Waterloo Road star gets ready for charity run

Waterloo Road star Jason Done and Humphrey the Bear joining forces for the Great Manchester Run.

The star of a Rochdale based drama is preparing for the Great Manchester Run.

Jason Done from Waterloo Road has teamed up with Humphrey, the mascot for Royal Manchester’s Children’s Hospital charity, for his training.

The duo are taking part in the Great Manchester Run in May in aid of the hospital’s charity and have been taking some training tips from Dr Michael Callaghan, a physiotherapist at Manchester Royal Infirmary, and who will also be a venue medical manager at the London 2012 Olympics.

Mr Done said: “I love running the 10k each year and the new year is a great time to start my fitness regime again so I can start preparing for the run in May. I hope many participants choose to run for the charity this year, it is a great Manchester cause.”

Dr Callaghan said: “Running is a great way to get fit and healthy and I hope my tips offer support and guidance, especially to first time runners who maybe taking up the challenge of completing the run in support of Royal Manchester children’s Hospital charity.”

Dr Callaghan’s Tips:

Advice on the correct way to warm up

The best piece of advice about warming up is: don’t rely just on stretching!
The better way to warm up for running is to do some fast walking or slow running. That way, the blood flow to the muscles and their temperature will increase, preparing them for the exercise ahead. Stretching alone will not do this, and will not prevent injury. On the day of the Great Manchester Run the slow running or fast walking warm up should be for several minutes and should take place quite close to the start. (within 5-10 minutes). Many elite, Olympic athletes do a very vigorous and intensive warm up getting out of breath and sweating. Obviously if you are very unfit or not used to exercise this might seem a little too much, but it is worthwhile getting into the routine now however small.

How much training should people do

A good guide often quoted is to run/train every other day to start with in order to give you some rest between runs. The initial few runs will probably be timed in minutes rather than hours and at a slow pace! The Great Manchester run is 6 miles not 26 miles so the runs you do will probably be more productive if you do shorter runs (3-4 miles) well, instead of plodding around doing 10 miles. Some people may like to do a 6 mile run once before the great day; others prefer to run 4-5 miles maximum and leave the full 6 miles to the day itself. Either will work Okay. If you can do 4-5 miles in one run prior to the day of the run, you will almost certainly be able to (literally) go the extra mile and finish the run.

When should people start training

A good way to plan is to write on your calendar “6 miles” on the 15th May and work your way back to today’s date. 3 – 4 runs a week with gradual increases in mileage (for example starting with a 1 mile slow run) will give you the type of slow increase you should aim for if you’re not used to running/training

When should people finish training?
There is no harm in not training or doing some VERY gentle stuff on the Thursday or Friday prior to the Great Manchester Run.

If you have a place in the Great Manchester run and would like to raise money for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital please visit www.rmchcharity.org.uk or call 0161 276 4522.