Running News Daily

Five healthy habits to keep you running long term

Forty has become the new 30 in distance running, as we’ve seen many athletes achieve personal best performances beyond their glory years. Just because you are getting older, it doesn’t mean you have to give up on your running goals or stop being competitive. Many masters athletes have had some of the most rewarding years of their life by staying consistent with their training and sticking to healthy habits.

If you are a runner hoping to continue in the sport long-term, it is essential to remember these five healthy habits:

1) Fuel with healthy foods

Eating healthy has always been important, but it becomes crucial when you choose to pursue an active lifestyle as you age. Your university diet of pizza and beer three or four nights a week isn’t going to give you the nutrients you need to fuel your running. Foods high in protein like eggs, chicken and beef are essential in helping repair muscle tissue and maintaining muscle mass. It’s also important to fuel your body with fruits and vegetables, which contain vitamins and minerals like folate, potassium and vitamin C. A diet rich in vitamins and minerals will keep your gut and body 100 per cent and able to perform at its best as you age.

2) Listen to your body

Your muscles need time to recover from any damage they’ve sustained during a run. If your body is sore, do not force more pain on yourself by running. As we get older, our bodies naturally take longer to recover from strenuous activities.

3) Spend time on recovery

When you perform a high-intensity exercise like running, it will take time for your heart rate to recover and go back to a resting rate after the workout. As you age, the recovery process becomes slower. After a run, your body will need time to adapt to the exercise you performed by building up muscle and replenishing energy supplies. As you age, your muscle density decreases, which means more recovery time, because you have less muscle.

At least a quarter or half of the time that you spend running should be spent on recovery. Stretching or yoga are good ways to keep your muscles relaxed and strong after a run. Many runners also use recovery devices like a foam roller, lacrosse ball or muscle scraper. The point is to stimulate recovery by increasing blood flow by various means, though which devices you use are largely a matter of personal preference.

4) Mix it up with other exercises

As you age, your body will naturally begin to lose muscle mass. Therefore, adding one or two strength-training routines into your weekly schedule can help you build long-term success. Exercises like yoga, cycling and weight training can all help keep you strong and help prevent you from getting injured.

The secret to running into your 60s, according to several masters record-holders, is to not run every day and to complement your running with other exercises.

5) Stay motivated

When you’ve been running for a few years, it can be tough to find motivation at times. There are a few ways you can challenge yourself as an experienced or masters runner, which can keep you motivated to reach new heights. Try something you’ve never done before in the sport, like trail running or track racing (if you’ve always been a road runner). Embarking on a new challenge is bound to keep your motivation high.

Things to avoid when running a marathon

Running a marathon is a celebration of the human body’s ability to endure. While marathons are far from what you would call a dangerous activity, there are still inherent risks involved. It’s important that you never underestimate the scope of your task, especially when an injury could set your fitness progress back several months. You might even sustain life-altering injuries from serious accidents. Here are some things you should never do when running a marathon.

Skipping Your Warm-Up

Marathons are long-distance routes that will put strain on your muscles and joints. Warm ups help prime your muscles for rigorous activity and they minimize the risk of an injury by increasing muscle elasticity. Warms ups also increase blood flow, which helps improve the ability of your muscles to exert effort.

Skipping Breakfast

While it’s difficult to run on a full stomach, it’s much worse to run on an empty stomach. This is because you’re very likely to experience premature fatigue or even a high blood sugar count. These will drastically hinder your ability to run, which will not only mean a weaker performance, but also a more agonizing time on the track because you’d be forced to run the distance in poor conditions.

You’d have to consume about 300 calories an hour before your run. This ensures that your body has calories to burn and that the food you eat has been fully digested by the time you start your run.

Starting a Race Too Fast

A marathon is more than just about running a long distance. It also requires strategy. Knowing how to pace yourself in a marathon is one of the most important things runners should master, as this outlines how you’re going to perform throughout the run. Runners who run too fast too early risk running out of strength over the later portions of the course. It’s important to stick to the pace that you’re capable of sustaining over a long period so you have reserved strength that you can use to power through the final stages of the course. 

Obsessing Over Your Personal Record

While tracking your numbers is the best way to quantify your performance, this shouldn’t become the onus of your activities. While we all want to improve, obsessing over these numbers kills the fun in running. You don’t want to be tracking your heart rate, pace-per-mile, or your average speed while there’s a beautiful world out there to witness and enjoy.Never forget your passion for the sport, and the reason you run in the first place. Sports are as much a matter of passion as they are a celebration of the capabilities of the human body.

Marathons are more difficult and more serious than they seem. Whether you’re a competitive runner, or you’re taking on a personal challenge to live a healthier life, it’s important to understand what you’re committing to, and to plan ahead. Knowing what mistakes to avoid is just as important as the things you should be doing as you prepare for a marathon.

Heart rate and pace: how to compare these metrics to improve performance

Heart rate and pace are two of the most common metrics runners use to determine how hard they’re working, but often, they’ll use one or the other. By using the two together, you can get a good idea of how your fitness is progressing and use that information to guide your training. Intimidated by numbers? Don’t worry — comparing the two is easier than you think.

Aerobic decoupling

Decoupling simply means two things separating from each other. In the case of aerobic decoupling, these two things are your heart rate and pace. When you’re running at a pace that is manageable for you, your heart rate should remain relatively steady. If you’re very fit (perhaps you’re in the latter stages of a training block), your heart rate should remain steady as your pace increases — at least, to a point.

When one of those two variables begins to deviate from the other, they are decoupling. This means either your heart rate is increasing significantly as your pace increases, or your heart rate is staying the same as your pace declines. Let’s unpack what those changes mean:

Increased heart rate with increased speed

When your heart rate increases dramatically relative to your increase in pace, it means there is a higher cost for you to maintain that pace. In other words, it is much harder for you to run at that pace for that length of time, and you need more training in order to maintain that pace.

The good news is, that’s what training is for. When you look at your data after your run, you can see where your heart rate and pace decoupled (your heart rate increased or your pace declined), which is the point at which you became inefficient. The goal of your training should be to run longer at that pace before you reach that point.

For example, if you’re training for a 10K with a goal time of 50 minutes, you need to be able to run 5:00/km for 50 minutes. If you can only maintain that pace for 30 minutes before you reach the point of inefficiency, that’s your starting point for your workouts.

Heart rate stays high as pace declines

If your heart rate remains high even after you’ve decreased the pace, that’s an indicator that you’re not yet efficient at that pace. That being said, there are a few other factors that could affect how quickly your heart rate comes down after a hard effort:

Heat and/or humidity can make it difficult to cool your body down, which will make your heart work harder even at a slower pace.

Dehydration causes you to have a lower volume of blood circulating through your body, which means your heart has to beat faster to compensate.

Running up a hill will increase your heart rate, even though your pace is slower than running on flat ground.

Heart rate and pace stay consistent

If you don’t see any significant changes (less than five per cent deviance) in your heart rate or pace, that is an indicator that you are running efficiently at that pace. This is ideal when you’re doing an easy run, but won’t help you see any big performance gains in workouts. If you see this happen in a workout, take it as permission to increase the pace.

For example, let’s say you do a 30-minute tempo run at the beginning of your training cycle, and you notice your heart rate beginning to jump after about 20 minutes. You continue training, and a few weeks later, you do the same 30-minute tempo again at the same pace but this time, your heart rate stays consistent. When you do that workout again in another couple of weeks, you can increase your pace and challenge yourself a bit more. Eventually, your heart rate and pace will decouple again, so that’s your new goal.

Heart rate, pace and performance

Knowing your pace is crucial for determining what your goal time should be in a race, and your heart rate is an excellent way to gauge effort. By putting the two together, you can get a good picture of how fit you are, and what you need to work on so you can improve performance and smash your running goals.

Betty Lindberg 97-year-old surprised after breaking age-group 5K world record

On Feb. 26. a 97-year old athlete was astounded as she reached the finish line at the Atlanta Peachtree Marathon Weekend 5K, to find out she set an age-group world record. Atlanta-resident Betty Lindberg broke the previous 95+ 5K world record by 30 minutes, clocking a time of 55:48.

The record will be passed on from one Betty to another as Lindberg broke Betty Ashley‘s 95-99 5K age group record of 1:28:36, which she set in 2017 as a 96-year-old.

Although Lindberg walked the entire race, she averaged 11 minutes per kilometer. According to local media, she believed the record was attainable going into the race but was shocked at how quick her time was. “I simply stroll, as quick as I can,” Lindberg said to the media.

Lindberg, who didn’t start running until she was 63, used to run with the Atlanta Track Club but now goes for quick strolls around her hilly neighbourhood.

Leading up to the race, Lindberg would train by getting out for an hour’s walk around her neighbourhood. She would also supplement her walks with yoga classes at the local fitness center.

How long should your marathon workouts be?, Adding the right amount of volume to your marathon training can result in tremendous aerobic gains

Running a marathon can be intimidating, especially if it’s your first. Your success in the marathon depends on a fairly significant chunk of time devoted to training. If you plan a 16- to 20-week build, your marathon will most likely go well (barring unforeseeable’s like extreme weather, illness or injury). But if you want to get closer to reaching your goal, paying attention to running the right volume in speed workouts can help you get the most out of your training plan.

When planning your marathon workouts, it’s important to understand that the race itself is entirely aerobic. The marathon requires next to no anaerobic work; your heart rate will stay well below your maximum HR for the entire race unless you somehow find yourself in a sprint to the finish line.

Considering that, you’ll want to curate your workouts around improving your aerobic capacity. This means that workouts consisting of 15 reps of 400m at 10K or half-marathon pace will not be beneficial to your preparation.

Your mileage and time on your feet are the most important elements when training for a marathon, therefore you want your workouts to be a particular length to simulate a race setting.

Your marathon workouts should be at least 12 to 25 kilometers of volume. Here are a few examples.

10 to 12 reps 800m at goal marathon pace (or faster) with 400m float (faster-jog) rest. (12-16 km)

Three to four reps of 5K with five minutes’ rest at goal marathon pace or faster. (17-22 km)

3K, 5K, 3K, 5K alternating from half-marathon pace on 3K reps to marathon pace on 5K reps with four minutes’ jog rest between reps. (16-19 km)

Two reps of 3K, 2K, 1K at goal marathon pace with two minutes jog between reps, and three minutes jog between sets. (12-15 km)

Unfortunately, speed development for the marathon is not done with your classic short interval workouts, especially for new and intermediate runners. There is no need to run fast track workouts for the marathon unless you are experienced and looking to improve your previous marathon time. This can be done by doing short intervals with short rest at your goal marathon pace.

World record holder Yalemzerf Yehualaw will run debut marathon in Hamburg

Yalemzerf Yehualaw, who has smashed the world 10 k record just a few days ago, now sets her sights on her marathon debut. The 22 year-old Ethiopian has chosen the Haspa Marathon Hamburg on 24th April for her first race at the classic distance.

This was announced by organizers during a press conference in Hamburg today. Germany’s biggest spring marathon returns to its traditional date for the first time since 2019 and looks likely to come back with a bang. Yalemzerf Yehualaw clearly has the potential to run a very good first marathon. Organizers of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg expect a total of 20,000 runners including races at shorter distances on 24th April. Online entry is still possible at: www.haspa-marathon-hamburg.de

“We are thrilled to have Yalemzerf Yehualaw, one of the most exciting marathon talents of the world, on the start line of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg,“ said chief organizer Frank Thaleiser.

Yalemzerf Yehualaw, who improved the world 10 k record by a huge margin of 24 seconds to 29:14 last Sunday in Castello, Spain, is also the world’s second fastest half marathon runner. She clocked 63:51 in Valencia last October. Additionally at the World Half Marathon Championships in 2020 she won the bronze medal. Her half marathon PB suggests that she has the potential to run spectacular marathon times as well in the future.

“I am really happy to be able to run my marathon debut in Hamburg. My coach Tessema suggested to me to go to Hamburg for my debut since he ran here himself,“ said Yalemzerf Yehualaw. Tessema Abshero ran his lifetime best in Hamburg back in 2008 when he was fourth with 2:08:26. It was the only time he clocked a sub 2:10 time during his career.

Organizers showed Yalemzerf Yehualaw the Hamburg course and she then said during the press conference: „I am looking forward to this race and want to break the course record.“ Fellow-Ethiopian Meselech Melkamu holds the current Hamburg course best with a time of 2:21:54 from 2016.

The fastest woman runner on Hamburg’s start list is Priscah Jeptoo. The Olympic silver medalist from London 2012 has a PB of 2:20:14. While this personal record is ten years old more recently the Kenyan ran 2:24:16 in Valencia in 2019.

Two former winners of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg are returning to the race. Gadise Mulu will start as the defending champion. The Ethiopian took first place last September when the race was held in a much smaller format and with only a few elite runners due to the pandemic. Gadise Mulu improved significantly in Hamburg when she broke 2:30 for the first time and clocked 2:26:20.

Dibabe Kuma is the other Hamburg winner who comes back to the race. The Ethiopian was the winner in 2019, when she ran 2:24:41. She has a PB of 2:23:24.

Deborah Schöneborn heads the national elite entries of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg. The 27 year-old ran surprisingly well in the Olympic marathon in Sapporo last summer, where she finished 18th. She was the fifth fastest European athlete in this race. Deborah Schöneborn has a personal best of 2:26:55 and aims to qualify for the European Championships this summer.

Roll your feet before your run to prevent injuries, four minutes is all it takes to loosen up tight feet and make your run more comfortable

Most runners think about foam rolling as a post-run recovery strategy, but if you struggle with impact-related injuries like runner’s knee, Achilles tendonitis, IT band syndrome or shin splints, rolling your feet before your run may help you stay healthy.

Running on stiff feet

When your feet are stiff, you’re not able to access their full range of motion. This can make your heel strike more intense, which increases your risk for impact-related injuries. Rolling your feet before your run helps to loosen the tissues in your feet and increase blood flow and range of motion to that area. As a bonus, it will help improve mobility in your calves, thighs and even your back, which will help you run more efficiently.

You can use a foam roller to loosen up your feet, but a small ball, like a tennis ball, lacrosse ball or even a golf ball will be more effective. These tools, with their smaller surface area, will be better at reaching the small muscles that your foam roller might miss.

How to roll your feet the right way

The best way to roll your feet is seated in a chair. This position will allow you to better control the amount of pressure you’re putting on your feet. You should also always do one foot at a time.

Putting moderate pressure on top of the ball (you should feel the pressure but it shouldn’t be painful), slowly roll your foot around on the ball or roller, moving at approximately one inch per second. When you find a spot that’s particularly tight or tender, spend an extra 30-60 seconds rolling in that area. You should spend about two minutes in total per foot.

This quick, four-minute practice will increase flexibility and blood flow in your feet to improve your run. You may want to spend four minutes after your run rolling your feet as well, especially if you struggle with chronic impact-related injuries.

The link between RED-S and carbohydrate consumption

Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) has become a common nutrition concern among athletes and sports dietitians over the last few years, and nutrition experts and sports physiologists have been working to learn more about the condition and its causes. Recently, sports nutrition researcher Louise Burke revealed that RED-S is not simply caused by a lack of overall energy, but specifically by a lack of carbohydrates in athletes’ diets.

RED-S and energy availability

Until now, most nutrition experts agreed that RED-S was caused exclusively by low energy availability (i.e. a lack of calories). In other words, if an athlete’s overall calorie intake does not match their calorie output, they’ll be at risk for developing RED-S, and their performance and health will suffer.

While this isn’t entirely wrong, Burke’s research reveals that it isn’t entirely right, either. According to her findings, athletes who consume enough calories but don’t consume enough carbohydrates are still at risk for the condition.

The study

The goal of Burke’s study, published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, was to understand how a short-term, low carbohydrate/high fat (LCHF) diet and a low-energy-availability diet affected endurance athletes’ immune, inflammatory and iron-regulatory responses to exercise.

To do this, she recruited 28 elite male race walkers and had them complete two, six-day diet and training phases. The first phase was a baseline phase, in which all athletes consumed a high-carbohydrate, high-energy-availability diet. In other words, they ate adequate calories and carbohydrates to fuel their training.

In the second phase, athletes were split into three groups. One group continued to follow a high-carb, high-calorie diet, the other followed an LCHF diet, and the other followed a low-energy-availability diet. During both phases, athletes completed a 25K race walk, walking at about 75 per cent of their VO2 max. Burke and her team collected blood samples before and after exercise during both phases to measure immune, inflammatory and iron markers.

The results

Although the phases were very short, Burke and her team could already see the negative effects of an LCHF diet on athletes’ iron levels, immune and stress responses to exercise. In contrast, they didn’t see any notable changes to the athletes health who followed the other two protocols, even those who followed a low-energy-availability diet.

This led Burke to the conclusion that “short-term restriction of CHO (carbohydrates), rather than energy, may have greater negative impacts on athlete health.” In other words, if you consume enough total calories but that number comes predominantly from another source (like fat), you’re still at risk for developing RED-S.

This is yet another addition to the ever-growing list of reasons why runners should not restrict carbohydrate intake. If you’re concerned about both your health and performance, make sure you’re eating enough carbohydrates to fuel your training. If you’re not sure what an adequate amount of carbohydrates looks like, talk to a sports dietitian, who can help you understand what a healthy diet looks like for you.

World Athletics bans athletes from Russia and Belarus

World Athletics will impose sanctions against the member federations of Russia and Belarus as a consequence of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian and Belarusian athletes will be excluded from all World Athletics events for the foreseeable future, effective immediately.

This sanction means that all Russian or Belarusian athletes who have received ANA (Authorized Neutral Athlete) status will have their accreditation withdrawn and entries denied, as will any coaches, personnel and officials.

The suspension will include the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, and the 2022 World Athletics Race Walking Championships in Muscat, Oman, which are set to begin on March 4.

World Athletics has also agreed to consider the suspension of the Belarus Federation, which will be a topic of discussion at the scheduled WA Council meeting on March 10.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said:

“The world is horrified by what Russia has done, aided and abetted by Belarus. World leaders sought to avoid this invasion through diplomatic means but to no avail given Russia’s unswerving intention to invade Ukraine. The unprecedented sanctions that are being imposed on Russia and Belarus by countries and industries all over the world appear to be the only peaceful way to disrupt and disable Russia’s current intentions and restore peace.”

The Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) has been suspended from competing in World Athletics events since 2015 due to multiple doping violations. They are currently not eligible to host World Athletics events or send teams to international championships until 2023.

Two weeks ago, on Feb. 17, World Athletics and its Doping Control Review Board (DRB) announced it had approved the applications of 33 Russian athletes to compete in international competition as neutral athletes (ANA) this year. Now, the 33 Russian athletes who received ANA status for 2022 are excluded from World Athletics Series events.

Olympic Silver medalist Keely Hodgkinson will compete in the 800m and 4x400m relay for Great Britain at the World Athletics Indoor Championships

The 19-year-old, who broke Kelly Holmes' British 800m record at last summer's Tokyo Olympics, was part of a 33-strong squad announced on Tuesday.

British 400m champion Jessie Knight and Ama Pipi join Hodgkinson in the relay squad.

The World Indoors take place in Belgrade, Serbia, from 18-20 March.

Several athletes confirmed their places in the GB team at the UK Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham last weekend.

They included Andrew Pozzi, the 2018 world indoor champion, in the 60m hurdles, in-form Elliot Giles in the 800m and 2016 world indoor medalist Lorraine Ugen in the long jump.

Ed Faulds and Marc Scott, who have broken European indoor records this season, are also included in the team.

Olympic head coach Christian Malcolm said: "Those called up have earned their vest and I know they'll all represent their country with pride in Belgrade.

"We have a number of athletes who have really stepped up during this indoor season, setting a number of personal and season best, so it'll be exciting to see how they translate that into the Championship environment."

Double 5,000m world champion Helen Obiri turns attention to Istanbul Half Marathon

Hellen Obiri has no time to rest as she gears up for her next assignment at the Istanbul Half Marathon on March 27 in Turkey.

The 31 year-old made her half marathon debut here in 2020 where she ran an exceptional time of 1:04.51 that made her the fourth-fastest Kenyan of all-time over the distance.

Obiri has gained experience in half marathon running since her debut. She has put her focus on road races, she won the Great North Run in last September with a time of 1:07.42 and recently she displayed her great form when she finished second at the Ras Al Khaimah half marathon that was held last month, where she also improved on her personal best to 1:04.22.

The World Cross Country Champion is now ranked the fifth fastest half marathon runner of all time. “I am so happy to be returning to Istanbul. I ran my half marathon debut in this race last year and I hope I can improve both my position and my time on this occasion,” Obiri said.

The race organizers have lined up for Ethiopians who have personal best of sub 1:07.00 that will also face Obiri in the coming three weeks time.

The 2021 Copenhagen half marathon champion, Tsehay Gemechu leads the four athletes as she comes to this race with the second fastest time on paper of 1:05.08.

The 23 year-old has an impressive half marathon record with four wins out of five races. Hawi Feysa was second behind Gemechu in Copenhagen in September, when she ran a personal best of 1:05.41 in her debut.

Nigsti Haftu and Bekelech Gudeta are the other title contenders and they come to this race with their personal best of 1:06.17 and 1:06.54. Haftu got her all time best at last year’s Valencia Half Marathon where she finished in sixth place while Gudeta got her lifetime best at this race in last year’s edition where she finished in position seven.

The two times Olympic 5000m silver medallist is ready to battle the four and she is looking forward to the challenge on the flat course.

“My training has been going on well but I know it will be a tough challenge as the field is very strong. I look forward to an exciting race in a beautiful city, “said Obiri.

The four athletes have been put together by the race organizer to chase the race course record of 1:04.02 that was set last year by Ruth Chepngetich from Kenya. This time still stands as the world record because it has been ratified by the World Athletics.

The current world half marathon record holder is Letesenbet Gidey from Ethiopia who broke the previous mark by more than a minute in 2021 in Valencia.

Simulate a race with “The Michigan” workout, this challenging session will help you handle the pace changes you'll experience during a race

The Michigan was developed in the 1970s by University of Michigan head cross-country coach, Ron Warhurst. A challenging combination of a fartlek run and tempo intervals, the workout simulates the pace changes you’re likely to experience during a race and has become a staple workout for many athletes.

Beginners, beware

Due to its high volume and the importance it places on pacing, this workout is far too much for a beginner runner. More advanced athletes, however, should give it a whirl, but be warned: it may take a few tries before you nail the pacing. As elite American middle-distance runner Will Leer said in this interview, “The Michigan is one of those workouts that grows on you over time…Early on it puts you at this level of discomfort that you’re sure is too much to endure for the 10km of running ahead of you. But when you finish a really good one, when you just nail it, there is hardly a better feeling in the world.”

To perform The Michigan properly, you need a track and a one-mile (1,600m) route on grass or roads. Ideally, one that contains a few rolling hills. The workout involves alternating between harder running efforts on the track and more even, tempo-paced intervals on the hilly one-mile loop. While the pacing for the off-track tempos will stay consistent throughout the workout, the track intervals will get progressively faster as the intervals get shorter.

The workout:

The tempo miles throughout the workout should all be about a minute slower than your first mile on the track. Runners should also take a three-minute jog recovery between every interval (tempo runs included).

Warmup: 15-20 minutes easy jog, followed by form drills and strides

Workout:  1,600m @ 10km pace – 1 mile tempo – 1,200m @ 5km pace – 1 mile tempo – 800m @ 3k pace – 1 mile tempo – 400m all-out

Cooldown: 15-20 minute easy jog, followed by light stretching

Slow-twitch vs. fast-twitch muscle fibres: how your muscle type affects running performance

Each one of us has both slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fibres, but the ratio between them is different for every individual. While you can’t do much to change the distribution of your own muscle fibre types, new research shows you can adapt your training to your specific muscle make-up to prevent injuries and maximize your performance.

Slow-twitch vs. fast-twitch

Study author Eline Lievens explains that both fast-twitch and slow-twitch fibres are present in all of your muscles, but the proportions of each differ from person to person. This distribution determines your myotype. Slow-twitch fibres are meant for slow, long-lasting exercise, while fast-twitch are for fast and powerful actions.

Lievens says that although humans evolved to have a slower myotype, there is a large spread in muscle fibre type between humans, from 20 per cent to 90 per cent slow-twitch fibres. This distribution has led researchers to classify humans into three myotype categories: slow, intermediate or fast (or, as she describes them, albatross, ape or cheetah).

Slow-twitch fibres, as their name suggests, are meant for slow, long-lasting exercise, while fast-twitch are for fast and powerful actions. Slow-twitch fibres are also much more energy-efficient and require three times less energy than fast-twitch fibres to produce the same contraction. They are also much more resistant to fatigue and injuries, which is why they are so important for endurance athletes.

Every muscle in your body will have a mixture of slow and fast-twitch fibres, but the distribution won’t be the same everywhere. For example, your soleus (one of the muscles that make up your calves) is predominantly slow-twitch, while your triceps are predominantly fast-twitch. If you have a slow (albatross) myotype, however, you will have more slow-twitch fibres in all of your muscles than the average population.

For endurance runners (which Lievens defines as anyone running longer than 1,500m), having more slow-twitch fibres will improve your running economy, which will allow you to run longer without fatiguing. Athletes with the slow myotype also recover faster, which means they can take less rest between intervals during a workout and can train with more frequency day-to-day and week-to-week.

Due to the lower energy efficiency of fast-twitch muscle fibres, athletes with a fast myotype are at a greater risk for over-training or over-reaching because they are more likely to accumulate fatigue over time without adequate rest between sessions. These athletes also require a longer taper period ahead of their goal race than slow-myotype athletes.

Are you an albatross, ape or cheetah?

Unfortunately, finding out your exact muscle fibre type distribution isn’t very easy. For many years, the only way to learn your myotype was to have a muscle biopsy, which is an invasive and painful procedure. Lievens and her colleagues have developed a new, non-invasive scan technique using MRI imaging to determine your myotype, however, there are only two facilities offering these scans in Belgium or The Netherlands.

Of course, most of us won’t be traveling to Europe to have a muscle scan, but by listening to your body you can apply these principles to your training. Do you tend to recover quickly between intervals and workouts? Or do you need a day off between sessions or more recovery time between intervals in order to produce the same effort? It may take some trial and error, but understanding how your body responds to different types, intensities and volumes of running can help you tailor your training to your body so that you perform at your best and stay injury-free.

Canadian Sasha Gollish breaks 40+ indoor mile world record

On Feb. 27, at the Ontario Masters Championships in Toronto, the city’s own Sasha Gollish smashed the previous women’s 40+ mile world record of 4:44.81 by six seconds, taking it down to 4:38.73. (The record has yet to be ratified.)

Gollish, who turned 40 in December, ran a personal best indoor mile time to break the previous record held by U.S. distance runner Sonja Friend-Uhl, which was set in 2012. 

When Gollish was asked if being a world record holder has set in, she said, “not yet. “I am super satisfied with my result and ecstatic to be able to be competitive again on the track.”

Gollish, who has competed in events from the 800m to the marathon, represented Canada in the marathon at the 2019 World Championships in Doha. “I have switched my training up over the last two years and began focusing more on middle-distance running,” she says. “Sometimes you get can get so wrapped up in training, I’ve been focused on having fun.”

Something Gollish has added to her winter training in recent years is Nordic skiing. This activity is a popular cross-training exercise for many runners as it strengthens the core, quads and hamstrings without putting too much pressure on your joints. 

Gollish returned to running eight years ago, when she was 32, after taking a 12-year hiatus from the sport. But her love for running dates back to her childhood, running alongside her mom and sister annually at the Run For the Cure event. Two years into Gollish’s return, she won a bronze medal in the 1,500m at the 2015 Toronto Pan-AM Games. 

When asked about her ambitions for 2022, Gollish mentioned she just wants to continue having fun and pushing herself. 

Six foods you thought were unhealthy, but aren’t, runners, don't leave these items out of your cart

Nutrition can be confusing. Foods we’re told are good for us one day get black-listed the next. The truth is, all foods can be a part of a healthy diet, but there are a few, in particular, you may be avoiding for no reason. The following items often get left of runners’ grocery lists, but it’s time to start tossing them into your cart.

1.- White potatoes

White potatoes are often viewed as the less-healthy cousins of sweet potatoes, but that’s doing them a disservice. White potatoes actually contain twice as much potassium as the orange variety and are a great source of carbohydrates, which makes them an excellent source of post-run nutrition.

2.- Popcorn

Popcorn is a great high-carbohydrate snack for runners. While the movie theatre variety should probably be left for an occasional treat, popping some at home with your own toppings is a great healthy snack for runners.

3.- Salt

It’s important to replace the electrolytes (sodium and potassium) you lose through sweat. Runners sweat a lot when they run, even in the winter, which means topping up their sodium levels is an important part of proper recovery. While you still should be mindful of the amount of sodium in some processed foods, runners don’t need to fear the salt shaker.

4.- Red meat

Red meat has gotten a bad rep over the last several years, and many people believed eating it increased your risk for several health problems, including cancer. Recent studies have dismantled that myth, and research has shown that as long as it’s eaten in moderation (less than 70 g. Per day), it poses no risk to your health. 

For runners, red meat is an excellent source of iron, which is crucial to running performance because it plays an important role in transmitting oxygen in your blood. Many runners struggle with iron deficiency, so those who are omnivores shouldn’t be afraid to have some steak once in a while.

5.- Full-fat dairy

For many years, whole-milk dairy was thought to be too high in fat to be healthy and everyone switched to skim milk and fat-free products. A 2015 study debunked that myth and found that the low or no-fat varieties weren’t any healthier, and people who consumed high-fat dairy weren’t at any greater risk for health problems.

Of course, you probably shouldn’t eat a cup of full-fat yogurt before a run, but when consumed in moderation, whole milk dairy can be much more satiating and help runners meet their daily calorie needs.

6.- White rice and pasta

We’re often encouraged to go for the whole grain varieties when purchasing items like rice and pasta, but for runners, this isn’t always your best option. Runners need to eat a lot of carbohydrates to fuel their activity, but consuming exclusively whole wheat varieties can sometimes result in eating too much fibre, which could lead to tummy troubles on their runs. This is especially true for runners who are carb-loading in the days before a goal race, when they’re eating an even greater amount of carbohydrates than usual.

It’s still important for runners to consume whole grain products, but if you’re struggling with gas, bloating, and other forms of GI distress when you’re running (or any other time), it’s possible that you’re getting too much fibre. Try substituting some of your whole grain products for the white variety to ease your stomach woes.

Try kilometer countdowns for your next speed workout

If you’re training for a 5K or 10K and are getting bored of doing the same four or five workouts over and over again, try this one on for size: kilometre countdowns. It’s fun, it’s got some off-distance intervals to change things up, and it can be done at pretty much any point during your training block.

The workout

The idea behind this workout is to gradually get faster as the intervals get shorter, so make sure you choose your starting point wisely. Ideally, you do the first interval at 5K pace and speed up from there, but if you’re not quite there yet, you can start closer to 10K pace.

This workout is a great way to practice running faster on tired legs. It also gives you a bit of a mental break, because it gets the longest intervals over with right at the beginning, so you can fly home to the finish. Ideally, you should start each interval at either the 400m startline, or the 200m startline to make it easier to keep track of laps. With that in mind, your recovery should be an easy jog or walk to your starting point, never taking more than 400m or less than 200m of recovery.

Warmup: 10-15 minutes easy jog, followed by form drills and strides

Workout: 1,000m (400m jog recovery), 900m (300m jog recovery), 800m (400m jog recovery), 700m (300m jog recovery), 600m (400m recovery), 500 (300m recovery), 400m (400m recovery), 300m (300m recovery), 200m

Cooldown: 10-15 minutes easy jog, followed by light stretching

Ethiopian runner Yalemzerf Yehualaw has clocked 29:14 for a women’s world 10km record in a mixed race

Yalemzerf Yehualaw has broken the women’s 10km road record in Castellon, Spain, with a time of 29:14.

The 22-year-old sliced 24 seconds from Kalkidan Gezahegne’s world record of 29:38 on Sunday (Feb 27) in Spain.

It comes after a couple of record-breaking near misses. In the Antrim Coast Half-Marathon last September she set what appeared to be a world record of 63:43 before it transpired the course was 54 metres short. Then, in the Great Ethiopian Run last month, she seemingly clocked an African all-comers’ record of 30:14 at high altitude in Addis Ababa, only to see the time adjusted to 31:17 due to a timing error.

Yalemzerf said: “Today a dream came true. I felt really great in the race. The first 5km was very fast. I was struggling a little bit in the second 5km but I was still able to maintain a high pace.

“I’m so happy with this record! I want to thank the race organisers for this fantastic opportunity,” added Yehualaw, who ran splits of 14:28 and 14:46.

Yehualaw won a bronze medal at the World Half Marathon Championships whereas last year she became the second fastest women’s half-marathon runner in history, clocking 63:51 in Valencia to finish behind the world record run of her NN Running Team team-mate Letesenbet Gidey.

Josh Kerr smashes Peter Elliott’s UK indoor mile record

Olympic 1500m bronze medallist clocks 3:48.87 in Boston to go No.3 on the world all-time rankings

After finishing third in the Olympic 1500m final last year behind Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Timothy Cheruiyot, Josh Kerr boldly stated this month that he is going for gold at the World Championships in Eugene in July.

On Sunday (Feb 27) in Boston he showed why he carries such confidence when he ran 3:48.87 for the mile at the Boston University Last Chance Meet.

The time puts him No.3 on the world all-time rankings behind Yomif Kejelcha’s world record of 3:47.01 and Hicham El Guerrouj’s 3:48.45.

It also smashes the long-standing British record of 3:52.02 held by Peter Elliott – a mark which was set at East Rutherford in 1990.

Elliott incidentally also holds the British 1500m indoor record with 3:34.20 but it is thought Kerr may have run quicker en route during his mile.

In addition, Kerr’s time is a European record, as it breaks Eamonn Coghlan’s 3:49.78, which was also set in East Rutherford back in 1983. At the time Coghlan was the first man to run a sub-3:50 mile indoors and even now, 39 years later, Kerr has become only the seventh athlete to achieve the feat.

Kerr’s splits saw him pass the first lap in 58.15 and halfway in 1:56.75 before he ran a trademark strong second half of the race to go through three laps in 2:52.04 (55.3) before finishing with a 56.8 final lap.

Rising star Gaku Hoshi thrills in joint Osaka-Biwako marathon

Gaku Hoshi won Sunday’s combined Osaka Marathon and Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, capturing the new event on the national running calendar in his first race at that distance.

In a race featuring 300 elite male and female runners, the 23-year-old Hoshi broke out of a three-man pack around the 38-kilometer mark and ran solo the rest of the way to win in 2 hours, 7 minutes and 31 seconds — a record for a first-time marathoner.

“This was my first marathon and I didn’t think I would win so this is a surprise,” Hoshi said.

“It’s too good to be true but I’m super happy. I knew it would come down to the last stages so I went aggressively after the 30-km mark. It went as planned,” he said.

On a clear and sunny day, the 42.195-km race started in front of the Osaka Prefectural Government Building and finished at Osaka Castle Park.

Hoshi stayed in a leading group of 10 runners after the last turn, and after his pacemaker dropped out the race continued as a three-man contest between Hoshi, Ichitaka Yamashita and Yuhei Urano.

Yamashita finished second, 11 seconds behind Hoshi, and Urano was third. Misato Horie won the women’s division.

Seven runners including the top three men’s finishers qualified for Japan’s Marathon Grand Championship to determine the qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The elite men-only Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Japan’s oldest annual marathon race with 76 editions so far, became a part of the mass-participation Osaka Marathon beginning this year.

The 2022 edition involved only elite athletes, with 20,000 mass-event runners excluded due to coronavirus concerns.

Matsuda runs 2:20:52 to break Osaka Women's Marathon record

Mizuki Matsuda broke the race record at the Osaka Women’s Marathon on Sunday (30), improving her PB to 2:20:52 to win the World Athletics Elite Label event.

Her time beats the 2:21:11 event record which had been set by Mao Ichiyama last year and moves her to fifth on the Japanese all-time list. It is also the second-fastest time by a Japanese athlete in Japan, behind Ichiyama’s 2:20:29 set in Nagoya in 2020.

Matsuda was followed over the finish line by Mao Uesugi, Natsumi Matsushita and Mizuki Tanimoto, as the top four all dipped under 2:24.

Before the race, Matsuda had explained how her goal was to win the race with a performance that would help her to secure a spot on the team for the World Athletics Championships in Oregon later this year. After winning in Osaka in 2020 with 2:21:47, Matsuda had later missed out on a place at the Tokyo Olympics when Ichiyama ran faster in Nagoya.

“I could not attain my goal today,” she said after the race, with beating Ichiyama’s 2:20:29 a likely aim. “I am happy that my hard training paid off well.

“I think the result was good because I ran aggressively from the start. I just hope that I will be selected for the World Championships team. During the race, I was imagining myself running in Eugene, thinking: ‘How would the world-class runner run at this stage of the race?’”

Despite the pandemic, the event in Osaka was able to go ahead as planned, under good conditions with little of the expected wind.

Matsuda and Uesugi had run together behind the three male pacemakers until just after 25km, passing 10km in 33:02 and half way in 1:09:57 – a half marathon PB for Uesugi.

At 25km the clock read 1:22:47, but Uesugi started to drift back a short while later and by 30km – passed in 1:39:15 – Matsuda had built a 31-second lead.

She went through 35km in 1:56:04 and 40km in 2:13:23, with the pacemakers leaving the race as they entered Nagai Stadium park at around 41km.

Matsuda went on to cross the finish line in 2:20:52 to achieve her third Osaka Women’s Marathon win after her victories in 2018 and 2020, maintaining her unbeaten record in the event.

Although Uesugi’s pace began to slow as she was dropped, she held on to run a big PB of 2:22:29, while Matsushita was third in 2:23:05 and Tanimoto fourth in 2:23:11. Yukari Abe was fifth in 2:24:02 as the top five all set PBs, with Sayaka Sato sixth in 2:24:47. The top six all qualified for the Marathon Grand Championship, the 2024 Olympic trial race.

John Landy was a very special man

"The most incredibly stupid, beautiful, foolish, gentlemanly act I have ever witnessed." is how one spectator, a prominent Australian minister, described the mid-race occurence as pictured here.

I am saddened to share the news of the passing of mile legend, John Landy at the age 91.

You may best remember him for looking left while Roger Bannister passed on his right during the iconic 4 lapper dubbed the Miracle Mile at the 1954 Commonwealth Games.

Or perhaps you prefer to recall Landy as the second man under four minutes...his 3:57.9, run in Turku Finland, came just 46 days after the more widely lauded Bannister barrier breaker.

But when I think of John Landy, my very first image of him comes from the 1956 Australian National Championships. In an announced goal prior to that meeting's one mile run, Landy hoped to break his own world record.

Instead, midway through said mile, one that attracted 22,000 spectators, there was some jostling that caused a runner to go down on the cinders. It was the 19-year old Aussie national junior champ, Ron Clarke. Landy, hurdled over the fallen competitor but clipped the youngster's shoulder with his spikes. Rather than continue forward, Landy stopped, turned around and lent Clarke a hand back to his feet.

Now, some 60 yards behind the leaders, Landy, one by one, reeled in the entire field and went on to win in a remarkable 4:04.2.

John Landy's one mile world record may have lasted just three years, but his selfless act of sportsmanship shall endear him to this track fan into perpetuity.

Five running technique exercises to improve your running form

Proper running form is not something that comes overnight. In fact, if you try to change your running technique too quickly you’ll likely end up doing more harm than good. Go through this list of five tips for better running technique and introduce changes slowly.

1. INCREASE RUNNING CADENCE

Many runners run with a cadence that’s too slow. Their feet hit the ground in front of their body of mass and their step is not rolling economically. This is called overstriding.

When you overstride, you’re effectively braking against your forward momentum which makes running a lot heavier. To avoid overstriding, aim to hit the ground with the middle of your sole and avoid excessive heel striking. When you’re running at a lighter pace, avoid landing toes first.

There is no such thing as optimal, universal running cadence. That is, a cadence that works for a sub-3-hour marathoner might not work for you (and even if it does, that won’t automatically make you a sub-3-hour marathoner, for that matter).

2. RELAX TO MAINTAIN AN EFFORTLESS RUNNING FORM

Running is easy when it’s relaxed.

When you look at elite runners, their running form often looks effortless. Their pace looks much more laid-back than what it really is.

Focus on keeping yourself straight and relaxed: let you cheeks wiggle and enjoy the ride. Avoid running at maximum pace even during the toughest intervals as you’ll tense up and your running technique will suffer.

It’s better to give only 95% even during the toughest exercises than to squeeze out everything you got.

3. PROPER RUNNING FORM EXTENDS ALL THE WAY TO THE UPPER BODY

Arms are more important in running than many people think.

Your arms are meant to balance the body while the legs are moving. Elbows make up for a great deal of kinetic energy and therefore they should swing forward and back, avoiding unnecessary lateral movement. A suitable elbow angle is about 90 degrees. Keep your hands in unclenched fists and let them swing easily besides your race bib.

At a tougher pace, using your arms becomes increasingly important. Your shoulders should be as relaxed as possible and you should also remember to invest in upper-body flexibility and mobility as well as muscle strengthening when you do supportive exercises.

A stiff upper body also affects the lower body and causes unnecessary rotation to the legs as well. You can practice arm movement for example in front of the mirror with the help of the exercise above.

4. RUNNING TECHNIQUE EXERCISES TO HOLD PROPER RUNNING FORM

It’s challenging to change your running technique without any special exercises. In running technique exercises – running drills – your technique is divided into parts and attention is given to the right kind of movements, muscle activation, muscular fitness, and mobility in order to enable a better running technique. Doing drills will also make it easier to hold proper running form for longer.

Stay focused when you do these drills and do them when you feel fresh.

Even though many people set longer runs as their goal, you shouldn’t concentrate on training to become slow. If you want to improve your running technique, it’s better to do short and precise exercises correctly, rather than training slowly for a really long time.

You can try various exercises, like high-knee runs, high-knee walks, jumps and leaps, and versatile mobility and stretching exercises. You can do the exercises as a full workout after a proper warm-up, but you can also combine them for 5–15 minutes with light jogs or do them before the brisker exercises

5. GET YOUR RUNNING FORM RIGHT

Avoid an excessively upright form while running. An important part of proper running form is maintaining good posture and leaning slightly forward.

With this kind of running form, you make sure that your feet don’t land too far ahead of your center of mass. A statue-like upright form might look stately it but makes forward rolling running more difficult. And when you get tired, you’re more likely to start leaning backwards.

Controlling your core and making sure you’ve got the required muscle fitness and endurance are key elements of maintaining proper running form. When you improve your muscle fitness, you’ll be able to keep up a good form during longer runs.

You can also try to activate your muscles before a jog with some strength exercises so you’ll feel strong when you start running.

Build speed and control with this unique workout, alternate between short and long intervals to practice smart pacing

A lot of running workouts focus on building speed, endurance or a combination of the two, but there’s another important component to running well that often gets neglected: control. In a long-distance race, you need to be able to control your pace throughout the run so you can get to the finish line as fast as possible, without having to stop before you get there. This unique workout teaches control, while also giving you a chance to get some speed on your legs.

800/400 intervals

This workout involves alternating between 800m and 400m intervals. The 400s are run at a faster pace than the 800s, so runners have to control their pace in the first half of every set to make sure they can speed up in the 400s. The rest is intentionally short between the short and long interval to force you not to run too hard in the 800s.

You can do this workout multiple times during a training cycle, and adjust the paces as your fitness increases. To start, aim to run the 800s at 10K pace and the 400s at 5K pace, but once you’re able to run all the intervals at consistent speeds, you can add sets and/or increase the pace.

The workout

Warmup: 10-15 minute easy jog, followed by form drills and strides

Workout: 3-4 x 800m/1 minute rest/400m/2 minutes rest

Cooldown: 10-15 minutes easy jog, followed by light stretching

Camille Herron Breaks Her Own 100-Mile World Record- And Then Some

"What a difference a year makes."

That was the first thing Camille Herron had to say when she reflected on her latest record-breaking run at the Jackpot Ultra Running Festival on February 19. Herron, a new addition to the master's division (as of December 2021), opened her 2022 campaign with a commanding performance.

She was the outright winner of the 100-mile race and the USATF 100-mile national champion; she set a 50-mile age group world record (6:08:24), a 12-hour world record (94.5 miles), and a 100-mile world record (12:41:11, breaking her own previous record of 12:42:40 from the 2017 Tunnel Hill 100).

For Herron, this performance, coupled with dominant wins last fall at the Javelina Jundred and Desert Solstice, is just what the doctor ordered after a tough 2021.

"I ran the Jackpot 100 last year and I just didn't feel good during that race," Herron says. "It was the fourth race that I just didn't feel right. I'd hit 40 miles and want to lie down and sleep. That followed me to Western States."

That tired feeling turned out to be a result of high iron levels and low levels of magnesium and vitamin B12. The iron overload was the main culprit, which she learned from InsideTracker data. Most endurance athletes commonly have low iron levels. The result of Herron's iron excess was anemia-like symptoms.

"I was feeling so bad. My breathing was heavy, I was extremely tired, and it wasn't normal race fatigue," Herron says. "It was pretty scary."

To normalize her iron, Herron worked with her longtime friend and dietitian, Jackie Dikos. Together, they mapped out a plan starting in July. By mid-August, Herron "had [her] mojo back and was feeling energized."The jumpstart catapulted Herron back into training, hitting paces she hadn't seen in years. That's when she got the bug to go after her 2017 100-mile record.

The record was something she'd contemplated for 2020 before the pandemic hit. She nearly went for it after feeling better in 2021 at a race in Hungary, but food poisoning pulled her from the start. That was after a hip flexor injury cost her a six-day race in Germany.

Fast forward to Javelina Jundred and Desert Solstice, Herron was looking for redemption. 

"Going into Javelina, I was fired up," Herron says. "I was overdue for a good race. I broke the course record by like 49 minutes. I wanted to keep that fire going."Hitting the Jackpot

A week and a half after moving home to Oklahoma after three years in Arizona, Herron was on a plane with her husband and coach, Conor Holt, to Las Vegas for the Jackpot 100. Most of all, she wanted redemption from her 2021 outing there. Breaking 13 hours sounded good, but if her record was in reach, she wanted it.

That's where she found herself at the 50-mile mark. Her 6:08:24 split was enough for the 40-44 age group world record, and that had her on pace for the 100-mile record. She kept her foot on the pedal.

"Between the elevation gain and the heat, it was much more fatigue than I felt in previous world records," Herron says. "I was trying to assess how my body felt at 50, and I was feeling quite a bit of fatigue. I had to wrap my head around having to endure the second half of the race."

Battling minor issues from the heat and a nosebleed, Herron troubleshot everything the race threw at her. Around mile 75, she caught race leader Arlen Glick. 

Herron saved time by only stopping once during the entire race. That lone,15-second break came around mile 70, when she shotgunned a non-alcoholic beer: an Upside Dawn Golden from Athletic Brewing."You know when you do long runs and you have a craving for a beer? Because of the iron overload, I've had to cut out alcohol. So, I've been hooked on non-alcoholic beer," Herron says. "I've never done a beer mile, but I guzzled it pretty fast."

With three laps to go of the 85 total, Herron had already secured the 12-hour record. Doing the math, she realized she was 20 seconds under her 100-mile world-record pace. There was no margin for error. With three miles to go, Herron dropped the hammer.

"I went into beast mode," she says. "I thought about Keira D'Amato chasing down Deena Kastor's marathon record. [Keira] powered through those last miles. I channeled that and thought back to what my high school track coach would say, 'Lift your knees. Drive your arms.'"

Holt cheered Herron on until she came across the line in 12:41:11 for the new world record and the outright win. In the final three miles, she went from a 20-second cushion to break the record by almost 90 seconds. Her final mile was 7:08, and her average pace over the full 100 was 7:37.

"As a woman, you can't be afraid that you could win the race," Herron says. "I've done it a few times now. It was added motivation as I was going after [eventual men's winner] Arlen Glick. Everything worked out. Pretty much, every goal I had, I achieved. I was overjoyed."Eyes on the Prize

Herron is back to the top of the 100-mile ranks as she enters her Western States training block. At 40, she's more fired up than ever to deliver the best performances of her career.

"I can remember hitting my 30s and thinking I'm on some downward slope," Herron says. "We need to shift that mindset. When I look at my training logs from 10 years ago, it's crazy. I used to do long runs every Sunday. As I've gotten older, I've taken better care of myself. If I do one or two long runs a month, that's good enough for me. I've said, women ultrarunners age like fine wine. What I may not have in leg speed anymore, I make up in physical and mental strength to keep going."

Herron credits changes in her diet and training, and the addition of a squat rack, for her continued strength as she enters into the master's ranks. These are the tools she plans to use in preparation for Western States. If all goes to plan, she will be a force to be reckoned with come June.

"I just feel like I have to keep going back and try to have a magical day there," Herron says. "Now that I've run the entire course, it's gonna be fun to go back and push my human limits. I'm hoping to have that dream day."

Let The Race Come To You

When we desire a certain outcome, it's common to try to over-control a race or force certain expectations. It's easy to disguise this kind of flawed thinking as being tough and committed to the goal. In actuality, we need to adopt a somewhat counter-intuitive mental approach.

As a local race director recently advised me, "you need to change up your approach and start letting the race come to you." This went against my typical mental mindset around racing. In fact, my college coach used to say, "make the race happen, don't let the race happen to you." Until now, that had always resonated.

While it doesn't guarantee control, better preparation and training do provide you with more tools to respond to whatever the trail throws at you. Letting the race come to you doesn't mean being a passive passenger in the experience. In fact, it means the opposite. Letting the race come to you means fully participating in and engaging with the actual adventure that you're on and welcoming every experience that it might bring.

Present Moment Focus 

This re-frame allows competitors to be more present in their racing experience.   In the past, I had made the mistake of crushing early miles, taking advantage of feeling fresh, and sometimes having too much of an urgency to stop for long at aid stations. With the new priority of letting the race come to me in my most recent competition, I didn't panic when I had a twinge in my back in the early miles or when gels weren't going down easily. Typically my thought process might have gone something like "Great. My body already hurts and I'm only at mile 18. I can't wait to see how bad it feels at mile 80."

Instead, I slowed to a hike on the uphill I was climbing to let the discomfort subside. I didn't worry about the potential of lost time. I wasn't concerned with what other athletes were doing. My only focus was addressing the current situation that I found myself in

Problem Solving 

Trail running inherently comes with challenges. Even on great days when you achieve your desired outcome, it likely came with effective problem solving rather than simply a lack of problems faced. A byproduct of letting the race come to you with an eagerness to engage with it is that you're ready to assess and respond to any obstacle that you face, rather than resisting it or panicking.

This new mindset allowed me to calmly address what was in front of me without the panic or anxiety that comes with trying to predict how it's going to impact you further down the trail. Each challenge is simply a component of what the race is bringing with it and can also be welcomed and accepted. 

Managing Information 

When it comes down to it, racing is really about interpreting and managing the constant influx of information (i.e. how your body feels, the terrain, race position, weather) that you're being presented with, and deciding what is helpful feedback and what is an unproductive distraction. In the past, when I was trying to make the race happen, it was more difficult to accurately tell the difference. 

For example, sometimes what I would treat as an irritating distraction was actually something that required my attention (i.e. heat and its impact on my fueling strategy). And, something that should have been dismissed as a distraction (i.e. what a competitor was doing) I interpreted as important feedback for my race strategy. When you let the race come to you, you're already in the mindset to receive and respond.

Not only do you know lots of information is coming your way, but you're ready for it. This information isn't a nuisance or a threat but in fact an inevitable and crucial part of the racing process. 

This new perspective and mental approach of letting the race come to me transformed my racing experience and it can transform yours, too. Not only did it have a positive impact on the outcome of my race, but I found myself calmer, more engaged, and enjoying the process more than I have in a long time. 

Processing Information During a Race: Feedback vs. Distraction 

Accurately identifying the difference between actionable feedback and distractions is imperative to having a successful performance. Many athletes fall into the trap of taking distractions as feedback (i.e. responding to stomach issues by not taking in any more calories or fuel) or treating feedback as a distraction (i.e. pushing too hard or forcing a pace when your body isn't responding well to it).

Thinking about each of these scenarios ahead of time and planning your desired response highly increases the chance of efficient decision making when you face them on the trail. 

Kilian Jornet Announces Return to UTMB for 2022

"Return of the King."

That was the title of a YouTube video tweeted out by UTMB on February 23 to announce Kilian Jornet's return to the legendary race in Chamonix.

"This year I'm coming back to UTMB," said Jornet, in a clip sprinkled with quotes touting him as the sport's greatest of all time. "Why, you will ask me: it's because I really love to suffer. I really love the pain in the legs, the feet, and everywhere in the body. That's what long distance is about. To enjoy the pain!"

It will be Jornet's first time back at the 105-mile (170K) race since 2018, when he dropped 11 hours in. He has raced UTMB six times since 2008, including victories in 2008, 2009, and 2011. In 2017, he broke the race's course record while finishing second to Francois d'Haene's 19:01:54 and becoming the second man ever to break 20 hours on the course in 19:16:59.

The 2022 edition of UTMB is slated for August 21-28, with the 105-mile flagship race kicking off on Friday, August 26. It will come just six weeks after Jornet's appearance at the Hardrock 100 on July 15, where he will go after another win to complement those from 2014, 2015, and 2017 (as well as a co-victory with Jason Schlarb in 2016, when the two finished hand-in-hand).

Other athletes expressed their excitement for Jornet's return in the Twitter video.

"It would be a bit empty if Kilian wasn't there, to be honest," said Tim Tollefson, who will also race UTMB in August. "He is the king of the sport, so it just feels right to have him on the line."

Once August rolls around, Jornet will compete against one of the strongest fields UTMB has ever seen. Two-time champion Xavier Thevenard of France and an American contingency including Tollefson, Jim Walmsley, Jared Hazen, Sage Canaday, Dylan Bowman, Jason Schlarb, and Cody Reed will all be aiming for a podium finish. On the women's side, Americans Camille Herron, Brittany Peterson, and Hillary Allen will be in attendance, as well as Beth Pascall of the U.K., Audrey Tanguy of France, and Ragna Debats of the Netherlands.

"UTMB always has such a big level, so many good athletes, so I really love this competition," said Jornet in the video announcement. "I'm really looking forward to being at UTMB again this year."

Struggle with knee pain? Your shoes may be the problem

Knee injuries are some of the most common problems faced by runners, and new research says your shoes might have something to do with it. According to a recent study, shoes with a substantial heel drop (which most of us run in regularly) increase the amount of stress on your knees, which could lead to increased knee pain.Heel drop and knee pain

Heel drop is the difference in height between the heel of your shoe and your forefoot. Traditional running shoes tend to have a larger heel drop, which may contribute to knee pain. The researchers in this study, published in the journal Gait and Posture, aimed to confirm this theory, and find out if zero-drop shoes helped prevent knee pain.

To do this, they had a group of 18 runners complete four separate running tests. They wore a different shoe each time, starting with a 15 mm drop, followed by a 10 mm drop, a 5 mm drop and no drop (zero-drop). During each run, the researchers collected running kinematics and ground reaction force data for each runner.

The researchers found that when the runners wore shoes with a 15 mm or 10 mm heel drop, their knee extension moment and patellofemoral joint force were greater than in shoes with zero drop, and their peak patellofemoral joint stress was increased by more than 15 per cent compared to shoes with zero drop. The runners’ knee flexion angle was also significantly increased when they wore shoes with a 15 mm, 10 mm or 5 mm drop.

In other words, when the runners wore shoes with a drop greater than 5 mm, they experienced a significant increase in joint stress in their knees.The takeaways

Running shoes with large, cushy heels and significant heel drops have become the most popular shoe for their performance benefits, but they may increase your risk for knee injuries, particularly if you’re already prone to knee problems. The researchers of this study conclude that running shoes with a heel-to-toe drop of more than 5 mm are not recommended if you’re trying to prevent patellofemoral pain.

This doesn’t mean that runners who are prone to knee problems should never wear those cushy-heeled shoes, but you’re better off saving them for specific workouts and races, and running the rest of your miles in a shoe with a lower heel drop.

Of course, this is only one study with a relatively small number of participants, but if you’ve been wearing shoes with a large heel drop and you’re starting to experience knee pain, or if you’ve always struggled with knee problems and can’t figure out why, it may be worth finding a shoe that puts less stress on your knee joint.

ave something to do with it. According to a recent study, shoes with a substantial heel drop (which most of us run in regularly) increase the amount of stress on your knees, which could lead to increased knee pain.

John Landy has died at age 91

John Landy, a scholarly Australian who became the second man, after Roger Bannister of England, to run the mile in under four minutes, and who later dueled Bannister in a race that became known as the Mile of the Century, died on Thursday at his home in Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia. He was 91.

His death was reported by the country’s main public broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

For as long as races were measured in time, running a mile in less than four minutes had remained one of humankind’s seemingly unbreachable barriers. But by 1954, three of the world’s greatest runners — Landy, Bannister and Wes Santee of the United States — had been edging closer to that mark and appeared ready to shatter it.

All three faced obstacles: Landy, at just over 5-foot-11 and 150 pounds, was running on slower grass tracks in Australia; Bannister was deep into medical studies at Oxford; and Santee had to run three relays for the University of Kansas in almost every meet.

Bannister reached four minutes first, running a mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds on May 6, 1954, in Oxford. Not to be outdone, Landy, who graduated from Melbourne University that year with a degree in agricultural science, headed for Europe and its faster tracks.

On June 21 — 46 days after Bannister’s historic race — Landy lowered the world record even more, to 3:57.9, in Turku, Finland. (According to the timing rules of the day, which called for mile records to be listed in fifths rather than tenths of a second, the time was listed as 3:58.0; it is now recognized as 3:57.9, the actual time recorded by four timers.)

As Landy saw it, he and Bannister had simply done the inevitable. “Four minutes was not a psychological barrier,” he said. “Someone was going to break it. If there hadn’t been a war, it would have fallen 10 years earlier.”

Landy’s record would last three years; it was broken in 1957 by Derek Ibbotson of England, who ran 3:57.2. (The current record is 3:43.13, run by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco.)

2022 Boilermaker Announces Return to July

Officials from the Boilermaker Road Race unveiled the new 45th-anniversary logo and announced that this year’s races will be run on Sunday, July 10, 2022, with a full field of runners. The 15K race presented by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield will have a capacity of 14,500, including the return of professional runners and wheelchair athletes. The 5K race presented by Utica National will have a capacity of 4,500.

Priority registration will open at noon on Thursday, March 3 via the race’s website www.boilermaker.com. Runners who completed any of the 2021 races, including the virtual events, are eligible to register during the one-week priority registration period, which ends Thursday, March 10 at noon. Open registration begins Friday, March 11 at noon and will remain open until Tuesday, July 5, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. or until the races reach capacity.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 races were held virtually and the 2021 events, though held in-person, were moved to October.

“After two challenging years, the Boilermaker is eager to get back to our traditional second Sunday in July race date and what we all hope will be a pathway to normalcy,” said Mark Donovan, Boilermaker president. “We are eternally grateful for the unyielding support of our sponsors who have helped carry us through the pandemic and for the opportunity to bring back many of the unique elements of the Boilermaker that combine to make it all so special.”

In addition to the full field of runners, this year’s Boilermaker week will once again feature multiple community-minded events and challenges. The week begins with the Youth Olympics presented by Bank of America. The Boilermaker Kids Run, presented by Utica National, will take place at Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC), Saturday, July 9. Additionally, the Boilermaker Charity Bib Program, presented by Wolfspeed, allows participants to fundraise on behalf of a local non-profit organization to receive race bibs in exchange for their fundraising efforts.

The event also featured the unveiling of the official 2022 race logo. Commemorating the event’s 45th anniversary, this year’s logo was once again designed by McGrogan Design of Utica. The race’s traditional runner icon links the numbers four and five.

The Boilermaker is following the lead of county and state guidance in establishing health and safety protocols around the event. “Our goal is to present our runners with a safe and fun atmosphere to run the race,” Donovan said. “Right now, this means that runners need to show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test result taken within 72 hours of the race, but we are hoping that there will be no need for restrictions by the time July rolls around.”

2022’s event will also include several team and individual challenges, including the Corporate Cup presented by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, the High School Challenge and the Wheelchair Challenge sponsored by Sitrin Healthcare.

“The various challenges provide a race within the race and add a special element of intrigue and competition both for our wheelchair athletes and our various community institutions,” said Donovan. “While road racing is typically an individual event, the challenges represent an opportunity for teamwork, bonding and friendly competition.”

The Boilermaker Health and Wellness Expo presented by Mohawk Valley Health System, will return to the Utica Campus of MVCC for Boilermaker weekend. The expo will be open on Friday, July 8 from noon to 7 p.m. and Saturday, July 9 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In addition to packet pickup, the expo features healthy living information, vendors and more.

The Saranac post-race party will be open to runners and spectators from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., providing plenty of time to celebrate after the events.

“The communion of runners and non-runners alike on the second Sunday in July is a big part of what makes the Boilermaker so much more than just a race,” said Donovan. “We are pleased to be able to once again unite our community and celebrate together with 19,000 runners and many more of our friends.”

Donovan also took the time to thank the over 4,500 community members who volunteer at various events throughout the week. “Each year I am blown away by the sheer number of people who take time out of their lives to help make our event a success,” he said. “From helping with the expo and manning the water stops along the course, to helping clean up after the post-race party, there is not a single area of our race which isn’t touched by our volunteers.”

For more information on Boilermaker Weekend, including event details, volunteer opportunities and registration links, please visit boilermaker.com.

2022 NYC Marathon returning to full capacity

The New York City Marathon will return to full capacity with an estimated 50,000 runners set to participate in early November.

The race, one of the most prestigious events on the global running calendar, was cancelled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and returned last year with a reduced field of 30,000 runners amid a number of safety protocols.

"Last year's marathon served as an uplifting and unifying moment for New York City's recovery as well as a symbol of renewed hope, inspiration, and perseverance," New York City Marathon race director said on Thursday.

"This November, we are excited to have runners from all over the world fully return as we come together to deliver one of the best days in New York."

Organizers said this year's marathon, scheduled for November 6, will require runners to be fully vaccinated. Many event elements will be restored, including on-course entertainment.

The 26.2-mile (42.16 km) run through the city's five boroughs typically draws hundreds of thousands of people along the race course in a city-wide celebration.

Canadian Brandon McBride joins Oregon Track Club Elite

Canadian 800m record holder Brandon McBride has parted ways with his former collegiate coach, Chris Woods, and will be joining Oregon Track Club Elite (OTC) for the 2022 season.

McBride will be joining fellow Canadian middle-distance runner William Paulson and the third-fastest 800m runner of all-time (1:41.73), Botswana’s Nijel Amos, who was second to the great David Rudisha at the 2012 London Olympics. “I am looking forward to this exciting opportunity with OTC,” McBride says. “They have a great middle-distance group.”

The Windsor, Ont. native holds a personal best time of 1:43.20, which is the fastest 800m time ever run by a Canadian. McBride has battled injuries in the last two seasons, which led him to a disappointing finish at the Tokyo Olympics.

Since the Tokyo Olympics, Mcbride has been driven on getting back to 100 per cent “I have my eyes on a return for the outdoor season,” he says.

He will now be coached by Mark Rowland, who has had a lot of success working with middle-distance runners Francine Niyonsaba, Ben Blankenship, Hanna Green and Amos.

For the past five years, McBride was sponsored by Adidas, training under his old collegiate coach at Mississippi State University, with fellow Canadian 800m runner Marco Arop, who came off a career-best season on the Diamond League, with five podium finishes.

McBride is a two-time Olympian (2016 and 2020) and a World Championship finalist (2017).

Useful tips on how to effectively use running for weight loss

If you’re looking to drop a few pounds, running is a great way to do it. The truth is that running is one of the most efficient forms of exercise for weight loss. It’s simple, easy to do, and doesn’t require any special equipment. This blog post will discuss some tips on how to effectively use running for weight loss.

Leverage running apps

One of the primary things that you can do to make running more effective for weight loss is to leverage running apps. Running apps can help you track your progress, set goals, and measure results. This can be a great way to stay motivated and on track with your weight loss goals. Take the time to explore online sources where you may come across https://finvsfin.com/found-weight-loss-review/. This article will give you a good insight into an app that you can use to help with weight loss. Otherwise, you can always look for other running apps that cater to your specific needs.

Create a routine

Another key thing to keep in mind when using running for weight loss is to create a routine. Having a set routine will help make running more of a habit, and it will be less likely for you to skip days. Try to schedule your runs for the same time each day, and make sure that you have everything you need ready to go before you start. This will help streamline the process and make it easier for you to get in some exercise each day.

When you first start running for weight loss, don’t push yourself too hard. You want to build up your strength and endurance gradually over time. If you try to do too much in the beginning, it will just result in injuries that can prevent you from exercising. Instead, make sure that you’re taking it easy at first and not pushing yourself too hard. Rest assured that you’ll be able to work up to longer and more intense runs as time goes on.

Recruit a friend or workout partner

You can also make running more effective by recruiting a friend or workout partner to join you. This will help hold you accountable and keep you motivated while exercising. It’s easy to skip out on your runs when it’s just yourself, but if someone is waiting for you, then you’re less likely to cancel or be late. In addition to this, you may even find running more enjoyable when you’re out there with a friend, and you may even push yourself to work harder. Keep in mind that it’s important to choose a friend who is also active and will be able to keep up with you.

Use hills

You can also make your runs more effective for weight loss by using hills. Hill sprints are a great way to work your entire body and burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time. Start by running up the hill at a slow pace, then increase your speed as you reach the top. Make sure that you’re slowing down as you go downhill so that you don’t risk getting injured. This will allow you to focus on using your leg muscles and burning calories.

Don’t forget the basics

Don’t forget the basics when it comes to running for weight loss. Make sure that you are staying hydrated, eating healthy foods, and getting enough rest. Staying hydrated is important because it will help you feel better while running, and it can help prevent injuries. The right type of food will help you have the energy that you need to keep going. You should also make sure that you are getting enough sleep at night so your body is rested for the next day’s run. If you can focus on these three things, then you’ll be well on your way to seeing results from your running. Just remember that weight loss takes time and dedication, so be patient and stick with it.

Keep track of your progress

Finally, be sure to keep track of your progress as you run. This will help you see how far you’ve come and it can be a great motivator. You may want to consider using a journal or tracking app to document your runs, weight loss, and other progress metrics. Seeing tangible evidence of your hard work is always motivating and can help keep you going when things get tough.

There are several steps that you can take to make running more effective for weight loss. The tips listed above are a great place to start, but be sure to explore other resources as well. With a little bit of effort, you should see great results in terms of weight loss. Good luck!

Canada’s Viktoria Brown breaks the 72-hour world record, she ran 464 kilometers over three days

Canada’s Viktoria Brown has done it again. The Whitby, Ont. native ran 464 kilometers in 72 hours at the Jackpot Ultra Festival in Henderson, Nevada over the weekend, breaking the previous record that was set 32 years ago.

The previous record was held by New Zealand’s Sandy Barwick, who ran 460 kilometers over 3 days in 1990 on her way to setting the six-day world record, which still stands to this day at 883 km. Brown’s record has yet to be ratified, but once it is, this will be her first world record. She already has three Canadian records, including the 48-hour record (346 kilometers), the 72-hour (440 kilometers) and most recently, she became the first Canadian woman to run 100 miles in under 15 hours at the Desert Solstice 24-hour and 100-mile Track Invitational, setting a new Canadian record in 14:57:13.

“My main goal was to go 3 days deep once more before I attempt a 6-day race and try to find solutions to logistical, gear and nutritional issues as well as handling my asthma for such long races,” says Brown. “The course itself wasn’t flat or easy which made this a harder challenge than I had expected.”

To make matters more challenging, her crew chief’s flight got canceled due to storms and was unable to make it to the race, so her friend had to step up and fill his shoes, barely sleeping for the entire 72 hours. Still, they managed to pull it off. By the third day, Brown knew she was very close to the record, but if she wanted to surpass Barwick’s distance, she couldn’t afford to take any walk breaks. “I’m very happy with the result, but I believe I can do better on an easier course, and I also know that if I want to go after the six-day record, then I will have to do better for the first three days,” says Brown.

With yet another record under her belt, Brown shows no sign of slowing down, and Canadian ultrarunning fans will be watching to see what she does next.

An important workout for every marathoner, if you have a marathon this spring, you need to add this workout to your training

Your first marathon will test you in ways you’ve never been tested before. Many first-timers tend to hit a wall around 36 kilometers, which can often result in them hobbling to the finish line. This is often the result of inadequate preparation. Marathon training, while demanding, is not rocket science, and one of the most effective ways to make it easier is to do the proper training. 

If you want to have a satisfying result, it’s not enough to simply focus on mileage. Every marathoner knows about the importance of the long run and the taper, but do they know about the 4 x 5K workout? If you have a marathon this spring, this workout is a great way to test your readiness, as it puts you through a race simulation three to six weeks out from your goal race.

The workout

(Four reps of 5K with 5 minutes’ jog rest)

This workout can be done one of two ways, so let’s start with option one. You can treat this workout as a pre-marathon race simulation by running each rep at your goal marathon pace, which will reveal whether the goal time you set is realistic. For example, if your marathon goal is under four hours and you can’t run four consecutive 28-minute 5Ks off 5 minutes’ rest, then it might be an indication you should adjust your goal time to the pace of your average 5K during all four intervals. Each rep should be run comfortably and controlled; runners who do this workout will end up covering around 25-26 km of total volume when all is said and done. 

If you wish to make the workout harder, try option two, which is the same workout but with a different strategy. Treat each of the four reps as a 5K progression workout, starting at your goal marathon pace. For each rep, try to run the 5K interval 15 to 20 seconds faster than the previous rep, with your last rep being 50 to 60 seconds faster than your first. When the third and fourth rep comes around, your body will start to feel fatigued. As with option one, even though you are working outside your comfort zone, make sure to stay relaxed and treat each rep as a race-day simulation. 

This workout should give you an idea of where you are at in your training before your upcoming marathon. When completed, take the average pace you hit for each 5K rep and find your average pace for the workout. Once found, apply that pace to the 42.2km distance, then add four minutes to get an estimate of your potential marathon pace based on your performance. (If you averaged 25 minutes per 5K rep, equals 5:00/km to 42.2km = 3:31 marathon + four minutes = 3:35).

Four workout techniques to strengthen your mind and boost your next run

You’re halfway through the last mile of a 5K, and fatigue is starting to take its toll. Your legs are screaming. Your breathing is ragged. You have no choice but to slow down. Then you round a corner and see the finish line just a quarter of a mile away. Suddenly, you feel better! Physically nothing has changed, but your stride lengthens, your pace increases, and you finish strong.

This common experience is a prime example of how your mind controls your perception of fatigue. New research is revealing that fatigue doesn’t always occur when you reach your physical limits, but rather when your brain tells you that you’ve reached your limits. While this function exists to protect you from efforts that will hurt you, your brain often misinterprets signals and overprotects out of fear. But with the right kind of training it’s possible to overcome this overprotection and convince your brain that a higher level of effort won’t hurt—but instead empower—you.

Author and athlete Matt Fitzgerald maintains that in order to train your brain to accept more discomfort (and strengthen “mental fitness”) you should be “suffering for the sake of suffering” on occasion. “Most of your workouts should be gentle and comfortable,” he says. “But there are some you should set aside where training mental toughness is part of the objective.” In these workouts, expose yourself to near race-level suffering. “Discomfort should be an explicit objective of the workout,” explains Fitzgerald.

What this means in practice may look much like training you’ve done before, with the mindset that you want to stretch your limits and accept new levels of discomfort. Simply acknowledging that the perceived discomfort and fatigue is not something to be avoided but part of the goal can make it more bearable and enable you to endure more.

Here are a few ways Fitzgerald recommends brain training for toughness. None of these workouts are easy, but they do pay off. Not only will you emerge a faster runner, but you’ll also be empowered. “You come out feeling pretty proud of yourself,” says Fitzgerald. “You walk away having proved something to yourself that you can apply in races.”

1)   Try Harder

The fact that you can never run at 100%—because your brain stops you long before you get there—means that you know your body can always go a bit harder. Trying to exceed what you did last time, either in speed or distance, is the most basic way you expand your limits. “You put a stake in the ground with a particular type of workout, and then you try to push a little further,” says Fitzgerald. “And when you go through those experiences and realize, ‘Hey, that workout didn’t kill me,’ you’re more likely to be able to dig a little deeper the next time.”

2)    Run Hills That Hurt

Running hills at race pace can be an effective way of ramping up the mental difficulty. Your running mechanics will carry you at a previously-learned pace, but the incline often boosts the effort to a harder level than you would experience on flat terrain. When you get to that level, instead of panicking and slowing to trying to avoid the discomfort, Fitzgerald recommends telling  yourself, “This is where I want to be.” Climb that hill and embrace suffering as the goal.

3)   Time-Trial Finish

Another way to stretch your mental limits is to add a time trial to the end of a workout. After a solid-but-sensible workout like 6 x 1000 meter runs at a tempo pace (fast but not hard), try adding a 1-mile time trial—going as fast as you can. “When you’re running a mile on fatigued legs, the idea is not to PR,” says Fitzgerald. Your time doesn’t matter. The idea is to get comfortable with the uncomfortable.

4)   Experiment With Open-Loop Runs

Take time completely out of the equation with an open-loop run. Fitzgerald recommends finding a short loop—one or two miles long—and running until you’re really tired but not defeated. The layout of the course makes all the difference. With loops you have to get your mind around continuing indefinitely rather than making it through a set distance. You also give yourself the chance to bail at any time. “It can be eye opening exercise, because you have to approach it with a completely different mindset,” says Fitzgerald. The open-ended run can trick you into exceeding predetermined expectations.

How to train like a Norwegian: norwegian endurance athletes have been dominating competitions around the world. What's their secret?

Norway has long been known for producing some of the world’s best cross-country skiers, but in recent years the small Nordic country has also been turning out several other world-class endurance athletes. Kristian Blummenfelt took home the gold in the men’s triathlon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and of course, few runners are unfamiliar with the Ingebrigtsen brothers, led by Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s gold medal performance in the Olympic 1,500m final.

How are so many incredible athletes coming out of such a small country? Olympian, doctor, and coach Marius Bakken recently published a lengthy article about the Norwegian training system, and their approach may surprise you.

Before we get started

The article, which can be read in full here, is very lengthy and includes a tonne of detail. It is a bit heavy, so we’re going to pull out the main points to give you an overview so you can apply some of the Norwegian training principles to your own training.

Before we do that, there are a few important things to keep in mind. The first is that these training principles have almost exclusively been tested on elite athletes, who are genetically different from the average runner. This doesn’t mean that none of these principles apply to recreational runners, but understand that your results may differ depending on your age, sex and experience.

With that in mind, here are the big takeaways from Bakken’s paper:

Controlled intensity + high volume = success

The Norwegian training model has athletes control their intensity by monitoring their lactate levels, with a large portion of their running volume done at an easy pace (or zone one, according to this study). The majority of their interval training is done at an intensity that is just below their lactate threshold (zone two), and a very small amount of their training is done at zone three (high intensity).

This is important because there are two factors that might cause you to slow down during a race or a hard effort: mechanical factors (your musculoskeletal, neuromuscular and biomechanical systems) and your aerobic system (your heart, lungs and cells). For many athletes, their aerobic system tends to be the limiting factor between the two.

This is where your lactate threshold comes in. Lactate is a by-product of glucose metabolism and energy production, and your body can re-cycle that lactate to be used to produce even more energy using a lactate-shuttling mechanism. When that mechanism is over-stressed, your lactate levels rise, you accumulate fatigue, and you have to slow down. Raising your lactate threshold (the point at which lactate begins to accumulate) can produce significant performance benefits.

This is the reason why the Norwegians focus the majority of their interval work at that lactate threshold zone. Could they go faster? Absolutely. But they would be missing out on the aerobic benefits. Of course, most recreational athletes don’t have the tools to monitor their lactate threshold, but you can keep yourself within that zone 2 range during an interval workout using effort-based cues, like running a pace you can maintain for an hour, running 15K or half-marathon pace or simply by avoiding that muscle-burning feeling (a sure-fire sign you’ve accumulated lactate).

Running at this pace also allows you to do a much greater volume of intervals (as long as you have the base to do so), which will ultimately improve performance.

A small amount of high-intensity work

As we mentioned above, the Norwegians don’t neglect high-intensity work altogether. In his description of the Norwegian training system, Bakken still includes top-end, high-intensity (zone 3) work, but it is primarily made up of fast strides and short hill repeats. This type of work will develop those mechanical factors mentioned earlier, which will improve your speed and power.

The Norwegian training approach operates on the principle that you don’t need a tonne of volume at that intensity to elicit the desired training effect. This is because, for most runners, the speed you can run will be largely dictated by your aerobic capacity.

The caveat to this, as explained in this article, is that younger athletes, or less-experienced athletes, may need to spend more time developing their speed at their VO2 max in order for this type of training to be effective. This may also be true for athletes who aren’t able to do a tonne of volume in their training, either because of injury issues or time constraints.

Double down

According to Bakken’s paper, one of the biggest differences between the Norwegian training model and other training models is the inclusion of days when the athlete does not one, but two threshold workouts. Of course, the concept of doubling (running once in the morning and then again in the afternoon/evening) is not new. In fact, it is a very commonplace practice for most elite runners. In most cases, though, the athlete will do one workout and one recovery run in the same day, not two workouts.

If doing two workouts in one day sounds outrageous to you, remember that both of these sessions are threshold workouts, so athletes are not running at their all-out max. When these workouts are run at the correct intensity, athletes don’t accumulate too much fatigue so they can turn around and do it again a few hours later. This allows them to do a greater volume of work than they could if they tried to do one big session.

This final point is when the Norwegian training approach becomes less approachable for the recreational runner. Most of us don’t have the time to do two workouts in one day, nor do we have the physical ability (it takes time to build up the capacity to do consistent double runs at an easy pace, let alone doing two workouts in one day).

The bottom line

While most of us won’t be (and shouldn’t be) doing doubles, there are still a number of valuable takeaways from Bakken’s paper.:

According to the Norwegian training principles, developing your aerobic system should be your highest priority as a distance runner. This means the majority of your workouts should be done at your lactate threshold pace, and shouldn’t leave you completely spent at the end. In other words, don’t race your workouts.

Developing speed is still important, but it should only make up a small part of your training program.

Always keep your easy days easy. Control is key.

Top things to know about 2022 Tokyo Marathon

Eliud Kipchoge's addition to the elite list for the Tokyo Marathon has made it one of the key athletics races of the year.

The Kenyan heads back to Japan where, last August, he became the third man to retain the Olympic marathon title after Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila and Waldemar Cierpinski of Germany.

After being postponed in 2021 due to the global pandemic, Tokyo Marathon 2021 returns on March 6, with Kipchoge and fellow marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei part of a stellar field.

Here’s your guide to the top athletes to watch out for in the newest of six the World Marathon Majors, plus the route course and schedule.

After winning back-to-back Olympic golds with the largest victory margin since the 1972 Munich Games, Kipchoge cemented his reputation as the greatest marathon runner in history.

But the Kenyan, who ran the first sub-two-hour marathon in October 2019, says he wants to compete at Paris 2024 and become the first athlete to win three Olympic marathon titles.

“I still have something boiling in my stomach, that’s why I am looking forward to it… I want to be the first human to run and (win) three consecutive Olympics,” the 37-year-old star said on his plan for his fifth Olympics.

Kipchoge, a 5000m bronze and silver medalist on the track at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 respectively, has previously won the Marathon Majors in Chicago, Berlin (three times) and London (four times).

Tokyo will be his fourth stop, and he plans to complete the majors by running in Boston and New York City before he rounds off his marathon career that began in 2013.

With Tokyo boasting a fairly flat course, Kipchoge could go close to his world record of 2:01:39 although Wilson Kipsang's course record of 2:03:58 may be a more realistic target.

But it certainly will not be just a race against the clock.

Up against him will be the third-fastest marathon runner in history, Ethiopia's Birhanu Legese, who is a two-time Tokyo Marathon winner. His compatriot Mosinet Geremew, fourth on the all-time list, will also be in action. Geremew’s PB of 2:02:55 was from the 2019 London Marathon where he finished behind Kipchoge.

Shura Kitata, who ended Kipchoge's seven-year unbeaten run in the marathon at London in 2020, another high-class Ethiopian in the field along with Olympic bronze medalist Tamirat Tola and Kenya’s Amos Kipruto, a world bronze medalist.

Kosgei aiming for Tokyo Marathon after Olympic silver

After her silver behind Peres Jepchirchir, which earned Kenya a historic 1-2 at the Olympic marathon held in Sapporo, Kosgei returns to Japan seeking her first Marathon Major win in two years.

The 27-year-old set a world record of 2:14:04 in the 2019 Chicago Marathon.

Her four-race winning streak came to an end in the Olympic marathon and, two months later, she was only fourth in her unsuccessful bid for a third consecutive London title.

With Jepchirchir not competing, Kosgei will be expected to win although she faces significant opposition from her fellow Kenyan, Angela Tanui, who won last year's Amsterdam Marathon.

There are also two strong Ethiopians in 2021 Berlin Marathon winner Gotytom Gebreslase and Ashete Bekere who was third - one place ahead of Kosgei - in London last year.

USA's Sara Hall, who took a surprise second place behind Kosgei in the 2020 London Marathon is in the line-up, as is home favourite Niiya Hitomi who won the first Tokyo Marathon back in 2007 and was 21st at last year's Olympics.

There is plenty at stake for the home runners as the race serves as a trial for July's World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Tokyo Marathon 2021 course

The Tokyo Marathon runs on a flat course through the city’s famous tourist spots. What prevents it from being a super-fast course are at least a handful of 180-degree turns.

The runners will start outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office and then go downhill by about 30m in the first 5km.

They take on a winding route through the streets of the Japanese capital, crossing the Sumida River, going back through Nihombashi and then Minato City before the finish in between the Imperial Palace and Tokyo Station.

Six training rules for avoiding injuries

Injuries are common among runners, so it’s no surprise that we spend a lot of time thinking about how to avoid them. While nutrition, sleep and other lifestyle factors contribute to injury risk, training errors are often the main causes of running injuries. If you find yourself dealing with injuries that just keep coming back, evaluate your training and make sure you’re following these six rules to keep yourself healthy.

Avoid peaks and valleys

One of the most common periods during your training cycle when you’re more likely to get injured is when you’re increasing your weekly mileage. Runners often make the mistake of ramping up their running volume too quickly, then bringing it back down again just as suddenly as it went up, creating big peaks and valleys in their training program.

Running volume should be increased slowly and thoughtfully to avoid running injuries, and if your running mileage tends to fluctuate significantly from week to week or month to month, your body won’t be able to keep up. If you want to increase your running volume, create a plan to add more mileage in safely so your body has time to adapt to the increased demands.

Spread the work

With busy schedules and other commitments, recreational runners tend to front-load or back-load their training weeks, doing the majority of their running on the weekends and doing little to no running in the middle of the week. This puts a lot of stress on your body over a very short timeframe and gives you very little time to recover during those high-volume days. As hard as it may be to manage your weekly schedule, runners who want to avoid injuries should spread their high-mileage days throughout the week so your body has adequate time to recover between longer or harder sessions.

Take it easy

You should not be doing every run at maximum effort. The majority of your running (many coaches agree 80 per cent) should be done at an easy, recovery effort. This will allow you to perform better on your hard days, which should be spread throughout the week to give your body a chance to adapt to your training. Remember, if you can’t hold a conversation during your easy day run, you’re running too hard.

Do year-round speed work

The other time during your training when you’re most likely to get injured is when you’re re-introducing speedwork into your program after a period of time off. The best way to avoid this is to always include some fast running, even during your off-season and base-season. This doesn’t mean doing hard, gut-busting workouts year-round, but rather including strides or light fartleks in your easy runs during weeks when you have no speedwork sessions on the calendar.

These should not be exhausting workouts but are simply a way to remind your body how to run fast so they’re ready for harder sessions later on. The only time you shouldn’t be doing any fast running is in the two or three weeks after your goal race or when you’re returning from injury.

Strength train

Many running injuries are caused by muscle weaknesses or imbalances, all of which can be addressed with a strength training program. If you’re not sure where to begin, talk with a physiotherapist or strength coach who specializes in working with runners, or check out this strength training blueprint for runners to help you get started.

Listen to your body

If you feel like something isn’t right, pay attention to it. Many runners run through seemingly small aches or pains, which often make them worse. In many cases, taking a couple of days off can prevent small niggles from becoming big problems, so listen to your body when something doesn’t feel quite right.

In general, many experts advise runners to abide by the 3/10 rule. If your pain is a three out of 10 or less, you can run through it, but should do something to address the problem if the discomfort persists for more than three days. If the pain gets worse as you run, is worse the day after or causes you to change your running gait, you should take time off and speak with a physical therapist or other sports medicine professional to address the issue.

Galen Rupp, Rhonex Kipruto, Molly Seidel and Sara Hall will headline 2022 united airlines NYC Half

The 2022 NYC Half Marathon scheduled for March 20 will boast its most impressive field of professional athletes ever, the New York Road Runners announced Tuesday.

In total, 24 Olympians, eight Paralympians, and six open division athletes who hold national half-marathon records in their respective countries will descend upon the big apple next month in the race’s first running since 2019. The last two years saw the NYC Half Marathon canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The men’s open division will see US Olympic medalist Galen Rupp try his hand in the half marathon. He is the American record-holder in the 10,000 meters while winning the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London at that race. He also has a bronze medal in the marathon at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio. 

Rupp will be racing the NYC Half Marathon for just the second time ever after finishing third in 2011.

“The NYC Half was my debut at the distance, and was only the second road race of my professional career,” Rupp said. “I can’t believe that more than a decade has passed since then. It’s wild that the race will be more than double the size it was when I ran in 2011, and I’ve heard the Brooklyn-to-Manhattan course is challenging, but a great tour of the Big Apple. With the World Championships taking place in my home state of Oregon later this summer, I’m looking for the race to be a great stepping stone to everything else I want to achieve in 2022.”

He’ll have plenty of top-notch competition, however. Rhonex Kipruto of Kenya is the 10K world-record holder while Ben True was the first American man to win the NYC Half Marathon in the open division back in 2018.

Five-time US Olympian Abdi Abdirahman will be making his 10th appearance at this event next month — a stark contrast to US Army officer Elkanah Kibet, who makes his debut at the NYC Half Marathon after finishing in fourth place at the 2021 New York City Marathon back in November.

The women’s opened division is headlined by half-marathon American record holder Sara Hall, who is a two-time defending champion at the New York Mini 10K.

She ran a record 1:07:15 half marathon just last month in Houston.

“My NYC racing career started with my win at the Fifth Avenue Mile way back in 2006 and along the way I’ve broken the tape at… the New York City Marathon weekend and twice won the New York Mini 10K in Central Park,” Hall said. “Until now, though, I’ve never stepped to the line at the NYC Half. Setting the American record over that distance last month gives me a ton of confidence as I train for this new challenge.”

She’ll be joined by Molly Seidel, who won bronze in the marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics before setting an American course record in a fourth-place finish at the 2021 NYC Marathon.

Both the women’s and men’s wheelchair division champions from last year’s half marathon return in U.S. Paralympic medalists Tatyana McFadden and Daniel Romanchuk.

Romanchuk is a two-time NYC Marathon winner, including a title in 2018 that saw him become the first American and youngest athlete ever to win the men’s wheelchair division.

McFadden is one of the most decorated Paralympians there is, winning 20 medals over six Games.

“I love this race. We get to run by all the great NYC iconic spots,” McFadden said. “It’s fun seeing all the kids running in Times Square as we go by; it will be great to be back after so long.”

Try this short sprint workout to improve your speed, practice these short 20 to 30-second sprints to get faster

Are you looking to get faster but aren’t sure how to improve your speed? Adding short sprints into your training plan can be effective for all types of runners, as it pushes your boundaries and allows you to take a step outside of your usual comfort zone. A 2018 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning on sprint training showed greater performance improvements in less time when adding high-intensity sprint training into a weekly schedule.

The workout:

Five to six reps of 20-30 second sprints at 95 per cent all-out pace with two-minute walk or slow jog rest between reps.

This workout is designed to make your body feel comfortable going fast. The two-minute rest allows your heart rate to come down between reps, as it will soar into anaerobic levels as the reps progress. Take the full two minutes to catch your breath and relax your body before the next rep.

Another thing to focus on during this workout is your form. You’ll want to make sure you are not tensing up in the upper body, but staying relaxed and comfortable. Focus on practising the mechanics of keeping your arms straight and engaging your core to keep your posture slightly forward.

Keeping a good sprinting posture will improve your turnover and prevent you from overstriding. Engrave these tips in your mind while doing this workout.

American record-setter Sara Hall sets sights on NYC Half, says U.S. poised to dominate in 2022

Fleet-footed Sara Hall returns to action at the New York City Half next month having claimed the United States half-marathon record last month ahead of what she sees as a banner year for American athletics.

She set the U.S. record of 1:07:15 in Houston last month, beating Molly Huddle's previous best (2018) by 10 seconds, after finishing on the podium at the 2020 London Marathon and at the Chicago Marathon last year.

Joining her at the marquee New York race are Tokyo bronze medalist Molly Seidel, who finished fourth in the New York City Marathon in November, and 2021 Chicago runner-up Emma Bates.

"It's been awesome to see U.S. female marathoners either getting on the podium or being in contention every time out at the highest level every time," Hall told Reuters.

With all eyes on the U.S. when it hosts the World Athletics Championships for the first time this summer, Hall believes the U.S. could dominate at Eugene, Oregon's Hayward Field.

"USA track and field is strong against so many," said Hall. "Every event, we're in medal contention... it's a really exciting time to be a fan of the sport."

She credits her own recent run of success in part to her husband, Ryan Hall, who began coaching her after he retired from professional athletics in 2016. Whereas "tough love" has been widely embraced in athletics coaching for decades, she says his softer approach has made the difference.

Together, they hold the men's and women's American half-marathon records.

"I've had coaches in the past that were like, 'Oh, you just gave up', you know, like that kind of stuff," said Hall.

"That was really detrimental to me because it really made me believe I wasn't mentally tough. And then when you believe that about yourself, it's kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Hall hopes hers can be an example in what can be achieved with a method not based in "fear," as conversation about mental health and wellbeing dominates the upper echelons of sport.

"I hope that people are seeing what creates longevity," Hall told Reuters. "That win at all costs, tough love approach, that doesn't create longevity in the sport."

The NYC Half will take place on March 20.

Seven Long Run Workouts to Nail Your Goal Pace

How many long runs should a triathlete do each week? What intensity should they be? Should a long run follow a bike session to appropriately simulate race conditions? These are just a few questions triathletes and coaches in our sport ponder.

When training for an IRONMAN 70.3 or IRONMAN race, completing the individual discipline distances during training provides a major psychological boost, before tackling the distance in the event. It can be a huge confidence boost to have covered as much of the distance as possible before the race. While it’s quite likely that you will complete a 2.4-mile swim and 112-mile bike ride before your IRONMAN race, it’s much trickier to incorporate a full marathon into your training. We need to be much more aware of the effects of a long run due to the higher impact of running relative to swimming and biking. Long runs also require more recovery than a long swim set or long bike session.

How far and how often one should run will depend on the athlete and where they are in their training. How much volume can that individual handle? How much time is available to train and recover? What are the external factors affecting their lives, be it family or work commitments, as well as how well they sleep and manage stress. These are all things that must be considered when planning out training and volume. A coach can help you balance all those elements and prescribe the appropriate plan for you. (Find your perfect coach with the newly-launched IRONMAN CoachMatch.)

We consulted with IRONMAN Hawaii age-group champion, two-time Olympian and coach Chris Hauth for his ideas on long run training. He also shared some sample run workouts to help you prepare for an IRONMAN 70.3 or IRONMAN distance race.

The Aerobic Long Run

Hauth likes to remind triathletes that, unlike runners, they are balancing and combining three sports into a single event, and thus run training should never be viewed in isolation: "While getting ready for a standalone marathon race requires maximizing aerobic capabilities via running, triathletes have the advantage of two other sports to assist with developing their aerobic system," he said. 

Hauth typically recommends an aerobic or "conversational" long run once a week—depending on the athlete, their race plans, and experience. "The goal is to build time on the feet," he states. "Since the triathlete is also gaining aerobic conditioning in the pool and on the bike, the goal of an aerobic long run is as much physiological—to increase the density of mitochondria and increase in capillary beds to improve muscle and tendon strength." This means heading out the door at a low intensity pace. From time to time, he recommends that his athletes mix in a little intensity, as long as they are careful to keep it "all good form and low stress."

Adding short intervals to an aerobic long run:

→ Workout 1: Try 60-90 minutes easy running, with the last 30 minutes alternating between 5 minutes tempo (15-30 seconds faster than race pace), 5 minutes easy. Nothing too fast here, just a little variation.

→ Workout 2: Consider adding some shorter bursts of speed throughout a 90-minute to 2-hour run. For example, you could do some 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10 second faster bursts with 1-2 minutes easy between each burst during your run, and repeat this sequence twice through. Again these aren’t 'best efforts,' but just strong, faster efforts with great form.

→ Workout 3: Fartlek-style long run where you run ~30 sec/mile faster than race pace for 2-3 miles and then 30 sec/mile slower than race pace for 2-3 miles, repeated 2-3x through.

Higher Intensity Long Run Workout

Interval training is a great way to add intensity into your training and Hauth prescribes some longer, higher intensity runs for his more experienced athletes. During a run, intervals are typically short at paces faster than your planned race pace, with recovery at race pace or easier. They have a variety of benefits, as they build neuromuscular development and efficiency as well as improving your VO2 max. Hauth points out that a time-crunched athlete can use interval sessions to build fitness as well as endurance, though he still sees value in the aerobic long runs throughout the season and interval work cannot completely replace the long run.

One of Hauth’s favorite run workouts for practicing and testing race pace is to mix speed work with race-pace effort. "The body is switching back and forth between the fat-burning, aerobic system and the glycogen-depleting anaerobic system," he says. "The goal over several weeks is for the athlete to run at the lower intensity race-pace effort following an initial harder effort."

→ Workout 1: After a 20-minute easy warm-up, run 10-20 x 400m (preferably on the track or other flat surface), at a pace slightly higher than your goal race pace. Take 30 seconds recovery between each repeat. After completing the interval work, run 3 to 8 miles at race pace. An athlete might start with 10 x 400 and a 3-mile run after the track intervals and build to 20 x 400 and an 8-mile run after the track intervals during an IRONMAN training build over a couple of months.

Running Off The Bike

In triathlon, we run off the bike, so it makes sense that we should replicate this in training as well. This gets our body and legs used to running tired, and we get familiar with the sensation after a challenging bike ride. Hauth notes that some triathletes simply run well off the bike, despite little practice or experience: "I think it often has a lot to do with their pacing ability and effort on the bike, as well as a good bike fit!" For amateur athletes, the number of times you run after a bike workout will be determined by your personal schedule, but it’s good practice to try and do one or two runs off the bike each week, varying the intensity of the run off the bike.

→ Workout 1: After a harder intensity bike set (perhaps on the trainer), include some shorter interval speed work, for example, 12 x 2 minutes progressive where each 30 seconds of the 2 minutes gets progressively faster.

If your race pace is 8min/mile then try 30sec at 9mins, 30sec at 8.30min, 30sec at 8mins, 30sec at 7.30min pace (or scale accordingly) where the last 30sec is faster than your race pace. Take 2mins easy recovery between.

→ Workout 2: After a longer ride it’s good to add a 30-40 minute steady run off the bike. Hit your race pace (or a little faster) for the first 10 minutes, then relax into an easier, steady state pace for the remaining time. This has the benefit of getting your legs used to hitting the race pace straight off the bike, and settling into good form and rhythm. Be careful not to go too fast for the first 10 minutes, but just try to find that race-pace rhythm.

→ Workout 3: One of Hauth’s favorite workouts is "cruise intervals off the bike" where he completes a long ride (80-90 miles), and then runs mile repeats. He explains further: "after an 80-90 mile ride, I run 6 x 1-mile repeats starting each interval on my goal pace split. That means if I plan to run a 7:30 pace in the race, if I run a mile in 7:00, I have 30 seconds' rest before the next mile repeat."

There are just a few options to change up your running. There are many ways to incorporate your longer run into your training plan and add a little variation into the mix. As well as keeping your mind focused and alert, it will train the body to adapt to the right pace. As mentioned for all of these sessions, remember good posture and good form is always key, regardless of speed, pace, distance, or time.

Six mental tricks to make you a more confident runner, gain mastery over your mind so you can tackle any challenge

If you struggle with confidence, you’re not alone. A lot of runners prepare for weeks or months for their goal race, only to sabotage themselves with negative self-talk and self-doubt. A little confidence can take your race from good to great, so use these tricks as you prepare for your next goal race to strengthen your mind along with your body.

1.- Ditch weak words

Instead of saying “I think I can do it,” say “I know I can do it,” or “I believe I can do it.” Rather than “I’m going to try my best,” say “I’m going to do my best.” Small changes like those remove all doubt from the phrase and put you in the driver’s seat.

2.- Flip your negative assumptions

Maybe you’ve never had an amazing finishing kick, or hills haven’t always been your strong suit. When we come up against something that we struggle with, we tend to immediately file that in the “I’m bad at this” drawer, and that’s that. By pulling those negative assumptions out and flipping them around, you will build confidence and be a better runner. Try saying “I’m going to give it everything I’ve got at the end of the race, no matter how slow or fast that is,” or “I’m going to attack the hill to the best of my ability.” Repeat that over and over again until you believe it.

3.- Picture a time when you succeeded

Bad races or workouts tend to stick in our heads and erode our self-confidence, so as you train for your next goal race, make the effort to picture times when you ran really well. Maybe there was a time when you crushed your kilometre repeats, or maybe on a long run you felt like you could run forever. Focus on the times when you succeeded to remind yourself that you’ve accomplished your goals in the past and you can do so again.

4.- Get off Strava

Have you ever come in from a run you felt really great about, then gone on Strava and saw someone else who ran longer and faster and immediately felt less accomplished? Apps like Strava can be great for connecting with other runners and tracking your progress, but can become negative when you fall into the comparison trap. If this often happens to you, it’s time to set the phone down, ignore what others are doing and bask in the glow of a job well done.

5.- Dress for success

It may sound trivial, or even superficial, but wearing clothes that you feel good in can go a long way toward making you more confident. So put on your favourite running tights, buy your favourite T-shirt in every colour, and look good to feel good.

6.- Trust your training

In the days leading up to their goal race, many runners worry if they’ve done enough or if they could have done more. If you’ve trained consistently and put in the work, you have to trust on race day that you’re ready to go. Repeat phrases like “I’ve worked hard for this and I’m ready,” to remind yourself that you’ve got what it takes to succeed.

Short sprints to improve your VO2 max, adding some very short, high-intensity intervals into your training program can make you a faster runner

For many runners, the words “VO2 max workout” leave them shuddering, imagining themselves running 400m track repeats at their top speed until they puke. While long, hard workouts do have an occasional place in your training plan, new research shows that short-sprint interval training is very effective at improving your VO2 max.

Short sprint interval training

New research, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Sports Science, aimed to find out how short sprint interval training with all-out sprints of about 10 seconds affected runners’ VO2 maxes. They analyzed 18 studies that compared this type of training with other types of high-intensity interval training and continuous training protocols and found that across several different sports (running, cycling, paddling, etc.), and found that short sprint interval training was highly effective at increasing the VO2 max, aerobic and anaerobic performance of young, healthy athletes.

Short sprint workouts

There are plenty of ways you can introduce short sprint workouts into your training program. The key for distance runners who want to get the most benefit from this type of training, however, is not to reduce your weekly running volume by more than 10 to 30 per cent. So, if you’ve got a short sprint workout in your weekly training schedule, make sure to make up at least some of the lost distance (since these workouts tend to be shorter) either in your warmup and cooldown or elsewhere in your week. Check out these workout examples to start including some short sprint training in your program:

Hill sprints

Hill sprints are great for developing strength, speed and power. They can range from 10 seconds up to 20 seconds, and should be performed at your all-out max. The number of hill sprints you do is less important than ensuring each interval is high-quality.

Warmup: 10-15 minutes easy jogging, followed by drills and flat strides

Workout: 6-10 x a 10-12 second hill, with 2-3 minutes of easy jogging or walking rest between each

Cooldown: 10-15 minutes easy jogging, followed by light stretching

Flying 30s

These are a bit longer, which brings in an element of speed endurance to the workout, but the long rest allows you to run each interval at your max speed. These can also be done at the end of a longer interval workout or tempo run.

Warmup: 10-15 minute easy jog, followed by drills and strides

Workout: 6-18 x 30s with 2-3 minutes rest

Cooldown: 10-15 minutes easy jog, followed by light stretching

Short sprints

These can also be done following a longer aerobic workout, or as a standalone session. Like the previous two workouts, doing each interval at a very high intensity is more important than doing a large number of intervals.

Warmup: 10-15 minutes easy jog, followed by drills and strides

Workout: 8-10 x 50-100m with 2-3 minutes rest between each

Cooldown: 10-15 minutes easy jog, followed by light stretching.

Carbs, fats, proteins: what’s the best diet for runners? Researchers say a balanced diet is best for runners looking for better performance

Advice for runners about performance nutrition can be confusing and often contradictory. Should you eat more fat and restrict carbs to increase fat burning? Or should you increase your carbohydrate intake so you always have a quick source of fuel? New research suggests that for most runners, the best diet is one that contains a balance of fat and carbohydrates for optimal performance.

Fat oxidation and performance

When you exercise, your body primarily uses carbohydrates (glucose) and fat for energy. Your body will always use the easiest energy source first, which is usually blood glucose. From there, it will draw upon your glycogen stores to use for fuel, but this process takes a bit longer because you have to convert glycogen to glucose before you can use it.

The problem with glucose and glycogen, however, is that your body only has so much of it, so it needs to be replaced by taking in exogenous carbohydrates (think gels, sports drinks, etc.). Fat, on the other hand, is stored in the body in much greater quantities, and provides more energy per gram than carbohydrates. The problem with fat, unfortunately, is that your body needs oxygen to burn fat for fuel (a process called fat oxidation), which means you have to slow down enough so that you can get the oxygen you need for this process to happen.

This isn’t helpful for short-distance runners like sprinters, or runners competing in races like the 800m or the mile, but fat is a valuable fuel source for long-distance athletes. As long as you can get enough oxygen to use fat, you could presumably run for hours while burning fat for fuel.

Over the years, researchers, coaches and athletes have experimented with high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets during training to “teach” your body to burn fat more efficiently for fuel, but is this really necessary, or effective? That is the question researchers recently attempted to answer.

The study

The authors of the study, published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology, had 28 competitively-trained male distance runners (who ran half-marathons, marathons and ultras) complete an incremental exercise test to exhaustion, as well as three three-hour runs, each with a different carbohydrate-feeding protocol. Throughout the experiment, participants were consuming a balanced macronutrient diet of approximately 57 per cent carbohydrates, 21 per cent protein and 22 per cent fat.

After the endurance tests, the researchers found that the participants were able to achieve a high level of fat oxidation despite consuming a mixed macronutrient diet and consuming carbohydrates during their run. They also found that runners who consumed the highest amounts of carbohydrates during their run were the most likely to experience GI distress, highlighting the importance of moderating your mid-run carb intake to maximize performance while minimizing stomach troubles.

The bottom line

If you’re wondering whether you should consider using a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet to maximize your body’s ability to burn fat for fuel, this research says it’s likely not necessary. Runners who consume a diet that has a balance of carbohydrates, fats and protein are able to use fat for fuel efficiently during a long run.

Of course, the runners in this study were well-trained athletes, which means their bodies are able to use all types of fuel very efficiently. So how can less-experienced runners improve their rate of fat oxidation? Simply by training. By training consistently, your body will become more and more efficient at using both carbs and fats for fuel, which will allow you to run faster and longer.

What are the Fastest Marathons in the UK?

The marathon distance is something that many runners aspire to. It’s a lot more taxing than a half marathon and requires serious mental and physical resilience to complete. Most people can run a 5k or 10k without a lot of training. It’s even possible to get around a half marathon on minimal training, although it won’t be a pleasant experience! But if you want to bag a coveted marathon medal, you’ll need to train hard and long.

Chasing a PB

Completing a marathon isn’t enough for some runners, since they are intent on chasing a personal best. If you fall into this category, a fast marathon course is essential. After all, you have zero chance of achieving a PB if you enter the Snowdonia Marathon, which includes 1,685 metres of ascent. You’re also likely to end up with very sore calves and quads!

Luckily, there are a few flat marathons for runners hoping to smash their personal records over a 26.2-mile course. And if you can’t face the idea of all that training, visit OnlineCasinos and find an online casino where you can place a bet on one of the pro athletes who will be out to break a record or two. OnlineCasinos lists casinos with the best welcome bonuses and rates them too.

Read on to discover which marathon races are the flattest, with the best PB potential.

Edinburgh Marathon

Edinburgh has a flat and very fast course and Runners World voted it the fastest marathon in the UK. If you are chasing a PB, this is the race for you.

Edinburgh Marathon is extremely popular, with both casual runners and elite runners. It attracts more than 30,000 runners each year and is the second-largest marathon after London, so it is a good idea to get your entry in early if you want to compete.

One of the great things about Edinburgh is that the support is excellent. Some less popular marathons have large sections with few spectators, which makes it hard for any runners who are struggling. In a typical year, tens of thousands of people line the route to cheer runners on, and it makes a big difference!

Another reason to sign-up for Edinburgh is that the course is very scenic and takes in a lot of the most famous parts of the Old Town. You will pass Greyfriars Bobby, run along the Royal Mile, and go through the Prince’s Street Gardens. It’s a fantastic course!

Manchester Marathon

Manchester Marathon has a fantastic reputation for being fast, flat, and very well supported. This one takes place in the spring and is an excellent race to target if you don’t get a place at London. In 2015, Manchester Marathon was voted the Best Marathon in the UK for the second time, which goes to show just how amazing this race is. It’s also the fourth most popular marathon in Europe, in a strong field that contains the Rome Marathon, Paris Marathon, and Berlin Marathon.

Why is Manchester so popular? Aside from the speed of the course, with no horrific hills to sap your will to live, there is entertainment around the course, with bands and singers there to keep tired legs going. In addition, the race finishes in Man United’s home at Trafford Park, which is sure to appeal to footy fans.

If you do enter Manchester, keep an eye out for Olympians, as the course usually attracts some of the world’s best elite runners.

Blackpool Marathon

The seaside resort town of Blackpool is famous for its promenade light displays, but it is equally famous for the annual Blackpool Marathon. The course is fast and flat, and you can score a PB running down the iconic promenade.

The Blackpool Marathon is a two-lap course, which might not appeal to everyone. But it attracts thousands of runners and there is lots of support along the course. You get to run along the famous Golden Mile, with amusement arcades on one side and the sea on the other. The course then takes runners out to Lytham St Annes, where there is a turnaround point, all the way back through Blackpool to Cleveleys, before heading back into town again.

Enter this race if you fancy making a weekend of it. You can run the marathon while the rest of your family chills on the beach or blow their pocket money in the arcades.

Milton Keynes Marathon

MK Marathon starts in the city centre, but soon winds out into the countryside. It’s a great race for novices new to the marathon distance, but equally, because the course is fast and flat, the Milton Keynes marathon also attracts more experienced runners.

As well as lovely scenery along the route, which takes runners through country parks, woodland, and past lakes, you can look forward to a fantastic stadium finish. The race is limited to 3,000 runners, so the route won’t be too crowded if you dislike having to fight through the crowds, but there is still plenty of atmosphere to keep runners motivated.

This event is also a qualifier for London and Boston if that’s important to you.

Yorkshire Marathon

The Yorkshire Marathon is one of the newer full-distance races on the racing calendar, with the first event taking place in 2013. Not surprisingly, thanks to a fast course, this marathon has proven popular and each year, the event grows bigger and more prestigious.

The route is very scenic. It winds through some historic parts of York before meandering out into the adjacent villages, along pretty country lanes. There is plenty of entertainment and support along the route, which will distract you from the pain of the last six miles.

If the Yorkshire Marathon is on your bucket list, make sure you enter early, as places usually sell out quickly.

Other flat marathons for PB chasers include Chester Marathon, Abingdon Marathon, and the most iconic of them all, London Marathon. And if a marathon is a step too far, why not enter a half-marathon instead?

The Court of Arbitration for Sport upholds Kenyan marathoner's doping ban

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld World Athletics’ Disciplinary Tribunal's decision to ban Kenyan marathon runner Daniel Wanjiru for four years for an Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) violation.

CAS President of the Panel Jan Paulsson, who presided over the case, said in the ruling made on February 1, 2022 that the case had no costs, except for the Court Office fee of Swiss Francs 1,000 (Sh124,000) paid by  Wanjiru, which is retained by CAS.

However,  Wanjiru was ordered to pay World Athletics a contribution of CHF 2,000 (Sh248,000) towards its legal fees and other expenses incurred in connection with these proceedings.

Wanjiru was represented by Michiel Van Dijk from Utrecht, Netherlands during the seat of arbitration on Lausanne, Switzerland.

Wanjiru, the 2016 Amsterdam and 2017 London Marathon, was flagged down in December 2019, but was provisionally suspended in April 2020 before being banned for four years in October the same year.

World Athletics (WA) charged Wanjiru on October 8, 2020 with an anti-doping rule violation (‘ADRV’) as a result of abnormalities found in his ABP.

The WA Disciplinary Tribunal found him guilty of violating Rule 2.2 of the WA Anti-Doping Rules 2019 (‘WA ADR’).

Wanjiru was swift in lodging an appeal.

However, Wanjiru, expressed his innocence, arguing that the abnormal ABP finding must have been the result of an error in the relevant laboratory’s custodial procedures. He also charged that the doping hypothesis or scenario presented by WA didn’t justify the finding of an ADR.

Wanjiru shot to the limelight when he edged out Ethiopian long-distance running legend Kenenisa Bekele to win the London Marathon in 2017, before finishing eighth in the 2017 London World Championships.

A total of 16 blood samples were taken from Wanjiru between April 20, 2017 and April 29, 2019 of which blood sample 14 was taken on March 9, 2019, a day he got down from altitude in Kenya and flew to London.

He competed in the London Half Marathon (Vitality Big Half) on March 10, 2019 and returned to altitude on March 11, 2019. Sample 15 was taken on March 13, 2019.

Wanjiru had undergone numerous doping controls since early 2014 and all were negative with his level of performance having been stable over the years.

However, at the centre of this dispute was Wanjiru’s hematological passport, specifically a blood sample collected from the athlete on the morning of March 9, 2019, the day before he competed in the London Half Marathon (the ‘Vitality Big Half Marathon’). 

The athlete’s ABP was submitted to a panel of three qualified and experienced experts for anonymous review, Doctor Laura Garvican Lewis, Professor Giuseppe d’Onofrio and Doctor Paulo  Paixao.

The sample, when compared to the rest of the samples in his ABP, was flagged by the Adaptive Model as being an Abnormal Passport Finding. 

WA maintained that the Athlete’s highly abnormal ABP indicated blood doping because it couldn’t be explained by any other pathological or physiological cause, as determined and confirmed by a Joint Expert Panel.

Three substances or methods are well known to be used for blood doping.

First, the administering of recombinant human erythropoietin (by injection to trigger erythropoiesis, the stimulation of red blood cells).

Sir Mo Farah set to return to action at London 10k

Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah will make his return to competition at the Vitality London 10,000 in May.

The 38-year-old, Britain's most decorated track and field athlete, has not raced since suffering a fractured foot in June last year.

He fell short of the 10,000m selection time for last year's Tokyo Olympics at the British Championships.

Farah, the 5,000m and 10,000m champion at both the London and Rio Games, is a seven-time winner of the London 10,000.

The race, won by Farah in five consecutive years between 2009 and 2013, and again in 2018 and its most recent edition in 2019, will take place on Monday 2 May.

"I've been working hard to get back into shape following my injury last summer and I've got a few more months of hard training ahead of me," said Farah.

"I have great memories of the event. I have won it seven times and racing in central London is something you can never get bored of. The atmosphere among the thousands of participants is always fantastic and I can't wait to be part of it again."

Farah said he would consider his future after failing to qualify for Tokyo, saying: "If I can't compete with the best why bother?"

He later told the BBC he had "been struggling for quite a while" but added he was determined to recover from the injury and finish his career on his own terms.

How to create a runners first aid kit

Most runners are familiar with the term “runner’s high”, which is often used to describe the feeling one gets right before an amazing race. However, this term is also appropriate for describing something entirely different: putting together a first aid kit for runners.

A runner’s first aid kit is commonly neglected because it seems like they’re mostly filled with band-aids and sports creams, but they’re actually brimming with potential injuries that could be common in runners. In this article, let’s share ways to create a first aid kit.

Get an up-to-date first-aid manual

If you are into running, then it is possible that at one point in time or another you may get yourself injured. It’s the nature of the activity, and there isn’t much we can do about it. But what we can do is ensure that if we get injured, we have a way to fix ourselves up without too much fuss. And for this, the best way to ensure that you are covered is to have a first-aid kit around.

The hardest part about creating a first aid kit of your own is getting your hands on some good-quality equipment and supplies. The first step towards building your kit is to get an up-to-date first-aid manual that can provide you with all types of information about how to handle yourself in case of an emergency.

Brace and support supplies

Braces and support supplies like orthopedic tape and Kinesiology Taping (KT Tape) can be really useful in the treatment of running injuries. As a runner, you know how important it is to be able to provide first aid for yourself when you get injured during your run, whether that’s on a trail or on the road.

As a runner, you might have seen orthopedic tape and braces in a drugstore or pharmacy, but did you know what they’re for?

Orthopedic tape is great when it comes to injuries like sprains. It can help keep body parts in place. Simply, orthopedic supplies provide support to weak or sore muscles. It helps decrease pain and swelling when you get injured by providing support to the area of injury. You can use it for everything from preventing blisters, to helping with sprains, strains, and other common running injuries.

Add a list of emergency phone numbers

Adding a list of emergency phone numbers when creating a first aid kit for runners can be helpful in some circumstances. You can start this list with the phone number of the closest hospital or medical center, and then add other numbers based on personal preferences. It is important to keep in mind that runners will be carrying these numbers with them wherever they go while running.

Don’t forget antiseptic wipes

When a runner is training for a race, they may notice soreness and swelling on their feet. It is important to have first aid supplies on hand in case of an injury. A well-stocked first-aid kit for runners includes bandages, antiseptic wipes, and antibiotic ointment. Antibiotic over-the-counter creams such as Neosporin can be purchased at any pharmacy or drugstore.

A simple way to remember what a runner should put in a first aid kit is ‘ABC.’ This means antiseptic wipes, bandages, and antibiotic ointment. Antiseptic wipes are not only useful for cleaning small cuts, but also preventing infection on blisters.

Aids for Prevention of Abdominal Cramps for Runners

When creating a first aid kit for runners, runners should consider including aids for the prevention of abdominal cramps for runners, as well as other items that may be needed during a run.

Most kits also include pain relievers or analgesics such as ibuprofen or aspirin and tape, gauze, and antiseptic wipes to treat minor scrapes and blisters. Adding aids for the prevention of abdominal cramps to a first aid kit may help ensure that there is a relief for this issue during runs.

Abdominal cramps are one of the most common reasons why people stop running in the middle of a run, especially if they ignore them at first, thinking that they will go away.

Painkillers

Running takes it out of the body, and painkillers are important to help control discomfort afterward. While taking them unnecessarily can be harmful to health, they’re vital for recovering safely after a run.

The most common painkillers include ibuprofen and paracetamol. Ibuprofen is better for inflammation but can cause gastrointestinal discomfort in some people. Paracetamol has fewer side effects in general, however, it may not be strong enough to reduce certain types of pain.

There are many first aid supplies that are useful for runners to have on hand when they travel. A well-stocked first-aid kit for runners should include bandages, antiseptic wipes, and antibiotic ointment. It is also important to add a list of emergency phone numbers and lists of dietary supplements and medications.

Megertu and Abderehman break course records in Seville

Alemu Megertu and Asrar Abderehman secured an Ethiopian double at the Zurich Maratón de Sevilla, a World Athletics Elite Label road race, on Sunday (20) with huge world-leading PBs of 2:18:51 and 2:04:43 respectively.

Both men’s and women’s races had strong depth as seven men finished inside 2:07 with the 13th finisher clocking 2:08:30, while nine women went sub-2:26, confirming the course is conducive to fast times.

Perfectly paced by Hassan Aouchar, the women's contest opened at a brisk pace with opening splits of 16:13 (5km) and 32:44 (10km), suggesing a finishing time well inside 2:20, which would smash the course record of 2:23:13. By then the leading quintet was formed by Ethiopians Megertu, the fastest entrant thanks to a 2:21:10 PB, Meseret Gola, runner-up at last November's Barcelona Marathon in a PB of 2:24:09, Kalayu Chekole, Chimdesa Kumsa and Alema Gebremedhin. Behind them, Britain's Jess Piasecki, eager to improve on her marathon best after smashing her half marathon PB with 1:07:20 last month, passed through 10km in 33:24.Megertu and her compatriots went through halfway in 1:09:25, more than a minute ahead of Piasecki.

But Kumsa, then Gebremedhin and finally Chekole lost ground from the heading duo and the race became a two-woman battle between Megertu and Gola, both still following the pacemaker.

The key movement came at 35km when Gola simply could not live with the steady 3:17 pace and began to lose contact. Megertu, meanwhile, metronomically maintained her cadence and reached the finish line in a massive career best of 2:18:51, having ran halves of 1:09:25 and 1:09:26.

Runner-up Gola also set a massive PB of 2:20.50 while Chekole completed an Ethiopian sweep of the podium with a lifetime best of 2:21:17. Kumsa held on for fourth place (2:22:13), while Piasecki overtook Gebremedhin just before 40km and finished fifth in 2:22:27, becoming the second-fastest Briton in history behind former world record-holder Paula Radcliffe.The men's pacemakers, Enock Onchari and Wilfred Kimeli, were asked to maintain a 2:57/km tempo in the hunt for a race record (2:04:46) but they covered the opening 5km in 14:54, a bit slower than expected, closely followed by the main favourites which included Eritrea's 2015 world champion Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, his compatriot Awet Habte and a large Ethiopian contingent led by Abderehman, Adugna Takele and debutante Adeladlew Mamo among others.

The pace heated up over the following kilometres and the leading group reached 10km in 29:39, 15km in 44:22 and the half-way point in 1:02:31, still eight seconds outside the required pace to break the record. By then, 12 men remained in the heading pack. Way back, Spain's 40-year-old Ayad Lamdassem, who finished fifth at the Tokyo Olympics, was in the chasing group, timed at 1:03:16 by halfway.

The steady pace progressively whittled down the main group and by the time the pacemakers dropped out at 30km, the Ethiopian pair of Abderehman and Mamo took command and opened a sizeable gap on the rest. The leaders took turns at the helm but it was Mamo who made most of the pacing duties with his fellow Ethiopian running alongside.By 35km the lead duo was timed at 1:43:17 with Ghebreslassie and Takele 27 seconds in arrears.

A 35-40km split of 15:26 seemed to ruin the chances of a course record but Abderehman unleashed a devastating kick with some 1200m to go and built a sizeable margin over Mamo to secure the win in 2:04:43, a course record by three seconds and an improvement of more than three minutes on his previous best.

Runner-up Mamo produced a promising 2:05:12 debut, while Ghebreslassie got rid of Takele in the closing stages to complete a classy podium in 2:05:34, a massive PB for the 26-year-old Eritrean. Debutant Habte finished fifth in 2:06.25.

Running negative splits (1:06:17/1:06:08) Lamdassem placed sixth to improve his own national record by 10 seconds (2:06:25). Likewise, Israel’s Maru Teferi dipped under 2:07 for the first time to improve on his national record, while compatriot Tachlowini Gabriyesos, a member of the Athlete Refugee Team at the Tokyo Olympics, clocked a PB of 2:10:09.

Abderehman prevails over debutant Mamo