Jog Leaders Conference 2012
This year's Jog Leaders' Conference took place at the Glasgow Marriott on Saturday October 27, with around 50 delegates gathering from all over the country to hear talks from experts and take part in practical workshops.
Several of our speakers have kindly agreed to let us make their slides available online - click on the links in the text below to view or download them.
To watch Dr Andrew Murray's welcome video on YouTube: CLICK HERE.
One of the day's highlights was a presentation from Judith Mackinnon from the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH). Jogscotland is in the process of developing a close partnership with SAMH, and having Judith along was the first step towards that. Her presentation made it obvious why we should be working together - exercise is so good for mental health, because of both the physical and social boost it delivers. Judith told us about SAMH's Get Active pilot projects, which have proved the positive effect of exercise on mental health and wellbeing.She also offered some advice for Jog Leaders who are worried about someone in their group who appears to be struggling. Judith reassured Jog Leaders that it's fine to ask "Are you OK?" You won't make things worse by asking, she said, and if they don't want to talk to you they won't. It's also OK to check back with them if you're still worried after a little time has passed. They might take a while to open up, but if they know you're genuinely interested, they're more likely to trust you and feel comfortable confiding. Of course that's just the first step: Jog Leaders also need to know what to do once they know someone has mental health problems, particularly if they've been directly asked for help. As we work more with SAMH, we hope to develop resources to support Jog Leaders in just this situation, but in the meantime, you can find a lot of useful information on the Know Where To Go section of their website.
TO VIEW JUDITH'S SLIDES CLICK HERE
TO VIEW JUDITH'S SLIDES CLICK HERE
Our second session was on organising events. More and more jogscotland groups are keen to run events in their communities, and we heard from a range of successful organisers about what they had learned. Tom Williams and Richard Leyton from parkrun told us how they had grown the weekly timed 5K from a bright idea into an international phenomenon with runs in 149 different locations. And parkrun is not done growing, Tom said: "Our mission statement is for there to be a parkrun everywhere that someone wants one".
Gavin Lightwood from RunBritan, former race director for Edinburgh Marathon and the Great Scottish Run, told us about some of the lessons he had learnt over the years, and suggested some of the best advice Jog Leaders could offer their members when preparing mass participation events - don't try energy products for the first time on race day, even if they're provided free; be honest about your predicted race time to ensure you're in an appropriate wave; don't give your race number away to a friend if you can't make the event - and much more.TO VIEW GAVIN'S SLIDES CLICK HERE.
The session was concluded by Melanie Clouston and Alan Riach from Cairngorm Runners, who talked about the local events they have organised, particularly the Nethy Explorer 12K, which they brought from idea to race in just four and half months.
TO VIEW MELANIE AND ALAN'S PRESENTATION SLIDES CLICK HERE
TO VIEW MELANIE AND ALAN'S PRESENTATION SLIDES CLICK HERE
In the afternoon, Nuffield Health and Run 4 It staff offered a range of workshops, which for many Jog Leaders proved the highlight of the day. Nutritional therapist Roisin Cooke talked about eating a balanced diet to keep your exercise programme on track. Physiotherapist Bethany Aitkin led a great session on identifying and correcting your own gait problems and improving your core strength. There was also a detailed session on the practice and theory of stretching, and another offering warm-up ideas and introducing a range of exercise equipment.
There was a short talk on using social media from jogscotland's Social Media and Digital Communications Officer, Sue Gyford, before scottishathletics Chief Executive Nigel Holl ended the day by introducing the soon-to-arrive Head of jogscotland, Billy Mitchell, who will take up his post later in the year.
If you weren't there, watch this space - we will be uploading lots of the presentations so you can read them for yourself.
Huge thanks to everyone who came along, and particularly to our speakers and workshop leaders, who shared their time and expertise to make the day a great success.
Jog_Leader_conference_2012_programme.doc (3.4 MB)