Jak Wright
Name: Jak Wright
Born: 04/09/02
Date Joined: I started training in July 2017 and joined officially in mid-September 2017
Personal Bests:
Track:
400 – 56.9
800 – 2:05
1500 – 4: 11.81
3000 – 9: 08.26
Road:
Mile – 4:39 ( virtual time trial!)
2 mile – 10:20
3 mile – 16:41
5k – 16:55 (virtual time trial!)
First Club Race: u15 Essex XC relays. I was 2nd leg with Farris Patel and Aaron Samuel and we came 2nd for the silver medal.
Favourite Race: Mini marathon, the last 3 miles of the London marathon course on the morning of the actual race. Doubles up as the London borough championships and the British 3 mile championships, with 6 runners chosen from each region. Fast course and very competitive with a great crowd. I also love a championship 1500.
Notable Performances: Essex 3000m champion (3rd in the 1500m the day before), 3rd in the Essex XC champs, Essex League win at writtle college, 33rd at Southern intercounties.
Biggest Disappointment: Either 276th at my first English schools XC in Leeds, or 173rd at my first UK intercounties in Loughborough (lost my shoe twice). I can’t seem to do well in the big XC races.
Typical Weeks Training: generally something like this
Summer:
Mon – Rest day/easy run, core/strength workout
Tue – Track session (short reps, long rec)
Wed – Steady run between 4-7 miles, core/strength workout
Thu – Track Session (short reps, long rec)
Fri – Steady run between 4-7 miles
Sat – Track session (usually specialised to each discipline, 3×1k was a staple for me)
Sun – Long run (10+ miles)
Weekly mileage : 35-40
Typical track sessions consist of 6×500, 8×400, 12×200, 3×700, etc with recovery ranging from 3-5 min
Winter:
Mon – 5 mile easy with core and strength workout
Tue – Track session (high volume, short recovery)
Wed – 5 to 7 mile steady / 3 to 5 mile tempo
Thu – Track session (high vol, short rec)
Friday – 5-7 mile steady
Saturday – Hainault hill session (consists of 12 hill reps of varying lengths with some being all out sprints, jogging between hills and a mile warm up and warm down, 6+ miles in total)
Sunday – Long run (10+ miles)
Weekly mileage: 45-50
Typical track sessions consist of 5×8, 10×500, 14×400, 20×200 with 1-3 min recovery.
Favourite Sessions: 8× 400 3mins rec in the summer and the 4, 6, 8, 1k, 8, 6, 4 pyramid with 2 mins in the winter.
Who is the most Famous Athlete you Trained with or would like to train with:
I haven’t ran with many, but I’ve met and spoke to Jake Wightman which was great.
My dad holds the British v40 indoor mile all-time record and is ranked number 1 in the world for v 40 800, and Aaron Samuels has ran for England winning the SIAB steeplechase, so do they count?
Wouldn’t anyone like to train with any famous athlete? I can’t choose.
How would you improve the sport: Bring athletics and cross country to the forefront of PE in schools. Glamourising, or focussing media attention/television coverage on to, the sport will encourage more young people to pursue it. I’ve seen it firsthand, no one wants to do the 1500 on sports day (on my sportsday the longest was 200m), the cross country trials are empty as no one shows up, the bleep test has been removed from the school curriculum. No one wants to run anymore.
Favourite Athlete or Sportsman: Eliud Kipchoges mental strength and dominance over the marathon will never cease to amaze me, but one of my favourite athletes of all time is Hichem El Guerrouj. Definitely the greatest middle distance runner to ever live.
What other sports do you follow: None, but I have been interested in football and swimming in the past
Best Country Visited: Going to Ghana was definitely a life-changing experience.
Favourite Food & Drink: Porridge and Coffee
Favourite TV Shows: Rarely watch TV
Last Film Seen: Thor Ragnarok, I enjoy marvel movies and this one was especially funny.
Last Book Read: The picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Finished it in a day and couldn’t put it down.
Favourite Band Singer: Alex Turner from the Arctic Monkeys
Last Album Bought or Downloaded: Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino by Arctic Monkeys (on vinyl!)
Last Concert Attended: Ed Sheerans Divide concert at Wembley
Any Pets: I have one of the slowest and one of the fastest animals in the world; a tortoise called Oscar and a Greyhound called Luna
What are your aims for next season: Hopefully I get to race this track season… I’d like to break 3 barriers: 2mins 800, 4mins 1500, 9mins 3000. In XC I’d like to settle into the longer distances and perform well in my last English Schools. I’d also like to race indoors next year for the first time.
Tell us a Joke: Only athletes will understand this one. It’s a running joke.
What made you start running?
Since I was young I have always run with my dad. I would train maybe two or three times a week in preparation for some of the annual raises I did such as the mini marathon, the Westminster mile, the London city mile, and any races with my school such as districts on the track, cross-country districts, and London Youth Games. in the summer of 2017 I run for Havering schools in the Essex county schools 1500m championship. Aaron Samuels was in the race and Gary Floate was in the audience, I ran a decent time for the amount of training I was doing (4:41) and Gary asked my Mum if I would like to come and train with Ilford. I did and the rest is history
Why did you join Ilford AC and what did you know about the club before joining?
As I explained previously Gary float recruited me. I knew a little bit about Ilford since my dad had done some training sessions in the past. Funnily enough I had met Aaron way before he even started running, we attended the same theatre school for about 7 years (I didn’t believe him when he told me he was good at cross-country). I knew three other boys from the club (Bradley, Euan and Arun) who I had run with in the Mini marathon. Euan had already quit before I joined, and Arun now runs for Ealing. I’m still thankful to Brad for showing me the ropes on my first day.
What is your Ultimate Running Ambition?
Becoming a professional runner. I know I’m a long way from it but I don’t believe it’s impossible and if given the opportunity I would definitely take it.
How did you get into Vinyl Records?
I received a record player this Christmas. Vinyl records really do fascinate me because it’s how we turn music into something physical; you can hold it in you hand and say “this is a physical arrangement of sounds that I like”, which is not true for digital music. My grandad sent me about 15 of his records from the 50s and 60s, all American rock, lots of Elvis, and very interesting.
Favourite and Worst Cross-Country Courses you have run?
I’m not the biggest fan of parliament hill. I would describe it as “proper cross country”, but I can never perform well over the sloppy mud and relentless hills. My favourite so far is Writtle college – flat as a pancake and some good memories attached to it including a team bronze at the champs, a team gold at the relays, an individual win at the Essex League, a qualification for English schools and 23rd in the south east intercountys
Is Your Dad (Paul) your coach?
Yes. Whilst my track sessions are made by Gary, Dad oversees my other running and what races I’m doing. I have a lot of autonomy over my training since I know my body, but Dad keeps a watchful eye over my mileage and intensity to ensure I don’t get injured or over train.
Furthest Distance raced?
The Ilford 10 mile, what a mudfest. I just missed out on a medal coming fourth, but was pleased with my run as I didn’t expect to be able to run that pace (6:27/mile) over that terrain.
What is your opinion of Park Run and have you done any? Best performance?
I think Parkruns can be good for training every now and again. For me, they’re not something I’m invested in, as I see the culture as more of a social, weekly get-together rather than an attempt to run fast which is my primary concern. Regardless, I ran 17:04 at Barking last summer. Before I joined Ilford, I did do frequent Parkruns – however I did not train regularly so recovery was not an issue and I did not have more important races to focus on. Parkrun becomes a problem when athletes would rather attend that than their clubs primary leagues (in our case the Southern athletics league and the Essex XC league).
How much pre and post training/racing stretching do you do? Do you use a foam roller?
I do a small stretching routine when I wake up, but this is mainly to get me ready for the day ahead and maintain some level of flexibility. I do active stretches before track sessions, and static ones after – same with races. I rarely use a foam roller, unless experiencing some particular tightness which is causing some worry.
What did you do in Ghana?
Well I could go on forever… The aim of the trip was to volunteer in a rural school in the Volta region of the country. I spent most of my time making bricks, and eventually a wall, to separate the school from an adjacent cemetery. I also spent a day teaching maths and English to students aged 8-12. I travelled with my school; 10 other students and one teacher. On the weekend we travelled north to a waterfall and the rainforest – truly breathtaking sights. It was a life-changing experience, which I hope to never forget.
How does you feel about the amazing success the Club has enjoyed this season and in particular the effect that you and your family has had on that success, do you feel extra pressure due to their achievements for the club in their respective age groups. Do you feel that they get full support from the Club and if not , what improvements would he like to see in the future?
It is true that the club has experienced great successes this season; the senior men have rivalled Havering all season, even beating them in an Essex League and narrowly coming second in the relays. This is definitely a sign of improvement and the next step for us as a club is to establish depth in all age groups. My family covers three, and whilst it’s true that we have contributed to many successful outings, I personally do not feel any extra pressure. In my age group, we have a full team and some top-class athletes. In fact, last year they won the Essex champs without me. My younger brother Joseph, however, will rarely find himself in a scoring team and so he might feel more pressure to perform (I believe recruiting young athletes is paramount to continuing the success of our club). My Dad, Paul, has quickly become a vital asset of the senior men’s team, and whilst they have had their fair share of success this season, I am not inclined to think that this success would’ve be transferred onto the track in the southern league. I believe I am well supported in terms of the opportunities I am presented, but Joseph’s age group does not have an athletics league to participate in and must rely on open meets, Dad and myself compete in a league where the club struggles to fill events and despite being able to win races we don’t come close to promotion. In order to support our family (as well as the hardworking coaches, team managers and athletes) we must continue to support the clubs primary focus: athletics.