
Week 6 Newsletter
You are becoming an athlete
Stay Focussed
We are getting close to the completion of this goal and the belief in yourself is growing.
What the coaching team is loving is that you are now starting to explore how to get faster and stronger.
This is a different direction from just trying to complete a distance.
You guys are becoming athletes, we love it!
Week 6 Sessions
MORNING GROUP
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Monday 27 November, 6.00am
Meeting Point: Deans Ave side of South Hagley Park
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Wednesday 29 November, 6.00am
Meeting Point: Netball Courts, South Hagley Park
EVENING GROUP
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Tuesday 28 November, 5.40pm
Meeting Point: Netball Courts, South Hagley Park
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Thursday 30 November, 5.40pm
Meeting Point: Deans Ave side of South Hagley Park
BOTH GROUPS
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​Saturday 2 December, 7.30am
Meeting Point: Cashmere Road, opposite Crichton Tce
Map of Run: Click here
​Course Description:​
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Run along the riverside pathway towards Princess Margaret Hospital.
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Continue around to Hoonhay Road, turn right.
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Run up to Rose St, turn right.
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Run along to Barrington St, turn right
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At Ashgrove Tce, turn right and the 4km marker will be along here.
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At the 4km marker, turnaround and reverse the course back to the start.
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Everyone is running 8km, check out below for the objective of this session for your programme level.
Beginner: 8km - no intensity
Advanced: 8km Fast - this is an uncomfortable run working at your own pace that makes you work hard.
Return: 8km Fast - this is all out for you guys, work at the pace you know you can maintain for the 8km distance and be wise with your pace strategy.
Saturday's Course: Click on image to enlarge
What Next?
Thinking about what to do after Club10k?
This is our last Club10k for 2023!
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If you would like to keep running with the Extra Mile Runners team, we will have sessions on our Session Timetable that will continue up to and right through Christmas and New Year.
Our first Club10k team will start the week beginning 15 January 2024.
Members: 6mth or 12mth memberships
Check when your membership expiry date is, and come to unlimited sessions each week during your membership term, just book in to the sessions on the timetable!
Non Members:
You can buy single Drop In Sessions that can be used at any of our sessions on the Session Timetable. They are valid for 1 month from date of purchase, so you can purchase and book in to any session you want to come to.
Want to find out more about Extra Mile Runners Memberships?
Education
Stride Length and Stride Rate - the key to improving pace
Those of you who started with Get up to Five will notice that our focus in Club10K has moved on from just completing the sessions to introducing intensity and a bit of speed work. The coaches are now starting to teach you about how to improve your speed.
When it comes to improving your speed through your movement as a runner the 2 key physical areas which are important to focus on are stride length and stride rate:
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Stride length is the distance your legs will go on each foot fall. Different distances require different stride lengths, for example a sprinter stride length is longer than a marathon runner, but ultimately we should all be aiming to increase the distances of our stride length over time.
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Stride rate is the number of steps you take, this is often measured per minute. If you look at good runners across all distances the stride rate tends to be around 180 footfalls per minute, for them the difference in speed comes from their stride length.
Take note of your turnover. We are aiming for the blue rhythm in this image. Shorter steps and higher turnover.
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Different runners need to focus on improving different areas. If you feel you have a short stride length you can aim to lift your feet higher as they kick back behind you and then bring your knees up more as you bring the knee forward (remember to always maintain your posture and to try to land your feet under your hips).
Watch the video below of Mirinda Carfrae who is the fastest female Ironman runner in the world.
Your Task:
If you are trying to improve your stride rate, time yourself for 1 minute and count how many steps you take. If you are well below 180 spend some time practicing improving your footfall by by 5-10%. For example if you are taking 150 steps per minute aim to improve this by 5-15 steps.
While improving stride length and stride rate are great ways to help get faster we don't want to create too much change too quickly. If you create massive change in your movement quickly you hugely increase your risk of injury. Instead of focusing on this all the time, aim to focus on it for around 2-3mins a couple times in your easier sessions each week. This small change in awareness will create the adjustments you need in a safe way.
While this advice is important make sure you talk to a coach about where you need to improve. We want to make sure you focus on the correct adjustments based on your movement.


Other News
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If you would like to help your body out, get a sports massage for those tight muscles, we recommend the team at Body Central.
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Remember to stay focused and keep turning up ;-).