A&D RRC are excited to be entering the 7th week of their Lockdown League challenge. The Lockdown League is a friendly, virtual running competition which is open to members and non members alike. We’ve had results submitted from local runners in Ashford Athletic Club, Ashford Striders and Beginners2Runners, as well as strong representation from further afield in South Kent Harriers, Sittingbourne Striders, Dover Road Runners AC, Medway and Maidstone AC, Maidstone Harriers, Folkestone Running Club, Deal Tri Club and Isle of Wight Road Runners, not to mention lots of unaffiliated runners.
Each week a running distance is posted by A&D member and Lockdown League creator, Ricky Hickman. Entrants then have from 00:01 Monday to 18:00 Sunday to submit a time for their run over the specified distance for that week. Runs can be any route but must start and finish in roughly the same place. At the end of each week, Ricky then produces detailed results from all the submissions received. These results are age graded and broken down into gender, age, and team categories to show the current week’s points, as well as a total overview of the competition standings as a whole.
The Lockdown League has proved extremely popular since it started, and has attracted runners from 26 different clubs as well as some unattached individuals. On average there havebeen 196 competitors taking part each week, including an entrant from Torbay and regular submissions from the Isle of Wight. Collectively over 3500 miles have been logged by those taking part.
The order of distances covered so far are: 5 miles, 3 miles, 6 miles and 4 miles. This week there is a bit of a shake up with competitors being asked to see how far they can run in 1 hour.
At a time when social distancing has become a necessity, this virtual, interactive event has proved extremely popular. It provides friendly competitiveness between the participants and gives a much needed focus and motivation to exercise routines. Running regulars are keen to post new PB’s and those new to running are able to show impressive progress in their running regimes. Runs can be saved to Strava and results are posted on the Facebook Lockdown League page. Both platforms allow interaction between the individuals with many comments of motivation and support being posted. In addition, floods of gratitude come in each week for Ricky, who set up this Lockdown Challenge and spends valuable time each week to produce the eagerly anticipated weeklyresults.
Full details of the Lockdown League are available on Facebook along with the comprehensive list of current results. Remember, it is never too late to get involved and become part of this ever growing running community.
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