aw basics

AW reader set for day out in Newcastle

JESSICA ANSTEE is the winner of the recent competition in Athletics Weekly to take part in the BUPA Great North Run as part of the Nike+ team.

Jessica joins Jason Henderson, the AW editor, in the Nike+ team for the race, which takes place on September 30, and the pair visited Nike Town in central London last Friday, shortly before the London Grand Prix, to pick up their Nike kit, which was part of the competition winners’ reward.

Jessica and Jason were given some gait analysis at Nike Town before being fitted up with appropriate shoes to get them through the training period, plus the 13.1 miles itself on race day.

The next couple of months will also see the duo join the many other Nike+ users entered for this year’s BUPA Great North Run in the unique online world of Nike+.

In short, Nike+ links your iPod Nano to a sensor in your running shoes and allows you to keep track of your time, distance, calories and speed during your run – all via audio feedback through your headphones.

So as part of the prize, Jessica also received an iPod Nano and on race weekend will be given free accommodation in Newcastle – all courtesy of Nike+.

Jessica, who works for sports industry news service website sportcal.com, is aiming for “around 100 minutes” in the race itself before then tackling a full marathon in October. Jason is aiming for roughly the same time too and is hoping for a better experience than his one and only BUPA Great North Run about seven years ago.

“I was trying to help my wife dip inside two hours but she got a huge stitch at 10 miles and we walked home in 2:20,” he says.

“Soon after we found our car had been pinched and the following day she was rushed to hospital to have her appendix out.

“So we found out what the stitch was, but never did catch the car thief.”

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