body for not holding out for that final 5km.

Today, I still feel gutted, although I know that 10 miles is nothing to be sniffed at on a stifling Monday evening.

I have booked in for a full body massage on Friday and have a physio appointment on Saturday morning. I’ll rest it until then and hope beyond hope that Vicky tells me it will be okay.

Berlin is now just over nine weeks away – I need to be upping my distances by 3-4 km each week for the next six weeks, if Vicky tells me I have to rest then it will be a huge setback.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Sam x

Record Breaker

Okay, so it's been two weeks since I last posted. I've been meaning to - honest, it's just that I've been busy running (most of the time).

Excuses out of the way, I can get on with it. I'm feeling so positive about Berlin now - last night I broke three of my PB's in one, mad, running swoop. I took four minutes off my 10km time, ran further and ran for longer than I ever have before. This pleases me greatly. I am so competitive it's sometimes scary - and although I mostly just battle with myself, I love it when I am better at something than I ever thought I could be.

Last night I ran 12km. I was aiming for 16km (10 miles) and although I am kicking myself this morning for not cracking it, last night I was beyond pleased. I was running 40seconds/km faster than my last 10km and it felt good. My legs are sore today - but no pain, no gain. I could've run for longer - it's just that I got... Well, bored of running. 

So this is it - I know I can manage the physical side of this running lark - I'm in better shape than I ever have been (apart from my dastardly post-baby tummy wobble, which I'm not sure I'll ever get rid of), but mentally - well, that needs work.

The book I have chosen to help my training (The non-runner's guide to marathon running) has a whole section in it dedicated to the psychology of running for such long distances - more than ever this is something I need to focus on.

It also occurred to me last night that I never get thirsty while running. When I first started out, taking on fluids used to give me the dreaded stitch, so I stopped. Even after my run last night I wasn't particularly parched. So this is something I need help with. When are the best times to drink? What about energy gels? I know nothing about these things. So, if anyone out there knows anything about this kind of stuff, I'll be eternally grateful for a little advice.

If I can keep upping my distances by 3km each week, I'll be at my target come race day. Finally, it's manageable. I'm excited.

Sam x

You can sponsor me, if you're feeling generous. I'll be eternally grateful, and so will the lovely people at Children with Cancer, who I am honoured to be running for: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/weruntheworld

13 Weeks to Berlin

I can't believe how quickly this year is passing by and how much I need to step up my game if I'm even going to finish in Berlin. 


Today, I had a terrible run - one of those runs where you question why you're even attempting such a ridiculous challenge. 26 miles is a bloody long way - I was gone at two miles today - totally lethargic all the way and completely empty by the end.


I need to work on my mental strength - even my head was telling me to stop today, when usually I want to just keep going. I felt great when I was on Lean Body Challenge - obviously because I was putting the right fuel into my body, so it was working as it should. Too much wine this weekend has really taken its toll - so I'll be booze free for the coming weeks - just until I can sort my head out.


I seem to have passed 50 miles on my counter without blogging about it - next milestone is 100 but I have a way to go yet... I'll pass 100km this week; even though I'm beating myself up about my performance today, never in my life did I think I'd be able to run 100km - or even have the inclination to. So I guess that's something I can be proud of.


Anyway, I hate blogging when I'm feeling negative - I just wanted to start out July as I mean to go on - regular posts, unlike June! Fingers crossed Tuesday's run will be a turning point...


Sam x

Inspirational

This week, I was called 'inspirational' by one of my friends. I have never been called inspirational by anyone before and it kind of knocked me sideways a little bit - mainly because it was so unexpected and, to be honest, I don't really feel like I have done anything to warrant it.


I'd had maybe two weeks of not keeping up my (now) regular regime of running at least four times a week, and Shredding on the days between (or even on the same day). I got a little lax - there was a festival, a hen party and a whole bag of excuses I won't even shame myself by bringing to the table. I'd seen some epic results, losing just over a stone since I started training seriously - a mixture of Lean Body Challenge and sheer determination.


Anyway, I hadn't been out in a little while and that silly fear of running alone had crept back into my mind. I kept promising myself I'd get out later, or the next day. When I shared my fears with the wonderful world of Twitter, one person stood out amongst all the loveliness; Katherine had never run before but she said I was her inspiration for getting out there - it's thanks to her that I got straight out of bed and churned out one of the most painful 3kms to date, and followed it up with run club that evening. 


Katherine's words were super kind, but I look around at what everyone else is achieving and I can't accept them - one person who has stood out this week is Taff - a crazy Welsh Army dude based here in Harrogate who is doing a 24 hour run/walk in aid of Help for Heroes, Diabetes UK, NSPCC (because, he says, he's a big kid at heart) and Cancer Research UK. Taff is basically doing (as we speak) laps of our regular RunHarrogate 3km route non-stop for 24 hours, starting at 2pm yesterday (22nd June) and finishing at 2pm today. Lindsey and I went out at midnight last night to run a lap with him but ended up staying around for a couple of hours. The weather was like something out of a film - think Twister meets Wizard of Oz - with rivers of water running all over the route and the wind blowing huge swathes of branches from the trees. Taff had been going for 10 hours and was almost at 100km by the time we got there; he had already hit the wall and come through the other side. His feet were absolutely screwed - he couldn't feel four of his toes anymore and had epic blisters everywhere, so needless to say running was no longer an option. We marched with him for over 7km and were knackered come 1:30am - I just can't comprehend the pain he must be going through all to raise money and awareness for such a great bunch of charities - that is proper inspiration right there.


If you want to donate, you can do it here.


In other news, the guys from Harrogate Park Run joined us at 1am - it was so good to meet Adam and his lovely daughter, and get some tips on marathon running for Berlin - Adam ran it back in 2010 and it was good to hear his thoughts on the race. He also recommended a book by Grete Waitz, one of the greatest marathon runners of all time (she won the NYC marathon NINE times). 


Hopefully her words will help Lindsey and I cross that finish line in September.


Sam x

3k Thursdays

In my last post, I had a hare-brained idea; to start a running group aimed at beginners which would act as a support system and encourage more people to take to the streets and parks of beautiful Harrogate. 


Since then, things have been a little crazy - the response has been great; there are now over 100 followers of @RunHarrogate on Twitter and almost 40 people have signed up to take part.


We had our first session on Thursday; it was really nerve-wracking but everyone was lovely and 15 of us took part, with my physiotherapist, Vicky leading the warm-up. As it was the first session I really didn't know what to expect and other than seeking advice from the lovely Bangs and a Bun, I didn't really do much to prepare. I wanted to go with an open mind and see what kind of pace people were running before making any decisions, which worked out really well as the group fell naturally into three groups: Laid Back and Lovely, Caught in the Middle and Speedy Gonzalez. 


For the next session I plan to separate out the groups, choosing someone to lead the pace for each one - hopefully this will encourage some of the less confident runners. 


The feedback from the first session was fantastic, with pretty much all of the runners dropping me a little message to say how much they enjoyed it and how welcome they felt, which was great - mission accomplished! Hopefully everyone will take the group to their hearts and become proud of it - but more than that, I hope it helps everyone on the way to reaching their goals.


So all is going well, we have even created a little identity for it:

It's all fairly simple, but it seems to be working, so fingers crossed everyone still wants to come down and run as the weeks go by.

In other news, Lindsey and I are continuing with our preparations for the Berlin Marathon, and are clocking up a decent amount of miles per week. I was hoping to hit the big 50 miles on my blog counter by Monday but not sure that will happen now as I was forced to take a rest day today (my hip felt a little twangy on Friday - I have definitely learnt my lesson!).

On Monday I start the Lean Body Challenge, a three-week programme designed by Leeds fitness guru, Brendan Chaplin. It's pretty complex by the sounds of things so will post about everything's going when I've managed to get to grips with it, but from what I've heard he definitely gets results - hopefully it will get rid of the last of my baby podge!

Sam x

Run Harrogate

So, I may have just started something pretty cool. 


This evening, my Berlin buddy, Lindsey was held up at work and for the first time in ages, I just didn't feel confident enough to hit the streets on my own. I think it was a timing thing - I've never run on my own in the evening before, preferring to jog around the streets of Harrogate under the relative cover of 7am. I feel good running at this time; safe, almost. Hardly anyone will see me, and if they do - well, they're either runners themselves or too bleary-eyed to care.


So it got me thinking - if I feel this way, surely others must as well. What I need is a group of like-minded people at a similar level who will run at a set time each week. That way if one of us can't make it, the support is still there. And so it started - Run Harrogate was born.


The response in the last half an hour alone has been incredible, with RTs, follows and enthusiastic e-mails about the first meet. So now I'm going to have to figure out a good 3k route - although I don't know if people will want to go further - I guess it's up for discussion, but I would hate to scare anyone off - especially first-timers.


Run Harrogate is a laid back alternative to traditional running clubs, where people can run entirely at their own pace and feel supported by everyone involved in the session - hopefully it will mean that everyone at some point will have the confidence to run the Harrogate Park Run on Saturday mornings, in addition to 3k Thursdays.


So there we have it - it's all very exciting!


JOIN US!


Sam x


runharrogate@gmail.com


@RunHarrogate