Saturday Session + Freedom Run

Saturday Session

This week we again support our friends at Prestige Lifestyles and their fundraising for the Canteen Charity. 

A few options as below: 

Option 1: those keen for a 1.5-2hr + run from 6am
When: Saturday 1 November 
Time: 6am-7:30-8am
What: Long run
Meet at: Newstead - at Waterfront Park, Waterloo Street
Cost: $2

NOTE: there will be no coaches there at 6am.

Option 2: those keen for a 1.5-2hr+ run from 7am
When: Saturday 1 November 
Time: 7am-9am
What: Long run
Meet at: Newstead - at Waterfront Park, Waterloo Street
Cost: $2

Option 1: keen for a combo 1hr run + 1 hr strength and conditioning

When:Saturday 1 November 
Time: 7am-8am long run, followed by 8am-9am boot camp style session with Prestige Lifestyles.
What: Long run
Meet at: Newstead - at Waterfront Park, Waterloo Street
Dress: CAMO style!!! Those of you with Tough Mudder singlets....perfect!!! 
Cost: $4 = $2 for BRS and $2 for Canteen donation - what a bargain 2 hour session!!!!!

The Boot Camp style session is for a great cause - Canteen. https://www.canteen.org.au

Breakfast - Sarah has booked a table at the Lazy Dog (our fav breaky place from last time) and they are going to give us 10% off!!!

See you all there!


Freedom Trail Run Sunday 9th November

Message from the organisers: 

Its cooler in the Rainforest. Last reminder and invitation to the Freedom Trail Run Sunday Nov 9th (5k/13k/22k/40k). 

Your chance to explore the World heritage listed Nightcap National park. Entries close this Saturday at midnight. 

Info and enter here:http://www.summerofcycling.com/freedom_trail_run.htm

The Nightcap national park is beautiful warm temperate and subtropical rainforest with amazing views from the top of nearby water falls (Minyon Falls) high up in the Byron bay hinterland. 

The race location is approx. 40min west of Mullumbimby, NSW


Achievements

Well done to Lisa and Shane who completed the Osaka Marathon last weekend!

Good luck to Claire L and the 1000's of other runners participating in the New York Marathon this weekend!!!! ENJOY


Happy Running
Renae & Matt

Achievements and Saturday Session

Achievements

We would love to recognise a few of our members who recently have dedicated themselves and shown really commitment to our challenge goal for 2014!

Sean B participated in a gruelling 50km, yes 50 km beach run at Bribie Island a few weeks ago. Due to the tides, the last ¼ of the race was on soft sand. Not only did he get through it, which is a massive achievement in itself, he smashed it, coming 3^rd overall!  Can you imagine how much your calves would be burning after 50km on sand! Well done Sean

Nick also committed himself to an amazing challenge last weekend. He participated in the Lamington Classic a two day event in the Gold Coast Hinterland. It is Australia’s oldest trail run, running from O’Reilly’s mountain to Binna Burra along some beautiful rainforest tracks. Day 1 starts at O’Reilly’s with a 21km run to Binna Burra, staying overnight, then 21km back to O’Reilly’s on Sunday. Nick really enjoyed the run, and came in 3^rd overall too!

Well done gents!!

We would love to hear from any of you out there who have been taking up the challenge and participating in some of the awesome events available in South East Queensland!

P.S. one of our long standing members Lisa F and our Mizuno Rep Shane are both participating in the Osaka Marathon in Japan this weekend. Good luck!

Saturday Session

With the predicted temperature for tomorrow being in the mid 30s, the vote was Southbank for a run and a post run dip!

So see you….

When: Saturday 25^th October

Time: 6-7:30am

Where: Meet on the stairs near Streets Beach (Southbank Surf Club). Best place to park is underneath Southbank from 5am-9am for $2. Don’t forget to park in the middle and come out of the entrance near Max Brenners! This is the closest to the meeting point.

Cost: $2

Followed by Breaky!  We are open to suggestions for a breaky spot as our usual Saturday spot is getting a bit crowded and rushed! So come with some ideas!!! 

Don’t forget a towel and a change of clothes if you plan to have a dip!!

5km Time Trial

It had been 6 long months since the last BRS time trial.  Wednesday night saw 17 brave BRS'er lining up on the Toowong bike track ready to tackle the flat fast 5km course.
Tension was high.  Chat was kept to a minimum.  Eyes were focused.

BANG!

They were off in a blur of multicoloured Mizuno shoes.  Renae reported all BRSers looking strong as they rounded the half way checkpoint.  Now it was time to see just what they were made of.

Of course, they were made of the right stuff.  Matt got a shock to see Nick bringing it home in just over 18mins, he was more shocked to see Michael K not too far behind, also coming in under 19mins, as did Matt W.

There were some awesome times done by all.  Congratulations to everyone who gave it a go.

Saturday Session

This weekend we thought it is long enough to get back into the trails without anyone digging up too many painful reminders of Airlie beach.

Where: Slaughter Falls Car park, Mt Cootha
When: Saturday 18th October
Start: 6am
What: Approx 1.5hr run through the beautiful scenery of Mt Cootha trails

Followed, of course, by breaky.

Happy Running

Renae and Matt

5th Birthday Party, Saturday Session, Summer Focus

THANKS!!!!

Thanks for a fabulous 5th Birthday Party last Saturday evening!

We started on the green next to the Southbank Surfclub, presenting our awards to our much deserved winners!

August Commitment Member: a draw between Lisa and Andrew for the most number of sessions attended......but the draw on the day saw Lisa win! Free massage for you Lisa!

September Commitment Member: again a draw - between Nick, Bridget and Anita! Anita was drawn out on the day, big congrats Anita - free massage for you too!

August Challenge Member: she is always there, giving everything a go, including our trail runs, Nerang races, sessions, and boot camps!  Well Done Irene - a free Shoes Feet Gear analysis coming your way!

September Challenge Member: after coming back from injury to apply herself for the last 6 months before Airlie was a challenge in itself, let alone completing the event! Well done Janet for your determination! Thanks to Shoes Feet Gear for your prize.

Now our coveted awards:

2014: Most Improved - this year went to Libby who has gone from not being able to run 12months ago - joining the beginners group, competed in heaps of events over the last 6 months and just finished the 28km in Airlie - well done!

2014: Most Consistent - was Lisa P!!! being eligible month after month for Commitment Member of the month was just the beginning! Lisa was consistent in her approach to training, events, and commitment to BRS Camp and On Tour ! well done

2014: Runners Runner! Nick M!! Remember this one is voted by the runners, not coaches and Nick is a deserved winner, constantly inspiring others to come to training, better their running, and commit!! Keep it up Nick!!


Saturday Session

Well we have had a new addition to Southbank's breaky scene recently - Cowch Cafe !!

They have been kind enough to offer us 18 FREE coffee vouchers as an incentive to come in and try their new breakfast menu, how can you refuse that!!

So this Saturday we will be running from Southbank - the first 18 runners to arrive at training receive a free coffee!!

When: Saturday 11th October

Where: Meet on the steps of the Southbank Surf Club at Streets Beach, Southbank

Parking: Park underneath Southbank for $2 - in after 5am and out by 9am!! Remember to park in the middle of the carpark and exit near Max Brenners! Then you will easily find us!

Time: 6am-7:30am

What: Long run or run + park run or as long as you wish to run in the 1.5hrs depending on your current goals!

BREAKY & COFFEE

As I mentioned, the first 18 to arrive at training will receive a free coffee at Cowch for breaky!
So we are able to have a relaxing breaky and be out by 8:50am to leave the carpark - I am again taking pre-orders and dropping them off to the cafe at 7:30am. Please browse the menu and I will have a copy Saturday before we run so you can note your meal and coffee order then!

http://www.cowch.com.au/cowch-menu.pdf 

Thanks Cowch!!!

Summer Focus

Some love it (like me), some hate it (like Matt), regardless, it is soon to be upon us!!

We can make the most of the longer days for our night runs, and the hotter Saturdays for post race dips!!

Most of all....don't be scared off!

To us at BRS, Summer running in Brisbane is all about post season maintenance, getting stronger, and having fun!

So you will notice our sessions will have a flare of strength and conditioning to get you stronger, longish sets to keep up your running fitness, and a little more light hearted than if we were in the midst of the long distance running season (aka winter!!).

We hope to see you all there to finish the year off being committed and challenged.

Renae & Matt

On Tour Wrap up, BRS Celebrates & Saturday Session

On Tour Wrap

Another successful BRS On Tour!!!

Funnily enough, as our runners participated in the Great Whitsunday Walk - 28km off road...it was also the same weekend On Tour all started 4 years ago!!

Yes 4 years ago we had our first On Tour event taking 15 runners to the Cook Islands Running festival! 5 days of running bliss (with cocktails and snorkeling thrown in!).

Since then, we have taken 25 runners to the Sydney Running Festival in 2012, 8 Runners to Phuket in 2013 and now 32 Runners to Airlie Beach!!  To add to the excitement....this was the first time that Matt and I organised it all ourselves as usually we go through a travel company and from all accounts it went extremely smoothly  - PHEW!!!

Race Day Wrap

Race day started relatively late with our runners heading to registration at 6:30am, then it was a looooong 2 hour anxious wait of registering, jumping on the bus, and a race briefing (which included being informed that the SES rescue helicopter was on call ready to go and Oh the snakes have started to surface after winter!)!! Then 8:30am it was kick-off for 150 hard core runners!!

If I can use some of our runners' comments to sum up the event:
that was the hardest thing I have ever done
that was hell
Ouch, that really hurt!
Why was the last 6km down hill the hardest
Give me a marathon any day!

In the BRS year of challenge, it certainly fit the bill and our athletes rose to the occasion.

Sure there were stacks (and Wendy even had the pleasure of a SES escort after hers!), sure there were moments of hitting the wall, sure there were moments of what the hell am I doing, and even a few dummy spits!! BUT they conquered it!

Matt Coops was our first runner to finish in in just over 2.5hours coming first in his age group and 6th overall!
Nick and Keeters also snuck in under the 3 hour mark which is great
Liss was first BRS female across the line, also winning her age category
Ben, Sean, Matt L, Matt W, and Will smashed across the finish line close to each other all finishing within 3.5 hours.
After a big few months of long races, Andrew did well sneaking in just under 4 hours!
Irene and Jody did well finishing only a few minutes apart at 4.02 and 4.04!
The lovely trio, Lisa, Michelle and Libby crossed the line together in under 5 hours, with an amazing sense of relief and achievement!
Janet finished with a ripper of a cheer squad in 5.5 hours, wow, that is a massive achievement

A fantastic achievement by all our runners and a really well run race by Mackay Road Runners!

The week progressed from there to plenty of relaxing, catching up, cocktails, yummy food, swimming, stand up paddle boarding, cycling, shopping, and running! A fabulous week with fabulous people!!

Can't wait to announce the next BRS On Tour, likely to be January school holidays 2016! We will announce it real soon to give you time to save and prepare!

BRS Celebrates!

This Saturday we celebrate 5 years of inspiring and coaching Brisbane's Running Community.

Thanks to everybody who has contributed over the last 5 years!!

We have 40 runners and family joining us for a Beachy Cocktail party at the Southbank Surf Club with yummy punch, delicious food, awards and some On Tour debriefs

See you there!

Saturday Session

This Saturday we will head to the Regatta for our Saturday run

When: Saturday 4 October

Time: 6am-7:30am

Where: Meet at the Regatta Hotel Carpark on Sylvan Road

Cost: $2

What: a long run, heaps of options for loops around the uni and along Corro drive, or out and back if that takes your fancy!

See you there!

Renae & Matt

The Ultimate Pay it Back - continuing the Twitterific Tale

It is not very often I write of personal tales in the BRS blog, but this story deserves to be shared!

Its a story of Pay It Back.......

We just had a perfectly fulfilling week, giving back and more to those who literally rescued our doomed wedding and honeymoon 3 years ago! 

Those of you who missed the first installment of the Twitterific Tale, here is a very quick snapshot.........

In May, 2011 Matt and I were due to get married in a modest way but with a touch of luxury in the gorgeous Whitsundays. We chose the Whitsundays to support the local tourism comeback after cyclone Yasi all but destroyed the local tourism businesses in February 2011. The excitement was building with a week to go until our 7 days in China running the Great Wall of China Marathon, followed by a 4 day bareboat yacht charter, 3 nights honeymooning on beautiful Hamilton Island, a small ceremony,  stunning reception overlooking Hamilton Island, and plenty of fun and memories to be had....... 

But then came the news......we received a phone call from the company director we booked and paid for our entire Whitsunday adventure, they had gone into voluntary administration...my heart sank. Over $15,000 lost, not to be paid out, not to be honoured, not to be transferred, and not to be covered by travel insurance. OMG what to do??

Coming from two people who took 10 years to finally decide this was the right moment to get married, the universe was clearly telling us otherwise. 

Completely devastated, I spoke to a great friend Jennifer Frahm who just happened to be a social media activist, with just ONE single tweet our world totally changed. 

To cut a lonnnng story short, her tweet and Facebook posts were immediately picked up by our heros, Whitsundays Online, active tweeters of Whitsunday information and news, but also very proud members and supporters of the Airlie Beach Business Community. 

What happened next was truly incredible, amazing, and without the power of social media, would have been impossible. 

Airlie Beach businesses were literally scrambling to help us, offering free celebrants, accommodation, dining, tourism adventures and the list went on and on and on!!!

Because of the passion of Whitsundays Online and the AMAZING generosity and spirit of the Airlie Beach community, we had the most beautiful, romantic, and utterly perfect wedding experience ever!  

 

We always promised them and made the promise to ourselves we would go back and Pay It Back to thank the whole community who so kindly helped us out!

We did just THAT and MORE!!

Last week we took 32 of our BRS runners, supporters and children to Airlie Beach, so not just did Matt and I go back to say hi and thanks......32 others joined us on the adventure!!

For the Airlie Beach community we are PROUD TO PAY IT BACK by......

• having 22 Runners participating and promoting the fantastic event Run the Whitsunday Great walk 28km trail run! Not only did they run it, they trained hard and spread the words with friends and fellow runners for the 9 month lead up, and with our fabulous On Tour uniforms, they will continue to promote it for years to come!!
  
• Due to our numbers, we hired a private charter bus from Whitsunday Transit for our airport transfers, they were helpful and everything went soooo smoothly!
  
• We all but booked out all of Airlie Apartments, who were so kind to us, an amazing venue and hospitality, thanks Cathy and your fabulous staff!
  
• We sampled SEVERAL of the eating and drinking establishments Airlie Beach has to offer...to mention a few: Sorrento - amazingly got 30 delicious meals out in 20mins, Jane's cafe for yummy healthy lunches, Capers for catering for 20 sweaty runners for breaky, the Chocolate Cafe Airlie Beach for many a good coffee, the Gelato bar for post race refueling, Barcelona Tapas Bar for gorgeous sunsets, Shipwrecked for chilled out cocktails, Dominos for catering for our birthday party, the MANY pubs and clubs for the good times and dancefloors, not to mention all the little takeaway places who catered for our every need!!
  
• We made use of bike hire, jet ski tours, island ferries, and stand up paddle boarding!
  
• Sore muscles were eased by the local massage businesses,
  
• AND of course many of our female runners contributed significantly to the economy through some retail therapy!

Thank-you again Airlie Beach for being so welcoming, accommodating and such a fabulous place to holiday!!


We hope to see you all again very soon

Renae & Matt 

BRS 5th Birthday Party & BRS Break

BRS Turns 5!

Come and say happy birthday, catch up with old friends and maybe meet some new ones!

It is time to celebrate our 5^th birthday, a salute to our runners past and present for contributing to our squad.

It is also a time to celebrate the achievements of the past year and to hear all about the 2014 On Tour beach adventures!

Date: Saturday October 4, 2014 

Theme/Dress: Beachy cocktail!
Time: 5pm: Pre-dinner drinks & presentations @ the grassy knoll
6pm to late: A BBQ Feast dinner @ The Southbank Surfclub (our meeting point for Sat runs)
3pm-5pm: Beach & swim time for those keen @ Streets Beach

Cost: $30 per person (includes pre-dinner beach punch + BBQ Feast dinner) 

RSVP: By Sunday 28^th September to info@brisbanerunsquad.com.au

Friends, kids, and family always welcome!

Here is the map of the locations:

BRS On Tour this Saturday 20 - next Friday 21

This Saturday 20th September.....32 BRS Runners and supporters will leave Brisbane destined for great things in the Whitsundays!

On Sunday we participate in the Run the Great Whitsunday's 28km Trail Walk (usually walked in 3 days!), our runners have 6 hours to complete it!  It is mentioned as a 'demanding course' but if you have been attending our sessions and following our preparation program - with plenty of hills, distance, and trail experience, you will know that they are prepared and raring to go!

Here is the event website for those interested: http://www.whitsundayrun.com/ 

I will keep you updated during the week on the BRS On Tour run and festivities! 

Good luck to those completing in the Twilight Festival this weekend. 

Reminder: BRS break!

Due to all coaches being involved in BRS On Tour and our usual On Tour closure policy, there will be no BRS sessions from Saturday 20th September to Saturday 27th September (inclusive). Our first session back will be Monday 29th September.

For those wishing to undertake casual runs as a group - please note, these will not be conducted as BRS related sessions, please simply turn up to the Ship Inn on Monday and Wednesday nights from 6-7pm and go for a run together!

have a great week, happy running

Renae & Matt