The Long Run Issue 4

issue 04

the long run.

!

meet jono

s u o i r e s g gettint running abou

7 Better o d o T s g n i Th

on h t a r a m d l r o w e h why t challenge is crap london marathon field choosing the rigth shoe the phoenix effect training tips and more!

Balls Deep

dave byrne six foot track marathon race report

warning

The following pages contain: - Offensive language - Highly opinionated articles - Possible nudity - Poor spelling - Bad grammar - Stolen photos

contents 6 All the gear, no idea 7 front of the pack; brendan davies 8 Stuff & things 10 london marathon fields 13 session: tempo ramp 14 dave Byrne’s 6ft race report 22 the phoenix effect 28 jono o’loughlin - getting real about running 32 choosing the right shoe 34 7 better things to do 39 breaking new ground

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All the Gear. No Idea!

Regardless of needing half the crap we buy, every runner loves new stuff. Below are some non-essential essentials worth looking at, or avoiding.

Adidas Arriba mirror

Wanna look like a dick? Well get your hands on a pair of these little beauties. It seems as though Adidas were actively seeking to get the wanker market when they designed these. The garish colour and oversized lense say “Look at me, I’m a douche!”

Functionally they may do the job, but while we all like to think we don’t judge books by their covers, the reality is we do.

tom tom GPS watch

When compared to Garmin or Suunto, the TomTom runner’s watch is not up to speed. The build quality is mediocre, the functionality is poor and it’s ugly. Go with a Garmin if you’re a road runner and a Suunto if you’re into trails and mountains or need more battery life.

salomon x series

Salomon clearly dominates the trail scene. At any offroad race you’ll see a heck of a lot of folks wearing the latest packs, footwear and apparell. So now they’re trying to convert some of the trail die hards into urban athletes with these.

They look fast and there’s loads of big words and numbers they use to describe how technologically advanced they are. Realistically they’re much the same as any road show. But aesthetically they’re awesome and worth buying just for that reason!

Everyone knows Brendan. He’s that allround top bloke that seems to win, or generally place, in just about every race he does....lets forget about the recent Transgrancanaria, it was the bad result that proves he’s human, or at least part human.

Davies is a man that likes to race. Just about every second weekend he’s toeing the line in either a road run or a trail race. He also likes to run from the front. He’s not the type of runner that sits back and picks up the scraps as those at the front drop. Brendan races to win and more often than not he gets the results.

When not racing he’s working with his Up Coaching squad in the Blue Mountains. It seems his ability rubs off, as many of his athletes are getting great results too!

Front of the Pack

brendan davies

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Stuff & Things Cookie Cutters & Online hoaxes With a renaissance in distance running underway and a boom in the trail scene, there has also been a huge increase in the number of coaches out there pedaling their so-called knowledge and charging punters for the privilege of a training program. The problem is, most of them know very little and have garnered their education on running from a very shallow pool of talent with whom they’ve been exposed, as well as minimal practical or theoretical experience to further their skills.

There are also ridiculous online coaches out there that take a cookie cutter approach and simply copy and paste monthly schedules, applying a blanket method to how they coach the paying customer. Our advice is to make sure you do your research and don’t believe the hype when looking for a mentor or coach. Join a group that you can train with instead of paying for an online guru that spends little or no time with you.

An occasional phone call only gets you so far. You need someone that watches you run or trains with you aometimes.

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The ugliest shoes on earth These are the women’s Hoka Challenger ATR in betroot purple/ jasmine green. Regardless of all the so-called technological advancements in their creation or how comfortable they are, there is no denying these are quite possibly the ugliest and stupidest looking kicks you’ll come across.

Yes, looks don’t mean shit when it comes to performance. So don’t go thinking we’re of the opinion these are crap shoes. Quite the contrary, we dig ‘em. We just think they’re butt ugly!

andy lee is posiibly the best bloke you'll meet on the trails. he's A tough racer, bloody nice guy and happy to share his knowledge!

Think you've got endurance? well, the world records for 24 hours of running are 255.3km for women by Mami Kudo of Japan and 303.5km by yiannis Kuros of australia...soryy, greece. Aussies like to claim him.

a run in coastal heaven!

The description on the website is the best way to sum this awesome event up: “Imagine running at the foot of some of Australia’s tallest coastal cliffs, while the low tide of the Southern Ocean laps the sand at your feet.

Ahead lies a magical 100km and 50km trail run journey along Victoria’s wild surf coast and wildflower hinterland. This is a unique run with a promise that no two steps will be the same.”

There are several 100km races around Australia but some are better than others.

This particular event is right up there with the best. Not only for the scenery but also for the atmosphere and great organisation.

In 2015 the Surf Coast Century will also be the Australian 100km Trail Running Championships.

Distances: 100km, 50km, 100km Relay Location: Angelsea, Victoria Date: 19th September 2015 www.rapidascent.com.au/SurfcoastCentury/

a hoax & pyramid scheme This is a public service announcement: If anyone ever suggests Isagenix to you, unfriend them immediately.

Better still, slap them in the face and do whatever you can to warn others about them.

Isagenix is nothing more than a way of extorting money from the easily influenced and insecure. The people that are out there selling the stuff are grubs and simply want to make money and have no care about the health and wellbeing of the users.

It’s expensive, does not achieve the outcomes it claims to and everyone I have come aross that sells the stuff has been a wanker.

rob krar

anton kupicka

V who has the better beard?

Facial hair plays an important role in ultra runnig. A serious beard gives you as much trail-cred as being able to run fast. Some say that a Ned Kelly style growth can knock over an hour off your 100km time. Others say it’s one of the best ways to get some “Mountain Man” branding while still being an urban dweller.

London marathon Epic Fields!

The London Marathon has once again brought together two of the most competitive fields ever seen. You’d think the Olympic Marathon would be the place where all the big guns come out to play. But no, it’s the major city events like London where huge appearance fees and prize money draws all the stars out to bang heads and hopefully break the world record along the way.

Men Wilson Kipsang (KEN) 2:03:23 Dennis Kimetto (KEN) 2:02:57 Emmanuel Mutai (KEN) 2:03:13 Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) 2:04:05 Geoffrey Mutai (KEN) 2:04:15 Ayele Abshero (ETH) 2:04:23 Sammy Kitwara (KEN) 2:04:28 Tsegaye Mekonnen (ETH) 2:04:32 Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:04:55 Tilahun Regassa (ETH) 2:05:27 Samuel Tsegay (ERI) 2:07:28 Serhiy Lebid (UKR) 2:08:32 Aleksey Reunkov (RUS) 2:09:54 Ghebrezgiabhier Kibrom (ERI) 2:10:00 Marcin Chabowski (POL) 2:10:07 Koen Raymaekers (NED) 2:10:35 Scott Overall (GBR) 2:10:55 Michael Shelley (AUS) 2:11:15 Javier Guerra (ESP) 2:12:21 Bekir Karayel (TUR) 2:13:21 Hermano Ferreira (POR) 2:13:28 Christian Kreienbuhl (SUI) 2:15:35 Anuradha Cooray (SRI) 2:15:51 Mert Girmalegesse (TUR) 2:17:45

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Women Edna Kiplagat (KEN) 2:19:50 Mary Keitany (KEN) 2:18:37 Aselefech Mergia (ETH) 2:19:31 Florence Kiplagat (KEN) 2:19:44 Priscah Jeptoo (KEN) 2:20:14 Tirfi Tsegaye (ETH) 2:20:81 Feyse Tadese (ETH) 2:20:27 Jemima Sumgong (KEN) 2:20:41 Tigist Tufa (ETH) 2:21:52 Tetyana Gamera (UKR) 2:22:09 Tatyana Arkhipova (RUS) 2:23:29 Ana Dulce Félix (POR) 2:25:40 Sara Moreira (POR) 2:26:00 Alessandra Aguilar (ESP) 2:27:00 Rkia El Moukim (MOR) 2:28:12 Iwona Lewandowska (POL) 2:28:32 Mary Davies (NZL) 2:28:57 Elvan Abeylegesse (TUR) 2:29:30 Diane Nukuri (BUR) 2:29:35 Sonia Samuels (GBR) 2:30:56 Alyson Dixon (GBR) 2:31:10 Emma Stepto (GBR) 2:32:40 Volha Mazuronak (BLR) 2:33:33 Rebecca Robinson (GBR) 2:37:14

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session: Tempo Ramp This is ideal for those looking at improving their anaerobic power and endurance, while also working on running fast when in a state of fatigue. It’s great for 10km+ athletes or shorter distance runners in their build phase.

Session: 3km, 2km, 1km Continuous running Total Duration: Approx 7-8.2km including recoveries The 3km effort should be run at 10km race pace, the 2km effort under 10km pace and the 1km effort at 5km race pace. Recovery speed is based on your level of fitness and race distance. The shorter your race distance the slower the recovery. Marathon runners should aim to maintain a ‘float’ recovery while 5km athletes will be at a slow jog. Finish with a recovery.

PACE GUIDE: MEN Elite: 8.2km+ Serious: 7.6km+ Club: 7km+ WOMEN Elite: 7.6km+ Serious: 7.2km+ Club: 6.9km+

TEMPO RAMP

most of us do a lot of easy runs or intervals and probably not enough of the in-between. You know, the hard slog where we bang out a solid block of running at race pace. This is the session to break the cycle and build a bigger engine!

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Balls Deep at 6FT

DavE Byrne’s 2015 six foot track marathon race report

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The Six Foot Track Marathon is about as iconic as an Australian trail race could be. It has history spanning decades and a course fabled in legend.

Yes, the route itself ain’t so inspiring, with little in the way of pretty views and a mostly wide open fire trail for a large part of the journey. But the pre-race atmosphere and amazing finish reception is hard to beat. For me, I once again entered late. In 2014 I didn’t think I was good enough to run it yet and was convinced at the last minute to give it a go. This year it was because I had planned on racing in New Zealand on the same weekend, but due to work/life commitments and a hamstring injury six weeks prior, I figured NZ was not a good idea as the event was 80km long and full of steep climbs and descents. Instead, Six Foot became the new plan.

After all, I had intended on doing a 3-hour run in Katoomba on the same weekend as the race and I figured if I was fit enough to do a training run like that, then I should have some testicular fortitude and toe the line at the Explorers Tree!

Race morning arrived and I woke at the ungodly hour of 4am for a quick breakfast before driving from my Sydney home to Katoomba to meet good mate Sean Greenhill. We joined the steady stream of folks walking to the start and once amidst the mingling crowd I could see all the regular faces. Trail races are somewhat of a reunion, as the same people are always there, smiling and excitedly getting ready for the toil ahead. This includes the fast guys like Tuckey, Mark Green, Stu Gibson, Andy Lee, and Jono. They all looked lean and mean, ready to race, as well as a swag of other people that I didn’t know who were either from the road scene or new to running, but it was clear they too were fit a raring to go.

As always I was in a mad rush and

left getting ready to the last minute. I pushed through the crowd to get to the front and then put myself in the way while I tied my laces. This way they would hopefully not start the race while some bloke was kneeling in front of the pack. The unorthodox start consisted of a warning there was ten seconds remaining, before the starter said “Go!”. With that we tore down the hill and I quickly got to the front. My race plan was simple. I wasn’t in the best shape and lacked the long runs in training to give me the strength to roll home. I decided that I’d use the occasion to test my newly developed descending skills, honed from watching a video on the subject by Mark Green and talking to a few runners skilled at the craft. The technique involved shortening my stride, moving my centre of mass forward a tad more than normal and being confident.

Essentially I bombed down Nellies Glenn, running like a madman, bouncing from stone to stone, slipping and sliding my way to the bottom. Emerging from the thick tree cover after about 1km or so, I had a small gap and was moving well. As I settled down Stu Gibson bridged and we ran together chatting about the course, as well as his awesome exploits in the North Face 100. I made him aware we were on for a very fast run to the river and that traditionally the first to the Cox’s doesn’t win. This acted like somewhat of a motivator for him and we maintained a good pace all the way to the bottom…and that’s about the point the wheels started coming off.

Here I was, balls deep in the Cox’s, thinking about the climb ahead. I felt pretty good but with Stu right

behind me I knew it was all over. He’s famed for his climbing, while I’m known for my less than impressive ability on long hills. But, with a good gap to the chasing bunch I had hopes of hanging on for a podium finish. I kept up with Stu for the first couple kilometres of climbing but by the time we reached the saddle he had 90 seconds

or more on me, and by the Pluviometer it had grown to four minutes. Now I was in survival mode. My quads were f**ked, my guts were sore and for the first time ever I couldn’t consume any fluid or fuel without wanting to spew. It was very frustrating and in retrospect may have been because I had never descended like that

before. Whatever the cause it meant for a long and hard run home.

As the kilometres ticked over through the Black Range I could see a figure behind me.

At first I thought it was Fatts.

The white top, dark pants and shiny head looked like what I remembered seeing him in at the start line. But no, it was someone I feared more,

a real hard man of running, the experienced campaigner Mark Green. Gradually he ate away at my lead and with 8km to go he was probably less than 20 seconds behind and I started to bonk. If you don’t know what that means, it’s basically getting sugar flat. I had two choices: stop at an aid station, refuel and hope I could hold it down, or keep plodding on and hope like hell he would fade in the last few kilometres. I opted for choice two. I figured I’d probably spew up anything I ate or drank and that I’d be better off holding him off than trying to chase him down and kick away at the finish.

So there we were. Me running scared and delirious, Mark looking determined and hunting me down. He’s a nugget of muscle and veins, so kinda imposing compared to my ‘slight’ figure. The gap wavered from 10 seconds to as much as 25. Each time there was a hill I’d have to

walk a bit and he’d close a few seconds. On the downs and flat I’d hold my own. It was like this all the way until the final 2km descent where once again I cut loose and ran like a lunatic. This time though, my less than sharp state of awareness contributed to my carefree attitude and subsequently a high-speed stack. But as quickly as I hit the ground I was back up and continuing my controlled fall down the final 500m. With the ringing of the bell and cheering of the crowd I knew I was going to hold on for second place. It was one of the hardest finishes I’ve ever had. A real mental battle.

Placing second in my attempt to retain the Six Foot title was a mix of disappointment and relief. I would have loved to win, after all, don’t we all!

But I was relieved to finish highly and happy to have given it my best and held it together until the finish.

Plus, losing the title to a

record-breaking run by the legend that is Stu Gibson is nothing to be ashamed of.

He’s a super-professional trail runner in that he picks his races and prepares quite specifically for them. Add to this his incredible toughness and awesome talent and you have a bloke that’s bloody hard to beat.

Will I be back in 2016? More than likely. Despite it not being at the best time of the year for me, as my major gaols are in races later on the calendar, I know I can run a lot quicker. It’s one of those events that you need to plan for well in advance. It has to be high on the agenda and training needs to be geared towards it. If you’re not operating at 100% or you come into it with any weakness, the Black Range will exploit it and turn you into a dribbling mess at the finish. Trust me, when I crossed the line this year I looked and felt like death!

Stu Gibson aint that good. I heard him breath at least twice!

“If you’re not operating at 100% or you come into it with any weakness, the Black Range will exploit it and turn you into a dribbling mess at the finish.”

La Sportiva athletes Gill Fowler & Stephen Upton on Mount Feathertop Photo: Stewart Aickin

Proudly distributed in Australia by Expedition Equipment Email: sales@expeditionequipment.com.au Phone: 02 9417 5755

The phoenix effect When all hope is lost and our heroes fail, some manage to rise from the ashes and emerge even more glorious than when they exploded in their racing disaster

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From failure to legend, all it takes is the right spin. It’s a phenomenon I’ve seen quite prevalent in the trail running world. An athlete, focused, driven and experienced sets a goal, a rather lofty one. This in itself is fantastic and an important part in creating the necessary motivation to train hard and stay driven to excel. Our ever-vigilant runner then goes about toiling away for many months in preparation to hopefully achieve the high standard they’ve benchmarked as defining failure or success. The big day arrives and off they go into the trails. But…the shit hits the fan. For whatever reason, illness, poor preparation, getting lost or just because they had a bad day, our hero doesn’t realise their objective. In fact, they don’t even come close. It’s a bloody tragedy.

At this point, in a more mature sport, it’s common to see those who failed be hung out to dry.

For example, England losing to Bangladesh in the recent cricket world cup, or when Brazil dropped their bundle in the soccer world cup. The media, both social and formal, slam them. After all, when it’s a major part of your life and you say you’re going to do something only to fail miserably, you should be prepared for a backlash. And in all honesty, it’s largely deserved.

But in the sport of ultra running there’s often a different outcome all together when our star doesn’t shine as brightly as they had hoped. All too often, from the pits of despair and disappointment, an ultra runner is lifted to the top of the pedestal and placed on a perch higher than even those who won the race they bombed in. All that’s needed is some careful wording on a facebook post that includes phrases like “Battled on despite the issues” and “Nothing was going to stop me

from finishing”. That’s food for the masses which results in lots of backslapping and our runner being born again.

Why does this happen?

To begin with, there’s the perception that just finishing an ultra is an achievement in itself. Yes, this is true of the masses, but not for the experienced campaigner who is committed wholly to the sport and their pursuit of results. They’re in it to win it, or at least be competitive.

Next and probably most importantly you have the lack of an elite sporting attitude. It’s something that permeates the ultra culture in countries like Australia where it’s relatively new and small. In Europe and the US it’s not quite so much the case. The funny thing is, those at the pointy end typically posses the passion, desire and elite mindset

typical of champions in more commercial sports, but aren’t overt in their beliefs. Instead they keep them hidden from the mid and back of the pack runners that look up to them.

The result is that the vast majority of punters then get around with an attitude that we’re all here for the “Fun” of it and there’s no ego involved.

The reality is, that guy who usually is on the podium but had a bad day today might have been smiling and saying “Oh, it doesn’t matter. I had so much fun playing in the hills anyway.” Deep down he’s pretty pissed off!

Another reason for what I’m labelling the Phoenix Effect is the sad demise of honesty and criticism. It’s a cultural thing that stems from being politically correct and not being able to accept failure. No longer is it ok to be honest and critical about

performances. We always have to find a positive in everything regardless of the truth. Yep, there may well be some form of lesson to be learnt from a bad experience, as there are reasons for the problem to have occurred in the first place. It’s all good and well and polite to tell someone “That’s alright, get back on the horse.” Or “You’re inspiring for battling through regardless of everything and getting to the end.”

Sometimes we should ask “What happened?” or better still, not say anything at all.

It can be a little patronising for our hero to be given loads of fanfare when all they want to do is crawl into a hole and hide, then train hard again to prove they’re better than that disastrous performance they’re being praised for.

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jono...not so loose anymore!

I recently spent some time with jono O’loughlin and discovered that apart from being a tad on the ‘unprofessional’ side of running, he’s also has huge potential and looks like he’s doing something to reach it.

The 2014 TNF100 was a great run and signalled you were starting to achieve a little of what your potential showed. How did you approach the race and how did it unfold?

Approach - this is always a big race for me. Since I started running ultras around 8 years ago, this was the biggest ultra in Australia in terms of participation and, I think quality of runners involved.

It’s only got bigger and more competitive since the race began in 2008. I approached this race knowing that I will have to be on my A game to race well and finish where I thought I could. This meant training like a mother for the months leading it up to it with the plan to peak for race day... the plan was to train hard in the lead up so that I could race easy on the day and enjoy the atmosphere and the amazing terrain without too much suffering (for at least the first 55kms).

I don’t really remember much of the race, to be honest, other than the fact that I was feeling pretty good (for the first 55kms ;)). From what I do remember, the race was pretty tight with the top 5 to 10 runners all in the mix at halfway. A lot of the first, say 40kms we were all bunched in together pushing each other along at a good, but not ridiculous pace. From halfway on the likes of Stu Gibson started to make his move and pushed out a fair bit on the rest of the field.

I pretty much sat in around 4th from the 65km mark on. I was sitting around 5-10 mins behind Stu Gibson, Andrew Tuckey and Brendan Davies coming into the last checkpoint. I knew that I would have to be quick over the last 20km to be any chance of catching them.

As it turned out, Stu and Andrew pushed each other the whole last 20km and moved another 10 mins in front. I made some ground on Brendan but he pipped me by about 30s in the end.

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You’re a super talent but until recently seemed to drift in and out of motivation. What has made you start to focus more?

Its probably because people like you tell me that I’m super talented :) But seriously, for me , its all about achieving my potential and looking back without regrets knowing that I did my best to realise it.

You ran a cracking time at 6ft. Did you think you had it in you and will you be back in 2016?

Thanks mate. Definitely didn’t think I had the speed in the legs to slip under 3:25. I knew going into it I had the endurance as I was running well on the weekends leading in to the race.

This is one of my favourite races (and my first “ultra”) so will definitely be back every year I can.

What are your major goals for 2015?

The North Face 100 is the big one for me. I’ve run every one of these events since it started and it’s the big one on the calendar for me. There’s something special about running in the Blue Mountains in May and this race epitomises everything I love about our sport.

What’s you’re favourite training run?

Definitely the Mt Solitary 45 km loop in the Blue Mountains. It has everything, fast fire trail ups and downs, steep brutal climbs, super technical sections and amazing scenery.

“I just try and use the time I have to inflict as much hurt into the legs as possible.”

What does a normal week of training look like?

My training program is pretty flexible as I have to fit it in around work and family (like pretty much everyone out there ;)). I just try and use the time I have to inflict as much hurt into the legs as possible. This usually includes running to and from work from Balmain (only about 5kms); a couple of sessions with the Hurtsquad guys if I can escape the office and the obligatory Woolloomoolloo stairs a couple of times a week.

The key run for me is the Saturday long run. If I can get out of Sydney, this means

heading up to the Mountains to push myself around Mt Solitary.

If there were one race in the world you would love to run well in, what would it be?

I’m not really into racing for over 10hours so the likes of Western States and UTMB aren’t really on the radar for me. I like the “shorter sharper” stuff. Having just come back from an absolute shocker in Hong Kong at the MSIG 50 where I DNFd 30kms in, I’d love to go back and give that race another crack. Its incredibly tough with the most technical terrain I’ve ever run on.

The calibre of runners they draw in for that race makes it pretty special too. I’d also love to go back and race the Kokoda Track in PNG again.

That was a truly amazing experience.

Who is your favourite Australian trail runner and why?

You.... and Andrew Tuckey ;). In my view, Andrew’s run at UTMB was the best ever performance by an Aussie ultra runner- finishing 6th in the most competitive ultra in the world. He’s also an awesome bloke.

choosing the correct shoe Shoe choice is more than what your favourite colour is! The market is awash with hundreds of different brands, with thousands of different models that all claim to be the latest and greatest thing you’ll ever wear. So it can be pretty overwhelming when setting out to buy a new pair of runners. With great advances in materials and shoe designs most well known running brands all have shoes that are of great quality, it’s just a matter of finding the right one for you.

Firstly you need to decide

what sort of running you will be doing. Trail running, track racing, road running, cross country. Are the shoes just for training or for race day?

And what distances will you use them for? This narrows it down substantially and means you are going to have the right tool for the job.

Next you need to take into account your size and weight.

An ex front-rower who has seen the light and decided to take up marathon running is going to need a heavier shoe with more support and cushioning than a 60kg

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female who is training for the City 2 Surf.

This leads us into biomechanics – the structure and function of the human body during movement.

Generally the longer you have been consistently running for, the better your biomechanics are going to be. So someone with 5+years of relatively injury free training is going to be able to use a lighter, more neutral style shoe. Whereas someone who is just taking up running for the first time or after a long break should be looking at something that will

give some stability, control & cushioning until they build adequate strength of their bones, tendons, muscles and ligaments and improve their running efficiency.

Foot type. This is a big one with regards to what shoe you should be wearing. There are 3 general classifications of foot type - Supinated foot (high arch, rigid foot), pronated foot (flat foot,

flexible) and a neutral foot type which sits in between the two and often carries less chances of injury through better biomechanics of the foot and ankle musculature.

All shoe brands make shoes for these different foot types, so it’s important to workout which one you are, a basic way of doing it is to wet your feet and then stand on a paper towel, you can then

look at the below picture to see what one looks the most similar to your footprint.

Lastly if you have a history of injuries its worthwhile going to see a physio or podiatrist to get a full biomechanical assessment to make sure you are in the right shoe and to determine if orthotics could benefit your running mechanics.

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7 Better Things to Do

Ever heard of the World Marathon Challenge? If not, here’s the rub. It’s an exclusive challenge where participants complete 7 marathons, on the 7 continents in 7 days. It’s a tough physical test and for organisers is a logistical nightmare. It’s a pretty cool gimmick, but it comes with a serious price tag. It costs a whopping 32,000 Euros.

Yep, that’s a shitload! Naturally it’s an expensive undertaking. There’s a lot of travel including a private aircraft, medical support, food, accommodation and more. So you can see where the cash goes, or at least maybe 60% of it. You can add a few thousand dollars more to the cost because you need to get to the start of the event and then home from Sydney afterwards. But in all honesty, while it sounds like a cool thing to do, we can think of plenty of other better things to do with that sort of cash. And by things, we mean running related stuff.

1

Big City Marathons: London, Paris, Berlin, New York and Tokyo Running in one of the major global marathons is a pretty cool experience. There’s the buzz of the crowd. The traffic free course through a major city, plus the expo and other fun that often surrounds the event. And with our hefty budget we could manage five or more of the world’s best marathons, with several days pre and post race in luxury accommodation to see the sites and take advantage of being in a special place. It would be pretty awesome to do these incredible events and also fly business class and stay in high-end hotels too!

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Off-road Events: Mt Blanc Marathon, The Everest Marathon, The Dodo Trail Mauritius & Antarctic Ice Marathon

So you wanna go to some amazing places and do some epic events? Well with the fat wad of cash we have, it’s possible to do some of the best. This includes a visit to Antarctica, which is the only really unique event on offer in the World Marathon Challenge. From running in the French Alps and the tropical paradise of Mauritius to visiting the high mountains of Nepal, this selection of events is pretty spectacular. The thing that makes it all the more enjoyable is having time to explore the regions where the events are held.

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Quirky Events and Great Locales: Marathon du Medoc, Moorea Marathon, Venice Marathon, Great wall of China Marathon and Jungfrau Marathon

So you want to have a bit of fun while racking up the air and running miles. These events are not only in some of the most remarkable and popular holiday destinations you’ll come across, they’re also loads of fun to take part in. Think of sipping a glass of red wine while running through grapevines, or bolting through narrow streets with gondolas floating by. You’ll also be able to sleep in luxury and spend a week at each place checking out the sites. Sure beats simply flying in, running in a crappy non-event marathon and then getting back on a plane as is the case with the World Marathon Challenge!

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The 4 Deserts Series This is a series of four events: the Sahara Race (Egypt), Gobi March (China), Atacama Crossing (Chile) and The Last Desert (Antarctica). In each race participants traverse 250km over 7 days, covering spectacular and rough terrain with only water and a tent supplied at the end of each day. You basically carry your fuel and any other gear you need and then tackle the epic challenge along with a bunch of other crazies. For most of us we’d love to do just one of these events. But hey, we’ve got a bucket load of money to spend so why not do all four of them in the one year! I don’t know about you, but I reckon this shits all over the World Marathon Challenge.

UTWT Circuit The Ultra Trail World Tour is a series of 11 epic ultra marathons in some of the most amazing places on the planet. From TNF100 in the Blue Mountains of Australia and the legendary Western States 100 miler, to UTMB and Ultra Trail Mt Fuji – with 32,000 Euros to spend on travel you can fly to pretty much all of these events and either have a run or just enjoy the spectacle and do a little training on the side. This would make for an incredible year of travel that would take you to every corner of the world and to many of the most iconic events.

Skyrunning World Series Like the UTWT, the Skyrunning World Series takes in incredible locales and even more epic events.

Across the series there are races in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Locations include the Dolomites, Zermatt, Hong Kong, Norway, Montana and Zegama in Spain. With the money at our disposal we can basically spend either 10 weeks in Europe and take part in all the craziness of this leg of the series, or split the travel across the year and checkout a few Euro races, head to North America later in the year for a couple weeks and then plan a holiday Down Under for some mountain madness at The Buffalo Stampede…actually, with 32K you’d likely be able to take a friend too!

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Running Holidays: Flagstaff USA, Chamonix France, The Swiss Alps & New Zealand

Sometimes a running holiday is better if it doesn’t involve a race. This way you can party, train, go site seeing and indulge in whatever food and beverages you like without having to worry about an impending event. If we had 32K EUR at our disposal this is what we’d do for a series of running adventures. Firstly, fly to Flagstaff and spend two weeks exploring the mountains. Next stop would be New Zealand, the South Island in particular.

Grab a hire care and spend 10 days cruising around and staying in nice lodges in the hills.

From there it’s time to hit Europe and the running meccas of Chamonix in France and the Swiss Alps.

By now we would have about 12,000 Euros left in the kitty (Keep in mind we are flying business class, dining like royalty and staying in luxury) so with that budget you can have a pretty bloody amazing time for three weeks!

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breaking new ground

Knowing your limits is one thing, but pushing them to a new level is another. Many runners will test themselves regularly and have staple training runs that they use to gauge their fitness. It might be the monthly time trial over a familiar route, or the once in a blue moon hard Sunday effort where you punish yourself.

But too often we become overly reliant on a routine. Yes, consistency is important and running on well-worn paths gives you something to compare your performance to.

But this too can lead to never really taking things to the next level. Never stretching the figurative ‘Rubber band’ to breaking point.

It’s only at the absolute extremes of suffering that you get to know exactly what you’re capable of. You come to understand what it feels like when you’re nearing the verge of collapse. What’s more, you will know that come race day, when you start to feel this way that you need to relax and settle down in order to avoid exploding.

As you get older and have more weeks of running in your legs, you’ll have increased strength. This in turn generally means you also become more efficient in your mechanics and energy consumption, more resilient to injury and faster at recovering. So why not also look to extend your maximal exertion in training and not limit yourself to the same old, same old. Do something extraordinary once in a while. Run further than you ever have before. Leave the flat roads and head for the hills. Who knows, maybe by doing something a little different you’ll not only become a better athlete, but find a newfound love for your running!

RAZORBACK RUN I 22/42/64km I VIC I 14 Mar MOUNT BULLER SKYRUN I 22/36/45km I VIC I 29 Mar WILSONS PROM 100 I 44/60/80/100km I VIC I 02 May GLOW WORM TUNNEL TRAIL MARATHON I 42 /21km/Bolt/Dash I NSW I 13-14th June HOUNSLOW CLASSIC ULTRA I 75/ 21km I NSW I 10-11th Oct SKYMARATHON & SKYRUN LAKE MOUNTAIN ALPINE MARATHON I 10/24/42km I VIC I 25 Oct ALPINE CHALLENGE I 60/100/160km I VIC I 28 -30 Nov

OFFICIAL SKYRUNNING EVENT

OFFICIAL SKYRUNNING EVENT

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