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Sunday morning I saw a run club running by and I was appalled. They all ran around in the same white t-shirt with a sponsor logo on it. The person at the front was holding a flag with the same logo, a cosmetics company.
Seriously, this is what run clubs have turned into? Just some weird advertising campaign to reach a specific target audience? I donât mind companies supporting and sponsoring run clubs, but I this takes it too far and I hope it will backfire. Running is such an individualistic sport, why would anyone try to make it all corporate?
Midlife is the perfect time to start trail running â hereâs how to get into it
Trail running takes place on dirt trails as opposed to paved roads or measured flat tracks. Races longer than marathon distance (26.2 miles) are called ultramarathons, or âultrasâ for short. While some ultras are held on tracks or paved surfaces, most follow trail routes. Hence, âultrarunningâ typically refers to extra-long-distance trail running.
Trail running, especially at ultra distances, differs significantly in practice and culture from traditional road-and-track running. Trail races tend to be smaller and more intimate than metropolitan road races.
I actually think any time is a good time to start trail running and if you think about it, it is really not that strange an idea to run outside in nature.
Running at Night
If youâve ever struggled with finding the confidence and knowledge to embrace the nocturnal world, guided by nothing but the glow of your headlamp (and, hopefully, a well-planned GPS route), keep reading. A disproportionate number of women fears running on trails, let alone running on trails at night. The main threat to female runners in any environment is harassment from men, and that is a very valid fear. Although this threat is exponentially higher in a more populated area, it exists on roads and trails alike.
While various threats exist on the trail (including our fellow humans), most Colorado runners keep a nervous eye out for mountain lions. We share the woods with black bears too, though they tend to be more skittish than lions; in my experience, bears make plenty of noise crashing through the brush just to stay clear of us. Of course, a mama bear with cubs is always a concern, but just because you havenât seen a cougar doesnât mean it hasnât seen you. To put these fears into perspective, letâs look at the stats.
I am not a big fun of running in the dark, but then again where I run, there are no mountain lions, which really puts it into a different perspective.
Sweat, tears and camaraderie as 20,000 runners take on worldâs largest ultramarathon
That first year, 34 runners, all white men, lined up for the race, conceived by the first world war veteran Vic Clapham as a way of honouring his fallen comrades. Sixteen of them finished. More than a century later, on 14 June, more than 20,000 people stood outside Durban city hall, hoping to make it to Pietermaritzburg before the 12-hour cutoff.
What started as an all-white, all-male test of physical endurance has become part of the fabric of South African life, something so ordinary that you would be hard-pressed to find someone here who does not know a Comrades finisher.
Running clubs bus in from all over the country. Security guards and shop workers line up alongside bankers and celebrities. And, for one day, every June, South Africaâs searing racial inequality seems to melt away.
What an event. Every year I read about it and every year I am amazed how big this race is and what the runners endure to finish it.
What I learnt from running 100 miles
The mind is a very odd thing. Generally speaking I have a lot of mental resilience and have never wanted to give up in a race. My mind is usually far stronger than my body. So it was a very weird feeling when self-doubt arrived very early on.
The first 10 miles to be precise. I started the race feeling really tired as Iâd been up since 4 am and hadnât slept well the week before. Plus I had only just got over jetlag from my recent Easter Island trip.
I love these write-ups about amazing achievements as a runner.
Running 100 miles is truly a big deal and I am sure it changes a lot in a personâs life.
O is for Offline
The easy solution to being constantly connected to an ecosystem of running apparel pyramid schemes is to do more things that are offline. You have a very distinct number of hours in your day. If you use them for something purposeful that makes you feel good, you simply wonât have time to be on your phone or computer.
Itâs like if you eat a lot of vegetables and whole foods, you donât have space in your belly to overeat highly-processed foods. Start with a positive act and you will organically live better. Leave a little space for a chicken nugget, of course.
Yes. Donât buy so much apparel you donât need, youâre just going to sweat in it anyhow and I remember when cotton t-shirts where all we had for sports and it didnât kill us⌠also, buy This is Running - it is such a great book!
If you missed last weekâs edition, you can read it here:
Now, go running!
â Nico
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