Runners Profile - JohnRands_TMTL

Twitter ID: JohnRands_TMTL
Name: John D Rands

Been running since: Approx March 2010

First Run Event: Heroes Run Brigton, 16/05/10, 'Super 5k'
Total distance run in all formal events: 5k
Personal best result: Approximately 45 minutes for the 5k
All events run:

• Heroes Run Brigton, 16/05/10, 'Super 5k'

Favourite event: Heroes Run, a fun mixed ability run and a nice family day out.
Medical 'self assessment': "Code blue, we're losing him!"
So why do you run?:
When I look in the sweet smiling face of my little girl ... I know she's going to do something naughty and/or run away so i need to train to keep up with her.
More seriously I wanted to get out and start moving, get the blood pumping and get healither so my little girl has a daddy who no only is faster, but who will hopefully be around longer too.  It also lets me provide some support for charity, to relieve my 'private sector guilt'.
Running also gives me some time to either switch off my brain for a while and watch the scenery go by, or sometimes to think through a few things in peace.
Any runs coming up?

• Running Free 5/10K, 26/09/10, 10k
• Cancer Research UK Run10K, 03/10/10, 10k

Runs you want to do in future?

• Santa Dash, Brighton, 5k
• Heroes Run Brigton, 'Heroic 10k'
• Brighton Half Marathon
• Brighton Marathon
• Tri for Life

Any running team affiliations (other than TFUK) Nope, although on friedly terms with some.
Any regular training partners? Nope, lone wolf.
Favourite training run? The Underclliff by Brighton is great.  Flat (other than the washed up pebbles), open, quiet and pretty.
What shoes are you sporting? Saucony Grid C2 Flash Running Shoes

Shop Review - The Jog Shop Brighton

Name The Jog Shop
Location 39B George Street Brighton BN2 1RJ - 01273 675 717

View Larger Map
Online Presence No
Where on the 'sports shop' map?

• Fleet Street A dedicated running shop, or a shop that deals with mainly running goods.

Staff Knowledge One of the following categories:

• "Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." High level of staff knowledge, and frequently offers an individual tailored service.

Gait Analysis? Full check.
(But you wont get on a treadmill and be videoed by some kid they look at you running and from their extensive experience just know what you need, they have been correct with me and everyone I know. Bring in your old running shoes as they will also analyse the wear pattern which helps analyse your stride.)

Review
A great place to go for running advice and apparel, I generally get 3-4 pairs of trainers per year from there and their advice has always been spot on, great help when I decided to go long, you will also get a reasonable discount if you by 2 pairs at the same time. My race distances vary from short to long course so I get a light weight pair (Fila I love these) to a mid range pair (Brooks) for about £100. I got a better discount one time as the trainers were shop soiled, looked like tea stains, who cares after one run in our winter they look worse than that anyway.

They are very patent and don’t rush you I think I tried on about 10 pairs before I decided on what I wanted, I was there for just under the hour and they were great and were willing to get out another 10.

I work near there so I always go in mid week, I have been in there on a Saturday and there are a lot of customers there but you still get a good service do try and pick the quieter times though.

And finally They also have loads of details of local races.

Many many thanks to Steve Mac for providing our first review. Steve has a wide running experience ranging from 5k up to his recently completed Iron Man event (which is kind've an extreme triathlon). Other events included a channel swim in 2009. 

Despite working in IT Steve seems to lack Google, and apparently never noticed the Jog Shop website.  Although this is a shop best suited to visiting in person we've linked to their website for those who want more info.

Run Reviews

For many this is the most important thing, a review of runs around the country and if they're worth doing.  Format is below.

Run Name:
Reigion: (north east, south west, Wales etc.)
County:
Location:
Website:
Distance(s):
For Charity(ies):
Entry Fees: 
Flatness:
Scenery:
Theme? (men/women only, parents, fancy dress)

Connected Events? (is it part of a festival or weekend event, part of a national event such as sport relief etc.)
Review:

Team Profiles

We are aware there are lots of running teams around the country and we'd love to profile running teams affiliated with TweetFeet followers.  Here's the layout we'll use for Team profiles if anyonw would like to submit one.

Team Logo (If you have one)
Members: Twitter IDs preferably.
How did the team form?
Anything in common? (A family team, school friends,  work mates)
Runs to date:
Upcoming/Planned  Runs
Tells us about the team:

Runners Profiles

Okay, we'd also like to feature as many runners who follow TweetFeet UK as possible, and again to make things easier we're hoping to keep a standard layout for the profile.  The hope is that followers will send in their profiles, and to update them every now and then too.

We'd prefer to have a photo of the runners we feature taken at an event, but this is entirely optional.

Questionnaire:


Twitter ID:
Name: (Optional)
Been running since:
First Run Event:
Total distance run in all formal events:
Personal best result:
All events run:
Favourite event:
Medical 'self assessment': (fitness level, optional)
So why do you run?:
Any runs coming up?
Runs you want to do in future?
Any running team affiliations (other than TFUK)
Any regular training partners?
Favourite training run?
What shoes are you sporting?

Shop Reviews

We thought it may be useful to review shops where you can purchase running goods around the UK and online.  To keep things easy the reviews should have the same format:

Name (The name of the Store)
Location The address, Online Only or Chain Store
Online Presence (Yes or No)
Where on the 'sports shop' map? One of the following categories:

• Chaville Row Sports shops whose primary stock is 'fashion' sportswear, and whose tracksuits will probably never see a track.
• Intention Ally A sports shop that sells sporting equipment, with little or no fashion clothing.
• Fleet Street A dedicated running shop, or a shop that deals with mainly running goods.

Staff Knowledge One of the following categories:

• "You want fries with that?" The staff have a normal retail knowledge about the goods in their store but does not demonstrate consistent knowledge of sports/running equipment.
• "You want this kind of thing." Staff have a good general knowledge of sports/running goods and can match a product to average needs.
• "Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." High level of staff knowledge, and frequently offers an individual tailored service.

Gait Analysis? Full check, Advice only or None.
Review A brief 2 or 3 paragraph description of a shopping experience.
And finally a one or two sentence summary, or advice such as "Ask for Tony" or "Don't mention Air Max trainers"

We are more than happy to accept reviews emailed to TweetFeetUK@Gmail.Com ... however to prevent sport shops  submitting reviews of their own businesses if we don't know you we may wait until we have two or three reviews to publish.  We may also combine reviews to give a more rounded picture.