Happy Birthday from this Thursday 4 November to Niall Carney, Anna Higson, Daniel Lewis, Kate Lloyd, Shane Martin, Tommy Narvaez-White, Charles Romito, Jasmin Sabir, Allan Smith, Calvin Smith, Trecia Smith, Isobel Thompson, Dave Thomson, Steve Turnock and Jovan Zigic

RECENT NEW MEMBERS– We wish you a very warm welcome, and a happy, healthy and successful time with Shaftesbury to WERONIKA KALINSKA and EMMANUELLA OWUSU-BEMPAH

PARKRUN 200 CLUB – Congratulations to RUSSELL DEVITT, who at the Stevenage Parkrun last Saturday completed his 200th appearance

SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2021 – Notice is hereby given of the 131st Annual General Meeting of Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers to be held on Tuesday 30 November at StoneX Stadium. Link to notice – SBH AGM Notice 2021

SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS SUBSCRIPTIONS – SBH Treasurer GEOFF MORPHITIS has sent me the following regarding subscriptions.
Our new year started on 1 October 2021. The SBH annual subscriptions is £50 and the current England Athletics annual registration is £15. The total is £65 and should now be paid NOW to; ACCOUNT NAME: SHAFTESBURY BARNET HARRIERS, BANK: 41308378, SORT CODE: 400426 – Please let me know when payment is made. I will still be collecting subscriptions for the year to 30 September 2021 from those members who did not pay. Thanks GEOFF

NATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY RELAY CHAMPIONSHIPS – Takes place on Saturday 6 November at Berry Hill Park, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire (SatNav NG18 4JR).
Timetable – 10.45 U20 Women (3 x 2.5K), 10.57 U17 Women (3 x 2.5K), 11.26 U13 Boys (3 x 2K), 11.50 U13 Girls (3 x 2K), 12.15 U20 Men (3 x 3K), 12.40 U17 Men (3 x 3K), 13.06 U15 Girls (3 x 2K), 13.30 U15 Boys (3 x 2K), 13.50 Senior Women (3 x 3K), 14.40 Senior Men (4 x 5K).
Note: You will have to be pre-entered by your respective Team Manager

NORTH WEST LONDON LEAGUE – The second North West London League took place last Saturday at Uxbridge.
An excellent day for Shaftesbury, with the performance of the day going to our Under 13 Boys, who finished the race with 4 runners in the top 10, ARTHUR PHILLIPS had a runaway win by 22 seconds, making it two wins out of two this season, EUAN PHILLIPS finished 3rd, PRINCE VICTORUS JOHN finished 9th and KEEYAN SHAH 10th. The Team, who at Greenford won by 3 points from Cookham, this time it was a different story, and we finished 40 points in front of Cookham. There were also top 10 finishes from VERA DOUDKO U11 7th and BEN KASPAR U11 10th.
The next fixture is on 27 November at Trent Park, so put it in your diary now.

Under 11 Boys (2000m) – BEN KASPAR U11 10th (8.02), SONNY SYNETT U11 14th (8.08), PRINCE-MOSES JOHN U11 22nd (8.41), the winner was Jack Hayward of Ealing, Southall and Middlesex (7.37) 52 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Ealing, Southall and Middlesex (29 points), 2nd SBH (55), 3rd London Heathside (63), 8th SBH ‘B’ (125) 14 teams finished 

Under 11 Girls (2000m) – VERA DOUDKO U11 7th (9.11), JASMYN PERRIN U11 16th (9.37), the winner was Quinn Bookless of Cookham (7.52) 23 runners finished
Team Result – 1st SBH (32 points), 2nd Trent Park (37), 3rd Ealing, Southall and Middlesex (68) 11 teams finished 

Under 13 Boys (3000m) – ARTHUR PHILLIPS U13 1st (11.36), EUAN PHILLIPS U13 3rd (11.58), PRINCE VICTORUS JOHN U13 9th (12.36), KEEYAN SHAH U13 10th (12.42), ZACK JOSEPHS U13 14th (13.15), MAX PANWAR U13 19th (13.42), JACK REDFORD U13 39th (14.59), DANIEL ARROYA U13 42nd (15.04), ALVARO ARROYA U13 47th (16.24), 50 runners finished
Team Result – 1st SBH (23 points), 2nd Cookham (63), 3rd SBH ‘B’ (71) 12 teams finished 

Under 13 Girls (3000m) – No SBH Runner, the winner was Jorijia March of Barnet & District (12.56), 29 runners finished
Team Result – 1st London Heathside (52 points), 2nd Cookham (53), 3rd Hillingdon (57) 11 teams finished 

Under 15 Boys (4000m) – TOMMY NARVAEZ-WHITE U15 12th (16.19), the winner was Cameron McConnon of Thames Valley Harriers (14.29), 32 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Thames Valley Harriers (41 points), 2nd Ealing, Southall and Middlesex (61), 3rd Trent Park (74), 10th SBH (108) 11 teams finished 

Under 15 Girls (4000m) – PHOEBE MUSIC U15 27th (20.38), ASHANI PERERA U15 28th (20.55), the winner was Issy Watkins of London Heathside (16.39), 31 runners finished
Team Result – 1st London Heathside (13 points), 2nd Cookham (51), 3rd Harrow (63), 10th SBH (119) 11 teams finished 

Under 17 Men (5000m) – No SBH Runner, the winner was Jack Bailey of Highgate Harriers (17.32)
Team Result – 1st Trent Park (32 points), 2nd Harrow (59), 3rd Hillingdon (62) 10 teams finished 

Under 17 Women (5000m) – No SBH Runner, the winner was J Ridley of Cookham (19.42), 17 runners finished
Team Result – 1st Dacorum & Tring (19 points), 2nd Cookham (19), 3rd Trent Park (46) 6 teams finished 

Current Consecutive Races – ARTHUR PHILLIPS U13 (4), VERA DOUDKO U11, JASMYN PERRIN U11, PRINCE-MOSES JOHN U11, PRINCE VICTORUS JOHN U13, EUAN PHILLIPS U13 and PHOEBE MUSIC U15, (2)

NORTH LONDON CHAMPIONSHIPS – Took place last Saturday at Uxbridge.
Senior Men (8000m) – ROBERT RIGBY V60 45th (34.16), TIM BUTLER V55 64th (36.26), DANNY DIGWEED V35 79th (38.21), the winner was Robert Thompson of Hillingdon (27.51), 111 runners finished
Team Result – Senior Men 1st Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets (61 points), 2nd Hillingdon (81), 3rd Serpentine (129) 13 teams finished – Veteran Men 1st Trent Park (116 points), 2nd Serpentine (182), 3rd Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets (184) 9 teams finished 

Senior Women (8000m) – ELANA DIMMER 13th (36.22), the winner was Evangelista Divetain of London Heathside (33.07), 68 runners finished
Team Result – Senior Women 1st Ealing, Southall and Middlesex (65 points), 2nd Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets (70), 3rd London Heathside (77) 13 teams finished – Veteran Women 1st Queens Park Harriers (41 points), 2nd Ealing, Southall and Middlesex (48), 3rd Eton Manor (67) 8 teams finished 

PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS – Took place at Salt Lake City, Utah, USA on 30 October.
8000m – SM CHARLES HICKS U23 (Stanford University) 1st (23.35)

MAAC CHAMPIONSHIPS – Took place at Orlando, Florida, USA on 30 October.
8000m – SM JAMIE DEE (Iona College) 1st (24.37)

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Braunston on 30 October.
RUFUS KENT U23 8th (21.12) this was his 43rd Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Bushey on 30 October.
ABDIRAHIM HAMUD U17 1st (PB 15.57) this was his 46th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Grovelands on 30 October.
ASHWIN FOWKES-GAJAN U20 1st (PB 16.48) this was his 31st Parkrun, STUART SINGER V60 17th (22.35) this was his 305th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Hackney Marshes on 30 October.
BARRY CHISHOLM V60 137th (31.41) this was his 218th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Maidstone on 30 October.
CLIFF GOLDING V65 144th (28.30) this was his 99th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Perry Lakes on 30 October.
STUART MOORE V60 43th (28.01) this was his 175th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at St Albans on 30 October.
TIM UNDERHILL V50 11th (20.54) this was his 89th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Stevenage on 30 October.
RUSSELL DEVITT V70 179th (34.10) this was his 200th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Tamar Lakes on 30 October.
LADDIE SHAW U13 15th (22.22) this was his 3rd Parkrun, POSIE SHAW U13 18th (22.28) this was her 12th Parkrun

PARKRUN 5K – Took place at Thurso on 30 October.
HUGH RICHARDS V75 33rd (31.23) this was his 160th Parkrun

AA DRINK ROTTERDAM QUARTER MARATHON – Took place at Rotterdam, Holland on 24 October.
LIAM DEE 1st (PB 30.56)

LEEDS ABBEY DASH 10k – Took place at Leeds on 24 October.
KIERAN CLEMENTS 5th (SB 29.21) taking 26 seconds off his 19 September time, HENRY MCLUCKIE U20 36th (PB 30.18) taking 18 seconds off his 26 September time

BRITISH STUDENT RUNNERS GAINED SUCCESS IN THE CONFERENCE CROSS COUNTRY – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.
PAC 12 Cross-Country Championships, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, 29 October
CHARLES HICKS, the US-based Shaftesbury Harrier, who in the summer ran a UK teenage 10,000m record of (27:47.63) in the NCAA final, won the 8km race in a fast (23:35).
His strong last 500 metres saw him pull off a surprise 10-second win over NCAA 5000m champion COOPER TEARE, who is a (3:50) indoor miler, and EDUARDO HERRERA, with the latter leading Colorado to victory over HICKS’ Stanford.
HICKS said: “It was a very exciting race that came down to about 400m to go . I’m over the moon!”

MAAC Championships, Orlando Florida, USA, 30 October
JAMIE DEE, also a US-based Shaftesbury Harrier, who set a (13:46.78) 5000m PB this year, just defeated team-mates JOSHUA DE SOUZA and EHAB EL-SANDALI with all three timed at (24:37) in the 8km as his Iona College team took nine of the top 10 places.

START FITNESS METROPOLITAN LEAGUE – The second fixture of five takes place on Saturday 13 November at Stanborough Park, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire (SatNav AL8 6DF).
Race Headquarters – Adjacent to the Start/Finish at the south side of the car park.
Changing Facilities – There will be no changing rooms or showers. Toilets are available in the amenity block by the Splashlands playground. Extra toilets will be provided at the end of the car park, close to the amenity block. There are also toilets located at the Sailing Centre on the south side of the Park.
Refreshments – Will be from the kiosk in the amenity block on the north side of the park or from the cafe at the Sailing Centre on the south side of the Park.
Course Location – North Side Stanborough Park – See course maps.
Course Description – Start and Finish in grassed field, remainder undulating parkland course suitable for spikes.
Public Transport – Welwyn Garden City Station (Main Line) 1.25 miles.
Directions From Major Roads – Leave the A1(M) at Junction 4, (after the Hatfield Tunnel). At the roundabout take the second exit to A414/A6129. At the next roundabout take the first exit A6129. At the bottom of the dual carriageway take the second exit out of the roundabout. The entrance to the car park on the north side is on your left after around 100m. The entrance to the car park is on the south side is more or less opposite but you cannot gain access from the left side of the carriageway. As early arrivers will undoubtedly fill the car park on the north side, you may be advised to go straight to the one on the south side.
Parking – There is a fairly large car park on the north side of the Park, adjacent to the course. There is a very large car park on the south side of the Park, 5 minutes walk to the course. These car parks are ‘Pay and Display’. You must display a ticket or you may incur a fine. We have not been able to negotiate a reduced rate.
There is a footpath under the road bridge, providing traffic-free access between the south side and the north side of the Park.
Access to both of these car parks is only permitted from the adjacent side of the carriageway. If you cannot find a space on the north side, to get to the south side you must drive to the roundabout at the top of the hill and return on the other side of the carriageway. YOU MUST OBEY THE TRAFFIC SIGNS
Timetable – 12.28 U11 (Over 9) Boys (1700m), 12.30 U11 (Over 9) Girls (1700m), 12.43pm U13 Boys (3000m), 12.45 U13 Girls (3000m), not before 13.00 U17 Men and U15 Boys (4200m), not before 13.05 U17 Women and U15 Girls (4200m), not before 13.30 U20, Senior and Veteran Women (7800m), not before 14.35m U20, Senior and Veteran Men (7800m).
Other Information – All clubs should arrive before the start of the meeting (12:28pm) in order for numbers to be distributed to each club. To be eligible to score, competitors must compete in the correct race for their age group. Competitors in the Under 13 race must be 11 or over on the day of competition.
Safety: Runners are not allowed to wear I Pods/Walkmans when competing.
Link to Metropolitan League Full Information, please read page 2 for details on Course and Amenities also Covid guidelines – Start Fitness Metropolitan League Race 2 13-11-21 Full Fixture Information
Note: You do not have to be pre-entered, just turn up and run.
Please collect your race numbers from the respective team managers – SIMON KEENE, JEREMY SOTHCOTT and JO KENT
Please go to Start Fitness Metropolitan League web site www.metleague.co.uk for final instructions if any.

START FITNESS METROPOLITAN LEAGUE RACE NUMBERS – I have been asked to remind you that your race number must be kept by yourselves, and is to be used for all 5 fixtures.

LONDON CHAMPIONSHIPS – Takes place on Saturday 20 November at Parliament Hill Fields, Hampstead Heath (SatNav NW5 1QR), nearest station is Gospel Oak.
Timetable – 13.15 U20 and Senior Women (6k), 14.00 Under 20 and Senior Men (10k).
To Qualify you must have to be (a) born in the Greater London area, (b) has not less than one year’s bona fide residence in the Greater London area, (c) has not less than one year’s continuous full-time employment in the Greater London area, (d) has not less than one year’s full-time attendance at an education establishment in the Greater London area.
Map of Parliament Hill and adjoining roads and stations, start of races close to athletic track – https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5596772,-0.1597202,15z
Entries Close Friday 5 November
Note: You will have to be pre-entered by your respective Team Manager 

LONDON YOUTH GAMES – Takes place on Saturday 20 November at Parliament Hill Fields, Hampstead Heath (SatNav NW5 1QR), nearest station is Gospel Oak.
Races will commence prior to the London Championships.
Map of Parliament Hill and adjoining roads and stations, start of races close to athletic track – https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5596772,-0.1597202,15z
Note: You will have to be selected by your respective London Borough Team Manager

FRATERNITY AND SORORITY CUPS – Takes place on Saturday 27 November at Trent Park, Cockfosters Road, Middlesex (SatNav EN4 0PS). The start is close to the car park which is accessible from the western gate of Trent Park, found on the left-side before reaching Cockfosters underground station (Piccadilly line).
Timetable – 14.30 for Men/Women – Junior, Senior and Veteran. Numbers will be given out close to the start area.
Note: You do not have to be pre-entered, just turn up and run. 

NORTH WEST LONDON LEAGUE – The third fixture of five takes place on Saturday 27 November at Trent Park, Cockfosters Road, Middlesex (SatNav EN4 0PS). The start is close to the car park which is accessible from the western gate of Trent Park, found on the left-side before reaching Cockfosters underground station (Piccadilly line).
Timetable – 12.45 Under 11 Boys and Girls (2400m), 13.00 Under 13 Boys and Girls (3000m), 13.20 Under 15 Boys and Girls (4000m), 13.40 Under 17 Men and Women (5000m) distances are approximate. Numbers will be given out close to the start area.
Note: You do not have to be pre-entered, just turn up and run. Will any of our Female athletes please see JEREMY SOTHCOTT who will give you a race number

NORTH WEST LONDON LEAGUE AND FRATERNITY/SORORITY CUPS INFORMATION – Link to Information – 27-11-21 NWLL and Fraternity Cup Information at Trent Park  and Maps 27-11-21 NWLL and Fraternity Cup Course Maps at Trent Park

130TH SBH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – Takes place on Tuesday 30 November in the Fez Bar, East Stand, StoneX Stadium, Greenlands Lane, Hendon, London (SatNav NW4 1RL), The AGM commences at 19.30, followed at approximately 20.00 with the Presentation of Awards for the 2021 Track & Field for both Men and Women. All are welcome especially the award winners.

CROSS COUNTRY CLUBS LOOK FORWARD TO RELAYS RETURN IN MANSFIELD – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.

The national event is back following a one-year break due to the pandemic with more than 1000 teams set to compete in Berry Hill Park. The Saucony English Cross Country Relay Championships return for the first time since 2019 this Saturday 6 November in Mansfield with a total of 1048 teams from around the country competing for honours in one of the traditional curtain raisers to the winter domestic season. Last year’s event was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic and entries are down a little this year – especially in the young athletes’ age groups – yet there are still more than 1000 teams for the 15th consecutive season.

First held at Crystal Palace in 1985, the event moved to Berry Hill Park in Mansfield in 1989 and has remained there ever since. Growing in popularity, the entries reached an all-time high in 2017 with 1283 teams in action. What are the secrets of success for this event? Geographically, the central venue in Nottinghamshire is a place many clubs can reach without too arduous a journey. The undulating course is challenging and picturesque but not too gruelling. The organisation is slick and the busy 10-race schedule with so many teams mean there are simply lots of athletes, which helps create a terrific atmosphere. Short legs for athletes ensure the racing is fast and furious and spectator-friendly. In addition, the focus on teams and not individuals is undoubtedly part of the event’s winning formula. Clubs battle fiercely for honours, too, but it is relatively low-key compared to the bigger prizes available later this winter, which means athletes can use the event to ease into their season on the mud.

Entries are down a little this year but IAN BYETT, secretary of the English Cross Country Association, says: “We are still delighted with all the uncertainties around that so many teams have entered again this year.” It is also a relief that Berry Hill Park is available for use, too, as there has been a question mark over its future in recent years. Last winter Mansfield Harriers regained the right to use the synthetic track and pavilion in the park for the first time since 2012. The good news coincided with the club’s 100th anniversary too. A total of 201 senior men’s teams and 155 senior women’s teams are entered but the pandemic is perhaps to blame for the fact the under-13 girls age group is set to feature 79 teams compared to 122 in 2019. This decline is mirrored across the other young age groups. “With Covid protocols to try and observe this could be a blessing,” says BYETT. “With Mansfield Harriers and Mansfield District Council now working in harmony, arrangements this year have gone well and the ECCA looks forward to getting the show on the road for another year. “The Association is delighted to be back organising great cross country running and events are bound to be very competitive.”

Results from 2019 included – Senior men: 1 Leeds City; 2 Cambridge & Coleridge; 3 Bedford & County – U20 men: Shaftesbury Barnet – U17 men: Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow – U15 boys: South London – U13 boys: South London – Senior women: 1 Aldershot, Farnham & District; 2 Leeds City; 3 Cambridge & Coleridge – U20 women: Wolverhampton & Bilston – U17 women: AFD – U15 girls: Vale Royal – U13 girls: Wolverhampton & Bilston

BIRMINGHAM 2022 REVEAL MARATHON COURSE – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.

Commonwealth Games marathon will start in Smithfield and finish in Birmingham’s Victoria Square. The final venue for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games has been confirmed, with Victoria Square in Birmingham city centre revealed as the official finish area for the marathon on Saturday 30 July next year. The square will be a welcome sight for the finishers in all four races that will be held on the first Saturday of the Games, with the men’s marathon, women’s marathon and the men’s and women’s T53/T54 events all taking place on the same course which will start at Smithfield, another Birmingham city centre venue that has previously been announced as the home of beach volleyball and basketball 3×3 and wheelchair basketball 3×3 during the Games.

MATT KIDSON, director of sport for Birmingham 2022, said: “We are thrilled to be unveiling our final venue for the Games and it is fitting that Victoria Square has been chosen as the finish area for the marathon, as it is located right in the heart of the host city for Birmingham 2022.” The course for the marathon is split into two distinct sections – a southern loop which the athletes must complete twice, followed by a shorter city centre section which will showcase some of Birmingham’s best loved landmarks to millions of TV viewers, as the runners pass Centenary Square, the Jewellery Quarter, St Paul’s Square and St Phillips’s Cathedral, before crossing the finish line in Victoria Square. Birmingham based marathon runner, HAYLEY CARRUTHERS, who is part of England Athletics’ Birmingham Talent Hub and is targeting selection for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, said: “The course for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games marathon looks great and it is exciting to find out the exact roads I’ll be running on if I get selected for next summer’s event. “I’m very familiar with parts of the route having taken part in the Great Birmingham Run and the course goes past lots of Birmingham landmarks, so it is a good way to showcase the city. “It would be fantastic to be selected to represent Team England at a home games, and I’ll be working harder than ever over the next few months to ensure that I am on that start line in Smithfield in nine months’ time.”

HOW TO LIGHTEN THE LOAD ON YOUR HAMSTRINGS – The following article was published on the Athletics Weekly website recently.

PAUL HOBROUGH looks at the issues that come from giving these multi-tasking muscles too much work to do. The hamstring is that muscle at the back of the upper leg – you know, the one that everyone says is ‘tight’? Its primary role is to bend the knee, but it does a number of other pretty cool jobs, some of which may in fact be its downfall. You will all know someone who does too many things at once and will at times drop something, make a mistake or break something or even themselves. The hamstring is just like that – an ultra-busy muscle that should really just be bending the knee but chooses to keep itself overworked doing other things. As well as bending the knee, your hamstrings, of which there are three – two on the medial side (semintendinosus and semimemberanosus) and one on the lateral side (biceps femoris) – can also extend the hip, offer some small degrees of rotation around the lower leg and, crucially, slow down the lower leg when knee extension occurs (that is, to stop you hyper extending the knee joint). With all this work going on, it is not surprising that it is one of the muscles we report as being tight all the time. The high hamstring is where the muscle originates from our seat bones (ischial tuberosities) and I see a lot of high hamstring injuries in the spring due to runners taking to the track or increasing their running intensity following the winter months. For a long time I was treating elite level athletes who would come in with right high hamstring issues, seemingly out of the blue. I started to consider why and came up with the idea that moving from road running to anti-clockwise track running would be placing a relatively new strain on the right side and begin to irritate the hamstring tendon. I also noticed these athletes had a slouched posture in the mid thoracic region (middle back) and this was also very tight, perhaps from sitting at a desk a lot. I was able to successfully treat these patients with shockwave therapy to the high tendon which resolved the actual tendon issue. However without working to reduce the tension in the mid thoracic area, strengthening the glute activation and educating the athletes to run both directions on the track, I am certain this issue would have come back.

What can we learn from this and how does it help you avoid hamstring issues – Consider your hamstrings as primarily a knee flexor, but understand that they have a role in hip extension and rotation of the lower leg when the knee is bent. Therefore, make sure your glutes are strong and firing so they do not pass their job on to the hamstring. Running around the track could be asking a lot of the hamstrings to assist in the slow, deliberate direction change around the track, so make sure you are doing some rotation work in the gym, even on a single leg balance. Ensure that your back is moving well, that you have good function throughout your spine and you are not spending long periods in front of your computer then expecting to get up and run at the end of the day. Here are some exercises to consider on your journey to healthier, less injury-prone, hamstrings.

Thread the needle: (for thoracic mobility) – On all fours, lift one arm straight up to the ceiling and follow with your head and shoulders, then bring the arm back around the body and through the gap between knees and hands as it passes under your body and out through to the other side. Your shoulder should almost graze the floor as you pass through.

Single leg balance with upper body rotations – Stand on one leg and with outstretched arms (even holding a medicine ball or weight for the advanced) slowly rotate the outstretched arms from one side to the other. Repeat both sides.

Glute activation – Laying face down, bend your knee to 90 degrees and lift your thigh off the floor a little, hold and then rest back down. Imagine you have a tray of glasses on the sole of your foot and lift it without spilling any. This ensures you are focusing on control of the movement.

Hamstring swiss ball curls – On your back, place your heels onto a swiss ball, lift your hips up and pull the ball towards you with bent knees, release back and repeat. This is a good one for testing the overall core strength. If you can’t do this, then wide spread arms will help initially. I would also expect you to be doing the usual hamstring strength work in the gym, such as hamstring curls, dead lift, band work, squats and, for the brave, Nordic hamstring curls.

What’s the best treatment – When it comes to treatment, I advocated the use of shockwave therapy earlier. This is excellent at sorting out the tendinopathy at the hamstring insertion, but you really must see this as fixing the injury, not preventing it from coming back. The exercises above are far from exhaustive, but are rather showing you a few that you may not have thought of to compliment your current strength and conditioning practices. Also, do not underestimate the effect that recurrent track running in the same direction may pose to you for a great many injuries. Keep it varied and change direction frequently.

Don’t forget to stretch – You might have noticed that I haven’t put in any hamstring stretches yet. I do believe that stretching the hamstrings needs to be done over longer periods, one to two minutes at a time. To make this more likely, lay on your back inside a doorframe, with one leg passing through to the next room and the hips upward inside the first. Place one leg against the door frame straight up with a bent knee. You will feel the stretch in the back of the leg. Hold for 30 seconds or at least longer than six seconds (the time it takes the central nervous system to stop fighting the stretch) then move the foot a little higher, hold for another 30 and so on.

If this article teaches you just one thing, it should be that the hamstring itself is not the issue, it’s the glutes, the training errors and potentially the spine that are just seeking to exhaust and reduce this muscle to tears. So take a more holisitic look at your hamstrings, your training and the things you can do to support this hard-working part of your running ability.

NORTH WEST LONDON LEAGUE – My next challenge is compiling the Club Team wins for the period 2009 to 2021, could be my Christmas present to you all. But hopefully sooner.

These are the documents that were used in the NWLL statistics;
Girls/Women Individual Wins – Q North West London League Women’s Individual Winners From 2009 to 2020 (Under 11 Girls)  Q North West London League Women’s Individual Winners From 2009 to 2020 (Under 13 Girls)  Q North West London League Women’s Individual Winners From 2009 to 2020 (Under 15 Girls)  Q North West London League Women’s Individual Winners From 2009 to 2020 (Under 17 Women)  Q North West London League Women’s Individual Winners From 2009 to 2020 (Women’s All Age-Groups Summary)
Boys/Men Individual Wins – P North West London League Men’s Individual Winners From 2009 to 2020 (Under 11 Boys)  P North West London League Men’s Individual Winners From 2009 to 2020 (Under 13 Boys)  P North West London League Men’s Individual Winners From 2009 to 2020 (Under 15 Boys)  P North West London League Men’s Individual Winners From 2009 to 2020 (Under 17 Men)  P North West London League Men’s Individual Winners From 2009 to 2020 (Men’s All Age-Group Summary)
Girls/Women and Boys/Men Team Analysis – R North West London League Men’s And Women’s Combined Individual Team Winners From 2009 to 2020 (Men’s Team Analysis)  R North West London League Men’s And Women’s Combined Individual Team Winners From 2009 to 2020 (Women’s Team Analysis)  R North West London League Men’s And Women’s Combined Individual Team Winners From 2009 to 2020 (Men And Women Team Analysis)

Link to the NWLL website which has the results from 2009 to 2020 – http://www.british-athletics.co.uk/nwll/

BIRMINGHAM 2022 COMMONWEALTH GAMES, OPEN FOR VOLUNTEERS – Birmingham 2022 are looking for more than 13,000 spirited, dedicated and dynamic volunteers to be the heartbreak of the Commonwealth Games, a community of passionate people coming together to help deliver the biggest sporting and cultural event the West Midlands have ever seen. As part of the Commonwealth Collective, you’ll be the public face of Birmingham 2022, the heart and soul of the Games experience for athletes, officials, spectators, and a global audience of more than one billion.
For more information on volunteering, this is the link – https://www.birmingham2022.com/get-involved/volunteering/