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2014

Jessica is the face of Olay Essentials

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INNER YOUI RUN IN THE DARK BY ROBYN WILDERIt’s 7.30am, the sun is below the horizon, and I’m on my second lap of the park. I’m wearing pink and a grim expression of zero tolerance. A dog-walker approaches. I nod at him and he visibly shrinks away from my INTENSE FOCUS. You see, I’m on a mission. Up ahead is a hill – it’s my nemesis. Today, I am going to crush this hill. I am going to make it wish it had never been born. Actually, I am going to rush at it, then stagger to a halt halfway, wheezing like a punctured balloon – just like I did on my previous lap.

I am a bad runner. This is why I run early in the mornings – to hide my shame.

Three months ago, I was at the end of a gruelling weight-loss plan. Bored of the strip-lit tyranny of the gym, I crammed myself into a pair of joggers, and hit the pavement. Just 100 yards in, I developed a stitch. Then my lungs seized up.

That’s when a better runner slipped past; and a man crossed the road to laugh at me. In hindsight, he may have been trying to be encouraging, but to me he was directing attention to my ineptitude, purple face and wobbly belly. I scowled at him and went home.

After that, I was too paranoid to run at lunch, and started heading out at 6am. At that hour nobody, save the occasional fox, was around to judge me, so I could

problems. A conundrum faced me: choose conversation over breathing and keel over into the canal, or off end my friend by just responding with pained gasps of ‘yer’. I feigned an ankle injury just to shut her up. And so I began an elaborate process of avoiding my friends. I’d sneak my kit into my bag and jog a safe distance from routes where I might bump into mates. But I didn’t want to be that girl. So I signed up to a running club, thinking strangers may prove less frustrating. No such luck. Running with 30 other people isn’t the best way to develop your pace at a comfortable rate.

I realised that an undersold benefi t of running is headspace. There’s nothing that clears the mind like a solitary jog. So I’ve made peace with the fact I’m a loner. Grimes and Regina Spektor are my running partners. They don’t expect me to chat.

NO PLAYLIST = NO RUN BY KERRY POTTERIt takes a LOT to stop me running, even when common sense dictates I should stay home. I’ve pulled on my trainers while horribly jet-lagged, while pregnant and exhausted, with tonsillitis, and even when there was a pervert in the park (I fi gured I’d move faster than him). But there is one deal-breaker for me: no iPod, no run. If my iPod dies, I immediately stomp home.

Listening to music is a constant in my life – I’ve always loved a playlist, since long before they were even called that. Hours as a child spent perusing Dad’s soul records, inventing my dream compilations. Tapes of songs I’d give boyfriends as a teenager. The DJ slots at friends’ club nights, for which I’d spend weeks planning my set. The fi ve years spent working on a music magazine, when life was one giant playlist.

I took up running a few years ago, after a decade of gym membership had somehow made me fatter. It worked – I lost that mythical fi nal half stone and I started to get better at it – 5ks, 10ks, a half marathon. Always, of course, with music

Running = putting one foot in front of the other, fast(ish). Right? Wrong. It’s so much more.

Here, Editor-in-Chief Lorraine Candy celebrates one year of the ELLE Running Club. Plus, three writers share their reasons for running

WHAT’S ON THE ELLE RUNNING

CHANNEL What to eat and when

Running in the dark

How to run a 10k, by the kilometre

How to build a running playlist

Running videos for beginners

 In February last year, Team ELLE started to run. Not far, you understand – we’re not exercise addicts. We set ourselves a goal of 5k. Whether it was fi tting in as the new girl at work, losing baby weight, gearing up for a new challenge, or an easy way to get healthier, each of us had a diff erent reason to put on our trainers. Our fi rst 5k was along the Thames, starting at Somerset House. We

had so much fun, we thought we’d do 10k and, in May, we joined with Nike to stage We Own The Night in London’s Victoria Park.

JANUARYWe launch the #ELLErunningclub with a 0-5k six-week challenge.

MARCHOur 5k Nike Flyknit Experience with Paula Radcliffe.

MAYWe Own The Night with Nike running 10k.

JULYTeam ELLE runs the (very hot) Hyde Park 10k Race for Life in support of Cancer Research UK.

SEPTEMBERRun! Features Assistant Georgia tackles the 13 miles of Nike’s Run to the Beat. Team ELLE also laces up for the ZSL London Stampede and Woman’s Trust, both great charities.

JULYCity of London Mile(cityoflondonmile.co.uk).

MAYELLE and Nike’s second We Own The Night 10k (nike.com/weownthenight) and the Copenhagen Marathon (copenhagenmarathon.dk), our very first! #milestone.

APRILTough Mudder(toughmudder.co.uk), 12 miles of army-inspired obstacles.

MARCHSemi-Marathon de Paris, (semideparis.com), smack in the middle of PFW. Oh.

FEBRUARYWe started training… slowly.

APRILELLE’s Amy starts her #runstreak challenge:1 mile every day for 1 year.

JUNEEditorial Business Manager Debbie signs up for the Royal Parks 50k Ultra in 2014!

AUGUSTTwitter tricks us into Tough Mudder 2014. Ouch.

OCTOBERArt Director Miette heads to Spain for the San Sebastián Clásica 15k.

NOVEMBERTeam ELLE braves the cold for the Grand Union Canal Half Marathon, while Workflow Director Christina opts for warmer weather, finishing the Athens Classic 10k.

DECEMBERTaking a well-earned rest/drink before lacing up for 2014.

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concentrate on my technique. I regulated my breathing, settled into a steady pace and – unexpectedly – enjoyed myself.

Running gives me mental breathing space I can rarely enjoy in daily life. I also started appreciating my body. I was getting stronger, and it was down to me moving a bit faster than I normally do. The more I ran, the less my conscious brain concentrated on running. I found myself confronting emotional truths and solving problems instead – all while jiggling ungracefully along at dawn.

I am still an awful runner but I’m chasing ‘the sweet spot’. That moment where running stops feeling painfully unnatural, and becomes a clear-headed experience of being a well-oiled machine skimming over the surface of the earth. I experience this for a nanosecond each time, but one day it will become a full second. And I only need one second of sweetness to start my day off right.

pulsing through my headphones, spurring me on. But as I found myself going further and faster, my playlists took on increasing importance, becoming as integral to my regime a decent sports bra. My choice of music – the beats, the tempo, the lyrics, the mood – aff ected my performance: for example, Dizzee Rascal’s rocket-propelled Bonkers, I realised, is a track for attacking hills (far too manic for light jogging).

‘Why do you care so much, when you’re the only one listening?’ asks my husband, who runs without an iPod (weirdo). But that’s precisely why I care: jogging playlists are something I do for me, like tidying my handbag or painting my toenails in winter. My runs provide a rare chance to escape; a meditative moment, albeit meditation with breathtaking lyrics and killer beats.

THE ANTISOCIAL RUNNER BY LOU STOPPARDSome things are known to kill friendships. Moving in together, boyfriend stealing, group holidays. But the death warrant for any of my happy relationships? The Joint Run.

I only started running a year ago, and it turned out moving one foot in front of the other isn’t the only trick with running. Breathing, pacing, stretching… endless challenges. Luckily, my runner friends took me under their wings. That was the problem. I’m a social girl, but chatting when your chest feels like it might explode is hard.

It came to a head when a friend off ered to take me on my fi rst long-distance jog. ‘We can catch up while training,’ she enthused before launching into her work

@ELLEUKRUNNING

JESSICA ENNIS-HILL’S TOP TRAINING TIPS

‘I always train with lots of thin, light layers – so I’m warm at the start of the session, then shed layers as I go.’

‘In winter, when training outdoors, head out once frost has melted – the ground will be softer under foot and easier on your body.’

‘Keep a training log – seeing an improvement will keep you motivated.’

We had even more fun, so we set up a running club. Today we have a blog, a host of personal bests to share and regular runs around London’s parks. Now we want even more of you to join us, so let’s pound the streets and countryside together. We’ll be tempting you with great perks (like free Adidas trainers!) along the way. Follow me for the Paris Half Marathon during Fashion Week, in March; and check out our timeline to see what the rest of @ELLEUKrunning are up to. 

We run because it’s the easiest exercise to fi t in. It’s not for everyone, but the spirit of camaraderie that it encourages is very ELLE, so even if you don’t run, you can take part by following us. Personally, I run to clear my mind, but it’s a very individual activity, as these three writers will testify…

I ENCOURAGED MY TEAM TO PULL ON THEIR TRAINERS BY LORRAINE CANDY

ELLEUK.COM/BEAUTY/RUNNING