Backyard ultra three in the UltraSeries ( https://ultraseries.com.au/ ) Grand Slam was the inaugural ‘No time to die’ Ultra in Adelaide.  Actually no one is sure what is involved in the backyard ultra grand slam we just know we have to run all four backyard ultras put on by the UltraSeries team, two in Perth and two in Adelaide. Currently there are five of us attempting this, myself, Jen , Renton, Margie and Nico. We have all ran the two WA backyard ultras, Herdy’s Frontyard ultra in March and Birdy’s backyard ultra  in August. How hard could another backyard ultra be ?

There was a good turn out for the first running of this event, nearly 60 runners. As as the photo below shows it was all smiles before the start. That’s the thing with backyard ultras, they really are incredibly easy at the start. You only have to run 6.7km in an hour , you could hobble in at 8min/k average and still have a few minutes. Runners normally find themselves killing time the first few laps  as they finish with twenty or more minutes to spare. Of course this doesn’t last long, to quote Lazerus Lake ‘ Backyard Ultra’s are easy until they ain’t’. 

Conditions for the event ranged from perfect to bloody awful. The temperature was always conducive for good running but the sideways rain at times didn’t help. One lap we sitting in the gazebo when a squall came in just as the five minute warning came over the tannoy, not ideal. Luckily these squalls never lasted long but the over cast conditions cost me a very sun burnt head on Sunday afternoon, lesson learnt , wear a hat or apply suntan cream, rookie error . I miss my mullet, hell I just miss my hair full stop.

We have Team WA in the image below Margie, Jen, Nico, myself, race director Shaun Kaesler, Renton and the other race director Micelle. You’ll notice the Race Directors are in fancy dress, well I hope they are. Shaun had arranged to put us all up in our own gazebo, complete with four separate pods for sleeping, it was very ‘business class‘ as he also supplied a gas heater.  We were joined by another couple of runners who added to the ‘party atmosphere’, one of which was Becky Beumer who would play a staring role in this event.

This event started at 4pm on Friday afternoon giving us three hours of daylight before we’d need the head torch. I prefer the late start because it means you get to the night earlier so are better prepared to get to the sunset, if you can  get to the sunset you will give yourself a good chance of going for the first big milestone, 100km or 15 hours. After that its the 24 hours or 100 miles target, then 36 hours (150 miles) before the holy grail of 48 hours and 200 miles. In the back of my mind this is always the end goal.

The course for the ultra was flat and fast which gave us more time in the business class gazebo with the WA crew. As it was new to us I found the hours seem to tick over quite quickly and sunrise came around before I knew it, a pleasant surprise. Personally I find the first 15 hours in a backyard ultra the hardest, I struggle to get use to the constant stopping and starting but as I pass the 100km mark I can normally find a second wind to make the 24 hour goal. I have always got to the 24 hour mark at all six previous backyard ultras and this was a minimum for this one. I was relieved to hit this goal together with seven other runners, the final eight.

Hydration wise I was running with a 500ml collapsible bottle filled with Bix, various flavours. I love Bix as the flavours are just so good, you can enjoy the drink. Once every five or so laps I would switch to Maurten. ( https://www.maurten.com/ ). Maurten are very, very good and I highly recommend all their products. I particularly like the chewable bars and always feel a boost after eating one, they do make a difference. One caveat is the caffeine gel, this is just to much for me and I used it once in  backyard ultras before testing it in training first , rookie error I know. Gave me a headache due to the amount of caffeine, could be a personal thing so test before you use in racing scenarios.

Nutrition I always eat big meals when I would normally, i.e. 4-5 weetbix early morning drenched in brown sugar, pasta or similar for lunch and rice and meat for dinner. In-between these larger meals I would snack on something every lap.  A gel or similar every three or so laps, chocolate bar every two laps, tin of rice pudding once a day and loads of sweet tea. Always have some form of nutrition every lap. Balancing calories out to calories in takes some doing, remember you’re constantly exercising.

While I’m offering insights into backyard ultras here’s another little gem, break the lap down into three separate sections. By doing this you are able to hit targets quicker and not have to wait for the full lap. i.e. roughly every 2-3km’s have a point where you can tick a box. For this course it was two kilometres to a bridge and then a further 3km to the wetlands walking point (up a small rise).  From this point it was great flat running to the finish. Thus each lap I would look for the next section, twice on a lap and three times including the finish.  I always use this strategy in every backyard ultras, works for me.

Another tip is, as with all ultra’s, you will have up’s as well as down’s and it’s knowing when you are in a down part of your race and having the ability to mentally drag yourself out of the dark place and into the light. Working with Rob Donkersloot of Mind Focused Running  ( https://mindfocusedrunning.com/ ) has allowed me to recognise when I need to ‘mentally’ man up (can I use that term anymore?) and concentrate on changing my attitude, in a backyard ultra it is so important to do this, more so in this format because you have the ability to work on this while you rest , on your chair, each lap. If you are feeling a bit down chat to your crew or anybody who will listen, they will help with words of encouragement and sometimes that’s all it takes. Of course having a crew that knows you is a huge bonus and working with Rob, when he has crewed me, has been so good, the man knows his stuff and also makes a mean cup of sweet tea ! Going deep in a backyard ultra is so much more mental than physical. (Caveat, Nico took this to the extreme and did little or no training, there does need to be a bare minimum of training pre-event, there is an element of physical fitness, call me old fashioned) Right, back to the race report….

Friday sunset was spectacular and after the sun disappears its just you and the small beam of light ahead of you. Time to put on my Taylor Swift mix and audible , seventy seven hours of Sherlock Holmes stories read by Stephen Fry.  I find the evening is great for just disappearing into your own thoughts or catching up with books read to you using audible. ( https://www.audible.com/ ). Add in a spotify account and you have just about every bit of music you could ever desire on tap. I think this is my favourite time as you don’t feel the need to talk to fellow runners as everybody just disappears into the darkness and their own world, ‘Kev time‘ as I like to call it.

The magnificent eight joining the 24 hour club.  It was a relief to get to 24 hours because anything else was now a bonus and I knew I could get to the second night.  Runners started to drop out quickly after 24 hours and by lap 28 we were down to the final four. We had lost Nico at 100km / 15 hours. A bad knee got the better of him , that and no training ? Renton equaled his PB of 20 laps but was timed out on lap 21, so close to his 24 hour dream which I am sure he will get to at the Hysterical Carnage in November. Margie pulled the pin after lap 24, treating this as a training run with the World Satellite Championships in a few weeks, bigger fish to fry for this young lady. She has easily finished first on all 24 laps and looked relaxed, we’re expecting big things from Margie in a few weeks time.  Jen got to lap 29 and then rang the bell at the start of lap 30. She had plenty left in the tank but was lapping a tad slower than Becky and I and thus found herself running alone. In the end she just wasn’t enjoying the solitude. Unfortunately in a backyard ultra you each run the lap your way and if others are on the same strategy,  and running similar times,  that’s great and you have some company. It’s hard to adjust slower or quicker for company because eventually this will come and bite you. I knew Jen was suffering but was worried if I started to slow I’d lose the time I craved in-between laps and fatigue would start to set in, a minute here or there towards the pointy end of a backyard ultra is so important, trust me ! This is why events such as Herdy’s in WA are so popular because the field is nearly five times larger and you have company well past thirty laps, it makes for big totals.  This event will grow and solitude will be a thing of the past even deep into the event.

Becky and I are pictured below starting lap 31 and setting a new Women’s South Australian record. Becky had been struggling with knee and hamstring issues for quite a few laps but was always smiling and never complained, just kept ticking off the laps, and that’s the way to get a big total at these events. We managed to get to midnight together and this was always Becky’s primary goal so she decided to pull the pin and grab the assist, handing me the opportunity to run one more lap for the win.

It was surreal running the last lap alone albeit with an accompanying bike, knowing each step would be your last on that course , at that point. I was quite sad truth be told as I had a bit left in the tank and would have probably made sunrise and then who knows ? Easy to say that sitting in my lounge typing this a week later but I really do believe there is more to give. Saying that I was more than happy to stop, take the win and scuttle off to one of the pods with a warm swag and a stretcher bed to fall asleep, and man I needed sleep, 33 hours of running does that to you.

To the winner the spoils. As well as a trophy for first male I was also presented with an overall winner trophy and a boat. Not a bad haul I reckon albeit I have to give the boat back next year , actually I have to arrange to get the boat to WA as it’s currently in the Ultra Series SA storage unit. I’m under no illusion this win was down to nothing more than  timing, with the Australian Satellite Championships in a months time all the top backyard ultra runners were preparing for this event.  I had decided against running the Satellite championships as my racing calendar has been,  and continues to be, hectic and another trip over East was just one event too far.  This event has been booked in from the start and to take a win was beyond my wildest dreams, I am truly blessed so far this year. At my vintage I treat each win as my last and an unexpected bonus for all the hard yards I’ve put in over the last twenty or so years of racing. That being said this one was very special.

All that was left to do on Sunday morning was packup the event village and go and watch the annual South Australian Aussie Rules final, what a better way to recover ? I think Shaun called this ‘active recovery‘ , I called it bloody hard work! Shaun did  provide the best bacon and egg sandwich I think I have ever tasted in my life, albeit I was so hungry I could probably have eaten a sweaty thong and thought it tasted good ? A few coffee’s later we were sitting in Adelaide Oval barracking for a team I had no idea even existed hours earlier, we lost by the way.

I need to thank the volunteers who put in massive shifts over many days , the race directors Shaun Kaesler and Michelle Hamlin, who went above and beyond what is expected and continue to do so every event. My fellow runners who all helped offering encouragement every lap, these little comments make a big difference. I probably didn’t chat as much as I could have but do try to help my fellow competitors if I can, this event did take a lot out of me and I didn’t really settle into any rhythm until laps 24. I need to take my shokz ( https://shokz.com/ ) head phones out more and will concentrate on this at Hysterical, promise ! If I don’t let me know please. Finally to team WA and Backy, you guys rock and I had such a great weekend, pre-event and post event. Becky was just bloody good to spend time with and her crew were always so supportive of her but also me, they must have felt sorry for the bald old fella alone towards the end.  Jen gets a special mention as she just went about her business and yet again finished on the podium, so consistent and in the near future Jen is going to go long, very, very long.  Margie looked the top runner all day long and it was lucky for me this was a training run for her, as I said earlier I was successful by timing rather than talent.

That’s it for the inaugural ‘No time to die’ frontyard ultra, a raging success and my one and only win. So happy with the result but also with the whole weekend, spending time with like minded people doing what we love and that’s the point really.  I now need to get ready for the Melbourne Marathon in a few weeks and then the Feral Pig 100miler four weeks after that before taking on the Hysterical Carnage backyard ultra four days post miler, that will be interesting but I choose to enter so it’s down to me. What could possibly go wrong?

Finally as always I give a shout out to three of my favourite products…  fisiocrem ( https://www.fisiocrem.com.au/ ) is just bloody brilliant and does exactly what it says it does , it just gets the major muscle groups moving again. I use this extensively towards the end of the race when my quads are hammered.  It really makes a difference and allows me to move back through the gears towards the end of an event when most runners are stumbling home.

Bix hydration is just ace, a product brought to life by Vlad Ixel a professional ultra runner who knows a thing or two about hydration. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ )  The best thing about Bix is it tastes good with many different flavours and you never get sick of drinking it, this is a big plus as Maurten and Tailwind (both great products)  can be difficult to digest later in the event.  From the website :-

As an Australian elite multiple trail running champion, with wins in over 40 ultra-marathon races across Asia, recovery from training and races has always been my top priority. 

In searching for a solid recovery and hydration supplement, I recognized that critical vitamins and minerals – both in diversity and quantity – were missing from almost all supplements on the market. I had the feeling that in an effort to maximize their bottom-lines, companies in the hydration space, failed to deliver a product that could meaningfully assist athlete performance. 

In order to address this, I began the development of a hydration product. After two and a half years of development alongside a leading German sports scientist, BIX Recovery, an advanced, high-quality recovery drink was born. 

BIX boosts 12 active ingredients scientifically balanced to replace lost electrolytes and assist in immune function. It’s designed with quality vitamins and minerals, in quantities that work! 

BIX is a recovery solution for everyone, that will get you to the top of your game!

What can I say about HumanTecar,  ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) it looks great, smells great and is awesome for recovery or even pre-run/workout. Read about the science behind it first and then try the products. The compression bandages are just magical after a long event. Put these on and the next day you are recovered, I have used them on a number of occasions and they never fail to astound me albeit the family poke fun at me as I look like a ‘mummy and smell funny’ !

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This Friday I take on the inaugural No Time to Die front year ultra in Adelaide. Another event put on by Shaun Kaesler and the team at Ultra Series SA ( https://ultraseriessa.com.au/ ) This will be my seventh backyard ultra and as usual I’m excited, why wouldn’t you be ? Anyone new to the backyard ultra concept it is a 6.7km loop on the hour , every hour until there is only one runner left standing, everybody else is a DNF, assuming the last runner does the final lap alone. Invented by Gary Cantrell, known as Lazarus “Laz” Lake, an endurance race designer and director. His races include the Barkley Marathons, Big’s Backyard Ultra, Barkley Fall Classic, Vol State 500K, and Strolling Jim 40. ( You must watch this You Tube video on the Barkley Marathons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDZdsqbcGTU  or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG97F6b_6o4 )

The race itself sounds simple and to quote Laz ‘is easy, until it isn’t’. The distance and time given to complete each lap (or yard as Laz calls it) is initially laughable and competitors often finish with twenty or thirty minutes to spare but over time fatigue and mental , as well as physical,  tiredness creeps in , one lap at a time. In the end you are scrapping home just within the hour and every step is a challenge, this is when you find out about yourself and that’s the point of the event. This event really is you against yourself, surrounded by like minded people.

My last backyard ultra was a few weeks ago where I managed to get round 36 laps, 150 miles for a 5th place finish. You can read the post here  https://www.runbkrun.com/2022/08/18/birdys-backyard-ultra-2022/

This was my third time running Birdy’s after 24 and 28 laps the two previous years. That’s the thing with backyard ultras , you can keep improving even as you age. My PB is 47 laps and I still harbour ambitions of reaching that elusive 48 hours or 200 miles. I think it will probably have to wait until next March at Herdy’s front yard ultra in Perth. ( Shaun Kaesler names the backyard ultras held in the city as front yard ultras , compared to the normal backyard ultra which are normally held outside the city. It’s an Ultraseries  ( https://ultraseries.com.au/ ) thing I suppose?)

My final backyard ultra for the year, and my fourth, will be the Hysterical Carnage backyard ultra in Loxton, SA. I ran the inaugural event last year and can’t wait to get back. Loxton is so cool and the course is just brilliant, even the first hill is cool as it’s unrunable so gives everyone a good excise to start slow and gain some elevation as the image below shows. Albeit I hear they have put in steps now but the I reckon you’d still be better off walking that first few hundred metres of vert. Read about the 2021 event here https://www.runbkrun.com/2022/03/01/hysterical-carnage-backyard-ultra/ There’s also a rumour Shaun Kaesler may be making a run at the win, I’ll leave that here, with Phil Gore a probable no show due to other commitments.

If you want to race a backyard ultra the list of events , globally, can be found here : https://backyardultra.com/races/ They are gaining in popularity and will soon become a main stream type event, similar to a marathon of a 100 miler.  They offer the runner a unique opportunity to start at the front of the field every hour and also gives the mentally strong runners an advantage over the physically trained runner. As David Goggins ( https://davidgoggins.com/ ) is so fond of saying when you think you’re done you’re about 40% there, the other 60% is available but to be able to access it you will need mental strength, not physical. This is why a backyard ultra can be a leveler, gives us older runners one final chance of competing at the pointy end of an event.

Another benefit is its the only ultra format where you get to see your fellow competitors constantly, not just at the start and then many hours , or days, later at finish. The comradery is special because really there is no overall winner, everybody is trying to help everybody else achieve their goals, one lap at a time. Of course in the end everybody DNF’s bar one and that also helps takes the pressure of chasing a  poduim or even placings; the first person to DNF is as much a DNF as the last. person to DNF. The number of laps to get your DNF is a personal achievement or goal.

You also get to eat a lot which is probably another reason I love the format and spend time talking to other competitors as you’re rarely in the red zone , so to speak, where talking is difficult; reference in a marathon as an example. Where else can you sit down for a full meal and still be considered racing, only ultras. !

Right here’s a final treat on this post, the race report from Phil Gore prehaps the most decorated backyard runner in Australia and a future world’s best..

Three of my favourite products…  fisiocrem ( https://www.fisiocrem.com.au/ ) is just bloody brilliant and does exactly what it says it does , it just gets the major muscle groups moving again. I use this extensively towards the end of the race when my quads are hammered.  It really makes a difference and allows me to move back through the gears towards the end of an event when most runners are stumbling home.

Bix hydration is just ace, a product brought to life by Vlad Ixel a professional ultra runner who knows a thing or two about hydration. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ )  The best thing about Bix is it tastes good with many different flavours and you never get sick of drinking it, this is a big plus as Maurten and Tailwind (both great products)  can be difficult to digest later in the event.  From the website :-

As an Australian elite multiple trail running champion, with wins in over 40 ultra-marathon races across Asia, recovery from training and races has always been my top priority. 

In searching for a solid recovery and hydration supplement, I recognized that critical vitamins and minerals – both in diversity and quantity – were missing from almost all supplements on the market. I had the feeling that in an effort to maximize their bottom-lines, companies in the hydration space, failed to deliver a product that could meaningfully assist athlete performance. 

In order to address this, I began the development of a hydration product. After two and a half years of development alongside a leading German sports scientist, BIX Recovery, an advanced, high-quality recovery drink was born. 

BIX boosts 12 active ingredients scientifically balanced to replace lost electrolytes and assist in immune function. It’s designed with quality vitamins and minerals, in quantities that work! 

BIX is a recovery solution for everyone, that will get you to the top of your game!

What can I say about HumanTecar,  ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) it looks great, smells great and is awesome for recovery or even pre-run/workout. Read about the science behind it first and then try the products. The compression bandages are just magical after a long event. Put these on and the next day you are recovered, I have used them on a number of occasions and they never fail to astound me albeit the family poke fun at me as I look like a ‘mummy and smell funny’ !

Follow me on

or follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/runbkrun/

and facebook  https://www.facebook.com/runbkrunoz

With adding my commute to work on the Elliptigo these last few weeks ( https://www.elliptigo.com.au/ ) I’m starting to feel fatigued on my lunch time runs. This, together with a full racing calendar stacked full of Ultra’s, is starting to add up and I took my first day off in a month last Sunday. Did I feel better on Monday, probably, it’s hard to tell these days. Last year was my hardest in terms of races and longest in terms of distance and I seem to be going harder and longer this year. With my 55th birthday in February I am now close to sixty than fifty and this is a sobering thought. Maybe this is why I’m pushing myself harder because I know the end is in view, I’m not saying the end, end , if you know what I mean, I saying my ability to compete at the front of the field. With ultra races I can use my mental strength to keep most of the field behind me but each year I know I will move back through the pack. I have no problem with this but it doesn’t mean I will accept it and not go down without a fight. To this end I entered the 1,000mile Run Brittania last month. ( https://ratracerunbritannia.com/ ), I’m hoping training for this event will ‘keep me young’, probably a runners logic ?

One way I can probably slow down the aging challenges is weight training and a structured rest regime. I have known this for many years but made little effort to do either albeit I did join a gym for a few months before Delirious 2021 in October. I was paranoid that my quads would give in so tried to work leg muscle groups. Once I finished Delirious my gym career was put back on hold , and it remains in this holding pattern.

As for days off I still struggle but maybe if I was to go to the gym, instead of running,  I can kill two birds with one stone ?  It’s not a full day off in the purest sense of the term but better than nothing I suppose.

Why you should take at least one day off from training every week

Here’s why you shouldn’t be skipping rest days if you really want to reach those running goals BY TED SPIKER

 

When staring at a new training plan, you quickly realise there’s a lot to do, and that’s on top of all the other things in your day-to-day life. So when you see the word ‘rest’ on your schedule, it’s tempting to skip past it and look for the next ‘real’ to-do. After all, why would you do nothing when there’s always something to cross off that long, long to-do list?

The answer to that question is simple: NOT running is just as important as fitting in that long weekend run or that Tuesday speed session. Rest days help to strengthen your body, sharpen your mind and boost your motivation levels so that you actually want to get out for your next run.

‘Rest is not a four-letter word,’ says Dr Kevin Vincent, director of the University of Florida Running Medicine Clinic in the US. ‘The big reason you need it is recovery and recuperation. Every time you run, your body has to adapt to get stronger.’

That’s because when you run, you aren’t just building your stamina and strength; you’re also breaking your body down, causing a tiny amount of tissue damage with every step. And allowing yourself time to recover afterward is what makes it possible for you to come back better next week, next month, next race.

‘As much as athletes focus on their volume of training and the speed at which they do workouts, what they do outside of running is equally important to becoming stronger and more resilient in the future,’ says Dr Adam Tenforde, assistant professor of physical medicine and rehab at Harvard University, US, and a former elite runner.

Dr Bonnie Marks, staff psychologist at New York University’s Sports Performance Center, agrees. ‘If you don’t have time to recharge, it can lead to staleness and general apathy about training.’

In other words, rest right and you’ll run better, avoid time on the physio’s treatment table, stay motivated and gain more reward from your running. Fail to rest properly and you’ll slowly – or sometimes rather rapidly – fall apart. Follow these training tweaks to optimise recovery and build a stronger, and more rested, you.

Why rest matters

Whether you’re strictly a recreational runner or training more regularly and seriously, there’s value in taking at least one day off from your training each week – even if you’re deep into a run streak. That day off is when your body uses nutrients and undergoes biological processes and hormone cycles to rebuild itself, says Tenforde. Still got ants in your runderpants? Here are four more reasons to chill.

1.Your muscles bounce back

When you run (or do any kind of exercise), you create microscopic tears in your muscle fibres and your body likes those about as much as you like trying to open a sweaty gel packet after 15 miles. So it responds by rebuilding your muscles stronger, in preparation for the next session. Sounds like a good deal, but there’s a catch: that response only happens with adequate time off from exercising. Vincent says that, depending on the length and intensity of your workout, the body needs a minimum of 36-48 hours to properly reboot. Without it, the body has no opportunity to rebuild and strengthen muscles; they just continue to break down. That negates all the hard work you put in.

2. You avoid stress fractures

If you’re trying to sidestep an injury, rest is crucial. Contrary to what ill-informed naysayers will trot out, running is actually great for your bones – the impact stresses the bone tissue, and just like a muscle, that increases cell turnover and forces the bone to remodel with stronger structures, says Vincent. ‘But if you run today, tomorrow and the next day, it never has time to fully repair.’ Eventually, you could be looking at a stress fracture – and a lengthy spell out of action.

3. Tight tendons are protected

Tendons are connective tissues that hold muscle to bone, so they work constantly as the body moves. But blood doesn’t get to them easily, so they take longer to repair than tissues that get a more plentiful supply of your claret (like muscles), explains Vincent. If they don’t get that much-needed time, the constant pounding can cause chronic damage, such as tendinitis – which is inflammation from overuse.

4. Your brain has time to chill

Yes, running is a form of stress relief. But every time you lace up, it actually increases the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in your body. Why is that? ‘The body doesn’t know if you’re running away from danger or if you’re running for fun,’ says Vincent. That cortisol bump can cause mood issues, irritability, sleep problems and other health issues if stress levels are chronically high. Think of it like a scale: overtrain, and you’ve tipped too far in one direction; schedule regular rest days, and you’ll bring yourself back in balance.

 

Why you need to ease off

A lot of runners worry that time off can cause them to regress, but that’s not necessarily true. Jason Fitzgerald, coach and founder of Strength Running, says you can take a full week off and be fine. That’s why most sports doctors suggest scaling it back for one to two weeks after each big event. (Example: four to five days of very light physical activity – such as walking – then a week of strength, core work, flexibility and short runs to loosen things up.) When you follow this advice, you’ll enjoy these benefits.

You’ll fine-tune your body

There’s a difference between being totally sidelined and being hampered – aka feeling discomfort without major pain. If your body gets some proper R&R, it’s more likely that the problem will heal instead of turn into a fully fledged injury, says Fitzgerald.

Your body’s protective systems reset

When you fail to rest, you are, in effect, telling your body’s inflammatory process to be on high alert. That process is protective, yes, but when it’s in overdrive from constant running, it backfires – putting your body in a chronic state of inflammation that increases your risk of infections and other illnesses, says Kate Mihevc Edwards, an orthopaedic specialist at Precision Performance in Atlanta, US. Taking even a one-day run holiday will reduce the inflammation and lower your odds of being struck down by illness.

 

You can acknowledge growth

There’s real value in flipping through old training diaries or your historic Strava data and seeing how far you’ve come, says running coach and two-time US Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier Dr Magdalena Donahue. ‘You need to see what you’ve done, what worked and what didn’t, and let your brain relax,’ she explains. ‘The pause helps you come back a lot more energised and focused.’ Plus, it’s always great to look back on the runs you actually smashed…

You’ll stay motivated

If you’re constantly churning out the miles like a hamster on a wheel (now you see the relevance of the picture), that desire to do better, which originally burned so strong, can dwindle. Call it burnout, loss of mojo, whatever… coming back from it can be a long, hard slog. Scaling back helps you maintain your hunger to train and improve, so you don’t have to mentally start over at square one, says Fitzgerald.

Do I need more time off?

Sometimes you can tell. Like when you can’t walk down the stairs. Other times it’s not so obvious. If you’re wavering about taking a break, Vincent suggests asking yourself these three key questions:

1. Did my last few runs feel harder than usual, even though they were the same training paces and distances as previous ones?
2. Do I feel less motivated to run today?
3. Does running feel more like a chore than something I enjoy?

>If you answered yes to any of the above, you should consider more rest.

How to start getting more rest

Ok, so you’re starting to get why time off and rest is important, but how do you go about doing that? Try these options:

Go low-impact

Incorporating low-impact exercise (such as cycling, rowing and the elliptical machine) allows you to get the aerobic benefits you’re after without taxing your bones and tendons as you would by running. If you have access to a pool, swimming is one of the best options (try aqua-jogging for running-related benefits, or lap swimming if your legs need a break). ‘It has zero impact and being in a cool pool is soothing,’ says running coach Dr Magdalena Donahue.

Try ball sports

When you play tennis, social netball or just kick a football around in the back garden with the kids, you form more well-rounded muscles and bones, which reduces your risk of injury. ‘When you’re running, everything is linear, so your bone gets stronger in one plane of motion,’ says Vincent. ‘By doing something with lateral, back-and-forth movement, you strengthen in all planes.’

Make friends with your couch

Rest days don’t mean you have to veg out all day – in fact, Sarah Lavender Smith, author of The Trail Runner’s Companion (Falcon Guides), says you should always try to move a little – but there’s nothing wrong with taking a few hours to relax. Just do it on the day before your long run, not after. ‘It’s a mistake to go on a long, depleting run and then overeat and lie around the next day,’ says Smith. Doing so causes feelings of lethargy, bloat and overall blahs, she adds.

Play computer games

Studies have found that playing computer games can help control anxiety before performance, and one even discovered that players needed less recovery time after a stressful event. Researchers aren’t entirely sure why this is the case, but they theorise that by offering a way to escape to an alternative reality, computer games work as a calming mechanism to decrease stress.

Sleep more

Not only does a good kip combat mood issues and fatigue, but Fitzgerald says your duvet time is also the time when your body gets the most work done during its repair process. Plus, some research shows that poor sleep quality may be associated with loss of bone density, putting you at risk for developing stress fractures. (See? It all comes full circle.)

Meditate

Science shows that this practice can help improve performance, ease symptoms of pain and boost your breathing. Marks suggests lying on the floor with your eyes closed, focusing on breathing from your belly – not your chest – for at least five minutes. (A good way to check if you’re getting this right is to place a book on your tummy – if the book rises, you’re breathing right.) If you struggle with staying that still – or your kids confuse your meditation time with human-trampoline time, opt for a quiet walk in nature or download a meditation app you can use at the office.

 

WHAT IF I’M A STREAKER?

We’re not the ones to tell you to break a #RWRunStreak to catch up on your box-sets, but be aware of intensity. If you’re heading out for an easy mile to continue your streak, don’t worry about a rest day. But if intervals and speedwork are part of your routine, ‘recovery is much more important to fit in’, says Dr Bryan Heiderscheit, director of the University of Wisconsin Runners Clinic in the US.

How to fuel your recovery

No running, better rest, what next? Food is next, the fuel that makes you a better run also makes you better rester.

Don’t change too much

While many runners think they need to tighten their grip on calorie intake on a rest day, that’s not really the case. ‘It’s not necessary to restrict energy intake,’ says Dr Stephanie Howe Violett, a running and nutrition coach and winner of the Western States 100 ultra race in 2014. ‘That’s when most recovery and adaptation occurs, and proper nutrients are important to facilitate those processes.’ Instead, try to tune in to your hunger cues and opt for food quality over quantity.

Space out calories

Many people stack their calories towards the end of the day, meaning they eat a light breakfast and lunch and then go supersize at dinner time, says Tenforde. But that depletes your energy and makes your body more susceptible to breakdown. A steady supply is the best strategy, so if you must go light on your first two meals, balance it with nuts or fruit in between.

Fuel with micros

Carbohydrates, protein, fibre – those are the macronutrients you need to fuel a strong recovery. But runners also need micronutrients such as calcium, vitamin D and iron to replenish the body. Eating whole foods – lots of fruits, vegetables, and meat or beans – will help cover your micronutrient bases. Violett says you should aim for about half of your plate to be full of vegetables, whole grains and fruit. Then add a serving of high-quality protein and top with fat (better if it’s unsaturated) to make sure you get essential fatty acids that also aid in your recovery.

Hydrate

Rest days are a great time to pre-hydrate, as starting a run dehydrated is about as much fun as losing a toenail, says Violett. That doesn’t mean down a gallon of water at once – just be mindful about your intake over the course of the day (and check that your wee is a light- straw colour to see if you’re on track).

Enjoy that beer

Violett says it’s no big deal to indulge in a cheeky snifter, but it doesn’t exactly fuel your recovery. Opting for a ‘recovery’ beer after a tough workout? Eat a solid meal first. Going straight for the booze can hurt the body’s ability to restock glycogen stores, and your muscles may not recover as quickly.

How To Combat the Effects Of Aging As An Older Runner  BY JASON FITZGERALD

It’s no surprise that running gets harder as you get older. Recovery is slower, VO² max is lower, and injury risks are more numerous. 

How can the older runner keep running strong – and healthy?

Running is something I intend to do for the rest of my life. But very soon I’ll need to address the limitations of my aging body.

I’m not 22 anymore. I can’t run a 1:13 half marathon off 6 hours of sleep, recover with 5 dirty Martinis, and still rock an 18 miler the next day for a long run.

The indiscretions of youth were fun… but they won’t work when I’m 52!

Running is also becoming a much more popular sport for older athletes. In fact, a study of the New York City Marathon from 1980 – 2009 found that:

“The percent of finishers younger than 40 years significantly decreased, while the percent of masters runners significantly increased for both males and females.”

As more and more people find running, it’s increasingly clear that many of them are older athletes.

My goal is to run as successfully as possible for as long as possible. This means quite a few things:

• Stay healthy (this should be a top goal for any 40+ runner)
• Maintain competence at skills (full range of motion, coordination, measures of strength, etc.)
• Feel good on most runs (free of pain, aches, niggles, etc.)
• Maintain a healthy body composition and preserve muscle mass (I want to look good. There, I said it!)

In effect, my running goals will transform into longevity goals as I get older (for more on longevity, I highly recommend Blue Zones for showing you the keys to living a longer, healthier life).

But running gets a lot harder for older athletes. How can we mitigate the effects of aging so we can keep running well into our golden years?

It starts with understanding why Master’s athletes start slowing down.

Why is running harder for Master’s runners?

Well, what isn’t hard about running when you get older? Most aspects of physical performance decline with age – it’s simply the reality of the aging process.

Specifically, you can expect:

• Decreased maximal heart rate
• Fewer blood capillaries
• Smaller and fewer muscle mitochondria
• Decreased VO² Max
• Lower levels of testosterone
• Decreased growth hormone production
• Decreased muscle mass
• Increased body fat
• Decreased muscular strength

These factors result in slower recovery and race times. The hormonal effects of aging are particularly pronounced; with lower levels of anabolic hormones like  human growth hormone, testosterone, and IGF-1.

The hormones that supercharged your teenage and young adult years are greatly diminished, leading to lower muscle mass, reduced sexual drive, and poor recovery from workouts.

Combined with other age-related physical declines, runners can expect an annual performance decrease of about .7% – with more notable plunges around age 40 and 60.

By age 70, the average person will have lost 30-40% of their muscle mass.

Interestingly, a 2014 review article on aging and exercise published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons concluded that:

Decades of research support the fact that much age-related deterioration is the result of the effects of sedentary lifestyles and the development of medical conditions rather than of aging itself.

This is fantastic news because it means that when it comes to the aging process, we are not passive bystanders.

We can mitigate the decline of being an older runner to prolong our running careers, our health, and even our lives.

How to Train Older Runners to Feel Young Again

There is a simple training strategy that will inject more youth into anybody’s running: strength training.

Just consider its myriad benefits and how they impact the older runner:

• Lifting weights triggers higher levels of testosterone and growth hormone (anabolic hormones that build muscle – and “big lifts” are betterat producing more testosterone)
• Successful running for seniors depends on maintaining muscle strength and proper range of motion
• Lifting creates denser mitochondria, the “energy factories” of the cells, which decline as you get older

The hormonal component to this story is worth some further explanation.

See, running is catabolic – it breaks down muscle. This normally isn’t a problem because the recovery process rebuilds that muscle very effectively.

But that recovery process slows down as you get older. There are fewer hormones to get it done efficiently (and running doesn’t produce as large a surge of anabolic hormones as other types of exercise like strength training).

Not only does the hormone testosterone reduce the impact of catabolic hormones, it makes other hormones (like IGF-1) more anabolic as well.

After a hard weightlifting session, your body is swimming in muscle-building hormones. That simply doesn’t happen after a hard run! Coach Jay Johnson agrees, noting:

When you do strength work you get a hormonal stimulus that is different than you get running. Specifically, you up-regulate testosterone and human growth hormone, both anabolic hormones.

Anabolic simply means “building up.” Running is a catabolic, “breaking down,” activity.

When you view running the through the anabolic/catabolic lens, it makes sense that you would want to do some strength training to complement your running.

The lesson? If we want to run well into old age – injury-free and with some semblance of ease – we’ve got to lift weights.

Lifting Helps Non-Runners Too!

In addition to how lifting will benefit running, it’s also critical for older runners aged 65+ to promote healthy, long lives. Stronger seniors who have maintained more muscle strength are at a lower risk of falling – a significant cause of age-related trauma.

Doctors are noticing as well. Timothy Quinn, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Hampshire notes:

Older runners should try very hard to get to the gym to lift weights a few times a week.

This focus on strength training throughout the aging process will help runners (and non-runners alike) maintain their strength, flexibility, fitness, and resilience to injury.

How to Start Weightlifting (even if you’re a Master’s Runner)

I want to keep experiencing runs like this into old age!

Most forms of strength training are beneficial – no matter if you’re a master’s runner, senior, or a 14 year old just getting started!

But certain types of strength work have more benefits than others.

If you’re not yet comfortable with strength exercises, start with bodyweight strength training. It will improve your general strength, range of motion, coordination, and begin to counter the effects of muscle loss due to aging.

But if you’ve been doing bodyweight strength routines – like the Gauntlet or Tomahawk Workouts – regularly, it’s time to take the next step.

Because without progression, there’s no progress.

Now, it’s time to start weightlifting! Putting up heavier weight in the gym in a more structured “weight lifting” environment is how to get the powerful, full benefits of lifting:

• Neuromuscular coordination and enhanced running economy
• Power and the ability to recruit a higher number of muscle fibers
• Improved mitochondria development and testosterone production
• Stronger hypertrophy stimulus – preserving precious muscle mass

These are significant adaptations to lifting weights that won’t happen with bodyweight exercises. The stimulus simply isn’t strong enough.

Why Fatigue is a Necessary Part of Training and How to Manage It

Training is like trying to walk a tight rope. You need to balance putting in grueling workouts and mileage with the ability to let your body recover. Favor one aspect too heavily and you’ll either have a poor performance from lack of training or get injured and overtrained from doing too much.

That’s why learning how to manage fatigue, and understanding the role it plays in endurance training, is critical to improving as a runner. In this article, we’re going to outline why a certain amount of fatigue is necessary to improve as a runner, how to strategically implement it, and how to find the right balance.

Why fatigue is necessary

The basis for all training theory is the what we call the workout and recovery process. Running first breaks down your muscle fibers. The harder you run, the more muscle fibers you damage. Your body then works to rebuild these damaged muscle fibers and if the recovery process goes well, these muscle fibers are repaired stronger than before. That’s how you become faster and stronger through training.

But, as you may realize, it’s nearly impossible to fully recover from a workout in 24 hours. It might be possible following a very easy day of running, but any type of speed, tempo or long run is going to require anywhere from 2 to 14 days to fully absorb and recover (here’s a breakdown of what research says about how long it takes to recover from different workout types).

That means, unless you want to only run two or three times per week, training while fatigued is a necessary part of training; especially since we know slow, easy mileage is the best way to build aerobic endurance and is the foundation for running performance. The trick is finding that balance between running enough miles to build you aerobic capacity without overdoing the fatigue.

Herein lies the “art” of training.

However, there is also a way that we can utilize this fatigue to make your training more effective.

How to utilize fatigue to run faster

In training vernacular, coaches use a term called “accumulated fatigue”. Basically, this theory posits that fatigue from one workout accumulates and transfers to the next run so that you’re always starting a workout or a long run a little tired from your previous training.

This is important for longer distance races like the marathon because it’s nearly impossible to run the full distance of the race in daily training. Furthermore, if you were to start every workout fully recovered and fresh, it would be difficult to simulate how your body feels late into a race.

As such, we can strategically implement the theory of accumulated fatigue to better target the specific demands of your race.

For example, during marathon training, one of my favorite methods for introducing accumulated fatigue is to buttress the long run against a shorter, but steady paced run the day before. As an illustration, you would run six miles at marathon pace on the Saturday before your Sunday long run. Because of the harder running on Saturday, you start Sunday’s long run not at zero miles, but rather at six or eight miles, since that is the level of fatigue and glycogen depletion your body is carrying over from the previous run.

You can even apply this theory to 5k training. Using what we know about muscle fibers and the recruitment and fatigue ladder, I often have athletes run a short, explosive hill workout (something like 9 x 60 second hills at 5k pace) two days before a 5k specific workout (12 x 400 at 5k pace with 60 second quick jog rest). The hill session fatigues and depletes the fast twitch muscle fibers so that during the 5k specific work, your intermediary Type IIa muscle fibers (the ones primarily responsible for running at 5k pace) have to handle more work and thus are more specifically targeted.

How to find the right balance

Training would be much easier – and runners much happier – if you could just train hard and fatigued all the time. But, you can’t simply continue to accumulate fatigue and run these types of workouts all the time (although some runners certainly do try). There needs to be a balance.

• First, try to keep the specific accumulated fatigue workouts to once every two weeks and only schedule them during the race-specific portion of your training schedule. This ensures that you don’t overdo it and that you don’t get burnt out long-term.

• Be sure to keep your easy runs slow. One of the most common mistakes runners make is running their easy day mileage too fast. This hinders your ability to recover and doesn’t provide any additional aerobic benefit. Research has shown that the most optimal aerobic pace for an easy run is about 65 percent of 5k pace. For a 20-minute 5k runner (6:25 pace for 5k – 7:20 pace marathoner), this would mean about 8:40 per mile on easy days.

• Finally, don’t be afraid to take a down or rest week every five to six weeks where you reduce mileage by 65 to 75 percent and reduce the intensity of your workouts. These down weeks help you fully recover from and absorb previous weeks and months of training so that fatigue doesn’t build-up too much.

Three of my favourite products…  fisiocrem ( https://www.fisiocrem.com.au/ ) is just bloody brilliant and does exactly what it says it does , it just gets the major muscle groups moving again. I use this extensively towards the end of the race when my quads are hammered.  It really makes a difference and allows me to move back through the gears towards the end of an event when most runners are stumbling home.

Bix hydration is just ace, a product brought to life by Vlad Ixel a professional ultra runner who knows a thing or two about hydration. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/ )  The best thing about Bix is it tastes good with many different flavours and you never get sick of drinking it, this is a big plus as Maurten and Tailwind (both great products)  can be difficult to digest later in the event.  From the website :-

As an Australian elite multiple trail running champion, with wins in over 40 ultra-marathon races across Asia, recovery from training and races has always been my top priority. 

In searching for a solid recovery and hydration supplement, I recognized that critical vitamins and minerals – both in diversity and quantity – were missing from almost all supplements on the market. I had the feeling that in an effort to maximize their bottom-lines, companies in the hydration space, failed to deliver a product that could meaningfully assist athlete performance. 

In order to address this, I began the development of a hydration product. After two and a half years of development alongside a leading German sports scientist, BIX Recovery, an advanced, high-quality recovery drink was born. 

BIX boosts 12 active ingredients scientifically balanced to replace lost electrolytes and assist in immune function. It’s designed with quality vitamins and minerals, in quantities that work! 

BIX is a recovery solution for everyone, that will get you to the top of your game!

What can I say about HumanTecar,  ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) it looks great, smells great and is awesome for recovery or even pre-run/workout. Read about the science behind it first and then try the products. The compression bandages are just magical after a long event. Put these on and the next day you are recovered, I have used them on a number of occasions and they never fail to astound me albeit the family poke fun at me as I look like a ‘mummy and smell funny’ !

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