Thursday 12 January 2017

WINTER SLOG TO PAY OFF?

L-R: Brandon Murray, Chaka Maillett and Cameron Starr
training in the bleak mid winter at Crystal Palace.
It's the unseen side of  athletics - the grind and toil of track sprinters in the UK training in the freezing cold and dark at a local track - in this case, Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.

Winters can be long and hard, and the athletes in the Trackspeed1-UK training stable know only too well what they have to face during the winter months, but also how vital it is if they are to fulfil their potential in the summer.

Currently the group are focussing on a training window of speed that includes some indoor competition during January, but their next hurdle will be the snow forecast for the next few days.

"It's always a challenge when the white stuff comes down," confesses Head Coach John Powell.   "You can't train on the outdoor track, and the indoor facility becomes chaotic with so many users. You just have to make the best of it, and we try to get a few of the quicker guys training early before the clubs and other squads descend upon us toward evening time."

There's hope on the horizon for most of the group, however, with at least 14 of them headed for pre-season training in Florida toward the end of March for a near 6-week stint.  Meanwhile, open meetings are currently being run at Crystal Palace on their indoor track, and next Wednesday (18th January) it is highly likely that several of the squad will be in action.

Trackspeed1-UK's 400m hope for 2017, Niclas Baker,
braves the cold at Crystal Palace during a recent workout.

Sunday 8 January 2017

BRANDON OFF TO A FLYER

Brandon Murray is the latest in a long line of Trackspeed1-UK athletes to fire off an explosive start to the new year with some scintillating form on the indoor circuit.
Brandon Murray set a lifetime's fastest 60m at Crystal Palace.
The 19-year-old South London Harrier joined the group 16 months ago with a 60m sprint best of 7.25 seconds, but he lowered that to 7.07s last year, and now already in 2017 he has clocked a speedy 6.90s.

His new lifetime best mark was set during the first indoor open meeting held this season at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre on Wednesday (4th January).  He wasn't the only Trackspeed1-UK athlete in top form either.

Cameron Starr only joined the group at the beginning of the Autumn, but he came out firing on all cylinders setting a personal best 60m also of 6.90s.

Coach John Powell was delighted for his charges, given the circumstances, let alone at this stage of the year:

"The indoor track at Crystal Palace is nothing like most indoor facilities," he explained.  "It is very cold there and not great for sprints, and of course this was the first outing for anyone in the group, so any kind of half decent performance so early is very pleasing."

Trackspeed1-UK athletes will be in action throughout January and early February, but will then return to  a winter training schedule before the vast majority of them depart for their annual pre-season training camp in Florida, USA, in late March.