Julie Fairclough – Level 2 UKA Athletics, Triathlon Level 2, YMCA Level 3 Gym Instructor and Personal Trainer, NLP Practitioner. Julie is also a level 4 Strength and Conditioning coach and qualified yoga teacher. Julie teaches strength for runners and yoga sessions in Bramhall, Bollington and Macclesfield. If you’d like to get stronger, run faster or further or to prevent injury see Julie’s website https://3poolsfitness.co.uk/ or email Julie at juliefairy50@gmail.com
Steve Fairclough – Coach in Running Fitness
Cath Jones – Coach in Running Fitness, Triathlon Coach level 1
Emma Young – Coach in Running Fitness
Lok Li – Coach in Running Fitness
Matthew de Schoolmeester – Coach in Running Fitness, Heads Friday evening kids sessions
Sam Blacow – Coach in Running Fitness
Helen Rennie – Run leader
Chris Glennon – Run Leader
Mary Byrne – Run Leader
Tim Byrne – Run Leader
Melanie Li – Run Leader
Jo Pod – Run Leader
Nick Heaton – Run Leader
And finally, last but not least – Steve Hughes – Run Leader and Coach in Running Fitness extraordinaire who leads our popular Sunday Morning Run Crew Sausage – a few things about Steve:
How did you get in to running?
I suppose I have been running all my life on and off but in different sports mainly football. At school my nick name was Flash as I could out sprint most of my friends on the pitch. I smoked and drank too much when I was younger before my mum who sadly passed away when I was 25 asked me to give up smoking, her favourite race was the London Marathon so I decided to run one in her memory The first athletics club I joined was Stockport Harriers way back in 1990 although I did a few track training sessions I preferred the open road and was fortunate to gain a London Marathon club runner place, little did I know it would become addictive. That first Marathon was completed in 3:35:37 my PB for the distance now on my eighth attempt is 3:23:46 achieved in 2013 after joining Bramhall runners and being coached by Julie Fairclough. My dream is a sub 3:15 and automatic qualification as good for age.
Why run?
I run because I can Slow, Fast, Forwards, Backwards it does not matter it just makes me happy and puts me in a good place. I am comfortable running in a group or solo but prefer running with a group unless racing then I like to get into a zone switch off and just focus on my own run unless pacing then it is all about the other persons aims and goals.
What are you doing at present?
I was put forward for a run leader course early in 2014 by Bramhall runners and it has given me a new interest in running, and I have led many groups since taking the course, covering for other run leaders and coaches. the Sunday Morning Run crew was formed (by a group of Bramhall runners) for runners (All are welcome regardless of what club they run for) that want to do a long distance run every week, and meet with runners from other clubs that they normally run against and swop running tips and share their racing experiences.
Aims and ambitions
My main aim is to crack 3:15 for the Marathon 2015 will be my 10th Marathon and would be perfect timing. Pb’ s as I get older are harder to achieve and the buzz I used to get from beating them I now get from helping other runners to achieve their goals and smash their PB’s, this does not mean I am less competitive and who knows that new PB could be just around the corner.
Training tips
My favourite tip would be the 1% last ½ mile. On all my long runs, for the last ½ mile I try and run 1% faster than I have done the previous mile in. If you practice this in training during a race that 1% will help you to pass other runners giving you a physiological boost as you approach the line. Which can make all the difference when chasing PB’s, and can also give you the momentum for a killer sprint finish.
A funny memory during running
I have lots of times I could put but here’s just two 1:running backwards past a group of Bramhall runners who were supporting from the stand at the 13 mile mark and hearing them laughing 2:When out on a long run with my mate Andy Cordes needing the loo and everywhere we ran to find a secluded place, a helicopter seamed to follow us and Andy was joking that it was Julie & Steve Fairclough making sure that we were training hard and not stopping I could not stop laughing which made the situation worse and even funnier. Luckily it didn’t get messy as I found somewhere!!
