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Jeric Yuan
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In this episode, we chat with the amazing Jeric Yuan – known to many as @coderunnerguy on Instagram!
From his first half marathon on just two weeks' notice, to creating brilliant GPS art across London, Jeric shares:
His journey into running
How he plans his jaw-dropping GPS designs
His mission to complete the World Marathon Majors
The story behind drawing T-Rexes and chickens at Victoria Park
Why memories mean more than medals
Plus, we challenge YOU to create your own GPS art!
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Jeric Yuan and GPS Art
00:00:00
Jeric
Yeah, is it recorded?
00:00:01
UKRunChat
Welcome to this episode of the UK Run Chat podcast. Today we're joined by a special member of our community, Jeric Yuan, who you might know best from Instagram as Code Runner Guy.
00:00:13
UKRunChat
He makes incredible GPS art on his runs around London and we're going to be chatting to him today about how he does all that and why and all
Jeric's Running Journey Begins
00:00:22
UKRunChat
about his running. Hi Jeric, thank you so much for joining us. How are you?
00:00:26
Jeric
I'm good. Thanks for inviting me too.
00:00:28
UKRunChat
Yeah. So just, yeah, just introduce yourself a little bit to our listeners and tell us about how you got started running.
00:00:36
Jeric
Yes, I'm actually Jeric. I'm based in London itself. Most of the time you can see me like running around drawing, especially in ah London with my GPS eyes.
00:00:49
Jeric
and How I actually started running, it was like back in 2016, if I'm not wrong, I've joined this like new company, which is like a social ah media agency.
00:01:01
Jeric
I did not do any running at all that time. So I have this team that invited me and i said, oh, we have this charity teams doing Hackney half. They want to join us for the half marathon. ah The company is paying for the entries. You just have to put your name down.
00:01:15
Jeric
ah During that time, I don't even know what a half marathon is. So because the the leader itself ah sort of that convinced me, so I put my name down ah without realizing that the race is in two weeks time and I have to train for it.
00:01:28
UKRunChat
Oh wow.
00:01:32
Jeric
Can you imagine like how hard it is for like a someone that doesn't run that and then have to do like a half marathon in two weeks time?
00:01:33
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:01:38
UKRunChat
Oh wow. So how did it go? How was
Building Endurance and Marathon Experiences
00:01:40
UKRunChat
it? Yeah.
00:01:40
Jeric
ah It was one of the toughest race I've done. ah um remember being so painful going down the stairs after the race for like a week or so a
00:01:50
UKRunChat
yeah
00:01:53
Jeric
Only after that time, I realized that, oh, maybe running is not really like suitable suitable for me. ah Not to the point where a year after the same leader invited me to to join Hackney Half again.
00:02:05
Jeric
That's when I have the proper like two months time to train for it.
00:02:07
UKRunChat
Yeah. So how was the actual run? Did you run much of it having only started running two weeks previous?
00:02:16
Jeric
Oh, right before the training-wise, right before the race, I remember that I can only need do like 7k non-stop, like very slow, easy run, 7k non-stop.
00:02:23
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:02:27
Jeric
So to do the half marathons, have to do them like running and then a bit of like jogging, a bit of walking in between. But i still managed to complete it, which I'm pretty pleased
00:02:38
UKRunChat
Yeah, no, you you did really well considering. and So it didn't put you off running then. Did you carry on running after that event or was it the following year when you started?
00:02:47
Jeric
It was only after like six months after that, that I started slowly running again, ah joining some like running clubs, which sort of like helps me building up my stamina and my endurance and things like that.
00:02:47
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:02:50
UKRunChat
yeah Yeah, so you've not been running that long really, have you?
00:03:02
UKRunChat
But you've been, you know, you've been doing marathons and all kinds since then, haven't you?
00:03:05
Jeric
not Not too long, like nine years roughly.
00:03:08
UKRunChat
Yeah, it's not long at all. and So tell us about how you got into kind of marathon running then from there.
00:03:16
Jeric
uh from that time basically i've been doing a lot of like half marathon i've been joining a lot of uh volunteering from like park runs i love i love and enjoy like park runs a lot i tend to do one which is closer to my to my home a volunteer and then i run it too so from there you tend to meet a lot of like running friends that's when you're running friends so i invited you to join them for like marathons and mean just sign up to it
00:03:42
UKRunChat
it's It's funny that, isn't it? How do we get so caught up with just doing all these exciting races?
00:03:48
Jeric
Yeah, exactly.
00:03:48
UKRunChat
We've got our friends to blame, haven't we?
00:03:49
Jeric
yeah Yeah.
00:03:51
UKRunChat
are you often at Parkrun, Derek?
00:03:55
Jeric
Sorry, come again.
00:03:56
UKRunChat
Are you often at Parkrun?
00:03:59
Jeric
ah Yes, I'm still building up my life. I'm on like 170 plus now at the moment.
00:04:01
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:04:04
UKRunChat
Yeah, wow, that's loads. Yeah, and you and you volunteer a lot. Are you there most weeks?
00:04:08
Jeric
One to a lot to yeah.
00:04:08
UKRunChat
Yeah. Yeah.
Inspiration and Challenges of GPS Art
00:04:11
UKRunChat
So when did the GPS art start? Because we we love seeing your creations on our feed. They're so detailed.
00:04:20
Jeric
Yeah, thank you very much.
00:04:21
UKRunChat
what kind of What was the first one you did? what What started it?
00:04:24
Jeric
Oh, it was some time ago. I remember it being end of 2019. twenty nineteen and I was on holiday up north in Scotland and ah during this like Christmas break season, like end of the year, because I got like nothing to do. I told them like, oh, maybe I should go out for like a long run.
00:04:40
Jeric
And then I started checking all the maps. And I realized that I found this this path that looks like a human face. So I thought, oh, maybe I should see whether I can draw like a human face. Went out for the run, came back and then it looks a little bit like a human face. So I had this idea when I'm like back in London, maybe I should try drawing something ah when I'm back in London.
00:05:00
Jeric
And it was so coincidentally, it's during like 2020 where everything went on like lockdown. I used to sign up to a lot of the races, but because there's no races to do, so i was like, oh, it's a good idea to maybe start doing, start planning something which is like a GPS app.
00:05:14
Jeric
So go out for my run and then I do this like arts. It's surprisingly that I get to see the shapes of animals on like lines, which is very, very weird.
00:05:24
UKRunChat
Yeah, so are you kind of naturally creative in, like, your working or personal life?
00:05:31
Jeric
um i'm I'm like a web developer, so I do a lot like codings, but do works in like a creative agencies.
00:05:31
UKRunChat
Do you?
00:05:34
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:05:38
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:05:38
Jeric
So maybe that sort of helps.
00:05:40
UKRunChat
Because you obviously have an eye to see these patterns, don't you?
00:05:43
Jeric
To see some things. Yeah.
00:05:45
UKRunChat
Because i've i've ah I've had a go myself at doing some GPS art, and it's incredibly hard to see the shapes, isn't it?
00:05:51
Jeric
It's very hard. Yeah, it looks easy when when when you see people doing it, but when you try to do it, it's kind of like hard.
00:05:57
UKRunChat
Yeah, but you kind of, you do you do a lot of drawing on London's South Bank, don't you, where I guess there's a lot of streets and, yeah.
00:06:03
Jeric
Yes, mainly here. Yes, yeah. It's because the main reason is it's because I'm living closer to that that passes easier for me to go out for a drawing and then come back home.
00:06:13
UKRunChat
Yeah, I think that there's kind of a lot of little streets that I guess you can make kind of patterns and drawings easier with.
00:06:21
Jeric
head Yeah. Yeah, it's easier in like a big city like London is very easy, ah very easy because we have a lot different and small routes here and there.
00:06:23
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:06:30
Jeric
I've tried drawing in ah some cities this which is a bit like straight.
00:06:30
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:06:34
Jeric
So for example, like New York is a bit square. So it's kind of like it hard to do some like proper drawings on it.
00:06:40
UKRunChat
Yeah. Oh, have you had to go in New York? Have you? What did you come up with?
00:06:43
Jeric
Yeah, I've been to New York before. Yeah, I went there for the marathon.
00:06:47
UKRunChat
Oh, okay. How was that?
00:06:49
Jeric
Yeah, oh, it's very, very tough. It's not like London, which is really flat, like London Marathon. New York is like a tough one with all the big bridges, a lot of elevations and then up and down.
00:07:00
UKRunChat
Yeah, I think you forget that the bridges add a lot of height, don't you?
00:07:00
Jeric
Yeah.
00:07:03
UKRunChat
went Yeah.
00:07:03
Jeric
I do. Yes.
00:07:04
UKRunChat
know
00:07:04
Jeric
Yeah.
00:07:05
UKRunChat
Yeah. So did you do any GPS art in New York then?
00:07:06
Jeric
Yeah. So. Did you manage to do of the way that I was trying to ah rest out the legs just in case I don't overdo it before the marathon?
00:07:17
UKRunChat
ah Yeah, fair enough.
Charity Events and Surprise GPS Art
00:07:19
UKRunChat
So how do you come up with your ideas for the arts?
00:07:25
Jeric
It's very weird. Most of the time, it's a lot of zooming in and out from like a map. So I'll start off with like a point. So sometimes I'll see ah like a shape of the the head of like a dog, and then I'll start off drawing from the head, and then I'll carry on with the body and things like that.
00:07:40
Jeric
It's more like what I see on the spots on like a particular area, and then I just go from there. But the weird thing is most of the time I get to see like animals. It's very hard for me to draw like like the whole human or something like that. I tend to see a lot of animals. I don't know why.
00:07:55
UKRunChat
Yeah, I must say I like the, and youve you've done a bear and you've done few variations of it, haven't you?
00:07:59
Jeric
Yes, yeah.
00:08:02
UKRunChat
Kind of waving and I really like that one.
00:08:02
Jeric
Yes. Yeah, I could running one. Oh,
00:08:06
UKRunChat
Yeah, and it's I guess it's a nice one to repeat, isn't it? And make make some changes to it.
00:08:10
Jeric
um yes. Yeah. Yeah, the bad one I started seeing the the head of the bassist and then I said, well, doing the the body and the shapes and things like that.
00:08:20
UKRunChat
Yeah, no, I think I thought it was really clever. and Do you find that once you've kind of set a GPS route, do other runners tend to have a go at it?
00:08:29
Jeric
There's a few that tried the routes that I've created. I've even do some which is like a surprise ah GPS arts in London or different cities. So I created like a free event because that time I was fundraising.
00:08:44
Jeric
So people turn up to my events, it's all like free. I'll tell them about the initiative, why I'm doing it, for what ah charity and things like that. There's no obligation for them to to donate.
00:08:54
UKRunChat
yeah
00:08:54
Jeric
So they turned up never knowing what I'll be drawing. So they'll just follow me around for the entire run. And then at the end of the run, that's where we get to sync it back to our watch or the phone. And then get to see like what you have to want.
00:09:06
UKRunChat
Oh, that's exciting. Yeah.
00:09:08
Jeric
Like a very good surprise. So the surprise that you get or you you get to see from the facial expression is totally priceless.
00:09:18
UKRunChat
Oh, that's brilliant. So how many, how many people do you get joining you on those kind of runs?
00:09:19
Jeric
Yeah.
00:09:22
Jeric
a Sometimes it goes up to like 25 people, like random runners that turn up.
00:09:25
UKRunChat
Wow.
00:09:27
Jeric
I try to limit them into like a smaller size because it's easier to control. If it's too big, I can't even see whether i left someone behind.
00:09:33
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:09:35
Jeric
So to is a good number.
00:09:39
UKRunChat
Yeah. Oh, that sounds exciting. So if youve got have you got any more like that coming up soon? Yeah. Yeah.
00:09:43
Jeric
I haven't planned any like new ones with groups at the moment.
00:09:46
UKRunChat
yeah
00:09:47
Jeric
I did a few in Victoria Park. There's a T-Rex that we've drawn together in a group of people ah in Victoria Park.
00:09:52
UKRunChat
yeah
00:09:54
Jeric
And then I did another one in Victoria Park too, which is like ah like a chicken.
00:09:59
UKRunChat
um of it.
00:10:02
UKRunChat
That's brilliant. So what are you training for at the moment?
00:10:04
Jeric
Yeah, it's very fun.
Training for the London Marathon
00:10:07
Jeric
I'm training for the London Marathon, so it's not long to go. It'll be the end of end of this month. A few more ways to go. little bit scary, but should be fine.
00:10:13
UKRunChat
Yeah. Yeah. So how many marathons have we done before?
00:10:19
Jeric
a I think so. Including London Marathon this year, it will be like my number nine or something.
00:10:26
UKRunChat
Oh, okay. So so you've you've got a fair bit of experience behind you. So, yeah, what are you hoping to get out of London Marathon this year then?
00:10:30
Jeric
Oh, yes. Yeah, yeah, definitely.
00:10:34
UKRunChat
What's your goal?
00:10:35
Jeric
It's a little bit tricky with the training training this year. It's been on and off. There's some tiny niggles here and there. ah Finishing is fine. Whether I'll be able to hit like a PB, that will be like another question.
00:10:47
Jeric
It depends on this few weeks. We'll see how it goes.
00:10:49
UKRunChat
Yeah, because you you've you've had some success last year, didn't you, with a PB?
00:10:50
Jeric
I did it last year.
00:10:53
UKRunChat
Is that right?
00:10:53
Jeric
I did it last year. Wish I managed to get like a PB last year. a Very good condition. Weather-wise is good. Training has been going well. This year has been a little bit sh tricky. There's some things in between training.
00:11:06
UKRunChat
Yeah, I think like life gets in the way sometimes, doesn't it?
00:11:09
Jeric
Yeah, sometimes. yeah I've just moved to like a new location. Last year, been very, very busy for me too. and Did my wedding last year, end of last year. And then, honeymoon, moving house.
00:11:18
UKRunChat
um congratulations. Yeah.
00:11:22
Jeric
There's a lot of things ongoing.
00:11:23
UKRunChat
Oh, it's a lot, isn't it? Yeah.
00:11:25
Jeric
yeah
00:11:26
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:11:26
Jeric
Should be okay. Let's see how goes.
00:11:28
UKRunChat
Yeah. So what do you enjoy most about London?
00:11:32
Jeric
ah I would say the crowds, the crowds is crazy. Like everywhere, every corner that you run past, there's like so many people. Especially when you have your names on your shirts.
00:11:44
Jeric
People just yell your name no matter whether they know you or not. It's insane.
00:11:48
UKRunChat
Yeah, it's brilliant, isn't it? I love I think I've done I've done London twice now and it is it's an incredible race.
00:11:51
Jeric
Yeah.
00:11:54
Jeric
Wow.
00:11:54
UKRunChat
It's so exciting.
00:11:55
Jeric
Yeah, it's a different experience, definitely different experience.
00:11:58
UKRunChat
Yeah, it's lovely. and what What would you say your favourite race has been so far that you've done?
00:12:04
Jeric
ah Favorite one, if you ask me, it would still be like London. a The second favorite, if you ask me, ah would I would like the Athens Marathons. I did that one in 2019.
00:12:16
Jeric
and That's why they called it the Authentic Marathon. It's tough.
00:12:19
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:12:19
Jeric
it It's going slowly, inclining, going uphill to like 33k, and then it goes down. It's like a slow climb. And you're running on highway without any shakes. It's very warm. Without any shakes, it's on highway.
00:12:32
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:12:32
Jeric
It's tough one, but a good, very good experience. You get to finish in the old Olympic stadiums. The finish line is in the old Olympic stadium.
00:12:41
UKRunChat
Oh, that must be an incredible feeling.
00:12:44
Jeric
an Incredible feeling. Very, very nice.
00:12:46
UKRunChat
yeah what ah What time of year does that is that on then? Is it quite a hot race?
00:12:50
Jeric
Did it in 2019?
00:12:54
UKRunChat
What month of the year does it take place?
00:12:56
Jeric
Oh, end of the year in November.
00:12:59
UKRunChat
Oh, yeah. So it it's a bit cooler.
00:12:59
Jeric
Early November. Yes, yeah.
00:13:01
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:13:02
Jeric
a little bit cooler yeah cooler over here but it's slightly warmer over there
00:13:06
UKRunChat
ah Yeah.
00:13:08
UKRunChat
So is there any races that you'd kind of that you'd like to try in the future?
00:13:14
Jeric
uh if you ask me i would definitely wanted to try tokyo marathon i mean the uh and even this few years i've been chasing the six stars the world major six stars
00:13:18
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:13:26
Jeric
So I've completed five now. So I've only got like Tokyo left to do. ah But now they have like Sydney added in on the seven one. But it's very hard to get into like Tokyo Marathon. I've tried like so many years on the balance.
00:13:37
Jeric
Can't even get in very hard.
00:13:39
UKRunChat
yeah What's hard? Is it just a busy race, lots of people wanting to do it, or do you need a qualifying time?
00:13:43
Jeric
Yeah, the the chances of getting through the balance very high. ah Very low. Sorry, the other way around. Yeah.
00:13:50
UKRunChat
Yeah. Also, tell us about the other majors that you've done there. So there's London. and We've heard a bit about New York.
00:13:55
Jeric
that's London, that's Berlin, ah that's Boston, and New York, and Chicago.
00:14:03
UKRunChat
Yeah. So, yes, tell us a bit about those then.
00:14:04
Jeric
Yeah, so no, actually, you asked.
00:14:06
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:14:07
Jeric
ah Sorry.
00:14:08
UKRunChat
Tell us a little bit about them.
00:14:10
Jeric
Oh, ah Berlin is the flattest one among all the world majors. So people tend to go to like Berlin ah to try to get like a PB because it's pretty flat. It's pancake flat, flatter than London.
00:14:23
Jeric
and The US one, ah quite tough. Like Boston, there's a lot of that rolling hills. There's up and down hills most of the time. New York is tough too, like what I mentioned before, because of all the big bridges.
00:14:37
Jeric
It's not like small bridges that we have in UK. It's like massive big bridges that you climb off and you have to come back down.
00:14:42
UKRunChat
you know
00:14:43
Jeric
a Chicago is pretty flat too, ah if you want like a PB. and i think so mainly the US one is slightly expensive, but ah for the experience itself, it's very, very good.
00:14:57
UKRunChat
Yeah. So so what what is it that's drawn you to chasing the six stars then, or soon soon to be seven?
00:15:03
Jeric
ah Back in the days when I started this six-star journey, I haven't been thinking about like chasing the six stars.
00:15:09
UKRunChat
Right.
00:15:11
Jeric
I've just thought about doing it for like charity because most of my entries are from like charities. like My ah London Marathon back in days is from charity. The New York one, the Chicago ones are all from the charity. to Berlin is the one that I got from my ballot. my own ballot But contacted charity and just so I can fundraise for them too.
00:15:31
UKRunChat
yeah
00:15:31
Jeric
so So most of the time I'm just doing it for a charity. I never thought about by chasing the 6 stars. So only when I achieved like 5 of them, I was oh, might well just do the final one.
00:15:39
UKRunChat
Yeah, you're so close now, aren't you?
00:15:41
Jeric
Yeah, very, very close.
00:15:43
UKRunChat
So which which one are they adding then? What's coming to be the seventh?
00:15:47
Jeric
Sydney is the new one that they have added in as the 7 star.
00:15:49
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:15:50
Jeric
It's a little bit further away, far away. yeah
00:15:53
UKRunChat
but very far away.
00:15:54
Jeric
Maybe one day once I'm done with Tokyo. Yeah.
00:15:58
UKRunChat
So have have you got any tips, Jarek, for and those people who are raising money for perhaps marathon
Fundraising Tips and Challenges of Running in London
00:16:05
UKRunChat
charity places? Because it can be quite difficult fundraising as well, isn't it
00:16:08
Jeric
Very, very difficult. Yeah. I guess just enjoy what you're trying to do because to be able to fundraise for someone is something very, very good to do.
00:16:19
Jeric
So just enjoy whatever you're doing. Don't worry too much about like ah hitting the targets and things like that. Just try your best and then see whatever, what goes.
00:16:29
UKRunChat
Yeah. And any kind of techniques that you've tried that have brought lots of fundraising in, in particular? I know you use your GPSR kind of runs, don't you?
00:16:38
Jeric
Yeah, mine mostly coming from the events that I organize.
00:16:39
UKRunChat
Anything else?
00:16:42
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:16:42
Jeric
So people, even though I say there's no obligation for them to ah donate because of the special experience on the surprise drawing, so they still tend to help out. ah And I tend to use a lot of social media to spread whatever I'm i'm doing to so people knows about it.
00:17:01
Jeric
And there are some like random people that doesn't even know me from social media. yeah Even when they see the stories and then what I'm trying to help people on, they tend to help out too, which is very, very good.
00:17:11
UKRunChat
That's amazing, isn't it? So people who don't even know you kind of personally, that's lovely.
00:17:13
Jeric
Yeah. yeah um I'm quite surprised with that one too. so Social media tends to help a lot.
00:17:20
UKRunChat
Yeah, it's funny. Do you often get people saying hi to you in London who you don't know, but who know you?
00:17:25
Jeric
Sometimes, it happens to me a few times when I'm drawing, I have my phones with me and people shout out my name and say, Karan the guy! And I just turn around without realizing who is that.
00:17:38
Jeric
But they are very very friendly people. Yeah,
00:17:39
UKRunChat
Yeah, that's quite a nice feeling though, isn't it, I guess?
00:17:42
Jeric
yeah. It's very good feeling.
00:17:45
UKRunChat
Yeah, like we've got a nice, I think we've got a nice community of runners in the UK.
00:17:48
Jeric
Yes, yeah, yeah.
00:17:49
UKRunChat
and So do do you kind of often run alone, Jarek, or are you usually with friends or a running group?
00:17:55
Jeric
and It's like 50-50%.
00:17:58
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:17:58
Jeric
If you ask me, I would prefer to run with like friends. You get to chat with people and then you have to catch up with people. ah But sometimes when I'm doing my speed work or things like that, because I'm doing on my own a intervals, I tend to run on my own on that.
00:18:14
UKRunChat
Yeah, yeah, you can kind of concentrate more and focus, can't you, on your own with the moves.
00:18:18
Jeric
Correct, yeah.
00:18:20
UKRunChat
So what does your training look like for a marathon where you're kind of trying to do your best? What's a typical training week or a new?
00:18:28
Jeric
Yeah, ah I tend to follow like a training plan at the moment.
00:18:31
UKRunChat
yeah
00:18:32
Jeric
a And I run like six six days a week. Most of the run will be will consist of like one single go speed sessions in a week. ah One long run, which is on Sunday most of the time.
00:18:44
Jeric
And if I have the time, I'll put in like a tempo run, which is slightly slower than intervals, but faster than my normal ah easy run. And then the rest of the days will be like easy runs.
00:18:55
UKRunChat
Yeah. So how um how much mileage are you generally covering in a week? I know everybody's different, aren't they?
00:19:00
Jeric
and Oh yeah, everyone is different. like Mine, ah at the moment, is in between 70 to 90 km per week. sorry
00:19:10
UKRunChat
Yeah. Yeah. And is is that kind of optimum for you or would you kind of be wanting to do more?
00:19:16
Jeric
Oh, ah two years ago, I tend to cover more when I have the time because that's too many commitments at the moment. I tend to go up to 100 kilometers per week back in the days, two years ago or three years ago.
00:19:28
Jeric
But because now there's too many things in in life that I need to like ah do, so I have not got too much time. I'll cover just enough. 70 to 90 is still okay.
00:19:40
UKRunChat
Yeah, it's it's a lot to fit in, isn't it, when you're working full time?
00:19:42
Jeric
A lot of it.
00:19:43
UKRunChat
Yeah, I'm trying to take the marathon.
00:19:44
Jeric
Yeah, you need the time. have to get up super early. I tend to do all my runs in the morning. I prefer morning than the evening.
00:19:49
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:19:50
Jeric
So once I have everything done in the morning and then I have my whole day to do whatever I want to do.
00:19:56
UKRunChat
Yeah. what What would you say is your favourite training session to do, the one that you most look forward to?
00:20:01
Jeric
ah It's either the long run or the speed sessions.
00:20:06
UKRunChat
yeah Oh, right. A real contrast there, Ben.
00:20:10
Jeric
ah yeah yeah The long run, if I manage to do it with like a friend, it's a good way to like catching up for like four for a bit of time.
00:20:18
UKRunChat
you
00:20:20
Jeric
Whereas intervals, I like it because it sort of like pushes you out of your comfort zone.
00:20:26
UKRunChat
Yeah, yeah. what Where do you do your intervals then? Do you go down to a track or do you do them on the streets?
00:20:32
Jeric
I do them on like a park near me. I found like a massive park, which is like a 600 meter loops.
00:20:35
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:20:40
Jeric
So I've been like looping in the park.
00:20:41
UKRunChat
Oh, perfect. Yeah. Yeah, that's ideal because it it must be... like really frustrating running around London sometimes with it being so busy.
00:20:49
Jeric
Yes.
00:20:50
UKRunChat
Does that have an impact?
00:20:50
Jeric
Yeah. It's more and more tricky on this race. Yeah.
00:20:53
UKRunChat
Yeah, does that have an impact when you're out kind of doing tempo runs and things like that?
00:20:57
Jeric
Oh yes, yeah. ah Especially when you have dodged people, you're doing like a speedrun, it's very tricky.
00:21:03
UKRunChat
Yeah, yeah, I can imagine and stopping at kind of traffic lights to cross roads.
00:21:08
Jeric
Oh yes, yeah.
00:21:09
UKRunChat
ah you Are you the kind of runner who stops your watch though or do you just let it keep going?
00:21:14
Jeric
The one that pops it. Every time one does like a traffic light.
00:21:19
UKRunChat
but That would get on my nose.
00:21:19
Jeric
but sometimes some of my friends they just uh they have it automated but sometimes it doesn't pause was like i'm too used to like housing and then
00:21:24
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:21:29
UKRunChat
That's funny. I'm not sure I could. Yeah, I'm not sure I could run around London. I don't know. I'm used to kind of being it out on the trails. um I think city running would be difficult.
00:21:35
Jeric
feels i'm very very beautiful if i have the chance i would do more trails uh but because i'm in like london it's kind of like difficult you have to take the train to go out to do like trails yeah
00:21:41
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:21:45
UKRunChat
Yeah. What's what's your favourite place to go to then when you do get a chance to get out of London?
00:21:52
Jeric
box is it box heel uh sally downs so yeah that one's quite nice yeah hey
00:21:53
UKRunChat
um Box Hill. Yeah.
00:21:57
UKRunChat
Oh, that's lovely. So have you done kind of any trail races or do you stick to mainly road races?
00:22:01
Jeric
i've done a few in children's area there's a few like organizers like mavericks they organize a lot like trio running everywhere so sometimes when they they rotate around sometimes when they return back to like children's i tend to sign up and then they'll go for the truth
00:22:04
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:22:15
UKRunChat
yeah and Yeah, so tell us a bit about those.
00:22:19
Jeric
ah The chills one, because sometimes they start quite early, like 9 o'clock, and it's over the week, in in the weekends itself, you have to go out very early from London.
00:22:31
Jeric
From the place I live, have to go out there super early. Sometimes it will be like half six, sometimes it will be like seven, just to get there in time. And trail running is not really, it when I'm doing it, ah it might be different with different people.
00:22:45
Jeric
I tend to not race it. I just enjoy as much as I can doing it as i slowly because you get to see all the ah surrounding areas are like totally different than when you're racing in the city.
00:22:48
UKRunChat
yeah
00:22:58
Jeric
tend to slow things down just so I get more time with the nature and things like that.
00:23:03
UKRunChat
Yeah, that's beautiful. Like, I guess you get better value for money, don't you? The slower you are.
00:23:07
Jeric
ah Correct. Yes. Yeah. Plus the ground itself is all like softer than normal like roots. So it's better. It was supposed to be like ah better for your knees and things like that
00:23:19
UKRunChat
Yeah, it can help strengthen you up, can't it? Yeah.
00:23:24
Jeric
and so that.
00:23:24
UKRunChat
So what what kind of distance are those races that you've done?
00:23:24
Jeric
too
00:23:28
Jeric
ah I tend to do at least like 10 to like 20, 21 K, which is like a half marathon.
00:23:32
UKRunChat
Yeah. Yeah. What's favourite distance overall, would you say, race?
00:23:36
Jeric
Else it will be
00:23:40
Jeric
I come again?
00:23:41
UKRunChat
What's your favourite distance of race? Yeah.
00:23:43
Jeric
Oh, among all the distance I've done so far, I still prefer half a marathon.
00:23:50
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:23:51
Jeric
Marathon is a bit too long ah with the training schedule. It takes me three to four months just to train for it. Half a marathon is just nice, if you ask me. It's not too long, it's not too short. Just enough, maybe.
00:24:03
UKRunChat
Yeah. Okay. i'm I'm interested in your tips for a half marathon. and i think personally for me, I find it the toughest, the toughest one to race.
00:24:07
Jeric
Oh, yes. Yeah, yeah.
00:24:11
Jeric
Yeah.
00:24:12
UKRunChat
and So have you got any tips you can share for people listening about how to run a good kind of half marathon?
00:24:12
Jeric
Yeah.
00:24:21
Jeric
The first first thing first will be ah once you have your race sorted, you know, when is your race? ah The first thing you need to do is to find like ah like a training plan that fits your schedule. So if you if you prefer to run like five days a week, find one training plan which suits like five days a week.
00:24:39
Jeric
So once you have your training plan, you just you just have to like follow the plan itself. Because without like a training proper training plan, you're not so sure what you're doing and things like that. a So would suggest to get like a training plan.
00:24:52
Jeric
Secondly, ah if you can, try to squeeze in at least like once once a week, ah strengthening into your training. That one helps a lot.
00:25:01
UKRunChat
yeah
00:25:02
Jeric
It helps you to ah recover faster and then it prevents injuries too while you are like training. You didn't don't have to do like very long strengthening. Like for me, when I'm training for like a half marathon, the strengthening and I'm doing is only like maybe 30 minutes at least.
00:25:18
Jeric
30 minutes to maximum will be like an hour.
00:25:18
UKRunChat
yeah
00:25:21
Jeric
It will be more than enough. You can do like squats, lunges, bit of core exercise too. Helps a lot. A lot of difference. You can see like a lot of difference once you do them like once a week.
00:25:34
UKRunChat
Yeah, wow. So are you doing that at home or do you go to a gym?
00:25:37
Jeric
I'm doing it at home. Yeah.
00:25:38
UKRunChat
Yeah. Yeah, no, that's that's really good that you do that because I think i think more of us need to do a bit more strength work, don't you?
00:25:44
Jeric
yeah I tend to have some like dumbbells in the house and I'm doing it once a week.
00:25:46
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:25:50
UKRunChat
Yeah, I've been trying to get my Pilates in regularly to do some strength.
00:25:53
Jeric
Pilates is quite good too.
00:25:53
UKRunChat
and
00:25:54
Jeric
Yeah, I quite enjoy doing Pilates too. Helps with the cold and things like that.
00:25:58
UKRunChat
Oh, it does, yeah, core on the back and the running posture.
00:26:01
Jeric
And the fact, yeah.
00:26:01
UKRunChat
I'm really enjoying it. Yeah, it's good. and Yeah, thank you. So what would you say has been your proudest running achievements so far?
Pride in GPS Art and Morning Run Preferences
00:26:11
Jeric
ah My proudest running achievement? ah I would say to be able to organize all those like surprise GPS arts for me.
00:26:20
UKRunChat
Yeah, I love that.
00:26:21
Jeric
Because
00:26:21
UKRunChat
I love that story.
00:26:24
Jeric
most of the things that people don't see on the GPS arts, it's the amount of ah planning behind the scene. So sometimes some easy one, it might take like, oh, 10k for the entire drawing.
00:26:36
Jeric
But behind the scene, it might takes me like two hours or something like that just to plan the drawing.
00:26:41
UKRunChat
Wow.
00:26:42
Jeric
That's the thing that people don't see behind the scenes. For like bigger drawings, like 30K drawings, that one takes me sometimes four to five hours just to plan.
00:26:51
UKRunChat
Wow.
00:26:52
Jeric
Four to five hours, yeah. That's not including the running time yet. It's just the planning time.
00:26:57
UKRunChat
Yeah. So how do you actually plan it practically? Do you kind of kind of go on Strava and map it out or do you kind of draw it on a map?
00:27:05
Jeric
Yeah, so if you have like a so Strava subscription, you can actually plot like a root in that.
00:27:08
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:27:12
Jeric
ah For those who doesn't have like a subscription, there's a free website called plotaroot.com that you can use.
00:27:17
UKRunChat
Okay.
00:27:18
Jeric
Yeah, similar kind of like things. It gives you maps and then you can plot from there. You can zoom in and out. It's just like a normal map, too.
00:27:26
UKRunChat
Yeah. So, yeah.
00:27:27
Jeric
So once you've got them, you can ah save them into like a GPX file. they can either send to your phone or to your watch to guide you on your on your run.
00:27:36
UKRunChat
Oh, and then you can follow the routes then. Oh, that makes life easier.
00:27:38
Jeric
Then you can follow the routes, yeah.
00:27:40
UKRunChat
Yeah. Okay. i was going to be next question.
00:27:41
Jeric
Yeah. Else would be very difficult for me to remember the whole 30 kilometers.
00:27:44
UKRunChat
Yeah. So you're just having to look at your watch that tells you where to go next rather than kind of have your phone in your hand.
00:27:50
Jeric
Yeah. Correct, yeah.
00:27:53
UKRunChat
Yeah, that does make life easier. Yeah. and what have Have you got any GPS art planned soon or are you keeping that as a surprise?
00:28:04
Jeric
ah Maybe keeping that as a surprise, but still need to plan more and more for a future one. Once I'm done with London Marathon.
00:28:11
UKRunChat
Yeah, once you've got that, have you got any big races coming up after London?
00:28:16
Jeric
London is the big one. And then I haven't planned anything after London yet.
00:28:18
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:28:21
UKRunChat
Yeah. So you can have a summer of fun running again.
00:28:26
Jeric
Oh, yes.
00:28:27
UKRunChat
Yeah. I think, I think we should challenge our listeners to come up with some GPS art actually and tag us in them. I'd love to see what people can create. So you can go into Strava if you've got a description or plot a route and have a go.
00:28:37
Jeric
That sounds like a... Yeah,
00:28:41
UKRunChat
We'd love to see what you come up with. and
00:28:43
Jeric
yeah sounds like a good plan too.
00:28:45
UKRunChat
yeah Yeah, I'd really like to see. What's one race or running event that you'd recommend other runners to try you've enjoyed?
00:28:53
Jeric
Oh, if I would recommend, instead of like a race, I would say it's more like an event that will be part run
00:29:01
UKRunChat
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
00:29:04
Jeric
uh yeah it's definitely a good place or uh if especially when you're trying to do running or you're just like a beginner runner that just started running but run is a very very good event to try out uh you get to see your local like community runners and then there's like whole bunch of people over there it's not just like running you can run you can jog or you can walk too
00:29:27
UKRunChat
yeah
00:29:27
Jeric
just to get yourself used to those kind of like environments very recommended you will definitely find one near to your uh to where you live especially in uk here
00:29:39
UKRunChat
yeah i think that's the beauty of parkrun isn't it that it's just so inclusive and you see all the abilities of well runners and non-runners don't you
00:29:44
Jeric
yes yep yep yeah such a good like uh positive environment if you ask me
00:29:55
UKRunChat
Yeah, yeah, it is. it's I really enjoy it. I've not been along. I'm not great at getting up early in the morning, but I i would really like to get back to parkrun. and
00:30:04
Jeric
Yeah.
00:30:05
UKRunChat
So, yeah, that's that's my goal for the spring to get to get to at least one parkrun. and If you could give one piece of advice to a new runner apart from parkrun, what would it be?
00:30:15
Jeric
yeah
00:30:20
Jeric
I would say just enjoy whatever you're doing.
00:30:26
Jeric
out, just go out for like a run. Go with friends, go solo, doesn't really matter. Just enjoy whatever you're doing.
00:30:32
UKRunChat
Yeah, but I think, yeah, I think that's the best advice you can have around running, isn't it? Just enjoy it.
00:30:37
Jeric
yeah
00:30:38
UKRunChat
Yeah. is Is there anything you would change about the running world?
00:30:45
Jeric
if you would ask me i would say maybe to uh ah to make things more inclusive so like more people get to join. Because running for me, it should feel to be like for everyone, it's not just like limited to like a specific ah party or something like that.
00:31:06
Jeric
As long as it's like in inclusive, ah no matter if it's like an event or race or whatsoever. everyone just get to enjoy them as well, no matter what's your ability.
00:31:17
UKRunChat
Yeah, think that would be great. Yeah, but I think the more people we can get involved, better, better for everybody.
00:31:21
Jeric
Yes. yeah
00:31:23
UKRunChat
ah Describe your ideal run in three words.
00:31:27
Jeric
ah My ideal run in 3 weeks? Fun, enjoyable, and happy?
00:31:37
UKRunChat
Oh, like that.
00:31:40
UKRunChat
And if you could have one superpower that would enhance your running, what would you choose?
00:31:46
Jeric
Wow, super power.
00:31:50
Jeric
Atlas stamina maybe?
00:31:53
UKRunChat
That would be amazing, wouldn't it?
00:31:56
Jeric
Maybe. Yeah.
00:31:59
UKRunChat
how How do you find kind of getting through on the on the subject of stamina, kind of getting through marathons? How are you at fueling them? Because we've been talking about that on some recent podcasts and it seems to trip a lot of people up.
00:32:09
Jeric
yeah
00:32:11
UKRunChat
Are you kind of well practiced in fueling marathons now?
00:32:16
Jeric
ah Still getting used to it. A lot of things to learn with the fueling strategies and things like that. a my my Most of my concerns on like marathons is the ah the amount of sweat. I tend to sweat a lot when I'm like exercising.
00:32:32
Jeric
ah Half marathon is fine. Usually only during like marathons when I'm ah running over like 38k.
00:32:34
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:32:39
Jeric
Sometimes I tend to get like cramps because of the amount of sweat. So I've been like testing things off on electrolytes and salt tablets just to see you what works and what's not.
00:32:48
UKRunChat
Yeah,
00:32:50
Jeric
Still a bit of like a testing phase here and there.
00:32:54
UKRunChat
yeah it's a bit of trial and error.
00:32:55
Jeric
It's always tricky. Sometimes doesn't cramp, sometimes it cramps so I can't tell what's going on.
00:33:00
UKRunChat
Yeah, it's a bit of trial and error, isn't it? with just it mights For us as individuals, it can be hard, but it's worth it's worth experimenting.
00:33:02
Jeric
Yeah, exactly that. Yeah.
00:33:07
Jeric
Yes. Yeah.
00:33:10
UKRunChat
ah Are you finding easier but the more kind of electrolytes you take on?
00:33:16
Jeric
uh seems it helps a lot with the electrolytes a and i'm going to try on this time's uh london redondon because last year when i tested it doesn't ah doesn't affect me with the cramps which is good which is a good thing i'm just going to like carry on doing it
00:33:32
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:33:35
UKRunChat
Yeah. I think it's it's worth, it's worth practicing to try and get right. I think.
00:33:38
Jeric
correct yeah
00:33:39
UKRunChat
Yeah. Yeah. If anyone listening out there wants more information, we have just recorded an episode all about hydration and electrolytes. So do give that one a listen. Actually it's full of, full of information.
00:33:51
UKRunChat
m So Gerrit, you, you inspire us all in the community with your wonderful GPS art. Who inspires you? Who do you kind of look to and think, wow,
00:34:02
UKRunChat
You're really inspiring and amazing.
00:34:06
Jeric
Yeah, if you ask me, i would definitely say it's Ili Kipchoge.
00:34:11
UKRunChat
yeah
00:34:12
Jeric
He's sort of like ah one of the legends, especially in the marathon world, with his like mindsets, performances, and ah the way he he he just gives out those like positive energy to all sort of people and runners around him.
00:34:30
UKRunChat
Yeah, he's he's so kind of calm and collected, isn't he? Yeah.
00:34:34
Jeric
Yeah.
00:34:36
UKRunChat
Yeah, when when he's kind of on on social media, he's kind of, he's very, he's just very inspiring and he gives, yeah, he gives such nice advice and yeah.
00:34:43
Jeric
Inspiring, yep, that's the words I'm looking for.
00:34:48
UKRunChat
and Okay, thank you. We're going to finish off with our quickfire round. So it's this or that. and
00:34:56
Jeric
ah yeah?
00:34:56
UKRunChat
So morning or evening runs?
00:35:00
Jeric
Definitely morning for me.
00:35:01
UKRunChat
Yeah, you did. You did chat about that earlier, didn't you? and Road, trail or running track?
00:35:05
Jeric
Yep.
00:35:08
Jeric
ah I would pick road trail.
00:35:12
UKRunChat
Yeah, and hills or flat routes?
00:35:16
Jeric
Flat root. I'm too used to flat root.
00:35:20
UKRunChat
You're not fan of hills, no.
00:35:20
Jeric
yeah No, um I might need more training on hills.
00:35:22
UKRunChat
ah
00:35:26
UKRunChat
ah Run in the rain or run in heat?
00:35:30
Jeric
ah I would prefer the rain because I sweat too much on in the heat.
00:35:32
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:35:35
UKRunChat
Yeah, I'm the same as you. I think that's why I like rain running. Plus, I'm normally with my dog.
00:35:38
Jeric
Yeah.
00:35:39
UKRunChat
So, yeah, she prefers the rain. and Long runs or speed sessions?
00:35:45
Jeric
Ooh, tricky.
00:35:48
Jeric
I would say long run if I'm running with a friend.
00:35:51
UKRunChat
Yeah. I know you said both of your favourite earlier, didn't you? So, yeah, I've made a pick now.
00:35:54
Jeric
Yes, yeah.
00:35:56
UKRunChat
ah Music or no music?
00:35:59
Jeric
ah Music with me, definitely.
Jeric's Running Soundtrack and Motivation
00:36:02
UKRunChat
what's top on your playlist?
00:36:02
Jeric
Can't live without music with my run.
00:36:04
UKRunChat
Go on, you've got to give us a tune.
00:36:05
Jeric
Yes.
00:36:06
UKRunChat
What's top of your playlist?
00:36:08
Jeric
Oh, yes. a it's weird when I'm depending what runs I'm in if I'm in like a ah long run if I don't have a friend with me I tend to listen to like ah some podcasts like cooking podcasts and things like that that's very weird if I'm doing intervals I tend to listen to a lot of like ah very high bass songs just to push me just to make sure that I'm like doing the intervals pushing through it's very weird
00:36:25
UKRunChat
Oh, really? Yeah.
00:36:37
UKRunChat
Yeah. it It makes a difference, doesn't it? Any favourite songs?
00:36:41
Jeric
I don't have any favorite songs with me. It's just like a random one from my from my playlist most of the time.
00:36:46
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:36:48
UKRunChat
Yeah, okay. ah Medals or memories?
00:36:52
Jeric
I would pre prefer Memories.
00:36:54
UKRunChat
Yeah. ah
00:36:55
Jeric
Because that will last longer than the medals.
00:36:58
UKRunChat
Yeah, they do.
00:36:59
Jeric
And you've got you've got more things that you can like chat about or share about with friends and families.
00:37:02
UKRunChat
Yeah.
00:37:05
UKRunChat
Yeah. And finally, a fun one, because we're runners, shorts or leggings?
00:37:11
Jeric
Shorts for me, sometimes I go with something called like, they call it short shorts, which is even shorter than shorts.
00:37:20
Jeric
That's going to come out soon in like maybe summer.
00:37:24
UKRunChat
Oh, well, thank you for being such a good sport, Jarek. It's been really enjoyable chatting to you today. So you've got London coming up.
00:37:29
Jeric
Thanks for having me too.
00:37:31
UKRunChat
soon. ah you Are you fundraising this year?
00:37:31
Jeric
Yes. Yeah.
00:37:33
UKRunChat
Would you like to kind of give a shout out to your charity?
00:37:37
Jeric
ah I'm actually not fundraising this year, I'll be doing more fundraising soon after the London Marathons. a So going shout out after Marathon too.
00:37:47
UKRunChat
yeah okay, brilliant. So if you want to follow Gerrit, you can find him on Instagram at coderunnerguy. Is there anywhere else where we can, you must have a Strava account?
00:37:59
Jeric
Yes, struggle. Come. It's harder to say what's the struggle one because the profile is like a number.
00:38:04
UKRunChat
I think your link's in Instagram.
00:38:05
Jeric
if youre search for my name, Jared, you and they should come up.
00:38:08
UKRunChat
Yeah. And is is there anywhere else we can find you or is it just Instagram?
00:38:12
Jeric
and I think it's mainly like Instagram Instagrams on my struggle.
00:38:14
UKRunChat
Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that's lovely. Oh, well, thank you so much for your time. It's been wonderful chatting.
00:38:21
Jeric
Thanks for having me to
00:38:22
UKRunChat
Yeah. And all the very best with your London Marathon and your running adventures over summer. Thank you. We hope that everyone out there has enjoyed this episode.
00:38:29
Jeric
Yeah, thank you.
00:38:32
UKRunChat
and Do let us know your thoughts and do go and give Derek a follow.
00:38:36
Jeric
Yeah, thank you very much.