1 minute read
Fitness The run/walk method works. No shame in that.
WARM-UPS FITNESS
WALK TALL The run/walk method is ideal for your first 42.2.
Advertisement
WALK OF NO SHAME
Run/walk method works as well as running alone for marathon first-timers.
FOR SOME RUNNERS, the idea of walking sections of a long run or – even worse! – a race is a sign of defeat, or a lack of grit, or inadequate training. But it shouldn’t be. A new study has found that the run/walk method (also known as ‘Jeffing’, in recognition of one of its biggest advocates, US Olympian, author and RW contributor Jeff Galloway) can reduce muscle soreness and get you to a marathon finish line in roughly the same time as continuous running. For the study, published in Science of Medicine in Sport, non-elite male and female participants covered 42.2km, either run/walking or just running. The run/walkers reported less muscle fatigue and pain afterwards, and surprisingly, achieved broadly similar finishing times to the run-only group. The run/walkers’ times ranged from 4:14-4:34, compared with the runners’ 4:07-4:34.
MAX CREDIT
When scientists2 studied the lab data of the Breaking 2 runners (which preceded the Ineos Challenge, in which Eliud Kipchoge ran the first sub-2 marathon), it was found participants had an average VO2 max of 71 – high, but not extraordinary. What does this mean for the everyday runner? Success in distance running is about more than just the size of your engine; it’s about making the most of several variables, including running economy and good old-fashioned grit. If we harness these elements, we can all achieve our running goals.
RUN LIKE THE KENYANS (WITHIN REASON…)
Seven of the last eight men to win the London Marathon have been Kenyans, and six of the last seven women. A new study1 suggests that one of the reasons for their dominance is they do more tempo runs and short intervals than European runners. Here’s a short interval session to try. You won’t beat the Kenyans, but you will improve. DISTANCE
400M
REPS SPEED RECOVERY
8-16 5K PACE (8/10 EFFORT) 1 MIN 20%
Extra kilojoules burnt if running using trekking poles
