03/10/2026
Putting the FASTER in Donfaster
Brilliant running again from the Squad at the Donfaster 5k yesterday evening.
We start with Jane M, who ran her fastest 5k in 3 years (22:12, 9th in category) and just missed out on a lifetime’s PB by just two seconds. It was, as she put it, ‘the best I’ve felt in a 5k probably ever’. These are the messages that you love to read. We have been working together since April and she is a really talented athlete with a background in track as a teenager, but whose career has been plagued by injuries of seemingly all kinds. We have managed to keep those niggles largely at bay and she has trained with good consistency of late. We have still not quite cracked some hamstring discomfort she has been getting, but she has also been really disciplined with ticking over on the crosstrainer and making smart calls on sessions. We shall definitely be hearing more from her soon!
In the men’s race, Dan S continues to reap the benefits of us slightly tweaking his 'basic week' , running a brilliant 16:03 to finish 4th and equal his life’s best. Like Jane, he writes that ‘I don’t think I have ever felt that good in a 5k in my life’. The regular drop off the pace at 3-4.5k that we have looked to address in his training simply did not happen and the only drawback was that he could not quite find those extra four seconds to break the barrier of sub-16. But he will do it!
The Dronfield RC lads were at it again too. Danny M is only in Week 3 of Base Training and I thought he wasn’t even going to run this one, but he ended up running his second fastest 5k (16:47; 20th). Josh R almost pulled out with a cold, but his glad that he didn’t, finishing with his second fastest 5k ever (18:28). When I texted Josh to ask where he thought all these great performances were coming from, he simply replied: ‘all the walking’, which is something we have consciously included in his plan to challenge his metabolism in a new/different way that historically his training regime hasn’t. Sometimes it’s the small things and it’s often not ‘the plan’ but what happens outside of it.
Another performance I am really pleased about is Chris G (19:41, 5th in category), which was his fastest since Summer 2025. Chris is one of my longest-standing athletes and has really struggled with his performances over the past few years. We too have been chopping, changing, testing and tweaking things to get a better 'response' from the training he puts in and this was a really good sign. Really really pleased for you, Chris!
Ian H also ran really well, running what he describes as his ‘best paced’ and ‘fastest’ 5k in quite some time. Brilliant, Ian! He is feeling really confident about the next goal, which is to close out the year with a decent Half Marathon at Clowne that can hopefully match the Marathon PB he got in Manchester earlier this year.
Finally, I should also thank Veronica B of Hillsborough and Rivelin Running Club for her Tuesday Track Sessions, which many of the runners here have attended (and those who haven’t want to soon!)
Well done, everyone! And good luck to the rest of you racing this weekend: go well!
