Member profile - Peter Tree

Member spotlight.

This week we highlight the encyclopaedia of footpaths and trails, Peter Tree.

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1. Please Briefly introduce yourself.

I've been running regularly with the club since January 1989, taking a group on a Wednesday for several years and currently serving my second stint as Treasurer ( though this is due more to the Chairman's skills of persuasion than any great altruistic intent on my part ). I've completed 9 London Marathons - I've run at least one in my 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s.

2. What events if any do you have coming up?

I'm looking forward to the resumption of parkrun and the opportunity to wear my 100 parkruns T-shirt for the first time!

I completed 100 parkruns just before parkrun closed down last year. Curiously my last parkrun was in New Zealand.

3. What does running mean to you?

I think for me it's had a very positive effect on both my physical and emotional wellbeing. Fortunately apart from a few niggles ,I've been relatively injury free and so able to run on a regular basis for over 30 years.

It's great to run in a group but I'm content to do long runs on my own as well. I particularly enjoy the off road routes we used to do from the Brentwood Centre during the summer months and the opportunity to run in different surroundings if I'm away anywhere, either in the UK or abroad.

Running has wide appeal and I'm always impressed by those who maybe aren't ' natural' runners in the conventional sense but put in a fantastic effort to take part.

4. What is your best BRC memory?

The camaraderie on the coach to the start of the London Marathon is unique, it's like heading to your own personal cup final.

Warm Wednesday evenings running through the local countryside from the Brentwood Centre are also a pleasure.

5. Proudest running moment?

At risk of being repetitive, completing my first marathon in 1990 would be up there and also my last in 2015, which went remarkably according to plan. It always feels special when my daughter and granddaughters join parkrun and I have a niece and nephew who are also regular runners.

6. Best bit of running advice you could give or have been given.

Enjoy it as much as you can and don't worry too much about times, distance etc, especially as you get older! ( though individual targets can be a great motivator and I do remember my pbs!)

Also, if you can, it's well worth using a physio to sort minor niggles and be cautious about trying to ' run it off ' - advice from the legendary Alan Shirley many years ago

Member profile - Paul James

Member profile alert 🚨

As Wales beat Turkey today it’s only fitting that the focus falls on our token Welshman Paul James Tiling.

1. Please introduce yourself.

Paul James I've been living in Brentwood for 23yrs having moved from Wales and joined BRC or trotters as it was known then about 13yrs ago.

2. What events, if any do you have coming up?

No events scheduled, just glad to be out running the streets, having had one or two injuries.

3. What does running mean to you?

Running is a way of unwinding and having a chat with fellow runners.

4. What is your best BRC memory?

My best BRC memory is running leg nine of the Essex way having been in Hong Kong for three weeks, and being told I was running for A team.

I went out faster than I would normally and my lace became undone. The bloke behind kept telling me it was undone but I told him I didn't want him overtaking me.

He said he would wait, and he did.

Then we carried on racing, plus I got in before him.

Jonny Barker was asking in the pub afterwards who the hell was running leg nine, they only came in 19th, nearly killed me!

5. What is your proudest running moment?

getting over the finishing line at the London marathon after a few injuries.

I ran with a friend and we helped eachother around.

6. What is the best bit of running advice you can give or have been given?

Best bit of advice I could give is; listen to your body as those little niggles become long term injuries and enjoy the battle's with yourself to get the PB.

Member profile - Andy Muir

Member profile alert 🚨

This week the team green spot light falls upon A group regular Andy Muir.

1. Please Briefly introduce yourself.

My name is Andy Muir, I was a relatively late starter to running and didn’t take it up until my 30s, I’m I my 40s now. I wasn’t a bad runner but struggled to improve my pace. I joined Brentwood Running Club roughly 2 years ago and haven’t looked back. I’m currently running with A Group.

I was apprehensive joining a running club as I was worried it might be a bit cliquey and a bit elitist, but nothing could be further from the truth; you couldn’t want to meet a more friendly and inclusive group of people. My running has really come on and I’ve made some great friends with it.

2. What events if any do you have coming up?

I was supposed to be doing the Chelmsford Half back in March but that was postponed to October. As Covid restrictions start to ease I need to get some races in my calendar, I do love a 10K!

3. What does running mean to you?

Health and Fitness remains my main motivation for running but I also enjoy the simplicity of it as a sport, it’s you against the numbers and I love pushing myself to get faster and go further.

There’s also no better way to get rid of the stresses of the day, I always come back feeling better than when I went out.

4. What is your best BRC memory?

It has to be last October at the Queen Elizabeth Park 10K; we had gone to this as a mini-team and the camaraderie was great: Terry Allen, Phil Price and Dan Jaycock all socially distanced of course. This was the first time I got under 40mins for a 10K and I’d been trying to do this for as long as I can remember, Terry Allen was screaming his lungs out at the finish line, willing me across the line, he was close to being thrown off the course!

It wasn’t just that day, it was all the months of hard work training, setbacks and come backs leading up to that. I’d trained with those guys and they’d helped me across the line, I couldn’t have been happier.

5. Proudest running moment?

That Queen Elizabeth 10K, I do get a bit obsessed with the numbers and I’d had that sub-40min 10K in my head for a long, long time. But it was also when running changed into a team sport for me, being there as a group, encouraging each other and sharing in the success made me proud to be part of the team.

6. Best bit of running advice you could give or have been given.

“I’m going to have to science the sh*t out of this!” – Mark Watney (The character played by Matt Damon in the film ‘The Martian’).

Understanding the theory, looking at the data and figuring out where there are improvements to be made is part of the fun for me. If nothing else, the placebo of thinking you’ve found a difference is all you need!