March 2006 Training Weekend Balmoral

Our training weekend based on the Balmoral Castle Estate was snow filled to say the least! The Castle and surrounding estate looked fantastic - covered in several inches of powder snow. Fortunately, the underfoot conditions were remarkably good and we were able to fit in our planned 3 runs; including the long run on the Saturday morning. It really was great fun (and a new experience for some) - running along the snow covered trails.

Red squirrels feeding outside the meeting room and the Balmoral red deer which had come down from the hills to the River Dee all added to the experience!


Our running experts Mel Edwards and Fraser Clyne covered a wide range of topics from race strategy to marathon preparation. Mel even took a group session on hill bounding on the last day. Mel, a top endurance coach, and Fraser, former international athlete, also had private one-to-ones with each member of the group.

Dr. Chris Fenn, one of UK's leading nutritionists, gave an inspirational talk on what to eat and drink (and what to avoid!) for running fitness. In addition, Chris worked with the Balmoral chef in devising the menus for the weekend. Between the two of them they came up with what was without doubt one of the highlights of the event - absolutely delicious food for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

We asked everyone to give a mark from 0 to 10 for 15 key aspects of their training weekend. Very positive scores were received with the "Overall value for money" = 9.83

"Really enjoyed everything about the weekend. Felt so motivated after the runs, scenery was outstanding. Felt really looked after throughout the whole weekend. Thank you so much, definitely recommend this to everyone. Just what I needed!"

"A very enjoyable weekend. Snow fantastic!"

"Overall excellent weekend - good balance of activity, lectures, free time, excellent food and great company. Worth every penny!"

"I tried hard, but really couldn't think of a way to improve on the weekend."