News

LUCA team with parkrun to grow HiFi Junior event

January 14, 2017 James Findon

LUCA is calling on students of London to help at the Highbury Fields Junior parkrun. Parkrun is one of the biggest sporting success stories of the last decade. It has been credited in reversing the decline of running and rejuvenating a dying sport. Now parkrun is on a mission to engage more children in running. ‘Junior parkrun’ is everything we love about parkrun, but with a shorter route and aimed at youngsters. Former University of London Athletics President and Barts Student, Robert Walker founded the Highbury Fields Junior parkrun. The […]

News

Racing in Hyde Park – join in the 69th annual Hyde Park Relays

January 13, 2017 Emma Butcher

Written by the Hyde Park Relay organisers 2pm on Saturday 11th February 2017 will see the running of the 69th annual Hyde Park Relay race – the UK’s largest student relay race – organised by Imperial College London’s Cross Country and Athletics Club. What are the Hyde Park Relays? The relays involve racing on the paths of the famous Hyde Park. The race will consist of 6x5km chip-timed legs for men’s/mixed teams, with women’s teams running 4x5km laps. Who can compete? A wide range of abilities are welcome to race, with […]

2016 – What a year.

January 9, 2017 Seth Kennard

Another year done and thus marks the passage of time. Right now the afternoons are dark and damp, the trainers lie forgotten and muddy in the corner. Trainers ruefully awaiting the spring and beyond the spring, the warm summer filled with daylight, perfect running conditions and plenty of races. It’s time to start training hard again and if you’re thinking of starting a gym membership you’re not alone. Google searches for ‘gym membership’ are doubled in January compared to any other time of the year – partly thanks to people trying […]

Use this year to do good: one-off sports volunteering

January 5, 2017 Emma Butcher

With Trump soon to come to power and Brexit on it’s way, we’re all looking for ways to feel a bit happier about 2017. Luckily, we’ve got the perfect opportunity for you. Run! London are looking for volunteers to help out at the Westminster Sports Hall Athletics Competition this month. Dates are as follows and volunteers can sign up for as many/as few days as they are able to: 17th January – 9am – 2pm 18th January – 9am – 2pm 19th January – 9am – 2pm 24th January – 9am […]

6 events in early 2017 to look forward to

December 31, 2016 James Findon

If you thought semester one was a busy three months of athletics, have you even looked at the schedule for early 2017? Here’s a handy guide to some of the returning and new events in early 2017. 1. New Cross-Country trophy To commemorate the late Mike Baggs (the longest serving secretary of the league) a new trophy will be named after him. The trophy will go to the highest performing university (by combining points from the men’s and women’s first teams) and presented at the final race. Races 4/5 and […]

BUCS Cross Country 2017: What you need to know

December 29, 2016 James Findon

BUCS Cross Country Championships 2017 will be hosted by the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University. Last year saw record numbers with a record turnout by the LUCA clubs. BUCS XC is the largest student cross country event in the country. Universities from all over the UK send athletes to compete. The standard is mixed. The winners tend to be competitive international athletes, but this makes up a small percentage of the total number of competitors. Most of the runners are around the same standard as you see at the LUCA LCL […]

Try something new for 2017

December 27, 2016 Emma Butcher

Fancy trying something new for 2017? We’re looking for new additions to the LUCA media team, so this could be your time to shine! For a minimum of 2 articles per term, you can have the grand pleasure of adding some media experience to your CV and imparting your knowledge on running-related topics to the masses. Articles can be on any topic (running-related!) and you’re free to come up with your own titles or be guided by team suggestions. We can also provide training in using wordpress and you’ll […]

My 2016 Kilimanjaro Climb: what’s your goal for 2017?

December 21, 2016 Lucy Patchett

This year has been full of first times for me: first time visiting Africa, first time climbing the world’s tallest freestanding mountain, and hopefully the first and last time I’ll experience altitude sickness! I decided that I wanted to do something worthwhile in my summer of 2016, so when I saw posters around University offering the ‘Climb Kilimanjaro Challenge’, I thought it was the perfect opportunity for an adventure. It was organised through the Anza charity, based in Moshi, who I volunteered for in the week after the climb. Getting […]

Nina Anderson; athlete, coach and all-round runner extraordinaire

December 17, 2016 Emma Butcher

Ever wanted to know what it’s like to run at a global level? Check out the below interview with Nina Anderson, a talented runner and coach who has had success at European and World competitions. What first drew you to running and can you tell us more about your story of getting into running? I started running at the age of 25 to lose weight and began with a few weekly jogs which before too long led to me running marathons. After a few years I stepped on to the track […]

How to train for a half marathon

December 11, 2016 Rahil Sachak-Patwa

Whether you’re an experienced runner or just just starting out, the half marathon is a distance which requires some specific training. A race of 13.1 miles is a long way and your preparation in the weeks and months beforehand should reflect this. The physical toll that running a half marathon has on your body should not be underestimated. The last few miles can be gruelling and the race is often just a case of desperately trying to maintain your pace until the end after an optimistically quick start. When training […]