Products
I discovered Shokz headphones just over two years ago, bumping into a couple of trail runners at the Perth Discovery Centre, with Adam surprising enough , who were wearing them. I hadn’t really ever ran with music before as I find it quite intrusive and I like to use my time running to ‘think about stuff’, having something in my ear just didn’t work. The thing with Shokz headphones is they aren’t in your ear, because they are bone conduction sports headphones they sit on the bone infront of your ear. I know it sounds ridiculous right but the first time I tried them on I was blown away, they really work and work very well. I remember the first time I used them on the trails I was playing Pink Floyd the Wall and when the kids choir chirped in I actually stopped running and looked around, I was convinced they were on the trail !
So other major benefits are they are incredibly light and you really do not notice when you have them on, of course this can also be a curse as only yesterday I dropped a pair of OpenRun Pro’s on my local trail and didn’t notice. I was taking some time out from music and listening to the serenity of my surroundings, at one point I stopped for a rest and took of my cap, sunglasses and headphones. Unfortunately it seems I forgot to put the headphones back on, only realising a few kilotmetres down the trail. Now I know you’re going to ask why I didn’t backtrack, it was at the end of a three hour run in the scorching West Australian heat and there was no way I was spending another 30 -40 minutes on the trail getting even more cooked, I was done. Fingers crossed someone finds them and hands them in as I’ll be gutted to lose them.
Quality of sound in amazing, reference my last story when I actually stopped convinced there was a school choir on the trail with me, it is that good. Of course they work best without competing noise , as all headphones will. In a busy city setting it’s more important to take advantage of another benefit , the ability to listen to your environment while running. Having your ear clear allows you to be able to listen for possible issues ahead while still enjoying the sound from your shokz headphones. This cannot be under estimated, the safety side of this product. It could make a big difference, situation dependent of course. Personally for this feature alone it’s enough to invest in bone conductive headphones.
For more detailed information regarding the science go to the Shokz website.. https://shokz.com.au/ There’s lot of images and explanations but believe me they are ace. Currently in my family I have three pairs (well two at the moment as I have one of the bibbulum track somewhere currently!) , my Wife and eldest daughter are sporting OpenRun Pro’s , we’re a shokz family albeit my other two daughters are Apple worshippers so have air pods, no accounting for taste.
If you want an honest test between the OpenRun Pro and the normal OpenRun watch the video below..
Of course do your own research but I found this site backing up my claims, Shokz are good and probably the best on the market.
https://gearjunkie.com/technology/best-bone-conduction-headphones
Battery life is pretty good as well, ten hours for the OpenRun Pro , with a five minute recharge for ninety minutes listening; or eight hours for the OpenRun and a ten minute recharge to ninety minutes. I personally recharge mine when I’m driving home from my run in the car, by the time I’m home they’re normally fully recharged ready for the next adventure.
It seems the OpenRun is more waterproof then the OpenRun Pro due to the added bass capabilities , and design changes, on the newer model, both are more than adequate for day to day running albeit if moisture builds up you need to dry then before charging, I’ve used a hairdryer in the past quite successfully. The support is outstanding and you get a two year warranty. I’ve successfully claimed myself and the process was seamless and Shokz were very helpful, which these days was a refreshing change.
So to sum up this post Shokz, for me, are an absolute must if you need to listen to music or pod casts while you run, and do so safely while enjoying top quality sound. They are so light as to be unnoticeable but so well made, of titanium, you’d be hard pressed to break them. As will all products I recommend they just do what they say they do on the box, simples.
As always I give a shout out to three of my favourite products, will probably make it four now adding Shokz, … 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’ !
or follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/runbkrun/
Next year I have entered the inaugural running of the Run Brittania Ultra, yep , I’m going to run the length of the United Kingdom from Lands End to John O’Groats. To say I’m excited is the ultimate under statement, I feel like a small child on Xmas Eve, only 100 times better. This race, over 35 days, yep, 35 days, one more time, 35 days, is going to be so, so cool.
From the events website:
This is a major physical and logistical undertaking, the entire distance is still fairly seldom attempted on foot in one sitting – and rightly therefore constitutes an enormous lifetime achievement for any runner or walker.
We’ve put together a truly stunning 1000 mile, 70, 000 ft elevation adventure that spans the entire length of this great nation, but not as you have ever seen it. Our route has been put together with painstaking precision, encompassing a real ‘runners line,’ largely avoiding busy roads and packing in huge chunks of off-road terrain. It is a swashbuckling tour-de-force through 4000 years of British History and landmarks, taking you on a journey through the very soul of this storied Isle. We have also managed to weave together several of the UK’s most famous and enjoyable long-distance paths, including major sections on the South West Coast Path, Wye Valley Way, Offa’s Dyke, Clyde Walkway, the Great Glen Way and all 95 glorious miles of the West Highland Way.
The entire distance is still fairly seldom attempted on foot in one sitting – and rightly therefore constitutes an enormous lifetime achievement for any runner or walker.
According to the website it has a difficulty of 5 , which I assume is the most, hell if it was a 1-10 scale I reckon it’d be a Spinal Tap 11. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOO5S4vxi0o ) Did I mention the 35 days , albeit I think four of those days are for rest , recovery and massage ? That’s an average of 50km a day or just over a marathon , doesn’t sounds a lot but I’m sure towards the end, when you’re running through the Scottish Highlands, fatigue may play its hand. For some reason Rat Race ( https://ratrace.com/ ) decided to go from Lands End to John O’Groats meaning you take on the hardest part, i.e. Scotland!, at the end. I’m sure it’s all uphill as well ! Maybe they should think about doing a Comrades and reversing the direction each year, though having to find the 8,000 pounds entry fee annually could be a hard conversation to have with your family. Actually I hope my Wife doesn’t read this post , she tends to ignore them, so I can blame our lack of family holidays on the ‘nasty Russians causing inflation and crashing the stock market’, not me entering one of the most expensive foot races on the planet.
To get a feel for this smorgasbord of hurt check out the itinerary below. Doesn’t seem that bad when it’s written down in front of you and it all looks very nice with the beautiful British sunshine and tail wind caressing you home. I have a feeling there may be dark, dark times when you question your own existence on this planet and I would expect nothing less. Of the 40 starters I would expect more than half to drop by the wayside just because of the various and numerous things that could derail you, injury, hydration or nutrition issues, alcohol poisonings, mugging, kidnapping , death , the list of possibilities is endless. On the bright side because it’s a stage race I’m assuming we’ll be avoiding too much night running and given the time of year the daylight hours will be at their maximum; it’s actually ran over the summer solstice which is good. Maybe a slight detour to Stonehenge to do a few laps around the attraction when the druids are doing their thing, do they still sacrifice virgins on the longest day or is that a myth ?
They’re broken down the event into five 200 milers, give or take, with a day rest before each one, simple really. I’ve ran three 200 milers so far in my illustrious (?) career and always felt pretty good at the end of each one but as for going again after a days rest, four times, not so sure. I don’t suppose anybody is really including the organisers. There will be forty runners who are determined to find out come June next year. Over the event I’m hoping to make some lifelong friends as you tend to do on these type of events, they tend to bring people closer together, united in hurt. It’s hard enough for most people to contemplate anything past a marathon and a 200 miler is always met with the ‘they’ve invented cars now, you know that right’. With Run Brittania they’ll probably resort to ‘they’ve invented planes now, you know that right’ , bless ’em.
Truth be told it’s a good point, a 1,000 miles is a bloody long way anyway you look at it, with most of the course being trail with some serious elevation thrown in for the hell of it. There will be some seriously great scenery especially at the start as run along the cliffs in Cornwall, as well as the Scottish Highlands towards the end of the journey. I’m sure Wales will offer up something special as well.
Another big reason for entering this event was it starts in my old stomping ground. I grew up in Penzance and only left after finishing University in my middle twenties. I was then drawn to Aberdeen for work before emigrating to Australia in 2001. I am very excited about the first day running from Lands End past what I consider to be the two best beaches in the country, Sennen and Gwenver. It was here I spent my youth surfing the Atlantic swells that hit the coast after marching over the pond from the States. Great waves, great memories and a misspent youth. I hope to retire to this part of the world when no 3 daughter finishes her education in 3-4 years, dust of the surfboard and start watching ‘Big Wednesday’ again on a weekly basis. I use to love my surfing as a youngster and only gave it up due to the sub-zero temperatures of Aberdeen and the crowds of Perth. I will return but I have a few more running goals to achieve before I give away competitive racing, with this event being the first of many.
Running shoes, I will be using Altra’s of course, ( https://www.altrarunning.com/ ) unless Hoka ( https://www.hoka.com/en/us/ ) offer me a sponsorship deal, I normally use the Altra Olympus range and I have brought many version 4’s and am looking forward to the new edition that has just dropped. I have also brought two pairs of Mont Blanc as they were on sale at Running Warehouse, too good an opportunity to miss.
But before Run Brittania I have a smorgasbord of racing to complete starting with the inaugural No Time to Die Frontyard Ultra in Adelaide, the third backyard Ultra in the four event series, in three weeks. ( https://nttdfrontyard.com.au/race-information/ ) The series culminates with the Hysterical Carnage Backyard Ultra in early November. ( https://hystericalcarnage.com.au/ ) Between the two events I intend to run the Melbourne Marathon for a fifth time, hoping to continue my sub 3 marathon streak currently sitting on 29 in a row, as well as the Feral Pig 100 miler a few days before the Hysterical Carnage. As you can probably make out for me it’s all about racing, it’s why I do what I do. I love the training and daily running but I need the goal to aim for, and that means a bib on my chest, don’t judge me.
I suppose that’s why I’m so excited about Run Britannia, it’s 35 days of racing , back to back, for a competitive runner like me it’s a dream come true albeit there is the opportunity for the dream to turn into a nightmare very quickly but that’s the beauty of the event, the unknown. The organisers are all about getting as many runners as possible to the finish line , it’s not a race as such and just finishing will be ever runners goal but you can bet there’ll be a spreadsheet somewhere with daily totals which will add up to a cumulative time, you would have to surely ? More importantly how will I get the run to show as one long run over 35 days on Strava ? I think I’ll go down the route of saving one day at a time and then stitching them altogether for the mother of long runs ! That in itself will be worth the entrance fee.
I will certainly be using these three products for the event… 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’ !
or follow me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/runbkrun/
and facebook https://www.facebook.com/runbkrunoz
I am lucky enough to live in Western Australia where thanks to Shaun Kaesler and his Ultra Series WA ( https://ultraserieswa.com.au/ ) there is a smorgasbord of ultra races. When I first came to Australia and Perth there was really just two options , the Bunbury 50k and the 40 Miler. Both of these events had small fields and everybodies, including my own, main focus was the marathon or shorter races. Over time some other great races came along including the iconic Kep 175/100k ( http://kepultra.com/ ) and the Australia Day Ultra ( https://australiadayultra.com/ ) but until Shaun and hos band of merry helpers burst onto the scene ultra running in WA was an afterthought.
This all changed when Shaun put together his Ultra Series and since then more and more races have been added to the calendar culminating in the big daddy of them all the Delirious West 200 Miler ( https://www.deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ ) Then the icing on the cake has been the Triple Crown Down Under , three 200 milers spread throughout Australia similar to the American version ( The Big foot 200, the Tahoe 200 and the Moab 240) . In Australia we would be offered the Delirious West , the Unreasonable East ( https://unreasonableeast200miler.com.au/ ) and the Irrational South. ( https://irrationalsouth200miler.com.au/ ) These would need to completed in less than 14 weeks , starting with Delirious in February, Irrational in April and Unreasonable in June, no mean feat. I had planned to complete the inaugural triple crown after finishing Delirious in February but catching COVID two weeks out from Irrational put an end to that dream.
At the moment a 200 miler is a beast tamed by only a few runners and as such has serious kudos but as more and more runners take on this animal of an event it will start to become more mainstream and once the general public hears about it you, as a runner, will be judged . A marathon has long lost its appeal to the non-running public as a mark of achievement. These days runners are putting together 50 marathons in 50 days and that still get little acknowledgement. An ultra , while initially filling a void, has now lost its appeal as again more runners make the move to 50k/100k or even a 100 miles. Adding in cool names helps, like running any race with death in its title, but ultimately now you need to have a three digit total distance starting with at least a two.
I’ve completed the Delirious West twice now and both times had the time of my life. I have always maintained a 200 miler is an adventure, not a race, shared with great friends, i.e. crew. After Delirious 2021 Gary , being one of the double act of the batman (Gary ) and Robin (Alex) crew that supported me (see below), said he had as much fun as I did, which I took as a positive. We all just morphed into younger versions of ourselves free of the chains of adulthood, albeit only for a week. The memories you take from a 200 miler, both good and bad, will stay with you until death or Alzheimer’s , which ever comes first.
So can anybody complete a 200 miler ? I say yes, if you can run a marathon you can run a 200 miler. Of course you may be chasing cut off times but these are normally generous enough and I know last year, at Delirious , one runner just about walked the whole distance albeit with very little sleep, you can’t have it both ways. If you are prepared to keep moving forward and finish sleep depraved a 200 miler is do able. Of course it is certainly more pleasant if you train and run a bit or even better run a lot. Distance and elevation are the keys for 200 mile training, run as much as you can and add as much elevation as you can find. Any gym work on your major leg muscles will also help.
Another big benefit of running a 200 miler is you get to eat , a lot ! The aid stations are normally full of a fabulous assortment of culinary delights, just about everything you heart would desire. Add in volunteers at your beck and call , as well as your crew, and you feel like a King , or Queen. It can make leaving these oasis of pleasures, to continue on your journey of pain, difficult but every step you take after leaving one is a step closer to the next one. That my friends is ultra running summed up right there, an eating and drinking competition with running between aid stations.
More benefits of a 200 miler are the comradery from volunteers and competitors alike. In a marathon everybody is very self centered on their time goals, with minimal thought for anybody else, it is a selfish distance. Time is critical and a second lost here and there is life changing. With 200 milers everybody wants you to finish as much as you do, it is a combined effort and they get as much satisfaction as you , well maybe not as much but close. You can lose hours and not be adversely affected , if you finish as far as Joe Public is concerned you are a winner. Actually if you finish a 200 miler as far as everybody is concerned you are a winner, even getting to the start line is a badge of honour.
Finally when was the last time someone said ‘They’ve invented cars for those types of distances, you do know that right?‘ or ‘I find it hard driving 200 miles’ , you get the idea, people are still very impressed when you say you’ve completed a 200 miler. A marathon is now about as exciting as someone cutting their grass over the weekend and taking their kids swimming, (to the untrained eye) it’s kind of weird that the general public as a whole has got lazier but expect us runners to go further and push ourselves harder to give away any kudos at the coffee shop on a Monday morning , while they dig in to their double chocolate donut, drinking their litre of creamy coffee with three sugars.
A good article from Neil Bryant below ( https://ultrarunningcommunity.com/articles/most-popular-articles/26-article/tips-techniques-and-training/1387-could-you-run-a-200-miler )
Could you run a 200+ miler?
Written by Neil Bryant
I have run a few races that I class as really long. These being single stage races, over 200 miles such as the Tor des Geants or the Spine. The main difference between these races and say a 100 miler, is that most people won’t need to sleep during a 100, whereas the opposite is true for the 200+ miler. Other than the sleep, it is simply more time on your feet and generally higher fatigue rates. Oh, and let’s not forget that isincredibly intimidating to stand on the start line of a 250–mile race. A 250–mile drive on a motorway is bad enough!
So, how do you get through such a huge race? How do you train? What are the main difficulties you will face?
Mental strength and Self-belief
This,for me is the biggest strength you need for the longer races. The longer the race, the more of a mental strength is needed to tackle it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not dismissing the physical side of things, just trying to highlight the importance of a strong mental approach to these races.
How can this sort of strength be encouraged to grow? Well, you could work your way through races, getting slightly longer and/or harder over time. It works. The more you do, the more your comfort level grows. When you started running you may have been intimidated by a marathon, but now you are not as you have run a few 50 milers.
You could also do some challenges of your own, such as catching a train 50 miles away and running home or doing a two day run and bivvying overnight or running all through the night and anything else that your imagination can dream up. These sorts of personal challenges are great for confidence but are also incredibly fulfilling. They also teach you how you operate when heavily fatigued.
We are all different though. Some people can jump into a big challenge, whereas others prefer a longer, methodical build up. Experience is the key that will help everyone better understand the task ahead. For example, it wasn’t till my third very long race where I felt that I had really optimised my sleep pattern.
Physical strength
I won’t go into any specifics about exactly what you should be doing each day, more about what is actually needed to comfortably finish.
If you do, or have ever done some serious marathon training, then that would be adequate for a 100 miler, and if you are 100 mile fit, then you are 250 mile fit. It also is dependent on your mental outlook. Many people feel that you need to do mega mileage to prepare for a super long race, but I disagree. Yes, if you wanted to get a top 20 result, then some heavier mileage could well help, but heavy mileage is risky for injuries, and many of us just don’t have the time in our lives to be out for a few hours a day.
This is where a few big days, or even back to back days can really help build the self-belief that you and your body can actually pull it off. See if you can book a training camp (or holiday to your partner) so you can get some bigger days in. Just a long weekend somewhere is all that’s needed, but it can really help your mental and physical preparation.
Remember to train for what you are realistically going to be doing in the race. Running slowly, and plenty of walking! Practising a fast and efficient walk can help your overall speed a great deal, and many people will neglect this area in their preparation.
If it is a mountain race then practice walking uphill, and in equal measure, running downhill. Practice descending as smoothly as possible.The downhills are where a great deal of micro damage will occur in your muscles and if this can be minimised then it should be.
Finally, I would strongly advise poles, no matter how much you are against them. They can really be very useful, the more tired you get. Crossing rivers, stability in slippery conditions, uphill rhythm, and ideal if you get a minor injury that you can still run with but need the extra ‘legs’. You must practice with them before the event as poorly used poles can be fairly useless.
Have a plan
Do you plan to the nth degree for every race, or are you super chilled and not even look at the route before race day? I would suggest that whichever camp you fall in, to have some planning. Due to the length of these races and the confusing, drunken levels of fatigue that you may well experience, some simple rules can really help out and save time.
Some things to consider:
- Clothing – Think about all the weather you could experience over the week (which can be the full range!) Is that super light waterproof jacket going to be any use if it snows and you are struggling to keep warm? Maybe have spare shoes in your drop bag? If it gets really cold which is massively heightened when really tired, do you have enough layers? Do you have protection from the sun (hat, arms and neck)?
- Pace – Decide how you would like to pace it. You will be walking a lot, but when and how much? I walked almost all the uphills in the Tor, Onlyrunning the gentlest of slopes. You have to always consider the whole race. Try not to get caught out in racing others in the first 100 miles or even more!
- Drop bags – If you get the opportunity to use one, then use it! it can be a lifesaver during a longer event. A few changes of clothes, A few pairs of shoes, some food treats, and any other little luxury that you couldn’t carry but may give a big boost.
- Check point discipline – I like to have discipline with being as slick as possible at the check points, as it is so easy to sit, staring vacantly at the wall, in the warmth while the time just flies by. Before I arrive, I will mentally go through everything and work out the order to do it all in. Eating, drinking, picking up food supplies, changing clothes, filling up water bottles etc. It is all so simple, but so important too. It is so easy to forget one thing.
- Route knowledge – it is an advantage to at least have a basic understanding of the course. Many runners will have been studying it for months and will know exactly what is around every corner. This all comes down to your personality. Do you like to know exactly what is happening or do you like things a little more casual. I fall a little more on the side of casual and would spend a minute studying the next section at each checkpoint before leaving. Knowing there is a climb that could take 3 hrs beforehand is much better than climbing for 3 hrs and not having a clue when the torture will end!
- Knowledge database – There is a reason that when many hard races are born, they have a higher DNF rate than now, and that is because over time, the experience and knowledge that is gained over the years, trickles down to the new runners, and confidence grows, and the success rates grow.Many of us (all?) have a love hate relationship with the internet and in particular social media, but it does have its advantages. Joining the right groups and connecting with previous runners is one great way of picking up some valuable information. Also, just visit this site, and read others race reports which are a goldmine for nuggets of information that could help you finish, plus they can really get you very excited and motivated about the challenge ahead.
Sleep
Now this is where it can all go so badly wrong if you don’t get it right. Believe me, I know! If you hallucinate then you should have slept earlier!
My simple rule is to sleep if youfeel tired and not push on to the next checkpoint. You see, when you get into such a poor, tired state, there is nothing positive about it. You move a lot slower, you feel colder and most dangerously, your judgement is clouded at the best. It suddenly becomes very difficult to look after yourself, especially when you are in the mountains in hostile conditions. Keeping yourself warm, dry, fed and watered suddenly become huge tasks and simple decision making goes to pot. Basically, if you get just a little more sleep, you will move faster, and be able to look after yourself much better. Don’t wait till you are about to drop. Don’t get caught up running with others as we all have different sleep demands at different times. Some people just power nap for 20 mins, but this is not enough for me I have learnt. 1.5hrs or 2hrs a day works well for me. But remember that you need to experiment to find your own optimum amount.
Coaching
If the preparation is all a bit too overwhelming, then maybe consider coaching. A good coach with relevant experience, will be able to help you structure your training, choose equipment and will be able to answer all your questions that will make things seem more manageable. Drop me a line at neilbryant@hotmail.co.uk if you are interested.
Do it!
These are just my simple observations about what works and what doesn’t over the longer single stage ultras where sleep becomes essential. But you must remember that you need to get out there and try things out. I just want to take some of the fear away from these 200 plus mile events so that more of you try them. They are hard, mentally and physically, but the reward from finishing one of these monsters is huge. With the right mindset, and as long as the body still works, most people could finish one, so why not enter one? What could possibly go wrong!
Below is a post asking is the Ultra is the new marathon , has this has now changed to a 200 miler being the new ultra ?
Running has become more and more popular , not seen since the days of the Sony Walkman revolution of the early eighties when for the first time you could run with music. (To the young generation amongst us we used a thing called a ‘tape’, analog not digital music. ) People new to running inevitably join a running club or run with more experienced friends and before they know it they’ve signed up for their first race. This is a good thing as I believe you never push yourself as much as when the competitive juices start to flow with a racing bib on your chest. One thing leads to another and before too long you’ve entered your first half or full marathon.
Invariably this distance is conquered and you’ve informed all your friends via Facebook and normally your work colleagues via daily updates on your progress. The problem arises though when the marathon doesn’t seem to cut it for kudos like it use to. In the office there seems to be quite a few marathoners and worse most are faster than you. You start to get compared to John in accounts who ran sub3 or even Sheila in Purchasing who ran has ran 10 marathons while juggling family commitments and a busy career. So these days to get some real kudos it’s time to take this running to the next level, the ultra-marathon.
The ultra has the added benefit of the slower you run the more kudos you get, where as the marathon is, these days, about not only completing it but also setting a good time. Non runners are getting use to people telling them they’ve ran a marathon and have responded asking how long they took. Again they are wise to what they consider a good time and if you reply ‘4 hours’ they look at you with pity and ask ‘what went wrong’? Not so with the ultra-marathon. Because it is still not mainstream a non runner has no idea what a good or bad time is for an ultra and even if they did the distance can be varied to confuse them. Remember an ultra is anything longer than a marathon distance, it can be 42.3k upwards.
The ultra gets even better, they tend to be in far flung locations and have pretty serious titles, again earning kudos points. How good does an ‘ultra-marathon in Death Valley‘ sound. Death valley, c’mon, if that doesn’t get serious kudos around the drink fountain nothing will. Ok, Sheila from Purchasing has ran 10 marathons but she’s never ran an ultra-marathon in Death Valley. They have no idea where Death Valley is or even what an ultra-marathon is but who cares, you are now the running god in the office, someone who wouldn’t waste their time with silly ‘girl distance’ like marathons. The universe is realigned and you can ‘strut’ around the office yet gain.
The only downside to this new running adventure is the office folk then look to you for more and more longer distances and/or exotic locations. After your first ultra you can never repeat that distance as non-runners , although initially impressed , soon become impervious to distance running unless there is a serious upgrade or the location adds some spice. e.g. The Marathon Des Sable ( http://www.marathondessables.com/en/), the toughest footrace on Earth. ! ( ..On Earth? are they saying there’s a tougher footrace not on earth, the Moon 100k maybe? Now that would be worth talking about !??)
A word of warning of course, you may come across the non runner who knows a thing or two about ultra-running and while you strut around the office sprouting off about a 100k race on the local trails, basking in the adulation of the finance department, they walk past and grunt it was ‘no Marathon Des Sables’. Instantly your credibility is destroyed and you sneak off back to your desk plotting your next adventure.
So to sum up, an ultra marathon may fill the void in the office kudos states. It has the benefit of still being relatively hardcore, in the view of the uneducated, allows you to focus on distance and not time (to counter that nasty sub3 runner in Accounts) and even allows you to slow down and take your time as the longer you take will actually earn more brownie points. I won’t even start to mention the extra equipment you get to buy and use on ultra-marathons. The wardrobe options are endless and include camelbacks, gators, water belts and my mate Mark’s favourite, a cappuccino machine. ! (He doesn’t actually bring along a cappuccino machine but he wore a water belt once that had so many accessories he might as well have!) This can become more of a hindrance than a help as I always remember feeling my mate TB’s camelback at the end of the 6 inch ultra-marathon ( http://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com ) and it must have weighted 10k; and that was at the END of the race not the beginning !!
The 6 inch is a good example of the small step up needed from the marathon distance. Remember anything longer than a marathon is classed an ultra. The 6 inch is 46k (assuming you don’t get lost, which I have on a number of occasions!), so for that extra 4k you get to shoot down Sheila in Purchasing as you’ve ran an ultra-marathon and ,as everybody knows , so much harder than the silly marathon…
So lookout Sheila, we’re coming for you ?
Finally a few items that you must have when you run a 200 miler. Fisiocrem ( https://www.fisiocrem.com.au/ ) to get you through the event and human tecar ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) to help you recover quickly. Both of these products are my go-to items before, during and after the race. Please note both of these companies supply me with their products because I hassled them until they did, they are that good.
Finally a thankyou to the good people at Paire socks who reached out to me to try their product. ( https://www.paire.com.au/ ) New to the market I was more than happy to try the Paire product and I’m glad I did. Paire suppled me with three pairs, active ankle, quarter and calf and all were very comfortable.
From their website ‘A thoughtfully designed blend of Australian Merino wool and organic combed cotton. Smoother softer, moisture-wicking and odour absorbing (read : not stinky). A true fabric chameleon – warm in the cold and cold in the heat.’
What I like about this product, similar to Fisiocrem and Human Tecar is it just does what it says on the box. As a consumer that is all I ask, honesty. All three varients supplied by Paire are just good, simple really. The socks fit well, feel good and are obviously good quality, what more would you want ?
I could wax lyrical about Paire all day long but I think it’s best that I say they are a good sock and you won’t be disappointed. I have used all three pairs sent me extensively over the last few weeks and am about to go for a run with them after finishing this post, that about sums it up. If you need all the other interesting facts about the brand , and there are quite a few, pop along to their website, it’s worth a visit. ( https://www.paire.com.au/ )
Finally if the review wasn’t positive enough I have a 15% off discount code : XYZ . Use this and save on this great product.
Right enough of this, time to put on my Paire socks and do what I love doing, go for a run, albeit probably not a 200 miler this afternoon.
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Sometimes you use stuff that just feel like it works. Pillar Performance have produced one such range of products. ( https://pillarperformance.com.au/)
The range was founded by Damien Fitzpatrick, a recently retired NSW Waratah which was largely developed in response to the injury challenges Damien faced in his career and the gap he recognised in the market when it came to purposefully formulated micronutrition.
Fitzpatrick’s career was unfortunately better known for the torrid run of injuries he faced, featuring three ACL tears which left his knee highly compromised. Turning to micronutrition – particularly fish oil – was a necessity to prolong his career, avoiding the harmful impacts of long-term anti-inflammatory use. In the twilight of his playing days, Fitzpatrick went about working with some of the sharpest minds in nutritional science and elite sport to develop the PILLAR range.
I used the Magnesium powder and certainly noticed a difference in my recovery, post run. I didn’t feel the build up of fatigue as I increased my training load getting ready for the Delirious West 200 miler in February this year. ( https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ ) The proof was in the pudding of course and I managed a negative split in the race , fishing stronger than when I started. A 15 hour PB, yep that’s right 15 hour PB, 68 hours and change , gold buckle run and a 4th place. Of course I can’t say hand on heart it was all down to Pillar products but I certainly trained better with them and the end result was beyond my expectations.
Another product I love is Modex. ( https://www.modexnatural.com/ ) . As with Pillar this is all good, natural ingredients that let you do what you love to do, for longer. I used Modex while training for the Light Horse 24 hour ultra and felt better for it, finishing third clocking up nearly 200 km. As with Pillar I felt it helped me combat the build up of fatigue that all runners sort of get use to, well it seems with these products we don’t have to any more.
My last product is Italian so it must be good.. ( https://humantecar.com/ ) The spray is very good and the bandages are bloody brilliant. I love these products. I know Tribe and Trail sell them but otherwise get them online. Again lots of scientific stuff on the website to get your teeth into but I think these ace !
With all of these products I recommend you go to their websites and do your own research. All I can say is they all do exactly what they said they would and I continue to use all three products.
Note: I was given free samples of each of these but continue to use them at my cost, maybe that’s their marketing strategy ? Well it works…
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As you can see from the image below (from Strava, you do use Strava right ? … http://www.strava.com ) I’ve been working hard on my Bionic Runner lately as I come to terms with more down time due to a troublesome Achilles. The Bionic Runner is, IMO , the closest you’ll get to the running motion without actually running. As the image below my Strava screen grab shows, the Bionic has been built for runners and, trust me, it’s a hard workout , which can get even harder with a head wind ! I have been building up the distance on the bionic and , over time, increased to fifty kilometres and two hours. Trust me my first outing on the bionic was an experience, I had just brought the Elliptigo and hadn’t even heard of the Bionic Runner. When I tried it I was hooked. It just felt so much like running compared to the Elliptigo, which is still a great alternative but more a forward and back Elliptical motion. (funny enough) The Bionic has the ‘airplane wing’ motion more akin to running and a lot harder, which is the point of course. Both the Elliptigo and the Bionic have they place in a runners arsenal and for recovery they are just about perfect. No impact but working most of the same running muscles you need to keep honest and best of all they are both just so much fun, albeit you will have to over look the puzzled looks of pedestrians.
Unfortunately the Bionic was plagued by poor Chinese manufacturing problems and went out of business a few years ago. There are still examples on Facebook if you want to try one ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/1507045689572412 ) but bear in mind spare parts are nearly impossible to get hold off and the second and third generation do tend to break in half. ! Have a trawl through the facebook page and you’ll get the general idea.
The Elliptigo on the other hand has gone from strength to strength and still sponsors Meb Keflezighi and Dean Karnazes. It has added two or three new models to its armory lately and is another great alternative to running when you are either injured or for second recovery runs. They take away the risk of injury when you are tired. Have a look at their website ( http://www.elliptigo.com ) I sold mine to my good friend Mark C. last year when I moved closer to the city and couldn’t justify two stand up bikes. I must admit to regretting my decision and will probably treaty myself to another one in summer. The GO in my opinion is built for longer distances, where as the Bionic is about shorter, harder workouts. Both have their place in my garage it’s just about persuading No1 Wife of my runners logic, this could prove difficult.
The image below is from my recovery period after a nasty calf tear, my first real injury of note. My time on the GO allowed me to come back strong and run a 2:49 at the Perth City to Surf Marathon, after 12 weeks out. I had 7 weeks on the Elliptigo before returning to running and this certainly beat 7 weeks of no cross training at all. In that time I was unable to run but could use the Elliptigo and work the running muscle quite happily and , as I said earlier, it really is so much fun.
Another alternative to the Ellpitigo and the bionic is the Cyclete Trail Runner. ( https://cyclete.com/ ) This bad boy looks the business but it more expensive and by the text copied from their website below harder to get hold off. Probably only accessible for my American Cousins giving the exchange rate for the Australian Dollar at the moment (I think we’re just below the Zimbabwe dollar in worthless currency nobody wants table !) and the cost of shipping. Note: The Elliptigo produces a trail like GO now which is similar to the Cyclete but half the cost.
Demand for Cycletes has dramatically exceeded our expectations – we are now sold-out for 2020.
DUE TO UNPRECEDENTED DEMAND FOR BICYCLES, SOME COMPONENTS I USE ARE BEING RATIONED WHICH MAY CAUSE DELAYS – Some components may require substitution. Specifically Ergon GP5 grips are unavailable GP1 will be substituted.
Each Cyclete 2020 Limited Edition is designed and made to order in Marin County California led by Steven Ascher.
Your Cyclete purchase is made in 3 installments of $1665 as follows:
The process of building your Cyclete begins when we receive your refundable deposit of $1665. Steven Ascher will contact you personally to welcome you to the Cyclete community and answer any questions you may have, discuss tire and gearing selection as well as accessories like fenders.
Your second installment of $1665 is due prior to painting your frame in your selected color. At this time you are committed to the build of your Cyclete and your payments become non-refundable.
When your Cyclete is completed your third and final installment of $1665 is required plus additional charge for accessories, shipping and any applicable taxes / duties will be collected.
Current lead times are 4-6 weeks
Have fun selecting your color! The pictures shown are renderings. While we have worked hard to provide a good representation, your Cyclete Trail Runner will certainly look different. The color will have greater depth and variation.
We are looking forward to building a Cyclete just for you.
NOTE: The Cyclete is not intended for children and has a maximum rider weight of 250 lbs.
Right that’s it for the moment. With my achilles on the mend I’m hoping to make the Light Horse Ultra 12 hour race on September 13th ( http://lighthorseultra.com.au/ ) , for anybody in Perth this is a must do event, it really is something special. The laps are relatively short , under 3km, which means to run through the start and stop area relatively often and with the extra distances this year there will be lots of company. The 24 hour starts at 6pm Saturday 12th September, with the 12 hour event starting at 6am Sunday 13th. There’s also a 6 hour and 3 hour event. Shaun Kaesler always puts on a great event and this one is one not to be missed. Due to our hard borders anybody outside Perth has got no chance of making the start line unless they can get into a quarantine hotel this week, at your cost. The event is good but not that good, stay at home !
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I have talked up the Nike Vaporfly 4% many times on my blog but still people race wearing other brands so I’m going to try one more time to make you see the light before moving on to the next running product. How good are these shoes ? Very, very good. Do you need a pair ? If you are serious about running yes, you need a pair and yesterday. Can you get a pair ? Probably not, they sell out quicker than a Rolling Stones concert at your local old peoples home, and that is fast ! What makes them so good ? Easy, you run faster for longer with less effort ; as there say on the show 4% performance increase for a perceived 4% less expelled energy; that’s right people they really make you faster while also making it easier to achieve these new found pace. I mean why wouldn’t you buy a pair , unless you want to stay the same pace and not get a 4% increased performance boost for nothing ? Well when I say nothing they do coast $350 AUD or similar but c’mon, a 4% performance increase for $350; I’ll take that all day. I reckon to get that through training alone you’d have to put in 1,000 – 2,000 kilometres of hard yakka. $350 is cheap at double the price…
Right, so after Nike sponsored the breaking 2 adventure ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2ZLG-Fij_4 ) and came so close they have created the marketing man dreams of a shoe with demand far outstripping supply thus keeping the price inflated. I know I said $350 was a small price to pay, and I stand by that, but it’s still a large amount of money for a running shoe, to the untrained eye (Unfortunately No1 Wife has a couple of those untrained eye’s and I still haven’t mentioned what I paid for my second pair of fly’s, well over retail and I mean well over retail !! Never got to use them, to add insult to injury , excuse the pun, as I picked up a nasty case of Plantar Fasciitis virtually the week after buying them. The Lord really does move in mysterious ways sometimes ?)
I brought a couple of version ones I suppose but managed to snag a pair of the latest and greatest via http://www.nike.com.au, these bad boys pictured above are the fly knit versions with a one piece flyknit upper attached to the foam and carbo fibre insole; a deadly combination by all accounts. Opening the box was like being a child again at Christmas Day with the one present you asked for in front of you. For me it would have been my Stretch Armstrong when I was nearly 10 years old, around 1976, man I loved Stretch Armstrong. My brother got Godzilla I think, basically the same idea; you stretch the sh*t out of the toy and it always returns to its original shape. To a 10 year old this was life changing, the flyknits have the same effect on a 51 year old. Personally that’s the $350 purchase price covered right there, the fact they also make me run faster for less effort is a bonus. Of course the only fly in the ointment is the possibility of me now searching on eBay for an original Stretch Armstrong and paying thousands of dollars to replicate that feeling I got as a 10 year old again. That would be difficult to get past no1 Wife for sure, even harder than the shoes!
So last few words… to me the Bugatti Veyron of running shoes, probably the most expensive shoe on the market but , like the Bugatti, the best of the best. Of course there will be haters who dish this post but that’s fine because I have enough experience to know a game changer when I encounter it, either as a 10 year old with the latest toy or a 51 year old with the best running show every invented, bar none. Really I should just keep quiet and let my competitors stumble around in their run of the mill trainers but that’s not me. We all run and race but really it’s ourselves we are racing against and our PB’s (PR’s) define us ; these shoes can help you rediscover yourself and to me that is a good thing and if even one person reads this post and goes out and buys (finds?) a pair I would have succeeded in giving that runner the same feeling I got when I opened my Stretch Armstrong box over 40 years ago, and that really is priceless.
I took my Daughter to a book fair a few weeks ago, not expecting much, but imagine my surprise when I found a section on running, you little beauty, old library books at give away prices. Ten minutes later I exited the fair with a whole new library of potential posts for my blog. The first book I’ve devoured, or am in the middle of devouring, is “Road Racing for Serious Runners” by Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas. Both of these runners have impeccable pedigrees and this book lets the reader in on some of their training strategies. (These guys must get on well as they have also co-written another running classic in “Advanced Marathoning“, which is also worth having in your library ; or kindle for the younger readers amongst us?)
My take away from this book is the way the authors describe the five workouts that runners need to improve their racing.
- Short, Fast speedwork to improve leg turnover and running form.
- Longer repetitions of two to six minutes at 3k to5k race pace to improve maximum oxygen uptake.
- Tempo runs of 20 – 40 minutes at 10-mile race pace to delay lactic acid build-up.
- Long runs to build endurance.
- Easy recovery runs to allow top effort on hard days.
Well there you go, simple really and truth be told no major revelations. All five types of workouts/runs are ingrained in the training programmes of most, if not all, coaches. What makes a difference is using these different workouts at the right time and pace tailored to your target race distance. Common sense would dictate that for marathon running you would put more emphasis on the long runs compared to the short, fast speedwork and conversely a 5k runners would be the opposite. How Pfitzinger and Douglas add value is the way they combine these workouts tailored to improving race performance, albeit looking at Pfitzinger’s example of a two week marathon training program at the beginning of the book makes me wonder if maybe the good old fashioned ‘distance is key‘ approach is the answer.?
In fact getting the right training program suited to an individual runner is anything but simple, it is actually very complicated and this is why you need either experience or a good coach; or both I suppose. In sunny Perth there is really only one coach or choice, The Running Centre ( http://therunningcentre.com.au ) , with Raf and his team of merry trainers. I worked with Raf in 2015 and with his help I had an outstanding 2016 reaching PB’s and times I thought beyond me. His secret, he basically had me change my daily routine and build in the 5 runs mentioned above. I found initially I was good at running at around the 4min/k pace, for long periods of time, but could not run much faster and chose not to run much slower. This training regime came about after I read an article in Runners World (I think?) about a runner who worked with coaches who decided that if you ran your marathon pace all the time when you actually raced this would be your ‘normal pace’ and thus sustainable for the duration. In the article it was actually a success with the runner achieving his target time of a sub 2hrs 40minutes marathon. I went down this running path for a period and although my results didn’t worsen I was finding the monotony of running the same pace constantly was beginning to test my love of running.
Raf put me on a training program with the ultimate goal of running a sub 2hours 40 minutes marathon and although I never achieved this target I did get very close the following year (running a 2:41:41 in 2016) using some of Raf’s training nuggets , the main one being ‘there is no such thing as junk miles’. Looking at how my training changed I can see now I was really being coerced into incorporating the 5 different workouts described by Pfitzinger and Douglas. No longer did I run all my training runs at the same pace and the fist thing I did was add distance and drop the pace, significantly. To do this I added in double runs and I firmly believe double days (distance) unlock your running dreams. If you take nothing more than that from this post or even blog I have done you a great service. As I have always maintained the second run is about .smelling the roses’, not pace just purely distance and time on legs. I find these runs the most enjoyable these days, maybe old age creeping up on me?
Another great run I love incorporating into my weekly schedule is the Mona Fartlek, this is so much fun and all over in twenty minutes, distance is determined on pace of course. I have written various posts on this run and have been lucky to meet the man himself a few times. ( https://www.runbkrun.com/2016/09/27/mona-fartlek-one-of-my-favourite-sessions-for-some-serious-pain-box-time/ ) I highly recommend all runners use this , or something very similar, daily in their training program. For the Tempo runs I use my 14k progressive Yelo run. As the name suggest a progressive run starts slow with each kilometre run at a slightly increased pace, culminating in a sprint to the finish at threshold pace normally, assuming all goes well. Again I’ve written a few posts on my 14k Thursday morning progressive, surprise, surprise. ( https://www.runbkrun.com/2017/11/10/progressive-runs-a-holy-grail-of-training-runs/ )
Easy runs with the boys on a Sunday morning is the staple diet of all runners and my favourite run of the week, well the post-run bit is my favourite bit as there is nearly always pancakes or waffles with good coffee. This is a runners reward for the two or more hours spent training (gossiping) with friends. All training programs incorporate a long run at least once a week for marathon runners and this really is the bread and butter (and waffles) of a marathon runners training program. Avoid it at your peril, although there is the caveat that if you have enough experience and weekly distance you may be able to get away with more shorter runs on a regular basis and miss out the one long run on the weekend but why would you ?
So, to sum up this post, look at your training week and try and incorporate some, or all, of the 5 different training runs described by Pfitzinger and Douglas; you’ll be a better runner for it.
Another downside of the headphones was Sony’s choice of colour, they were orange which made it easy for muggers to see you coming as in their day the Walkman was a highly prized piece of hardware ! On the upside the Walkman could also double as a weapon, used for protection purposes only mind you, (remember my previous analogy reference the resemblance to a brick.) and it at least made the battle between the jogger and mugger an interesting one with many a mugger coming off second best. Also, because the sound quality was so bad, it was still usable after it had been in battle as the sound was still likened to listening to music under water.
As you can see below the headphones of Jaybird have come on recently and with the new 2017 ‘run’ versions you can now feel comfortable as you run past your local neighborhood mugger as he will have no idea you have an expensive piece of retail hardware hidden in your inner ear, Jaybird even made them black, probably learning from the Sony Walkman’s mistakes. As the name suggests with these bad boys in your ears you can actually run and still listen to your music/podcast of choice, no more jogging. As well as fitting snuggly in your ear they are touch sensitive and perform a variety of functions. On both my runs so far I have had no issues with these headphones slipping out of place and you wouldn’t know they were in your ear, how technology has moved on.
Right, the test run(s). I did mention to the Jaybird rep that I normally don’t use headphones or listen to music when I run but was willing to give their product a try. As I’m currently struggling with a bad dose of Plantar Fasciitis at the moment I am forced to run around in circles on grass ovals to protect the foot and these runs are challenging to say the least, listening to music or podcasts would seem to be a perfect solution to the boredom of running slow laps. With this in mind I decided to also up the ante, so to speak , and run at the night with just a head torch for company, making the run even more monotonous. I decided to start my 10k run with a marathon talk podcast ( https://marathontalk.com/ ) of Steve Way’s top three Comrades finish. ( If you’re an ultra-runner you need to run Comrades, it really is that simple… http://www.comrades.com ) I plodded along for 5k listening to the interview and was pleasantly surprised how the time and distance passed by, a lot better than just me and my thoughts. Next I thought I’d spice things up a bit and selected a podcast of running music. I download an episode called ‘Between Us- Progressive Trance – 128 bm’s Throwback Thursday Mix,’ from ‘Running to the beat’ podcast. This proved a mistake as I am certainly not a ‘trance’ fan, whatever that is (I am assuming it sounds better with drugs and I would also assume you would need a shed load!) but the quality of the music was superb. The headphones themselves were excellent, great sound quality and a snug fit, all you could ask for really. I couldn’t fault them, the music I chose , well that was a complete disaster, I think next time I shall be selecting a few Sprinsteen songs with ‘Born to Run’ an obvious choice.
The Jaybird Run wireless headphones fitted snuggly in my ears straight out of the box but they do come with a smorgasbord of accessories to tailor the fit to the many different sizes of ear. The ear, and nose, as they are made up of cartilage, continue to grow throughout your life thus if you intend on keeping your run wireless headphones for some time I would suggest you keep all the accessories because over time you are going to need them.
The charging case is very, very cool and compact. A good thing as the headphones are so small and certainly have that ‘these will disappear very easily’ look about them. On one of my test runs I was running in the dark and at the finish had to walk to the car in virtual darkness, I was very aware of making sure I held the earphones tightly as dropping one could prove expensive. (I notice they do sell them singularly on the website so it looks like they do go missing…)
So, to conclude, am I a convert, yes I think I am. For solo runs where the beauty of the scenery is not there, or for monotonous loop runs, these headphones can make the running experience a lot more enjoyable and, with the right music choice, maybe even faster. I remember I ran the Melbourne Marathon in 2012 with my friend Dan ‘man with a plan’ Macey who downloaded a soundtrack with 90 beats per minute, he used this to run his first sub 3. He swore the soundtrack helped him keep his pace right to the end of the race. I’ve never tried this as when I’m racing I’m also talking to people around me , and the crowd, but that’s just me. If you do intend to use the Jaybird Run wireless headphones in a race make sure you check with the organisers that they are allowed, normally you are fine but better safe than sorry.
If you need more information check out their website for more information and cool videos .. https://www.jaybirdsport.com
I was contacted recently by Jaybird who asked me if I was interested in reviewing their wireless headphones. ( https://www.jaybirdsport.com ) Free running equipment, what a silly question, of course I was interested.! I must confess to not being a convert to running with headphones as being on the wrong side of fifty I have grown up with the Sony Walkman and then portable CD players. The quality of both of these items was sketchy at best with lifespans of minutes depending on the batteries of the time. They were also good for crossfit training as they weighed about as much as a small child and were designed to look like a brick ! The headphones are best described as challenging and worst useless. They were ill fitting and the size of your ears, covered in a material that would dampen and muffle the sound perfectly to actually make them just about useless, well done Sony. These bad boys weren’t all bad though and started a ‘jogging’ revolution (it was not a running revolution as runners would be unable to use them because if you started to go faster than a jog the headphones would fall off !) that morphed into the ‘running world’ we now live in.
Another downside of the headphones was Sony’s choice of colour, they were orange which made it easy for muggers to see you coming as in their day the Walkman was a highly prized piece of hardware ! On the upside the Walkman could also double as a weapon, used for protection purposes only mind you, (remember my previous analogy reference the resemblance to a brick.) and it at least made the battle between the jogger and mugger an interesting one with many a mugger coming off second best. Also, because the sound quality was so bad, it was still usable after it had been in battle as the sound was still likened to listening to music under water.
As you can see below the headphones of Jaybird have come on recently and with the new 2017 ‘run’ versions you can now feel comfortable as you run past your local neighborhood mugger as he will have no idea you have an expensive piece of retail hardware hidden in your inner ear, Jaybird even made them black, probably learning from the Sony Walkman’s mistakes. As the name suggests with these bad boys in your ears you can actually run and still listen to your music/podcast of choice, no more jogging. As well as fitting snuggly in your ear they are touch sensitive and perform a variety of functions. On both my runs so far I have had no issues with these headphones slipping out of place and you wouldn’t know they were in your ear, how technology has moved on.
Right, the test run(s). I did mention to the Jaybird rep that I normally don’t use headphones or listen to music when I run but was willing to give their product a try. As I’m currently struggling with a bad dose of Plantar Fasciitis at the moment I am forced to run around in circles on grass ovals to protect the foot and these runs are challenging to say the least, listening to music or podcasts would seem to be a perfect solution to the boredom of running slow laps. With this in mind I decided to also up the ante, so to speak , and run at the night with just a head torch for company, making the run even more monotonous. I decided to start my 10k run with a marathon talk podcast ( https://marathontalk.com/ ) of Steve Way’s top three Comrades finish. ( If you’re an ultra-runner you need to run Comrades, it really is that simple… http://www.comrades.com ) I plodded along for 5k listening to the interview and was pleasantly surprised how the time and distance passed by, a lot better than just me and my thoughts. Next I thought I’d spice things up a bit and selected a podcast of running music. I download an episode called ‘Between Us- Progressive Trance – 128 bm’s Throwback Thursday Mix,’ from ‘Running to the beat’ podcast. This proved a mistake as I am certainly not a ‘trance’ fan, whatever that is (I am assuming it sounds better with drugs and I would also assume you would need a shed load!) but the quality of the music was superb. The headphones themselves were excellent, great sound quality and a snug fit, all you could ask for really. I couldn’t fault them, the music I chose , well that was a complete disaster, I think next time I shall be selecting a few Sprinsteen songs with ‘Born to Run’ an obvious choice.
The Jaybird Run wireless headphones fitted snuggly in my ears straight out of the box but they do come with a smorgasbord of accessories to tailor the fit to the many different sizes of ear. The ear, and nose, as they are made up of cartilage, continue to grow throughout your life thus if you intend on keeping your run wireless headphones for some time I would suggest you keep all the accessories because over time you are going to need them.
The charging case is very, very cool and compact. A good thing as the headphones are so small and certainly have that ‘these will disappear very easily’ look about them. On one of my test runs I was running in the dark and at the finish had to walk to the car in virtual darkness, I was very aware of making sure I held the earphones tightly as dropping one could prove expensive. (I notice they do sell them singularly on the website so it looks like they do go missing…)
So, to conclude, am I a convert, yes I think I am. For solo runs where the beauty of the scenery is not there, or for monotonous loop runs, these headphones can make the running experience a lot more enjoyable and, with the right music choice, maybe even faster. I remember I ran the Melbourne Marathon in 2012 with my friend Dan ‘man with a plan’ Macey who downloaded a soundtrack with 90 beats per minute, he used this to run his first sub 3. He swore the soundtrack helped him keep his pace right to the end of the race. I’ve never tried this as when I’m racing I’m also talking to people around me , and the crowd, but that’s just me. If you do intend to use the Jaybird Run wireless headphones in a race make sure you check with the organisers that they are allowed, normally you are fine but better safe than sorry.
If you need more information check out their website for more information and cool videos .. https://www.jaybirdsport.com
Being a runner I love running, it’s what I do and cross training has never been high on my agenda. I use to enjoy a weekly circuit class but that was a ‘freebie’ in the works building gym. Once I moved buildings my circuit class career stopped abruptly. Of course I could have joined a gym and paid for a circuit class but I could run for free and running is my thing, not sweating in-front of mirrors. Another reason I always avoided cross training was I managed to avoid injury for so long. Over the last 7 -8 years I reckon I’ve missed about 4-6 weeks due to a couple of calf knots and/or a small calf tear. If you ain’t getting injured why cross train ? Of course you could say that cross training helps in injury avoidance or prevention but I go back to my earlier point, I’m a runner and faced with option of a cross training session or a run I’ll always ‘lace-up’.
This all changed earlier in the year when I managed to tear my calf and was faced with a 2-3 month period without running. My options were ‘don the lycra’ and get on the bike, join a gym or stop eating (to avoid putting on weight, I’m pretty sure this was unachievable over a 3 month period ?) None of these options inspired me but then I found the Elliptigo ( http://www.elliptigo.com ) and I had an outlet for my exercise addiction. I wrote a post on said item below :-
Just after I brought the Elliptigo, assuming it was the only product available, I found out about an Australian version which seems is cheaper and more suited to running. Always the way, I find out after I ‘splashed the cash’ of course. This Australian product it seems is certainly more running inspired that the Elliptigo (which is more Elliptical based) and built to provide a more ‘running experience’. The Bionic or Predator Plus is available at Run4.com ( http://www.run4.com).
The Bionic was invented in a dusty tin shed in regional Australia which sounds very Australian of course, probably the same shed they invented Holden, Castlemaine XXXX and Ugg boots. Steve Cranitch, the inventor, had noticed in his early 40’s that many of his avid running friends were being forced to give up running due to injuries. The alternatives , as I have already mentioned in this post earlier, just didn’t feel like running. Thus the non-impact running trainer was born.
The Bionic is built to mimic, as close as possible, the running stride and give you the same workout you would expect from a run. I have tested the Bionic and can concur it does work the same muscles, more so than the Elliptigo but both have their place. To me the Bionic is more for a good workout akin to a tempo or interval session, while the Elliptigo is more suited to a long run, of course both can be tailored to your needs with the gears and terrain but personally this is how I would see you justifying both products.
Can I justify both products ? I can yes, my Wife, no and as we are happily married (or that is what I have been trained to say if anybody asks ?) my Wife opinion over rides mine. This is a small price to pay for my ‘running tokens’.
So how would you use the Elliptigo or Bionic as part of your training schedule. I’d swap out a couple of sessions a week initially , to get use to the different training method and then also when you’re tapering, or even ramping-up, use this either as a ‘second run’ option or instead of a run if you are tapering but still need that exercise fix. They can be tailored to everybodies training and the best part is they really are fun. I used my Elliptigo over the weekend as I pulled up sore after the 14k progressive pain train on Thursday. It has been a few months since I rode it as, already mentioned in this post, I love running and given the choice will always choose a second run over all alternatives. Injury , or possible injury, forced me to the Elliptigo over the weekend and I must admit to yet again being pleasantly surprised at the workout the Elliptigo gives you and the general ‘fun factor’. When you ride an Elliptigo it really does put a smile on your face, it is serious fun people and this is the reason why it is my weapon of choice for cross training. It is cross training while still working the running muscles and you don’t have to go to a sweaty gym full of mirrors and ‘wanna-be’ body builders strutting around like ‘preaming peacocks’ .
I surprised myself how much I enjoyed the Elliptigo experience and I made a promise to spend more time aboard the product starting with commuting to work over Summer. If nothing else it’ll give me 3-4 hours a week of extra cardio-training compared to sitting on a train glued to my kindle or iphone. So cross training really can be running, working all the major running muscle groups without the impact , thanks to a dusty tin shed in regional Australia.