Team Accelerate runner Dot Kesterson has been busy racing and training throughout 2021. Keep reading to find out how she got on and plans to move forward and up her game for 2022.
| Date | Name | Distance | Time | Position | Comments |
| 23.06.21 | Rother Valley relays | 5K | 23.20mins | 1st F50 team | 93.86% AG |
| 26.06.21 | Round Sheffield Run | 23.6K | 01.48.11 | F50 | |
| 24.07.21 | BMAF North T&F | 1500m | 06.31.17mins | 12th of 12
1st F65 of 1 |
93.24%AG |
| 08.08.21 | NMAC Preston Road race | 5 miles | 38.06mins | 2nd F60 | 91.69%AG |
| 29.08.21 | Dig Deep Trail. | 12.12miles | 02hrs 17mins | 1st F60 | 600m elevation |
| 11.09.21 | EA Rep race, Kew Gardens | 10K | 47.34mins | 1st F65 of 25 | Gold medal
93.03%AG |
| 19.09.21 | Sheffield Way Relay | 15.2K | 1hr 35mins | Leg 1 | |
| 03.10.21 | Cusworth 10K | 10K | 47.20mins | 1st F65 | 93.49%AG |
| 10.10.21 | Ten10Ten | 10K | 50.32mins | 1st F60 | |
| 17.10.21 | SYCC league
Longley Park |
5.9K | 30.22mins | 1st F65 | |
| 24.10.21 | Abbey Dash
|
10K | 48.10mins | 1st F65 | England qualifier. 91.87%AG |
| 30.10.21 | BMAF CC relays, | 3x3K | 15.07mins | 1st F65 team | Long Eaton
Gold medallists |
| 31.10.21 | SYCC league, Penistone | 6.32K | 33.59mins | 1st F65 | |
| 14.11.21 | Derby road race | 10miles | 77.16mins | 1st F65 of 7 | 93.67%AG
3rd UK ranked. |
| 5.12.21 | Percy Pud | 10K | 46.16%AG | 1st F65 | 95.64%AG
4th UK ranked |
| 12.12.21 | SYCC league, and SYCC Champs, Graves Park | 6.43K | 32.23mins | 1st F65 | SYCC F65 Champion. |
Annual Review 2021.
This is my last year in the F65 age group. Coach John Rothwell and I agreed it could be a time to enjoy running for its own sake before beginning more focused work for the next age group in 2022.
The first half of the year followed the same pattern as much of 2020 with a solitary run program punctuated with virtual races of different distances and terrains from 1500m to half marathon. I used the time well to increase my long runs as planned. Speed and interval work suffered because of a lack of opportunity to run against others.
The first race with other competitors was the Steel City Striders inspired Rother Valley relays, 23rd June. Teams of 3 runners x 5K. After 15 months since any races with actual people, it was both exciting and daunting. As an F50 competitor with Kate Morris and Kate Scott, the pressure to perform well was as keen as any race. We each ran well to win the category, though it was clear my 5K time at 23:20mins was around a minute slower than before lockdown a year earlier.
Attending the England Athletics Representation 10K race in Kew Gardens gave me a chance to wear my England vest, last worn in Birmingham in May 2019. I had no expectation of winning the age group since I was six months from the end of it but trained and prepared according to my goals and was delighted to win the gold with a relatively slow 47:34mins, 93.03%AG, just four seconds ahead of my nearest rival. An autumn series of 10K races finished with Percy Pud in December. 10K times were regularly around 47-48 minutes so a time of 46:16mins, 95.64%AG was very pleasing.
The South Yorkshire Cross Country league resumed in October, a series of 4 club races in the county, finishing with the SYCC Championships at Graves Park in December. Despite being ill and unable to race at Campsall I won the age group and Championship for the second time, 2019 and 2020. The BMAF Cross Country relays at Long Eaton gave my team of Carol Beattie, Sheila Woodhead and myself victory over the two competing teams in the age group, our second BMAF Cross Country Gold medal.
With the resumption of Parkrun in 2021, I have used the opportunity to work on my 5K and 10K pacing.
Planning for 2022.
Goals:
My main goal for the year is to attend the World Masters Track and Field Championships in Tampere, Finland in July. The pandemic is still rife with the Omicron variant affecting fixtures but if the WMA fixture goes ahead, I will enter the 10K road race and Cross Country. I will be 70 in April and will compete against a new group of women at an international level. To achieve success at Tampere I will
Train well over the next six months
Prepare well for races
Race smart, pace judgment
Aim for 95%AG in all races.
Process:
Raise distance of weekly long run-up to 23K
Raise weekly mileage over the winter up to 50K
Focus on recovery including active recovery
Attend two-speed sessions per week except in recovery weeks.
Revisit Mental Prep modules for stimulus.
Races entered to date.
06th Feb 22: Alsager 5mile race.
07th May 22: Lakeland 10K trail race, Stavely.
There will be an England Home International race in Bristol, but no date had been confirmed yet.
WMA Tampere Website is not yet active.
I will enter other races as the opportunities arise, all as part of my build up to WMA 2022.
