Five Things Running: Issue #22
Running in the rain and in the sun. What a summer.
Thanks for reading Five Things Running - my name is Nico and I’m a runner. I like running in the warm summer rain, but currently I really don’t have any other options…I also happen to read a lot of stuff about running which I do to compensate for not running.
So a few days ago the organizers of my favorite run announced that on September 1 runners could signup for the 33rd edition of the Adventslauf in Ratzeburg.
Let me explain, why this run is so awesome. In Germany we celebrate the advent season and the first advent is the fourth Sunday until Christmas Eve. So on the first advent Sunday, the fine folks in Ratzeburg organize a race around the Lake Ratzeburg, which is 26 km. The first run took place in 1990, a few months after reunification. I went to high school in Ratzeburg and from my school I could overlook the lake. My school was big in rowing and the German National Rowing Academy was established in Ratzeburg. A former sports teacher of my school, Karl Adam, successfully led the German rowing eight to gold in the Olympic Games of 1960 and 1968. So, the lake is a big thing in Ratzeburg, but I never did any rowing, also no sailing.
I learned how to windsurf on that lake in the early 80s when windsurfing was a big thing on the coasts and lakes in Northern Germany (we have two oceans, the North and the Baltic Sea). And I will never forget the panic I had when the wind came from the West and pushed me further and further to the Eastern shore and I couldn’t get away from it except for taking down the sail and start paddling. The Eastern shore was Eastern Germany and we all had heard so many stories about sailors who got washed up on that shore and then spent a few days in an East German prison cell.
In 1990 my biology teacher, a triathlet, who also told me to have at least two different pairs of running shoes in rotation, which was one of the few things I do remember from his class, had the idea to organize a run around the lake. So he got approval from the East German authorities and on the first Advent Sunday of 1990 the race was started for the first time.
Running along the eastern shore of the lake is still something very special for me. Also, since it is usually just a few degrees above freezing with some rain mixed in, the finishers get rewarded with some hot soup and of course you can get a non-aloholic beer with that to replenish your electrolytes. It’s one of those meals that taste better the bigger the pot is.
Make sure to register on September 1 for the Adventslauf!
And here are the five articles you should read today!
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How Microadventures Can Give Your Running a Boost
Totally. I have planned some microadventures for this summer and I’m now trying to build up my base again after that disc prolapse during the Hamburg Marathon in spring. This really motivates me more than signing up for races.
How a running expert keeps on running
Those tips are timeless classics. I’m not sure about running in a group, though, as I really prefer running by myself and not having to make arrangements to meet somebody at a specific date.
How your genes may determine whether you can be an endurance athlete
This doesn’t mean you should not train anymore to get better in running. It just means that other people have it a bit easier. And maybe you can train as much as you can and still won’t be able to be faster than those people. But at least you tried.
How sore should you be after a run?
We have all experienced soreness and soreness. Sometimes it is just too much and doesn’t feel just like being sore, it feels like pain from an injury. How can you figure out the right balance?
Always get a snotty nose when you run? There’s a name for that
“At the end of the day, then, exercise-induced rhinitis remains a bit of a mystery – but the most important thing to remember is you’re not the only one who experiences this.” - I feel better already.
Bonus: The 2023 Barkley Marathons Documentary - this is insane, yet fascinating. But mostly insane.
That’s all for now! I hope your Sunday runs were longer than mine!
What I totally forgot to mention: my high school was founded in 1160, but I went there a few centuries later. :)
I keep thinking about taking up running, just short bursts to begin with and to find ways of controlling my breathing. I’ve a habit of not doing so properly. We live in England, climate not much different to your.