You wait ages for a superstar to go to the Stratford track and then you get two arriving on the same day !
Club member, 3 time Olympian and former World Champion Andrew Pozzi alongside Paul Bearman and Katarina Johnson-Thompson MBE. KJT is a double World Champion, double Commonwealth Games champion and an Olympic and European silver medallist in the heptathlon and a world and double European champion in indoor pentathlon,.
It was a big week for KJT, not only did she get to train at the Stratford track (full details below), she was also was awarded an MBE and she got to meet Paul Bearman. How much excitement can a young lady take in one week ?
A quiet week this week as you might expect but with a really interesting lead story with two sporting superstars turning up at the Stratford track over the Christmas period.
There’s a couple of reminders of upcoming races that require more volunteers to ensure the safety of runners and an announcement of the successful applicants in the club’s London Marathon draw.
There is also a group photo of some of our junior endurance runners on Christmas Eve, who were following KJTs advice when she say’s “the winter is when you do your hardest work as an athlete: when you lay the foundations for the speed, strength and endurance that you hope will bring you medals (and good performances) once the season starts”.
I’d like to finish by wishing you all a Happy New Year and by thanking those of you who contributed to the newsletter during 2024. Without you there would be no newsletter. In 2024 there were 54 editions with an average of 537 individual subscribers opening each one and a peak opening of 600. This is the first time this average figure has exceeded 500 per week and is up from 333 just 3 years ago.
Andrew Pozzi was back in town for Boxing Day visiting his family in Shottery with his partner Kat Johnson Thompson and on Christmas Eve I got a late text from him asking if was possible for Kat to do an 800m focussed session the day after Boxing Day as a part of her winter training in preparation for her upcoming 2025 competition season.
This was a familiar routine that Andrew and I had followed for a few years at Christmas and fortunately I was able to get in touch with the very supportive school’s Facility Manager Mike Clarke who agreed to turn the alarm off and give me the access code to the track.
So at 9am we met in Morrisons car park and walked to the track with Kat uncharacteristically quiet…..”she wasn’t looking forward to the session” said Andrew, a session that comprised of a 2 lap jog to warm up, 10 x 100m and then 3 sets 4 x 300m with little very rest and so a total of over 5000m…. absolutely brutal.
It was very cold, damp, foggy and miserable that chilled us to the bone but after the 2 lap jog to warm up and a few stretches she was off running steady state 100s, one after the other with just a 30 second break half way. As she was gasping for breath Andrew was reflecting how when I pushed him in training he had left his mark at the side of the track on many occasions but I wasn’t prepared to see what Kat put herself through doing the 300m sets.
The pace was steady but unrelenting and with so little rest and with fatigue setting in Kat was drawing on her reserves towards the end and as she collapsed on the damp track exhausted and ashen faced I couldn’t help thinking this is why she’s one of the top athletes in the world and why her book is called “Unbroken”.
In the book she say’s “the winter is when you do your hardest work as an athlete: when you lay the foundations for the speed, strength and endurance that you hope will bring you medals (and good performances) once the season starts”.
That’s the training phase we’ve been in up to Christmas and so it doesn’t matter where you are on the athletics pyramid, as coaches we follow similar patterns to try to get the best out of our athletes.
I got Kat’s book for my recent birthday that she’s signed for me and after Kat had recovered, the three of us had a chance to talk about things in general, athletics specific stuff and some of the content in her book that are lessons of what it takes to get to the top and stay there.
Apart from her natural talent it’s the people who have and still help and support her like her Mum (in the early days very little money, no car, using public transport etc), various coaches, friends, physio etc so similar to our set up.
Kat talks about many issues that relate to young athletes, not just girls, with great honesty and first hand knowledge that are extremely good bits of information for young athletes, parents and coaches……and no I’m not on commission as her agent!
Like Andrew being a life member of SUAAC, Kat is a one club athlete with Liverpool Harriers and over the years they have both suffered many injuries and set backs between them but its the strength of character and incredible powers of resilience and sheer bloody mindedness that has enabled them to get to the top of the pyramid.
The exhausted and ashen faced Kat had just demonstrated just that in front of my eyes and she’ll be back doing her best day after day, week after week to make her next dreams come true.
Shakespeare Race No 1 – 2025
Wednesday 8th January
Thanks to those who have already volunteered to marshal. We still need at least another 6 people to be marshals.
If you can help please go to the Shakespeare race food and marshalling poll on Spond.
Regards
Clare Weatherhead
A group of our older junior endurance athletes who took part in a training session on the Rec on Christmas Eve.
London Marathon Draw
Congratulations to Adrian (Ade) Mason and Gemma Smith who have won the draw for the club places at the 2025 London Marathon. We draw from members who have applied individually but failed to get a place.
If you didn’t win, take consolation that whilst you’ve been eating mince pies they will have been be out running in preparation
Paul Hawkins
The Inaugural Shipston IX
Volunteers needed
For over 30 years the club hosted an open race every January called Not the Roman IX. This was a great fundraiser for the club.
The race has now been replaced with a NEW 9 mile route in Shipston on Stour.
It will take place on Saturday 26th January 2025
We require volunteers to complete a multitude of roles to ensure the safety of runners.
Thank you to those who have already agreed to help, it is greatly appreciated.
More volunteers are required to cover all the marshal points, direct runners to the start, water station, cake stall etc.
If you can help please go to the events tab on Spond and look for the race on January 26 and add your name to thehelp out with some tasks.
Regards
Clare Weatherhead
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