A MOMENT WITH...

JOHN BREWER

Running fitness columnist John Brewers running exploits are not nearly as well known as those in sports science. Were hoping to change all that: this month John considers whether our beloved sport of running is capable of coping with the undoubted upsurge in interest that the London 2012 Olympics will engender and hopes clubs and race organisers are up to the challenge!

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John is professor of sport at the University of Bedfordshire. He was previously director of communications for Lucozade Sport and before that director of the Lilleshall Sports Injury and Human Performance Centre

JOHN BREWER

he biggest sporting party in the world is about to hit Great Britain when the Olympic Games arrive in July. No British sporting event has ever had as much written about it, spent on it, or built because of it, as the London 2012 Olympics. Now seven years after the historic announcement by the International Olympic Committee that London will play host to the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, and they will soon be herethen gone. No more will we be able to speculate on the success, or otherwise of the Games. No more guessing where Team GB will finish in the medals table, who will win gold, who will fail to deliver, whether the sun will shine, or if Londons creaking transport system will be able to cope with the influx of spectators, officials and media. We will soon know all the answers, and the London 2012 Olympic Games will just be an event that we can reflect upon, not speculate about. The day that the Olympic franchise departs these shores has the potential to generate the biggest sporting hangover of all time. All of us with a love of, and involvement in, sport need to be ready for the day when we are no longer the host nation for the Olympic Games, and prepare for life after London. There are, of course, some pain killers on the horizon the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the 2015 Rugby World Cup, and the 2017 World Athletics Championships are among the most prominent events on the sporting calendar, and hopefully the success of the Olympics will bring even more major events to the UK in the not too distant future. To help cure the post Olympic blues, we also need to ensure that every sport is ready to capitalise on the upsurge in interest that the Olympic Games will create. Watching athletes from around the world compete in the stunning Olympic Stadium will certainly inspire many people to take up running for the first time, and possibly look to join a club, or even enter their first race. So is running ready for this upsurge in interest; is it capable of ensuring that it lasts,

and that it isnt just a short-term spike? Are clubs that normally cater for seasoned runners ready to cope with interest from large numbers of novices, and able to provide them with the environment and support that they will need if their running is to be sustained? Are the organisers of races prepared for an increase in entries from first timers, whose priority will be to complete, and not compete, when entering what may be their first ever race? There is no doubt that you only get one chance to make a first impression, and if the first impression of running isnt good, then it is unlikely that anyone trying the sport will want to continue for long. Sport isnt just competitive on the field of play it is also competitive off it, with many sports offering a range of new and innovative options for competition and training in an attempt to attract new participants. No sport can afford to be complacent if it is going to maximise the opportunity that the Olympic Games will provide, so I hope that every club and race organiser across the country has given some thought on how to deal with the post-Olympic interest in running that the Olympic Games will generate, and ensure that membership numbers and race entries increase long after the medal winners refocus their sights on Rio 2016.

112 RUNNING FITNESS | APRIL 2012