30 March 2006

Training is well underway for former England internationals Jon Callard and Nigel Redman and their RFU colleagues who are hoping to raise funds for all critically injured rugby players from the professional sector to the community game. Motivated by talented England U21 prop Matt Hampson’s serious neck injury, suffered in training almost exactly a year ago, the teams will tackle over 700 miles of gruelling terrain and north atlantic swell in the Hebridean Challenge in July.

Three of the 10 strong contingent, Jon Callard, Will Beeley and Nathan Martin, cheered on by Nigel Redman, completed the Bath half marathon last month and all proved that their preparations are well on track by recording impressive times around the 1hr 40min mark. 

Said seasoned marathon runner Will Beeley, “Living in West Yorkshire most of my training has been in and around the hills which is a nice chang. By June I’ll have done five half marathons starting with the Bath half last month which a few of us are doing.”

Callard on the other hand is a relative novice, “This challenge training is all new to me, my only running experience is the Bath half marathon, which I’ve done several times now, and the London marathon which I did in 2002.  Mentally and physically that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, I hit the wall after 19miles.  It’s very different to rugby and even pre season training.”

“Over the last few months I’ve been very busy travelling round for the Six Nations and working with the England U21s and U19s. Staying with the squads means we tend to be in hotels with gyms and as a few of the management are involved it’s good to be able to train together. 

“I try to get out for one steady state run each week then the rest is interval based like the gym combi running and weights session Pete and I do.  It involves sets of 6 x 45 second steep incline treadmill sprints between sets of power cleans and then squats.  And just to finish off we do 12 short sprints at increasing intervals.  In 35 minutes you can pack a lot in.”

Said Pete Drewett, England U21 manager and another keen runner, “I had steer clear of any running for a month earlier in the year with a tendon injury but I’m back on track now.  I’ve found that during competitions like the Six Nations it’s great to train with company and in different environments.  It makes a nice change from the cliffs and moors around Sidmouth, where I live.

“I run a lot anyway because I enjoy training, I find it very therapeutic.  I’m enjoying having something to work towards and I’m enjoying trying things out although I’m a bit apprehensive about the swimming!”

Former England and Lions lock Nigel Redman, who has been powering down the pool, agrees that bring with a team offers every opportunity to train because you have facilities on the spot.  “I do different pool session two to three times a week because the main event I’m there for is swimming.

“I’m not running because my knees are bad, I’ve had six operations on them since I started playing. In the event I’ll be swimming up to 800m in open water so I’m doing session up to half an hour as well as interval sessions in the pool.  I’ll be able to get there but whether it’s dark or not by the time I do is another question.

“I’ve never swum in a wetsuit or in a competition although I once swum across Plymouth Hoe in Jan 1998 as part of our training when we were down there with 14th commando.  The training has been hard because I’m not really built for swimming – I’m hairy and heavy and I haven’t really trained for anything since I finished playing in 1999 but this has given the training a purpose.”

“I swim when I can and I use a static bike when I can.  I have weights at home that I can use.  Dave Reddin has given us a swim session and bike session and Simon Worsnop has given me a weights programme for my shoulders which is high reps and low weights designed to strengthen and help mobility because I’ve had operations on both shoulders too.  Dan Salcedo of UK Sport Elite Programme, who was a British Triathlete coach has given me the programme that they give the triathlon swimmers because it covers the technique and sessions for open water.”

“When I first finished playing I did enjoy the fact that I didn’t have to train every day which was the first time in 20 years.  And the idea that I had a choice was great, but very odd. But it’s great to get back into a daily routine of training and to have the commitment to this Hebridean Challenge helps.

To make best use of their physical training, teams will have to hone their individual nagivation skills to keep them on track and overcome tricky logistics exercises to ensure the operation runs smoothly.

Said Nathan Martin, a former royal marine, “As well as the physical challenges we’ll have to take on some serious nagivation as well as complicated logistics exercises designed to test competitors' brains as well as their brawn.

“Will Beeley and I are planning some sessions together in the Surrey hills or the Peak District where, as well as training together, we can cover the basics of map reading, maybe stopping at the top of a hill to do a map reading stance and taking turns navigating legs.
 
“Will and I are planning some sessions together in the Surrey hills or the Peak District where, as well as training together, we can cover the basics of map reading, maybe stopping at the top of a hill to do a map reading stance and taking turns navigating legs.”

After many hours spent training alone , everyone is looking forward to the team sessions. “There are some times when it gets a bit tedious but mainly I really enjoy it, especially the sessions, like the Bath half marathon, with the others”, said Martin. 

“It helps that the days are getting longer and the get togethers will give us a target to get to a certain point with training or just getting the miles in.  I’m planning to do the London marathon too, the Professional Rugby Players’ Association have kindly agreed to give me one of their places” 

Former England internationals Nigel Redman and Jon Callard are joined in the two five-strong RFU teams by three members of the England U21 management team, Will Beeley (ex royal marine and marathon runner), Peter Drewett (two time marathon runner and former competitive decathlete) and Nicki Drinkwater (ex international rugby player and heptathlete) and, from the Performance Department, Mike Snelling (former triathlete),  Lisa Johnstone (extreme off road cyclist), Dave Tennison (ex Royal Marines PT instructor and marathon runner) and Nathan Martin (ex Royal Marine and active middle distance sportsman) with the Community Rugby department represented by Rob Drinkwater (sprint cyclist).

For more information on the Challenge visit www.rfu.com/hebchallenge