Learning Vocabulary: Going for a run

Learning Vocabulary - Going for a run

Jack: Hey Rich, what are you doing in the park? You look like you’re about to have a heart attack.

Rich: No, no. I’m good. I’ve just finished my first park run.

Jack: Here, sit down on this bench and catch your breath. I’ve got some water here somewhere. Hold on. Here you go.

Rich: Thanks.

Jack: So, what’s this park run, then?

Rich: It’s an organisation that encourages people of all abilities to get together and run on Saturday mornings.

Jack: So, there are quite a few of you then?

Rich: Yeah, it’s an international thing. They’ve got over 5 million regular runners. 

Jack: Not just in the UK?

Rich: No, they’re in Australia, Poland, Russia, Italy, Malaysia … they're starting in Japan next year.

Jack: All over then. How far do you run?

Rich: It’s always the same. A timed run of five-kilometres.

Jack: And how long did it take you?

Rich: Come on it was my first one and I’m totally out of shape at the moment. Probably about 40 minutes I think.
I’ll get faster. I need to improve my running speed and my stamina.

Jack: Was it tiring?

Rich: You can see me. I’m absolutely knackered. You should come along next time. You bought some new trainers last week, didn't you?

Jack: Yes, I did. I strained my hamstring a couple of weeks ago but I’ll give it a couple of weeks to recover and I’ll be ready to break them in.

Rich: What are you doing in the park anyway?

Jack: Something much less strenuous. I’m off to feed the ducks.

Welcome -  Going for a run

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich.

Jack: and I’m Jack

Rich: and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast

Jack: Where we talk about football and help you with your English.

Jack: What’s happening this week, Rich?

Rich: In this week’s podcast, I’m going to try to persuade Jack to go for a run and we’re going to talk about the benefits of doing regular exercise.

Jack: We’re going to focus on vocabulary and we’ll look at lots of words and phrases connected to running and the benefits of running.

Rich: Listen to the podcast and, if you are listening on the Premier Skills English website, you can also read the transcript, do the activities, test your understanding with a quiz and discuss this week’s task in the comments section with Premier League fans from around the world.

Jack: This week we’re going to ask you to get your running shoes on. Don’t forget to listen to the end of the podcast because we have a new football phrase for you to guess.

Rich: In the next section you are going to hear a roleplay. I’m going to try to persuade Jack to go for a run in the park. While you are listening we have two questions for you to answer.

Jack: Question one: What does Rich say are the benefits of running? And question two: What reasons do I give for not wanting to go for a run?

Roleplay 1

Rich: I’m going on another one of those park runs next Saturday. Do you want to come along?

Jack: Mmm … I’m not sure. You looked knackered when I saw you after your run last week and I saw you limping about the office for the next couple of days.

Rich: That was just DOMS.

Jack: DOMS?

Rich: Delayed onset muscle soreness. You get a few aches and pains when you haven’t done any exercise for a while. I’m ready for another go at it now.

Jack: I don’t know. I’m not sure about my hamstring.

Rich: I saw you on your bike yesterday. You’re fine.

Jack: Yeah, but have you seen the weather forecast? It looks like it’s going to rain on Saturday.

Rich: You’re just making excuses now. It’s at 900 and you’ve got those new trainers that you need to break in remember.

Jack: I do want to try them out. That’s true. But, I haven’t done any competitive running for ages. What if I finish last?

Rich: It’s not competitive. We can run together and we go at our own pace. Some people walk the 5K. It’s good … getting out in the fresh air, doing a bit of exercise. It’s good for you.

Jack: But running too much on roads and paths is bad for your knees.

Rich: That’s a myth. It’s not true. There’s been loads of research on it. The worst thing for your knees is being overweight so a few runs will help you lose a few kilos.

Jack: Maybe.

Rich: And it’s not just that. Running is good for your heart, reduces blood pressure and might stop you getting diabetes and stuff like that.

Jack: Alright, I’ll give it a go.

Rich: You’ll love it.

Jack: I’m not so sure about that. 

…

Rich: So, I eventually persuaded Jack to go on an organised run. In the next section, you are going to listen to parts of the run that we went on. The beginning, during the run and at the end. While you are listening we have two questions for you to answer.

Jack:  Question one: Do I want to do another race after this one? Question two: Who ran the better race - me or Rich?

Roleplay 2

Jack: So, it’s just 5K right. I can do that.

Rich: I’ll set the pace and I’ll slow down if we need to.

Jack: What if I can’t keep up or if we can’t catch up with those at the front?

Rich: It doesn’t matter about the others. We’ll set our own pace and we can slow down or even stop to catch our breaths if we need to.

Jack: OK. That sounds doable. I don’t want to overdo it.

Rich: Let’s warm up with a bit of stretching and a gentle jog to those trees over there.

…

Rich: Here we go. On your marks, get set, go!

Jack: Not so fast. Wait for me! It’s a marathon, not a sprint!

Rich: It’s not either of them. Come on let’s get in the middle of the pack.

… (halfway)

Rich: How are you doing?

Jack: I’m a bit tired but feeling OK.

Rich: We’re halfway through. Let’s pick up the pace a bit.

Jack: I’m not sure about that. Hold on! Wait.

… (at the end)

Jack: That was really good. I even managed a little sprint finish at the end. What happened to you?

Rich: I think I overdid it halfway through and I think I might have pulled my hamstring.

Jack: Ha! You just haven’t got the stamina. Come on let’s go and cool down. So, when’s the next run? Next Saturday …?

Language Focus

Rich: In this section, we’re going to look at some of the vocabulary we used in the roleplay and other words and phrases connected to running, fitness and exercise.

Jack: Let’s start with the word run. With run, we often use the preposition ‘for’. We say things like ‘I’ve just been for a run’ or ‘Do you want to go for a run?’

Rich: Words connected to movement are often used with ‘go for a’. You can go for a jog, go for a swim or go for a ride on your bike.

Jack: In the roleplay, we spoke about different types of running. We used the noun or verb jog for example.

Rich: A jog used to mean a slow run but these days it’s much more common to use the word run more generally. We may jog to warm up before we run like we did in the roleplay.

Jack: We used other words to describe types of running or runs in the roleplay. We used the phrase it’s a marathon, not a sprint. A marathon is a long-distance running race that requires a lot of stamina; you need to have the physical strength to do something for a long time because a marathon is over 42 kilometres.

Rich: A sprint is a short running race. Usain Bolt runs the 100 metre and 200-metre sprint. A sprint requires a lot of speed; you need to be fast.

Jack: The phrase it’s a marathon, not a sprint actually is used to describe something that takes a long time to be successful at rather than something that can produce results quickly.

Rich: For example, learning a language is a marathon not a sprint.

Jack: Yes, or the Premier League compared to a cup competition. In the roleplay, I also said I did a sprint finish at the end of the run. A sprint finish is when you run extra fast at the end of a run or race.

Rich: We used the word pace a few times in the roleplays. I said to Jack ‘we can go at our own pace’, I’ll set the pace’ and ‘let’s pick up the pace’.

Jack: Pace is the speed which you run or walk or move more generally. So when Rich said we can go at our own pace he means we can decide how fast we run. When he says I’ll set the pace he means he will decide the speed and to pick up the pace means to go a bit faster.

Rich: The word pace can be also used to describe life. We often say the pace of life is much slower in the countryside whereas in the city the pace of life is much faster.

Jack: We also used some phrasal verbs connected to running in the roleplays. Let’s look at four of them: slow down, speed up, catch up, and keep up.

Rich: Listen to this:

Jack: Hey Rich. Come on speed up, let’s catch up with the others.

Rich: No, you slow down. I can’t keep up.

Jack: So, speed up means run faster. Catch up means to reach somebody ahead of you by going faster.

Rich: Slow down means run more slowly and keep up means to go at the same speed as someone else but is often used in the negative form.

Jack: Finally, let’s look at two words that I really like: doable and overdo. 

Rich: They look like words that don’t exist but they do although they are quite informal. To overdo something means to do something too much. Jack said he didn’t want to overdo it meaning he didn’t want to do so much exercise that he might get injured.

Jack: And when Rich said it wasn’t too much I said that it sounded doable. Doable describes something that is possible to do, achieve or complete.

Rich: Right, we’ve got a few more vocabulary exercises and activities for you to do on the page for this podcast on the Premier Skills English website.

Task

Rich: Your task this week is to go out for a run.

Jack: Yes, that’s right. We want you to go outside and run. It can be a 5K run a 1K run or you might want to just jog to the end of your street for 50 metres. Choose the distance that suits you and run at your own pace.

Rich: We want you to run and then tell us about it.

Jack: How far did you run? Were you walking, jogging, running or sprinting?

Rich: How long did it take you? Did you concentrate on speed or stamina?

Jack: How did you feel before, during and after your run? Were you out of breath? Did your muscles hurt the next day?

Rich: Tell us about your running experience in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Football Phrase

Rich: Have you got a football phrase for us this week? 

Jack: Yes, I have, but first, our last football phrase. It was a tap-in. This football phrase describes a goal that is very easy. For example, when a player crosses the ball, it goes past the goalkeeper and the striker can put the ball into the empty net from one metre. It’s a tap-in. He taps the ball into an empty net.

Rich: Well done to Lakerwang from China and Rafael Robson from Brazil who got it right. What’s this week’s football phrase?

Jack: This week’s football phrase is a bit of cliche and the cliche is ***** *** ** **** *****. I like this phrase because it’s what managers always say before they play a really small team that isn’t very good. For example, Brazil could be playing my local village team and the manager might say well, ***** *** ** **** ***** in football. It’s an excuse. The manager just says it in case their team loses!

Rich: Right, that’s all we have time for this week. Don’t forget to write your answers to the task and football phrase in the comments section below.

Jack: If you’re listening on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, you could leave your answers in the review section. We do read all the reviews and would love to hear from you.
 
Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football!