(Note: please visit the training page for details of all training sessions & when/where they are held)

Grass sessions take place on a Tuesday on the playing fields at Bodington Hall.  The first few weeks are generally spent doing paarlaufs (”paired runs’ within a relay set up)  and informal sessions. This is done so that everyone has a gradual introduction to training. We run for around 30mins with some faster bits and some slower bits. We progress from this to sessions which are more controlled as result of setting the time of effort and time of recovery.  There is a circuit cut out of the grass at the bottom of the playing fields which is perfect for this.

(Actually a photo taken at Weetwood but it’s close to Bod so it’ll do!)

The warm-up generally involves doing strides, drills and plyometric exercises to improve mobility,  muscle elastic strength and explosiveness. Gradually we  increase the total time of efforts and reduce the proportion of recovery to make the sessions more intense. Hills can sometimes be incorporated into grass sessions and from time to time our coach, Greg Hull, will specifiy that we meet at a particularly steep North Leeds road for what will be a hill session (when this is the case it will be highlighted through the mailing list). Before Christmas (& Easter) we usually have a fun session involving paarlaufs which, ironically, often turns out to be harder and more competitive than normal sessions (but in return you get chocolate!). The grass sessions like all the training will be geared to producing good results at the Leeds Relays and at BUCS but, even if you are not competing in these events, sessions will be tailored to your level in terms of how many repetitions you do – it is a very friendly atmosphere and everybody is welcome!