Latest / The PCR Sports Show / The PCR Sports Show - Friday 24th April 2026 - With Aaron Murrell from Good Events Running and Caroline Brooks and Natty Clifford talking about the Great Eastern Run

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The PCR Sports Show - Friday 24th April 2026 - With Aaron Murrell from Good Events Running and Caroline Brooks and Natty Clifford talking about the Great Eastern Run · The PCR Sports Show

0:16
Welcome to PCR Sports. Good evening and welcome to the
0:20
PCR Sports show. Myself, Dipam and Nigel this
0:23
evening. Thank you for joining us.
0:25
It's a glorious spring day, almost summer like and I think
0:28
the weekend's going to be a good one and into next week as well.
0:31
So but thanks for taking the time out to to join the start of
0:34
your sporting weekend. We've got a cracking show lined
0:36
up. We've got it's all about running
0:39
Great Eastern Run, which is in the autumn of every year.
0:42
But the preparations start well early, as you can imagine with
0:46
an event like that. And we're speaking with Aaron
0:48
Morrell, who is the managing director at Good Running Events,
0:52
the organization company who put it all on and make sure that
0:56
everything goes well on the day. And then we're also joined by
0:59
Caroline Brooks and Natty Clifford, who both ran the 5K
1:03
Fun Run last year. And we came about hearing about
1:06
their experience from a running perspective and their reasons
1:10
for getting into running as well.
1:12
But before all that, let's catch up with the headlines this week
1:14
and Nigel has them. Hi, Nigel.
1:16
Evening. How are we doing?
1:17
Very. Well, thank you.
1:18
Excellent. OK, a win for Posh tomorrow,
1:21
then tomorrow lunchtime we'll see them safe from relegation
1:24
from League 1. Posture boosted by both forward
1:27
Jimmy J Morgan and midfielder Ben Woods being available for
1:30
the tough trip to playoff hopeful Stockport County.
1:34
Postry One one with Burton Albion last time out with Harry
1:37
Leonard scoring the Posh equalizer after Charlie Webster
1:40
had put Burton ahead. Peterbury United Women will look
1:44
to end the campaign undefeated when they host Stourbridge on
1:47
Sunday at 2:00 PM. The women will be awarded the FA
1:52
Women's National League Midlands Trophy following the game this
1:55
weekend as Jake Paul's team secured automatic promotion with
1:59
two games to spare at the time. Since then they've made it 21
2:04
unbeaten with A2 nil away win at Sheffield FC, despite making
2:08
eight changes from the team that secured promotion to the third
2:11
tier and have the chance to make it a full season without defeat
2:15
on Sunday against the Glass Girls.
2:18
Elsewhere on the city football scene, Netherton United have won
2:21
the Peterborough League Premier Division title.
2:24
The City side clinched top spot with A31 win at Stamford Bells
2:28
in their final game of the season on Tuesday night.
2:32
That result gave Netherton an 11 point lead over second place
2:35
Crowlin Town who only have three games left to play.
2:40
FC Peterborough and Marchtown have playoff semi final matches
2:43
this Saturday. The City side who will be
2:46
supported by a coach load of fans, are at Framlingen Town in
2:49
the postseason furlough nun Division 1 N match up while
2:53
Marchtown are at Atherston United in a bid to reach the
2:57
playoff final in the United Counties Premier Division.
3:00
North Spalding United will play their Southern Premier Division
3:04
Central playoff semi final at home to either Needham Market,
3:07
Kettering Town, Halesowen Town or Redditch United and that game
3:12
scheduled for Wednesday April the 29th.
3:15
With a kick off of 730 and reports of Bourne Towns
3:19
relegation from the Northern Premier Midlands Division might
3:22
have been premature. Bourne will definitely finish in
3:25
the bottom four with a points title that normally secures
3:28
safety at this level, but reprieves are not uncommon for
3:32
teams with the best playing record.
3:35
That would require a vacancy to arrive through a merger, a club
3:38
folding or ground compliance issues.
3:41
The 1st order of business though is for Bourne to get a result
3:45
from the tough trip to 4th place Belpa Town on Saturday.
3:50
Relegated Peterborough Sports were humiliated at Worksop Town
3:53
in their penultimate game of the National League N season.
3:56
Sports went down 8 nil after suffering 2 red cards.
4:01
It was already 4 nil when Elliott Whitehouse was
4:03
dismissed, dismissed for a foul and abusive language, 6 nil at
4:07
the break and eight nil when Birmingham City low knee Zach
4:10
Willis was dispatched with another 30 minutes still to
4:13
play. And it was some consolation for
4:15
Sports as they conceded no further goals with 9 men.
4:20
Sports visit relegation threatened Hereford Town
4:22
tomorrow with a 12/30 kick off. Hereford are expecting a crowd
4:26
in excess of 4000 for the fixture which will see them
4:30
complete a great escape with a win but even a point may be
4:34
enough depending on results. Elsewhere.
4:36
Hockey and the City of Peterborough men's over 40 fives
4:40
team are off to the National Vase final over May Bank Holiday
4:44
weekend after a 7 two win against Bristol Fire Bans.
4:48
Goal scorers were Gareth Andrew with three, Darren Norman with
4:51
two, Gary Hales and Ian Dunnett. City's opposition will be Old
4:56
William Sonians who defeated Deeside Ramblers 52.
5:00
The date and time for that match is still to be confirmed.
5:04
Bowls and Northants bowlers have retained the English Bowling
5:07
Federation indoor triples title at Lincoln.
5:10
Michael Humphreys, Tony Sorry, Tom Newman, Borrett.
5:14
Stephen Harris produced an emphatic 267V in the final
5:19
against Norfolk, having earlier beat Durham 19, four in the semi
5:24
finals and Cleveland 1918 on the last end.
5:29
Boxing and Young City fighter Zain Hussein has marched into
5:33
the Midlands Boxing Championships quarterfinals.
5:36
The Jack Hunt School student who boxes out of the Pound for Pound
5:39
Club in Walsall, delivered a composed and technically sound
5:43
performance in a regional final to score majority points victory
5:48
over a previously undefeated opponent and a Fab 4 from Hicks
5:53
Martial Arts have won British titles and the chance to compete
5:56
at the World Championships. Hicks Martial Arts Club are
5:59
celebrating after the Wacko Kickboxing British Championships
6:04
in Barnsley. Holy Brook, Dexter Smith, James
6:07
Thurlong and Oscar Will Owen were the Hicks winners after
6:11
battling against some of the best kickboxers in the country.
6:15
There were also podium finishes for Ira Townsend, Ravi Panchow
6:21
and Arshan Nash, who was third in the junior men's continuous
6:25
points competition. It was a special set of rules
6:28
for the club as the winners have earned this opportunity to
6:31
represent Great Britain at the World Championships later this
6:34
year. And finally, some cricket.
6:36
Lovely to say, lovely to say that Sunday the 19th of April
6:41
2026, the ECB Women's County Championship started the
6:46
Vitality Women's League Three Division Two at Autumn Park CC.
6:50
The first match Beds and Hunts Women were beaten by Cornwall
6:54
Women by 25 runs and in the second match was reversed with
7:00
Peter winning by 100 with Peterborough winning by 76 runs.
7:05
This Sunday Beds and Hunts women travel to Dunstable CC to host
7:09
the Lincolnshire Women in the County Cup first round.
7:12
The FA Cup of Cricket sees all the major and minor counties
7:16
from across the country playing this weekend with Finals day at
7:19
Old Trafford, Manchester later in the summer.
7:23
The T 20s start at 2:00 PM with entry free of charge.
7:27
Now your headlines this week. Thank you, Nigel.
7:29
Lots going on there. And yeah, I wish we could hear
7:32
about cricket every week because at least that guarantees the
7:34
sun's out. Well, yeah, we've got, we've
7:36
got, it's nice to read out about all the finals that the football
7:38
teams are in at this time of the year and there seems to be a lot
7:40
of those. But yeah, it's lovely sunset
7:42
today and it's cricket weather, isn't it?
7:44
Absolutely not a great result for sports last week.
7:47
I know you follow them, have been following them all season
7:49
and probably well, certainly on paper the worst result they've
7:53
had this season. I.
7:54
Think it's the worst result they've had ever.
7:57
They're trying to look through the record books on the way
7:59
home. But yeah, I thought I'd got away
8:01
with you mentioning that. But yeah, it was.
8:03
It was a terrible day for sports, I think.
8:07
I think they just works up. Needed a point to be safe.
8:12
And they came up, they're playing in the National League N
8:14
for the first time ever. So that's a great achievement
8:17
for them to actually stay in the league.
8:20
And they they just went all out to get that point and they were
8:24
out of the blocks really quickly.
8:25
Sports were four nil down before they even realized what was
8:28
going on. And it just went from bad to
8:30
worse from there. So yeah, awful day.
8:33
Hopefully better. Fortunes at Hereford tomorrow
8:36
and then obviously the left final game at home is the
8:38
Stourbridge. No, that's the ladies with
8:40
Stourbridge. It's the final game for the men
8:42
tomorrow and it's turned into quite an occasion with lots of
8:46
tickets sold Hereford needing a win to guarantee them staying up
8:49
and that's a bit of a a great escape as well considering where
8:53
they were sort of 6-8 weeks ago. So yeah, it's turned into quite
8:57
an occasion tomorrow and hopefully sports can go out on a
9:01
on a bit of a bang after the after the terrible week, the
9:04
week. Absolutely, just go into close
9:06
season with a little bit of positivity and then regroup for
9:08
next season. Absolutely so.
9:10
Brilliant. Thank you, Nige.
9:11
Right. We'll be back in a few moments.
9:13
We'll take a short break. We'll be speaking to Aaron
9:16
Merrill, who's the Managing Director of Good Running Events,
9:18
who organized the Great Eastern Run amongst various other runs
9:21
around the country. And we'll also be speaking to
9:23
Caroline Brooks and Natty Clifford, who participated in
9:26
the 5K last year. So stay tuned, It's PCR Feb.
9:31
You're listening to PCR sports. Welcome back to the PCR Sport
9:45
Show with myself, Dipam and Nigel.
9:47
This week and this week's guests are from or associated with the
9:52
Great Eastern Run. We've got Aaron Merrill, who's
9:55
the Managing Director of Good Running Events, who organized
9:57
the event. And then we've got a couple of
9:59
runners from the front run last year, Caroline Brooks and Natty,
10:03
who's done it for a few years now.
10:04
So we're hearing from them about their experiences from the
10:07
running perspective. But if we start firstly with
10:10
Aaron. Good evening, Aaron.
10:11
How are you? Not too bad.
10:12
Dear Pam, Good, good to see. You yeah, good to see you again.
10:14
Yeah, yeah. You come in two or three times a
10:16
year, which is good because it's, you know, the Great
10:19
Eastern run is it's such a a milestone event in in the, in
10:22
the calendar certainly for the city.
10:23
So it's good to have you and to give you give us a bit more
10:27
information about it. So thank you.
10:28
Good to I guess firstly, I know your your organization good
10:32
running events in in relative terms to the Great Eastern run
10:37
are fairly sort of new to organizing it, but you've been
10:40
still been doing it for a few years now.
10:41
So how many of you organized so far?
10:43
How many or which? How many will be the next one?
10:46
So it'll be our our fifth year in Peterborough this year and
10:48
that's absolutely flying by obviously for a flagship event
10:51
in our our portfolio. Now obviously between the half
10:54
marathon and the the Anotope 5K fun run, it's the largest event
10:58
that we organize and one of 12 of now around the country as you
11:01
say. So yeah, flagship event is is
11:03
right here in Peterborough. Fantastic, sounds good like to
11:05
hear those words flagship event, which is brilliant.
11:07
So, and just tell us a little bit about your organization,
11:10
your background in in running and what attracted you to to
11:12
eventually obviously become the organization organisers of the
11:17
Great Eastern Run. Yeah, sure.
11:19
It's a background in running myself.
11:21
I love running. Yeah, everything.
11:23
Everything from fun runs all the way up to marathons.
11:26
Several times I've run, run personally.
11:28
Obviously it's London Marathon weekend and I've, I've done that
11:30
a few Times Now. So yeah, obviously everybody's
11:33
going to be looking forward to that this weekend.
11:35
Running, running down on the streets of London for the London
11:37
Marathon and kind of born from a run really thought when I was
11:41
running around Sandringham mistake actually, obviously not
11:43
a million miles from Peterborough in West Norfolk and
11:46
thought what a great place for a run.
11:48
So we started doing events there several years ago now.
11:51
And then the opportunity came up to to be partners with
11:54
Peterborough City Council who have been fantastic supporters
11:57
over the event ever since we started working together.
11:59
As I say, yeah, five years ago now that partnership has been
12:02
going and into our fifth year of of delivering the Great Eastern
12:05
Run. Fantastic.
12:06
So you kind of for you personally and you turn the
12:08
passion of running into then obviously providing that service
12:11
for others to to kind of obviously fulfill their passion.
12:15
It really doesn't it, it does help as well.
12:17
Obviously I'm obviously biased on obviously this side of the
12:19
table, but obviously understanding, you know, from a
12:22
runners perspective, you know, what, what runners would like in
12:24
their goodie bags. And obviously, you know, the
12:27
whole experience of the event, you know, all the way from
12:29
entertainment through to making sure that there's a, a flat
12:32
route, which obviously there there certainly is here in, in,
12:35
in Peterborough. So obviously understanding what
12:37
you know runners want to see from there, their five KS, their
12:39
ten KS, their half marathons, so we can really deliver a a
12:44
fantastic event for everybody. And that's it.
12:45
I think that's key. That's important.
12:46
Is it that you, you're personally experienced, you've
12:48
been there and done it. You know, you're not in a nice
12:51
spot where you're not a suit in a boardroom organising an event,
12:53
are you? You, you actually look at it
12:54
from a practical perspective and, and, and that bodes well
12:57
for the participants at the end of the day, isn't.
12:59
It, as I say it hopefully does, but, but you know that we,
13:02
we've, we've looked, you know, every single metre of the Great
13:05
Eastern route to try and, you know, make sure that it, it
13:07
delivers a fantastic transfer for runners PBS, which it
13:10
absolutely does here locally all the way through to, to making,
13:14
you know, adjustments like adding in Peterborough Cathedral
13:17
and obviously landmarks around around Peterborough, you know,
13:19
Central Park, making sure that obviously there's a a fantastic
13:22
spectacle that there always is at the embankment.
13:24
So it's an event that the whole city can get involved with from
13:27
not just the runners, obviously spectators, the residents around
13:30
the city cheering on the runners, the local charities and
13:33
and really make it a, you know, a highlight in the, in the the
13:35
years calendar, obviously for for the city of Peterborough.
13:38
Fantastic. And did you personally
13:40
participate in the Great Eastern Run before you actually started
13:42
organising? Yeah.
13:42
But prior, prior to obviously the pandemic, we, we took it
13:45
over obviously in 2022. So we're into our fifth year, as
13:48
I say now, but but took part several times prior to COVID
13:52
when they when they council used to organise it.
13:54
Brilliant. So so you kind of took literally
13:56
personal experience from running it yourself to think, OK, how
13:59
can we, you know, what's the lessons learn?
14:00
What can I do to improve it and and make it more comfortable?
14:03
Absolutely, and that's, that's an ongoing process, obviously,
14:05
every single event that, that obviously we, we organise how,
14:07
how can we improve, how can we make sure that, you know, we, we
14:10
build year on year and, and, and obviously for the for the size
14:12
of the event now we had a a record event in Peterborough
14:15
last year, the largest, greatest and there there had ever been.
14:18
So obviously record-breaking and, and fingers crossed we'll
14:20
we'll have that again come when we have this discussion in
14:23
October. Absolutely.
14:24
Was there anything that kind of, I suppose surprised you in a
14:28
sense that when you, you know, previously you would like say
14:31
you were a runner, but then when you then started organised runs,
14:34
did you were there things that you didn't realise as a runner
14:37
and then as an organiser thought, wow, you know, you
14:39
appreciate the work that goes behind organising it because
14:42
when you're running in the round, nice as possible, you are
14:44
just running it. Whereas as in for an
14:46
organization, organization perspective, there's so many
14:49
things to to kind of consider. I imagine so.
14:51
Definitely, this is yeah, it is a completely different piece.
14:55
Obviously, you know, you go down to, you know, the finite details
14:58
and making sure that, you know, crowd barriers are a certain
15:00
width away from each other to be able to make sure that leaked
15:03
cars can obviously make their way through safely.
15:05
And you know, their vehicle mitigation barriers.
15:07
And, and obviously, you know, a vast amount of paperwork that
15:10
obviously you, you may have to be able to make sure that you
15:12
can, can host a safe event for everybody as well.
15:14
So there's, there's so much to think about.
15:16
Obviously, all of the concessions, all, all of the
15:18
partners that we have to be able to make sure that the barriers
15:20
go out on time, that, that obviously the start line is
15:22
ready for everybody all the way through to things like training
15:25
sessions and media through the year.
15:27
It's it's definitely a year round process for the for myself
15:30
and the team. Brilliant.
15:32
And in terms of the last event, like I say, you use the lessons
15:36
learned to to fine tune the events as they go.
15:38
And what were your thoughts on on last year's event and any
15:42
kind of feedback come from that that you're you're kind of
15:44
looking to act upon for this year?
15:45
Really, really pleased with last year's.
15:46
I think obviously lots and lots of positivity.
15:49
As I say it was a record-breaking year in terms of
15:51
of numbers of participation as well as charity fundraising.
15:54
Over 1/4 of £1,000,000 just raised through this event alone.
15:58
And that's when obviously you look in terms of the benefits
16:00
for the local charities, but obviously so much past that in
16:03
terms of, of first timers to, to the 5K and the half marathon.
16:07
And obviously, you know, the physical and, and mental
16:08
benefits that, that come along with that through, through the
16:10
health and fitness game through the year.
16:13
So, so, so yeah, most positive event yet.
16:16
And and as I say, hopefully we can can build on that with an an
16:18
even bigger version come October the 11th.
16:21
Fantastic. And top of your head, how many
16:22
participants were there in 2020? Five.
16:24
It was over 6 1/2 thousand last year obviously between the two
16:26
distances. And then and as I say, we're
16:29
we're hopeful that that we wouldn't break that record
16:30
again, again. Is there a ceiling on the number
16:33
that we could cater in the city? There is based on the current
16:35
formats, but obviously if we're, if we're looking at obviously
16:37
that that you know, demand will outstrip that, then obviously
16:39
there there's there's changes and tweaks that we can make.
16:42
So obviously we've got upper limits and based on what the
16:44
existing route is. But if we were looking at demand
16:46
above that, then then obviously we'd look to be able to
16:48
accommodate what we can. Go out.
16:49
And then just going back to the figure you mentioned, 1/4 of
16:52
million quarter of £1,000,000 raised by 6 1/2 thousand
16:55
runners. That's a phenomenal amount per
16:57
head, isn't it really? Really is and it's something
16:59
that I personally and obviously the, the team at Good Running
17:01
are really passionate about as well.
17:03
You know, it's, it's fantastic to see.
17:04
Obviously there will be a vast amount of fundraising obviously
17:06
done through through London Marathon this weekend, Obviously
17:09
many, many 10s of millions. But making sure that that you
17:12
know, we host the Great Eastern run in Peterborough and we want
17:14
Peterborough and Cambridgeshire to be really see the, you know,
17:16
the benefits of that charity fundraisers and making sure that
17:19
we've got got the local charities like Sue Sue Rider
17:21
thought Paul Hospice and it's hope Cambridgeshire Deaf
17:24
Society, little miracles. There's a whole host of local
17:28
charities that, that, you know, get such a, a critical part of
17:32
their year round support through the Great Eastern and events
17:34
like this locally. So yeah, it's, it's, it's
17:37
fantastic to see and, and hear those stories and see that
17:39
fundraising done when we get to the start line on on the 11th of
17:43
October. Fantastic.
17:44
And it's, it's and it feels like the event has been, I suppose,
17:48
dare I say it, rejuvenated since you've been been the custodian
17:52
of organizing it. Because it had a little bit of
17:54
maybe a dip COVID, obviously we missed a year, then it was
17:58
cancelled for security reasons as well.
17:59
So there's been a couple of kind of, you know, situations around
18:04
it, but you know, it's looking up and up now, isn't it, again?
18:06
No, thank you. We, we certainly do our best as,
18:08
as you say, it's a, it's a city centre event.
18:10
There's a whole host of challenges.
18:11
We did have a little bit of a foggy morning last year.
18:13
So yeah, we, we were a little bit worried at one stage
18:16
obviously about, about delivery of Rd. closures, but we got
18:18
there in the end. But yes, certainly in terms of
18:20
of, you know, a city centre, you know, large mass participation
18:23
event like this, there's always challenges that can obviously
18:25
get get thrown your way. So, so it's about overcoming
18:28
that and making sure we've got the necessary contingency plans.
18:31
So yeah, it's, it's a building year on year, as we say, a
18:34
fantastic event last year, lots and lots of positivity, lots of
18:37
positive feedback and as you say building towards a a bigger and
18:40
better event even this year. Absolutely.
18:43
And the and the last couple I think is maybe two or three.
18:45
You've even introduced a a pathway through the cathedral as
18:48
well, didn't you? For the for the run?
18:50
Yeah, we have obviously the cathedral being the fantastic
18:53
spectacle that is obviously year round and all of the the history
18:55
there. So yeah, why, why wouldn't you
18:57
want to be able to feature the very best of Peterborough along
19:00
the route. So, yeah, well, we've we've got
19:02
obviously the route that we had last year we were looking to use
19:04
again this year really, really well received.
19:07
And obviously with the cathedral being a spectacle that the
19:10
runners can aim for from when they get into Davis Lane in
19:13
Warrington at 6 1/2 miles on the, the, the halfway point
19:17
around that, that whole area, obviously, you know, it's quite
19:20
a long straight to the northern end of Warrington before they,
19:22
they turn back towards the city centre.
19:24
So, yeah, well, why wouldn't you want to be able to, to involve
19:27
the, you know, the very best landmarks and, and the best of
19:29
Peterborough along the way? Absolutely.
19:30
Will there be any tweaks to the course or is it too early to
19:33
reveal that at the moment? A little bit too early to.
19:35
Reveal. Maybe a little something here
19:37
and there. Obviously it's something that we
19:39
work with the council year round and obviously there's there's
19:41
lots of fantastic, really exciting projects around the
19:43
city at the moment. So it's just working out
19:45
obviously what, what, what impact it, if any, there will
19:47
have. Obviously, we, we certainly know
19:48
that the embankment will look slightly different this year,
19:51
obviously with the signet bridge build that's going obviously
19:53
from, from the embankment to the South side of the river.
19:56
So that it might just be that the event village certainly
19:58
looks a little bit different in terms of the layout, But that's
20:00
exactly the same for for all of the other events like the beer
20:03
festival that obviously the, the build on the embankment there.
20:06
So we'll, we'll still be delivering a fantastic event for
20:08
sure. Brilliant.
20:09
OK, right. We've got to take a short break
20:11
there. But you have got some exclusive
20:13
news coming up after the break, which we'll talk about and can't
20:16
wait to hear about that. And we'll also be speaking with
20:18
Caroline and Natty from a running perspective and to get
20:21
their view and their experience on what it's like to to run
20:24
through. Our city.
20:25
Stay tuned, it's PCR FM. You're listening to PCR sports.
20:45
Good evening and welcome back to the PCR Sports Show.
20:47
Myself, Dipam and Neil Nigel. This week, not Neil, it's not
20:51
even a studio. It's Nigel.
20:52
Apologies for that. You can listen to us in various
20:55
ways throughout the week on on on on any show on the station,
21:00
but specifically the the sports show.
21:01
You can listen on on your smart speaker ask you to play PCRFM or
21:05
you can download our app or go to our website pcrfm.co.uk or
21:10
the good old fashioned way one O 3.2 FM or a DAB device and
21:14
TuneIn digitally. So there's no excuse for you not
21:17
to miss a moment of any show on this station ever again.
21:21
Just before the break, we were speaking to Aaron Merrill, who's
21:23
the managing director at a good running event, who organised the
21:26
great Easter On. And he was just giving us a
21:28
background from his own personal perspective of being a runner
21:31
and then now becoming an organization organiser of such a
21:35
big event. And we just paused before the
21:39
break to talk about a revelation that Aaron wants to make.
21:44
Aaron, over to you. What?
21:45
What do you want to reveal for the listeners this evening?
21:47
It it should have hopefully, the team should have hopefully
21:50
posted it on on social media. If not, you guys don't.
21:53
PCR definitely got the exclusive but but we would like to
21:57
announce that we'll be bringing back the get fit 4 training
21:59
sessions again this year. Fantastically supported in the
22:03
past, obviously Tim and the the team of salvos Pacers that
22:05
obviously host the the, the, the numbers that we we've seen year
22:09
on year growing down at at Bushfield sports Centre.
22:11
So we'll, we'll be hosting those again this year.
22:14
They begin in the summer. So obviously typically training
22:17
plans are, are, are 12 weeks long to be able to build into a
22:19
half marathon. Some runs do more and obviously
22:22
for those that are fit around, you know, maybe do less, but,
22:24
but typically on average 12 weeks.
22:26
So we'll begin those on Wednesday, the 15th of July and
22:29
they take place every other Wednesday beginning at 7:00 PM.
22:34
Everybody's welcome completely free of charge, but particularly
22:37
for those that might be first timers either to a 5K or 1/2
22:40
marathon. As I say, Tim and the, and the
22:42
team of Savils are sponsored paces that we have down there
22:44
that will be there. Obviously the flag bearers on
22:47
race day. Obviously in terms of of wearing
22:48
the large time flags, obviously for the time that you want to
22:51
aim for, they're, they are fantastic of, of running in
22:54
those training sessions myself with the guys down there.
22:56
And yeah, the guys and girls that, that wear, wear those
22:58
flags for 13.1 miles. Obviously it's a feat in itself.
23:01
But to be available as often as they are to support everybody,
23:05
but particularly first timers that, you know, might be a
23:06
little bit nervous, might not have done, you know, group
23:09
social runs before. They are fantastic, as I say,
23:12
completely free. And to be able to come along
23:14
and, and meet new people, go for a social run, see what, what
23:17
times might want to work for you, particularly if you're,
23:19
you're starting your half marathon plan that week.
23:22
So as I say, 15th of July and every other week that we, we
23:25
host those all the way up to, I think it's the, I've got the
23:27
dates right. The 7th of October is the last
23:29
one just before race day. Fantastic.
23:31
And that's obviously a systematic and A and a
23:33
controlled way of building yourself up to to be ready for
23:36
the actual main event. It really is Tim that leads the
23:39
sessions. Obviously, you know, fantastic
23:41
advice that that he obviously gives during those sessions to
23:43
be able to make sure that everybody's got the, the right
23:45
time and the aimed group to, to be able to run with.
23:48
Making sure obviously the, the group that obviously suits you,
23:50
it isn't too fast or too slow for, for where you're at at that
23:53
particular point. And as you say, you do the the
23:55
first run, if it's a little bit too slow, you can join up a
23:57
group or, or vice versa. So yeah, fantastic sessions and
24:02
obviously we're delighted to be able to to facilitate those
24:04
again this year for for all, all, all of the city to enjoy.
24:07
Fantastic. Brilliant.
24:08
Thank you, Aaron. Thanks for reviewing that.
24:10
Right, let's speak to the runners now.
24:12
Caroline, if I come to you first, how are you?
24:15
All right. Thank you.
24:16
How are you? Yeah.
24:17
Thanks for joining us. You ran the the 5K run last
24:20
year. I did.
24:21
And your first time running that sort of length and that type of
24:25
event first and foremost. How did that feel for you
24:28
running? That I absolutely loved it.
24:32
Didn't really know what to expect, but yeah, the the
24:34
support actually along the way was fantastic.
24:37
And it's so nice to when you get to the cathedral and you just
24:39
think you're nearly there. But like, you know, Aaron said
24:42
the cathedral is what Peter was about, and I think a lot of
24:45
people missed that. So it was really, really good.
24:48
Yeah, I really enjoyed it. The fog was a little bit of a
24:50
wake up call when we all got up in the morning and it was
24:53
freezing, absolutely perishing. But yeah, it was really good.
24:56
Absolutely loved it. Brilliant.
24:57
That's good to hear and. You know, you trained, I think
25:00
we were just talking with, with Aaron there just before, before
25:03
you came on about the training and the build up to the actual
25:06
event itself. And I know you worked hard,
25:08
particularly because it was your first attempt and.
25:11
You know you did build up from from months, months.
25:14
Before I started the park walk, about four years ago, I started
25:19
it on a Saturday morning. My son stopped refereeing,
25:21
husband's on the golf course, so my son started working and then
25:26
obviously joining my hubby on the golf course.
25:27
So it's a bit like, what was I going to do with myself on a
25:30
Saturday morning? Yeah, my daughter had moved out.
25:33
So it's a bit like, right, what do I do?
25:35
And it was Nilash actually that suggested just come into the
25:37
park, park run. And I was like, I'm not running
25:40
because you don't have to run it.
25:41
You can walk it. And I actually look back the
25:44
other day and my time originally when I first walked, it was 53
25:48
minutes. And then I just built on that.
25:51
And then, you know, through sort of friends and family, they were
25:53
like, you can run it, you can do this, you can do that.
25:56
And, you know, it's a big thing. It's sort of like my age as
25:59
well. I was just sort of like 50 and
26:00
thinking, you know, like I would like to do something for myself.
26:04
So yeah, so gradually I sort of started half running the park
26:07
run. Then I got to the stage where I
26:09
was running the park run, got to about 4445 minutes and then
26:13
gradually went down. Hubby and the kids sent me a bit
26:16
of a target of 40 minutes, which I thought was impossible.
26:22
I beat that, got down to 38 minutes, and then I thought, if
26:25
I'm going to do this, I need to do have a bit of a purpose and I
26:28
wanted to enter the Great Eastern, but it's the
26:30
motivation, isn't it, to keep going.
26:33
And sometimes it's hard. So I decided to do a bit of
26:36
fundraising for a local organization called the Youth
26:39
Streams Project that provide PE in local schools that my son
26:43
works for. And it's run by Luke Steel and
26:47
they needed some equipment and things for the coaches because
26:51
it's all obviously from their sort of funding and obviously
26:54
they've been on here. So yeah, I ended up raising, I
26:57
think it was about £400 that I raised for them and got the
27:01
hoodies for all their workers. But that kept me going.
27:05
And then, yeah, I did it and I actually did the timing, 33
27:09
minutes and something. But I've not run it that quick
27:13
since a 5K. But I think just the sheer
27:16
motivation of keeping everybody, you know, seeing all the people,
27:21
my kids were on the the on the start line with my husband and
27:25
they waited at the cathedral for me.
27:27
And to see them even now, it makes me a little bit emotional.
27:29
But to see them at the end was just amazing.
27:32
Yeah. And I'll do it again.
27:34
So I'm doing Stanford in a couple of weeks at 5K and then
27:37
I'll put my entry form in for the Great Eastern.
27:40
But yeah, still off to the park, run in the morning.
27:43
I've got a running group on a Tuesday night called Try Running
27:47
and they're very similar. They sort of encourage fast
27:50
runners, slow runners, and but that's been really, really good
27:53
for me because obviously night running, you can't really go out
27:57
on your own. And there's between about 12 and
27:59
15 of us that go running around like Thought Wood and back of
28:03
Fairy Meadows and it's just lovely.
28:05
So yeah, sticking to it and we'll see where we go.
28:08
So. He started a bit of a legacy for
28:09
you then, hasn't it really from From?
28:11
You know, walking a park, run to now.
28:13
Yeah, running a 5. Ki never thought I could and
28:16
never and to be fair, without the support probably of my
28:18
husband and my kids, you know, they have been absolutely
28:21
fantastic. And everybody that I've
28:23
mentioned it to, you know, like yourself, you sponsored me, my
28:26
parents sponsored me, friends sponsored me.
28:29
And it's, it's just lovely to sort of get involved, but to
28:32
actually see your family on the, you know, when you get to that
28:35
end line and you sort of think it's really worthwhile.
28:38
But yeah, there's a few friends along the way in Central Park,
28:41
which is obviously a lovely area of, of Peterborough as well.
28:44
So that was really nice. And yeah, I will be putting
28:47
myself forward to do it again. But never thought I'd be a
28:50
runner. And I don't class myself as a
28:52
runner. I'm a slow jogger, but it's
28:54
something for me and I've thoroughly enjoyed it.
28:57
And yeah, we'll see where it ends up.
28:59
Excellent. You mentioned that you earlier
29:01
on, you said you're going to put your entry in for the Great
29:04
Eastern. Now, does that mean you're doing
29:06
the half marathon? Or no, actually, I've got a text
29:08
off a new lash this morning said, but no, I'd like maybe I
29:12
think if there was like a 7 or 8 Ki think, you know, I did with
29:17
my try running. We do between 5:00 and 6:00 K
29:19
each week and that there's obviously some some fast
29:24
runners, but we all go out in like a group and if you're at
29:26
the back, you're at the back. It doesn't matter.
29:28
It's it's called try running for a reason.
29:30
So I've got up. I think I've done there six or
29:33
seven K with them and that's probably like not my limit at
29:37
the minute, but I feel quite, I'm not comfortable doing that,
29:40
but I can get there. But I think to put myself in for
29:42
a 10K is probably just a little bit of a step too far at the
29:45
minute. Maybe if they say 7 or 8K if
29:47
errands in the room we can maybe speak to him.
29:48
And see if you can. If you can, squeeze another one
29:50
in and. You might have a few entries.
29:53
Absolutely. He just started sweating.
29:58
Brilliant. Thanks, Caroline.
30:00
Natty, you're a bit more of a seasoned runner.
30:03
You've been doing it for a number of years.
30:05
What's your kind of story about running and why have you done
30:08
it? So first just started out, I was
30:10
about 5 years old and then my parents sort of started taking
30:14
me to a park and probably a bit too energetic on the morning.
30:17
So I was like, I need to get you out of the house, need to make
30:19
you tired. And I've been just kept doing it
30:21
every week and I realized I wasn't going to get out of it.
30:25
So I think I started trying a bit more over a few years,
30:29
started joining clubs, got found the coach, you know, and I've
30:32
just from there on really sort of tried to sort of move up in
30:36
my times I've been graced and run.
30:38
I think about 20/14/2015, that was my first 5K.
30:42
Probably did about 40 minutes around that.
30:45
And then since then, every year I've done it bar COVID and
30:48
stuff, I've got it down to 16 minutes now. 1632 I came came
30:55
second in the in the fun run last year.
30:58
Did you? Yeah.
30:59
Amazing. And this year I'm going going
31:01
for the half marathon. So are.
31:03
You actually running? Yeah, I'm, yeah.
31:05
My training for it's going to start in in May.
31:07
I've sat down with my coach and we talked, talked about what
31:12
we're going to plan for the season.
31:13
I think now sort of the time go a little bit longer now.
31:17
So yeah, the half marathon sort of what I'm going to be looking
31:19
at this year. It's.
31:20
Amazing. I thought you were saying you're
31:21
about to say you're going to aim to win the half of the five, but
31:24
you would have blown that out of the water by saying you're doing
31:27
half marathon. So I.
31:29
Was hoping maybe last year for you I had had some good
31:31
competition in there. So you did about close to about
31:35
1620. So it's about 10:15 seconds off,
31:37
but yeah, good competition the got got a nice PB and I'm going
31:42
to move on to the half now. So yeah.
31:44
Brilliant. And how are you feeling about
31:45
that? Is that that's obviously what
31:47
double and then some distance isn't?
31:49
It about four, four and a bit times 21 K I'm pretty sure.
31:53
So I hopefully got the endurance and I have ran a few sort of
31:57
half marathons, you know, in my in my spare time.
32:01
But yeah, this will be sort of my first time in the race
32:03
scenario. Hopefully I can get a good time.
32:08
I'll definitely do a lot of training for it.
32:10
And I said my training plan starts in May and then basically
32:14
hopefully see where my fitness gets me and then I'll look at
32:17
what sort of time I'll be aiming for the.
32:19
And how will your training plan differ this year now then
32:22
compared to the previous years? So usually like when I race the
32:26
the furthest distance I'll be doing is 10K.
32:28
So I work in sort of weekly miles.
32:31
So weekly mileage, I was starting on about 50K last year,
32:36
50 KA week. This year it's going up to 60.
32:39
And then as soon as we get right into the sort of the proper half
32:43
marathon training, we're looking at about 70 K weeks, which is a
32:46
lot. But hopefully just trying to
32:48
boost up the endurance a lot more so I can, you know,
32:51
maintain a quicker pace for even longer this year.
32:54
So yeah. Wow.
32:55
And are you one of these runners that because no, you can do it
32:58
in different ways and I know some runners run more than more
33:01
distance and they're actually going to run in the main race so
33:03
that it feels easier in the main race.
33:04
So are you one of those people that you train to the Max and
33:07
beyond or? Yeah, I'm hoping so.
33:09
I think, I think I've ran up to about 30 K before.
33:12
So I mean, the half's about 21 K but yeah, I'm, I'm going to make
33:17
sure I'm doing a probably, I was going to say every month, make
33:20
sure I'm doing like 1/2 marathon.
33:21
It's just to see sort of the fitness, making sure I can run
33:25
the distance and then yeah, just bringing it down pace wise.
33:28
And does it make a difference in terms of obviously for the for
33:31
the Great Eastern and the 5K, there's a particularly set
33:33
course that that Aaron spoke about, but obviously you're
33:35
training in in other ways and in other locations.
33:38
Does it make a difference when you actually run the course
33:41
that's been designated for the race compared to where you've
33:43
been? Training, definitely, I mean,
33:44
Great Eastern is one of the flattest courses in England.
33:46
It's it's very quick. I know when it's actually
33:49
prepared for a race. You've not got any other
33:51
traffic. If you've got you've got other
33:53
runners around you who are going to push you one you're going to
33:56
you're going to be racing against, you know, to try try
33:58
and push you to a limit CS. It's a lot different in terms of
34:02
just a casual Sunday morning long run with you May where
34:04
you're just sort of strolling about a little bit.
34:06
Yeah. And that's why I think like
34:08
Carolina leads to you probably end up getting maybe a better
34:11
time than you imagined because like the course is flatter, the
34:14
atmosphere and all the occasion kind of takes you over as well
34:18
and you perhaps stretch yourself that much more.
34:20
Don't you? Yeah, definitely.
34:21
I mean you get so many sort of boosting factors from from the
34:24
Great East and such a such a well run event.
34:27
It's like loads of it's what sort of brings the city
34:29
together. It's one of those sort of events
34:30
every year where, you know, it shows off Peterborough what it
34:33
actually can be. And you know, there's always
34:36
people around, there's always people supporting you ever
34:38
that's in the city centre are up to sort of Werrington way.
34:41
You know, you've, you've always got people around, you've always
34:43
got people cheering you on. Yeah, loads of people run it as
34:46
well, so. Brilliant.
34:47
Sounds good. Fantastic.
34:49
Thank you, Natty. We're going to take another
34:50
break there. We'll be back in a few minutes
34:51
to catch up again with Aaron, Natty and Caroline.
34:54
Stay tuned. It's PCFM.
34:57
You're listening to PCR sports. Welcome back to the PCR Sports
35:10
Show with myself, Dipam and Nigel this week.
35:13
If you missed any of the show, you've missed a cracker so far
35:14
been speaking about the Great Eastern Run and the 5K that
35:18
takes place in Peterborough every October.
35:21
I've been speaking to Aaron Merrill, who is the organizer or
35:24
the managing director of the company organizes it.
35:26
And we've been speaking to Carolina Natty who participated
35:28
in the 5K and Natty's upgrading this year to the actual half
35:32
marathon itself. Aaron, if I come back to you.
35:36
This type of event takes a lot of organization, takes a lot of
35:41
other bodies and partners and, and people involved to, to get
35:44
because it's, you know, you don't do it on your own.
35:45
Obviously. Just give us a bit of an idea of
35:49
what sort of collective team effort it takes with with the
35:52
sort of virtual team and the partners around you.
35:54
Yeah, sure. As I said earlier, it's, it's
35:56
year round to, you know, work like this obviously welcome.
35:59
We, we do better than last year. You know, what are the good
36:02
elements? What would we maybe need to
36:04
tweak or, or work on? So obviously the discussions a
36:06
year round with, with Peterborough City Council,
36:08
they're, they're fantastic partners of the event.
36:11
Obviously being into the the 5th year now, obviously we've got a
36:14
really, really strong working relationship with a really good
36:16
portfolio responses as well as the local clubs.
36:20
We've we've got something called a running advisory.
36:22
It's a collective of of key representatives obviously from
36:25
the council, ourselves and my team as well as well as some of
36:28
the local clubs, course measurers, long standing
36:31
participants. So we've we've got a really,
36:33
really good group and support locally.
36:36
So then that really helps with obviously, like the training
36:38
sessions, obviously mentioned that that that team and
36:40
obviously the Pacers lead those, which then works really, really
36:43
well because the way that they're scheduled, it's, it's,
36:46
you know, it's collaborative working.
36:47
So we can make sure that we have the training sessions for the
36:50
Great Eastern that start in mid-july, but they actually work
36:53
in tandem and every other week to win the Peterborough Grand
36:56
Prix series is so that's a series of local 5 KS.
36:58
Obviously you've got the park runs on a Saturday morning as
37:00
well. So we make sure that we're we're
37:02
present to be able to to help with volunteering and and
37:04
obviously be present in the lead up to the event as well.
37:06
In case any runners have got any questions and sponsors as well.
37:11
AEPG to their, their their really good credit have backed
37:14
the event consistently in in a title form ever since we we took
37:18
over the event in 2022 and a fantastic supporters, obviously
37:21
not just sponsoring the event. They take part as well and and
37:24
help us all year round. So you know, you really need a
37:26
really good collective of, of a team of people behind you,
37:29
obviously internally within good running, but in partnership and
37:32
sponsorship as well, which obviously grows every year and
37:35
makes the event a a fantastic success as it is all the way
37:38
down to you. You know, we have the team of
37:41
paces, as I say that Carly, sponsored by Savills.
37:43
We have an official fundraising partner, which is Givewheel,
37:46
which is brand new for this year to be able to, to help and bring
37:50
that facilitate fundraising up to, to that next level all the
37:53
way through to Smith's motor group That, that, that help with
37:56
the logistics of the event and getting water from A to B,
37:59
providing the lead in the support cars for, for the race,
38:02
which we we couldn't be without. So there's, you know, a really
38:05
strong collective of, of various partners in, in different
38:09
capacities. And and as I say you, you
38:11
couldn't do the event without them.
38:12
Put in, that's the whole army of people involved.
38:15
Isn't it really? Isn't it?
38:17
And how quickly after after the event, how quickly after that do
38:22
you start planning the next one? Within the hour.
38:25
Really. We, we have what's called a hot
38:27
debrief, which it aims to be about 10-15 minutes like the key
38:30
topics and, and obviously we touch upon, you know, do we need
38:33
to look at that area and, and things like contingencies for
38:35
next year. So as I say, it was quite, quite
38:37
foggy last year. So we've thought about, you
38:39
know, within that same meeting, what if that happens again in
38:41
2026? So yeah, that's within the hour.
38:44
But obviously as and when you get to around March, April time,
38:47
the the planning really does ramp up.
38:49
So we've had our first of our main planning meetings the week
38:52
just gone with the council and the local collective and we host
38:55
those through through the year. But really when you get to your
38:58
key milestones of April and July in terms of ramping up the
39:02
planning, sending in the applications and making sure
39:04
we've got the right permissions from highways and the local
39:07
authorities. So, so yeah, you've got your key
39:10
milestones. But as I say, a really strong
39:12
collective of of supportive people in their various
39:14
capacities. Wow.
39:15
And is it kind of an unspoken agreement between you and the
39:17
council that you'll always have the same equivalent Sunday every
39:20
year for the next 5-10, fifteen, 20 years or whatever?
39:23
Because because they have to ensure that no other event takes
39:25
place in the city, that that could clash.
39:27
Exactly. Obviously with the major events,
39:28
obviously typically Great Eastern Run and the beer
39:30
festival that take place at the Embankment, but obviously a
39:33
whole host of events and obviously in the support in the
39:35
lead up to to October. So we're typically mid-october
39:38
each year. Obviously we work that through
39:40
obviously in the partnership with the City Council as I say
39:44
and obviously for for the lead up to be able to make sure that
39:47
obviously there's there's no clashes with any other anything
39:50
majorly in obviously Peterborough, but as well as the
39:52
local area as well. Yeah, absolutely.
39:54
So there's lots to think about, isn't it?
39:55
So in terms of participants, Natty's obviously talking about
39:59
upgrading to the to the half marathon from the 5K.
40:02
Caroline wants to run the 5K again.
40:04
How do people get in touch with you and state they're claimed
40:06
for a place on the run? Shorts, all of the information
40:09
is at the website www.greatestandrun.co.uk.
40:13
There's a whole host of information there all the way
40:15
through from what route it will take.
40:17
Obviously in terms of what we recommend in terms of
40:19
recommended times to be at the embankment when you'll get your
40:22
race pack. So that's like the the hub of
40:24
information as you if you like as well as all the details on
40:27
entering and the registration. But through the year as well,
40:30
obviously everything from recommended training plans that,
40:33
you know, we've got available for runners to download and
40:36
follow, particularly if they're first timers.
40:38
So as I say, that's a, a 12 or 16 week plan in terms of
40:42
building up your, your mileage each week.
40:44
Obviously, as Natty mentioned earlier, in terms of a, a safe
40:47
deliverable way, making sure you can try and stay injury free,
40:50
particularly if you're, you're a first time runner.
40:52
So yeah, great. Eastern run.co.uk is, is where
40:55
all of the information about the event is.
40:57
If not, you can always drop us an e-mail at
40:59
info@goodrunningevents.co.uk. We have to answer any questions.
41:03
Brilliant. Thank you Aaron and all the best
41:05
for this year's event. I think again, bit like the
41:08
Council pencil you're dating, we've penciled you in for
41:10
another show before the run, before the run, I think the
41:13
probably Friday before the run. So absolutely.
41:15
So you, we will be hearing from you literally 48 hours before
41:18
the run when it's all frantic and happening and you you're
41:20
still working on your laptop while we're doing the pre show
41:22
build up. Absolutely.
41:23
We're looking forward to it already.
41:24
Absolutely fantastic final word to Natty and Caroline.
41:28
Natty, if I come to you first. Anyone who's thinking about
41:32
participating either in the 5K or the OR the half marathon,
41:35
what advice would you give them? Just go for it, you know, enjoy
41:38
it. There's not many times sort of
41:40
in the area you can have such like a big event.
41:44
Just make sure you do the right training.
41:47
Don't burn yourself out, you know, as if you're doing the
41:50
half marathon. Make sure you train up.
41:51
If you're doing the 5K like Caroline, just, you know, go
41:54
out, enjoy it. But yeah, yeah, that's pretty
41:58
much it. Just have a good time and make
42:00
sure you do to all the basics really.
42:02
And as you, I think, pointed out when you started running, you're
42:05
never too young to start running, are you?
42:06
No, no, you can do it anytime. Even if this is the first time
42:10
doing it or your 10th time doing it, you know, it's always,
42:15
always an opportunity to have a good have a good run, have a
42:18
good time, you know, and and share everyone else some.
42:21
Fantastic. And Caroline, from your
42:22
perspective, you started running later in life and proved that
42:26
circuit life, circuit classes don't get in the way either.
42:29
I'd just say to anybody just to go like that, he said.
42:31
Just enjoy it, really. I think it's more getting out,
42:34
getting the fresh air. You know, I loved walking
42:36
anyway, so it was just sort of stepping it up a notch.
42:38
And if you think, you know, that you can walk, then you can start
42:41
running really. The old knee probably gives way
42:44
a couple of times. But you know, generally I've met
42:48
some great people through it. And you know, the the fun run
42:52
was absolutely fantastic. And even getting down there at
42:55
half eight in the morning, freezing in the fog, people were
42:57
still, you know, happy and jovial.
42:59
And it's just a nice atmosphere. But you know, the park runs on a
43:03
Saturday. You know, I see Natty go flying.
43:05
Well, actually I'm running still one way and he's coming back the
43:08
other way. But yeah, so, you know, I think
43:13
whatever sort of form of exercise you can get out and
43:15
just enjoy the fresh air. There's some lovely areas in
43:17
Peterborough and I think, you know, just go out and enjoy
43:20
yourself, really. But yeah, it's, it's good.
43:22
And we'll see where it takes us. I certainly won't be doing what
43:25
Natty's doing. Never say never, Never say
43:27
never. Brilliant.
43:30
Well, thank you, Aaron. Thank you, Natty and thank you,
43:32
Caroline. Thank.
43:33
You for joining us and wishing you all the best and all the
43:36
success that you need for the event that's coming up later
43:39
this year. And thank you to you for joining
43:41
us this evening. Listening and your support is
43:44
always much welcomed and we're absolutely grateful for it so.
43:47
Do look out for the recording of our show on our podcast later on
43:51
this evening and other than that stay tuned for this evening's
43:55
entertainment on the PCR FM and do join us again next week on
43:59
the PCR Sports Show 6 till 7:00 and and that have a great
44:02
weekend. Whatever you doing sporting
44:03
wise, do it safely and take care of yourself.
44:06
Bye for now.