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4/3/2021

Differences between running on grass and running on concrete

If you live in an area with the option to run on both grass or concrete, it can be difficult to decide, especially when you don’t know the pros and cons of each.

Running on grass makes running a little more difficult due to the softer impact. Alternatively, running on concrete provides a harder impact surface, making the running process a little easier as you don’t need to put as much force into pushing away from the ground with each stride.

In this short article, we are going to talk about the pros and cons of running on grass VS running on concrete.

Running On Concrete

If you were to think back to all your runs, the majority of them have probably been on concrete, as this is the most common surface for runners; however that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the best or worst way to do things, it depends on your goals and preference.

Pros

The most common benefit of running on concrete is the fact that it tends to be a lot easier, as it doesn’t require you to use as much force as you would when running on grass.

This also means you’ll be able to run faster, so don’t get discouraged if your running time is faster on concrete, as this is to be expected.

Cons

If you spend a lot of time running on concrete, it can put stress on your joints, leading to arthritis and issues later on down the road. You’re also more prone to falling over due to potholes and other debris you typically find left on the street.

Running On Grass

Running on grass is not as common as concrete; however, it’s definitely something worth considering as it comes with certain benefits. It’s also worth mentioning that it’s important to purchase the right trainers for running on grass, if you want to go down this route. There are significant differences in terms of quality requirements compared to running on concrete.

Pros

Grass is a softer surface, so you’re going to be demanding more out of your leg muscles with each step. This means you’re going to be training harder, which is great if you love a challenge.

In addition, you won’t be putting as much stress on your joints as you would with concrete, helping prevent injuries in the future.

Cons

The first problem with grass is that when it rains, it becomes slippery and can lead to you falling over. Also, it tends to be a little uneven in places, which means one leg is going to be working harder in the other, so you’ll probably get tired quicker.

This can also lead to you tripping over an uneven patch of grass. While this is bad, it’s still better than falling over on the concrete.

If you’re an experienced runner who is looking to build leg strength and challenge yourself, we recommend running on grass.

On the flip side, if you’re relatively new, it’s best to start with concrete and move onto grass once you’ve got a bit more experience.

We hope this article has shown you the differences between running on grass VS concrete. If you have any questions, drop a comment below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

(03/26/21) Views: 97
Colorado Runner

The Chicago Marathon faces more competition this year to attract elite runners because of the pandemic.

Don’t expect the Bank of America Chicago Marathon to have a wide array of the world’s best runners this year.

Competition to sign them up will be fierce because the world’s six major marathons, which are normally spread across the spring and fall months, are all being scrunched into an eight-week window in September, October and November because of the pandemic.

The Boston Marathon, for instance, a race that’s traditionally held on the third Monday in April, will take place Oct. 11, the day after Chicago’s marathon.

“I’m not going to say it’s not a challenge, but it gives us an opportunity to go a little deeper and find athletes who may have not had a chance in the last year or two and have them here where they may do something memorable,” said Carey Pinkowski, the longtime director of the Chicago Marathon who built the race into a world-class event.

Pinkowski said he expected top athletes, many who run one marathon in the spring and one in the fall, to start deciding next month what races they’ll run.

“We’ve had some nice discussions with managers and coaches,” he said.

“You never know, we may see one of the stars we’ve seen in the past,” he said, noting the unpredictability of the pandemic that caused Chicago, along with many other cities, to cancel its marathon last year.

“This year is a transitional year, so we’ll just have to get through it,” he said. “We hope to be back to normal in 2022.”

Marathon organizers anticipate the number of non-elite runners this year to be in line with previous years.

In 2019, the last year the marathon took place in Chicago, a record 45,786 runners crossed the finish line in Grant Park.

Pinkowski cited positive developments with vaccinations taking place around the country and said there was “a great deal of optimism” for this year’s race.

(03/26/21) Views: 81
Mitch Dudek

Entries for Comrades Marathon virtual race open

The world’s greatest ultramarathon is all set to stage the world’s greatest virtual event with runners from around the globe invited to participate on Sunday, 14 June 2020 with FREE entry to all South African runners who entered the 2020 Comrades Marathon.

The Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) last month launched its one and only officially sanctioned virtual race, ‘Race the Comrades Legends’ which promises to be The Ultimate Virtual Race.

GET A REAL MEDAL:

Participants who sign up for and complete the ‘Race The Comrades Legends’ are guaranteed a real finishers medal, together with the bragging rights of having completed the very first virtual event hosted by the CMA.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE:

It may seem new age to traditional Comrades Marathon runners but ‘Race the Comrades Legends’ is a great option for runners who for months have done training runs in isolation and no longer feel part of a close-knit running community.  The ‘Race the Comrades Legends’ will provide a platform to engage with other runners throughout South Africa and the rest of the world as well as opportunity for family members to participate in the action, all with the reassurance of safety and convenience, while here in South Africa doing so within the constraints of the government’s National Lockdown regulations.

RACE AGAINST THE LEGENDS:

The CMA’s ‘Race The Comrades Legends’ is a running concept based on the stories of the greatest Comrades Legends in history. The official Comrades Marathon website will include an online functionality where runners can virtually compete, run with and compare with each other and the likes of Bruce Fordyce, Frith van der Merwe, Samuel Tshabalala and many others; where each participant creates their own personal story and on completion is able to earn a real medal.

CHOOSE YOUR DISTANCE - 5, 10, 21, 45 OR 90KM:

By creating an international virtual event with great public focus, based on a series of distances that various running legends have defined in their time, from the 5km to the marathon as well as the usual Comrades Marathon ultra, the CMA has effectively created a virtual mass-participation event for everyone to be a part of.

All that runners need to do is go to the Comrades website; register for ‘Race The Comrades Legends’; select their distance of 5km, 10km, 21km, 45km or 90km.

ENTER ONLINE:

The cost is R150 for South African runners and $25 for foreign athletes. 

(03/26/21) Views: 78

Paris 2024 is offering 100 spots at mass-participation marathon just to women, in an effort to boost gender balance at the event

Club Paris 2024 is offering 100 spots in the public marathon being held alongside the Paris 2024 Olympics to women, in an effort to boost gender balance at the event.

The membership club associated with Paris 2024 is offering entry to the marathon to those who collect 700 points by March 31.

Every kilometer run from March 8 until this date will give a person 10 points, with those running 70km reaching the target.

Walking 1km will give you five points, swimming 1km awards 40 points and cycling 1km is worth 2.5 points.

For other activities, one minute of sport will earn one point.

Club Paris 2024 requires women to collect the points by the deadline and enter their gender to be part of the draw.

An identity card may be requested.

From April 1 to 7, a raffle will be conducted, drawing 100 winners and 50 alternates.

Just 27 per cent of participants in the 2019 Paris Marathon were women, which is why Club Paris 2024 has launched this scheme.

The Paris 2024 Olympics are scheduled to run from July 26 to August 11 in 2024, with the schedule yet to be announced for athletics.

The marathon finish is set to be the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, and the mass-participation race will offer members of the public the chance to run the same course on the same day as Olympic athletes.

Le Club Paris 2024 is backed by AliExpress, which is offering clients the opportunity to earn an additional 500 points for each challenge completed, using the code "AliExpressParis2024".

"We are really delighted about our partnership with the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, which is aimed at promoting the sporting values to which we are particularly attached at AliExpress," said Christina Lu, head of marketing for AliExpress. 

"The benefits of sports practice no longer need to be demonstrated, and we hope that our collaboration with Le Club Paris 2024 will make people want to practice physical activity on a regular basis."

Alibaba, a member of The Olympic Partner worldwide sponsorship programme since 2017, is the parent company of AliExpress and one of the most important International Olympic Committee sponsors.

(03/27/21) Views: 77
Michael Houston

Registration for virtual Boston Marathon opens today

Registration opens Tuesday for the 2021 virtual Boston Marathon.

The Boston Athletic Association opens registration at 10 a.m. to the first 70,000 people who register. Rules will require participants to complete the 26.2 miles in one, continuous attempt in order to earn their finishing medal.

“For the first time in our history, most everyone will have the opportunity to earn a Unicorn finisher’s medal for every B.A.A. race in 2021—no matter whether they choose to walk or run," said Tom Grilk, president and CEO of the BAA.

The virtual race will be held Oct.8 to Oct. 10, followed by the in-person race that will be held on Oct. 11, 2021, as long as state reopening rules allow.

The 2020 Boston Marathon, the 124th running of the race, was initially postponed to September before it was ultimately cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, instead of 30,000 runners covering the course from Hopkinton to Boston on Patriots Day in April, more than 16,000 people from all 50 states and 83 countries covered the required 26.2 miles in their own neighborhoods during a 10-day period in September.

(03/30/21) Views: 75

Why are people in China burning their Nikes?

If you’ve been following the news this week, you may have noticed videos popping up on the internet of people in China burning their Nikes. This isn’t some weird new internet trend, this is an attempt by Chinese citizens to stand up against and boycott the brand, along with Adidas and several other apparel companies over accusations of the alleged use of forced labour in Xinjiang, the country’s main cotton-producing region.

To understand what’s really going on here, we have to turn back the clock a bit. Last September, Swedish clothing retailer H&M released a statement expressing its concern over allegations of forced labour in Xinjiang, where approximately 20 per cent of the world’s cotton is produced. Other brands like Nike, Adidas, New Balance and Puma also made statements against cotton from the region. In a lengthy statement made nearly a year ago, Nike said that they prohibit “any type of prison, forced, bonded or indentured labor”.

“Nike is committed to ethical and responsible manufacturing and we uphold international labor standards. We are concerned about reports of forced labor in, and connected to, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Nike does not source products from the XUAR and we have confirmed with our contract suppliers that they are not using textiles or spun yarn from the region.”

So why are statements made several months ago creating a scandal now? According to CNN, human rights groups have been accusing Beijing of detaining minority groups in the area and using them as forced labour, claiming it’s part of global retail supply chains. Recently, the U.S. and other Western countries (including Canada) have placed sanctions on China over Xinjiang, which has resulted in significant pushback from the Chinese government. Several news outlets in the country have called the allegations lies, and Chinese Communist Youth League released its own statement, saying “Spreading rumors to boycott Xinjiang cotton, while trying to make a profit in China? Wishful thinking!”

Popular Chinese e-commerce platforms have now pulled products from H&M, Nike, Adidas and several other brands from their websites, and several of the country’s celebrities are dropping their Nike and Adidas endorsements. As outrage on social media has continued to spread, several users of the popular Chinese social media app, Weibo, have posted videos of them burning their Nike shoes and other apparel, and many users have stated that they will stop buying from Nike.

Nike and Adidas are both part of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), the group that promotes sustainable cotton production, which suspended its approval of Xinjiang cotton in October. According to Reuters, users have also attacked the organization for its stance.

“If you boycott Xinjiang cotton, we’ll boycott you. Either Adidas quits BCI, or get out of China,” one internet user wrote.

The human rights allegations in question are the same reason why some parties are calling for a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics, set to take place in Beijing next year.

(03/27/21) Views: 65
Running Magazine

Chris Thompson (2:10:52) and Stephanie Davis (2:27:16) Win British Olympic Marathon Trials

It has been a momentous week for veteran distance runner Chris Thompson, and it’s only Friday.

On Monday, the 39 year-old Olympian and his wife Jemma Simpson celebrated the birth of their son, Theodore, their first child. Then today, in a perfectly timed effort at the Müller British Athletics Marathon and 20km Walk Trials, he ran his way on to his second Olympic team in dramatic fashion, coming from behind to win in a personal best 2:10:52, comfortably under the Tokyo Olympics qualifying standard of 2:11:30. According to statistician Jon Mulkeen, Thompson has now made 25 British national teams since qualifying for the World Junior Championships in 1998 in the 3000-meter steeplechase.

“I’ve never felt so much emotion in my life,” a teary-eyed Thompson told commentator Tim Hutchings in his post-race broadcast interview. He continued: “Everything fell into place in the last couple of laps.”

At today’s race, held in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew in southwest London, the top-two men and women could earn automatic selection for the Tokyo Olympics if they left the finish area with the Olympic qualifying standard under their belts. Only one man and one woman, Ben Connor and Stephanie Davis, possessed those respective standards of 2:11:30 and 2:29:30 coming into the race. So Thompson had to hit the time today, plus finish in the top-2 to gain automatic team selection.

In the first five kilometers Thompson, Connor, Dewi Griffiths and Mohamud Aadan (making his marathon debut) ran close behind the pacemakers Callum Hawkins and Jake Smith. Hawkins, who finished fourth in the 2019 World Athletics Championships Marathon, had already been pre-selected for the Olympic team and ran today to “show fitness” as required by British Athletics selectors and also to help his compatriots fulfill their Olympic dreams. Through 10-K (30:51) they were all together running at a 2:10 pace, but over the next five kilometers Thompson would drift back. The 2010 European Athletics Championships 10,000m silver medalist decided that the pace was a little too ambitious.

“After 30 minutes I realized I’d worked the course out,” Thompson explained. “Listen, you can’t keep pushing like this. The turns, everything, was just building up and I thought, I need to check back. These guys need to be in very, very good shape to keep this going.”

At the halfway mark (about 1:04:42), Thompson was about 20 seconds back. Because the Garden’s paved paths are narrow and the primary 3.3-kilometer race loop had 11 turns or bends, Thompson was hidden from his rivals. Indeed, it seemed to the broadcast audience as if he was completely out of contention.

Between 25 and 30 kilometers, the leading men only put up a sluggish 5-K split time of 15:43. Thompson was a whopping 36 seconds behind, and was still out of sight. But over the next five kilometers –after pacemaker Hawkins had dropped out at around 32 kilometers– Thompson made up that entire deficit, while Griffiths dropped back (the Welshman would finish fourth in 2:13:42). At 35-K (1:48:32) it was a three-man race and they were running at about a 2:11 pace. Thompson took stock of his position.

“I’ve either messed this up royally or it’s going to turn around very quickly,” Thompson said.

After running briefly with Connor and Aadan, Thompson left his rivals and forged ahead on his own. By the 40-kilometer mark (2:04:07) he had a commanding 44-second lead. He checked his watch a few times to make sure he was going to make the time, then in the final meters to the finish he started celebrating, nearly stopping at the finish tape as he punched his fists in joy. His official time of 2:10:52 put him well under the standard and on his second Olympic team in nine years.

“I was in dreamland,” Thompson marveled. “The last two laps, I’m like nothing’s stopping me now.”

Behind Thompson, Connor and Aadan battled for second right through the final kilometer. Connor finished a clear second in 2:12:06, and since he already had the qualifying standard from the Virgin Money London Marathon last October where he ran 2:11:20 he locked up his team spot. Aadan got third in 2:12:20, a solid debut.

“Satisfaction, relief. Whatever you want to call it,” Connor said when asked to describe his emotions He was impressed with how Thompson managed his effort today. “I could hear him breathing about ten seconds before he came by,” Connor said. He added: “Smart running from him. Fair enough.”

Women’s Race

The women’s race, which used two male pacemakers, was dominated by Scotswoman Stephanie Davis. Davis, 30, was the only woman who started today’s race in possession of the Tokyo Olympic qualifying standard (she ran 2:27:42 in Valencia in December, 2019). She ran a smart race, following the pacers closely through halfway in an honest 1:14:05. That whittled the lead pack down to five: Davis, Sarah Inglis, Natasha Cockram, Lily Partridge and Charlotte Arter (making her debut). By 25-K Davis had just a four-second lead. Over the next five kilometers that cushion mushroomed to 52 seconds and the race was over. Davis cruised to the finish in a personal best 2:27:16 booking her first Olympic team berth.

“I can’t believe it,” Davis said in her post-race broadcast interview wearing a surgical mask. “I’m smiling so much underneath this mask, and I’m just so delighted. I knew I was in good shape, but anything can happen in the marathon.”

Natasha Cockram finished second in a personal best 2:30:03, but her performance was 33 seconds outside of the minimum required time for Tokyo so she did not earn a team berth. Third place went to Rosie Edwards in 2:31:56, also a personal best. Inglis finished sixth in 2:34:09 (she had run 2:29:41 at The Marathon Project last December in Arizona), and both Lily Partridge and Charlotte Arter dropped out.

With today’s race in the books, British Athletics selectors will have to fill the other two places on the women’s team by going through the remainder of their multi-step selection process. Three women who did not race today —Jess Piasecki, Charlotte Purdue, and Steph Twell-– all have the qualifying time and could be considered for team selection.

Today’s race was the first stand-alone British Olympic Marathon Trials since 1980. The Virgin Money London Marathon, typically held in late April, is usually used as the primary selection race, but that event won’t be held in 2021 until October because of the pandemic.

Full results with 5km splits can be found here. The full race broadcast is here.

Talk about the race on the LetsRun.com messageboard.

(03/27/21) Views: 61
Let’s Run

2021 Fukuoka International Marathon will be Its final running

The prestigious Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship will be discontinued after the 75th edition in 2021 due in part to a lack of sponsors, a source close to the matter said Friday.

The international men's marathon held in the southwest Japan city is one of the longest-running footraces in Japan. First held in 1947 in Kumamoto Prefecture, it moved to Fukuoka permanently in 1959.

The marathon has served as a qualifier for Olympics and world championships.

The marathon is one of six events, each one of the world's oldest footraces, that received a World Athletics heritage award in October.

Some of Japan's greatest racing moments, including those involving Olympians Toshihiko Seko and twin athletes Shigeru So and Takeshi So in the 1970s and 1980s, have been witnessed at the Fukuoka marathon.

The Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, considered the oldest marathon in Japan, will be absorbed into the Osaka Marathon from 2022. It was run on the banks of the Shiga Prefecture lake for the 76th time in February.

(03/26/21) Views: 60

Kenyan Abel Kirui eyes Mumbai Marathon title in May

Two-time world marathon champion Abel Kirui has landed an invite for the  Mumbai Marathon set for May 30 in India.

The assistant superintendent of police based in Mombasa, said said he is ready to make his debut in Mumbai, where he will be up against other bigwigs. 

Speaking at his Global Sports Communication training camp in Kaptagat, Kirui said he started his Marathon journey in Asia, specifically Singapore Marathon where he finished third in 2:15:2 and wants to improve on that.

“Now I still have about two months to prepare and as an athlete, I will be fighting for the title and nothing less. I expect a crowded field by considering my training, i believe I am up to the challenge,” said Kirui, who finished third at the 2007 Vienna City Marathon in 2:10:41 before winning the title the following year in 2:07:38. 

The 39-year-old first won the world title in 2009 in Berlin, Germany before  defending it in 2011 Daegu, South Korea. Kirui won silver at the 2012 Olympic Games in London . 

The former Chicago Marathon champion said he will be keen to lower his personal best of 2:05:04, which he set in 2009 Rotterdam Marathon. “ I always run well under warm weather conditions, which I expect in Mumbai City,” he added.

(03/30/21) Views: 59
Emmanuel Sabuni

How to prepare your body for a workout

It’s a wonderful time to be alive because we have all become so much more aware of our bodies and how they work, and this motivates us to take better care of ourselves. Health and fitness has been taking top priority with more and more people, and this is something that you need to get into if you haven’t already. Working out is something you can do on your own in the comfort of your home, but you need to be well informed about what the process is so you don’t end up hurting yourself. This is why we’re going to fill you in on 8 ways you can prepare your body for a workout.

Create a Workout Schedule

The best way to workout effectively and ensure that your body is prepared for the workout is to be organized about it. You need to create a workout schedule, and it’s actually preferable if you have a set time for exercise every day. By doing so, you create a consistent cycle and your body is able to get into this routine while having the same amount of rest time between each workout. When you do your workouts whenever you feel like you’re in the mood and at an inconsistent pace, you’ll find that you’ll either have too little time to rest between workout, which can cause damage, or you simply won’t see any progress at all.

Understand Your Body First

Before committing to any kind of workout, it’s really important that you have a better understanding of your body first. The first thing you need to do is visit your doctor to see what state your body is in to know what kind of workouts would be suitable for you and which ones you need to stay away from. If you’re interested in focusing on muscle building, then it’s advised that you get bodybuilder tests done to get a better understanding of the condition of your muscles. This way, you’ll know exactly how much pressure to put on yourself without getting hurt.

Watch What You Eat

Before getting into any kind of workout, your body needs to be healthy inside out. The best way to reach the ideal condition is by paying attention to your diet. It’s time for you to switch to a healthy diet filled with a balance of fresh produce and healthy fats and carbs as well. If you’re not sure how to do this properly, visit a nutritionist and they’ll be able to set you on the right track.

Always Stay Hydrated

Nothing is worse than working out with a hydrated body- this is the best way to cause damage to your muscles and tendons. Make a habit of always having water by your side before you start working out and make sure that you’re hydrating yourself throughout the day. Water is a given, and also look into the healthiest kinds of smoothies and protein shakes as well. Stay away from sugary drinks, caffeine, and sodas.

Sleep Affects the Condition of Your Body

A rested body will be able to take on much more than one that is fatigued. Sleep allows your muscles and your body in general to rejuvenate itself, so there’s no point in attempting a workout if you haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep. You’ll have stiff muscles and you’ll never be able to get what you want out of your workout if you don’t rest it the way it should. You need 7 to 8 hours of sleep, ideally.

Meditation Does Wonders

Stress has become so common that we tend to overlook it and just try to get on with our lives. If you want to prep your body for an effective workout, you need to make sure that you meditate first. Meditation allows you to clear your mind by focusing all your energy on your thoughts and decluttering all the mess that resides in your mind. Meditation also helps you focus on your breathing patterns, which will go a long way in allowing you to have longer and more effective workouts because you won’t have to feel out of breath too early on.

Look into Supplements

When you visit your doctor and your nutritionist, you’ll be able to find out what kind of deficiencies you might have. Most of these, you’ll be able to control by changing your diet and your lifestyle in general. However, in some cases, you’ll be advised to take supplements as well to really make sure that your body is in the best shape before a workout. There are also supplements made specifically for workout that you can take in either tablet form or as a smoothie. These prep your muscles for exertion and allow you to build your muscles more effectively.

Always Stretch

Last but not least, you always need to stretch. By not doing this, you’re going into your exercises with a body that simply isn’t prepared for the kind of effort and movement you’re going to be putting into it. Think about looking into yoga stretches and also look into stretches that focus on the points that you feel are the most tense, such as your neck, shoulders and back. Don’t forget about the leg and hip stretches as well so that you don’t end up pulling any muscles. You can easily find stretching tutorials online or you can ask a professional trainer to guide you so that you have the basics down for whenever you want to work out at home.

(03/27/21) Views: 58
Colorado Runner