This is the 5th JMB Cup contest and the first, for Carey Grammar, as defenders of the title.

Please come and support the young men playing for Carey and Caulfield, and help JMB foundation raise awareness of the indiscriminate and utterly preventable consequences of alcohol fuelled violence.

Where: Carey Grammar School, Bulleen Sports Campus, 169 Bulleen Rd, Bulleen, VIC 3105
When: Saturday 11 May at 1:00pm

It is a regular practice at Message Media for teams to select a charity to make a substantial corporate donation. Team members present at the morning tea were interested to hear, from the Foundations Chair, how the money they were contributing would be used to support young people with severe acquired brain injury, by providing additional therapy hours, mobility aids and home modifications.

The cheque was presented to the Foundations Chair, Helen Sykes, by Alex Case. Alex was a student at Wesley College in 2006 when James was injured and in his final year of secondary school Alex produced a DVD documenting James’ story. His work was subsequently incorporated into a Department of Education study guide. The Foundation is grateful to Alex for his continued interest and support of the Foundation as we work to plug the holes and advocate for a better system of care that provides funding on the basis of need, rather than cause of injury.

Thank you Message Media for your support. With your help ‘We can and do make a difference’.

http://www.probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2013/03/changemakers-sophie-rowe?utm_source=Pro+Bono+Australia+-+email+updates&utm_campaign=99ba7585e3-Jobs_25_3_20133_25_2013&utm_medium=email

Online registrations are now open for the 2013 Medibank Melbourne Marathon Festival – Sunday October 13th 2013. We are pleased to announce that the JMB Foundation has once again registered teams in all events (including the 3km walk). Register online now for your event and join our highly successful team – placing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the half marathon, 10km and full marathon events respectively, in 2012. For event information and details access the festival website here.

This is a fun event and an important opportunity for the JMB foundation to raise public awareness of severe and profound Acquired Brain Injury. Incidents like the one that injured James are avoidable through education, awareness and policy changes. Help us to spread the message by wearing our team colours and Running for those who can’t.

The JMB Foundation is also committed to supporting families and victims who are living the consequences of random acts of violence. We need your help to raise money to provide essential therapy, equipment and respite care. Additional therapy hours can mean the difference between recovering some motor control and remaining physically dependant, the difference between comfort and unrelenting pain. You can help by making your marathon event a reason to raise money for our cause. Setting up a fundraising page is easy. Get started now with your own campaign to ‘Run for those who can’t‘.

Not running this year? Why not consider volunteering? Contact us via email info@jmbfoundation.org.au to find out more.

While it is far too early to report the fudnraising success of this year’s Marathon, what I can say is ‘what a wonderful day it was’. The weather was superb – perfect for running – and record participation levels in all events engendered a wonderful community spirit which washed over all of us who were there.

I want to say thank you.

Thank you to all people who ran, walked or just turned up to watch loved ones perform. Thank you to all volunteers, be they first timers who braved the cold early morning to stand guard over the course or seasoned campaigners who marshalled busy intersections and kept runners and pedestrians apart. Thank you to school students from Carey, Wesley and MLC who gave up their precious Sunday morning sleep-in to help us. Thank you to the staff at all three schools for your time and patience in helping us to organise the morning – especially Wendy Wood from Carey, Dimity Harris and Amanda Douglas from Wesley, and Annette Rome from MLC. Thank you to all those connected with the Foundation who worked tirelessly in the marquee, especially Meagan and hubby Tim who photographed proceedings for us. Thank you to all our contributing sponsors – Invesco, Active Feet, Fashion Clubwear and of course IMG, the event hoster. Thank you to the carers at Austin St, James’ home, who in keeping with their unflagging willingness to go the extra mile, brought James to the MCG to share the day with so many people. A special thank you to Nathan Howard, John Nairn and Andrew Mill who roved the course so effectively, delivering shirts, hats, encouragement and lollies to our work force. Andrew Mill was our chief volunteer coordinator who gave up many hours attending meetings and visiting schools to make sure the day was the outstanding success it was. Thank you to Tim McDonald who works so hard for us each year and without whom our connection to the event would not exist. Thank you to Anne McDonald who organises the T-shirt and singlet distribution each year. And – thank you to anyone else who was connected with the day that I haven’t mentioned.

Well done to everybody – except for the person who nicked my cap from the tent, leading to the sunburn I am suffering from at the moment.

We would love to see as many of you as we can back again next year. The support for JMB is so great, the event organisers seem to rely on us more and more each year. We will undoubtedly be under pressure for next year’s event to provide even greater volunteer numbers.

Very warm regards and thanks again,

Andrew Macready-Bryan
For the JMB Foundation

The JMB Foundation is dedicated to the support of young sufferers of Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). The foundation was borne out of tragedy when James Macready – Bryan became a casualty of violence.

James was assaulted in an incident in inner city Melbourne on his 20^th birthday, October 2006. When his head hit the ground his life as a popular and talented sportsman and student changed forever. Instead of dashing down the wing for the Carey Amateur Football Club, he would be confined to a special accommodation house and a wheelchair for life, hearing impaired and unable to feed himself, talk or see.

For well over 20 years Andrew Macready – Bryan (James’ father) and I have met together with several ‘mates’ on a Tuesday evening at a local pub for a beer and a chat. When James was cruelly beaten and left with permanent catastrophic injuries we were devastated, for James and for his family. We wanted to do something for Andrew, Robyn, Tom and of course, James himself and in support of the newly founded James Macready-Bryan Foundation (JMB Foundation). The seeds were thus sown for the JMB Foundation to enter a team in the Melbourne Marathon.

In order to support sufferers of Acquired Brain Injury, we needed to raise funds. I have always been a keen runner – more so since becoming too old and slow to play football. The Melbourne marathon / half marathon has been a favourite event of mine and I was thrilled to win my age group a couple of times in the half marathon. I suggested we enter JMB Foundation running and walking teams in the Melbourne Marathon events of October 2007. The date was significant as it was a full year after the incident and James’ birthday.

From small ideas great things can sometimes grow.

The grieving friends of the JMB family and other community supporters embraced the opportunity to ‘run for those who can’t’. Over 400 participated in our first year – people from all walks of life – babies in prams to grand parents. All shared a connection in some way or other to James, his family or our cause.

This groundswell of support has continued to this day. We have consistently fielded the biggest team and won some events, particularly the half marathon. My employer – Invesco, have sponsored the JMB Foundation team singlets and T shirts worn by all our runners, walkers and volunteers during the event. Two years ago Melbourne Marathon event organisers IMG, invited the JMB Foundation to become one of two official charity partners together with Cerebral Palsy Education Centre (CPEC). This gave us an opportunity for a stronger public profile but also entailed the responsibility of finding 300 volunteers to populate drink stations and intersections to support the event. The school communities of Carey, Wesley, MLC and Caulfield Grammar, identifying with the random and tragic loss of youthful potential again supported us by helping field this large team of volunteers.

Thanks to the support of all involved, we have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for our cause. This has enabled the JMB Foundation to make substantial contributions to the development of age appropriate accommodation, and the care and rehabilitation of young sufferers of ABI.

I am proud to have had a minor role in instigating the Melbourne Marathon as an opportunity to promote awareness and raise funds for the JMB Foundation – and to ‘run for those who can’t’.

Emails have been sent to participating runners/walkers, and volunteer coordinators will distribute to their teams of volunteers. If you have not received any information about collection of your t-shirt please contact Meagan Norbury via info@jmbfoundation.org.au for collection details.

Congratulations on almost completing your training and GOOD LUCK!

The JMB marquee will be located on Brunton Avenue, nearest to the MCG and next to Flight Centre. We hope to see you at our marquee on race day!

E: info@jmbfoundation.org.au

Did you know you can still register to fundraise for the JMB Foundation!  click here.

Shoe Selection

Most of us find exercising hard enough without adding to it unnecessarily. The constancy of a training challenge is going to present many of you with various foot and lower leg problems such as blisters, burning feet, arch pain, calf soreness and for some a consistent case of D.O.M.S (Delayed Onset of Muscular Soreness).

The reason shoe selection is so important when you are pushing yourself to achieve a running/walking goal, is that when we place a high or rapidly increased load on our feet we automatically increase our risk of developing stress related injuries like ‘shin splints’, knee, arch and achilles pain, along with general leg soreness.  Placing this increased load on hardworking feet that are not functioning optimally eg rolling in or out too much (over-pronating or supinating) will further increase the risk, and most certainly the rate of developing these problems.

Biomechanics, the way we move, are individual, which is why all shoes are built differently. Only some models within various brands will suit your individual foot type, fewer of these will actually be built for the right shape/width of your foot. There are two different categories of shoes generally referred to as those that control excessive pronation (rolling in) and those that support a neutral foot (ideal foot posture). Being under-supported or over-supported in shoes both increase your injury risk.

At active feet, all customers are assessed via a Podiatric gait assessment on the treadmill.  Our staff consist of qualified Podiatrists and final year Podiatry students who are able to talk to customers about their activity background, goals, injury profile and then fit the most appropriate shoe via a walking or running assessment.  It allows us to ensure that we have the correct shoe type for YOUR FEET, and you have a 30 day satisfaction guarantee on all recommended shoes!

Nutrition

In the lead up to your endurance event, it is important to start training using any nutrition supplements you may consider consuming on race day. For most taking part in the marathon and half marathon this means getting yourself used to energy gels and/or electrolyte replacement drinks. Beyond 60 – 90 minutes of activity our natural sources of glycogen (from the liver and our muscles) deplete. Nutrition supplements are an easily digestible way to refuel, allowing our body to maintain intensity. If we run out of energy the body starts to burn fat to use as fuel which results in a subsequent drop in pace and intensity.

Carbohydrate loading is essential before prolonged activity. Either a high Carbohydrate snack, 30 – 60 minutes before (40 – 60g Carbs, e.g. Powerbar Performance bar) or a high Carbohydrate meal (100 – 160g Carbs), 2 – 4 hours before exercise, is required to yield sufficient energy.

During activity, the general rule for nutrition is that beyond 60 minutes of aerobic activity (running!) we require 1g of Carbohydrates per kg of body weight, per hour. E.g. A 75kg man will require 75g Carbohydrates per hour. There is generally around 25-30g of Carbohydrate in most energy gels.

Post activity it is all about recovery and replacement. To aid in recovery consume food with a combination of Carbohydrates & protein within 30 minutes, a good example of this would be a Powerbar Protein bar. Alternatively a meal rich in Protein and Carbohydrates within 2 hours will aid in recovery. And don’t forget to replace all the water lost during your event!

Comfort

Talk to any distance runner and they will have horror stories to share about blisters, black toenails and the much dreaded chaffing. Although common, they can ruin your race day and in most cases are easily prevented. Running in materials that ‘wick’ moisture from the skin will help prevent the moisture build up that leads to blistering and chaffing. Blisters are caused by a combination of moisture and friction. Technical running socks are designed to reduce both of these nasties. The same idea is commonly applied to running apparel often referred to as ‘Technical’ or ‘Dri-fit’ fabric. As with nutrition, you should be training in your race day socks and gear to test out any areas of irritation.

Lastly, as your training spikes with only a few weeks to go we hope that you continue to enjoy the challenge you have set yourself. We look forward to seeing you in store to offer you personalised service and advice to assist you in achieving your training goals.