Hamilton Marathon Clinic

Newsletter September 2022

It now feels like spring has arrived. Longer days and warmer weather. Still a lot of rain and
the river being high has seen some closures of the river paths. The days where it is not
raining has seen some magnificent coloured skies before the sun comes up. The photo below
is one I captured this morning on my walk. I thought using the photo could have some
meaning for the club as we enter a new phase with our shift and this is our new sunrise.

We would appreciate as many hands as possible to help with our shift on Saturday 3rd
September. We will be meeting at the Grantham St clubrooms at 10.00 am to pack and move.
We intend to then go to a cafe nearby the Ruakura Campus when we have completed the shift.

We will be open for business at Ruakura Campus Club at 8.00 am on Sunday 4th September.
Entry from Ruakura Road. It has been decided that we will not have any away Sundays this
month while we bed the club into its new clubrooms.

Coming events

3rd Sept Shift to RCC 10 till 2 and café for lunch

4th Sept Sunday Club Ruakura 8.00am
10th Sept Kinloch off road challenge Kinloch 5, 10, half, marathon
17th Sept Rotorua Marathon Rotorua 5.5, 10, half, marathon
18th Sept Tauranga Marathon Tauranga 5,10, ½, marathon,50km
24th Sept Blue Lake 24 hour Blue Lake
1st Oct Trek the forest Blue lake/Redwoods 5.5, 16km
2nd October Sunday club and new Ruakura 8.00am
members day
8th October Sun to Surf Ohope Beach 5,10, 1/2
8th October Great lake Relay Taupo
15th October Whitianga Marathon Whitianga Marathon, ½, Half trail,
10 and 5
16th October Cambridge Half Marathon Cambridge 5, 10, half
16th October Huntly Half Huntly 5, 10, half
22nd Oct Pirongia Trail run Pirongia
30th Oct Auckland Marathon Auckland
5th Nov Rotorua Walking festival Rotorua
5th Nov Tairua Trail and Tides Tairua
5th Nov Waitomo Trail run Waitomo
5th Nov City to Surf Tauranga
6th Nov Club 5km Ruakura 8.00am
12th Nov Taniwha Whakamaru
13th Nov Round the Bridges Hamilton
19th Nov Waitetuna Windfarm Raglan
11th Dec Club 10km & morning tea Ruakura
12th Feb Blueberry Run Ohaupo
18th Feb Club members - Blueberry Ohaupo

Feedback on what members have been up to in last month or doing this month has been a
bit sketchy so if missed out my apologies. Please let us know of your events.
There is a hard core of around six regularly doing the Parkruns.
Lex competed in the Craters half marathon.
Dennis is still chasing his 300 marathon target and is over the 270 mark. He has 5 marathons
over three weekends in September.
There are two or three members entered the Rotorua Marathon or one of the shorter
distances.
Running shoes
I find that my walking style has a lot of push off front of foot which puts a load on the soles
which wear out fairly quickly so I need at least four pairs of shoes each year. I was looking
on the internet quite recently in regards to shoes and looking in relation to the main name
brands that most of them are now produced in Asia. Most of the Brands use contracted
companies to make the shoes and Vietnam manufactures the most. It would appear that
most companies have pulled out of manufacturing in Bangladesh which has a bad record of
child workers, slavery, lack of health and safety and numerous deaths.
It is interesting to see that the average price to make a pair of shoes is around $40. When
you look there is probably not a lot of extra bits quantity wise between a top and mid-range
shoe. Much of the difference in cost is with the research and development of the shoes which
needs to be recouped so added on to the newer more dynamic models. Additional costs on
shoes includes freight, profit margins for manufacturer, shoe company, wholesaler, retailer,
and taxes and duties.
So is a $400 pair of shoes better. In all probability yes. Will they help you. Probably not. If
you are a sub 2.30 marathon runner footwear will assist along with numerous other things
such as coaching and training. For the average person the improvement would not likely be
noticeable but there could be a better comfort and cushioning effect felt.
There were also some interesting results in surveys taken. Obviously disregard the
“Sneaker” type shoes which can be bought from chain stores which are not designed in
many cases to use for running or bulk walking. The results found with name brand shoes
was that cost often was down the list of what people were looking at with it being more
important that the shoes were comfortable, did not overheat your feet or cause injuries such
as blistering, able to absorb the poundings, and gave proper support for the persons foot
type. Based on that it was found there were more shoes in the lower to mid-price range sold
and often people became loyal to a brand and model. I know, this is the case with me that
I have my personal preference as the suit me. One minor thing is they appear to come out
with upgraded models on a regular basis and the shoes I use are now up to version 12.
This did have an advantage for my latest pair as one of the running shoe shops were moving
the last of their version 11s on line and I was able to get a pair they had in my size for $130
instead of the $260 they had been selling for. Unfortunately, that was the only pair in my
size otherwise I would have bought another pair at the same time.