At the 2010 Exeter Marathon, I experimented with the Run-Walk-Run strategy that has been popularized by Jeff Galloway in an effort to see how well it would work for somebody that can run a little faster than most of the people that generally make use of the Run-Walk-Run method. Jeff Galloway first shared this strategy…
Yesterday, I shared some simple stretches that you can do before a run. As presented, the stretches are more like dynamic warm ups rather than actual stretching, intended more to get you ready to run than to stretch a cold muscle. But what about the advice on stretching before your warm up? This was also…
Stretching before you run used to be the thing to do. Then it went out of favor, to be replaced with post-run stretching or stretching after a warm up. Stretching a cold muscle can do more damage than you want to it, but loosening a muscle up before a run, especially if it isn’t practical…
A week from tomorrow I am running the Exeter Marathon, and in an email that Mike Tammaro (the race director) sent me this afternoon he told a story about why running a small marathon is better for him than running a larger race. I can certainly relate to his take so I got permission from…
After my article last week about How To Race Faster by Running Tangents, I got an email from my friend and fellow Trail Monster Alan Morrison about how similar running tangents are to running near the inside of your lane on a track, which I’ve copied here (with permission): Hi Blaine I’ve been thinking about…
When a race course is certified by the RRCA or USATF, it’s measured by the shortest route a person can run and remain on the course. When most people race, they run the most convenient route through the course that they can, which isn’t necessarily the shortest. Ignoring the inherent inaccuracies of handheld GPS devices,…
This letter was written by Susan Reynolds in an email to the Ultra List in early February. I wanted to share it because I think that it is important to remember that the race director is there to take care of everybody, not just you. Enjoy what’s offered, give constructive feedback afterwards, and try not…
Well, I am almost halfway through the 1 More Mile for Sunshine challenge in terms of the number of days I’ll be running (13½ out of 31 days), but I am only about 20% of the way through the total number of miles that I’ll be running (107 out of 500+ miles). For the first…
Just saw this video by fellow Dirigo runner Scott Douglas over at Running Times, where he details how and why to do a Diagonals Workout at least a few times per week: Diagonals are a relatively low key type of exercise that are focused on leg turnover. You just need to find a field, kick…
When you are running at the edge of a road (or along a grassy hill or on a beach, for that matter) you may sometimes notice that the road isn’t exactly flat. The reason for that is because most roads have a camber to them that helps water drain off of them rather than pooling…