Running With Rotary

Due to Hythe's annual 'Round the Houses' being cancelled this year, our planning for next year is already in process. In the meantime we have enlisted the help of Hythe's Olympian, Jack Green, to give us some tips on running and race preparation

Running with Rotary

We are delighted Hythe’s own Olympic Athlete, Jack Green, is keen to help us and will be offering sound advice on how to get the best out of your running experience.

There will be information on social running with family and friends and also tips for the serious competitive individual runner. The whole project is designed to enhance your pleasure and improve your current fitness levels. Above all, for you to have fun with friends and family while responding to your sense of personal challenge.

Rotarian Barry Hammond caught up with Jack... Here's part one of Jack's top tips with more to follow next week:

How do you enjoy running and stay healthy?

Enjoying running comes down to choosing the training you actually want to do. Don’t stress about times and results, remember that training is just about getting you ready for a race in the future so no need to worry about all the numbers on a clock. To stay healthy its about recovering well. Eat lots, sleep lots and also be social away from your training. Then you need to look after your muscles by foam rolling, stretching and maybe even seeing a physiotherapist to iron out those creases.

What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm?
It’s about finding your ‘Why?’. Why are you wanting to do the RTH? Is it for fun, to get fit, to beat your personal best? Once you know your reason for doing something it becomes a lot easier to be consistent when the weather is bad or the days feel longer.

How do I include the family?
The Rotary Club Round the Houses is a fun run, perfect for everyone to do. Why not walk, jog or run it together? Or, if you want to get competitive why not race against everyone in your family with bragging rights as the prize!

What should I eat on the day?
Nutrition is all about timings. For me, I eat a main meal 4 hours before followed by a light snack 2 hours before the race. An hour before I tend to use an energy gel and caffeine but you can replace that with some fruit quite easily.Don’t worry too much about what to eat, the timings are more important unless you’re really trying to find those 1% gains.