Our Chickens

We have had our current layer chickens since about May last year. So these girls are roughly 17 months old. Up until two months ago we have had no health problems with the birds but as you will see from these photos they now look a little tatty as they have lost patches of feathers around the neck and also on there backsides.




In themselves the birds are very alert eating very well and laying eggs everyday. We have the 6 birds and generally get 4-5 eggs a day and some days 6. Diet wise they have the basics layer pellets and corn but this is supplemented with all many of food that is left over in the house - rice,pasta,chips, vegetables,fruit - just about anything really. I also provide lots of grass cuttings.

From what I can tell chickens naturally lose feathers when they are moulting. However these lasts about 6 weeks and is usally accompanied by the birds ceasing to lay as they put there energy into development of new feathers. So we have ruled this out.

Secondly we thought there might be some parasite lice or mite. We have given the chicken house a total clean from top to bottom and can see no evidence of any bug in the house.


Chicken lice would seem to be most likely cause of the problem. However we have treated all the birds with a powder but the problem persists and again I can't see anything in the house.

I was also told this problem could arise from lack of green vegetation or from the social pecking order. We do supplement them with green vegetation as they have eaten everting green in their enclosure.

Anyone keep chickens have any advice for a novice chicken keeper!

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Martha's Vineyard - Run around St Edmundsbury Graveyard

For todays's run around Bury St Edmunds part of my route took me through the great grave yard. If you ever visit Bury then this is a place of much interest with interesting inscriptions and of course great history.

In an early post on the 21st of June I mentioned how there were many links between Suffolk and the USA particularly with regard to the early settlers and as a result the many place names in the States which carry a Suffolk place name.

Bartholomew Gosnold was born in 1572 in Grundisburgh Suffolk, His ancestral home was Otley Hall in the heart of rural Suffolk.

It was in Bury St Edmunds that Gosnold made his home and his children are recorded in the parish register of St James Church

Gosnold graduated from Cambridge University where he studied law and in his short life of just 36 years he is considered to be the founder of the Virginnia Company of London and of Jamestown in Virginnia.

The Virginnia Company of London was established under royal charter during the reign of James the 1st with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.

Gosnold died of dysentery and scurvy just months after landing at Jamestown. Two thirds of the 104 colonists who landed at Jamestown were dead within months. However without this expeditation and colonisation it is said that North Americans would now be speaking Spanish as their principal language!

Gosnold led the first recorded European expeditation of Cape Cod in 1602. During this voyage he named ‘Martha’s Vineyard’ after his infant daughter who had died a few years earlier. Martha was baptised in St Edmundsbury Cathedral (then the church of St James) and is buried in an unmarked grave in the great churchyard.

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Suffolk News from 1779

Article taken from the Ipswich Journal Newspaper June 26th 1779

One day last week, Thomas Ambrose, carpenter of Long Melford who was disordered in the mind, cut his throat in a terrible manner and died next day.
Tis very remarkable that if he left a pint of beer unpaid for when disordered that when he came to recollect himself he would go even if several miles to pay for it.

Bury & Norwich Post June 24th 1789

On Saturday last the coach from Norwich to Sudbury overturned at Shimpling from the road hence to Sudbury by which accident a child about 22 months who was riding with it's mother on top of the coach, had it' skull fractured and died six hours later. The coachman was not to blame but occasioned by the road being mended with a quantity of rough stuff which gave the coach a sudden jerk, overturning it.

Bury & Norwich Post June 26th 1816

Susan Bruty was committed to Bury Gaol on suspicion of setting fire to buildings belonging to John Shelton at Clare.




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Race Calendar for 2009

Looking ahead at what races I might do in the second half of 2009 here are the possibilities:-

Bury 5 on 26th June a regular race I usually do or help out on with car parking/marshalling and in the past arranging the race entries. Expect a sell out on the night of 500 runners if we get good weather.
Sudbury 5 on 1st July I haven't run this race before though have run the old train route between Sudbury and Rodbridge so would like to gie it a go.
Newmarket 10k 5th July No knowledge of this one haven't done it before. I am not too good running in hot weather, in fact slighty scared of it!
Ipswich Half Marathon 30th August - a new race for Ipswich might be hot and looks a little expensive but looks a great course and event
Littleport Leisure 10k Race 6th September - love the area around Littleport haven't done this before
19th Grunty Fen Half Marathon 13th September - I really bombed on this race last year set out too fast on this flat course and ended up walking in parts - however well organised race and I would like to go back and take it out on this race it's a personal thing I owe it one!
Help for Heroes RAF Honington 10k 30th September A great cause not sure if I can do on a Wednesday though.
Martlesham Heath 10k 11th October An event organised by the Lions Club of Woodbridge & District - I haven't run before but will consider.
Stowmarket Striders Scenic Seven 8th November I have run this many times before well organised by a great running club also reminds me of the on set of winter
Norwich City Half Marathon 29th November - Enter the dark side and venture into Norfolk with your passport! Only joking Norfolk folk I did this event in 2007 though then the race was run in the peak of summer. A big race then run from the Norfolk County Showground on a 2 lap course and fairly flat.

I am unlikely to do all of these 10 races but there is enough pleasure and pain to consider in these events to give my training a focus in the up and coming months, health willing.

Any one else planning to do any races this year let me know how it is going for you. What races are you doing ? Are you following a training plan ?

Now I have listed them lets see just how many I do!!


What does the photo have to do with this post? Absolutely nothing it is a picture taken in 1965 in the Abbey Gardens Bury St Edmunds and I am in the front on the slide and my sister Melanie is in the middle.

Abbey Gardens Bury St Edmunds Suffolk

Another Seven mile run in the centre of Bury St Edmunds Suffolk.

7 miles in 1 hour 4 seconds. Total for week 37 miles and 102 miles for June.

I am beginning to build up my mileage though I need to enter some races so that I have a target. I am happy just to run but having a race in mind helps give more of a focus to your training.

I again visited parts of the Abbey Gardens and this memorial to the 94th Bombardment Group can be found in one of the gardens near to the Park keepers hut. There are many links between England and the United States of America and this is one from modern times.

From 1943 to 1945 the 94th Heavy Bombardment Group was based at Rougham Airfield. Rougham is about 2 miles from Bury St Edmunds.

Over 300 operational missions took place in the 2 years with 8000 plus sorties and a bomb tonnage of more than 18,000 tons being dropped. 153 aircraft were listed missing in action. The B17 Flying Fortress and the B26 Marauder would have been a common site over the skies of Suffolk during this time as they were used by the 94th Bombardment Group.

Abbey Gardens Bury St Edmunds Suffolk

Seven Miles in 1hour 2 mins and 43 seconds.
30 miles this week , 95 miles this month , 771 miles this year and 13,053 miles in a lifetime.

When I look at the distance I have run in a lifetime 13,000 miles doesn't seem an awful lot. After all 13,000 miles is the distance covered by leatherback turtles in one migration non stop.

I haven't always recorded my running in a diary so this figure won't be exactly accurate but is fairly close for the mileage that I have recorded.

If I was running from Bury St Edmunds where could I get to if I ran in a straight line? It is about 1/20 of the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Well I could have run through the whole of Western Europe , Asia , Australia and on to New Zealand. My 13,000 miles would place me somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean but with another 4,000 miles to go before I hit Santiago in Chile.

Of course rather than really being in the South Pacific I ran today in the Abbey Gardens Bury St Edmunds.The history of this site dates back to the 7th century when King Sigebert , the first Christian king of East Angles who established a small religious community here.

It is said that King Edmund who refused to rennounce his christain faith and was slain by the danish vikings is buried here in the 9th century.

King Cnut established a benedictine community here in the 11th century . With the dissolution of the monasteries in England the Abbey Gardens was neglected for 300 years until the Marquis of Bristol arranged for a botanical garden display. Over 2,000 garden plants were available to view and subscibers financed the maintenance and upkeep to this private victorian gardening gallery throughout most of the 19th century.

Even at the end of the 19th century 'riff raff' were not welcome as visitors could only enter at the cost of 1 shilling for an adult or 6d for a child. According to Mitchell (British Historical Statistics) the average agricultural wage in 1900 was around 14 shillings a week and a weeks dole money was 6d .

Rushbrooke Elderflower Champagne goes with a bang!

Look back over previous entries on Running in Suffolk and you will see that we recently made Elderflower Champagne following a Hugh Fernley Whittingstall recipe from the tv series River Cottage.

I had read that Elderflower Champagne tends to be quite explosive and that many a bottle can explode. With this in mind we moved our dozen bottles into the garage just in case.

Having never tried it before it was with some trepidation that the time came to open the bottles. We used the swing stopper type bottles which you can buy in bulk from a number of suppliers on the internet.

We took the bottles into the garden to open just in case which was wise as these open with the force of extreme champagne. You could take bottles of this into war as a weapon the force is considerable. Our first attempt came as a shock and most of the drink went over everyone in sight and just a little bit of foam was left in the bottle.

Practice has led us to an elderflower champagne opening technique of needing more than two hands. When the swing stopper is opened you need to push down hard and allow a minute for the pressure to be released very slowly.

By this method as long as you have the glasses ready with ice you are ensured a lovely summery flowery drink. The verdict is yes, when can we make some more. I believe there is only a low level of alcohol in this drink but many who have tried have said it was strong.

I would say it is fairly sweet rather than a dry champagne.

Total cost approx £3 for a dozen bottles. The main cost of our Rushbrooke Elderflower Champagne was the sugar and lemons.

Risby Suffolk

A Friday lunch time a break from work enabled me to do a ten miler out to the village of Risby near Bury St Edmunds Suffolk.

My 10 miles took 1hr 25 minutes 26 seconds which is an 8.31 average pace. This gives me 23 miles for the week and 88 miles for the month. I am certainly puttin gin the miles and have got used to my new Nike Air Pegasus 25 shoes. Having bought a pair in JJB Sports in Bury I saw the same shoes in Cambridge at Sportshoes Direct at Lionyard Walk for £20 less! Always frustrating to waste money but I have learnt lesson not to touch JJB Sports and I generally haven't had cause to use it previously buying on the internet to find running gear.

There is a good waffle tread on these shoes which gives a good grip for off road running .

The weather was good, sunny but with a fair amount of cloud so the temperatures were not excessively warm for running. I ran out along the Newmarket Road , up Westley Road and immeadiately first leftpast the Crematorium. Close to Hyde Cottage the poppies are in full bloom.

In Risby I took this picture in the village centre presumably of a former pond? This is quite a large green area with a central hollow.






















I followed a minor road known as the Lackford Lane which leads straight to the Bullock Lodge Farm. However before going that far I chose to follow a footpath off road which leads out to Risby Little Wood.

Here the fields are planted with wheat which is green unlike the barley which is on the point of turning yellow.

















































On my return back into Risby I was confronted by a young family of expectant ducks hoping for a meal .

I returned to Bury feling in good form . I checked my splits which were at 5 miles 43.17 and for the return I ran 42.08 a negative split always leaves you feeling good.



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Adkins Wood Ickworth Park Suffolk

7.5 miles in 1 hr 6 mins 53 seconds

In a break from work at lunch time I ran up to Ickworth Park from Bury St Edmunds. My plan being to seek out the cooler shade of Adkins Wood on a fairly warm day.

Running through Little Horringer Hall Farm up the hill past a large field of barley I was met by a group of cyclists coming at a fair lick down hill. The path being narrow they thankfully saw me and gave way just in time.

At one point I had contemplated jumping into the barley to avoid a collision.

This run is nearly all over fields but emerging from Little Horringer Hall Farm you do arrive on Westley Lane. There is little traffic but cars do tend to hurtle along this stretch and you have to be on guard because of the bends in teh road before you arrive in Horringer Village.

Once in the village you can quickly venture into Ickworth Park and turning immeadiately left you can explore Adkins Wood.







Still muddy in many places it was a case of running from side to side along the track and skipping over puddles but at times with no option just plonking straight into the mud.

This is a run with lakes to visit on route. The first lake is known as the Fairy Lake and is always quiet in fact I don't think I have ever seen anyone there when I have run past.



















Close to the fairly lake is a duckboard footpath. It was really good to see that this has all been replaced. The previous duckboard in this muddy section had disintegrated to the point where the remaining boards were removed last year. The new boards are nice and solid and there is no bounce as there was on the old timbers.

The next lake which is more well known to any visitor to the National Trust site at Ickworth is the Canal Lake.





















In the photo you can see in the foreground a summer house , behind which there is a small vineyard which produces some fine qulaity English wine. St Mary's Church at Ickworth has been derelict for many years but there is a sign there now to indicate that restoration works are now being undertaken by English Heritage. In the background on the right is Ickworth House.

I ran very slowly today not entirely sure why but this run is more about enjoying the sites and there is always something different to see. For instance today a large school party were enjoying a wildlife trip to the park with a packed lunch.




















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Horringer Hall Farm Bury St Edmunds Suffolk

One of my favorite runs at this time of the year is around the field edge at Little Horringer Hall Farm. This year they are growing barley but in previous years this has rotated from oil seed rape.

The ground despite recent heavy rain is hard as a rock and you have to be careful to avoid turning an ankle in some of the cracks. The barley is a shade of green but turning yellow.

There is a pathway leading right around this field climbing from around 40 metres to 65 metres above sea level. The pathway is mostly clear but in some sections you need to wade through dense grass which has overgrown the route.

Elderflower Champagne

Elderflowers

Folk-lore, romance and superstition centre round this English tree. Shakespeare, in Cymbeline, referring to it as a symbol of grief, speaks slightingly of it as 'the stinking Elder,' due to the scent of its blossom. However at this time of the year the English hedgerow is more handsome for its appearance along with dog rose and hawthorn.

The word 'Elder' comes from the Anglo-Saxon word aeld.

On a run from Bury St Edmunds through the village of Rushbrooke I sought out a good source of elderflowers. Last year watching the Hugh Fernley Whittingstall programme River Cottage we were taken with giving the making of some Elderflower Champagne a try.

The tv programme made it look easy to make and when Hugh and his mates came to try it the bottle lids were flipped it certainly reacted like champagne with a bang and lots of gushing fizzy drink which all seemed to enjoy.

So Elderflower Champagne was added to the to do list. The end of May / beginning of June is the perfect time in Engalnd to pick Elderflowers. I picked mine out at Rushbrooke on a quiet minor road but to be honest you can of course spot elderflower growing in the town centre. This is certainly true in Bury St Edmunds and many of the car parks which have surrounding bushes often have large elderflowers bushes.

To be on the safe side I picked elderflowers high up in the bush (well above dog height) and facing into the fields . The recipe only required around 30 heads but to be on the safe side I probably picked around 50 heads. A pair of scissors was handy to clip them into a bag.

Some say you should pick elderflowers when they are young but fully in bloom. That the best time to pick them is in the morning and they should smell fragrant and like bananas. They are past their best if they smell like cats wee.

On arriving home I choose to cut away as much of the stalk as I could. Not entirely sure if this matters but just a personal decision. Give your bag of flowers a good shake and you will have some small insect bugs that have returned home with you. These are fairly easily removed but the odd bug won't kill you if you miss it.

There are many recipes on the internet for makng Elderflower Champagne. I followed this one below from the River Cottage site.

Makes about 6 litres

Ingredients

• About 24-30 elderflower heads, in full bloom
• 2kg sugar
• 4 litres hot water
• Juice and zest of four lemons
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• A pinch of dried yeast (you may not need this)

Put the hot water and sugar into a large container (a spotlessly clean bucket is good) and stir until the sugar dissolves, then top up with cold water so you have 6 litres of liquid in total.

2. Add the lemon juice and zest, the vinegar and the flower heads and stir gently.

3. Cover with clean muslin and leave to ferment in a cool, airy place for a couple of days. Take a look at the brew at this point, and if it’s not becoming a little foamy and obviously beginning to ferment, add a pinch of yeast.

4. Leave the mixture to ferment, again covered with muslin, for a further four days. Strain the liquid through a sieve lined with muslin and decant into sterilised strong glass bottles with champagne stoppers (available from home-brewing suppliers) or Grolsch-style stoppers, or sterilised screw-top plastic bottles (a good deal of pressure can build up inside as the fermenting brew produces carbon dioxide, so strong bottles and seals are essential).

5. Seal and leave to ferment in the bottles for a further eight days before serving, chilled. The champagne should keep in the bottles for several months. Store in a cool, dry place.

History of Elderflowers

Folk-lore, romance and superstition centre round this English tree. Shakespeare, in Cymbeline, referring to it as a symbol of grief, speaks slightingly of it as 'the stinking Elder,' yet, although many people profess a strong dislike to the scent of its blossom. However at this time of the year the English hedgerow is more handsome for its appearance along with dog rose and hawthorn.

The word 'Elder' comes from the Anglo-Saxon word aeld.

The 8 days is up on Friday the 12th of June so thats when I try Elderflower Champagne for the 1st time as long as the bottles don't explode in the meantime! Then we will see if the effort has been worth it.

The Suffolk Show 2009

One of the highlights of the Suffolk Show at Ipswich at the end of May was the chance to meet John Wark at the BBC Radio Suffolk tent.

Back in the days when the FA Cup was a well respected tournament and both Ipswich Town and Leeds United were two of the top teams in England I well remember an epic replay that took place at Filbert Street Leicester. It happened to be the debut of John Wark for Ipswich Town. The 27th March 1975 was a Thursday night and was the 3rd replay between the two teams. Ipswich winning on the night 3-2 thanks to a Clive Woods banana shot goal still one of the best goals I have ever seen.



Football managers complain bitterly about fixture congestion these days but part of the cup fighting tradition and romance of the FA Cup was lost when a decision was taken by the Football Association to limit replays to just the one game. Having said this after seven hours of football both Ipswich and Leeds had so many injuries that it probably cost Ipswich there chance of winning the league that season and Leeds went on to lose the European Cup to Bayern Munich.

It was a great priviledge to meet John Wark and I of course mentioned his debut at 17 when Bobby Robson was forced to throw him into the side to mark Allan Clarke. He said there is a section of the book that deals with this story and I look forward to reading his autobiography Wark On








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Shakers Lane Circular Run

Another standard regular route run very slowly 43.52 for 5 miles

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Edwardian Post Card Album

I am in the process of scanning around half a dozen post card albums and in so doing exploring any socal history I can discover from the back of the cards. I have finished the 1st album and posted this on to flickr
The first album is an Edwardian postcard album containing 74 cards. Most of the cards have Edwardian halfpenny stamps and have been addressed to Wisbech Road, Thorney Near Peterborough, England. A photo of Wisbech Road at Thorney can be seen herewww.thorney.org/about_thorney_mod.html . This would appear to be a 19th century model vilage with properties built for the agricultural workers by the Duke of Bedford. The postcards are mostly addressed to Miss Marie Buckworth. Although others are addressed to Master Francis Buckworth, Mr Rowland Buckworth, Mr Leonard Buckworth and a Miss H R Brodie. For this reason this appears to be an intact album of postcards and not one made up off odd postcards by a dealer. The postcards have been sent from Daddy, Mother, Auntie Laura Collen, Auntie Ellen, Auntie Ede, Auntie Hettie, Uncle Frank, Connie and Herbert. Most of the cards appear to be addressed to Marie Buckworth and this appears to be her postcard album which she has collected and added cards from the rest of the family. Most of the cards date between 1906 and 1914 though some are earlier to around 1903. Whilst many are seaside post cards from various holiday destinations there are a handful of cards which are photo portraits. Carte-de-visite and cabinet cards gradually went out of fashion from 1900 onwards due to the arrival of a cheap alternative that could be posted namely the photo postcard.

The portrait of the lady in the studio standing holding the back of a chair could be Mrs Buckworth but as the postcard isn't named this is pure speculation.

The last of the postcards with a date stamp seems to be 1914 just at the time of the out break of the 1st world war. There are a handful of photo portraits such as the young soldier. Again the postcard doesn't indicate who this is but could well be Mr Buckworth prior to the outbreak of war.

One of the cards from Cork sent in 1907 refers to an explosion and the death of some sailors. I have yet to find if this event is recorded anyway on the internet?


You can view the entire album on flicker here

Horringer School /Hospital /Cullum rd Newmarket rd Bury St Edmunds

A short run on a regular circuit , 5.14 in 43.11 seconds.

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Rushbrooke and Rougham Suffolk

This week I am on holiday from work and I have decided to put in put in some extra miles and aim to run 40 in total. This is something I haven't done for a long time possibly years.

So today Bank Holiday Monday started well as I decided to put in a long run to begin the week and I ran 12 miles on an out and back course to Rougham from Bury St Edmunds. I ran this in 1hr 44 mins 22 seconds. Still slow but happy with this for a long training run.

My route was out along Cullum Road and then Rushbrooke Lane. Up to the Little Spinney turn left along the North Hill Covert and follow the by road around the sewage treatment plant to Blackthorpe.

As a chicken keeper myself It is always interesting to see other chickens. We have six this owner clearly has more and has them well fenced in against threat of foxes.

At Blackthorpe there is a pathway through Gorse Wood past Blackthorpe Barn. By following this pathway you eventually pick up the old A45 road which is now just a concrete pathway which you can follow over the A14 and into Home farm Rougham.

With 6 miles completed I retraced my steps home.

High Green near Nowton Suffolk

Wow tired this morning. Got out early at 7.30am

I felt stiff and slow as I ran on a circular course through the Bury St Edmunds town centre , near Nowton Park and up to High Green but the weather was simply great so relax!

I ran 7 miles in 1 hr 3 mins and 50 seconds very slow for me.

Timworth Suffolk

An out and back run today to Timworth in Suffolk. I am running slowly at the moment and today was no different. My main objective was to do a long run of over 10 miles.

I am trying to include a regular run of over 10 miles in my training schedule every week. I would hope to build the length of my long run up to around 13 miles in the coming weeks perhaps with an autumn half marathon as the plan.

Today I had one eye on the search for a plentiful supply of elderflowers. After watching Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall River Cottage TV Series we were taken by the idea of making some Elderflower Champagne. On the route I ran I didn't see an awful lot of elderflowers and those that I did see were not in full bloom. I am a little early but I guess in a week or two the time will be right to give this a go. From what I can tell you are likely to be more successful in finding elderflowers around more urban areas such as town centre car parks.



















Choosing to run in my lunch time between work meant I was running at 1pm in the best of the sunshine. I listened to a podcast today from the National Archives at Kew. The National Archives is the official archive of the UK Government and if you have an interest in social history or genealogy then you are sure to be interested. The podcast I listened to related to the 2nd World War and one of the most famous escapes made by allied airmen.

During the night of 24 March 1944, 76 airmen escaped from the Prisoner of War camp Stalag Luft III. Only three made it home and, of the remainder, 50 were murdered on Hitler's orders. This podcast explained what actually happened in the so-called Great Escape as compared to the famous film. The film starred Steve McQueen in reality no Americans were involved in the escape attempt as all American pow's had been moved to another camp.




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Fornham Circular Run

A lovely warm evening for a run. I did a circular run along Beetons way, out to tollgate and then through the Fornhams St Martin , Genevieve and All Saints.

I am breaking in a new pair of running shoes. For the first time I have bought a pair of Nike shoes. These are the Nike Air Pegasus 25. They are designed for the neutral runner who underpronates and wants a bit of cushioning.

Time will tell if they have been a good buy or not. Initial reaction is that the hard compacted rubber waffle tread might be better of road rather than on road. I can feel the hard tread but this may be simply that they are new.

I ran well and I am now logging my runs on a site could Buckeye Outdoors see my running log on the gadget on the right column of this page.

Running with Music

Sound v Silence

One of those mildly controversial subjects that has arisen in recent times is around the use of mp3 players and IPOD's whilst running especially during road races. There are some strongly polarised views for and against the use of IPOD's during running and whatever your views this page aims to act as a resource for those wanting to listen to sound on the training run.

So this post considers

the case for silence

Who once said " silence is golden" . I immeadiately think of the song by the band the Tremeloes - Silence is Golden . However obviously the origins of the saying date back a lot longer!

'Speech is silver, silence is golden ' The value placed upon saying less, rather than more, as reflected in this proverb can be traced as far back as the early Egyptians, who recorded one such saying: 'Silence is more profitable than abundance of speech.' The current proverb was rendered for the first time in the Judaic Biblical commentaries called the 'Midrash' (c. 600), which gave the proverb as 'If speech is silvern, then silence is golden.'

Then there's William Shakespeare, "Romeo and Juliet." "How silver-sweet sound lovers' tongues by night, Like softest music to attending ears!". Perhaps more familiar in the shortened version 'Silence is golden,' the saying has been quoted in print frequently during the twentieth century. One witty adaptation in Brian Aldiss's 'The Primal Urge' (1961) seems particularly appropriate to modern times: "Speech is silver; silence is golden; print is dynamite.'." From "Wise Words and Wives' Tales: The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings Olde and New" by Stuart Flexner and Doris Flexner (Avon Books, New York, 1993).

Let's face it as runners we never really have silence when we are out on a training run. If you live in a built up area in the centre of Bury St Edmunds when you go on a training run you are going to hear traffic, building work as you pass the ARC or at times be shouted at by a passing stranger "Run Forest Run" or "Hup 2,3,4"!

Mixed with perhaps unwanted sounds, as runners we are used to stepping out of doors at all hours often in the early morning when the rest of the world appears to be sound asleep. It is often then when you can get out in to the country that you can hear the sound of wildlife which would be missed when wearing an IPOD. The sound of birdsong or deer charing through a forest.

There is also the thinking time. How often do you go for a run and manage to solve a problem by thinking it through?This is quality time where the mind disassociates itself from the run and concentrates perhaps on a creative solution to a problem, what to buy for a present. Again by wearing an IPOD you are less able to use your senses.

The use of an IPOD by blocking out all of the sounds around you can heighten your risk of an accident by not hearing traffic or other people around you. We are beginning to hear of some race events banning the use of IPOD's during road races. A recent article in the Timesonline explains how the the sports governing body in the USA have banned the use of IPOD's during competition.for health and safety reasons resulting from potential collisions. Stiff opposition from many runners led to some ignoring the new ruling and resulted in a logistical nightmare for race organisers needing to search and confiscate IPOD's before the start of events.

It would appear that the USA Track & Field have now amended the ruling to allow the use at the discretion of a race director but not by athletes competing in a championship for awards,medals or prize money.

the case for sound.

If you read Runners World then you may have seen in December 2008 issue an article on how you can perform up to 20% better with music. According to Dr Costa Karageorghis at Brunel University, who has spent 20 years studting the correlation between music and athletic output that for the non elite athlete listening to the right music before and during exercise will reduce the feelings of tiredness and increase performance levels by up to 20%. However the impact on elite athletes is less as there focus is inwards on there bodies regulating their efficency whilst for the majority of us mere mortals a distraction is a big plus.

Music before a race can calm your nerves and help you focus.fast tempo music can help get you pumped up and ready for a race. There are increasingly a lot of podcasts you can download with music at a certain beat per minute. By matching the beat of the music to the tempo of the exercise you can regulate your movement and reduce your oxygen requirement by up to 6 %

What IPOD or MP3 player should I buy?

A suitable music player needs to be light and compact. A number of players are best not used for running. These tend to be those with a large hard disc with moving parts which are apt to skip and be easily damaged if and when dropped.

One option is to use an IPOD Nano or IPOD touch with a pair of NIKE shoes and an IPOD sports sensor. The sensor is placed in the insole of the shoe and sends data on your run to your IPOD including distance pace and calories.

The new IPOD Nano's 8mb and 16mb are very light weight and not noticable when running. These can be hand held or beter still strapped to the arm with a a velcro arm band. You only then have to be careful of selecting some earphones for sport. The standad earphones provided with any MP 3 or IPOD are no good for running and will fall out. A suggestion would be to buy a pair of Sennheiser PMX 70 In-Ear Sports Headphones which come from many stockists and clip around the ears.

An alternative product is the Ultimate Sports MP 3 Player which has the advantage of no trailing wires and everything is integrated into the headphone.

There is a huge range of MP 3 players and IPOD devices and again there are fans of various make such as Sony Walkman and I River you will have a preference!



Songs for Runners

A miscellaneous top ten of songs with the word run in the title, some you will know but perhaps not all? Click on the link to see a video in youtube . Can you do better? Let me have your top ten songs for running

1 Roadrunner Jonathon Richman
2 Runaway Del Shannon
3 Run Snow Patrol
4 Where you Goona Run Peter Tosh
5 Nowhere to Run Martha & The Vandellas
6 Run New Order
7 Running on the Spot The Jam
8 Let him Run Wild Beach Boys
9 Walk Don't Run The Ventures
10 Keep on Running Spencer Davis Group



40 songs submitted by another runner at Saint Edmund Pacers

Hit An Run -Whitesnake
The Running Man -WASP
Running Wild in the Streets - WASP
Runnin with Devil - Van Halen
Runaround - Van Halen
Night Run - UFO
No Place to Run - UFO
Running up the Highway - UFO
Amy's On The Run - Thunder
'Til The River Runs Dry - Thunder
Running Back - Thin Lizzy
Run Away Train - Soul Asylum
Love On The Run - Scorpions
Bad Boys Running Wild - Scorpions
Runnin - Santana
Run With The Wolf - Rainbow
On The Run - Pink Floyd
Run Like Hell - Pink Floyd
Running Out of Time - Ozzy Osbourne
Long May You Run - Neil Young
You Better Run - Motorhead
The Running Free - Coheed and Cambria
Run Riot - Def Leppard
Running Wild - Judas Priest
Who Will You Run To - Glenn Hughes
Running Free - Iron Maiden
These Colours Don't Run - Iron Maiden
Run To The Hills - Iron Maiden
Run Silent Run Deep - Iron Maiden
The Loneliness of The Long Distance Runner - Iron Maiden
Run For Cover - Gary Moore
The Long Run - Eagles
Run Down The Devil - Alice Cooper
Runaway - Bon Jovi
She's a Runner - Billy Squier
Duck And Run - 3 Doors Down
Fuel To Run - Love Hate
Time To Run - Phantom Blue
Runaway - Dare
Hit and Run - Vain


Podcasts for Runners

What is a podcast ? It is a series of audio or video files which are distributed over the internet by web feeds to IPOD's or to stream and listen to on your computer. If you find a podcast you like you can then subscribe to this podcast and all future episodes can be downloaded to your computer by way of software the popular being ITUNES, though there are alternatives such as Juice, Zune and Zencast to name a few.

The internet has thousands of free podcasts many aimed at runners. The thing is to try these and see what is to your personal taste as the quality is variable. You certainly don't have to listen to music you can listen to talk based podcasts on any subject going including a number of free audio books.

A good place to start is Running Podcasts a website with 40-50 odd podcasts for runners. These are podcasts from runners all over the world but are mainly American though a few are British and one I would particularly recommend is A Mile with Me from Steve Chopper based in the Bournemouth area. The mile with me podcast is mainly talk based with insights during 2008 on the London Marathon, the 4 minute mile and the storey behind Tommy Smith the winner of the 1968 200 metres and remembered for his human rights stand on the winners podium by the wearing of a black glove.

Another British site is Running from the Reaper .

Taking part in the London Marathon? Then why not download the many podcasts provided by the Virgin London Marathon on marathon training.

Concerned about injuries then the Running Injury Free Podcasts will be of interest to you. With podcasts on avoiding injury,low stress marathon plans and the benefits of stretching.

Training with Music

There are many training podcasts aimed at different levels of runners. Here are some examples:-

Couch to 5k this would be good for someone beginning to run or perhaps returning from injury.The aim being to get someone running 5k or for 30 minutes in 9 weeks.

Podrunner intervals by djsteveboy another 9 week programme to get you running 5k , also 10 weeks for 8k and a 10 week programme for 10k.

The Mission of the JogTunes Group is to promote the unique blend of music and exercise that involves matching the tempo of music to the pace of the workout. They call this activity music-paced exercise. Many people have independently found that working out exactly to the beat is inspiring, motivating, and fun. You will see music of all types but a lot of indie music. You can use the beats per minute calculator on the site and this will select a programme of music for you.

Racing with Music

Run to the Beat - Here is an event which far from banning IPOD's actually encourages racing to music. With 17 live bands the Half marathon takes place on September 27th 2009 from the O2 arena in London. If you enter you will be able to pick up a training program, Run to the Beat Album and a Limited Edition T-Shirt. The music has been programmed by Dr Costa Karageorghis of Brunel University.

The first event in 2008 sold out very quickly with 12,500 runners though the price at £30 is not cheap.

Note I first included this article on the Saint Edmund Pacers Website

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