Lee Valley 10k and Fun Run

Lee Valley 10k and Fun Run Joining Instructions

The following document provides you a range of information including:

Getting to the event

Run times

The routes

Prizes

Welfare facilities

Sponsorship

Training tips

We look forward to seeing you in July

Getting There

By Car

From junction 26 of the M25 follow the A121 towards Waltham Abbey.

Straight over each roundabout.

At T-junction (McDonalds on left) turn left towards Waltham Cross along Highbridge Street.

The entrance is after approximately 50m on the right, on the bridge between the two waterways.

Follow the trackway, turning left into the designated car park and event site.

From junction 25 of the M25 join the A10 towards Hertford.

At the first roundabout turn right onto the B198 for Waltham Cross.

www.leevalleypark.org.uk/events events@leevalleypark.org.uk or call 8456 770 600 f Turn right at the next and left at a further roundabout to join Eleanor Cross Road / Station Road for 1 mile.

Pass the construction entrance on the left and Jewson’s on the right.

The entrance is on your left on the bridge between the two waterways.

Follow the trackway, turning left into the designated car park and event site.

By Train

Cheshunt station is situated 200m from Lee Valley Hostel and just over a mile from the start / finish area.

Waltham Cross Station is situated on the outskirts of the park, approximately ¾ mile from the start / finish area.

The following services operated by ONE railway stop at Cheshunt / Waltham Cross station include:

London

Stratford / Stanstead

Enfield / Cheshunt

Broxbourne / Hertford east

Harlow Town / Bishop Stortford / Cambridge

The event entrance and car parking can be found via the gate between the two waterways on the bridge on Highbridge Street.

Event Timetable

09.00 Registration opens for on the day number pick ups and on the day entries

10.00 10km start

11.00 Fun run start

11.30 Prize giving

12.00 Route cleared of all participants

14.00 Event concludes

Please make sure you bring your runner number and timing tag for 10k runners (forwarded under separate cover) with you to the event. There is no need for you to ‘register’ on the day if you already have your number.

Remember to write your full name and any medical conditions on the back of your number and pin it securely to your shirt.

For 10k runners, please ensure that your timing tag is secured on your trainers with the number facing upwards as per the directions (attached at the end of the document)

Any participant unsure of their physical ability to take part in the event should take medical advice from a general practitioner, prior to the event.

On completion of the course collect your free event T-Shirt from the finish area were you can also enjoy kick back, enjoy a massage and some music.

A catering vendor will be onsite for lunch and snacks – why not make a day of it!

Start / finish site

Entrance to the Park

The Route

Route maps are available to download from www.leevalleypark.org.uk/events. The route will be sign posted and marshaled in key points to ensure that you follow the correct pathways and for your safety.

A wide range of terrain occurs throughout the route from grass to gravel, pavement to woodland but never at any point will you need to run on a public road, or up impossibly steep hills!

A water stop will be located at the half way – 5k mark on the 10k route.

The start / finish area is located at the south of River Lee Country Park, off Highbridge Road on the Showground area of the park and are within a short distance of each other and the car park area.

Race Timing

Electronic tag timing will be used for the 10km run. Your tag will be sent to you with your race number along with directions of how to use it (also attached at the end of this document).

Tags need to be placed through your trainer laces as the recording of times will be recorded via a finish mat at the end of the race.

A race clock will also be situated at the finish line for the 10k race.

Race times will be published on the Lee Valley Regional Park and the Lee Valley 10k website.

There will be no official timing for the fun run event and timing tags will not be sent.

Prizes

The following places will be awarded prizes:

10km 1st, 2nd and 3rd place - male and female

Fun Run All children will receive a medal on completion of the run

All runners / participants will receive a T-shirt and a bottle of water on finishing the run. Welfare Facilities

Changing Facilities

Unfortunately there are no designated changing facilities or showers on site so please arrive in the clothing you intend to wear for the event. The start / finish area is approximately a one minute walk to the car park.

Toilets

Mobile toilets will be available in the start/finish area.

Car Parking

There will be plentiful car parking for your use, free of charge at the venue. This will be clearly signposted and marshaled as you enter the park from Highbridge Street

Make a day of it

Why not bring your friends and family as well? Apart from supporting you at the start and finish, there are plenty of activities that they can enjoy either whilst you complete your run or together once you have finished.

Attractions in River Lee Country Park

River Lee Country Park offers a host of specially selected walks of varying distances including the grasshopper, waterlily, waterbirds, orchid and dragonfly walks. For more information visit River Lee Country Park website: www.leevalleypark.org.uk/riverleecountrypark

Lee Valley White Water Centre

Directly adjacent to the start and finish area is the construction site to the new White Water Canoe Centre. Approaching it’s final stages of completion, the site will be open in spring 2011 and will be the only brand new London 2012 Games venue that will be open before the Games – so you’ll be able to have a go at white water rafting before the Olympians arrive!

Why not have a look from the bridge at the 300m Olympic course, intermediate course and lake taking shape. To keep up to date on the latest information visit www.gowhitewater.co.uk

Other activities in proximity to the event site include:

Sport, Recreation and Leisure

Lee Valley Park Farms - Waltham Abbey

Lee Valley Boat Centre - Broxbourne

Lee Valley Leisure Complex and Golf Course - Pickett's Lock

Odeon Cinema - Pickett's Lock

Lee Valley Ice Centre - Lea Bridge

Lee Valley Riding Centre - Lea Bridge

Nature

Dragonfly Sanctuary - Waltham Abbey

RSPB Rye Meads Nature Reserve - Rye Meads

The Waterworks Nature Reserve and Golf Course - Leyton

For further information on activities, opening times, prices and locations visit www.leevalleypark.org.uk

Fundraising

Raising sponsorship money is the start of the fun:

The event this year is please to be supporting Noah’s Ark, a local, vibrant charity committed to developing a hospice service to provide practical support to an estimated 350 life-limited children, and their families, living within the communities of South Hertfordshire and North London.

However, if you’d like to raise money for a charity of your own choice then please do so.

On-line Sponsorship

By creating your own online sponsorship page you can extend your reach to distant family, friends and work colleagues.

To set up your own ‘webpage’ visit www.justgiving.com and follow their directions.

Follow the step by step instructions and tailor your page with a personal message and a photo. The site will provide you with a website address that you can then email to your contact address book and your sponsors can log onto the page and make a donation by credit or debit card 24 hours a day.

Other Charities

Please contact your chosen charity and ask them to provide you with a sponsorship form.

Alternatively, many charities have a designated page on the www.justgiving.com website as you can create your own online sponsorship page (see above).

Training Tips

Before The Event

Be consistent in your training as regularity is what will build your aerobic fitness. Try to get out training two or three times every week, with the runs spread throughout the week. Try and be creative in finding times to train if you have a busy working and domestic life.

Be progressive but realistic in your training – look for a weekly increase in volume/distance of 10%. Over six weeks this will enable considerable progress.

Try to build up a weekly long run to about 45 or 50 minutes so that you can be confident that completing the 10k without stopping is a very realistic target.

Take the first five minutes of every run really easily to ensure you warm up properly. This will reduce the risk of injury; make the training more effective; and increase the likelihood of you running as far as you plan on each run.

Don’t overdress for your training runs. New runners invariably underestimate how quickly the body warms up. In June and July it is unlikely you will need more than a t shirt and shorts or light tracksuit bottoms.

Try and train off road as far as is practical as softer surfaces will reduce the risk of injury and leave less soreness the next day after running.

Stretch for five to ten minutes after each run. Focus on the hamstrings; quadriceps; calves; gluteals; and hip flexors. Hold each stretch for 15-20 seconds and do each stretch twice on each side.

Do keep well hydrated with regular fluids through the day. If you do this, and particular in the hour or two before you run, you needn’t worry about taking water with you on training runs of less than an hour.

Don’t agonise over diet. If you are eating a healthy diet with a good proportion of carbohydrate then this volume of training won’t require any special factors.

10.

Whatever training you do, do ease down to half your usual amount in the week before the 10k. It takes about 10 days for the training effect to kick in, in terms of improved fitness, so the last week is just about maintaining what fitness you have developed.

Eat and drink your usual breakfast, sticking to content and amounts that you know from experience will not trouble you while you are running. Do keep topped up with water in the last hour or two, and particularly if it is a warm morning.

Do allow plenty of time to get to the venue, find your bearings, store your clothes in your vehicles and have a few minutes easy running to warm up before the start.

Do start at a sensible pace. If it’s your first organised event, then this inspire you to push a bit harder than in your training, but be realistic in that you can’t become a different level of runner on the day.

Do try to enjoy the event – you shouldn’t feel unduly nervous about anything if you have a realistic target that reflects the training you have done.

Try and ensure you feel comfortable in your running to at least 5k. If you feel really challenged in the first 5k you have probably gone off too fast.

Depending on how competitive you are by nature, you may wish to push yourself the last mile or so, so that when you finish you feel you have achieved your limit based on your current level of fitness.

Once you have finished and hopefully achieved your goal, do consider whether you are sufficiently motivated to enter and prepare for other events. With running, as with much of life, we enjoy things more as get better at them.

Toilets

Download Joining Instructions