It’s noticeably cold in the engineering workshop. But today I’m keeping warm in my overalls by frantically marking out and cutting 25mm thick sheets of blue industrial nylon plastic. I’m weighing them and putting them into Jiffy bags to post out to some of my coaching clients. The end product of today’s engineering project is …
In the build-up to a race there can be a lot of organisation and preparation required. Travel arrangement, hotels, bib collection, mandatory equipment and kit preparation. So often nutrition can be an unwanted additional task to complete. Planning your nutrition should start long time before race week, but I appreciate things don’t always go to …
eat your way to the start line – how to prepare for an ultra Read More »
By Andy Mouncey Now you’re not short of articles telling you how to plan your training – which is fair enough as most of us: Don’t have a coach to do it for us. Don’t have oceans of time to train (so getting the most from what we have is kind of crucial). Don’t have …
Last updated: 04-Dec-18 By Simon Mesner There are many ways to increase your running speed from physical training to diet and adequate rest. This article will focus on selected physical training drills for down-hill speed; speed on the flat and finishing speed. Downhill speed Downhill running at pace requires skilful agility – the ability to …
Last updated: 11-Dec-18 By James Eacott Let’s face it, training for an ultra marathon through winter is tough. Whatever way you cut it, however committed you are, I defy anyone who says their motivation doesn’t wane even momentarily through the dark, cold months. But fear not, for we have some practical, real-world tips that we …
By Karina Teahan Metatarsalgia is a common overuse injury in runners. It is a general name describing pain under the heads of your metatarsal bones. This is an area on the sole of your foot, often referred to as the “ball” of your foot. So metatarsalgia is a symptom, rather than a specific diagnosis. It …
By Andy Mouncey It’s around this time of year that one particular group of emails start arriving: ‘Hello. I’m entered for the Marathon des Sables next year and I’m a bit worried ‘cos it’s now 5-4-3 months to go and I haven’t really started training / I keep getting injured / looks like everyone else …
By Sarah Cooke Before writing this article, I asked some of my running friends and coaching clients about their experiences of race-related anxiety. None of these runners identified themselves as having an anxiety disorder or as suffering with debilitating nerves on race day. However, they could all think of times when they had felt anxious …
By James Eacott In the first of this three part series, I detailed how to set your zones and continued with Part 2 on how to use those zones to improve your training. Now that you’ve started using a heart rate monitor in some sessions each week, we look at how you will use it …
Heart Rate Training Part 3: How to analyse your training and use heart rate for racing Read More »
By Alice Morrison If you are a Slim Jim/Jane, look away now, this article is not for you. If, however, like me, you have phases where you ditch the exercise for the pleasures of the flesh and the pounds settle around your middle, read on. Four months ago, I signed on for the Everest Trail …
