Grizzly 2014 will be on Sunday 9th March and follow the usual format, subject to approval of road closures and other traffic matters from the local highway authority and police.  The race’s future is secure with new race director Dave Thomas.

The entry fees will be £28 for the Grizzly and £18 for the Cub Run, both plus £2 for unaffiliated runners. The organising committee have put a lot of work into the event and like their efforts to have a lasting benefit in helping many local charitable organisations as well as meeting the primary target of staging an outstanding race.

Given the exceptional and increasing demand for places in the race, the organises wouldn’t be surprised if first-come, first-served entries closed in under ten minutes. This isn’t fair on those who can’t be at a computer as soon as they open, nor does it allow postal entries, so they will be offering next year’s places by lottery. You will need to register with complete details, but no payment, during August, opening sometime on Sat 27th July and closing 9am Sunday 1st September. The draw will be made and runners notified of success or failure that day. Successful runners will be given one week to pay (either by card on the entry website or by cheque) after which their places will be lost (unless agreed in advance e.g. being away) and they may be banned from future Grizzlies – only enter the lottery if you are committed to doing the race.

Groups of up to 20 entering together (i.e. one runner adding the others’ details) can choose to be drawn as one (so that either all get in or none do) but there will only be one place in the draw for the entire group so that the chances of any one runner being drawn don’t depend upon how they enter. (If any statistician believes this not to be true then please let the organises know.) This is offered for couples, groups travelling a long distance, etc. who only want to run if they all get a place, but the default will be for all runners to be drawn individually. Anyone identified entering the lottery more than once will be disqualified from the draw and may be banned from future Grizzlies.

Once entries have closed the usual system will apply – no waiting list, refunds or deferrals but changes of runner will be accepted.

For more information please go to http://www.axevalleyrunners.org.uk

Guest speaker Dave O’Brien Desert Runner/Ultramarathoner.

Dave is a a Global Desert Runner and speaker at many international events worldwide. In 2010 David became one of only a handful of people in the world, the only Irish man ever and the oldest man on the palnet to run 1,000 kilometres across the 4 most infamous deserts around the globe in a 38 week period, carrying everything on his back to survive. Dave is an extraordinary person with a unique perspective on exercise, nutrition, and health.

To reserve your seat please contact Carol Willcox on 07768 476411 or info@juiceplus4health.co.uk www.facebook.com/ShapeYourBodyShapeYourLife

Both the Run Time Pro and the Thunder Pro Quarter sock retail @ £10.00 each.

The Trail Trax Pro retails @ £14.00

We are offering a £5.00 voucher to all our customers for every £25.00 spent on our nutrition products.

It is a card based system and works in a similar way as to when you buy your coffees from Bostons, Cafe Nero etc etc.

If you are needing to stock up…. then we are here to help keep you fueled and feeling on fire – ready to train hard on those trails in your next training session.

Pop in store or call the shop for more info!

Happy Trails!

It’s the 7^th August 2009 and after 30 years of cushioned shoe running the reality is accepted that a barefoot style is the only way to run. A quite common running story of severe knee injury and the verge of having the customary knee operation bought me to the point of looking for a better way to run a few months previously to this point. Internet searching and a few books coupled with some physics knowledge pointed to major leg muscles taking the shock and forward momentum generated by a light but positive interaction of forefoot on ground clearly made sense to me.

I tried to ease in by wearing a minimal cushioned/racing shoe and landing on forefoot with snappy strides. It felt ok but quite hard to achieve the pace I could manage before, the knee was good no pain. But I was unsure after a few weeks so returned to my cushioned shoes but tried to keep the style, it was awful, feeling squishy and unstable, back to the race shoes with the aim to buy some proper minimal shoes I had seen on the web. An off road kind of sandal was chosen, Vivo Spartan, by now I had read Born to Run, reinforcing all I had worked out, sandals sounded right and the weather was fine so why not. Really hard at first, some days after a short run my calves and shin muscles were so tight I could hardly flex my feet at the ankle, but it always eased off with a days rest. Gradually the pulsing contact with the ground was more evident and what a contrast to that quite pleasant but energy sapping heel strike style of the past 30 years.

I should have known when I felt good running in a shoe called Freedom of the City (Reebok), it was like a track spike with a slightly raised hexagon rubber sole pattern. I ran for 5 miles breathing through my nose all the way, one of those runs where you feel you are at your limit but it just flows, with Vienna by Ultravox playing in my head, a Walkman was too bulky to take on a run. But the Nike Tailwind was out, the air cushioned sole and the scare stories of 3 times body weight made sense to a 17 year old, my club teammates had them and so I had to have them. With no internet and so unknown to me at the time, the international athlete Gordon Pirie was trying to convince his sponsors Adidas not to go down the heel strike and cushion route, but commercial pressures and some poor sports science (still debateable I know) were too strong it would seem.

Now in 2013 and as Vet 50 I am running faster over distances from 5k to 29 miles off road and on road all due to the barefoot style, no significant changes in mileage, some more attention to core strength (barefoot style kind of does this anyway) and absolute minimal shoes, vivobarefoot being my preferred shoes if barefoot is not realistic for me.

Photo from CTS Flete race.

New Ultimate Performance Hydration Packs & Runners Packs come into the store. 20L, 3L, 2L, 1.5L pop by @ IBR.

Hydration Packs

20L Peak £25.00

3L Lomono £45.00

2L Windermere £34.00

1.5L Bala £26.00

Runners Pack

Titan £15.00