I thought I’d offer you a glimpse into the competition experience of a Masters sprinter from Bromsgrove.
Yes that’s sprinting as in very fast running! I’m conscious that you often hear about the sport of running as if it can only mean training for marathons, or at least a 5k (like the new Cofton Park Parkrun).
I was one of those longer distance runners for many years. I mainly enjoyed pushing myself to beat my best times for local road runs around Barnt Green, or doing longer trail runs over the Lickey / Waseley / Clent Hills while enjoying an audiobook or podcast. Sometimes I would enter local races, and as a sub-18 minute 5k runner I placed in the top 5 at events including the Arrow Valley Parkrun and the Waseley Wobbler.
In my mid thirties I was looking for a new challenge, and decided to try sprinting! I had been quite fast at school, but never done any serious training. I was interested to know how fast I could now run 100m in particular. Also, I liked the idea of the technical challenges of sprinting, with the different phases of a race including block starts and acceleration.
Fast forward to now, in my mid-forties… I’ve been competing with Bromsgrove & Redditch Athletics Club for many years. Adult group sessions are with the legendary coach Bob H on Tuesdays and Thursdays (and have been for as long as anyone can remember!) The competition season is from April/May to early September, and there are leagues both for all ages (Senior) and for over 35s (Vets – including separate age categories for 40s, 50s etc). Our club is particularly strong in sprints, but we also have impressive athletes in longer distances as well as field events.
I achieved respectable times quite soon after I started, getting into the low 12s for 100m and the mid 24s for 200m. More often than not, this was enough to win my over-35 races in the South Midlands Vets league, and even to do OK in the Senior league. I hoped eventually to go sub 12 and sub 24, but never quite managed it… I still haven’t given up on those goals, especially after last year when I got my fastest times since 2019 and was one place off reaching the British Masters 100m Finals in the over 45 category.
The pictures below are from the first Vets League meet of the season, a few weeks back. The weather was cold and showery, and our warmups for both the 100m and the relay were interrupted by heavy downpours. Still, it was a great night for me, equalling my opening performance in the 100m from last season, and achieving my 3rd fastest ever 400m (though this is a distance I only do if I have to!) Also many of my team-mates had a great night too, especially in the sprints. As you can see, the relays can be a fun end to the night, and we were stoked to win while beating a club record that had stood for over 30 years.
*Update: I wrote the above post a few hours ago in the afternoon. Since then we’ve had the 2nd Vets League meet of the season at Stratford. I won the over 40s 100m in a season’s best time of 12.3 seconds. So I’m getting closer to the 12 second mark again….. Watch this space!
Also I’ve realised I should point out that I can still run decent times over longer distances e.g. sub 20 minutes for 5k, and I still enjoy training clients for “normal” running on roads and especially trails.
*Update #2, 27th June: I got 12.15s for the 100m in an open event at Milton Keynes. Close to my best ever form now!
(Note: the time is more precise because open events typically have fully automated timing, whereas races at league meets are hand-timed and rounded up to the nearest tenth.)
Chris Gibbs Fitness 
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