Latest / The PCR Sports Show / The PCR Sports Show - Friday 5th December 2025 - with Chris Jones and Tim Cook

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The PCR Sports Show - Friday 5th December 2025 - with Chris Jones and Tim Cook · The PCR Sports Show

0:00
Good evening and welcome to this Friday night and the PCR Sports
0:04
Show here on PCR FM. I'm Nilesh Shan in the studio
0:07
this week we've got with us Chris Jones, chief executive at
0:11
England Athletics and Tom, Sorry Tom, Tim Cook.
0:15
Sorry Tim there. I've known you long enough not
0:17
to get your name wrong there, but Tim Cook, chair of the
0:20
Greater Peterborough Athletics Network.
0:22
I've also got my eye on the World Cup draw that's taking
0:25
place on the screen and next to me at the moment as well.
0:27
So I'll try and bring you updates to that as the show
0:30
progresses this evening. But thank you once again for
0:33
joining us on this rather Drew Reek Friday evening.
0:36
Hopefully we can cheer you up with the a little bit of
0:39
athletics and running talk this evening, but first of all let me
0:43
go through your sporting headlines this week from in and
0:46
around Peterborough and we'll start with a little bit of
0:48
cricket. 1st and Ufford Park have gone top of the Hunts
0:52
Indoor Cricket League after a dramatic third round day at
0:56
Bushfield Sports Centre. The Villagers are the only
0:59
unbeaten team in the competition after they beat Burley Park in a
1:02
game full of fluctuating fortunes as reigning champions
1:06
AK11 were beaten by Warrington. Warrington moved into second
1:10
place after beating AK by 3 wickets.
1:13
It was the first defeat since 2023 for AK11 when Warrington
1:17
also beat them. Bit of ice hockey and it was a
1:22
four point weekend which has lifted Peterborough Phantoms
1:24
into fourth place in the National League and the first of
1:29
two weakened successes in Scotland against the Salway
1:32
Sharks also boosted the city side's chances of reaching the
1:35
League Cup semi finals. They needed an overtime goal
1:39
from Cam Hoff to clinch the Today game 4/3 after frittering
1:44
away a three nil lead with just 8 minutes to go.
1:48
Phantoms then came from three nil down inside 10 minutes on
1:52
Sunday before winning 54 courtesy of a last gas goal from
1:56
Dylan Lawrence. Phantoms will clinch their
1:59
semifinal berth with a win or a point from their final
2:02
qualification game against Sheffield Steel Dogs at Planet
2:06
Ice, which is on Saturday in a 7:00 PM face off.
2:10
They then travel to whole Seahawks for a league game on
2:13
Sunday. Football and Peterborough Sports
2:17
National League North game at leaders South Shields scheduled
2:20
for last Saturday was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch.
2:24
The City side will now make the long trip to the Northeast on
2:27
Tuesday 16th of December and also the Saturday game tomorrow.
2:32
The weekend fixture against Hereford United will now take
2:35
place at Pyms Park. The turbines were due to have
2:38
been at Edgar St. but due to the condition of the pitch the
2:40
fixtures have been reversed. The game kicks off at 3:00 PM at
2:44
Pyms Park and the away game will now take place on the 25th of
2:47
April. And a little bit of news on that
2:50
particular fixture. There will be a pitch inspection
2:53
at Pyms Park Saturday morning at 8:30 AM, so keep an eye on their
2:57
social media feed for the latest on that fixture.
3:01
Peterborough United Women beat Wallsend BC 4 nil in the second
3:05
round of the Woman's FA Cup at Pyms Park on Sunday but the
3:09
scoreline didn't tell the full story of a remarkable contest in
3:12
which the visiting goalkeeper made a string of outstanding
3:15
staves with Posh also hitting the woodwork an amazing 9 times.
3:20
Posh has their had their lead at the top of the National Midlands
3:25
Division One trimmed to a point on Sunday as second placed
3:29
Boldemir St. Michael's 121 at third placed
3:33
Lee Field Athletic. Posh have a game in hand on
3:36
their nearest rivals and host 9th place Kidderminster Harriers
3:39
at Pyms Park this coming Sunday in a 2:00 PM kick off.
3:44
And hockey again and this time the City of Peterborough men can
3:49
take a festive break satisfied with their National Midlands
3:52
Conference season so far. City were relegated from this
3:55
division two seasons ago after struggling through to the
3:59
Christmas break with barely a point to their name, but this
4:02
time around they will greet the festive season sitting fourth in
4:05
the table, 4 points of 2nd place and a healthy 11 points from the
4:09
regular relegation places. A1 nil win over Banbury at
4:13
Bretton Gate on Sunday was hard fought but ultimately deserved
4:17
with a goal from skipper Matt Porter in the first minute of
4:20
the fourth quarter proving decisive.
4:23
The win completed a double over Branbury and the National League
4:26
now takes a break until January The 30th.
4:30
Leaders Peterborough Ladies bounced back from their East
4:34
Division 1 N defeat of the season with a three one home
4:38
success over Norwich Dragons at Bretton Gate.
4:41
The City side maintained their advantage by virtue of a
4:44
superior goal difference at the top ahead of their final game of
4:49
the year at home to Norwich City, which is on Saturday.
4:51
In a 2:30 PM pushback. The visitors are only one of two
4:56
sides to have taken points of City of Peterborough.
5:00
And we'll finish with a little bit of roller hockey.
5:02
Peterborough Roller Hockey Club were beaten 6 three by Kings
5:05
Lynn last weekend. Both teams were unbeaten coming
5:08
into the fixture after their first three matches.
5:12
The match did not disappoint the large noisy crowd in that it was
5:16
a highly competitive with both teams playing fast attacking
5:19
hockey. Kings Lynn are a formidable team
5:22
in that they have played together for many successful
5:24
years and their combined experience proved the main
5:27
difference between the two squads.
5:30
Goal scorers for Peterborough or Harry Hillem who scored two and
5:33
Jake Reid who got the other one. Their next Premier League game
5:37
will take place Saturday. Sorry, that's tomorrow at
5:41
Bushfield's Leisure Centre and the match is set for a 4:30 PM
5:45
kick off. And those are your headlines
5:47
this week. So thank you for joining us.
5:51
Once again this evening, you are listening to the PCR Sports
5:53
Show. Our guests this evening are Tim
5:56
Cook from the Greater Peterborough Athletics Network
5:59
and Chris Jones, who's chief executive at England Athletics.
6:03
And we'll be both be talking to them very shortly after these
6:06
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8:52
You're listening to PCR sports. Good evening, welcome back to
9:05
the PCR Sports Show for the start of your sporting weekend.
9:09
We're here every Friday 6 till 7, bringing you the latest from
9:13
in and around our city of Peterborough.
9:15
Tonight is no different. We're going to be chatting to
9:18
Chris Jones, Chief Executive at England Athletics, and Tim Cook,
9:23
Chair of the Greater Peterborough Athletic Network.
9:27
Tim, welcome back. Nice to see you.
9:29
Just bring that microphone a little bit closer to you.
9:31
I want to make sure they're here.
9:32
You nice to see you. Thanks for inviting me back.
9:34
Not a problem. Yeah, back again.
9:36
What's this, your third or fourth appearance?
9:37
That's something like that. I've lost game.
9:40
I just I just changed the hat. Indeed, representing G Pan
9:44
tonight, the Greater Peterborough Athletics Network,
9:47
so we'll chat to you shortly. Chris Jones welcome.
9:50
Good evening. Chief executive at England
9:52
Athletics. Grand title.
9:56
Thank you. Right, where do we start?
10:00
Let's start with yourself then, Chris.
10:03
That's obviously quite a title. You are heading up England
10:06
athletics effectively. Let's go back a few years
10:09
though, shall we? How did it all begin?
10:12
How did you get into sports, athletics and has it taken you
10:18
to this point now in your career?
10:19
Well, I was very lucky. I had no choice really.
10:22
Three weeks of age I was signed into market deep in Cricket Club
10:26
by the great Bill White, sadly no longer with us.
10:30
My dad's been groundsman there for 50 something years and I had
10:35
a very happy childhood being brought up in a sporting
10:38
environment. So from an early age I was very
10:41
fortunate to realise what sport can do and what it can provide
10:45
in terms of physical well-being, mental well-being, friendship,
10:50
camaraderie, discipline that will stand you in good stead for
10:54
a successful life, let alone sporting career.
10:57
So I was very fortunate in an early age to be introduced to
11:00
cricket, rugby, football, athletics.
11:04
Dick Hughes actually was our next door neighbor and market
11:07
deep in when I was growing up and I was I was pretty clueless
11:13
as an athlete actually a turning circle of the QE two.
11:17
I was more designed I would say for invasion team based sports,
11:20
hand eye coordination sports. So played a lot of cricket,
11:23
played county cricket, minor counties cricket for
11:26
Cambridgeshire for eight years and and played rugby captain
11:30
Peterborough for a few years. But through working sport a lot
11:36
of those experiences and skills are transferable.
11:39
I loved athletics growing up, just wasn't particularly good at
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it. Daley Thompson was my hero,
11:44
shortly followed by Graham Hick the cricketer.
11:47
And so when the opportunity came to work for England Athletics as
11:51
a regional manager back in 2006, I I jumped at it.
11:56
You know, I was very lucky and and then things have evolved
11:59
from there. So very fortunate.
12:00
So you'll be celebrating 20 years at England Athletics next.
12:02
Year I will hopefully, yeah, touch wood.
12:04
So yeah, I'm very fortunate and we're very lucky because as an
12:08
organization we've got great organisations such as the
12:11
Greater Peterborough Athletics Network, great individual clubs.
12:14
We've got 14150 of them across England and 300 other member
12:18
bodies, 181,000 registered athletes between the ages of
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kind of 5 to 91. We're we're a kind of playground
12:25
to podium some sport I. Tell you what, you just reeled
12:27
off those figures and you've got no notes in front of you, so it
12:30
must be second nature to you to know those figures.
12:34
I'm very, I'm, I'm, I'm very lucky because I've been in this
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role for, for a while. So you know, you should know
12:39
your stuff, really, you know. Tim, how does England Athletics
12:44
and G Pan come together? Then what's the relationship
12:48
there and how did you? I suppose, let's go back a step.
12:50
How did G Pan come to be? Well, England Athletics, I think
12:54
it's about 15 years ago now, we're realised that helping
12:59
individual clubs was, was going to get harder and harder, but
13:02
they could, if clubs would work together, they could help groups
13:07
of clubs. And what we, what we never
13:10
wanted to do was step on the toes of county associations.
13:14
So we've got a great Cambridgeshire County
13:17
association that do lots of really good work.
13:19
But we had to start with six running clubs in Peterborough,
13:24
five of them road running and then Peterborough and New Valley
13:29
Track and Field and we came together and my mantra is with
13:35
no loss of identity, it's it's grown now to 11 clubs, but it's
13:39
11 clubs working together for the greater good of athletics
13:42
and road running in and around the city of Peterborough.
13:46
Chris has mentioned there about the the physical well-being, the
13:49
mental well-being. Do you see that when you're
13:52
attending, whether it be road running races, the track
13:55
sessions and the benefits that running can bring?
13:58
Without, without a doubt, you, you, you, you come down to 1 of
14:02
try the track sessions on fortnightly on a Wednesday night
14:06
and you've always got people at the end of it.
14:10
First of all, come in and saying thanks for the session, really
14:12
enjoyed it. Then they want to take
14:13
photographs and then they put it on their own social media posts
14:17
about how they've enjoyed it and they feel so much better for it.
14:20
And that's males and females, whether it's in the middle of
14:24
summer when it's like warm evenings or literally this week
14:28
when it's cold, dark and wet, but they're still down there.
14:30
5067 runners Fortnite lick down at the athletics track.
14:35
And that relationship with England athletics, you sort of
14:37
bounce off each other, you know? Yeah, yeah.
14:40
The England Athletics are the overriding national governing
14:45
body of which all the clubs that are in the athletics network are
14:49
affiliated members of. But that's where you get help,
14:53
advice, information. You know, if we've got something
14:56
that we're not sure about, we need to bounce them off.
14:58
It's not, it's not Chris we go to.
15:00
They've got. If you're a busy boy, if it was
15:02
he's. Got a great team of club support
15:05
managers and Kirsty who looks after our patch.
15:07
She has a huge patch but she's always available, whether it's
15:10
on the phone or by e-mail, and as often as she can she tries to
15:14
get up to Peterborough to see it.
15:16
And again, I think the networks really help that because she can
15:19
come to Peterborough and she can see 11 clubs working together.
15:23
It's not having to do individual clubs.
15:25
Peterborough's imprint on England Athletics is quite
15:27
strong actually. So if you consider Tim is on our
15:31
Regional Council in the East of England, you've got Matthew
15:34
Dalton, former chair of Peterborough AC, is chair of the
15:38
England Council and also on the board of directors.
15:40
You've got Paul Larkins, who's done some freelance comms,
15:43
worked for us over the years and the Barber who coaches at the
15:46
Embankment track used to be our comms officer.
15:48
You know, you've got numerous individuals who have worked for
15:53
or with England Athletics during the last 20 years of England
15:57
Athletics's tenure as the governing body for the sport.
16:01
And if I go back to my school days, Peterborough AC at the
16:05
time had Kelly Sutherton, Louise Hazel, Femi Akinzania, you know,
16:12
Anne Holman, Julie Holman, you know the pedigree in Peterbury
16:16
and are producing fantastic young athletes now through
16:19
Peterborough and Nene Valley. Some great people that have made
16:22
some great things happen. And it really is a kind of
16:26
microcosm of many other clubs across the country doing some
16:29
fantastic work to produce great young athletes, hopefully that
16:33
will become great senior athletes, but also also
16:37
participants of all backgrounds, all ages, all abilities, because
16:41
our sport has something for everyone.
16:43
It really does. And it's a lifelong sport.
16:45
It's not just about sport. It's about, as I said, physical,
16:48
mental well-being, what many you know.
16:51
And you know, sport can be the catalyst for so much more in
16:54
other walks of life, you know, whether it be professionally,
16:57
personally, it gives you that standing, I guess, and that
17:00
grounding or even if you need that detachment from everyday
17:03
life to go and run or throw a javelin or something.
17:05
Well, athletics clubs, running clubs are community hubs all
17:09
right, They're delivering sport and physical activity.
17:12
But actually we need our sports clubs more than ever because you
17:17
look at the waiting lists with the NHS, the money that goes
17:20
into sport and physical activity is dwarfed by the money that
17:22
goes into cure within the NHS. If you could use some of that
17:26
money for preventative measures to empower volunteers at a local
17:31
level to get the nation active, don't we feel so much better for
17:34
it. And maybe that will have an
17:35
impact on some of the challenges that the NHS faces and also
17:39
create stronger communities and communities that you know will
17:46
pull together and look after each other and we need that.
17:51
Tim, just to pick up on a couple of points there from Chris, the
17:54
volunteer aspect from AG Pan perspective, you know you're
17:58
relying on volunteers, aren't you to support that network.
18:00
We are but they're but, but I think, as Chris has alluded to,
18:05
it's the it's the feel good factor of doing that.
18:08
And it's just a thank you. That's you know, we come off
18:12
that track on a Wednesday night. If it's been your turn to coach
18:14
and we have a rota for the coaches and and the runners and
18:18
the athletes all coming up and saying thanks for the session,
18:19
really enjoyed it. That's that's all they want.
18:21
And within the clubs in Peterborough, and you will know
18:23
this as well. We've got some we've got some
18:27
great coaches and but then there's other people who are not
18:30
so keen on the coaching side of things, but are happy to
18:33
officiate and they they will stand on street corners and
18:37
point people in the right direction.
18:39
You know, and I'm thinking particularly Tony King, another
18:42
Star Wars at the local athletics.
18:44
Yeah, I won't mention his age, but.
18:46
He's he's, he's. Well into his 80s as Tony and
18:50
but he'll be I bet he'll be at Park Run.
18:51
Yeah, 100%. And Frostbite on Saturday,
18:54
Sunday. And he's always available and he
18:57
still likes to run. You know, he's not as quick,
18:59
obviously, but he's still getting out.
19:01
Yeah. And it and it, he makes him feel
19:03
good. Definitely one of the events
19:06
you're just talking about there about participation and the
19:08
track was the Let's Lift the Curfew event that took place
19:12
towards the end of October. Yeah.
19:15
And that's just one example of an event where people can come
19:18
and try something or run in a very inclusive environment.
19:22
Yeah, it was. And that was something that we'd
19:26
picked up on on the last couple of years that they'd Sport
19:30
England and England Athletics had focused on a they were,
19:33
these events were going on all over the country, but they
19:36
particularly focused on one particular city.
19:39
And that was a conversation with Kirsty back in May time.
19:43
Well, who decides the city and why can't it be Peterborough?
19:47
And you know, I just made lots of phone calls and hassled
19:50
people, but we got loads of support.
19:51
We got the mayor of Peterborough to to come down, Judy Fox.
19:54
And it was lovely to get these, to get these people to showcase
19:59
Peterborough. We get loads of Flack sometimes
20:01
in the city and it's a great place to be.
20:03
We've got lots of facilities and it was a huge success, big
20:07
numbers and we're looking to grow that and get some of these
20:10
people into the clubs. And women and girls
20:14
participation in athletics and running has grown significantly
20:17
over the last couple of decades, supported by campaigns like Lift
20:21
the Curfew and This Girl Can. But if I think about England
20:25
Athletics's membership, we're roughly 505050 male, female and
20:31
you know, our run together social running program is
20:33
enjoyed by about 70% of participants are women and
20:36
girls. 3 1/2 thousand leader LED groups across the country, 1/4
20:40
of a million people taking part in that program.
20:42
And that's without even talking about Parker and various other
20:45
opportunities. So our athletics and running
20:47
system, if you like, is rich by way of opportunity.
20:51
Anecdotally then, from an England perspective, how that
20:55
compared to other countries perhaps then?
20:59
It's difficult to compare because of course the models for
21:02
delivery are different. So if you go to the States, for
21:05
instance, it's largely based around a collegiate system,
21:08
colleges. Colleges, yeah.
21:09
And there there isn't a club system in the same way that
21:12
there is in this country. If you go to where the European
21:14
countries very light on central government governance and more
21:18
empowerment down to local community multi sport hubs if
21:21
you like. So it's very difficult to
21:23
compare, I think as we do with major fence as a country, we
21:28
punch well above our our weight in terms of sporting statistics.
21:31
I mean, there are roughly 7 million people that run
21:34
regularly in England. That number continues to recover
21:38
and grow. Obviously post pandemic,
21:40
everyone was affected in that respect.
21:43
But the great thing about our sport is it's choice.
21:46
And it doesn't matter whether you're going to run 958.
21:49
Good luck to anyone who can do that, like the Graham or, or you
21:53
can throw a jab 90 meters. You know, if you're a 6/6 hour
21:58
marathon runner, you know, 30 minute park runner pretty much
22:02
like myself, there's something for you and that is fantastic.
22:07
It's an inclusive sport, a para sport, and we're very, very
22:11
proud of that and I think it's something that is very special
22:13
and sets athletics and running apart from some other
22:16
activities. Brilliant.
22:17
You've mentioned Park Run there. We'll talk about that and one or
22:20
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Peterborough. You're listening to PCR sports.
25:51
Good evening. Welcome back to the PCR Sports
25:52
Show here on PCR FM. If you have missed the first
25:56
what, half an hour with the show, you can listen back to us
25:58
if you just go through to the our website, whichispcrfm.co.uk
26:03
and hit the listen again button. You'll be able to catch up on
26:06
the the whole show just after 7:00 this evening and that's
26:11
also available via the PCR FM app as well.
26:15
Tonight our guests are Tim Cook, chair of the Greater
26:19
Peterborough Athletics Network and Chris Jones, chief executive
26:23
at England Athletics. I've also got my eye on the
26:26
World Cup draw here which is taking place.
26:28
It's a little bit convoluted, shall we say, but England have
26:31
been drawn in Group L and that's as far as we've got at the
26:34
moment because their opposition are still being waited to be
26:38
drawn out. So once we find out who England
26:40
are going to be playing in next year's World Cup, we'll let you
26:43
know that as soon as possible. But let's get back to the
26:47
athletics chat this evening with Tim and Chris.
26:52
Chris, you mentioned Park Run a little bit earlier there and
26:56
that I feel on a certainly on a personal level and many people
27:00
feel it's a very much accessible way of getting into running.
27:04
And that plays a part in, I suppose, in years to come,
27:09
identifying talent OR people who find that they've got that
27:12
talent to potentially take it further to, you know, national
27:16
level, international level. Well, first and foremost what a
27:19
great movement and it is a movement, you know, in the UK
27:22
but also internationally. I remember the early
27:25
conversations with Paul Sinton Hewitt back in 2006, seven time
27:29
bushy part time trial that then became Park Run and it's
27:34
fantastic to see it's growth. England Athletics is a
27:38
collaborator with Park Run. We're separate organisations but
27:41
we want them to be successful because if park runs are
27:44
successful and more people are doing park runs then inevitably
27:47
more people was will feed into clubs and organise running
27:51
groups. And a lot of club volunteers
27:53
work at park runs as well. So it's, it's an important
27:57
relationship and it's part of what I would call the running
28:01
ecosystem with, you know, 3000 licensed running events that
28:05
that we support across the country as well.
28:06
So the choice, as I've said previously, is is rich but so
28:11
many lived experience stories come out of Park Run.
28:16
You know, whether that be that someone has taken up their first
28:20
steps in walking, jogging, running through a park run,
28:25
feeding in through a couch to 5K programme, then joining a club
28:29
and going from there. Athletics is a late development
28:31
sport and running obviously being part of athletics is a
28:35
late development sport. So there will be a number of
28:38
international athletes who we use park runs on a regular basis
28:41
for part of their ongoing conditioning and training.
28:43
But there will be inevitably people who didn't realise they
28:47
had the talent that they have until possibly into their kind
28:50
of mid late 20s into their 30s sometimes.
28:53
And you know, we've all heard the stories of the likes of Paul
28:57
Evans from Norfolk, who still is coach, mentoring and supporting
29:01
athletes out in Lowestoft and Norwich area, who won the
29:05
Chicago Marathon when he was 36 and he was a park footballer
29:09
into his late 20s. So there are these examples,
29:12
Steve, where we competed for us at the Commonwealth Games in
29:15
2014 in Glasgow. And then of course, you know
29:21
there are numerous, countless Georgia Hunter Bell who was a
29:24
talented young athlete who took a bit of a rest for a period of
29:29
time and then got back into the talent pathway through
29:32
participation at Park Run. And now the rest is history and
29:36
we'll be going for glory next year at the European Champs and
29:39
hopefully the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
29:40
So Glasgow as well. Team park run in Peterborough.
29:44
Fairy Meadows, phenomenal numbers every week.
29:47
Absolutely. And I I think it's.
29:49
And not just Peterborough, obviously the surrounding area
29:51
as well. But I think the Fairy Meadows
29:53
one, the Fairy Meadows team do a great job because I think it's
29:56
regularly in the top ten as far as participation numbers are
30:00
concerned. You know, they will get 56700
30:03
runners most weeks. And that's despite the fact that
30:05
there's smashing park runs at Rutland, at Snowden Fields in
30:10
Crowland and Manor Park, Whittlesey.
30:13
So it's not that there aren't alternatives.
30:16
So there's, there's room for, there's room for everybody.
30:18
And, and it's a, it's, it's great Park runs been a
30:21
revelation. I think for me, what Park Run
30:23
has done for, for the clubs is show people that you don't all
30:29
have to be world beaters. It, it is great to see people
30:33
make progress and, and get to the top of in the sport.
30:36
But it's fine if it takes you 40 minutes.
30:39
Come and do 4I. I, I do lots of coaching as as
30:42
you know, Neil Ash and they say, Oh yeah, no, but I'm not very
30:44
good. I'll, you know, it's going to
30:46
take me 4042 minutes. I say well look at the results
30:49
tomorrow and see how many people will be behind you at
30:52
Peterborough cause it'll be loads.
30:53
And it's about that inclusivity, isn't it?
30:55
It's it's an accessible event where you can walk, jog or run
30:58
it and. Community.
31:00
Yeah, it is togetherness. Yeah, it's that mental
31:02
well-being, belonging, physical well-being.
31:04
I. Think the other thing I always
31:05
find with running is people are always incredibly supportive of
31:11
other people. So you can have had a bad run,
31:13
but you'll still stay and encourage everybody to finish
31:17
and say well done. Because we probably know that
31:19
you and I know the local running scene and we know probably know
31:22
the finishing order for who's going to win and where people
31:24
are going to finish. But if you suddenly see that
31:27
somebody has gone from 40 minutes to 36 minutes, we all
31:30
stay and make a big fuss of it. And that's, and that's great.
31:33
That's, that's what it's all about.
31:34
It is. It's about a community and
31:36
participation. What is your personal best?
31:38
And that doesn't necessarily have to be, you know,
31:42
performance as well. It's how you feel as a person.
31:45
It's how you feel. It's.
31:46
Enriching your life, yeah, you know, and, and ultimately, I
31:50
guess, contributing towards being more fulfilled as a human
31:53
being. It's a very much an individual
31:54
thing, isn't it? That running side of things, you
31:56
know, you're, you're only competing against yourself.
31:58
You know, absolutely, you know, from that perspective, unless
32:00
you're at the very top level, which I appreciate is a
32:02
different step up, but certainly within our communities, you
32:06
know, you're competing against yourself and you can push
32:08
yourself as hard or as little as you want.
32:10
And what I like, what I've always liked about running is as
32:13
you get, as you get older, you're in five year age bands.
32:16
So not only are you competing against yourself, but every time
32:18
you have a significant birthday that ends in an order of five,
32:21
you reset the reset the numbers and start again.
32:23
I love that. And Masters athletics is in rude
32:25
health, so our fastest growing age segment in terms of the
32:29
England Athletics membership are over 50s, over 60s.
32:32
Do you think, and we'll jump on that point now then do you think
32:35
is that because once if they've had a family, their children
32:38
have grown up, flown the nests and they've thought actually,
32:42
yeah, I want to get back into this or want to try something
32:44
different, for example, is that, is that where the numbers are
32:47
coming? From I think running works for
32:48
lifestyle in terms of we were just talking during the break
32:52
that you can put your trainers in the car when you're off
32:55
somewhere. You can almost park up if you've
32:57
got your kit and put your trainers on, go and have a run,
32:59
get back in and go and do something else versus maybe a
33:04
kind of invasion team based sport.
33:06
We've got to be in a certain place at a certain time and
33:10
ultimately you just need your trainers to go and run, whereas
33:14
some of the sports are quite expensive to undertake as well
33:16
with the protective equipment and kit and all those kind of
33:19
things. So I think the accessibility of
33:22
our sport is really important. You'll often find that a number
33:26
of adults would have done other sports when they're growing up,
33:30
maybe work and family have maybe got in the way during twenties,
33:34
30s and then they think we've got to get fit.
33:36
So gym is very popular, we know that growing particularly
33:40
amongst younger audiences now. And running, cycling, walking
33:46
are very popular as well. And some sports, of course, some
33:49
sports. I mean, I'm a passionate rugby
33:51
supporter and, and, and, and was a player.
33:54
But when you get to a certain time in your life, you know.
33:57
The impact on your. Joints exactly.
33:59
Touch rugby is brilliant, walking rugby's great and I play
34:03
those. But actually playing contact
34:04
rugby now at 52, I don't think so.
34:07
That wouldn't be right for me. But you know, that's why I think
34:10
running is so is so popular as well.
34:13
So we've seen the increase at Park Run, for example, and the
34:17
local running scene is doing well.
34:19
But certainly from 1/2 marathon perspective, the Great Eastern
34:21
Run team is, you know, yeah, record numbers this year.
34:24
This year the numbers were, the numbers were hugely up and, and
34:30
I know the team at good running events, Aaron Murrow, who's been
34:33
on the show before, was really pleased with how the the entries
34:38
increased big time. And and that's, that's, that's
34:41
got to be good because those people, a lot of them will be in
34:44
the main unattached, but they will join running clubs.
34:48
And that's the progression again, potentially, you know, we
34:49
saw this year earlier when we were presenting the the show
34:53
just before the greatest and run Emily Griggs, for example,
34:55
coming into the running scene and running her first half
34:58
marathon at the GER. Yeah, and she's gone from
35:00
strength to strength. She's she's running for
35:03
Wellington Joggers now and really, really enjoying it.
35:06
It's not something that she did once and has moved away and
35:09
didn't want to do it anymore. She's absolutely thrown herself
35:12
into it, doing league races and meeting the guys for the Sunday
35:16
long runs and thoroughly enjoying their involvement with
35:19
the club. Yeah, and Caroline Brooks as
35:20
well, who was here with us on the show just before the Great
35:23
Eastern Run. She did the Anna's Hope 5K fun
35:25
run and is still continuing to run.
35:27
And the message this week just to say what, 10 KS can I do?
35:30
So, you know, there is that sort of, yeah, that choice, that
35:33
pathway is, so to speak, from, you know, try the track, the
35:37
inclusive events to park run and then potentially joining a club
35:40
going forward, which can only in time hopefully help the top
35:44
echelons of England athletics. And getting back to the
35:47
importance of volunteering and clubs, you know, selfless
35:51
individuals providing the energy and the time that they've got to
35:54
provide for others across all sport, particularly in I mean, I
35:58
know the Peterborough, Cambridge area pretty well and you know
36:02
that effort, if you had to pay for that in pound coins, you
36:05
wouldn't be able to afford it. I'm.
36:06
Going to stop you there. I'm going to quote you here.
36:09
Without the work of our volunteers, we're pretty much
36:12
stuffed. It's what you said at the
36:14
National Volunteer Awards only last weekend.
36:17
They support 180,000 registered athletes.
36:21
There's something in our sport for everyone.
36:23
How sport also combats loneliness, creates communities
36:27
and promotes good mental and physical well-being.
36:29
So it's the lifeblood, isn't it, of any sport, but specifically
36:33
from a running athletics perspective.
36:35
Absolutely. And I was delighted last weekend
36:37
actually in, in Birmingham to see Neil Costello recognised for
36:41
his, his massive contribution towards athletics and running in
36:47
the Cambridgeshire area, but also on a, on a national level
36:51
and he he kind of represents what is all so great about the
36:55
volunteering within our sport. So that, that was fantastic to
36:59
see. Brilliant, right?
37:00
Just going to take a quick break, but I can tell you
37:02
England have drawn Croatia as one of the other three teams in
37:06
their group. So there's a bit of a reunion
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going on there after previous football tournaments where
37:12
England have played Croatia and we're still waiting for the
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third and fourth teams to be drawn in that particular group.
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You're listening to PCR Sports. Good evening.
40:39
Welcome back to the PCR Sports Show and with less than 10
40:42
minutes to go this evening, we just do appreciate your time and
40:46
listening in. We've got with us tonight Chris
40:49
Jones, chief executive at England Athletics and Tim Cook,
40:53
chair of the Greater Peterborough Athletics Network.
40:58
Tim's going to pick up on the Great Eastern Run very quickly,
41:00
the date for next year. 11th of October, yeah.
41:03
And planning. Planning is well underway.
41:06
Was already started talking to Aaron and only this week and
41:09
we're going to once again be doing the very popular Get Fit
41:12
for the Eastern training sessions at Bushfield Sports
41:17
Centre. They're really popular again.
41:19
They help all the people that we've been talking about, people
41:22
who are not involved in a club, not sure what they should be
41:24
doing, how they should be preparing for it.
41:26
And again, it relies on the volunteers, but it's the
41:28
volunteers from all the different clubs all take part in
41:31
it and I organise those and I'm always eternally grateful to our
41:35
friends are Yaxley I Thorny Warrington joggers.
41:40
They all, they all divvy up and they all help me put it
41:43
together. You can't do it.
41:44
You can't do it without them. Chris is absolutely right.
41:46
You stuffed with that. And I'm glad I found that quote
41:50
that was very app to that was. But again, that's part of the
41:53
athletics network, isn't it? That communication, that
41:55
overarching, just to oversee the clubs and offer any support
42:00
where it's needed. Yes, and and backfilling and
42:03
helping, helping other clubs. You know, we've had clubs who
42:06
wanted to set up a junior section, didn't know what to do
42:08
or how to do it. So another club that's got an
42:11
existing one has gone along and helped and pointed them in the
42:14
right direction. So yeah, it's a self help group.
42:17
Yeah, indeed. Chris, just going to go back to
42:20
sort of inclusivity participation and I suppose the
42:25
bigger word accessibility to running.
42:28
You were talking just off air there about the personal best
42:31
foundation. Just elaborate that on on that a
42:34
little bit more and how that will help make running a lot
42:39
more accessible to people from perhaps deprived communities.
42:44
So Personal Best Foundation is the official England Athletics
42:47
charity was established 3 years ago and was in the pipeline for
42:54
nearly a decade. Actually, when I and a couple of
42:57
others had an idea that coming off the back of the 2012 Olympic
43:01
Paralympic Games, actually we'd, we'd had an inner city
43:04
activation programme in London that did some great work.
43:08
But it was funded short term. And, and I remember saying to
43:11
someone at the time wouldn't be great if we had a charitable
43:14
vehicle that could income generate to make sure this is
43:17
sustainable. So we can continue to invest in
43:20
important projects that get more young people involved in our
43:22
sport, removing the barriers, the inequalities that may exist,
43:27
that that can stop young people realising their full potential,
43:31
not just as athletes as runners, but also as leaders, as coaches,
43:35
as officials, as volunteers. So Personal Best Foundation, now
43:38
three years old, got a small group of staff working to
43:43
basically generate revenue and then invest in projects across
43:47
the country in communities, working with communities
43:50
locally. Really getting into the.
43:53
Heart, absolutely, absolutely right into the heart of
43:56
communities, setting up new clubs, new groups, providing
43:59
equipment, providing education, training and we're really
44:03
excited about the progress made so far.
44:05
Fatima Whitbread is one of our ambassadors, as is Donna Fraser,
44:10
Marilyn Okoru, Alex Haydock, Will Wilson, Hannah Cockroft.
44:15
So Olympians, Paralympians have really got behind the charity
44:18
and doing some great voluntary work, got a great set of
44:20
trustees and really excited about it.
44:24
And again, that's allowing individuals of school age
44:29
perhaps and younger to get involved in sport, but also
44:33
giving them something else to focus on, I guess depending on
44:36
what their communities like, I guess whether it's deprived
44:40
area, just it gives us something to look forward to.
44:43
Sport gives you so much more, doesn't it, than just the tools
44:46
to be able to play that sport or enjoy that sport.
44:51
It, it gives you life skills, it, it gives you the
44:55
understanding of what it's like to be in a team, which is going
44:58
to be replicated when you're in the workplace.
45:01
Discipline, time keeping, leadership skills, captains,
45:06
vice captains, whatever we call them, selectors, managers,
45:09
committee members, they're all transferable skills that then
45:12
we'll apply in the workplace. So I believe that sport has the
45:17
power to move people emotionally, physically, to
45:21
change lives. And I think there are numerous
45:23
examples of that across the country.
45:27
We just need to celebrate it more and, and make sure that our
45:31
politicians are, are alert to that as well because we're, I
45:34
think we're a better, more united nation when we're hosting
45:36
major events and when the the country can get behind things
45:41
like sport. Yeah, indeed.
45:42
And we've got, you know, across the border up in Scotland, we've
45:45
got the Commonwealth Games next year, for example.
45:50
Hope you're not putting you on the spot, but hopes aspirations
45:54
for that next year in the in the last minute or so the show.
45:57
We're taking a smaller team, OK? Is that because there's less
46:00
sports? Well, no.
46:02
Glasgow came in to save. Yeah, today if yeah.
46:05
After Australia decided they they couldn't host the Games,
46:09
yeah, India is now being announced for 2030, which is
46:12
great. And probably Glasgow has given
46:15
India and other countries the confidence to come forward and
46:17
say we can host this as well. I believe there are countries in
46:20
the pipeline ready to put their hands up and say we'll do 2034,
46:25
got Commonwealth Youth Games in Malta, 2027, we've got the
46:27
European track and field champs next year in Birmingham,
46:31
hopefully a World Athletics track and field champs in 2029
46:34
and of course we've got LA in 2020 as well.
46:37
So the next few years for athletics running are very
46:40
exciting and that I've always felt that that the top piece,
46:44
the podium piece can inspire the next generation.
46:47
You need both, yes. And really excited about it.
46:51
We've got some great athletes, English athletes at junior and
46:54
senior level who I'm sure will do England and Great Britain and
46:57
Northern Ireland, real pride and proud over the next few years.
47:02
Got some great talent coming through.
47:04
Brilliant, Tim. Just a minute or so left of the
47:07
show. What's coming up locally from a
47:09
Peterborough perspective then? What can what can people get
47:12
involved with? It's the it's Frostbite Friendly
47:15
League at the moment that we've got the next race in the series.
47:19
It's the third race over at Ely this weekend so 16 clubs.
47:24
I think all the cheap and clubs take part but then there are
47:28
half a dozen other clubs that also take part on on multi
47:30
terrain courses. They're hugely popular and
47:33
growing all the time. The the clubs organize that
47:37
themselves. So you have to be a member of
47:40
one of the clubs, but that's something else that has
47:43
generated interest. And so it's been, yeah, so
47:46
frostbite friendly leagues and and park runs.
47:49
And then we'll get over the Christmas and New Year period
47:52
and we're into county cross country season and you've got
47:55
the counties, the intercounties leading up to the English
47:58
national. Indeed, if people want to find
48:01
out a bit more information about G Pam, where can they go?
48:03
On the G Pam website, you're going to put me on the spot.
48:06
Now I'm never quite sure what the bit is that comes at the
48:08
end, but just put G Pan into any search engine and I'm delighted
48:12
that it will come up as the greatest beat of athletic
48:15
network because we are now bigger than the Guinea pig
48:19
Association that used to, that used to get more used to get,
48:23
yeah, used to get more hits than we did.
48:25
We have now overtaken them. England Athletics.
48:28
Dot org or personal best foundation.org.uk.
48:32
Perfect Tim, Chris, thank you so much for your time this evening.
48:36
It's been fascinating listening to sport, not just at the top
48:40
end, but how much the local communities and certainly
48:42
Peterborough is a shining example of that can influence
48:45
what's happening in in years to come and that talent that can
48:49
hopefully develop, but also that participation and that
48:53
well-being, both physical and mental.
48:57
Going to give you a quick update on the World Cup draw that's
48:59
still taking place. Yes, it's still taking place.
49:02
England have also got Panama in their group now as well.
49:05
So there's England, Panama and Croatia, and they're three of
49:08
the four teams in Group L, and it looks like they're just about
49:11
to go into Pop 4 as well. So keep your eyes peeled for
49:17
social media over the next few minutes to see who England's
49:20
third opponent will be in Group, out of the group stages of the
49:23
World Cup, which is taking place next year in Canada, America and
49:28
Mexico. But thank you once again for
49:30
your time this evening. Thank you for listening and we
49:33
very much appreciate it. But as we say every week,
49:37
whatever your involvement in sport, whether it is
49:39
volunteering, playing or spectating, we do wish you a
49:42
very successful and enjoyable sporting weekend.
49:45
Yeah.