Festival of Running Race Leaders

Festival of Running Race Leaders

The Runderwear Festival of Running kickstarted this week, as promised our small team down in Dorset are with you every step of the way in the lead up to the event! That’s why we wanted to introduce you to the Team Runderwear Race Leaders; they’re here to train alongside you, answering any questions you may have and motivating you as best they can, to help you stay on track. They will be going live on our Instragram every Friday afternoon from 3pm to chat about how they’re getting on and answer any questions that have come through that week.

Jamie Smalley - Co-Founder & Head of Product

Co-founder & Head of Product at Runderwear. Completed over 20 marathons, 3 ultra-marathons on three continents (3 to go!) & 1 Ironman.

What training plan are you following and for what distance?

Experienced plan for the Half Marathon. 

Where are you currently at with your running journey?

I am mentally in good shape having had an injury ravaged 2020 I am just happy to be back running and enjoying it.

Where would you like to be in 8 weeks time?

Having lost a lot of fitness in the first 10 months of 2020 November & December were spent re building. I set myself a goal to run a half marathon solo on New Years Eve as my target. I want to try and run 2 minutes quicker than I did on NYE in 8 weeks time. I would be happy with a 9-10second per mile increase in pace if I could. 

Where would you like to be by the end of the year?

As I turn 40 this year I have set myself a few targets. One target I set myself when I turned 30 was to run a sub 3 hour marathon in my 40’s. So this will be my target by the end of the year as a minimum.

 

Emma Caplan - Head of Marketing

I’m Emma, Head of Marketing at Runderwear. I started running in my early 30s, when I was challenged (when drunk) to run the New York marathon. Whilst training for that, I did my first 10k and got chatting to the female winner who was a member of Wimbledon Windmilers…. so I joined and since then running has been a big part of my life. I love the friendships I’ve made through running and enjoy taking part in races with my club mates and more recently Runderwear colleagues. I have run all distances up to marathon and have also done a stint as a Duathlete and a Triathlete.

What training plan are you following and for what distance?

Experienced 10k (but with some adjustments - running 4 times a week rather than 6)

Where are you currently at with your running journey?

I’m 46 and have 2 young children so often time is short and sleep can be hard to come by! Currently I’m trying to enjoy my running without stressing about being fast……at my age speed is only going one way! I have however entered a 70.3 triathlon in Sept so I will be training pretty hard for that over the summer! Until then I’m trying to run consistently and learning to be content with my speed!

Where would you like to be in 8 weeks time?

I’d like to run consistently between now and then, approx. 4 days a week as well as doing a couple of cycle sessions on the turbo.

Where would you like to be by the end of the year?

I would like to have had a consistent year of training with no injuries. I would like to feel that I’ve improved my swimming (not currently possible with pool closures!) and cycling and kept my running consistent. I would really like to have won my age group at Weymouth 70.3 and maybe done well in a few running races a long the way.

 

Courteney Leigh - Marketing Assistant 

I‘m Courteney, Marketing Assistant at Runderwear. I joined runderwear in June last year having never really ran before, but within a month myself, Molly and Rhi (also new to Runderwear) had committed to running our first 10k for charity. Completing the 10k gave me a really great sense of achievement, the feeling that I had set a goal and accomplished it (and got much fitter along the way) spurred me on to keep going! I’m still building my confidence in running and am by no means a natural runner, but I genuinely enjoy that time spent outside each day getting fresh air and achieving new goals, which is something I never thought I’d say.

What training plan are you following and for what distance?

Improver 5k.

Where are you currently at with your running journey?

Slowly my confidence in running is beginning to build, and as it does I find each run is more and more enjoyable! I now feel comfortable running a 10k most weeks, although I don’t often push my distance much further than this. My main focus at the moment is on improving my consistency, I’m guilty of having one good week and then rewarding myself with a week off, which really hinders my progress.

Where would you like to be in 8 weeks time?

My current 5k PB is 26 mins 35secs, but more often than not I run a 5k at around 28 minutes. In 8 weeks time I would love if I could get a new PB on race day and complete the 5k in under 26 minutes.

Where would you like to be by the end of the year?

My main goal by the end of the year is to run a Half Marathon distance. The icing on the cake would be if I could run it in under 2 hours, but I’m not holding my breath on that part as speed is not my strength!

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