Last weekend was the Ken Trickey Open in Exeter. This is one of the earliest meetings in the area and a good opportunity for athletes to get some competition experience before county championships and BUCS outdoors.

Most of Exeter University athletes were out of town, so we only had one sprinter present. She ran well, winning the 100mH and came second in the 100m.

An athlete who I train privately, Sam, smashed his PBs with victory in the U15 boys 100m (PB by 0.6), and second place in the 200m (PB by 1.2). I was most impressed by his tidy form and starts. Athletes of his age shouldn’t be hammered with speed endurance work due to having a very undeveloped lactic system, so I’m not too concerned about his ability to fight through fatigue, and more his ability to maintain good form. Most important of all, he hasn’t got much experience competing at open meetings, and he really enjoyed himself!

Another lad won both the U17 100m and 200m. He is a recent addition to Exeter Speed who has sought my input has his talent has started to emerge. I look forward to working more with this athlete!

I also had a chance to run out over 100m, winning the master’s race. Both hamstrings felt the strain, as they have been doing over the last 4 weeks or so. The reasons for my hamstrings being unhappy is something I need to work through and understand. This is part of the reason I continue to compete as an athlete – I’m not particularly good, but I like to train and compete to experience my training methods and experiment on myself.

For everyone who raced, times were slow. For example, in my 100m race, I had a -4.5 wind. Luckily, all athletes were competing with a good attitude, and not getting too hung up on slow times. Perfect conditions are rare, and the only way to guarantee that you’ll get them during the seasons to compete often. Even in bad conditions, competing is the most specific form of training you can do and should be embraced not avoided.