Runner's - Issue August 2022 by PerpustakaanIIM.Majalah

IN THIS ISSUE REGULARS

WARM-UPS

HUMAN RACE

FEATURES

JULY 2022

COACH

GEAR

RACE

‘RUNNING IS MINDFULNESS’ Meet James, a hearing-impaired runner who does parkrun every week with his hearing dog, Nero

ON THE COVER Photograph: Matt Nager Runner: Kara Goucher

P24 The Ukrainians Still Running Strong Meet the runners who are staying active in a war zone

P54 ‘Running Brings Freedom’ What miles mean to those with sight and hearing loss

P15 Your Fast Track To Good Mental Health Boost your mood by running quicker

P36 Run Your Best Half Marathon Expert strategies and runners’ hacks to ace the 13.1-mile race

P66 Get Fit Fast 4 key workouts to unlock your potential

P17

P48 30 Easy Ways To Eat Better Today How to diversify your diet

P11

The No-Hills Hills Session All you need to complete the workout is a set of stairs

This Simple Move Speeds Recovery The ‘pedal pump’

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P80 Summer Gear Guide Twenty-six hot picks

WE’RE FIRST FOR NEW GEAR

URBAN ADVENTURE Running in south London

For news and reviews on the latest shoes, tech, apparel and accessories, visit runnersworld.com/uk. Here’s what’s hot on the site right now

ON YOUR MARKS Get set to go the 13.1 distance

COACH

P06 Rave Run Wheal Coates, north coast of Cornwall P98 I’m A Runner Singer and Feeder frontman Grant Nicholas

P68 Ask Jo Our resident Olympian, Jo Pavey, on foam rolling

Blitz and flip your way to 30 plants a week, p48

WARM-UPS

P69 Rhythm And Grit How to feel your different running paces with Coach Cory P70 Find Your Power Use this key running metric to train smarter

SWITCH ON

REGULARS

m e!

From shoes to shorts and jackets, here is the finest gear from the Swiss brand On.

P09 Cheering How to do it better P72 Magical Microbe Four recipes using gut-healthy kimchi

P13 Nutrition Is your running fuel eroding your teeth?

P74 Battle Of The Breakfasts Is toast or porridge better for runners?

HUMAN RACE P18 The Long Way Down Under Emma Timmis on running the length of New Zealand

P76 Mindful Running How practising meditation can improve your performance – and your life

P20 By The Numbers Amputee runner Jacky Hunt-Broersma runs 104 marathons in 104 days P21

GEAR

Murphy’s Lore Sam faces her morbid fear of falling

WATCH IT

P75 Master The Move Introducing the core-strengthening deadbug

The best GPS running watches to buy right now – tried, tested and reviewed.

P86 Behind The Seams Nike’s Air Zoom Alphafly Next Nature

P22 Your World Your letters

P27 Flamingo Diaries Lisa walks barefoot over hot coals

FEATURES P30 Running Conversation Sabrina Pace-Humphreys P44 My Favourite Run John Carroll

RACE Fuel your runs in a teeth-kind manner, p13

P88 Race Lead Lisa Jackson flies to Israel for the Tel Aviv 10K P91 Route Recce The Achill Half Marathon on Ireland’s west coast P92 The Start List The best UK races to enter in July P94 Still Going Strong The Brampton To Carlisle is touted as the oldest 10-mile road race in the UK

SHADY BUSINESS Sc

P26 Tonky Talk Paul makes the most of injury-free running

See clearly during bright summer runs with our pick of the top running sunglasses.

RAVE RUN

WHEAL COATES, CORNWALL

THE LOCATION Clinging to the cliff edge along from St Agnes Head and just up from Chapel Porth beach, Wheal Coates is situated on the north coast of Cornwall. THE RUN Starting at the St Agnes Head car park, head south along the waymarked South West Coast Path National Trail to experience a combination of the coastline’s stunning natural beauty and running right through the relics of Cornwall’s most iconic mining heritage site. RUNNER Will Harper-Penrose PHOTOGRAPHER David Miller Photography

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Andy Dixon EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

EDITORIAL

CONSUMER SALES & MARKETING

JOE MACKIE Deputy Editor KERRY MCCARTHY Commissioning Editor RICK PEARSON Senior Editor BEN HOBSON Executive Editor, Digital JENNY BOZON Deputy Digital Editor

REID HOLLAND Chief Commercial Revenue Officer JAMES HILL Circulation & Subscriptions Director JUSTINE BOUCHER Head of Subscriptions, Marketing & Circulation SEEMA KUMARI Digital Marketing & CRM Director

GROUP EDITORIAL PRODUCTION CARLY LEVY Workflow Director VICTORIA RUDLAND Group Chief Sub/ Production Editor MATT BLACKWELL Deputy Chief Sub Editor JAMES BROWN Deputy Chief Sub Editor RHIANNON JENKINS Sub Editor KIRTEY VERMA Sub Editor

ART DECLAN FAHY Creative Director WILL JACK Art Director NATHALIE BATES Art Editor (mat leave) REBECCA BRIDLE Art Editor JADE COOPER-COLLINS Art Editor PETRA MANLEY-LEACH Acting Art Editor JESSICA WEBB Art Editor SOPHIE BROWN Designer FLORENCE OGRAM Designer

PICTURES RACHAEL CLARK Photographic Director EMILY MURPHY Photographic Director SARAH ANDERSON Picture Editor SHANA LYNCH Picture Editor SALLY PRICE Picture Researcher

CONTRIBUTORS KIRSTI BUICK, HOWARD CALVERT, JOHN CARROLL, TOM CRAGGS, JEFF DENGATE, STEPHEN GLENNON, ELLIE HOPLEY, CHRISSY HORAN, LISA JACKSON, STEVE KNOPPER, ASHLEY MATEO, RENEE McGREGOR, ADRIAN MONTI, SAM MURPHY, JO PAVEY, DAVID SMYTH, PAUL TONKINSON, CLARE TRAGESER, CORY WHARTON-MALCOLM

HEARST UK SIMON HORNE Interim CEO Hearst UK | President Hearst Europe JULIEN LITZELMAN Finance Director MATT HAYES Chief International Brand Officer SURINDER SIMMONS Chief People Officer ALISON FORTH Interim Director of PR & Communications STEVEN MILES Group Brand Director CONNIE OSBORNE Editorial Business Director ROMAIN METRAS Business Strategy Director STACEY TOMLIN Editorial Business Manager MATT HILL Digital Development Director

COMMUNICATIONS BEN BOLTON Head of PR & Communications CALUM FORBES PR & Communications Manager, Health and Wellness

SHOWS & EVENTS MADOLYN GROVE Head of Events, Ops & Delivery MICHELLE PAGLIARULO Events Partnership Director ALICE MATTHEWS Events Partnership Manager CONNIE FFITCH Events Partnership Manager

PRODUCTION JEFF PETTITT Production Manager

HEARST MAGAZINES INTERNATIONAL JONATHAN WRIGHT President, Hearst Magazines International KIM ST CLAIR BODDEN SVP/Global Editorial & Brand Director CHLOE O’BRIEN Global Editorial & Brand Director RW INTERNATIONAL EDITIONS Australia, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, US Runner’s World UK is published in the UK by Hearst UK Limited. House of Hearst, 30 Panton Street, London SW1Y 4AJ. Copyright ©, Hearst UK Limited, 2022. All rights reserved. ISSN 1350-7745. Published 12 times a year. Conditions apply. Runner’s World is a trademark of Hearst Magazines Inc., 300 West 57th Street, New York NY 10019, USA. Runner’s World UK is printed and bound by Walstead Bicester, Chaucer Business Park, Launton Road, Bicester, Oxon OX26 4QZ, and distributed by Frontline Ltd, Peterborough. Tel: 01733 555 161 Runner’s World UK is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK’s magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint, please email complaints@hearst.co.uk or visit www.hearst.co.uk/hearstmagazines-uk-complaints-procedure. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors’ Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk

EDITOR’S LETTER IT’S SOMETIMES EASY TO

take your runs for granted. Although I think the saying ‘you never regret a run’ is true, I can also be guilty of allowing some runs to feel a bit, well, routine, maybe on a route that I’ve run many times before. Before Covid, running round Hyde Park most lunchtimes at work had me feeling like I was just seeing the same sights day after day. But after being unable to enjoy it for large parts of the pandemic, when I go there now I make sure that I appreciate what a beautiful place it is – and how lucky I am to be able to enjoy it. I was reminded of this by three inspirational pieces in this month’s issue, all of which have running as freedom at their core. On page 54, we speak to visually impaired and hearing loss runners on overcoming the challenges they face in pursuing the activity they love, and the difference being active makes to their physical and mental health. On page 24, we meet four Ukrainian runners who are continuing their training as a method of coping during a uniquely terrifying time. Finally, on page 30, we interview ultrarunner (and former RW cover star) Sabrina Pace-Humphreys about how she found freedom on the trails after experiencing rural racism when growing up and later struggles with depression. All of them show us that running is not just a physical act, but a state of mind.

CONTRIBUTORS

HEARST SOLUTIONS JANE WOLFSON Chief Commercial Officer MARK McCAFFERTY Head of Partnerships OLLIE LLOYD Head of Clients RYAN BUCKLEY Head of Digital Sales SARAH TSIRKAS Head of Fashion, Beauty & Luxury DENISE DEGROOT Head of Travel TIM ROSENBERG Head of Food & Drink KELLY WARNELL Head of Entertainment & Technology LEE RIMMER Head of Classified & Independents NATASHA BAILEY Client Director, Health & Wellness LEE BAILEY Client Director, Beauty CHRIS HEALY Client Director, Fashion (maternity cover) OLIVIA HORROCKS-BURNS Watches & Jewellery Manager WILL VILLE Director of Commercial Production MAIREAD GLEESON Art Director, Branded Content

008 RUNNERSWORLD.COM/UK JULY 2022

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ANNA GARDINER

MEGAN TATUM

The runner and writer speaks to runners from the visually impaired and hearing loss communities about the challenges they face, the fulfilment and freedom running brings them and what we can all do to make our sport more accessible in Sense Of Joy on p54.

The award-winning journalist specialises in food and health, and has written for the likes of The Guardian and Wired. Tatum asked the experts how to better harness the nutritional power of plants to fuel your running body in 30 Ways To Get Your 30 on p48.

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FITNESS

NUTRITION

MIND + HEALTH

INJURY

WARM-UPS

WO R D S : R I C K P E A R S O N . A R T WO R K: P E T E R C R OW T H E R AT D E B U T A R T. S O U R C E : T H E S P O RT P SYC H O LO G I ST

The TIPS YOU NEED to GET UP to SPEED

How to cheer better The science behind the best and worst vocal encouragement

AT MILE 20 OF A MARATHON, we’re not ‘almost there’ and we’re almost certainly not ‘looking great’. Yet wellmeaning supporters tell us we are, in the hope it will inspire us onwards. Does it work? Not really. A new study* found that the quality of support makes a difference. Runners interviewed after 10K and halfmarathon events said that ‘personal and authentic support was particularly valued’. The paper’s authors advised using cheers with ‘IMPACT’ – that’s instruction, motivation, personalisation, authenticity, confidence-building and tailored to the distance. For example, ‘Great pace, Helen; keep it going,’ or, ‘You’ve got this, Paul; we’re proud of you.’

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WARM-UPS

Lunge time routine The three-minute Mountain Legs workout favoured by top runners

J O U R NAL O F S P O RT S P H YS I O LO GY AN D P E R FO R MAN C E; S CAN D I NAV IAN J O U R NAL O F M E D I C I N E AN D S P O RT S S C I E N C E

WO R D S : R I C K P E A R S O N . P H OTO G R A P H Y: LU K E A L B E R T. I L L U S T R AT I O N S : H A R V E Y S Y M O N S ; L I Z Z Y T H O M A S . * S O U R C E S : I N T E R N AT I O NAL

TR AINING FOR A MOUNTAIN race but live nowhere near a mountain? Fear not. This three-minute workout, endorsed by some of the world’s top mountain runners, requires only a set of stairs. Called Mountain Legs, it’s an effective and user-friendly workout that involves just two moves: a reverse lunge and some high-speed step-ups. Created by running coach David Roche and favoured by former Hardrock 100 winner Jason Schlarb, it’s engineered to be as specific to uphill and downhill running as possible. Want to give it a go? Here’s how…

01/ SINGLE-LEG REVERSE LUNGE

02/ SINGLE-LEG STEP-UP

Muscles worked: Glutes, quads and hamstrings. Reps: Do 20 to 45, on each leg. Why: Kinder to knees than forward lunges; involves eccentric contractions, similar to downhill running. How: 01/ Stand with a wall to your right and your feet hip-width apart. 02/ Touching the wall with your right hand for balance, step your left foot backwards and land lightly on the ball of your left foot, keeping your left heel off the ground. 03/ Return to the starting position without putting your left foot on the floor. That’s one rep.

Muscles worked: Glutes, quads and hamstrings. Reps: Do 30 to 45, on each leg. Why: Works the muscles in a concentric motion, similar to uphill running. How: 01/ Find a set of stairs with a banister. 02/ With right foot on the ground, place your left foot two steps above, holding on to the banister. 03/ Push through your left foot to lift your right foot up to the same height. 04/ Step down with your right foot, touching the floor lightly with your forefoot. That’s one rep – aim for a tempo of one per second.

FITNESS

Find your own form A recent analysis* of running form concluded that no particular style is better than another. The study focused on ground-time versus airtime – in short, are you a shuffler or a bouncer? Interestingly, researchers concluded that where you are on the continuum makes no significant difference to your running economy (the amount of oxygen you use at a given speed). This builds on the conclusion of a classic running study – a 1987 report from Williams and Cavanagh – which found that experienced runners ‘self-optimise’ their stride. In other words, we all happen upon the running form that best works for us. So, if you’re not continually injured, it may be best to leave your running form as it is. As Emil Zátopek said, ‘I will run with perfect style when they start judging races for their beauty, like figure-skating. For now, I just want to run as fast as possible.’

10 Repeated all-out 10-second sprints* were found to be highly effective at increasing VO₂ max.

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WARM-UPS

01/ Go without ‘We’ve all been guilty of using sports drinks when we don’t need to as they’re so convenient,’ says Needleman. Runs of less than an hour probably don’t require them.

Erode running

02/ Try a two-bottle strategy ‘If you’re wearing a race vest, put a sports drink in one flask, water in the other,’ says Needleman. ‘Use the sports drink, then the water to rinse it out.’

Is your running nutrition playing havoc with your teeth?

WO R D S : R I C K P E A R S O N . P H OTO G R A P H Y: J O B E L AW R E N S O N ; S T U D I O 3 3 ; G E T T Y I M AG E S .

A NE W S TUDY* SUGGE S T S that those who are more physically active – that’s you – have a significantly higher chance of having dental erosion, which is irreversible. And the culprit? Sports drinks. The researchers found that ‘frequent consumption of sports drinks’ led to a ‘2.5-fold increase in the odds of erosive lesions’. Most runners want to achieve high-level wellness in addition to fast race times, so what’s the solution? Oral health expert and ultrarunner Ian Needleman provides six tips for fuelling in a more teeth-kind manner.

03/ Limit exposure How many times you drink and how long you keep it in your mouth matter. ‘If you drink it in two or three gulps, that reduces risk, as does using a straw.’ 04/ See a dentist twice a year ‘Tell them, “I use sports drinks, I feel I need to, so please tell me if I’m getting any damage,”’ says Needleman. It’s like seeing a physio, but for teeth. 05/ Use high-fluoride toothpastes If you have damage, try high-fluoride toothpastes. They’re only available on prescription, not over the counter, but may be more protective. 06/ Milk it If you’re using sports drinks for recovery, consider swapping to milk. ‘It’s very safe in terms of dental health, and possibly even protective of teeth,’ says Needleman.

IF TOOTH BE TOLD …you need to brush up on your running fuel strategy

* S O U R C E S : AP P L I E D S C I E N C E S ; DAV I D L LOY D C L U B S ; N U T R I E N T S

NUTRITION

High protein, low performance? High-protein diets may be in fashion, but a new study* found that following the eating plan for just seven days ‘significantly compromised high-intensity performance in trained runners’. ‘While the study’s sample group was fairly small, it backs up what we’ve seen repeatedly in sports science,’ says sports dietitian Renee McGregor. ‘For high-intensity training, carbs are the only fuel that can deliver energy to working muscles quickly enough to maintain this pace.’

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WARM-UPS

Speed your recovery

Percentage of time Brits spend indoors – that’s more than 22 hours a day. Get outside more!

For better mental health, throw in some quicker running

Prime time How to mentally prepare yourself for a big effort Getting yourself into the right state of mind before key training sessions and races can make a marked difference to the way you perform. A new paper in The Journal Of Strength And Conditioning Research looked at the three most popular techniques pro and amateur athletes use to do this:

WO R D S : R I C K P E A R S O N . P H OTO G R A P H Y: S T U D I O 3 3 ; G E T T Y I M AG E S

01/ Music: to have a rousing effect, your playlist needs to be both loud and fast, preferably with uplifting lyrics. Go for songs with a bpm of 120 or higher. 02/ Instructional self-talk: opt for a short piece of advice such as ‘run tall’ or ‘pump your arms’. 03/ Motivational self-talk: Use ‘you’ rather than ‘I’ and pick a few memorable words of encouragement such as, ‘You are stronger as the race goes on.’

MIND+HEALTH

RUNNER’S HIGH Boost your mood by challenging yourself with difficult runs

MANY STUDIE S HAVE attested to the power of moderate exercise in boosting mental health. But could even bigger gains be made by pushing yourself a little harder on a regular basis? Yes, according to a new study in The Journal Of Sports Medicine And Physical Fitness. Researchers gathered data from healthy young adults and compared their physical activity levels and cardiorespiratory fitness (using their VO2 max) with their score from two mental health questionnaires. Interestingly, they found that cardiorespiratory fitness had a greater impact on mental health. In other words, the subjects doing harder exercise had better mental health than those doing similar amounts of moderate workouts. That’s not to say all your runs need to be a challenge – adding in one or two tougher workouts a week might boost both your physical and mental wellbeing.

Mellowing with age Bad run or race? Chill out, younger runners, and learn a lesson from your elders. A new study found that older runners are better than younger ones at maintaining an ‘optimal emotional level’ after a half marathon. In short, they don’t tend to get as angry after a bad result and, as such, are less stressed. The study, published in Cognition And Emotion, looked into the effect prolonged physical exercise had on attentional bias, the tendency to process certain types of stimuli over others. The young people in the study showed attentional bias towards anger, while the older runners showed a bias away from anger. Although there’s nothing wrong with feeling angry after a disappointing run or race, it’s perhaps better to look at it as an opportunity to grow: it’s not win or lose, but win or learn.

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WARM-UPS

Pedal power Boost your recovery with the ‘pedal pump’ exercise

WE ALL KNOW THE FEELING of heavy legs the morning after a hard race or workout. Delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) can limit our ability in subsequent runs – but, thankfully, there may be a cure. A new study, published in Sports Medicine, highlighted the benefits of the ‘pedal pump’ technique (details below). The exercise can seemingly make a significant difference versus passive rest in how you feel 20 minutes after a hard effort. Researchers found that the pedal pump manoeuvre ‘significantly lowered blood lactate concentrations at minute 20 of recovery.’

INJURY

ZERO

The difference between doing plyometrics – jumps and bounds – on hard or soft surfaces. They’re equally good for you on both.

The soft sell Pump it up M I TC H M A N D E L ; T R E VO R R A A B. * S O U R C E : J O U R N AL O F S C I E N C E AN D M E D I C I N E I N S P O RT

WO R D S : R I C K P E A R S O N ; H OWA R D CA LV E R T. I L L U S T R AT I O N : H A R V E Y S Y M O N S . P H OTO G R A P H Y:

Here’s how to do the pedal pump

GET PUMPED Ditch DOMS and recover quicker with this simple move

1/ Lie on your back with your legs outstretched. 2/ Pretend you’re pumping the accelerator pedal of a car. 3/ Do 3 × 25 ‘pumps’ with each foot, with 10 secs’ rest between sets

Joint best Need another reason to love running? A new study has shown that doing vigorous exercise, such as running, at least once a week helped to lower the risk of bone, muscle and joint pain in later life. The University of Portsmouth study gathered data from 5,802 Brits aged 50 and above. The results showed that any type of activity helped lower the chances of suffering pain when compared with remaining sedentary, but high levels of physical activity in particular were linked to lower cases of musculoskeletal pain. ‘Activity needs to not only be vigorous, it needs to be done at least once a week,’ added study lead Dr Nils Niederstrasser.

Shoes with more cushioning may lower your chances of suffering an injury Back in 2020, a study found that soft shoes may reduce the risk of injuries, particularly in lighter runners. Now, a follow-up study, published in Frontiers In Sports And Active Living, has looked at why this might be. The researchers found that softer shoes were associated with a lowerimpact peak force and a longer time-to-impact peak force. Meanwhile, Swedish research* found that teenage athletes who trained in spikes had a six to eight times greater risk of injury. Girls had a higher injury rate than boys. Interestingly, many of the injuries occurred in the quadriceps group of muscles.

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TAKING THE FALL p21

ON THE GROUND IN UKRAINE p24

HUMAN( )RACE NEWS, VIEWS, TRENDS and ORDINARY RUNNERS doing EXTRAORDINARY THINGS

THE LONG WAY DOWN UNDER Emma Timmis ran from the top to the bottom of New Zealand in record time. ‘I still don’t think I’ve reached my limit,’ she says

Start

WO R D S : DAV I D S M Y T H . P H OTO G R A P H Y: R YA N T H O R P E . I L LU S T R AT I O N : G E T T Y I M AG E S

IT’S A FAIR BET that Emma

Timmis and her partner Tristan Phipps had a worse Christmas Day than you. On 25 December 2021, Emma was eight days into an attempt to set a record for running from the top to the bottom of New Zealand, aiming to cover 100km a day for 21 days. The home of The Hobbit is overloaded with natural beauty, of course, but to cross it fast meant taking the main highway – a high-speed, generally single-lane road with no shade and very little space between her and the cars. Tristan was riding a bicycle behind her, in hi-vis with a flag, when a car hit him at 60mph. If Emma hadn’t broken his fall, it could have been much worse. ‘The bike went into the bushes, he hit me, I turned around and he was on the floor, screaming. His arm looked like it was snapped in half,’ she says. ‘Thankfully, a couple of paramedics turned up within a few minutes. Another person stopped and held a beach umbrella over him to keep the heat off. The fire service turned up, the police turned up, all the traffic was stopped, and we were covered in tar for a long time afterwards from the melting road. It was pretty horrendous.’ When we speak, the 38-year-old originally from Derby is working on a talk about the run to be presented to a local business near her home, just north of Christchurch, New Zealand. Multicoloured sticky notes cover the wall behind her like a detective’s mind map. She says she still can’t talk about the accident without crying, and the rest of the journey doesn’t sound like a rollicking good time either. ‘It was definitely the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. New Zealand decided to throw everything at me.’ This isn’t even her first epic undertaking. In 2015, Emma won the award for Physical Endeavour at the National Adventure Awards, for spending 89 days in 2014 running 3,974km across Africa between Namibia and Mozambique. She has also crossed the Netherlands on rollerskates and in 2017, she set a Guinness World Record for the longest elliptical bike journey in a single country: almost 8,000km across Australia on a kind of mobile cross-trainer called an ElliptiGO. But she says that everything she has done before has been about the

travel experience first and the physical challenge second: ‘Have you ever been on an ElliptiGO? You have to try it. It’s like the motion of running but without all the impact and pain. It was so much fun.’ This time, fun went out the window. About four years ago, Emma came across a quote. While she can’t remember if she heard it or saw it, or who said it, it hit her hard: ‘It was something like, “If you’re not pushing yourself towards a goal that has a huge chance of failure, then you’re probably not pushing yourself enough.” All the journeys I’d done

Finish

‘ IT WAS DEFINITELY THE MOST CHALLENGING THING I’VE EVER DONE. NEW ZEALAND THREW EVERYTHING AT ME’ before, they sound hard, but I really believe anyone could do them. I wasn’t being vulnerable and exposing myself to failure, which I thought could be a huge space for growth.’ Emma applied to do the New Zealand run as a Guinness World Record attempt in 2017, believing she could complete it in 21 days. Then, a major setback: a mystery pain in her calf ended up preventing her from running altogether. It took over two years of being misdiagnosed before one doctor finally worked out that it was a vascular problem – a vein and an artery incorrectly connecting. During that time, she had to take antidepressants and engage in group counselling, feeling so low from being kept away from the sport she loved and not knowing why. ‘Throughout my life, I’ve found that the harder I work, the better the results I get. With this injury, that wasn’t happening. I saw so many doctors and didn’t get anywhere and really struggled with that frustration. My whole social life was around running, and I didn’t have that any more. I felt so isolated and lonely.’ The experience inspired Emma to use her comeback challenge – 24 hours running laps of Hagley Park in central Christchurch in April 2021 – and the New Zealand run to raise money for mental health charities. Youthline in New Zealand

Emma Timmis ran the entire length of New Zealand in just 20 days and 17 hours, breaking the world record

and YoungMinds in the UK have benefited. She also switched from working as a climbing instructor to becoming an artist, producing work including a large mural for Queenstown Airport’s departure lounge and a children’s book about her run across Africa. ‘Most of the adventurous, active, brave characters in kids’ books are still male,’ she says. ‘I want girls to see that there’s a space for them.’ In fact, the Africa run came about because she came away from an adventure film festival angry that every documentary was about a man – apart from one about a dog. Emma reached the yellow signpost marking Stirling Point in Bluff on 7 January, completing the New Zealand run in 20 days, 17 hours and 17 minutes. She wouldn’t do it again – ‘the roads are just too dangerous’ – but the adventures certainly aren’t over. ‘Everything I do, I always say is the last thing, but then two days later… The Te Araroa Trail is beautiful and would take twice as long. I still don’t feel like I’ve reached my limit.’

To find out more, visit emmatimmis.com

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YOU'RE ! AMA ZING

GAVIN FELTON Ran 428 miles to raise money for the National Autistic Society

For more, visit justgiving.com/ fundraising/woody-felton1

JON WATKINS Ran 100 marathons in a year

‘It happened more by accident,’ says Jon Watkins, about his recent challenge to run 100 marathons in a year. ‘Races had just started again after the pandemic and I had a lot of holiday to take, so I just went for it.’ If Watkins makes the prospect of running 2,620 miles sound easy, it’s because this kind of malarkey is nothing new to him. Having rekindled his love of running in his early forties following a divorce, he says running helped him ‘clear his head and improve his physical and mental health’. He soon progressed to marathons and multi-day events. Next, he’s setting his sights on ultras.

WO R D S : H OWA R D CA LV E R T; R I C K P E A R S O N . P H OTO G R A P H Y: J O B E L AW R E N S O N . I L L U S T R AT I O N : S H U T T E R S TO C K

The Southern Upland Way is 214 miles long. It’s not ﬂat, either, racking up almost as much elevation as the ascent of Everest. So major kudos is due to Gavin ‘Woody’ Felton for making the ﬁrst ever out-and-back completion in April this year. ‘I slept for about nine hours in seven days,’ says Felton, who completed the route in seven days, three hours and 51 minutes. Spurring him on was an amazing support team, spearheaded by his partner Siobhan Partington, and a desire to raise money for and awareness of autism. ‘My son is autistic and so am I,’ says Felton. ‘But I see it as an advantage. There’s no way I could have achieved what I have in running without it.’

Murphy’s Lore BY SAM MURPHY

IT’S TIME TO RISE ABOVE MY FEAR OF FALLING

THE TAKEAWAY…

I L LU S T R AT I O N : P I E TA R I P O S T I

was out running the other day. One minute, I was tootling along a field verge; the next – to my surprise – I was sprawled on the grass. I have a morbid fear of falling, or more accurately, a dread of hurting myself as a result of having what writer Geoff Nicholson delightfully describes in his book The Lost Art Of Walking as ‘a disagreement with gravity’. But after sitting for a few moments to catch my breath, I realised I was totally fine, got up and carried on. Nearly every runner I know has taken a tumble at least once, from collisions with bollards and stumbles over speed bumps to slips off kerbs and trips over tree roots. But despite grazed palms, bruised ribs and even broken wrists, most were quite sanguine about it and seemed more concerned about their fall having been seen by others – or ripping their tights – than injury. The same was true online: I found stories of people tripping over dogs, dead badgers, horse poo and their own feet, recounted not with horror but hilarity. Some fell so often they had the nickname to prove it – ‘professional pavement diver’ and ‘legend of the falls’ were my favourites. I, too, had fallen before that day, of course. And only once – when a runner clipped my ankle as he passed me down a hill and sent me flying – did it really hurt. I still finished the race, though. Previous experiences should tell my risk-assessing brain that falling really isn’t so bad, but it hasn’t got the memo. As Nicholson says, ‘The older you get, the bigger a deal it is to fall down.’ So much so, we change the vocabulary. When we’re young, falling is an action: we fall, trip or slip. But as we age, the verb becomes a noun: ‘I’ve had a fall.’ I’ve had a fear of falling as long as I can remember. (I managed to stay upright for the entirety of my one-and-only skiing holiday, not due to skill

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but a steely determination to avoid the alarming alternative.) It must have been instilled in me in childhood. Well-meaning warnings of, ‘Careful!’ and, ‘Don’t run or you’ll fall,’ teach many of us, perhaps girls especially, that not being able to stay on our feet is a calamity to avoid. Yet falling is part of the process of learning to walk and wanting to explore our environment. Maybe we would be better learning how to fall rather than learning not to fall. The natural response to losing your balance is to stick your arms out to break the fall, known as the parachute reflex. But landing this way increases the risk of breaking a wrist, elbow or collarbone. Martial artists and other expert fallers recommend absorbing the fall’s momentum in a forward roll – but that seems ambitious for someone only just beginning to come to terms with the idea of ground contact with anything other than her feet. Still, I’ve been wondering. Does thinking about falling actually make it a bad thing because you go down rigid rather than relaxed? And even more importantly, is my risk-averse running self-limiting? When I’m running over terrain that I perceive to be ‘high risk’ (when I feel my feet slip, hit tree roots or snag on a bramble), my movement becomes tense. Perhaps the reason I wasn’t injured when I hit the deck the other day was because I felt relaxed on what I’d judged risk-free ground. I’d like all my runs to be that stress-free. So from now on, I’m going to leave my inner health and safety officer at home and embrace the occupational hazard of our sport. Just call me the Day Tripper. sam-murphy.co.uk

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You r

World WORTH A SECOND LOOK

LETTER OF THE MONTH

LET’S CLEAN UP OUR ACT Running the Blackpool Marathon a couple of weeks ago highlighted to me an ongoing problem of waste. As ever, a large number of runners grabbed the 500ml water bottle provided and took a sip before throwing it on to the ground, despite bins being available. Indeed, one runner managed to take a sip, pass a bin and immediately throw it to the ground. This all took place along the Promenade in Blackpool, which was spotlessly clean apart from the mess that runners were making. Come on, running community, start thinking of our planet or even just the local area supporting your race, and stop giving running a bad name.

Phil Hamilton In the heat of a race, we know it can be difficult to dispose of water in a tidy manner, but we can all help by holding on to the bottles for longer, sipping for a mile or so, and then disposing of them in a bin. Or, better still, bring our own water in our own bottles.

WIN!

What’s inspired, impressed or annoyed you lately about running or runners? The writer of the winning email or letter receives a pair of Saucony Triumph 19s, worth £145. RUNNER’S WORLD, House of Hearst, 30 Panton Street, London SW1Y 4AJ Email letters@runnersworld.co.uk Twitter and Facebook @runnersworlduk

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I’m an older runner and must confess that I didn’t actually choose this magazine; it somehow found me. After all, what does a daughter buy her running dad who has already seen 67 Christmases? So, when it lands on my doorstep, I usually skim-read it, with thoughts such as, ‘Oh, that’s nice’ and ‘Isn’t that interesting?’ Then, I put the magazine down on the couch beside me and left it there. But when I was sitting on said couch post-Covid, I picked it up again, thinking, ‘When can I run again?’ And what should I find on page 46 but an article about running after Covid. How had I missed that first time around? So I pressed on and found another excellent article on page 64, written by Sir Mo Farah, on the benefits of warming up before a run. Moral of the story: don’t just put your magazine down without fully reading it; re-read it and, like me, you could be amazed by what you didn’t see first time round. Nigel Phillips Thanks, Nigel! You’ll find it’s even better on the third reading.

RUNNING THROUGH GRIEF My heart goes out to [RW columnist] Lisa Jackson. What a wonderful example she is to us all. She’s struggled through watching her husband suffer then lose his battle with cancer. I lost my lovely husband David to cancer, too, just before Christmas. Like Lisa and Graham, we ran together before he was ill. Life’s a rollercoaster. There are good(ish) days and not so good ones. Running is a great therapy and, even on days when I have to force myself out, I feel better afterwards. Lisa shared how she remembers Graham when she sees a crow. David and I pointed out little things in nature while running or walking, and I still talk to him (often out loud) when I spot things such as bluebells and butterflies. We need these coping mechanisms. During

his last few weeks, David often said, ‘You’re doing great’ to me, and I would like to share those words with Lisa. Janet Dawson

A SOBERING MOMENT I’m a relatively novice runner. I’ve a handful of Cardiff Half Marathons under my belt and one Lisbon Half, where I think I came dead last. For me, the joy is in the incredible boost I get to my mental health when I lace up and get a 5K or 10K in after a hectic day. The reason I’m sharing is because today the universe sent me a clear message in the form of a series of fortunate coincidences. I’ve recently embarked upon my journey to sobriety and this morning, I met an inspiring man who had just received his six years sober coin. Then, I got home and saw that my first-ever issue of RW had arrived, with a great article by Sam Murphy about running and drinking, and a recommendation for an alcohol-free beer I’d not heard of (which I swiftly went on to purchase a case of). Running and sobriety have been two of the key elements that have helped me to manage my struggles with severe anxiety and depression. It’s great to see RW championing the alcohol-free lifestyle alongside some great advice for amateur runners like myself. Thanks and keep up the good work. Will Hunt Good on you, Will. The selection of alcohol-free options is getting better all the time, and we know that many runners are happier and healthier without booze.

WHO YOU CALLING A WALKER?! While out pounding country lanes recently, I heard the leader of a group of approaching cyclists shout ‘walker!’ to warn his mates I was on the road. Well, I may be 70, and not the speediest, but I do know the difference between running and walking – and at least I wasn’t sat down! Heather Ellis

WE ASK, YOU ANSWER

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE EVER RUNNING MEMORY? SNAP CHAT

#GOLDENOLDIES

‘Finishing my first marathon. I couldn’t believe I had actually done it. My family were at the end and it was an awesome day.’ Phil Postles

‘In Brighton, with all the vintage Vespas and Minis tooting and waving at us. I forgot I was running for a while as I was smiling and waving back.’ Kay Clothier

SHOW US A PIC OF YOUR OLDEST PIECE OF RUNNING KIT

‘From the first Southampton Half in 1982.’ Dave Tup Turpitt

‘London ’88 T-shirt. Just put it on… oh dear.’ Danny McLaughlin

‘I still wear this T-shirt… It’s older than most of the people I run with.’ Phil Sutcliffe

‘Race number from my first race – a 10-mile run when I was nine years old in 1976.’ Ralph Jennings

‘Being overtaken by a lady with ‘My name is Vera and I’m 80 today’ written on her back.’ Sian Lamb

‘The point I realised that getting out for a run could be a happy place, brushing off the stresses of daily life.’ Gavin Roberts

‘My first 5K. I started running after I lost my dad and trained for the Race for Life in his memory.’ Hayley Boulton King

‘The first time I did a junior parkrun with my two children. It made me feel like I’d brought something wonderful into their lives. They still go now a couple of years later.’ Shaun Furzer

POLL

YOU’RE TRYING TO RUN A PB. WOULD YOU RATHER THE RACE WAS IN THE AM OR PM?

85% AM

15% P M

WO R D S : R I C K P E A R S O N . I L L U S T R AT I O N : L I Z Z I E LO M A X

‘I washed my shorts the night before the Dublin Half Marathon, but all of the soap mustn’t have rinsed out, because at about eight miles, my groin started to froth. I spent the last five miles with bubbles dripping down my legs and some confused looks from spectactors.’ Paul Gillespie

*Based on a Twitter poll with 534 votes

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GREGORY HRUSHCHAK 37, Lviv

SOCIAL NT MOVEME

RUNNING IN A WAR ZONE These Ukrainians have committed to staying active despite the Russian invasion – and they feel stronger for it AFTER RUSSIA INVADED UKRAINE

on 24 February this year, life inside the eastern European country transformed into a frantic combination of fleeing citizens and soldiers taking up arms. For days, Ukrainians holed up in shelters and underground metro stations as air-raid sirens blared through the night. But as the weeks and months progressed, regional Strava feeds began to fill up again with cycling and running routes, as athletes found ways to keep up their training amid days that felt otherwise

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anxious and surreal. ‘It’s my way to return to ordinary, normal life and clear my brain,’ said Maksym Lievliev of Chernivtsi, a 37-year-old runner who was on a train from Kharkiv to Kyiv en route to getting his UK visa for the Cardiff Half Marathon when the war broke out and cancelled his plans for the foreseeable future. And Lievliev is not alone in deciding it’s worth the risk to keep moving. Here, we tell the story of four runners who are continuing their training regimens during a uniquely terrifying time.

‘My family says, “You’re crazy! It’s a war, and you run?” But after running, I can think about the current situation in some new way. I can overcome my emotion and feel so much better. After I run to a lake, I dive into cold water and dress and run home. It’s a new way to get your body fresh. Last year, I ran about 5,000km. On average, that’s more than 10km a day. I have two kids, aged six and eight, and a wife. I have a brother in Germany; they live with him now. We booked a bus and it took more than a day to transfer from Lviv to Berlin. There was huge confusion on the border, especially on the first day of the war. In the west, near the Poland border, it’s much safer than in Kyiv. But even today, a few bombs landed near our airport. I planned to start running this morning and saw that there’s an aircraft alarm, “You need to go to shelter.” I needed to postpone my running for two hours.’

WORTH THE RISK For these Ukrainian runners, exercising is a physical and mental necessity as they navigate life under siege

WO R D S : S T E V E K N O P P E R. P H OTO G R A P H Y: CO U R T E S Y O F S U B J E C T S

ALEXEY ZARUBIN

MAKSYM LIEVLIEV 37, Chernivtsi

‘When the war started, I was on a train from Kharkiv to Kyiv. I was supposed to go get my UK visa for the Cardiff Half Marathon. When I arrived, my two children and my wife were in Kharkiv, about 500km away. My first idea was, “How can I return to my family?” I found a bus to Poltava and after that we call a taxi and go back to Kharkiv. I found my family in an underground station. They were afraid. When the war started, I didn’t think about running for two or three days. After that, between the tanks and the alarms, “Maybe I can run 5K?” But when I’m running, I hear missiles. I was in the Kyiv Marathon and the Alexander the Great Marathon in Greece. My best is 2:42. I run about 130km in a week. In Chernivtsi, I return to running sessions, almost as it was before the war. I believe that we will win this war. I don’t think it will be very soon, but we can resurrect our country from ruins. After that, we can run many marathons.’

DIMITRIY GULIAIEV

28, Dnipro

29, Lviv

‘The first day in our city, there were two air attacks on our airport and nothing else for three or four days. Then, on Sunday, I ran for the first time, just 5K. I listened for the alarm and ran back home as quick as I could. It makes you know it’s time to go to the bunker… we sit and wait until it ends. My wife and my daughter – she’s three – and my wife’s mother escaped. They left by train from Dnipro to Lviv, then Lviv to the Ukrainian border on a bus, then crossing to Poland. It took like 22 hours. They’re in the USA right now – my wife has a sister and they live with her. My parents don’t want to leave. Also, grandmother, grandfather – it’s hard for older people to leave. I have five workouts per week. Last Sunday, I ran 23km – two hours. I live near an embankment and run around that. It’s not good to run along bridges; some of our warriors are there. Running’s like my everyday life. It’s a time you can spend with yourself.’

‘I live in Kharkiv, but we left on 5 March. My mother stayed and told me that she was out of water and electricity for two weeks. My father is in a hospital and we can’t take him home. In Kharkiv, I just had two runs for probably seven days. It’s too dangerous. Our company found two buses for people who wanted to leave Kharkiv and go to Lviv. In ordinary life, it probably takes around 20 hours, but there were many traffic jams and checkpoints, so it took 36 hours. I have several kinds of runs: training runs, 8km to 10km and easy runs, 12km to 15km. And I have one a month that takes probably 20km. In a week, five runs. Lviv is a very safe city because it’s controlled by Ukraine troops and the active military activities are far away. I like the city for running. Many parks. When you start on the second or third kilometre, you forget about this madness and run, like you’re dreaming.’

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Tonky Talk BY PAUL TONKINSON

RUNNING GAGS by Rick Pearson

here has been something of an uptick in my fortunes over the past few weeks, which I’m sure many of you will be pleased about. I’m aware this column has morphed into ‘the injury chronicles’ of late, a litany of running-related distress. Every month, another injury – calves, groin, back, knee. But lo, with a bound, it seems I’m now free. For a month or so there’s been no injury to speak of. I’d like to say that it’s been because I’ve been so assiduous in my injury prevention routine, but it’s not really – I did a few exercises for the knee but it sort of just went. I’m living and running pain-free now. I can drive for a few hours and actually get out of the car and walk away from it without a problem, as opposed to stepping out gingerly, breathless with pain, wincing before leaning against the door in agony. This has coincided with a period of much less drinking (a change that finally feels permanent). So I’ve lost a bit of weight, and I’ve been doing more running. Not loads more – I’m on four solid runs a week now – but it feels good and on some parkruns I can feel my body beginning to want to race. I’m slower than I was ‘back in the day’, but I’m getting faster every week and less worried about breaking down. Last Saturday I sprinted to the finish – a low-armed sprint but a sprint nonetheless, and it felt great. So, I can begin to plan a bit, and this summer the big race for me is Race to the Stones in July – finally, an ultra. The idea is to do it over two days. A large part of me wanted to do the whole 100km in one go but I’ve been persuaded – words like ‘camaraderie’ have been bandied about, and I’m a big fan of that stuff. I love the idea of a campside chat with like-minded souls before the next day’s

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Furious, I arrived at my local swimming pool, swore at the lifeguard and entered the deep end via running bomb. I proceeded to splash about in a rage for 20 minutes, before being told to leave. Have I misunderstood the meaning of cross training?

adventure. I’ve heard tales of guitars and singalongs so it’s not all good but, sufﬁce to say, fun will be had. This means I’m going to have do some increasingly long runs in preparation, and get used to running tired. It’s like the sub-three push, but more about time on your feet. So I set out for my first long run in about 18 months. Twelve miles or so, easy like Sunday morning, though it was actually a Tuesday. You go through phases with the long run. It’s simple-minded to say that it gets harder the longer you run – it does and it doesn’t. For the last few miles, you’re running into the fatigue. It’s like being reacquainted with an old friend. The beginning of a bone tiredness, sweat drying off in the midday sun, stride shortening a bit. But then, slowly, there is a breakingthrough sensation. It’s like the run is slowly burning off all excess, physical and psychological. I’m not thinking now, just moving, and I know this feeling. Later in the day it will carry me – although physically tired I’ll be mentally sharper, and more relaxed. I’ve been through something, shredded but cleansed. Into the last mile I found myself running a bit faster, a happiness welling up in me – though let’s not kid ourselves, the acceleration was probably imperceptible to the naked eye. To the observer I was just a tired, clumsy-looking middle-aged man sweating his way home, but to live inside that moment – euphoria! I want to run and run and run. This is enough for me – and I know that you’ll understand. This is the life we’ve chosen.

Paul is a stand-up comedian and co-host of the Running Commentary podcast. His book 26.2 Miles To Happiness is out now

I L LU S T R AT I O N : P I E TA R I P O S T I

I’M FINALLY INJURY-FREE AND FEELING ULTRA-FOCUSED

The Flamingo Diaries BY LISA JACKSON

RUNNING TEACHES YOU TO… WALK BAREFOOT OVER HOT COALS

WORDS TO GIVE YOU WINGS ‘When someone says you can’t do it, do it twice and take pictures.’

I L LU S T R AT I O N : P I E TA R I P O S T I

‘

here exactly are you going to do it?’ asked an incredulous friend. ‘In a pub,’ I replied. ‘Won’t it scorch the carpet?’ she said, frowning. ‘No,’ I laughed, ‘the fire walk won’t be inside the pub, but in the beer garden.’ This adventure came about when I spotted a poster advertising a charity fire walk. Ten years before, Dawn – an attendee at an Alpine running retreat that my husband and I were hosting – had related how she’d done fire-walking at a Tony Robbins motivational workshop. She told me what had amazed her was that her feet were so sensitive that she screeched all the way to and from the firepit, but when she walked on the hot coals, she thought, ‘Cool moss, cool moss,’ as instructed – and felt nothing! Ever since then I’d wanted to try fire-walking, but knew I wasn’t as brave as Dawn, who’d also done wreck diving, paragliding and parachuting. But one of the many things running has taught me is that I’m capable of more than I ever thought. Run a 5K non-stop? Yes! A marathon? Yes! Rack up 100 marathons? Yes! Complete the 56-mile Comrades Marathon? Hell, yes! I love the response when people find out I’ve done these things. I relish their look of disbelief, as I don’t look like a runner; I look like a dumpling if I’m honest, and Kim K if I’m not. And I love telling others that if I can do the things on that list, they can, too. Though I adore surprising others, the person I love surprising most is myself. I never in a million years thought I’d become a runner. Or swim in water only a few degrees above freezing. Or be able to live without my beloved husband, who died of cancer last year. But I have – and that’s why I think it’s important

I hadn’t heard of this anonymous quote when, despite being the slowest runner I know, I decided to run the 56-mile Comrades Marathon, a race that involved doing a super-fast (for me) qualifying marathon. Not only did I qualify and do the race twice, but I have the pictures to prove it. What’s the race others say you can’t do? Yes, that one! Go for it!

that I keep challenging myself to do the things that terrify me. ‘I’m going to talk you through what’s about to happen – this session is called Learn Or Burn,’ boomed the voice of our instructor. My stomach churned. ‘The coals burn at 1,000ºF – that’s over 500ºC – but I’ve been organising fire walks for 30 years and I’ve never seen anyone hurt,’ he said. When we got outside, four flaming braziers lined the strip of artificial grass. Once they had been emptied on to the grass, the embers were raked into a glowing red carpet. ‘I’ll ask you your name and then ask if you’re ready,’ he shouted, before sending the first fire-walkers on their way. None of them howled in pain. My heart pounding, I stepped forwards. ‘What’s your name?’ ‘Lisa Jackson.’ ‘Are you ready?’ ‘No!’ I cried. ‘Step aside!’ Fizzing with fear, I watched the next fire-walkers make it across the coals. Knowing if I left it too long I’d chicken out, I forced myself to the front of the queue and went for it. As a child, I’d stepped on a piece of charcoal that had jumped out of a barbecue and it hurt like mad, so I expected to feel the burn. But to my surprise, the coals had a cooling quality – I experienced no discomfort. When I showed my 92-year-old mother-in-law the footage, she was astounded – not because I’d traversed hot coals, but because of my pace. ‘I’ve never seen you run so fast in your life!’

Lisa is the author of two bestselling running books, Running Made Easy and Your Pace Or Mine? Her latest books – Travel Seekness and Travel Agents – contain chapters about running and have been released as audiobooks

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RUNNING CONVERSATION SABRINA PACEHUMPHREYS

IN FOR THE LONG RUN

Ultrarunner Sabrina Pace-Humphreys on how she found her own path, and her mission to make the healing power of trail running accessible to all INTERVIEW BY RICK PEARSON AND BEN HOBSON

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IT WAS A LONG ROAD TO THE TRAILS

RUNNER’S WORLD What inspired you to set up BTR, and how has the group progressed since you launched it? SABRINA PACE-HUMPHREYS: ‘We’ll have been going for two years this July and the growth has been phenomenal. We started as a community and campaigning group – which is still at our heart – and launched by asking the question: why is there a lack of diversity in trail running? Why is there a lack of Black people participating in trail running? We’ve gone from a couple of hundred followers on Instagram to thousands of members. We’re now a registered charity and have gone from being a purely online community to one that is very much eventsdriven – we put together trail taster days and get-togethers, both on the trails and off them. We’re so excited to be working on our first-ever larger-scale trail running event, which is taking place this September. We believe that it’s the first UK trail race to be directed by a Black person. It will also be marshalled by volunteers from BTR, and the entries so far are just phenomenal in terms of diversity. So, from that small shell of an idea, it has surpassed all our expectations. Our purpose, our passion, is to grow it and to continue to address the barriers for Black people in trail running, which are around access, skills and representation.’

RW The fact that yours will be the first UK trail race with a Black race director highlights the importance of what you’re doing… SPH ‘Absolutely. And it’s important to us because you can’t be what you can’t see, which is something we say a lot in terms of representation. There is no reason why Black people can’t be race directors. It just takes having the right support structure around you and having a great skills base to draw from. Since the beginning of BTR, the race company Centurion Running, and James Elson who heads it up, have been strong background supporters, and – along with a host of other events companies and organisations – have given us the confidence to put on this race. So Sonny Peart, another BTR co-founder, is now what we believe to be the UK’s first Black trail race director.’

‘THE OUTDOORS CAN BE A HEALING PLACE’

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RW And BTR’s mission continues to be making running in non-urban areas accessible to a more diverse cross-section of people? SPH ‘That’s it. These are areas of the country that have historically been deemed as inaccessible, as space for the privileged. Places where you need to have the right finances, the right kit and the appropriate basic skills in order to feel safe and able to explore. The six of us who initially came together with the idea of BTR knew, because of our own trail running and experiences in the outdoors, what a healing place it can be and how beneficial it can be to get off road and move your body forwards in whatever way you deem fit. It’s certainly something I know from my own

P H OTO G R A P H Y: JA M E S A P P L E TO N / I N OV-8

for ultrarunner Sabrina Pace-Humphreys. After her experiences of rural racism growing up in a small market town, teenage motherhood and a battle with alcoholism and her mental health, the mother of four and award-winning businesswoman found the healing power of movement first on the roads. However, it was when she followed her feet into the green spaces where trail running leads that she found her true passion, and she soon set about trying to make these spaces accessible to all. Pace-Humphreys co-founded Black Trail Runners (BTR) two years ago to tackle trail running’s lack of diversity and break down barriers to participation. BTR has grown exponentially, but her own running CV has also flourished – now including the 102-mile Cotswold Way – and she’s found time to tell her story in her new book, Black Sheep. We caught up with her to find out what drives her forwards on the trails and in life.

RUNNING CONVERSATION SABRINA PACEHUMPHREYS

journey to trail running and how I use it. I use it very much to manage my mental health – my depression and anxiety – so all I want is for more people who look like me, and/or experience what I have and do, to have the opportunity and the community to be able to do the same. One of the negative kickbacks we’ve had with BTR is, “Isn’t this creating division? Isn’t this dividing the community?” Actually, what we’re aiming for in our work is a point when we don’t need to have BTR at all because the trail running community has that diversity. But it doesn’t have it at the moment, and that’s why we exist.’ RW You touch on these themes in your new book. Can you tell

us a little more about why you felt you wanted to write it? SPH ‘I’ll be honest, I never thought I’d write a book. It was not something that was in the life plan. But when I was starting to talk about BTR, I was also talking about what it is to be a Black person living in the countryside. For many, many years, growing up in a small market town in the Cotswolds, I didn’t see other Black people. I didn’t see other girls, adolescents or twenty-somethings who looked like me. During lockdown, I was talking to a friend, who is an author, and she said, “Why don’t you start writing down some of these stories because there isn’t a book out there that talks about the Black experience of rural racism from lived experience?” I was so anxious about it. As someone who doesn’t think of themselves as a writer, you think, who wants to listen? But nine months later, I had put together enough material, my friend took a look and put me in touch with her agent, and four months after that, my book got so much interest that it went to auction. That blew my mind. It’s not something I ever thought would happen.’ Sabrina considers trail running to be therapeutic, helping her to manage her mental health, anxiety and depression

RW Can you give us a bit more insight into the story you tell in the book? The challenges in your life and the role running has played in overcoming them? SPH ‘Black Sheep is a memoir. It focuses on a variety of life experiences spanning childhood to present day. There are stories of me growing up, and my experience of racial abuse and how that had an impact on me, but I also wanted the book to be inspirational. It contains 12 different stories from throughout my life. Rural racism is a massive part of that and, ultimately, influences who I am, but I also discuss becoming a teenage mum. I was pregnant at 17 and had my first child at 18. It covers dealing with addiction – I’m a recovering alcoholic, and I’ve used running as a way to manage my mental health. I suffered from extreme postnatal depression after the birth of my fourth child, and my GP said, “Sabrina, along with medication and talk therapy, why not try something for yourself, why not try ‘jogging’?” And I hated running. I hated it! I would laugh at road runners as I was in the car going to the gym, but I tried it and found that it gave me headspace, as it does to this day. It gave me a point in my day where I could put all of my stresses and strains and struggles aside and just focus on moving my body forwards in a way that felt joyful to me. So, the book chronicles that journey from being a small child in a small market town right through to doing the Ramsay Round in the Scottish Highlands with BTR last year, and I hope that along with the traumatic stories, it helps just one person feel seen, feel “that’s me, that’s what my life is or was like”, and maybe feel inspired.’ RW You hated running at first but obviously you kept going… what got you through that initial period? SPH ‘I don’t know if you can remember the first time you ever ran, but I remember it so vividly. I was so mentally unwell – I’d just had my youngest child and at my 12-week check, my GP highlighted that she thought I was suffering from postnatal depression because I was so low and having such dark thoughts. I was extremely overweight and on that first run, I remember I wanted to be somewhere where E

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no one would see me. So I went down to our local canal towpath wearing basketball shoes, a baggy T-shirt and joggers that were far too thick for me to be running in. It was before Couch to 5K, so there wasn’t even a plan I was following, but I ran – well, shuffled – for one minute then walked really slowly for one minute. I remember getting to half a mile and leaning over these metal barriers at a canal crossing when a friend drove past and texted me to say, “Sabrina, you look like you’re blowing out of your behind.” I was in all sorts of struggle – I didn’t know how I was going to get myself home! To cover that half a mile took me 25 to 30 minutes, but the great thing was that in that time I hadn’t had those dark thoughts. I hadn’t thought, “I’m such a crap mum, I’m bad at all these things, I don’t want to be here any more.” All I focused on was my breathing. Remember to breathe, Sabrina, pick your feet up, just move yourself forwards. I tell myself those things even now when I’m running and really tired or aching. Push everything else out of your head because all you need to focus on is your breathing, your form, whatever it might be. When I got back from that first run, I hurt in places I didn’t know existed but in my head, I didn’t hurt as much, and that’s what got me going back in a couple of days and what kept me going.’ RW Do you think keeping going and proving to yourself that you

were stronger than you might have thought physically helped you feel more capable of overcoming other challenges in your life? SPH ‘I think it made me realise that if I put my mind to it, I can do really hard things. I grew up being told, “You’re not good enough”, “You’re not one of us”, “What do you think gives you the qualification to be doing this?” – all of these things that not just Black people, but anyone who has been around people who are not gunning for them, will have experienced. Running helped me believe that if you put your mind to it you can achieve, you can keep going for those five minutes more. And of course it isn’t just those five minutes – you do that consistently and after a couple of months you’re thinking, “Look what I can do now,” then, “What can I do next?” That’s where the runner’s Black Sheep mentality comes in. You think, “Okay, I’ll do by Sabrina a 10K.” Then, “Okay, I’ll do a half marathon.” Pace-Humphreys Then, over the course of years, “Okay, I’ll do is available to a marathon.” Then, “Okay, what’s next after a pre-order in book or marathon?” And that’s where trail running audio form now. It’s and ultrarunning came into it for me.’ RW What is it about trail running that

released on 9 June. quercusbooks.co.uk

has captured you as a runner? SPH ‘I was really into my road running. I was in a club and I did the half marathons gunning for PBs… you know, how much faster can I go? Then, it just got to a point for me with road running where it was becoming more of a tool to hurt myself with mentally, because I couldn’t be as fast as such-and-such, who had only started running six months ago or whatever. I know myself and with the personality I know I have, it was starting to become quite destructive. The joy of running was being lost through this attitude of how much harder, how much faster. Then I went into recovery from alcoholism, and for my 40th birthday, I wanted to do something different, something that wasn’t alcohol-fuelled, to mark being on the earth for 40 years. I came across a documentary about the Marathon des Sables and my route into trail running was in training for that. In 2016, I went from the roads to the trails because there ain’t no roads in the Sahara. What I love about trail running is it feeds into everything that is joyful about running to me. It’s nature, it’s being able to stop

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Sabrina hopes that BTR will increase diversity in trail running and help others find their identity

RUNNING CONVERSATION SABRINA PACEHUMPHREYS

during a run and enjoy the most beautiful view, a sunrise or a sunset. It’s being at the top of Pen y Fan or any summit, and knowing that your legs have taken you up there along with the skills to navigate the terrain. It’s that sense of space – within two minutes, I can be alone somewhere with no cars, no noise, no people looking at what I’m doing. I can just be me and feel totally present in the environment. That’s what I love about trail running.’ RW Not everyone who loves the trails steps up to ultra distances. What drives you to go long? SPH ‘What I love about ultrarunning is that the longer I’m out, the stronger I feel. It sounds quite clichéd, but the longer I go, the more powerful I feel as a woman, as a Black woman and as a mother. Because I find in ultra races – and there are stats to prove it – that females do really well. We’re very realistic in terms of our capabilities and we do a shedload of research. I love the process of going long. I love that feeling when you think there’s nothing left in the tank, and you get to a checkpoint and someone gives you a packet of crisps and a Pot Noodle, and you feel like you’re the king of the world because it’s exactly what your body needed. I have done crazy things in ultra. During lockdown, I did a solo effort of the whole 102 miles of the Cotswold Way. I stuck to all the cut-offs for the actual Cotswold Way Century race, because I love seeing what my body can do and pushing through that barrier when you think you’re at your limit, but actually you’re only at 45%. That’s what I love about ultras – the body’s ability to keep going and the mind’s ability to keep going, because when you’re running 100+ miles, it’s about your mental strength. It has to kick in. I think what I’ve been through in my life has given me a mental resilience, which allows me to do these things.’

and I really thought it paralleled labour in that I thought I just had nothing left to give. My husband later told me that there was kind of a party atmosphere at the top, even a balloon arch that my friends had put up, but he said when I rounded the corner, the vibe dropped massively because everyone could just see it in my face. He thought it was over. I left that checkpoint thinking – just like in labour – I don’t know if I can do this. Then I told myself, “It’s only a run and you can stop at any time, you’ve given birth to four children naturally.” That was a mental kicker, that voice on my shoulder saying, “Come on now!” I think having the experience of being at that stage four times in labour gave me – and gives mothers – an advantage of being able to think, “If we can do that… this is just a run, this is something we choose to do and we’re privileged to be able to do it.” And yes, our bodies hurt, yes, we’re not sure how we’re going to carry on putting one foot in front of the other, but hey, we’re mothers. I think what we go through growing babies, delivering babies, looking after children and everything that goes into that… I feel like that gives me and many women a set of skills to go long.’ RW Are your kids impressed now with what you’ve achieved on the trails? Do they also run? SPH ‘It’s more a case of my 12-year-old saying, “Are you finished on the Pennine Way now, can we go home?” Or them all saying, “If you talk about the Marathon des Sables one more time…” I know that they’re proud of me and I hope that one day, one of my three girls, or my son, or one of my three grandsons, will indulge me by running with me, or taking up running, so I can support them, but right now, it’s, “Enough, mother!” It’s never going to stop, though. I love running. I love the community and friends it’s given me, and I’m a trustee of a charity called Black Trail Runners, so it’s always going to be there. I’m always going to be in this game.’

‘RUNNING IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE THERE FOR ME’

RW Which life experiences do you think help you most in ultrarunning? SPH ‘I can remember when I was in labour with my fourth child, having absolutely nothing left in the tank, and the contractions that were ravaging my body. I remember looking at my husband and saying, “I can’t do this.” And when I did the Cotswold Way, there was a point when I was climbing towards Coaley Peak at around 65 miles when I had been so sick I couldn’t eat anything. I couldn’t take any fluid on board,

RW What’s coming up next in your running plans?

SPH ‘On 19 June, I’ll be setting off on my longest ultra to date, the Montane Summer Spine Race – the whole 268-mile Pennine Way – unsupported. It’s scary, the thought of not having a crew, of not going checkpoint to checkpoint every 10K, which is what I’ve been used to. Then, I’m potentially going to do the proper Cotswold Way Century in September, just to get the medal. Then, as I mentioned earlier, we have our big event, Black to the Trails, which is taking place on 11 September at Dunstable Downs. Based on registrations, it’s set to be the UK’s most diverse trail race. Black and brown people are currently leading the way in terms of registrations, but one thing I want to say here is that BTR is a community for you, whether you’re Black, brown, white or however you want to describe yourself. If you want to diversify trail running, if you want to look around at events and see more diversity, then you can be a member. Just because we’re called Black Trail Runners doesn’t segregate and stop white people from joining us. To create a truly diverse trail running environment, we need support and members from across the board. Yes, we’re a safe space and a safe community for Black trail runners, but ultimately, we know it’s the support of all races that is going to make trail running a truly diverse sport, the sport that we want to see. We want to reach the point where we don’t need to have BTR because trail running is totally inclusive.’

Follow Sabrina on Instagram @sabrunsmiles / @blacktrailrunners. For more information, visit blacktrailrunners.run and blacktothetrails.co.uk

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HALF MEASURES

13.1

ALL HAIL THE

MIGHTY

HALF W H Y T H E H A L F M A R AT H O N M I G H T J U S T B E T H E G R E AT E S T D I S TA N C E , A N D H O W T O R U N YO U R B E S T E V E R 1 3 .1 BY CL AIRE TR AG E S E R AN D JO E MACKIE

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1:06 half-marathoner Kara Goucher trains at the University of Colorado Boulder Balch Fieldhouse

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HALF MEASURES

THE HALF MARATHON is where speed meets

endurance. It’s an achievable distance for most runners, even if they haven’t yet gone beyond the local parkrun, yet it remains an intriguing and demanding puzzle for veteran racers to truly master. Unlike the full 26.2, training for a half is a challenge, but not a life-altering commitment. It delivers focus and fitness without dominating your diary. It’s one of the greatest tests of a runner’s mettle, but also serves as a 13.1-mile celebration. As you’re probably gathering by now, we love the half. And we know you do, too. The half eclipses the full in terms of race participation, topping over two million finishers a year worldwide pre-pandemic. Of course, a huge advantage of the distance is that you can run multiple halves per year, says Kara Goucher, who ran 1:06:57 at the 2009 Great North Run. ‘Unlike a marathon, where you have to recover for a month and it takes six months to train, you can recover in a few weeks and then get back to workouts,’ she says. Half marathon training also tends to whip runners into the best shape of their lives. At the intersection of power and persistence, it develops a fitness foundation to tackle running objectives both long and short. And the training plans help to cement healthy habits such as regular exercise, staying hydrated and developing a health-focused mindset, says coach Brian Maiorano. Whether you’re ready to tackle your first or 50th half marathon, read on to learn how you can make it your best one yet.

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The Freckleton Half Marathon is the UK’s oldest half – and still going strong today

The Sydney Harbour Bridge framed the start of the 1994 Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon

T H E H I S T O RY O F T H E

HALF Liz McColgan wins the World Half Mar athon Championship s at the Great North Ru n

Goucher’s favourite halfs include NYC and the Garry Bjorklund Half in Minnesota, US

While it lacks a provenance from ancient Greece, the half marathon is perhaps the greatest product of the modern running boom. While 13ish-mile races were certainly run before, the actual name and concept of the ‘half marathon’ first appeared in the early 1960s. The marathon’s popularity was growing, and new runners were looking for more race options. Thus a race half the distance of the 26.2 was born. The Route du Vin Half Marathon in Luxembourg can lay claim to being the first half. But while it was founded in 1961, the frequently changing course wasn’t exactly 13.1 miles until 1995. The first UK half took place in the small Lancashire town of Freckleton in 1965, with the late, great Ron Hill setting a world best time (half marathon world records were not recognised by the IAAF until 2004). The Freckleton Half Marathon is still going strong as Britain’s oldest, but it was eclipsed by the world’s biggest half, The Great North Run (GNR), in 1981. Since that inaugural race, over a million runners have finished the iconic course – a testament to the rise of the half. At the sharper end of the pack, the GNR was also the setting for the first ever IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, with Liz McColgan winning the women’s event. Meanwhile, behind the elites, the distance steadily grew in popularity, attracting 5K and 10K runners seeking a bigger challenge and marathoners fine-tuning their form. Race directors also enjoyed the cachet of the marathon title, with the simplified logistics of half the course. There are now thousands of halfs across the world, from small-scale local races to big city marquee events with tens of thousands of runners. E

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HALF MEASURES

THE HALF M A R AT H O N HALL OF FAME

RUN YOUR BEST

HALF EVER WHETHER YOU’RE A FIRST-TIME HALFER

or a swift half veteran, these strategies help everyone run stronger, happier and faster. BUILD A TRAINING PLAN TO PB To reach the finish line faster, train speed first, then endurance. For runners hitting at least 30 weekly miles, each week should include two speed workouts complemented by a long run, plus two or three days of easy runs. One speed session can be shorter, 400m to 800m intervals at 5K race pace. The other should be a tempo run, ‘which will have two miles of warm-up at a slow pace, then a longer duration (10 to 40 minutes) at, or 15 to 30 seconds faster than, half-marathon race pace, then two miles of cool-down at the same slow pace’, says Maiorano. Aim to have the long run cover roughly 30% of your weekly mileage. Lower-mileage runners and those new to the half should start training four months before their race, increasing the mileage every three weeks by four miles, says Maiorano. Run at least four or five times a week, with a long run that gradually builds from six miles to no more than 11 miles. SNEAK IN THE WORK Include strength

and mobility work in your daily routine to avoid taxing your non-running schedule. London-based running coach Marcus Brown recommends holding single-leg calf raises while brushing your teeth (60 seconds each side, daily). And Goucher, who coaches through TrainingPeaks’ PACE Running app, says she would perform 20 minutes of static stretching every night while watching TV. ‘It opened up my body before I slept and aided in my recovery and injury prevention,’ says Goucher. ARRIVE RESTED The biggest mistake

Goucher sees half-racers make is not tapering adequately. Two weeks out, dial back the intensity and cut your mileage

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by 20% to 30%. In the week leading up to the race, drop your mileage by half, run one light speed workout, and otherwise take short runs with a set of four to six easy strides (15 to 30 seconds of faster running) at the end. ‘The final week should be about feeling good and getting pop in your legs so that you can let your training shine through on race day,’ she says. CROSS-TRAIN TO WARD OFF INJURY

If you find that you’re injury-prone or feel like you’ve maxed out your mileage, sub in a day of low-impact cross-training, such as the elliptical or the bike, to get your aerobic work in without risking injury, suggests Goucher.

ZERSENAY TADESE

No half-marathoner was more dominant than Tadese of Eritrea. His 2010 record time of 58:23 stood for nine years, and he won an incredible five World Half Marathon Championships.

TEGLA LOROUPE, PAULA RADCLIFFE AND LORNAH KIPLAGAT

Radcliffe is best known for her marathon world record, which stood for so many years, but she is also one of the three women, along with Kenya’s Loroupe and Kiplagat of the Netherlands, to have won a hat-trick of golds at the World Half Marathon Championships.

BUILD STRENGTH TO FINISH STRONG

Training whole-body strength keeps your running form clean as you tire and helps in a race’s final miles, says Goucher. That means hitting your arms, shoulders, core and legs twice a week. If you’re new to lower-body strength training, begin with weighted squats and deadlifts using 5kg or 10kg weights. Do three sets of eight reps each and add more weight over time as it feels easier. After a month of these exercises, add stepping lunges with the same weights and the same sets and reps. Stand with weights in each hand, step back into a lunge, then step up on to a step, says Brown. Brown also recommends using stairs to do calf raises after a run — a favourite of his strength moves for runners. Stand on the edge of a step, drop your ankles below your toes for 30 seconds, then lift your feet into tiptoes for 30 seconds. Repeat five times, and do it twice a week. For upper-body moves, try bent-over rows and reverse flys with dumbbells, and press-ups to hit your back, arms and chest. To work your core, do planks (place a weight on your back to up the difficulty), single-side weighted sit-ups (hold a light dumbbell in one hand) and leg raises.

LETESENBET GIDEY

In October last year, the Ethiopian athlete absolutely obliterated the women’s half marathon world record at the Valencia Half Marathon. Finishing in 1:02:52, she sliced an incredible 70 seconds off the existing mark.

RON HILL AND STEVE JONES

Speaking of records, understated icon Ron Hill ran a world-best time of 1:05:44 at the Freckleton Half in 1965. But the last Brit to hold the world’s best time – Welshman Steve Jones – gets extra respect for his 1985 1:01:14 mark, as he later admitted to having no idea what the record was and having run slightly hungover after ‘five or six pints of cider’ at a friend’s wedding the day before.

HALF MEASURES

Goucher suggests doing strength work on hard days to maximise recovery on easy days

Find your perfect half marathon training plan at runnersworld. com/uk/ training/ half-marathon

SERVE U P A 1 3 .1 PB ON A P L AT E

Your diet during your training is just as important as what you eat on the morning of the race, says registered dietitian Kristy Baumann, who works regularly with runners. O n days w h e n yo u’r e training for 30 to 45 minutes, aim for meals that are onethird carbohydrates, such as pasta, rice, quinoa or potatoes; one-third protein, like chicken, beef, fish or tofu; and one-third fruits and vegetables. When you’re running for more than an hour, up the carbs to account

for half your daily diet, with a quarter protein and a quarter fruits and vegetables. In the days leading up to your race, load up even more on the carbs. Effective carbloading isn’t a big pasta dinner the night before a race, says Baumann. Your body doesn’t have time to digest and maximise those carbohydrate stores before the next morning. Instead, start three days beforehand, eating between 80% and 90% carbohydrates. Here’s what that can look like:

A 40g serving of porridge, two tablespoons of peanut butter and one banana for breakfast; 200g of pasta with 110g of tomato sauce and a piece of bread for lunch; and a chicken or turkey sandwich for dinner. Also, drink at least two litres of water and electroly te drink throughout the day, and eat a few small snacks, such as pretzels and fruit, during the day. On the day of the race, don’t try anything new. Stick to foods you’ve eaten during

your training. Aim to eat high-carb, easily digestible, familiar foods for breakfast – yoghurt, toast and fruit is a good choice. An hour before the race, have a snack that’s high in simple carbs, such as a granola bar. During the race, Baumann suggests taking an energy gel every 30 minutes. ‘Once your glycogen stores are depleted, you can’t catch up,’ she says. ‘It’s amazing how much energy you have during a race when you’re well-fuelled.’ E

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BUCKET LIST HALF MARATHONS PRAGUE HALF MARATHON

A stunning course through this magical city sees you cross the Vitava river six times, then finish near the Powder Tower of the old city gates. You can then celebrate with the best post-race beer on the planet. April GREAT NORTH RUN

With almost 60,000 runners taking part each year, it’s the biggest half in the world and one of the best races of any distance on the planet for atmosphere, history and all-round must-do bucket list status. September

SEAWHEEZE HALF MARATHON

Lululemon’s half in Vancouver, Canada, is a weekend-long party, starting with morning and sunset yoga sessions the day before the race. The scenic harbourside race is followed by a finish-line brunch and music festival – previous headliners include the likes of Diplo and Kaskade. August GÖTEBORGSVARVET HALF MARATHON

Gothenburg’s superb race has vied with the GNR for the title of world’s biggest half over the years and offers a wonderful tour of this beautiful city, with wide boulevards, parks and bridges, and a cracking atmosphere from the international field and plentiful crowds. May

HOW TO

HACK THE HALF

10 readers give their best tips for running an amazing 13.1

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‘Find a group to train with. The distances are long enough that having people around makes the pain easier, and the camaraderie can’t be beaten!’ Kerstin Broockmann

‘Hydrate at every station, starting at mile one. In my first half marathon, I didn’t take any hydration until mile seven. By mile 10, I was so cramped up, I almost DNFed.’ Matt Sherwood

‘The half marathon can be a roller coaster. Don’t give up when you start struggling, even if it’s very early on – you might end up surprising yourself!’ Tyler Beling

‘It’s easy to get swept up in the pace of others. Don’t let this happen to you. You created a plan that worked for you; now follow it!’ Dana Meske

‘Have fun. If you’re there to run and not race, high-five every kid along the race route. You never know who you might be inspiring to run their own race one day.’ Melissa Kohn

O U R G O -T O HALF SHOES Our team reveal their trusty kicks for running an amazing 13.1

1 / Under Armour Flow Velociti Wind 2 ANDY DIXON Engineered for speed over longer distances, this shoe combines the snappy feel you want on race day with enough cushioning to keep you fresh into the final miles. £140, underarmour.co.uk

2 / Hoka Rincon 3 JOE MACKIE A big hit of responsive, bouncy cushioning in an impossibly lightweight package delivers the combo of fast yet forgiving you need for racing longer distances. £105, hoka.com

P H OTO G R A P H Y: M AT T N AG E R. A D D I T I O N A L P H OTO G R A P H Y: G E T T Y I M AG E S ; A L A M Y; CO U R T E SY ( H E A D S H OT S )

3 / Puma Velocity Nitro 2 BEN HOBSON A comfortable and lightweight shoe that can easily handle 13.1 miles without letting you down, and comes in at a decent price, too. £100, uk.puma.com

ROYAL PARKS HALF

KAUAI HALF MARATHON

The capital now offers up some great halfs to rival its iconic 26.2, with the Big Half, London Landmarks and Hackney all worthy of mention. However, the Royal Parks is an absolute beauty, taking in Hyde, Green and St James’s, plus big-hitting sights such as Big Ben and Buckingham Palace. October

This half course winds around Kauai – Hawaii’s northernmost island, dubbed the Garden Isle thanks to its stunning verdant landscape – taking runners through tunnels of lush, green forests, over gently rolling roads and finally dropping them on to the coast for stunning views of the Pacific Ocean. September

4 / Hoka Carbon X3 JENNY BOZON Billed as an ‘endurance racer’, the Carbon X3 delivers a propulsive package of energy-returning midsole foam, an aggressive rocker and a carbon plate. £160, hoka.com

5 / Nike ZoomX Streakfly ‘End your long runs somewhere that brings you joy so that you feel motivated to finish. My favourite spot is a local bakery.’ Alexandra Stephanou

‘Speedwork! I was sceptical that intervals and fartleks were really helping me for running long distances, but trust me, they are.’ Michael Melia

‘Be proud! Running a half marathon is a fantastic accomplishment on its own – it isn’t just a stepping stone to a marathon.’ Robin Barton

‘If available at your race, find a pacer group that’s around your goal time and be sure to stick by them.’ Chris Randle

‘If the distance seems mentally daunting, try to envision the race as two 10Ks.’ Carly Heatherly

RICK PEARSON Marketed by Nike as a 5K and 10K race shoe, this stripped-down speedster has enough bounce underfoot to step up to the half on race day. Easier on the wallet than Nike’s carbon-plated racers, too. £135, nike.com

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‘IT WAS ON THESE ROADS, PATHS AND TRAILS

THAT I LEARNED HOW TO BE A RUNNER’ John Carroll shares a personal journey through the streets of south London where he found a new path to follow and decided that people are not so bad, after all ILLUSTRATIONS: MARCIN WOLSKI

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the only sounds I can hear are the early birds chattering animatedly about their worm haul and the murderous shriek of my garden gate protesting loudly as I gently close it. ‘Note to self, again: must oil that,’ I think. I walk to the end of our road, turn left and look at the 400m ascent that marks the beginning of my run from Crystal Palace to the Thames. I used to hate starting an early morning run with a hill, but it cannot be avoided, so now I just get on with it, albeit slowly and with a furrowed brow that denotes crankiness and exertion in equal parts. At least the road is quiet, because it’s 7.30am on a cool, diamond-bright Saturday morning. At the top of the hill, I pause at an unlovely junction, happy in the knowledge I am a mere two minutes from Streatham Common, the first of four generous green spaces on my route. For now, my heart is hammering out a paso doble and my lungs are attempting to balloon through my ribs because – of course – I have not warmed up, but from here it’s all downhill. In a positive sense. I have lived in London for almost 20 years and now, thanks largely to running, I know parts of the city better than I know my hometown of Dublin. Despite having an impossibly poor sense of direction – I could get lost in a shed – I can navigate chunks of south London with shameless confidence, because this is where I trained for marathons and half marathons. This route always puts me in mind of long sessions and always for the good, because even the bad days – the worst days – served a purpose. I turn left off the pavement on to Streatham Common. I’m running along a tarmac path that is cracked and bulging, as if it’s being slowly pushed up from the ground by the trees that do not approve of this artificial interloper. To the left and right are small trails that, I know from experience, just turn back on each other. Then the track opens out into the main part of the common, a broad expanse of downward-sloping parkland. At this hour, there is dew on the cars parked alongside and a low mist drifting across the grass, looking for something to do. It is calm and quiet. I am not yet at one with nature, but we are more than friends. Another runner approaches, head up, arms going like pistons, daring the ascent to get the better of her. Deciding whether to acknowledge an approaching runner can be a tricky business in London, but I have discovered that those out at this hour are the most receptive. A nod, a tight smile or a raised hand makes a momentary connection and reminds each runner that the decision to be out here this early on a Saturday morning is perfectly normal. I nod, she nods and, vindicated, on we both go. When I reach the bottom of the common, I’m back on a main road, but the shops are closed and the traffic is light. Still, London is beginning to grumble, scratch and stretch into a new day, so I turn on to a quiet residential street and run along the road for a bit, feeling a tiny transgressive rush as I go. I’m a couple of miles in and my running feels smooth now, or as smooth as my gait ever gets – I’m not elegant, which is one of the THIS HOUR OF THE MORNING,

reasons I don’t dance. The other reason is that I once caught sight of my mid-pirouette self in a mirror. The therapy continues. I press on to Tooting Common and nip into the woodlands, a series of snaking, muddy trails that take me to the Balham side of the common. I used to live in the area, so this is where I began training for my first marathon. The memories of that time remain vivid. I manage a midrun smile as I recall those early efforts; first, a lap of the common that left me begging to be put out of my misery; then two, with marginally less whimpering. And then, as the weeks went by, more miles, run with greater confidence. It was only eight years ago, but it feels like the distant past. I soon reach the heart of this quietly affluent part of the capital, where the coffee shops are already filling up with impossibly wellgroomed twentysomething couples and stylish young mothers who seem to have found time to choose an outfit that calls for a loosely knotted crushed-silk scarf. I catch my reflection in a window and immediately apologise to the locals. I run along more streets that dip and rise on their way to Wandsworth Common, the biggest open space on my route, and now the busiest, with dog walkers, runners, personal trainers and their victims, and unwisely garbed cyclists. I remember pulling up here one morning with a ferocious calf cramp, the kind that feels like someone’s tied a reef knot in your muscle. Another runner stopped and asked if I was okay. I was so surprised that I immediately suspected he was asking if it was okay if he ran off with my phone. But then I had the good grace to be almost overwhelmed with gratitude. I was tired, awkward and sore and a stranger – a runner – had offered to help. The exchange lasted no more than 10 seconds, but I recall it every time I reach this point. ‘You see,’ I tell myself, ‘people are nice.’ From the common, it’s a long, lazy, loopy route on more residential streets down to the Thames. The river is at low tide, exposing three or so metres of its rocky, sludgy bed. On my right, the sun squeezes light through the gaps in the shiny apartment buildings and dapples the quiet, brown, wide river as it slides serenely onwards. I’d like to say that I am trying to match the Thames’ steady, unhurried movement, but the truth is that I’m starting to feel the miles and the unforgiving surface. I am running mostly on pavement now, though there is one wooden section that makes a pleasingly troll-bothering thump as I cross it. This is the eight-mile mark, and it’s measured with familiarity and fatigue. No watch needed here. Finally, I reach Battersea Park, where I will finish. I can stay on pavement throughout, but I usually choose to run the final section on trails that hug the edge of the park. I am mere metres from a busy road, but the canopy is so dense around here that it can feel like dusk even on a bright morning. This is my favourite part of the run and I always pick up the pace here, no matter how tired I am – trail running puts a literal spring in my step. I stop at the park’s Rosery Gate, by the Queen’s Circus roundabout in Battersea, ludicrously surprised by how busy the city has become since I set out. I have run this route dozens of times, sometimes finishing before I reach Battersea; other times, more slow and slogging miles await on the far side of the park. It is not the most visually arresting, not the kind to make you consider your place in the grand scheme of things (this usually turns out to be disappointingly minor, like playing fifth shepherd in a Nativity play), but it means more to me than I thought when I sat down to write this because it was on these roads, paths and trails that I learned how to be a runner. The train will take me back home in less than 20 minutes, which just doesn’t seem fair at all.

‘THE CANOPY IS SO DENSE, IT CAN FEEL LIKE DUSK’

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M Y FAVO U R I T E R U N John Carroll’s run takes him on a capital adventure

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First there was five a day, then 10,000 steps – now allow us to hit you with you eat 30 different types of plants a week. A tough ask? We picked the

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05 Be a smoothie operator

To keep score, give one point to each type of fruit, veg, whole grain, bean, pulse, nut and seed you eat during the week and a ¼ point for each herb and spice.

01 Eat the

seasons Seasonal eating: not just for Creme Eggs. Vegetables at their seasonal best have a greater nutritional value. Plus, they represent an opportunity for diversity. ‘Be adventurous by choosing seasonal fruit and veg you haven’t tried before,’ says registered dietitian Tai Ibitoye. On the seasonal eater’s menu this month are wild nettles and watercress. Visit eattheseasons.co.uk to get inspired.

02 Score

marginal grains You may not automatically count it, but brown rice contributes to your 30-a-week goal, as do buckwheat, millet and sorghum. Swap steamed white rice for brown alongside your veggie curry or turn buckwheat into a healthy risotto.

While consuming nothing else for days on end is to be avoided at all costs, smoothies and juices are an efficient way of ingesting multiple types of fruit and veg in one sitting. To protect your teeth from the sugar that’s released from fruit and veg when blended, Ibitoye recommends limiting your intake to one 150ml glass per day. Blitz a carrot with just a little mango and orange, or a big handful of spinach leaves with an apple for tartness.

03 Make thyme If you can keep them alive for long enough, adding fresh herbs to meals is one of the easiest ways to elevate your plant-based intake. Side note: if you can’t, give them a haircut and pop them in the freezer for another day. Portions tend to be small, so each type of herb only counts as a ¼ point each – but as they can be added to almost any dish, the points add up quickly. Green herbs (think: parsley, basil, oregano, thyme and coriander) are all particularly nutrient-dense, packed with vitamins C and K. Sprinkle generously on curries, chillies, salads and soups.

04 Give chickpeas a chance

There’s much more to chickpeas than hummus. Turn a humble tin into a moreish snack by roasting them in the oven for 20 minutes with a sprinkling of salt and paprika or a squeeze of lemon.

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06 Tap in to olives Emphatically not just for nibbles. ‘Olives aren’t an obvious thought when it comes to fruit and veg, but can easily be included in your diet,’ says nutritionist Jenny Tschiesche, who recommends making a tapenade to dip into all week. Just combine pitted olives in a food processor with garlic, a dash of olive oil and some lemon juice. Alternatively, simply add chopped olives to your pasta sauce.

Slurp it up

07 Make it a

mixed bag Variety: the spice of life and the stuff of diversity dreams. From those packs of peppers that contain red, yellow and green to tins of mixed beans, when it comes to optimising your plant intake, different is better. As a general rule, whenever you’re shopping for packaged food, choose the option with the most variety.

POWER PLANTS

08 Avo go There’s a reason it took off as a toast topper. ‘Some people refer to avocado as “nature’s butter” as it’s so diverse,’ says Tschiesche, who points out that it can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes. She suggests combining the fruit with frozen banana and frozen berries in a blender and blitzing until smooth to create avo ice cream. Or try avocado mayo: blend it with milk, olive oil and lemon before seasoning.

09 Make lemon your main squeeze

Speaking of lemons, adding a slice to hot water to flush out toxins is to be avoided for the sake of your teeth – plus, that’s what your liver is for. But lemon can still aid your diversity goal. Dietitian Jasmine Carbon suggests incorporating dashes of lemon juice to your meals throughout the day. Squeeze half a lemon on to a salad or into a smoothie for a citrus kick without the damage to your enamel.

10 Try dry

13 Box clever

Around 30g of dried fruit, such as raisins or sultanas, is equivalent to 80g of the fresh kind, meaning you need less to nudge you closer to your nutritional target. While mindless snacking is a recipe for sugar overload, adding a few to porridge or a tagine will do nicely.

Think of veg boxes as 2022’s answer to a parent telling you to eat your greens. The offering from Odd Box (£15.99 for a large box; oddbox. co.uk) will vary from week to week, depending on which fruit and vegetables they’ve saved from waste that week. Others, like Natoora, focus on bringing you the seasons (£35 for a peak season box; home-delivery. uk.natoora.com).

11 Fall for

fermentation Fermented foods are a tonic for your digestion-aiding healthy gut bacteria. While some at-home techniques are more process-heavy than others (we’re looking at you, kombucha), cabbage is an excellent entry point and requires little more than salt and other cupboard staples.

14 Go ginger nuts

A typical thumbsized portion of ginger represents a quarter of a point towards your score, but it also soothes nausea and makes your digestion more efficient. As well as adding it to recipes, crush it up and brew it in tea.

15 Side with onion Spare a thought for the overlooked onion that’s the base to many a soup and stew. In addition to being affordable, they’re packed with antioxidants, which can help prevent the cellular damage connected to some types of cancer, diabetes and heart disease, says Carbon. Steam or lightly fry an onion in olive oil to make a simple side dish. E

Give us a ring

12 Go full beans An oft-ignored but no less valid contributor to your five a day is Heinz’ finest. ‘Choose varieties low on sugar and salt to make it healthier,’ says Carbon. Got a bit more time on your hands? Make your own using a tin of cannellini beans or similar.

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18 Double dip 16 Opt for oats Porridge: not just for winter. This plant powerhouse of a breakfast is the dietitian’s go-to with good reason. Not only do the oats themselves count towards your 30-a-week target, they’re also a blank canvas for pretty much any nutrient-dense topping you can think of. Start with an in-season fruit (as per the previous page), then top with seeds.

Turn your favourite veg into dips to pair with sliced raw veggies, such as cucumber, carrot and celery, and watch your plant points stack up. ‘Butter beans make a deliciously silky hummus and the usual tahini can be swapped for other nut or seed butters, such as walnut, almond or pumpkin seeds, which makes a glorious greencoloured dip,’ suggests Blake, who’s a big fan of ‘rainbow hummus’. ‘Adding some cooked beetroot, sweet potato or butternut squash to your own or a shop-bought hummus can also add extra variety, colour, flavour and nutrients.’

21 Sweeten the deal

Lucky dip

Thanks to high levels of starch, white potatoes don’t count towards your diversity score – but sweet potatoes do. Plus, they have the kind of versatility your classic King Edward could only dream of, with pureed sweet potato another great addition to sweet recipes. Add pureed sweet potato into your raw chocolate chip cookie dough next time you bake, suggests Verma.

22 Make hot

mock-olate Try this recipe for a plant-fuelled hot chocolate.

17 Dress for

the occasion

Put down the supermarket dressing and pick up a fork. ‘Whisking up a dressing using the oil and vinegar in your cupboards is so easy and they make a great base for herbs, too,’ says registered nutritional therapist Belinda Blake. The rule of thumb is three parts oil to one part vinegar – be that a white wine vinegar or lemon juice. Try adding herbs to butter, too.

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19 20 Spread better Empower Plant-based butter: not just for vegans. Look for one that contains a plant-based oil, such as olive or avocado – or you could even try making your own. For example, use blended avocado as a spread in wraps and sandwiches, says nutrition coach Sharan Verma. Or mash up a banana and pop it on your toast.

your flour

Try baking with banana flour, suggests nutritionist Emma Scott. Popular in Africa and available in UK health food stores, it’s made from green, unripe bananas that are collected, peeled, cooked and ground into a fine powder. It’s mildly sweet in flavour but can be used as an alternative to wheat flour in almost all recipes, and has the added bonus of being gluten-free, too.

• Heat 250ml of almond or oat milk and stir in three heaped teaspoons of cocoa powder, two teaspoons of smooth almond butter and a pinch of turmeric and cinnamon. • Froth with a stick blender and sweeten with a drizzle of maple syrup, if required. • ‘Alternatively, make this into a mocha by adding a teaspoon of dandelion coffee, which adds its own sweetness and a bit more plant variety,’ says Blake.

POWER PLANTS

23 Buy a

29 Don’t rule out

Brains, while complex, are easily manipulated. Put your fruit where you can see it and you’re much more likely to choose a rainbowcoloured snack than the sugarladen kind. Apples, bananas, peaches and plums can all be left outside the fridge for days.

The ready-meal aisle has come a long way since the chicken dippers of your childhood. The sector has had a health-over, with plant-packed fare representing an affordable way to fill your freezer for when you don’t have the time to cook for yourself. Field Doctor meals have their very own diversity score so you can see how you’re doing. Order their diversity bundle for six meals containing 39 different plant types. See fielddoctor.co.uk.

fruit bowl

PA R K I N ; E L L I S PA R R I N D E R ; S T U D I O 33. * S O U R C E : J O U R NAL O F T H E S C I E N C E O F FO O D A N D AG R I CU LT U R E

P H OTO G R A P H Y: DAV I D A B R A H A M S ; M I C H A E L H E D G E ; DA N M AT T H E W S ; LO U I S A PA R R Y; G E T T Y I M AG E S ; J O H A N N A

24 Butter up If you find your butternut squash repertoire begins and ends with stew, we have important news. Cooked correctly, it works just as well in sweet dishes as it does in savoury. All you have to do is steam and then puree it before adding it to pancake or waffle batter.

25 Take the freezy option

While there’s a myth that frozen fruit and veg contain less nutrients, research suggests the opposite is true*. Freezing pauses oxidisation – the process that turns fruit brown – and locks in more vitamins and minerals. Pre-chop veg and freeze it in sandwich bags until you need it.

ready meals

Toppings galore

26 Break an egg For a satiating, nutritionally loaded breakfast, swap a cheese omelette for one loaded with all the veggies you can find in your fridge, recommends Verma. Leafy greens, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes – whatever you can find, chuck it in for a hearty start to the day with minimal washing up. Hot tip: finish it off under the grill for a fluffed-up finish.

27 Care about colour

The more hues you choose to colour your plate, the better the meal’s nutritional hit. Different colours signal different plant properties. Blue and purple foods such as blueberries are rich in anthocyanin, which has been linked with a lower risk of heart disease, while the flavones that give foods a yellow colour have been shown to help boost heart health. You’ve heard it before but we’ll say it again: eat the rainbow.

28 Plant seeds

30 Drink the rainbow

Still struggling to get there? You can’t go wrong with a classic. Slice a cucumber, or segment a lime or grapefruit and add to your Friday night tipple.

Nuts and seeds count towards your diversity score, making them an easy way to boost your performance during those weeks when 30 feels like a lofty target. Top up your salads, porridge or yoghurt with both, suggests Scott. If you’re not, ahem, nuts about them, she suggests buying the ground versions of varieties such as almonds and flaxseed; they’re easier to disguise in meals.

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Sense of joy How visually impaired and hearing-loss runners overcome the obstacles to find freedom and fulfilment on the run WORDS BY ANNA GARDINER PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULIAN BENJAMIN

S E N S O RY- LO S S R U N N E R S

Hearing dog Nero has expanded owner James Shea’s running landscape

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or those with visual impairment or hearing loss, running can be liberating and empowering, but it also presents many challenges. Sensory impairments make running life more complicated. There are myriad hazards that sighted or hearing runners simply don’t notice. The small increases or decreases in elevation, such as dropped-kerb driveways or damaged pavement, potholes and cambers on country lanes, litter, signage boards, traffic cones, other pedestrians or road users, trees, lamp posts, bins, the unheard noise of traffic or warning shouts of an upcoming hazard – the list goes on and on. These can all make running more difficult and even prove a barrier to lacing up at all. A Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) study found that those who are visually impaired (VI) have reduced opportunities to take part in things they would like to – things like sports and fitness. And those who need a running guide are especially limited when it comes to when and where they can run – each run has to be organised alongside someone else’s life and plans. This can make training for an event difficult. ‘People have busy lives and it’s kind of them to give an hour or so a week,’ says Kelly Ganfield, an Invictus Games sprinter and marathon competitor. ‘But training for an event needs consistency and continuity – in terms of enhancing race performance, as well as trusting a guide to keep me safe.’ When it comes to events, while many runners look forward to races and anticipate enjoying the camaraderie, the buzz, the music, the sound of the crowds and being with like-minded people, for

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runners with sensory issues, events can be daunting at the best of times and inaccessible at the worst. Races are often chosen simply on the basis of how easy it is to access information prior to the event and during the event itself. Outside of racing, we all know the value that running brings to our lives – the mental health benefits as well as the physical. ‘Your body increases endorphin activity in the nervous system, which is linked to a euphoric state and reduced pain perception,’ explains Dr Rebecca Jones, lecturer in sport science and physical activity at Bedfordshire University. ‘Running can therefore have a calming effect and allow the runner to feel less stressed and more relaxed.’ Those mental health benefits are particularly vital when data shows how common mental health problems are in the VI and hearing-loss communities. One study, published in the European Journal Of Ophthalmology, found that in adults with severe visual impairment, 45.2% reported moderate depressive symptoms, compared with 16.6% in the normal-to-near-normal vision group. Another study by the RNIB found that VI people are more than twice as likely to experience difficulties with unhappiness or depression than the UK average. The Joint Commissioning Panel for Mental Health cites mental health problems within the deaf community as ranging from 30% to 60%. So it’s especially important that people from these communities have the option of running. As the personal stories on the following pages reveal, running has the power to uplift and enhance lives, but we can do much more to make sure it’s accessible to all.

S E N S O RY- LO S S R U N N E R S

Super-competitive Helen is always in the market for a guide who can keep pace with her

‘I don’t know what I’d do without it’ Helen Davies, 55 ‘I’m classed as legally blind and have spent more than half of my life with severely restricted sight. I have retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a hereditary genetic degenerative disorder with which I was diagnosed at 24. Although I had some issues with my sight before this, I had already passed my driving test and couldn’t quite believe the doctors who told me I would lose my sight – especially as they couldn’t give an indication of how much vision I would lose and when. Because I was young, I almost dismissed the prognosis and did my best to carry on with my life regardless. I moved to Athens for work and even bought a horse, which I competed with, trying not to let my deteriorating sight get the best of me. By 40, I had moved back to the UK and, initially as a dare in the pub, I entered and

Understanding the experiences

then trained for the Bath Half Marathon. I could just about manage to run by myself, but life was getting trickier. However, I got the running bug and continued to try to train. Unfortunately, I was losing my peripheral vision and couldn’t see any obstacles at my feet, making running solo difficult and races even more so. My husband, Paul, started accompanying me, so I could continue running safely. Currently, my vision is the size of a 50p coin in the centre of my eyes, but everything is very foggy. I can only see a vague outline of shapes and nothing on the floor. I can manage very familiar routes with a cane but always have to be guided for running. It’s hard to get guide consistency for many reasons – their own life commitments as well as my own – but also to find people who are faster than me. People assume that because you’re a guided runner you can’t run at a decent pace, but that isn’t the case – it’s not my legs that don’t work! I try to train five times a week, so you can imagine how difficult that is with guides. People are nervous about being guides, so I ask if they have kids, because if you can navigate a child safely, you can be a guide. Training for personal bests can be difficult, as I can’t always get the training done consistently. I’m super-competitive and get very cross if I don’t improve race times, but I did achieve the much-longed-for Good For Age Place at Newport Marathon in 2019. I enjoy events for the camaraderie, the atmosphere and the challenge of a race, but I do have to be choosy about which ones I do. I love off-road races, but the terrain can be a nightmare. Some busy road races are also tricky – I’ve had people try to barge through the guide tether or just push me out of the way. On the whole, people are considerate – I like a race briefing that reminds people to give space to me and the guide – but to be honest, I do avoid big events as they’re just stressful with the extra hazards. Sometimes it can be frustrating not being able to run on my own, but I don’t know what I’d do without it. I always come back buzzing and planning the next event.’

‘Sensory impairment’ is used to describe some degree of reduced hearing or vision and covers a wide range of experiences. The phrase ‘blind or visually impaired’ is an accepted way of referring to those who have no or limited vision where it can be classified as a disability. Language is complex and we can’t necessarily transfer the term ‘visually impaired’ to ‘hearing impaired’ when referencing the latter sensory need. Increasingly, certainly in the UK, there is a move to use the terms ‘deaf’ or ‘hard of hearing’. The deaf health charity SignHealth describes the term ‘deaf’ as used to identify anyone who has a severe hearing issue and can range from mild to profound deafness. This is considered inclusive, acknowledging anyone diagnosed with hearing loss (mild, moderate, severe or profound) as part of the deaf community). Signers have their own linguistic and cultural identity and are certainly able to communicate effectively with those who share the language. But when deaf and hearing communities come together, another shared communication strategy is required, and this is where accessibility and inclusivity matter. Depending on the range of hearing loss, and whether it’s pre or postlingual, some people rely on lip-reading or sign language, others on implants or a combination of communications. Hearing loss greater than 65dB (hearing threshold in decibels) is classed as severe and, according to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, the most recent data estimates that over 1.2 million people in the UK experience this. Being blind also encompasses a number of categorisations – severely sight impaired, or sight impaired (partially sighted). Data from the Royal National Institute of Blind People in 2021 suggests that, of the two million people in the UK registered as having sight loss severe enough to have an impact on their daily lives, around 277,000 have severe sight loss. E

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S E N S O RY- LO S S R U N N E R S

James completes his local parkrun every week with his hearing dog, Nero

‘Running is mindfulness for me; it roots me back into myself’ James Shea, 51 058 RUNNERSWORLD.COM/UK JULY 2022

‘I describe myself as hearing impaired, living and operating in a hearing world. I’m postlingual, meaning that I became deaf after speech and language acquisition. A whooping-cough booster damaged my hearing as a child so much that I can’t hear anything without the highest-powered aids. My parents decided to keep me at a state school where, in those days, there

wasn’t extra learning support. I gradually learned through dual coding – using lip-reading, limited sound and subtitles – so I could adapt to this hearing loss, but I don’t sign as I wasn’t taught. I also relied on adoptive strategies – extracting information from every external cue I could. This approach worked for me, as I became head of English at a secondary school before becoming principal lecturer in teacher education at the University of Bedfordshire, with a particular interest in research in education and neuroscience. This adaptation to the hearing world is a process I use when it comes to running races. I can’t hear a single word in briefings and find that events, at best, cater for people who are deaf and can sign or, at worst, give no thought at all. I’ve been to events where the race briefing is in a field, with the race director using a loudspeaker, and taken all guidance from the cues of other runners, trusting my life and running experience to keep me safe. This isn’t so much of an issue – I’m used to adapting to the occasional thoughtlessness of the hearing world – but I do prefer local races and parkruns with friends who can fill me in on the information I miss. I love my local parkrun – I’ve had my 250 T-shirt for some time – but hesitate at parkrun tourism and events further afield, unless someone has posted a video of the course online. It’s simply an extra mental effort, wondering what information I’m missing. The whole running community is, to me, a very inclusive one and I prefer running in the company of others. When I started running, I ran solo but did feel vulnerable – although I have hydrophobic hearing aids, enabling me to hear some traffic, it’s not ideal for them to get wet and I feel unsafe. I rely heavily on my local running community and find it so supportive. I love that my club, the Bedford Harriers, adapts with me. At a track session, for instance, instructions for the session will automatically be communicated to me in such a way that I don’t have to ask anyone for directions. At local races with clubmates, if a traffic shout goes up, someone will give me a tap on the arm, alerting me to hazards. My running landscape is expanding with a hearing dog, Nero, who does the parkrun every week with me, and I now feel I can do more events. I didn’t like to have to tell people about my hearing impairment, but as people approach Nero, the conversation opens up and I feel easier. Running is mindfulness for me; it cleanses me, roots me back into myself, it’s so grounding. All work and life stresses are relieved by the time I get home. It’s my switch-off time.’

Darren has run at many international marathons, including a 3:28 at Boston

‘Running brings me solace, freedom and independence’ Darren Blanks, 34

‘I have dual sensory loss – I became visually impaired and had hearing loss at the age of 23. I was experiencing some sight loss and a routine trip to Specsavers, followed by an emergency trip to hospital, saw me having an acoustic neuroma – a tumour on my ear nerve – removed. This resulted in complete hearing loss on my left-hand side. Post-operation, I contracted meningitis twice and blood tests revealed that I had Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), a genetic form of vision loss. As a young, fit man, this was devastating news. My vision was reduced to seeing light and dark contrasts, but I’m unable to distinguish between, say, a tree, a lamp post or a person. It’s like looking through frosted bathroom windows all the time.

I know something is there but can’t work out what it is. Most people don’t have faces and I’ve walked into a pool before. But I continued running in my home county of Cumbria and found solace in the familiar countryside, memory mapping the landscape, learning through trial and error the hazards of trees, rocks etc. Through my work with Blind Veterans, as a public speaker and supporting many events, I realised I could achieve more of my running ambitions if I had some support. With a variety of guides, I’ve completed a number of international marathons, including London, Boston, Brighton and California. My personal best is 3:28, set in Boston in 2018, the year when VI runners were first recognised as a separate category. I feel this categorisation is a positive move and hope that more events will do the same in the future – it will encourage other VI and blind runners to get running. I don’t shy away from the larger events – as a 6ft 3in, 13st runner, being accidentally knocked doesn’t affect my balance or stride

too much – but I still find the experience disorientating and stressful. Races have been less challenging when I’ve had the opportunity to start a few minutes ahead of the pack, as it’s easier for people to negotiate past me and my guide than it is for me to negotiate around hundreds or thousands of runners. I find smaller events and parkrun easier and lately feel more comfortable showing that I’m VI by wearing a tabard or carrying my cane. At RunFestRun, I decided to put myself out there. I feel that if VI runners don’t put themselves forward, then how can people be more sensitive, and how can accessibility improvements be made? In my experience, once people are aware of my disability, they are very empathetic and keen to understand how they can make running and events easier. Running has brought me much joy, focus and even love in the form of my partner, Helyn, who I run with. It is also a connection between life before and after sight loss and brings me solace, freedom and independence.’ E

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‘Running gives the self-belief that life can continue’ Colin Johnson, 57

‘I’ve been a guide runner for six years, inspired after seeing a social media post by a blind runner, Chris, who needed a guide for the Budapest Marathon. I did the England Athletics Guide Runners course, met Chris and started marathon training. I experienced a real buzz from helping him achieve his goal and realised what it meant to be able to run as a sighted person would. I encouraged others to train up and launched a Facebook group, VI Runners Bristol. We meet every Wednesday in different locations around Bristol – where the terrain is relatively flat and clear of hazards – and go to the pub after to share advice and stories, and enjoy a running community. The group has now swelled to over 450 members. It means that anyone VI is able to pop a note on saying they’d like to run that day and invariably someone is around. Guides are available for many local events so everyone can enjoy them safely and relatively stress-free. The open group is essentially a bunch of mates and some can see better than others. My aim is to make running as accessible to as many VI people as possible. Many in the group have experienced sight loss later in life and struggled with their mental health as a result. According to the RNIB, only 17% of people experiencing sight loss are offered emotional support. Being able to continue running, or take it up, gives people the confidence and self-belief that life can continue, but in a different way. Running, for most of us, is about switching off and enjoying the moment, but blind or VI people have to be alert. Running in a familiar location or with a guide helps members experience that same sense of freedom. I organised the first dedicated race for VI runners at the Great Bristol Run 2021 – Visually Impaired (VI) Runners 10K Challenge. We had a specific category for VI runners, just like an age-group category. There were over 40 runners and the goal was encouraging VI people to join the running community. I now deliver guide-running courses through England Athletics and continue to promote guide running. I’m passionate about removing barriers for VI runners and Chris and I are currently training for Man v Horse. It’s an off-road, multi-terrain and hazards event and we joke that Chris will be the first blind man versus a horse!’

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Colin has been guiding Chris for six years and aims to make running as accessible as possible

S E N S O RY- LO S S R U N N E R S

How could events be more inclusive? VI and hearing-loss runners set out a manifesto for more accessible events Provide an accessibility support tent at events for those who can’t access last-minute race briefing information easily. Andrea Sexton, a runner and racer with a high degree of hearing loss Make a video of the race briefing accessible pre-event. Last-minute changes could be communicated by text. Andrea Sexton Only allow bone-conducting headphones. Andrea Sexton Invite a VI runner to run the course and assess whether there are any manageable hazards. Colin Johnson If there are stretches of course where runners have to be on the road, ensure that it’s mentioned in the race briefing and have extra marshals who can alert runners that there’s traffic. Helen Davies Spread out water stations so that there’s plenty of space for VI runners to grab their water. Have someone before the station alerting everyone to the water station coming up. Darren Blanks Ensure a video of the course is available beforehand. James Shea Have a big flag at the start, with the person holding it preferably elevated. Pupils at Sheldon School, which has a separate department for deaf pupils At the start, signage needs to be clear, as deaf and hearing-loss people won’t be able to hear final instructions. Pupils at Sheldon School Be aware that megaphones don’t help most people with hearing difficulties, as the sound is distorted. Many people who use hearing aids won’t have them and may rely on lip-reading instead. James Shea Being forced on to pavements makes it difficult for a guide and VI runner to run safely. If competitors need to be on the pavement, the race briefing should include this information so that runners can be considerate and allow space. Helen Davies

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P H OTO G R A P H Y: M I C H A E L H E D G E

Find the right combination.............p66 Jo Pavey on foam rolling.................p68 The art of listening to your body.....p69 Turbocharge your runs...................p70 A cultured taste..............................p72 The breakfast of champions...........p74 Bring the deadbug to life.................p75 Get your head in the game..............p76

GO WITH YOUR GUT

Kimchi – that is, spicy fermented cabbage – is surprisingly versatile, so try these recipes and reap the microbiome-boosting rewards

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TRAINING

CRACK THE COMBINATION Why mixing things up in your interval workouts can be just the stimulus your training needs

in many runners’ routines to build fitness or prepare for a race. Often, though, runners will work through a menu of standard interval sessions and repeat them across the year. Certain workouts – for example 10 to 12 x 400m repeats with 60 seconds’ rest – can be seen as ‘straight’ interval sessions, involving running blocks of hard effort at the same pace with rest intervals. But combination workouts mix two or more different intensities within a single session, offering the chance to mix things up in order to challenge your body differently. Here’s how they can benefit your running.

Why do combination workouts? Stimulus: Just like all interval sessions, combination workouts challenge your mind and body. We adapt to training after a period of

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doing the same thing and I’ve seen many runners get stuck repeating the same types of interval work for little return. Mixing different intensities within a session provides you with a new stressor, which can push your training forward and help you to break out of a rut. Efficiency: Many runners struggle to fit in all the different types of session and intensities they’re encouraged to do. Some runners will find one or two hard sessions every seven to 10 days is enough. If this is you, combination workouts allow you to touch on these intensities without cramming your week with hard sessions. You can mix hills and tempo work into the same session, for example. Interest: Combination workouts encourage you to plan your effort better through a session. A greater emphasis on pacing and psychology can make these types of workouts

MIX AND MATCH Choose the areas you want to focus on and build them into a combined interval workout

more interesting for runners who struggle with grinding out the same effort throughout a whole session. Progression: As you’ll see with the examples below, combination workouts can be used to progress your training towards a specific race goal, or to maintain fitness you’ve built in a previous training phase.

When to do them The classic use of combination sessions is as a bridge between different training phases. Let’s say that you’ve recently finished and recovered from a marathon or half marathon race and you’re looking to race a 5K in 10 to 12 weeks’ time. As you move closer to the 5K, your pace in training sessions should start to focus towards your goal race pace – for example, 15 to 20 minutes at onehour race pace, plus three to four lots of three minutes at 5K to 10K pace.

P H OTO G R A P H Y: G E T T Y I M AG E S

INTERVAL SESSIONS feature

Similar to this example, you can use combination sessions to test ‘current’ and ‘goal’ pace. If you’re building towards a 10K, you could mix longer efforts of current 10K pace with shorter blocks of goal pace in the same session. For example: four sets of six minutes at current 10K pace, a 60-second jog and two minutes at goal pace, with a longer recovery time between each of the four sets.

What are your key areas for development? Think about race day and ask yourself where you feel strong and where you feel you struggle. If you find a finishing kick hard, perhaps consider including some faster 30- to 60-second efforts at the end of your sessions. If you know your race will include some hard hill climbs in the middle, this is something you can mimic in combination sessions leading up to the day.

How to do them Try to not be confined by strict rules when building your training plan and individual training sessions. Get creative but ask yourself some key questions, which will help you decide how and when to set your combination sessions.

What are you trying to achieve? Is the session trying to move a particular pace forwards? Are you aiming to maintain fitness from a previous training cycle? Are you looking to transition between training plans? These questions will help guide you on the paces and volumes to include in your session.

Where are you in your training cycle? Is your goal race a long way off? Perhaps you’re looking to work on some foundations of fitness. If so, perhaps mixing some short, faster hills with longer efforts of controlled discomfort (six or seven out of 10 effort) could work well. Are you in the key four to six weeks before your goal race? If this is the case, perhaps you’ll want to include a greater percentage of race-pace running in the session.

MIXING INTENSITIES CAN HELP YOU TO BREAK OUT OF A RUT

Risks to bear in mind While mixing intensities and types of training into a single session can have some major benefits, there are also risks that you need to consider. Foundation: As with all harder sessions, combination workouts demand a good foundation of easy and steady running. Hard running sessions are not a replacement for easy volume – they lie on top of it, so get the fundamentals in place first. Pacing: As soon as you start mixing the effort in one session, pacing yourself becomes a challenge. Often, the changes in intensity can be quite subtle and it’s easy to overcook them. Consider starting with sessions that separate paces clearly: for example, ⅔ of a session at 10K pace, with the final ⅓ of the session at 3K to 5K pace. As you start to build more experience, you can blend and mix paces across the whole session. Load: One of the dangers is you end up with huge workouts that take a lot of recovery. It shouldn’t be a case of bolting extra ‘stuff’ on to existing sessions, so think carefully about the overall volume of hard effort. If you are mixing paces around 5K effort, you still probably only need about 18 to 25 minutes of work as a maximum. If you’re including more 10K to marathon intensity, you can include a bit more – but take care not to dig yourself into a big hole. Consistent training has more overall value than individual hard sessions.

4 COMBO W O RK OUTS TO TR Y Warm up and cool down well around the main elements below 1/ SPICED-UP TEMPO Why: Develop a kick by engaging fast-twitch muscle fibres when tired. How: After a good warm-up, run for 20-25 mins at an effort you feel you could hold for 1 hr in a race situation. Jog for 2-3 mins before doing 6 x 15-30-sec fast hill repeats with walkback recoveries. 2/ BLENDED SESSIONS Why: Get your body used to managing fatigue and changes of pace during a race by mixing up your effort throughout a session. How: Run 5 sets of 4 mins at 5K-10K pace, 60-sec rest, 75 secs at 3K-5K pace. Jog for 2 mins between each of the sets. 3/ CUT DOWN BENEFITS Why: Give yourself an aerobic boost and learn pacing control by progressing your paces within an endurance-focused session. How: Run efforts of 12, 10, 8 and 4 mins, all with 90-sec jog recoveries. Do the 12-min effort between half marathon and marathon pace and get progressively faster to run the final 4-min effort at 10K pace. 4/ 5K RACE SIMULATION Why: Races often start fast, require consistent and settled pace in the middle and a strong finish. Try this in a session to mimic a 5K or parkrun. How: Run 4 × 70 secs fast at 3K-5K pace with 60-sec rest; 5 × 3 mins at 5K pace with 90-120-sec rest; 4 × 70 secs at 3K pace with 60-sec rest.

Tom Craggs is road running manager for England Athletics

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TRAINING YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY OUR RESIDENT OLYMPIAN

BY JO PAVEY

Jo’s tip: Just a little bit

What are the dos and don’ts of foam rolling? Foam rolling is beneficial as a form of selfmassage or self-myofascial release to ease sore muscles and improve range of motion. It may feel slightly uncomfortable, but shouldn’t be painful. Place a foam roller under the muscle group you’re working on and slowly move it back and forth. Don’t move the roller too fast. Use your arms as a support to adjust the amount of body weight on the muscle. Go easy to begin with and gradually increase the pressure as you get used to it. If you find a tight spot, you can work on it for slightly longer and hold some pressure for a few seconds to release it. Avoid rolling directly on to your joints as it could cause damage or hyperextend them, and never use a roller on your neck or on a newly injured area, such as a muscle tear.

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Caution must also be taken if rolling the lower back – it can exacerbate bad posture and it’s important to avoid direct pressure on the actual spine. Also, bear in mind that many injury problems require you to address muscle imbalances that contribute to the injury, rather than just working on the area itself. Rollers come in different densities, textures and sizes. A softer-density roller may be best to begin with before trying ones that work deeper. If possible, foam roll about three times a week, ideally when your muscles are warm. Foam rolling can also be used during your warm-up as it’s been shown not to reduce muscle strength, but keep it gentle and ensure you still do dynamic stretching before you work out.

Interval sessions • 4 × 1K (2-min recovery) @ 10K pace; 5-min rest; 3 × 1K (2-min recovery) @ 5K-10K pace; 4-min rest; 4 × 200m fast but not flat out (45-sec recovery) • 3 × 1 mile (3-min recovery) @ 10K pace; 5-min rest; 3 x 800m @ 5K pace (2-min recovery); 5-min rest; 3 x 400m @ 5K-3K pace (60sec recovery); 3 × 200m fast but not flat out (30sec recovery) • 8 × 400m @ 5K pace (40sec recovery); 5-min rest; 8 × 400m @ 5K-3K pace (40-sec recovery) • 5-6 × 1 mile @ 10K goal pace (2:30-min recovery) Tempo sessions (do these in order as you get fitter) • 3 × 8 mins @ tempo effort (3-min recovery) • 2 × 12 mins @ tempo effort (3-min recovery) • 20-25 mins @ tempo effort

* P L E AS E N OT E : J O PAV E Y I S U N A B L E TO R E S P O N D D I R E C T LY TO Q U E R I E S . P H OTO G R A P H Y: G E T T Y I M AG E S

ROLL WITH IT Get it right and your sore muscles will thank you

If you’re having one of those days when you’re feeling like you can’t face a run, try going out for just a few minutes. Tell yourself that if you’re really not feeling it, then you’ll stop and head back. More often than not, you’ll find yourself getting into it. Think how much happier you’ll feel when you get back having done it. We all have difficult days, and it’s the tough ones that make the good days feel even better. But if dreading a run is a regular occurrence, look at your schedule and think of ways to make your running more enjoyable.

What are the key workouts/sessions I should be doing for a sub-40 10K? You should include a mix of interval sessions that incorporate different paces and tempo runs to make running at, or faster than, your goal race pace feel comfortable. Mix in one of the following sessions each week as part of a wider training plan. Start and finish each with a 10-min warm-up and cool-down.

TRAINING

A FRESH TAKE ON MAXIMISING YOUR RUNNING ENJOYMENT

BY CORY WHARTON-MALCOLM

ALL THE FEELS

Learning how your body reacts at different effort levels is a key running skill

THE SKILL OF RUNNING ‘by feel’ isn’t reserved for Olympians. We feel our effort level every time we run, though we might not pay much attention to it. But developing it will be of great benefit to you in the long term. It’s why runners do race-pace runs. They want to get used to a pace, to know what their body does, what the leg turnover feels like and how far they can push it before their body says nope. But you need to learn how your body reacts to different paces first. Here are a few pointers.

I L L U S T R AT I O N : A DA M N I C K E L

Gauge your breathing A great way to start is to think about your breathing and how much it correlates to effort. I’d been running for a few years, but due to my lack of experience, I’d be gassed out before I hit halfway. It wasn’t until I paid attention to my breathing that I began to get it right and set out at the right pace. As time passed, I got used to what my body did at certain paces. The fitter I got, the faster I could run and still speak comfortably.

Easy run feel On an easy run, it should feel comfortable to breathe – you feel like you can have a full conversation with no trouble. If you’re with friends, do just that. If you’re by yourself, sing your favourite song, or tell yourself repeatedly how amazing you are for getting out. If we were to rate this effort, it should feel like a three or four out of 10 – one being strolling on the beach and 10 being running flat out from a dinosaur for fear of being eaten.

Medium run feel On a medium- or moderate-pace run, your breathing should be a little heavier but not laboured. It should still feel somewhat comfortable, but it’s a little more challenging, too. Conversation is now shorter as you’re starting to choose your words a little more wisely to save air. Your effort should feel like a five or six out of 10. This is really the pace that you’re looking for if you’re new to running and are planning to take on a half marathon or a marathon.

Hard run feel On a hard run, your pace is uncomfortable but manageable for a certain amount of time, and you can just about manage to say a few words at a time. But you’re not happy that someone has asked you to speak. This effort would feel like a seven or eight out of 10. With training, this is around the level that you’re looking for in a 5K or 10K.

Cory founded the Track Mafia running crew and is a Nike Run Club head coach. Instagram: @bitbeefy; @trackmafia_

The 400m rep test My friends and I would go to the track and time how long it would take to run a 400m rep. Then, we would run another rep without looking at the watch and try to match that time, just using the cues from our bodies, based on how we felt in the timed rep. We would do it over and over again until we felt like robots flying around the oval. We took what we learned on the track and applied it to longer distances and road runs. Even if you don’t have a track nearby, try it in a park or around the block. Don’t be afraid to experiment – and let me know how you get on...

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CUTTING EDGE Track your power output to transform your training

treadmills can track running power from your foot or wrist. Even pros pay attention to it. ‘One huge component I lacked in college and my early career was power,’ Stephanie Bruce, 38, an American pro runner with Hoka Northern Arizona Elite, tweeted earlier this year. ‘I’m proud that after years of strength work and heavy lifting and hills, we have greatly improved my power and stayed essentially injury-free for [more than] six years.’ Less than two weeks after that tweet, in January, Bruce won the Rock ’n’ Roll Arizona half marathon in Phoenix, US. Who wouldn’t want to run faster and stay injury-free? Power is yet another piece of the puzzle that can help you optimise every run. And now that it’s more accessible than ever, it’s time to tap into it.

Why the running power metric can inform your training and help you get the most out of every run

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many ways to analyse performance: distance, pace, heart rate, cadence – and now, power. Cyclists have long tracked power as a metric for effort, but it’s a little harder to measure when you’re not settled into a saddle. With technological advances, though, devices such as the Stryd foot pod, Nurvv running insoles, certain running watches and even some

How to measure power Power is measured in watts. In running, the sensors in your trackers (and their partner apps) are using your weight, speed and other metrics such as cadence or stride

M O D E L S : L E E P H I L L I P S AT A N D I P E T E R S ’ M O D E L S ; E M M A N U E L A L L I AT W M O D E L ; R O D N E Y C H A R L E S AT M O D E L S 1

MORE POWER TO YOU

RUNNERS LOVE THEIR DATA, and there are so

Imagine a sprinter’s wide-open stride, and the amount of force they generate with each step. That’s power. When it comes down to the numbers, though, ‘power is one of those metrics that you can use to gauge how hard you’re going’, says Chris Myers, a coach with Peaks Coaching Group and co-author of Triathlon Training With Power. Unlike other metrics, it gives you a real-time effort assessment. Pace and heart rate can be affected by several external factors, but power is kind of like your rate of perceived exertion (RPE) – instead of subjectively rating your perception of your effort during a workout on a scale of zero to 10, you get a quantifiable metric that can inform your training. Power is also a measure of efficiency, or running faster with less energy. ‘If you can generate more power with every step while at a lower heart rate or faster pace than in previous workouts, that’s a sign of improvement,’ says Colleen Brough, director of Columbia RunLab at Columbia University in New York City.

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What power tells you about performance

TRAINING

rate, and vertical oscillation (how much you move up and down while running forwards) to come up with your running power numbers, explains Dr Myers. What does that mean for you? ‘The higher the watts, the more power you’re generating with each and every step,’ says Dr Brough. That’s not to say there’s a gold standard number for running power. What you want to see is a consistent level of output, explains Dr Brough. ‘Throughout a run, you should ideally be able to keep your power relatively steady despite the hill, despite the fatigue, despite that little bit of knee pain.’

Training according

YOU R P O WE R BOOSTING W ORK OUTS

Speedwork functions as a kind of strength training, Dr Brough explains; it engages the fast-twitch type II muscle fibres you use for sprinting. Traditional, heavy lifting is important, too, helping to improve speed, muscle power and running economy. The key, says Dr Brough, is to increase the speed of the moves and the load. The force you produce translates to what you need to push your body off the ground. So, to build power, strength train, then apply that strength to running. Here’s how:

STEP 1: LIFT HEAVY ROMANIAN DEADLIFT Why it works / It strengthens your hamstrings – crucial for push-off. How to do it / With your feet hip-width apart, hold heavy weights at the side of your thighs. With a soft bend in your knees and your back straight, hinge at your hips and lower the weights. Drive your feet down and stand up. Repeat. Do 2 to 3 sets of 3 to 5 reps. Use weight that’s 75% to 85% of your 1-rep max.

to your power zones Just like heart rate, power can help you train in the right zones. ‘The functional threshold power (FTP) test is the baseline benchmark to calculate training zones,’ explains Dr Myers. ‘FTP is defined as the power one can sustain for 60 minutes or a 10K time-trial run.’ Most people won’t actually go out and run a 10K time trial, says Dr Myers, but doing a 5K can be a great way to calculate your FTP at a shorter distance. (You’ll need a device that measures power to actually get your watts reading during an FTP test.) To do the FTP test, after a 20-minute warm-up, increase your pace to the maximal effort or the highest power output you think you can hold for 3.1 miles (not including the warm-up/cool-down distance). Try to aim for an RPE of six to seven. After you finish the 5K, cool down. The average power, or FTP, from that run can then be used to determine your power training zones, which your device may also help you to calculate. Where power measurements really come in handy is for effortbased pacing. For example, let’s say you’re running a super hilly race. There’s no way you’ll be able to maintain equal splits on the ups and downs. But if you can manage to sustain your power during the race, that means you’re running at the appropriate intensity.

FRONT SQUAT WITH HEEL LIFT Why it works / This move develops your glutes, hamstrings and quads, as well as your core and hip flexors. How to do it / Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, your heels lifted about 2 to 3 inches on a weight. Holding a barbell at your shoulders, send your hips down and back. Go low, pause, then push up. Repeat. Do 3 to 5 sets of 5 reps at 75% of your 1-rep max.

WEIGHTED LUNGE Why it works / This recruits big type II fibres. As you get stronger, work faster. How to do it / With your feet hip-width apart, hold a dumbbell in each hand. Step your right foot forward. Bend both of your knees 90 degrees to lower into a lunge. Then push through your right heel to stand up. Repeat on your left side. Do 2 to 3 sets of 3 to 5 reps per side at 75% of your 1-rep max.

STEP 2: RUN STRONG This workout uses short bursts of speed to help you build power, says Dr Brough. As you get stronger, up the incline, lower the recovery time or do more rounds. • Warm-up / 5 to 10 mins of easy jogging • Hill repeats / On a gradual incline of 2% to 10%, run 200m or 60 secs at an effort level of 7 to 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 • Recovery / Jog/walk for 30 to 60 secs • Repeat / 4 to 8 times (effort level increases with each interval) • Cool-down / 5 to 10 mins of jogging

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GUT AND RUN

Kimchi, a Korean staple of spicy fermented cabbage, is good for your gut – and the star of these delicious dishes

GUT FRIENDLY

Kimchi yoghurt crudité dipping sauce Packed with probiotics (Greek yoghurt and kimchi) and calcium, this dip is a win for gut health and bone density

179 cals / 12g fat / 6g protein / 13g carbs / serves 2

200g Greek yoghurt • 140g cabbage kimchi, drained • sesame oil, to drizzle • black and white sesame seeds, to serve • mix of crudités, to serve

1 / This one is super simple – just whack the yoghurt and the kimchi in a food processor and blitz until smooth. Transfer to a ramekin, drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle over the sesame seeds. 2 / Serve with your choice of crudités. We recommend sugar snap peas and baby radishes for crunchy dunking.

Kimchi and seafood pancakes Prawns combine a good serving of protein with a modest calorie and fat content – ideal if you’re looking to build lean muscle

373 cals / 15g fat / 17g protein / 41g carbs / serves 2

25g wholewheat flour • 50g white flour • 2 tbsp doenjang (Korean soya bean paste) or red miso • 75g prawns (or mixed seafood), chopped into 2cm pieces • 1 spring onion, sliced lengthways and cut into 5cm pieces • 40g cabbage kimchi, chopped into 2cm pieces • 1 tbsp olive oil For the dipping sauce: 1 spring onion, diced • 4 tbsp soya sauce • 1½ tbsp rice vinegar • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil • 1 tbsp sesame seeds, crushed • 1 tbsp chilli flakes

1 / In a bowl, mix all of the dipping sauce ingredients well and set aside for later.

2 / Mix the flours in a separate bowl, adding 150ml of water and whisking in the soya bean paste until dissolved. Once the batter is smooth, add the prawns, spring onion and kimchi, and mix until everything is coated. 3 / Place a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and drizzle in the oil. Ladle in the batter to make round 10cm-diameter pancakes. Cook for 3 to 4 mins until golden brown and crisp. Then flip it. Cook for another 3 to 4 mins. It should be crispy on both sides. Add more oil if necessary. 4 / Transfer to a plate with some kitchen roll to absorb any excess oil and repeat to make a second pancake. Serve with the sauce and some extra spring onions scattered on top.

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MUSCLE BUILDING

FUEL Kimchi scrambled eggs with mushrooms, spinach and kale Shiitake mushrooms are rich in vitamin D – a renowned mood and immune system booster. One for the breakfast repertoire?

194 cals / 14g fat / 11g protein / 6g carbs / serves 2

3 eggs • 1 tbsp olive oil • ½ garlic clove, chopped • 1 tsp finely chopped shallot • 3 shiitake mushroom heads, thinly sliced • handful of spinach • 2 tbsp cabbage kimchi, finely chopped, with juice • small handful of purple kale, stems removed and cut into 3cm pieces • small handful of chives, finely chopped, to serve

MOOD BOOSTING

1 / Whisk the eggs in a large bowl with a splash of water and season. Place a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and drizzle with oil. 2 / Add the garlic and shallot and sauté for 1 min, until softened, before adding the mushrooms, spinach, kimchi and kale, and sautéing for a further 2 to 3 mins until just beginning to wilt. 3 / Add the eggs to the pan and scramble with the vegetables, using a spatula. For slightly soft and runny scrambled eggs, cook for about 3 mins. Plate up and sprinkle over the chopped chives for a fermented feast.

Bibimbap with tofu and kimchi The combination of kimchi and tofu makes this dish fibre-rich and full of iron – essential for sustaining high energy levels

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363 cals / 21g fat / 8g protein / 37g carbs / serves 6

1 tbsp sesame oil • 360g rice, cooked • 4½ tbsp vegetable oil • 100g bean sprouts • 55g shiitake mushrooms, sliced • ½ courgette, sliced • 180g spinach • 1 carrot, julienned • 50g tofu, cut into cubes • 115g cabbage kimchi, chopped • 1 egg, fried • sesame seeds, to serve For the gochujang sauce: 2½ tbsp mirin • 3 tbsp gochujang (Korean chilli paste) • 2 tsp sugar • 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil • 1 tsp sliced spring onion For the soya seasoning: 3 tbsp soya sauce • 2 tbsp mirin • 2 garlic cloves, chopped • 1 tsp grated ginger • 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds, crushed • 1 tbsp sesame oil

ENERGY BOOSTING

1 / Place a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the sesame oil and the rice. Leave for 8 to 10 mins until crusty on the bottom. 2 / In separate bowls, mix the ingredients for the gochujang sauce and the soya seasoning. 3 / In a frying pan, heat ½ tbsp of oil, add the bean sprouts and 1 tsp of the soya seasoning, mix for 30 secs, then place the bean sprouts on a section of the rice. 4 / Heat 1 tbsp of oil, add the mushrooms and 1 tbsp of the soya seasoning, cook for 1 min, then put it on the rice. Repeat with the courgette, spinach and carrot – reduce the time to 30 secs for the last two. 5 / Microwave the tofu for 45 secs, then arrange on the rice with the kimchi. 6 / Top with gochujang sauce, a fried egg and sesame seeds.

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FUEL EXPERT NUTRITION ADVICE TO FUEL YOUR RUNNING

By Renee McGregor

Breakfast battle Exploring one of life’s eternal questions: is toast or porridge better for runners?

elevated if you choose a bagel, which provides around 50g. If you top both with peanut butter and banana, you’ll get 55g and 75g of carbohydrates respectively. And while wholegrain flour will provide some insoluble fibre, iron and B vitamins, white flour is much easier to digest and will release carbohydrates into the system much quicker.

I asked my Instagram followers what their preference was for breakfast before a run – toast or bagels, or porridge. I wasn’t sure what the response would be – I know porridge is often heralded as the breakfast of choice for those who are physically active but, as a runner myself, my preference has always been bagels. From my informal poll, it was a pretty even 50:50 split. I guess the bigger question is: does it matter and is one better than the other?

The role of carbohydrates Research in sport science has determined that carbohydrates are key components when fuelling the body. They’re the preferred currency to deliver energy to working muscles, and recently it has also been shown that carbohydrate availability around training is critical for optimal performance, recovery and adaptation from training. However, we can only store a finite amount of carbohydrates in our body and when these stores are full, there is sufficient energy to fuel moderate-intensity running – so around 7/10 effort level – for 90 to 120 minutes. In addition, studies have shown that eating a good breakfast positively influences run performance later in the

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day and also helps with appetite control throughout the day. It’s clear then, that making the right breakfast choice is essential for both your health and performance.

Porridge v bread Both porridge oats and bread options provide carbohydrates – on this front, they both make excellent choices. But how do they stack up nutritionally? You may be surprised to know that a 50g portion of oats will provide you with 30g of

carbs. Make it with 200ml of cow’s milk and top with a banana, and you have a breakfast bowl that provides you with around 65g of carbohydrates. Porridge also has the advantage of containing soluble fibre, which supports good gut and heart health. Now, if we compare this to two slices of wholegrain toast, we’re also looking at around 30g of carbohydrates. This is

Both are great choices, providing a decent amount of carbohydrates, especially when we consider that the recommendation is 1g to 1.2g of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight, one to three hours before exercise. Toast and bagels are probably slightly easier to digest and are good options prior to shorter, higherintensity sessions, or when time is short and you don’t have long between eating breakfast and your run. Porridge, on the other hand, might be more useful prior to a long, slow run as oats release energy at a more sustained pace over time, ensuring that your blood sugar levels don’t fluctuate when you’re out for longer. Porridge oats can also be enhanced by adding dried fruit, honey and even granola to hit those higher carbohydrate intakes when they’re needed the most. Renee McGregor is a leading sports dietitian with over 20 years’ experience. reneemcgregor.com

P H OTO G R A P H Y: R O B W H I T E . F O O D S T Y L I N G : CA R A H O B DAY

What’s the verdict?

TRAINING

DEADBUG

Crunches not cutting it? This move will strengthen your core and improve mobility GR ANTED, lying on your back seems infinitely

easier than every muscle-shaking second spent in a plank, but trust us when we say the deadbug will deliver superhuman core strength. It targets multiple stomach muscles (including the transverse abdominis – the very bottom layer of ab muscle), all without putting strain on your lower back, explains Tim Andrews, Fitness First personal trainer and head of fitness product. ‘The fact that you work with opposite arm and leg combinations improves spine stabilisation from all angles,’ he says. ‘You’ll also benefit from enhanced mobility in the shoulder and hip joints.’ Avoid the move if you have existing lower-back pain. Deadbugs won’t exacerbate current injuries unless you let your form slip, but they may slow your recovery rate, as the goal is to hold tension in the area.

How to do it 1/ Lie flat on your back with your arms extended towards the ceiling and your legs in tabletop position. ‘Keep your lower back in contact with the floor,’ adds Andrews. ‘You shouldn’t be able to slip your hand between your back and the ground.’ 2/ Exhale as you straighten and lower one leg until your heel

almost touches the floor, while also lowering your opposite arm to the floor behind your head, hovering a few inches above the ground. 3/ Rise on to your left forearm and push into the palm of the left hand to sit up. 4/ Inhale to return both your arm and leg to the starting position and repeat on the other side.

SIGNS YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG You’re arching your back. ‘This negates the benefits,’ says Andrews. ‘Fix it by drawing your belly button in and bracing your core.’ You’re moving too fast. The aim is to use your natural momentum. Slow and steady wins the race here.

Engage your core

WO R D S : K I R S T I B U I C K; B R I D I E W I L K I N S . P H OTO G R A P H Y: B E N R I T T E R

Stack your knees above your hips

Keep your lower back flat on the floor Weights optional to turn up the burn

MAKE IT EASIER From the starting position, move only one limb at a time – left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg. This takes out some of the coordination. Do it sat on a chair, with your feet flat on the floor and arms extended in front of you. Raise one foot a foot off the floor and raise the opposite arm overhead. Then lower and repeat on the other side.

VARY IT Ramp it up by holding a light dumbbell in each hand, and/or add weighted ankle straps.

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run and in life. Just as lifting weights can strengthen your hips or hamstrings, meditation can strengthen your mind – enhancing your running and overall wellbeing.

How to begin meditating

HOW TO BE A MORE MINDFUL RUNNER Adding meditation to your routine can enhance your running – and your life

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MEDITATION HAS LONG BEEN

used to promote calm and relaxation, cope with stress and illness, as well as manage anxiety and depression. Runners often call their time logging miles their moving meditation. However, if the disappointment of a slower-thanexpected mile split or panic over unexplained tightness in your calf can derail your race or ruin your workout, adding a formal meditation practice to your training routine can better prepare you to handle these feelings and emotions – both on the

Meditation v mindfulness The two boil down to more specific descriptions: meditation is the practice, while mindfulness is a state of being. Practising meditation trains your mind to stay more present in each moment. Mindfulness training uses meditation exercises in combination with informal practices, such as running, to incorporate mindfulness into daily life. Together, they train your mind to focus less on negative thoughts, emotions or worries. Keith Kaufman, a clinical sports psychologist and co-developer of the Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement programme, describes mindfulness as a non-reactive approach. The challenge is that

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AND BREATHE Train your mind to be stronger with meditation

Meditation, or simply bringing awareness to a specific focus, typically involves holding yourself with a comfortable posture, such as sitting, lying down or walking. And ideally, it’s practised in a place with limited distractions. Once you’ve ticked those boxes, meditation exercises are simple. For example, you may focus on your breath, count or repeat a mantra. Or you can scan your senses and observe what your body sees, hears, tastes, smells or feels to centre your attention. When distracting thoughts arise – this is boring; my nose is itching; we’re out of milk – try to come back to that focus. There is no time requirement to make a meditation ‘count’, so meditate for as long as you feel comfortable. But know that the more you make an effort to meditate, the more you will ultimately get out of it. Rebecca Pacheco – author of Still Life: The Myths And Magic Of Mindful Living and a meditation and yoga instructor – acknowledges that meditation will, at times, feel difficult, even for the most experienced meditators. ‘You may find you’re bored, anxious or fidgety, and that’s okay,’ says Pacheco, a two-time Boston Marathon finisher. It doesn’t mean you’re ‘bad’ at meditation.

BODY+MIND

‘MINDFULNESS TRAINING GIVES US A WAY OF ACCEPTING THE PAIN AND HELPING US TO THINK, “RIGHT NOW THIS IS HOW MY BODY IS FEELING...”’

4 MEDITATION TIPS FOR RUNNERS You can always practise mindfulness on the run, but to really sharpen your mental skills, a formal meditation practice (in which you’re not moving your body) can go a long way. Here’s how you can tune into your mind…

EASE IN

humans naturally react to feeling uncomfortable and try to minimise it. He related it to the discomfort in a race. ‘It’s called an ironic mental process,’ Dr Kaufman says. ‘If you’re saying, “I’m in so much pain right now. I shouldn’t feel this pain, I don’t want to feel this pain”, what it does is actually brings more of your focus to the pain and can actually make it worse. Mindfulness training gives us a way of accepting [the pain and helping us think], “Right now, this is how my body is feeling, but I can still feel this, and I can still proceed.”’

Why you should learn to tap into your headspace Researchers have studied the benefits of meditation and found wide-ranging advantages – from helping to reduce blood pressure to managing insomnia and quitting smoking. For runners, it has a few benefits in particular: It helps you to find your flow. Meditation can help you get ‘in the zone’ – when you’re so absorbed in your run that it feels effortless; an experience that has been associated with peak performance. A study published in the Journal Of Clinical Sports Psychology in 2009 following long-distance runners showed improvements in mindfulness and awareness, as well as decreases in sport-related worries and perfectionism – factors that may aid runners in reaching that flow state. ‘If you’re thinking about your time and if you’re thinking about the end result of the race, it’s really hard to get into the rhythm,’ says Dr Kaufman, whose programme was used in the study. On the other hand, letting go of the outcome and focusing on what’s happening right now, in the moment, can help you hit your flow. 01/

02/ It messes with pain perception

and boosts recovery. Meditation can improve your idea of fatigue, which may prevent you from giving up or slowing down on the run. A 2021 study in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary And Alternative Medicine found that following the completion of a mindfulness-based training programme, female college students reported decreases in their perception of exercise intensity and other negative feelings, such as fatigue, following an 800-metre run. A study in the Journal Of Athletic Training from 2021 also found that mindfulness training – in conjunction with traditional physical therapies – reduced pain while running, improved coping strategies and decreased pain catastrophising in patients with knee pain. Another study in the British Journal Of Sports Medicine showed that runners who practised meditation as part of their relaxation training significantly decreased their blood lactate concentration after exercise, an indirect marker of fatigue in muscles. 03/ It can support your speed. A study in the Journal Of Clinical Sports Psychology from 2011 showed improvements in runners’ mile times one year after they completed a mindfulness training programme. However, Dr Kaufman cautions, ‘It would be way overstating the science of meditation to say if you meditate, you’re going to be faster. But by meditating, it can change the way you pay attention in competitive moments,’ he says. The best part: there aren’t really side effects to trying meditation. So you may as well add it to your training plan and give it a go to see if it gives you the edge you’re looking to achieve.

If you were starting to run for the first time, you wouldn’t go out for a 10-mile tempo run. And the same goes for meditation. ‘Start with three minutes,’ says Pacheco, ‘then try to string together days, then weeks. A little can go a long way.’

JUST BEGIN Set yourself up for success by designating a time to meditate when you’re most likely to actually do it, such as after a run. Just as it may take a mile or two to settle into a run, it may take time to get settled into a meditation practice.

USE SUPPORT Apps such as Headspace, Calm or Apple Fitness+ have many guided meditations if you feel you don’t know where to start. Dr Kaufman’s podcast, Mindful Sport Performance, begins each episode with a mindfulness exercise.

DO WHAT WORKS Meditation doesn’t have to look a certain way. ‘All it takes to be a good meditator is to meditate,’ Pacheco says. She suggests using existing moments in the day to start, such as while sitting in your car if you’re early for a meeting. Or when you’re about to scroll on your phone, try two minutes of breath work.

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The heat of running fashion

Oakley Sutro Lite Sweep Shades £149, oakley.com/en-gb

A LIGHT, STRONG, DURABLE FRAME WITH MOULDED ‘EARSOCKS’ AT THE TEMPLES and

no-slip grip nosepads for a secure, comfortable fit. The large, curved lens offers excellent field-of-view, with Prizm tech to enhance colour and contrast. If you’re planning a lot of miles in the sun, these make a very worthwhile investment.

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Gear SUMMER KIT

Soar Hot Weather Zip Top £75, soarrunning.com (Men’s)

Buff CoolNet UV Neckwear Andra Maroon £16.96, buff.com/gb

Under Armour Iso-Chill 200 Laser Tank £35, underarmour.co.uk (Women’s)

THE ISO-CHILL FABRIC HELPS DISPERSE BODY heat, so it feels cool against your skin, while laser perforations on the back panel bump up the breathability. As you’d expect, the material wicks away sweat and dries fast, and there’s anti-odour tech woven in to prevent the growth of pong-producing microbes.

A SUMMER-SPECIFIC VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL MULTIFUNCTIONAL NECK/ HEADWEAR, this comes in

ENGINEERED SPECIFICALLY TO PERFORM IN HOT CONDITIONS, the ultra-light, quick-

drying, super-breathable mesh fabric keeps you cool and dry. There’s UPF30 woven in to protect you from the sun, with the sleeves cut a little longer to increase coverage. The quarter zip can be adjusted to what’s known in technical sportswear parlance as ‘down’ to provide added ventilation.

a lightweight, 95% recycled microfibre fabric that wicks sweat from your skin and delivers UPF50+ protection from the sun. Use it to cover your neck and head as needed, wrap around your wrist when not and dunk in cold water when you can.

Stance Tendency Crew Socks £16.99, stance.eu.com (Men’s and Women’s)

WHEN THINGS GET HOT AND SWEATY, GOOD SOCKS

are even more important for keeping you comfortable and blister-free. Stance certainly delivers the substance – a performance mesh keeps you cool with maximised airflow and breathability, they’re sweat-wicking, anti-microbial and damn near indestructible (hence Stance’s lifetime guarantee) – and the style is pure summer.

Tracksmith Twilight Shorts £56, tracksmith.com/gb (Women’s)

WITH A 3.5-INCH INSEAM, THESE SHORTS BALANCE KEEPING COOL with staying

covered. They’re made of Italian-sourced Bravio Blend knit, a soft micro-mesh fabric that enhances airflow and dries quickly. Underneath, there’s a sweat-wicking, antiodour and anti-microbial liner that stays put. E

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Inov-8 Race Elite Peak 2.0 £20, inov-8.com

A LIGHTWEIGHT (32G) EXTRA LAYER OF UPF30+ PROTECTION for long miles in the

sun, moisture-wicking fabric on the brow and breathable mesh on the top help keep you dry and cool. When clouds do appear, it’s easily foldable to pack into a pocket.

Tracksmith Strata Tee £89, tracksmith.com/gb (Men’s)

ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED FOR THE US OLYMPIC MARATHON TRIALS in the sweltering

heat of Atlanta, Georgia, the Strata’s silky-soft, feather-light breathable knit structure uses Swiss-engineered ‘coldblack’ fabric that reduces heat absorption and rapidly shifts moisture to prevent ‘cling’. It also offers factor 30+ UVA and UVB protection, plus an antimicrobial finish to combat the aromas that can linger after hot, sweaty runs.

Ultimate Performance Shoe Fresh Pods £4.50, 1000mile.co.uk

IF LONG AND HOT SUMMER MILES LEAVE YOUR GO-TO SHOES particularly pungent,

counter the aromas with the long-lasting concentrated odour neutralisers in these pods. Just twist open and pop one in each shoe until next time you head out.

On Performance-T Tee £70, on-running.com (Women’s and Men’s)

Lululemon Hotty Hot High-Rise Short 2.5” Lined £48, lululemon.co.uk (Women’s)

LIGHTWEIGHT AND MINIMALIST, these

shorts have plenty of well-considered features, including a barely visible ‘stash’ pocket concealed in the built-in liner.

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‘REDUCED TO THE MAX’ IS HOW HIGHPERFORMANCE SWISS OUTFIT ON

describes this impossibly lightweight tee, which it says is designed so it ‘feels like you’re wearing nothing’. The quick-drying, tear-proof front is engineered to protect, while the back is constructed from a super-breathable mesh that allows airflow and keeps you feeling fresh in the heat.

Gear SUMMER KIT

Lululemon Fast and Free Short 6” Lined £78, lululemon.co.uk (Men’s)

NOT INTO SHORT SHORTS? The roomy and floaty

fit on these longer shorts offers great ventilation with increased coverage. Made from a sweat-wicking, quickdrying mesh fabric, the liner pouch provides breathable support on the go with flat-locked seams to reduce chafe.

Janji Runterra Bio Tee £35, uk.janji.com (Men’s and Women’s)

Salomon Active Handheld Flask £22, salomon.com

ONE FOR THOSE AS CONCERNED ABOUT THE PLANET’S rising temperatures as about

overheating on their next tempo run. Its cotton-synthetic fabric blend biodegrades quicker than pure synthetics, breaking down into organic compounds in four years. Microscopic volcanic ash particles help regulate heat, moisture and odours.

ON HOT DAYS YOU’LL NEED TO CARRY WATER and this

500ml flask is an unobtrusive way to do it. Featuring a soft, adjustable strap, the flask shrinks as you drink so water doesn’t spill or bounce around.

Compressport Pro Racing Socks V4.0 Ultralight Run Low £19, compressport.com/uk (Men’s and Women’s)

DESIGNED FOR MAXIMUM COMFORT WHEN RUNNING in the heat, these have exceptional sweat-

wicking, thermoregulation and ventilation – plus increased grip to reduce blister-inducing friction.

Lululemon Fast Paced Running Visor £25, lululemon.co.uk (Women’s)

IF YOU WANT TO KEEP THE SUN OFF YOUR FACE but keep the wind in your hair, this wide-brimmed visor is a great option. The fabric is lightweight and quickdrying and an interior mesh sweatband wicks moisture to help keep you dry.

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Ultrasun Sports Spray SPF50 £28 (for 150ml), ultrasun.co.uk

SLATHERING ON SUNSCREEN IS AN EXTRA HASSLE, but you

know you need it. This nongreasy, water-resistant and fast-absorbing spray is easy to apply, while the long-lasting protection against UVA, UVB and Infrared A means your outer layer is safe for miles.

On Race Shorts £70, on-running.com (Men’s)

PERFECT FOR RACE DAYS – AND ANY WARM WEATHER run days. Cut high

£58, asics.com/gb (Men’s)

SOME DAYS, THE WEATHER DICTATES THAT even the

most reluctant shoulder-barers reach for a vest. Light and quick-drying with Asics’ warm weather-specific ‘actibreeze’ tech, this one has body-mapped fabric to increase ventilation in the areas where you produce most heat, plus enlarged side slits to improve airflow.

Salomon Sense Aero2in1 Shorts £70, salomon.com (Men’s)

YES – TWO SHORTS IN ONE . Breathable Aerotech fabric for the outer later, and a light inner boxer to wick sweat. Soft silicone tape on inner hems holds the shorts in place – all of which works to keep chafing at bay.

Body Glide Anti Chafe Balm £15 (for 42g), sig masports.com

MORE HEAT MEANS MORE SWEAT, which means more risk

of the bane of runners’ lives: chafing. Apply this breathable, non-greasy, sweat-resistant balm to areas prone to friction to avoid a world of pain.

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Maaree Solidarity High-Impact Sports Bra £64, maaree.com

A SERIAL BEST-IN-TEST AWARD-WINNER,

this bra is designed for larger chests and features Maaree’s ‘overband’ technology to reduce upward motion. It also has the coverage to be worn with nothing on top.

WO R D S : J O E M AC K I E . P H OTO G R A P H Y: G E T T Y I M AG E S ; F OTO E M P R E S AS P H OTO S T U D I O ; M A R K S T E I N ; JA M E S CAS S I M U S

Asics Ventilate Actibreeze Singlet

enough to keep you cool but not so high as to induce blushes, these use an ultra-light outer mesh, perforated to increase airflow. The moisture-wicking inner briefs keep you dry and the anti-abrasion inseams mean you can rack up the miles chafe-free.

Gear New Balance Q Speed Jaquard Short Sleeve Tee

HOT DAY HYDRATION

From £38, newbalance.co.uk (Women’s)

THE LIGHTWEIGHT FABRIC USES NEW BALANCE’S ‘ICEX’ COOLING, FAST-DRYING TECH and the

laser-cut jacquard knit adds targeted breathability. If you’re running early or late to avoid the heat of the day, the reflective logo will increase your visibility.

BEFORE: Jimmy’s Iced Coffee

Columbia Escape Thrive Sun Protective Cap £18, columbiasportswear.co.uk

RUNNING CAPS OFFER A LOT OF BANG FOR YOUR BUCK in terms of protection and

comfort when you run in the sun. This offers shade and UPF50 protection, plus excellent moisture wicking and Columbia’s OmniFreeze Zero sweat-activated cooling tech.

£22 (12 275ml BottleCans), jimmysicedcoffee.com For a chilled take on your pre-run energy hit, reach for this combo of Rainforest Alliance Certified arabica beans, semiskimmed milk and unrefined demerara sugar with 51mg of caffeine per 100ml.

DURING: Precision Hydration PH1000 electrolyte tablets £8.99 (10 tabs), precisionhydration.com A high sodium content of 1000mg per litre (when mixed as directed) to replenish your losses and keep you hydrated on days when the sweat really starts to flow. The hypotonic formula means faster absorption and the mild citrus flavour is easy to stomach.

Vincent’s Absinthe Night Terrors £30, goodr.co.uk

AFTER:

THESE DON’T LOOK LIKE RUNNING SUNGLASSES,

Beavertown Nanobot Super Session IPA

but they perform brilliantly on the run. The frame is light and shaped for a snug, bounce-free fit and a grippy coating stops slippage when things get sweaty. Glare-reducing, polarised lenses deliver UV400 protection to block 100% of UVA and UVB rays.

Under Armour Iso-Chill Run 7/8 Tights £55, underarmour.co.uk (Women’s)

FOR MORE COVERAGE WITHOUT THE HEAT, the Iso-Chill fabric is engineered to

pull heat away from your skin, wick sweat and dry fast. Mesh panels add breathability and anti-odour tech keeps things fresh.

£1.90 (330ml can), beavertownbrewery.co.uk A post-run beer on a hot day is scientifically proven to elevate your soul. This is light, crisp and refreshing with hoppy citrus and pineapple and, at only 2.8% abv, it won’t undo all your good work.

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Gear THE CUT-UP

How all the parts of Nike’s Air Zoom Alphafly Next Nature come together

£269.95 246g (men’s 9)

PR ICE: W EIGHT:

DROP: TYPE:

4mm Road

At least 70% of the midsole is made with leftover scraps of ZoomX foam that would otherwise go to waste. The glueing process makes the foam stiffer than a single slab of ZoomX in the standard Alphafly.

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Flyprint overlays are 3D printed on and use at least 20% recycled plastic, some of which comes from the Air unit leftovers. Flyprint helps to eliminate stretching through the midfoot.

We thoroughly roadtest hundreds of shoes, but some – such as this innovative Nike model, with its sustainability tech and complex engineering – warrant opening up to see in better detail how they’re constructed.

P H OTO G R A P H Y: T R E VO R R A A B

WO R D S : J E F F D E N G AT E .

Flyknit is made with at least 45% recycled polyester. The shoe fits snugly, and it can be challenging to get your foot inside without a traditional tongue.

A rigid carbon fibre plate is exposed under the forefoot, just above the Air units, but runs the full length of the shoe. It’s made with at least 50% recycled carbon fibre.

The sockliner is made from 100% recycled ZoomX foam.

The outsole is made from at least 10% Nike Grind, a repurposed rubber also used to make sports pitches and playground surfaces. Two Zoom Air units in the forefoot are made partially with recycled plastic.

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RACE

LET YOUR RUNNING LOOSE

The Tel Aviv 10K takes place concurrently with a 5K race, a half marathon and a full marathon, so pick an event that suits you.

VIVA TEL AVIV I ALMOST ENDED up running the Tel Aviv 10K in flip-flops

and an ankle-length skirt. Having been deprived of foreign race experiences for so long, I’d completely ignored my golden rule of packing my running kit in my hand luggage. Hence, when the combination lock on my suitcase malfunctioned, I had to beg my hotel’s concierge for help. After spinning the dials back and forth for a minute, in what was either a genuine miracle or a testament to his lock-picking skills, he opened it. ‘Hallelujah!’ I said, retrieving and hugging my Hokas. I’d come to Israel to fulfil two important missions. My first was to scatter some of my husband Graham’s ashes in Jerusalem, where we’d run the city’s inaugural marathon to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary in 2011. With that mission tearfully accomplished, my second was to combine winning a medal at my first post-Covid

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foreign race with getting some winter sun on Tel Aviv’s powdersand beaches, where temperatures of around 17°C were forecast. Having never run in Tel Aviv before, I was expecting waves, and I got them, but not the kind I was hoping for. I assumed the 10K route would hug the coast because a big chunk of the marathon does, but I didn’t get even so much as a sniff of the sea. Instead, I got to see HaYarkon Park, the city’s version of New York’s Central Park, a green oasis dotted with a boating lake, sporting facilities and tropical and cactus gardens. Remember the waves I mentioned? Well, they were the 10K’s four different starting times, which ensured there wasn’t a scrum at the ‘kick-off’, as the start line signage so amusingly called it. Running a race abroad is always a challenge, especially when many of the instructions are in a foreign language. After signing up for the 10K, the promised follow-up email failed to arrive, and I was only able

P H OTO G R A P H Y: K P M AC T I V E ; P R I S C I L L A S TA N L E Y

Lisa Jackson packs her flamingo hat for a (hoped for) run in the sun

TEL AVIV 10K

to discover my starting time when I collected my race number. Getting to the start proved tricky, too: taxis and public transport weren’t allowed near the start area and the Carlton, my swanky beachfront hotel, was just over an hour’s walk away. Being in the final wave, I had plenty of time to soak up the atmosphere of Israel’s biggest sport event, which attracts 40,000 participants for distances ranging from a 1.5K for kids to a marathon. Considering Tel Aviv hosted Eurovision in 2019 and labels itself the non-stop city (the mayor himself urges tourists to leave their hotel room not at 2pm, but at 2am!), I was surprised to notice that most runners were dressed not in rainbow-coloured gear but in sombre black. There was, however, a spirited Eurovision-style singalong at the start, where exuberant runners bopped up and down while belting out Israeli hits. First up on the looped route was the Yitzhak Rabin Center, a library

HOW TO GET THERE EasyJet, Wizz Air, Ryanair and El Al are just some of the airlines that fly to Israel – the flying time from the UK is about five hours. The Carlton hotel, situated close to Hilton Beach and one of the closest beachfront hotels to the race start, has a stunning rooftop pool as well as a beach cafe. Next year’s race takes place on 24 February 2023. tlvmarathon.co.il

and research facility built in honour of the late Israeli prime minister, who was assassinated by a right-wing extremist in 1995. Right outside, the heavens opened and the howling wind began to drive rain directly into my face. Thankfully, although it did continue to drizzle on and off throughout the race, this heavy downpour lasted only a few minutes. For the first 3km, we headed towards Tel Aviv Port before turning into tree-lined Dizengoff Street, where a few Tel Avivians brunching under plastic tarpaulins managed to tear themselves away from their hummus long enough to cheer us on. Other than that, we ran in silence: cheering, and the chat-running I’m world-renowned for – like funkily patterned tights – obviously are yet to catch on in Tel Aviv. Just after the 4.5km mark, we bore left on to Ben Gurion Boulevard, named after Israel’s first prime minister, who lived in a very modest house nearby. Another left turn took

RACE

us into Shlomo Ibn Gabirol Street, the city’s commercial area, from where we continued dodging puddles all the way back to the finish. If I told you my finishing time, you’d probably wonder if I walked all the way, but I’m proud to say I ran every step, even when faced with the race’s one short and sharp hill. After collecting my medal, a fruit lolly and yoghurt, I began the long trudge back to my hotel, shouting, ‘Kol hakavod!’ – ‘Good job!’ – to any struggling stragglers I encountered. Post-race, I was hoping to flop on Hilton Beach, lauded by Newsweek in 2019 as the ‘best gay beach in the world’, but the rain gods said no. Instead, once I’d showered, I opted for a celebratory freshly squeezed Jaffa orange juice at a beach bar, knowing Graham was smiling down from somewhere up on high, chuffed to bits that I’d not only made it to the finish line, but had managed to honour his memory, too. tlvmarathon.co.il

Like this? Try... three more overseas 10Ks NICE 10KM PROM’CLASSIC This flat-as-a-crêpe, out-andback race on Nice’s Promenade des Anglais boasts stunning sea views – and a ready-made ‘ice bath’ in the shape of an ocean dip at the finish.

JERUSALEM WINNER MARATHON 10K A chance to run in the footsteps of kings and prophets, this 10K features both hellish hills and some heavenly sights, among them the cobbled streets of the Armenian Quarter of the Old City.

GENERALI GENÈVE MARATHON 10K The generous two-hour cut-off for this evening race means you have plenty of time to soak up the atmosphere and take in a moonlit Lake Geneva and its iconic 140m-high Jet d’Eau fountain.

Nice, France, 8 January 2023, promclassic.com

Jerusalem, Israel, 17 March 2023, jerusalem-marathon.com

Geneva, Switzerland, 14 May 2023, generaligenevemarathon.com

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RACE ROUTE RECCE

Golden Strand

Slievemore

HALF MARATHON

9 Dugort

Valley

Event media officer Emmet Callaghan guides you through a scenic 13.1-miler on Ireland’s west coast

WO R D S : R I C K P E A R S O N . P H OTO G R A P H Y: G E T T Y I M AG E S ; A L A M Y. I L L U S T R AT I O N : H A R V E Y S Y M O N S

The 2022 race date is 2 July. Visit achillmarathon.com

Bellanasally

2 4

River

Keel

Bunacurry ACHILL ISLAND &RXUVH 3URǇOH 400 300 200 100 0 ft PLOHV

MILE 2

After you pass the lake, the dramatic Minaun Cliffs are in view as you begin a steady twomile climb along a main road. It can feel remote here as you’re flanked by boggy peatland.

MILE 4

Before you reach the junction and head to the north of the island on a flatter, quieter road, keep an eye out to sea; you might spot dolphins or basking sharks, which are visitors to this coastline.

START

Dugort East Bog

Keel Lough

Runners gather beside the race marquee in the centre of Keel, the main tourist village on Achill Island. You start alongside the sandy beach, which is popular with surfers and kite surfers catching the Atlantic waves.

Deserted Village

‘ACHILL IS THE LARGEST ISLAND OFF IRELAND,

but it’s linked to the mainland with a swing bridge, so access is not an issue,’ says Emmet. ‘The race was started in 2005 to lengthen our tourist season and always takes place on the first Saturday of July. It attracts 1,200 runners, with 700 doing the half marathon and 500 the 10K route. We do a survey after each race, and the last proper one we did (the past two were virtual ones) had runners from 15 countries, with many entrants coming from the US. We’ve previously won awards for it being the most scenic race in Ireland. With beaches, cliffs, villages and mountains, it’s a fantastic way to bring people into this beautiful part of the west of Ireland while enjoying the great atmosphere here around race day.’

MILE 7

You’re now at the tiny village of Valley, which leads you to Golden Strand, the second of three Blue Flag clean beaches you pass on the course. As you look across its grassy dunes, enjoy the views over to the mainland.

MILE 9

Here, you pass the final beach at Dugort, which is a good spectating spot, with its cafes and bars. You’re also close to a large camping and caravan site there, which is popular with runners staying over.

MILE 10

You’re now running along the base of Slievemore, which means ‘big mountain’. It towers above you at 671m and is a big draw for hikers to explore.

MILE 11

From the road, you see the Deserted Village, where about 100 homes were abandoned during the Great Famine, which began in 1845 and caused mass starvation across Ireland.

FINISH

After a sharp climb as you return to Keel, the road dips before you cross the finish line. After collecting their medals (T-shirts are now sent in advance), many sweaty runners cool off by jumping straight into the sea.

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RACE

START LIST

THE START LIST

Our selection of the best, fastest, toughest, quirkiest and most enjoyable UK races this month

Key

St Magnus Marathon Kirkwall, Orkney, 3 July

Road

Trail

Urban

Rural

Flat

Hilly

This race, named after a Viking Earl of Orkney from the times when the archipelago was ruled by Norway, is a great way to discover one of the UK’s least-explored regions. It runs along the glorious windswept coast from Kirkwall to Birsay on the north-east edge of the main island of Orkney – from there, the next stop is Iceland. There’s also a 10K option taking runners in a loop from Birsay around the Loch of Boardhouse through the villages of Kirbuster and, er, Twatt. entrycentral.com

Lark Stoke Quad Challenge

Ultra North

Mickleton, Gloucestershire, 2 July

This 55K ultra does a pretty all-encompassing tour of the north-east, and has a little bit of everything you’d want from a race. There’s a number of properly isolated trails, some lovely scenery in the Derwent, a few challenging climbs, sections along road and tarmac and even visits to Newcastle and Gateshead with a turn-around on the iconic Gateshead Millennium Bridge. If that all sounds a bit much, go for the shorter 25K route, which cuts out the sections along the Tyne and leaves you with just countryside to enjoy. ultranorth.co.uk

An original concept here: this challenge takes one big hill and four routes to the top and lets runners decide how many of those four routes they want to take on. Conquer all four up-and-downs and you’ll cover around 24km with around 670m of ascent, and you can be quite sure that getting out of bed the next day won’t be fun. tempoevents.co.uk

Maverick Adidas Terrex Original Cotswolds

St Aidan’s 10K

Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, 2 July

This event is a quick 10K, taking place mostly on trails in St Aidan’s Country Park to the south east of Leeds. This area is renowned for its excellent birdspotting potential, from reed-lurking bitterns and sing-song skylarks to short-eared owls and hunting harriers. At this point, we should probably warn you to keep your eyes on the trail rather than gawping upwards at our avian friends. evensplits.events

A quality selection of events here, in a reliably lovely part of the country – so lovely, in fact, that it’s Britain’s biggest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There’s a 22K, a 15K and a 7K, each with a challenging but manageable amount of elevation. They all follow hard-packed trails so no technical trail-running expertise is required, making this an event to target for road runners who are a little trail-curious. As a bonus, this area is full of interesting attractions, from Neolithic tombs to Roman villas. maverick-race.com

ALL RACES GOING AHEAD AT TIME OF GOING TO PRESS

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Swillington, Yorkshire, 8 July

The Westbury Wipeout Bristol, Gloucestershire, 4 July This event for kids aged between eight and 15 is not timed, so it’s all about fun, adventure and getting covered in as much mud as humanly possible. Your mucky progeny will rampage around the grounds of Blaise Castle Estate, taking on various obstacles such as scrambling up slopes, wading through water and picking a route through rocks and steps. Even though we’re over twice the age limit, we’re well and truly envious of those who get to participate in this event. westburyharriers.co.uk

Blaydon, Tyne & Wear, 16 July

Leeds 10K Leeds, Yorkshire, 3 July This is, by all accounts, one of the UK’s best urban 10K races. The course starts and finishes in the city centre and loops out into the northern suburbs – not the most exciting or scenic course we’ve ever seen, but all that takes a back seat to the atmosphere, the support and the enthusiastic crowds. Is there any better fuel for tiring legs than hundreds of strangers cheering you on? No, there isn’t. Not even bananas are better than that. The route is flat, so harness the raw power of those cheers to blast yourself to a well-earned PB. runforall.com

Brooksie’s Bash Trail Race Foremark, Derbyshire, 17 July A couple of laid-back events here that are suitable for all running abilities, starting and finishing in the grounds of the rather fancy Repton Prep school in Foremarke Hall. Both the 10-mile and the 5K races take place on gravel pathways, with the odd

section on roads here and there. This is a plastic-free event (we’re so happy to see more and more of these popping up on the running calendar), so you’ll need to bring your own folding cup if you want to avail yourself of the hydration stations along the way. peakrunning.co.uk

Mulberry Half Marathon Conwy, Conwy, 17 July

RW POLL There are no more travel restrictions, so will you be travelling abroad for a race?

25% Yes

68% 7% No

Wye Valley Tunnel Run

WO R D S : S T E P H E N G L E N N O N . P H OTO G R A P H Y: R E L I S H R U N N I N G ; J I M M Y H Y L A N D ; JA K E BAG G A L E Y

Sedbury, Gloucestershire, 17 July There’s a 6K, 10K and half marathon on offer here, but note that the 6K distance doesn’t actually include this race’s main attraction: the rather murky but nonetheless thrilling Tidenham Tunnel. This 1km tunnel under the limestone hills is actually home to a bat colony, which means the lighting has to remain very low. The first few seconds after entering will be quite a shock, but your eyes will adjust quickly to help you identify the gentle curves of the path before you emerge back out into what will definitely feel like blazing sunshine – even if it’s overcast and rainy. relishrunningraces.com

The Highlander, Last One Standing Blair Atholl, Perthshire, 23 July Your training for this endurance event simply must include watching the 1986 film Highlander, in which French-American Christopher Lambert plays an immortal Scottish warrior and, confusingly, real-life Scotsman Sean Connery plays an Egyptian immortal called Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez. The concept for this race involves a lot less beheading than the film, but in principle remains the same: there can be only one. Runners have one hour to run the 6.7km loop, and must continue doing so until either they fall over, or everyone else has fallen over. entrycentral.com

Undecided

Based on a Twitter poll with 263 votes

RW ONLINE RACE LISTINGS Thirsty for more? Go to runnersworld. com/uk and click ‘Events’ for the UK’s most comprehensive race database, where you can search over 4,500 races by location, terrain, distance and more.

If the sand at the start of this race doesn’t squash your PB dreams, the rocky uphills later on probably will. Tough terrain aside, this event has a lot going for it: north Wales is gorgeous and you’ll get a fabulous view of Conwy from Mynydd y Dref, plus a sweet downhill back into town. Don’t forget: you’ll have to deal with that sand again to get to the finish. runwales.com

Race to the Stones Lewknor, Oxfordshire, 9-10 July

Gullion Way Ultra All 64km of this event will be entirely without signs, waymarkings and feed stations. Apart from water refill stations, you’ll be self-sufficient and rely on waterproof instructions provided by the organisers to find your way from Newry, around the countryside of south County Armagh and County Down and back to Newry via peaks including Slieve Gullion. The challenge is epic, but so too is the adventure – and the scenery. werunwildni.com

Ultrarunning is growing in popularity, but it remains something of a niche activity. This event, however, is probably the UK’s closest ultra event to the mainstream. There are a couple of excellent reasons for its appeal: the 100K route passes through some of Britain’s very best countryside and takes in some unique sights, including Uffington White Horse and Avebury Stone Circle, and the event structure allows for a gentler introduction to ultrarunning with two 50K options if the 100K feels too much. thresholdtrailseries.com

Montane Lakeland 100

Great Glen Ultra

Coniston, Cumbria, 29-31 July

Corpach, Argyllshire, 2 July

One look at the elevation profile for this event was enough to send us whimpering into a corner, but there are many runners out there made of stern enough stuff to take on this incredible challenge. It’s a 105-mile loop of the Lake District with (gulp) around 6,300m of ascent in total. Even the ‘easy’ version is terrifying: 50 miles with around 3,100m of climbing. Starting and ending in pretty Coniston, your odyssey will finish mercifully close to a pub and a fish and chip shop. lakeland100.com

With a 1am start time, it’s hard to know whether this event favours the early birds or the night owls. And having wings would certainly help: this is an arduous 116km race along the Great Glen Way from just outside Fort William to Inverness, with all the hard climbing (around 2,591m) coming in the second half of the event. There are six checkpoints along the way, each with a strict cut-off, meaning that every year at least a few competitors don’t make it all the way to the finish. runyarocket.com

Newry, County Down, 3 July

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STILL GOING STRONG: BRAMPTON TO CARLISLE 10 This race began before the Queen was on the throne – and has no plans to stop any time soon

H O W D I D I T S TA R T ? BACK IN THE 1950S , long before

mass participation races had arrived, road races were where the era’s grittiest endurance runners pitted themselves against each other. All sorts of distances were tackled, with everything from the Victory 5 (in Portsmouth) to the 54-mile London to Brighton race among the most popular. Into this vibrant scene in 1951 arrived this Cumbrian newbie, which was laid on then – as it has been ever since – by Border Harriers AC. The club was only formed three years earlier, so it’s believed that this event could have been a way of getting the Harriers noticed. It was clearly a good idea, as the race will celebrate its 70th outing this year.

W H AT I S I T L I K E ? STAGED IN THE third weekend

of November, the race originally followed the main road between the market town of Brampton and historic Carlisle. But in the 1980s, as traffic volume increased, the course was altered to loop through tiny villages such as Newby East, which it still passes through today on a fast, scenic course. It was also moved from a Saturday afternoon to mid-morning Sunday, again due to traffic. But it still starts outside a Brampton school and ends after crossing the River Eden into the heart of Carlisle. The race attracts runners from across the north, and with Hadrian’s Wall close by, from Scotland, too.

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WHO RUNS IT? IT SOON GAINED a reputation as a worthy race to win and still draws about 700 entrants today. Its first winner was Elswick Harrier Bill Boak. Olympian, 30km world record holder and bricklayer Jim ‘Geronimo’ Alder claimed a hat-trick of victories in the 1960s, while the indefatigable Ron Hill was first home in 1974. Fellow running great Steve Cram broke the tape in 1984 (the same year he won a silver medal at the LA Olympics) and again three years later. According to a local newspaper report of his 1987 success, Cram had to hurdle early fallers at mile two to claim his time of 49:51. Scotland’s Hayley Haining notched a treble of victories in the women’s race starting in 2004. Commonwealth bronze medallist Angie Hulley holds the ladies’ course record (51:51), set in 1989, while Nick Sloane set the men’s fastest time (45:50) in 1975 on the old course.

BRAMPTON TO CARLISLE 10

3 REASONS TO RUN

THE HISTORY It’s the country’s oldest 10-mile road race and has only been halted twice – once for foot and mouth in 2001 and two years ago due to Covid. THE GOAL Try to pocket the £100 on offer for any man or woman who dips under 49 and 55 minutes respectively. But spare a thought for GB’s Alyson Dixon, who clocked 55:01 in 2018, narrowly missing out on the dosh. THE SURPRISE Gloves, a beanie hat, coasters and mugs: the organisers take pride in mixing it up each year, so what will this year’s finishers’ memento be?

W H AT T H E Y S AY THE RACE SECRETARY

1 / The first few miles of this quick race are always tough 2 / Steve Cram won the Brampton to Carlisle 10 a few months after bringing home 1500m silver at the LA Olympics 3 / Views of Carlisle Castle await runners near the finish

S P O R T S F O R A L L P I C S ; G E T T Y I M AG E S ; A L A M Y

WO R D S : A D R I A N M O N T I . P H OTO G R A P H Y: DAV I D T H E W I T S O N /

‘I ran it in the 1970s and 1980s and loved that it was a quality race that runners around here really wanted to win. The target was to make it

RACE

under the hour (which I never did). Without too much trouble, it drew big names of running, such as Cram and Hill, who ran like everyone else did back then for their clubs. We’ve been really lucky over the past few years, with crisp and dry weather producing some very fast races. It’s now such a tradition up here that it would be a tragedy if it ever ended. But it’s really going from strength to strength and there’s now more interest in it than ever.’ – Richard Claydon THE STALWART

‘There are no medals, it’s just pure, “cavalry charge” racing. The first mile is always painfully quick and the gentle climb through mile three always hurts more than anything else. You leave your brain behind in the school changing room [at the start] and race – it’s brutal. I first ran it in 1982 aged 25 and returned twice more before revisiting it in 2017. The atmosphere was still great, the race had a buzz and the challenge was the same. In 2021, I returned with a group of athletes I coach to introduce them to this classic. Still no medal – it’s just you, the clock and the athlete in front.’ – Nigel Hetherington

WHO KNEW? AS RUNNERS CROSS the River

Eden, there’s a cracking view of Carlisle Castle perched high above the riverbank. It was here where Mary, Queen of Scots was temporarily imprisoned in 1568 after she fled her native land.

WAY B A C K W H E N 1951: KING GEORGE VI opens the

Festival of Britain, staged to give the country a post-war boost. Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister for the second time. Dennis the Menace first appears in The Beano.

The 2022 Brampton to Carlisle 10 is on Sunday 20 November. Visit borderharriers.co.uk

JULY 2022 RUNNERSWORLD.COM/UK 095

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I’M BASICALLY HALF-MAN, HALF-TURMERIC ‘Running is as good for your head as it is for your body,’ says James Pardey (54), a devoted runner, cyclist, father of two and a coder specialising in medical applications. ‘For me, running has always been about headspace. All the stresses of day-to-day life that just pile up... You go for a run and it’s just like a release valve, a pressure release. It’s my joyful thing. But it hasn’t been getting easier as I get older,’ he says. ‘During lockdown, I started thinking, crumbs, maybe my running days are over.’ James saw an ad for Turmeric+. ‘I’d heard about turmeric, but the ad talked about being 30 times more absorbable than standard turmeric powder. My background is science-based and I thought, okay, I get it. That sounds really good.’ James started on a free trial one-month supply and took it every day. At ﬁrst, he didn’t notice any change. ‘It was only when I came off it that I really noticed. Within a week or two, I was, like, whoa! I hadn’t realised that it was making a difference.’* James signed back up for the subscription and has taken it every single day ever since. ‘I’m half-man, half-turmeric,’ he laughs. ‘I just feel like everything’s in its right place. I feel fantastic and the running’s going really well. Turmeric+ was developed by FutureYou Cambridge, known for its leading science-backed health supplements. While developing Turmeric+, they set out to overcome the problem with turmeric: its key active ingredient, curcumin, is very difficult for our bodies to absorb. Some turmeric products offer very high levels of curcumin, but unless it’s made ‘bioavailable’, they make little difference. So the scientists at FutureYou Cambridge use a patented Curcuma Phospholipid Complex formulation 30 times more absorbable than standard turmeric powder – an effective and innovative alternative to black pepper- based supplements. ‘I’ve been genuinely amazed by the effect of Turmeric+, perhaps most importantly in terms of day-to-day well-being. It’s transformative. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll be taking it for the rest of my life.’*

CLAIM YOUR FREE TURMERIC+ SUBSCRIPTION TRIAL TODAY FutureYou Cambridge are renowned for developing the highest quality health supplements backed by leading scientific research. The Cambridge-based company, who actively work with highly-regarded scientific and nutritional experts, is offering you the opportunity to try its bestselling joint supplement, Turmeric+, for free, for 28 days.* Turmeric+ contains the most scientifically documented bioavailable curcumin formulation in existence, having been the focus of 45 human studies involving over 2,000 subjects. It has also been officially recognised and certified by Informed-Sport. The patented curcuma phospholipid complex formulation features a unique phytosome delivery system to significantly increase curcumin bioavailability; an advanced natural alternative to black pepper. Pharmacokinetics studies show it enhances curcumin absorption by 30 times. The vegan-friendly formula contains the full bouquet of curcuminoids including high levels of demethoxycurcumin (DMC), the most powerful curcuminoid. It has also been combined with vitamins C and D which contribute to normal function of cartilage and normal muscle function.* ‘We want to support more people to become or stay active. We think Turmeric+ can play an important role in that journey. ‘We offer people their first pack for free so they can experience it for themselves. Most will know if it’s working for them within four to eight weeks – if they like it, they will stick with it.’ says Adam Cleevely, FutureYou Cambridge’s CEO.

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR FREE PACK To claim your free 28 day Turmeric+ subscription trial pack worth £16.80, visit FutureYouOffers.co.uk or freephone 0800 808 5740 quoting code TF758. Your ﬁrst box is free (just pay £1.50 postage) and you will be enrolled into a ﬂexible subscription costing £16.80 every 28 days, which you can cancel at any time, without obligation.

T&Cs *Turmeric+ contains vitamin C which contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of cartilage and bones. Vitamin D contributes to the maintenance of normal muscle function. Introductory offer valid for new UK customers only. Offer expires 31st August 2022. Cancel any time, without obligation. See FutureYouHealth.com/TF758 for full terms and conditions.

I'M A RUNNER

GRANT NICHOLAS THE FRONTMAN OF THE ROCK BAND FEEDER, 54, ON SURVIVING THE 1990S AND SONGWRITING ON THE RUN I’M FROM SOUTH WALES, SO OF COURSE I PLAYED RUGBY. I remember finding

running pretty hard work when I was at school. For quite a few years I swam every day – I discovered that laps of the pool are good for switching off the mind. I didn’t start running properly till around 2014, when I was finishing my first solo album, Yorktown Heights. Like swimming, I found it was good for my head. I tend to overanalyse things a lot of the time. It keeps me calm.

PEOPLE THINK I’M STRANGE FOR GOING RUNNING ON SHOW DAYS.

RUNNING IS A CREATIVE TIME FOR ME. My head’s in a different

place from when I’m at home. I get lyric ideas, or if I’m working on a song I’ll have the demo on repeat while I’m out. It’s good for learning the lyrics of new songs, too. Feeder have been around for a long time – the new album is our 11th – so we have a lot of songs, and I don’t want to be one of those singers who needs an autocue! I’D RATHER RUN ON A TREADMILL THAN GET LOST. When you’re on

I’M NOT OUT TO TRY TO PROVE ANYTHING. I do go

‘I do go out most days, maybe for 10km or so, but I’ll just do what I feel like.’

out most days, maybe for 10km or so, but I’ll just do what I feel like. I’m no spring chicken. Sometimes I get achy knees, or my heels hurt. If I’m not feeling it, I don’t have to do it.

in the 1990s, and thankfully there were no mobile phones or social media to record it. We still have fun times – we’re still basically big kids – but you do need to balance it a bit more. When we started out we were doing half-hour sets. Now it can be two hours, so you need to be in good shape.

I can have a pretty heavy night, go out for a run the next day and find it easy. But on the other hand, I can also get loads of sleep, have a really restful week, go running and it feels like really hard work.

tour in a new place and don’t know where you’re going, it’s hard to relax, which is what I want from running, so I’ll get on a machine. At home in north London I’ll head to Finsbury Park. I wouldn’t necessarily want to SOME OF THE NEW go round there at night, but when the FEEDER ALBUM WAS WRITTEN sun’s out, it’s actually a nice place. WHILE I WAS OUT RUNNING.

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foot during lockdown. It’s not a very rock ’n’ roll story – I was going down my garden steps with my reading glasses on, looking at something on my phone and not concentrating. I didn’t want to sit around, so after about a week I was going down to Finsbury Park again in my air boot and on crutches. WE’RE ALL MORE HEALTHCONSCIOUS NOW. A lot went on

I FIND RUNNING SUCH AN UNPREDICTABLE SPORT.

I didn’t like taking my phone out with me when I went running before. But during these mad pandemic years I started doing things a bit differently and writing more observational stuff. I’d stop and type lyrics or ideas for titles on my phone’s notes app.

I GET LOW WHEN I CAN’T RUN. I broke my

IF I EVER DO A RACE, I’M SURPRISINGLY COMPETITIVE.

Feeder’s new album Torpedo is out now

I haven’t done much, only the Crouch End Fun Run a few times – but even that has some good runners. When I see the guys in the club vests, I want to hunt them down. Look out, the old rocker’s gonna catch you up!

WO R D S : DAV I D S M Y T H . I L L U S T R AT I O N : PA D DY M I L L S AT S Y N E R GY A R T. P H OTO G R A P H Y: P H I L I P H AY N E S ; G E T T Y I M AG E S ; S H U T T E R S TO C K

They say: ‘Why are you going for a run if you’ve got a gig tonight?’ But I’ll only run for about half an hour, and I think it actually helps my lungs and is good for my singing. I do drink alcohol, and sitting on planes and tour buses all the time is not the most healthy lifestyle. Running balances it out a bit.

Runner's - Issue August 2022

Articles inside

I’m A Runner Singer and Feeder frontman Grant Nicholas

Still Going Strong The Brampton

The Start List The best UK races to enter in July

Summer Gear Guide

Mindful Running How practising

Behind The Seams Nike’s Air

Battle Of The Breakfasts Is toast

Master The Move Introducing

Find Your Power Use this key

Rhythm And Grit How to feel

Ask Jo Our resident Olympian Jo Pavey, on foam rolling

Get Fit Fast 4 key workouts to unlock your potential

‘Running Brings Freedom’

30 Easy Ways To Eat Better

Run Your Best Half Marathon

My Favourite Run

Tonky Talk Paul makes the most of injury-free running

Running Conversation

The Ukrainians Still Running

Rave Run Wheal Coates north coast of Cornwall

Your Fast Track To Good Mental Health Boost your

The Long Way Down Under

The No-Hills Hills Session

Nutrition Is your running fuel eroding your teeth?

By The Numbers Amputee

This Simple Move Speeds

Murphy’s Lore Sam faces