7 posts tagged “richard jones”
This the Quick Tips for Running the CariFin Internet Radio Show
Here Richard Jones a top local runner gives you valuable tips to improve your running.
Today he talks about running hills.
In particular the Chancellor Hill where we are having our 3rd leg of the CariFin Urban Challenge.
This take place on Wednesday April 06, 2009
Hi everyone this is the Quick Tips session…. We start off with Richard Jones one of Trinidad premiere runners over the last 5 to 6 years. He is very knowledgeable and quite experience. We hope to have him on a bit to establish certain knowledge base as to how to move from the basics to a more committed, skill type runner.
To know more about Richard or to get a back ground into who
he is… please click the links Richard Jones Review or Richard Jones blast CLICO 5 K
Richard Jones report from 2nd IAAF World Road Running Championships.
I must say we the people who are part of CariFin – “Fun Fitness & Friendship” blog are very fortunate to have a person like Richard Jones who remembers where he came from and continues to make a vital contribution to the running community in Trinidad and Tobago.
Just back from Udine, Italy where a team of three men and two women represented us at 2nd IAAF World Road Running Championships, which took place on Sunday 14 October 2007.
Below is an account of his and by extension the team’s participation in the event.
Part 1
How should I start this blog...??? Well I’ll try and give as much details as
I can and try not to step on anyone toes. We left Trinidad on the 9th of Oct
and our flight plans were to take us to Curacao, Amsterdam, Venice and a 2hr
Bus ride to Udine {the City where the race took place}. Be sure to drop in a
Day and a half in between those cities mentioned so that will bring us
arriving at 1am in the Hotel in Udine.
Need I say how tired all of us were from all the travel, I know that I was
for a fact and even though I thought that this flight plan was ok I was
totally wrong. I must say that even though the NAAA tried their best to have
the best flight for us it may not have worked out the way most of us wanted
it to. well with that said it was time to start focusing on the task at hand
which was racing at the World Road Running Championships, where some of the
best road racers in the world had lined up to take part.
We woke up Saturday morning to be greeted with chills outside, temp was
around 15 degrees. After a quick jog I soon realized and remembered how it
was to be running in the cold. Lips and throat were very dry, nose kept
burning constantly with every breathe but running in the cool temp felt ok
because when the body had warmed up it felt pretty well. I also came out the
Saturday evening for a light Jog because there was nothing else to do in the
Hotel except if you were a Rugby fan and you wanted to watch the Rugby World
Cup that was on, everything else on the TV was either in Dutch or Italian
and the TV had about 11 channels {yes there was no Cable as we know it, no
HBO no Starz etc} so I had tons of time to prepare for the biggest race of
my life.
After dinner on Saturday me and my roommate who I must say {how can I
forget} was the one and only Jules La Rode {what a character...no pun
intended} just relaxed and tried to decipher what was on TV in fact the only
thing that we recognized on TV was the SEX ads that was on late in the night
{you should see your boy Jules at this time} I Think that Sex is a big thing
in Europe because 8 of the 11 channels had Sex programs going on, even all
the paper view channels were "Porn" related.
Well i eventually fell asleep around 3am Italian time {9 pm TT time, 6 hour
time diff} and had to be up by 630 am, so yes I didn't get a good rest not
my fault my body just didn't adapt to the time change. I was very tired in
the morning of the race but i tried my best to stay focus on the Task at
hand. We left the hotel around 745 am to catch the first bus to the start.
and let me say it was 7 degrees outside, yes "freaking Cold". a 400m walk to
the bus didn't help either but when we got their all we wanted to do was get
warm and the only thing we didn't do was bundled together in one big Trini
ball. When we got to the start line was another story this is where I
thought the Organizers messed up {the only time} they had the huge tents
for us to stay in, each country had a Table with some chairs. The problem
was though that they had the tents open so it was just like standing out in
the COLD. I mean it was worst inside the tents because outside had a little
sunshine. Eventually they realized the problem and started handing out
blankets and serving Tea & Coffee I wanted to pour the cup of tea all over
my body because I was shivering so much.
I think the ladies had it worst because their race was at 12pm and ours was
at 10.30am so they had to bear the cold a bit longer. I started warming up a
bit early, they had this very nice gravel path for us to jog and do our
warm-ups. I took time to really enjoy it, meaning all the top guys were
there eyeballing each other. All the Kenyans in a group, all the Ethiopians,
the Eritrean, the guys from Qatar stayed together Japan was there, Brazil,
Spain, France all just doing their thing to get ready for the race.
About 30 min before the race we were called to the call room where we had
our numbers and chip given to us with some final instructions. At this time
you can notice the adrenaline in some of the guys. Some of the guys were
acting excited and pumped while most just stayed relaxed and focused. I
myself was very relaxed I had nothing to worry about. I said hi to some of
the guys and got myself ready. With about 15 minutes to go I went outside to
the warm-up area {another area behind the starting line} to do some final
strides and jogging. It was like a freeway. You had to be alert back there
because those guys were serious and would run you over if you weren’t paying
attention. Around this time I lost the guys, Cox and Jules they were still
in the changing room moving at their own pace.
Cox was not feeling very good he said his Tendons were tight and Jules was
just trying to keep up with us literally. I tried my best to talk to him
about what to expect and he did come through ok. I think that his nerves and
the cold got the best of him. With about 5min to go before the start there
were plenty activities taking part at the finish line which was not to far
off. I looked up and say Parachuters jumping from planes and landing around
the finish line with the country flags, it was very amazing to witness that.
The crowd was very large and tremendous uproars where heard all over and
really pumped up all the guys in the race. The view from the finish line was
one that I will always remember. You can see straight to the finish line and
all the crowds along the way. The first mile was lined with spectators who
cheered you on as you passed.
Well it was race time....
Richard Jones Blast 4.26 in NAAA Marabella Road Mile
Hey blogging couldn’t get any better, could you believe that the man himself, the number one runner in Trinidad and Tobago, just submitted a report on his most recent victories at racing. I am talking about Richard Jones. Here you will have the distinct pleasure and opportunity to get an instant by instant view of the final stages of what took place at NAAA Marabella Mile Race.
Like I say keep reading this blog for the latest in running news in Trinidad and Tobago and as the year is counting down there are some great races to look forward too.
IAAF World Road Running Championships, Udine, Italy, 14 October 2007 is fast approaching and I have some great info about Trinidad and Tobago selection and preparation for the race.
So without any further ado… Let hear what our top man in the running business has to say on Lat Saturday race.
Sit back and relax and take in a scintillating report!
Last Sunday there was the NAAA's Marabella Mile. It started at TECU Credit Union and ran towards the roundabout and headed back towards the credit union. There were many age groups. Under 15, under 17, under 20, open & masters, both male and female.
Again, even though I had a twenty mile workout the previous day I was excited to see how things would turn out in a flat basically all out mile {1600 m}. there were some stiff challengers which included track men Jules La Rode (who has been showing some decent road form} Nigel Phillip, and the usual suspects- Errol “Ballhead” Williams, Turner, Maynard , Curtis Cox etc.
At the start of the race the pace was very fast!!!
Turner {Tobago} and La Rode took it out. Baldhead, Maynard and I tried in vain to keep up with the leaders. As we approached the round about I decided to make a move to close the gap but at that point my body was telling me that I had already used up all my remaining gears and all I can rely on now is "Guts" {Ha!}
So as we came off the roundabout, La Rode had pulled ahead by about twenty meters from Turner with me another ten meters behind. I caught Turner with about 700 m to go and focused my mind on catching la Rode. La Rode by the way had no intention on letting me catching him as was evident by his long loping strides and brisk arm actions. I was somehow able to dig really deep and close the gap and with 250 meters remaining I made one last shift and that managed to break the front running La Rode. I got passed the line in 4:26 with La Rode close behind in 4:28 and Turner 3rd in 4:42, Nigel Phillip 4:45.
In the end when I had to make my usual go around and congratulate all the runners I said to La Rode, "Great race that's what it's all about."
My body hasn't been in so much pain in a long while and my heart rate didn't drop back till 45 min or so after the race. I am happy to have won but even happier to have found something inside when I was really pushed and asked to rise up to the challenge.
Take care
rj
Richard Jones adds the venture 5K to his growing list of victories
Richard Jones did a rather comfortable 15.02 to win Venture Credit Union 5K on Sunday September 16, 2007. He won from a field of 200 runners who never challenged him at any time during the race. His 15.02 time for this year was one minute slower than his 2006 time of 15.01.
If the other runners had a chance to beat Jones it was at this race, Jones came off a hard 15 mile run the day before and this was a good chance as any for any worth while challengers among the rank to finish ahead of Jones. This shows his obvious quality against the present crop of runners who no doubt will have to show more ability to take on the likes of Jones.
The 15 mile run was part of schedule training for the upcoming UWI half Marathon in November, which he seems on course to improve his 2006 of 1:09:43.3 in fourth place. For more on UWI half marathon check website
Richards Jones wins Granny Lucess 15K in a new time of 49.15
On Sunday September 02, 2007 Richard Jones posted a new time of 49.15 in the Granny Lucess 15K which eclipse his 2006 time of 52.50 by a 3.35 minutes margin
The race started at a new time of 6.00 am from The Arima Municipal Stadium, along the Eastern Main Road to Eastern Credit Union La Joya Complex.
The fact to note here is the margin of improvement from one year to the next, a huge improvement of 3.35 minutes.
Richard Jones has this fluid, smooth, effortless style of running that make observers feel that he is not trying hard enough and could do a lot better, or run much faster, if he would work harder. It’s to the annoyance of some onlookers who think he has a “Lazy Style” of running. But the fact remains that Jones is the fastest runner in Trinidad and Tobago right now and he has improved from year to year. Jones has a high cadence or leg turn overs, very little arm movement, run upright and little observable up and down movement. To the uninitiated he may appear to be moving slow, but it all because of his fast turnover or cadence and therefore that makes him a more efficient runner and the best male runner we have in Trinidad at present.
(I think an analysis of Jones performance in terms of his year to year improvement has to be done, because a number of observers think that Jones times have not improved over the years)
The much anticipated match-up between Jones and Pamenos Ballentyne, the number one Caribbean runner from St. Vincent didn’t materialize as Ballentyne crashed to fourth place in a rather slow time of 50:44.
In second place was Curtis Cox a former four time winner of CariFin who finished in 49.33 and Jules La Road in third in 50.40.
I asked Jones how he felt winning this race and his response was, “It feels good coming out and repeating again.”
