Chirunning and the battle for Brathay 10 marathons in 10 days survival. A quest for a new running beginning!

On the farm, every Friday
On the farm, it's rabbit pie day.
So, every Friday that ever comes along,
I get up early and sing this little song

Run rabbit - run rabbit -
Run! Run! Run!
Run rabbit - run rabbit -
Run! Run! Run!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Goes the farmer's gun.
Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run.
Run rabbit - run rabbit -
Run! Run! Run!
Don't give the farmer his fun!
Fun! Fun!
He'll get by without his rabbit pie
So run rabbit - run rabbit -
Run! Run! Run!

(Noel Gay/Ralph Butler)

‘Run, Jeff, run, Jeff run.

Run Jeff – run Jeff –

Run! Run! Run!’

I’VE just spent a weekend being reconstructed as a runner.

Out with the stiff shoulders, the helicopter right arm and rigid upright running style.

In with the new relaxed shoulders, the pumping arms and short strides. Yes, a new runner has been born. Welcome to Jeff ‘Chirunning’ Prestridge.

‘Run, Jeff, run, Jeff run.

Run Jeff – run Jeff –

Run! Run! Run!’

Watch out Brathay 10 in 10 challenge. I’m coming to get you!

What a weekend! It was like going back to childhood as I sat nervously in a posh hotel on the outskirts of Dublin waiting to be deconstructed and then rebuilt to last by Catherina McKiernan.  Catherina is a former marathoner of note – a winner of the London, Berlin and Amsterdam marathons as well as a gold medal winner at the European Cross Country championships – so she knows her running inside out. You mess with Catherina at your peril!

I wasn’t the only ‘victim’. Also waiting to be deconstructed were an assortment of bankers, former civil servants and financial advisers all waiting to see what Catherina would do to re-energise their running lives.

First to the horror part. We were all videoed as we ran the length of the hotel car park. I won’t comment on my fellow video stars albeit to say that my running companion Joanna was by far the ‘Chirunning’ star but if my individual video ever went on public show, it would surely be rated ‘adult’ entertainment and not permitted to be shown until either after the watershed or only with the front room curtains tightly drawn.

My faults? Well, let’s start with the positives – I can put one foot in front of the other and on a good day do eight minute miles.

Right, that’s the good news over with. Onto the bad news:

1.  My shoulders are far too tense and on occasion I run with lop sided shoulders as the left one refuses to drop.

2.  My right arm has a life of its own with the result that rather than pumping away for my running benefit, it seems to want to twirl away like a helicopter. My three sons have always joked about this peculiar aspect of my running style and I’ve laughed it off. But seeing it on video makes you realise that I should have applied for a pilot’s licence a long time ago!

3.  My whole body is too rigid. I run to break away from the stress at work (I’m a journalist for my sins, constantly having to meet copy deadlines) but I now realise that I take most of the stress with me on my runs. I run as if I have all the world’s problems on my shoulders. It’s not pretty, it’s not particularly good for me and it’s not easy on the eye. Let’s be brutal. I am no bit of running eye candy.

4.  On occasion, my feet don’t travel in a straight line as I run. OK, it’s not zig zagging but it’s not far off and long term it’s not good for the knees.

5.  I overstride – rather than take short soft strides - with the result that I send shockwaves through my body that register on the Richter scale.

There’s more but let’s keep things clean.

So what are the remedies? Thankfully, Catherina has them in abundance and it’s all centred on Chirunning. As she constantly reminded us during the day: ‘if you have good posture and are relaxed, you will go a long way.’ 262 miles in 10 days? I hope so!

So, in future, I’m going to try and run with good posture, lean forward to take advantage of the forces of gravity, lift my heel rather than my entire foot and swing my arms to take a little pressure off my long suffering legs.

It all sounds so simple. It all sounds so sensible. And to see Catherina run is like watching a surfer glide over the waves. Her running action is as smooth as a bar of milk chocolate galaxy.

Will I be able to take it board and change the running habits of a lifetime (OK a tad over 14 years)? I’ll give it a try, especially if it makes the Brathay 10 in 10 challenge a little easier on the back, hamstrings and shoulders.

I’m determined to do my bit for Brathay Trust and raise lots of lovely dosh (justgiving.com/jeff-prestridge). Hopefully, Catherina’s Chirunning course will help me fulfil my side of the bargain.

As my Dad would sing – 30 years ago - while hopping down the garden:

Run rabbit - run rabbit -
Run! Run! Run!
Don't give the farmer his fun!
Fun! Fun!
He'll get by without his rabbit pie
So run rabbit - run rabbit -
Run! Run! Run!