Noticeboard: Rae GB; Courses; Glasgow XC; Nimmo

Wednesday 10th February 2016

Scotland’s Derek Rae has another GB vest looming after being named alongside six-time Paralympic champion David Weir in the British Athletics team at the IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup held at the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday 24 April.

Derek, who is coached by Ron Morrison, was fifth at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships T46 marathon will be looking to replicate his personal best performance of 2:40.40 as he returns to the capital in April.

Weir, who returned to the track to bag silver over 1500m at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha last November, will take part in the race which has provided many special memories. After matching Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson’s record of six wins in 2012, Weir will be determined to go one better than his second place finish in 2015.

Two-time Virgin Money London Marathon winner Shelly Woods goes in the T54 women’s race alongside compatriot Jade Jones.

Paralympic Head Coach Paula Dunn said: ‘This will be great preparation for our athletes ahead of the IPC Athletics European Championships in June and the Paralympic Games in Rio just a few months later. 2016 is a huge year for the sport and we will be looking to get off to a strong start at the IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup in London.’

Full team is on the British Athletics website announcement

+++

Coaches: play a vital role and courses can help on the pathway

Perth. Glasgow. Aberdeen. Shetland. Fortrose. Livingston. Stornoway. Just some of the diverse locations for forthcoming Coach Education courses on offer from scottishathletics.

We believe it is fundamental to the growth of the sport in this country that more people either start out on their coaching journey or indeed progress with their qualifications.

Coaching Assistant courses are the first starting point for anyone interested in getting involved and we have a series of course for that lined up at some of the venues listed above (Perth, Aberdeen, Stornoway, Livingston, Kilmarnock). It is a two-day course which costs £150 and we’d love to see clubs supporting these courses.

There are also ‘jogscotland Jog Leader’ courses coming up (Glasgow, Fortrose, Tranent) and ‘Athletics Coach’ courses planned (Aberdeen, Shetland, Fortrose) over the next two or three months.

Why not see if there is something which works for you or your club’s coaches? Courses are easy to book online on this website and all the forthcoming dates and venues are listed.

*Aberdeen is the place to be for a Level 2 Athletics Coach qualification this spring.
This takes place over four dates in February (20/21), April (3) and June (24) at Aberdeen Sports Village. To book on that course follow the link on our site. There is also more information on that page about the course.

+++

The final Glasgow Athletics Association Endurance Session of the winter takes place on Saturday (February 13) at Tollcross Park in Glasgow.

This offers a great opportunity to work together for a final session ahead of the Scottish National XC coming up a fortnight later on Saturday 27 February in Falkirk.

The session is: up to 10 x 4min reps with 2 mins recovery at Tollcross Park (grass). Be warmed up and ready, meeting at the flagpole, at 10:30am. The organisers are hoping for a really big turnout for the final session of the winter season.

For further information contact: glasgowathleticsassociation@gmail.com

+++

Jade Nimmo broke one of Scotland’s longest-standing athletics records four years ago in the long jump.

But now she is aiming to compete at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in a completely different event. Nimmo gained recognition in 2012 after breaking Scotland’s 39-year-old long jump record, but is now training for the seven events of the heptathlon.

Jade, who is coached by Darren Ritchie, is also exploring the new challenges of a career as a retained firefighter. As she explained to BBC Scotland’s Rhona McLeod, it’s been a difficult journey since the highs of competing at Glasgow 2014.

Watch the BBC piece online

+++

Tags: Coaching Courses, Commonwealth Games 2018, Derek Rae, Glasgow XC Sessions, Jade Nimmo, London Marathon, Tollcross Park