Category: DISCUSS

How was your weekend running?

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While many of you all seem to be making a final escape to European shores with some beautiful holiday running pictures being posted, back in the UK there have been some equally stunning races taking place from the Sussex Hardway 13  (yes, it was hard!) to the intriguing sounding Two Tunnels Half Marathon… (18-19th August) Why would you run up tank tracks ascending 419 ft with a gradient of 13% on a August summer Saturday? This is the very start of the appropriately named The Hardway Half, a just over half  marathon (13.7 miles)  event from Sussex Trail Events. It’s

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How was your weekend running?

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Date: 20-22nd July We’ve never had a summer quite so hot, although one way to steer clear of the heat this weekend was to take part in the Lunar-tic Marathon River Marathon which ran through the night. But we thought it was the perfect conditions for our inaugural GRTW Run Wild trail and yoga retreat. How did you fare this weekend in training or racing?     Over the weekend, we spoke to lots of runners at our GRTW Trail and Yoga retreat and opinion is evenly split - some people love warm summer running, others much prefer the cooler

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How was your weekend running?

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Summer is a time of trail races and those with a bit of a twist… I didn’t race this weekend as I was busy checking out  more routes for the Girls Run the World Trail and Yoga Retreat this coming weekend (July 20-22), and it sure was a hot one! Which is why I headed off for an open water swim in the beautiful Weirwood Reservoir rather than run again. But elsewhere, there was lots going on in the trail running stakes, not least the spectacular Gran Trail Courmayer, with distances of 30, 50 and 105km to choose from…the winning

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How was your weekend running?

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Mountain running and park runs , I’m a little late with this weekend post from 7th-8th July but my excuse? Holding running in the lovely Italian Dolomites and Lake Garda…   If you ever fancy a DIY running holiday,  I can’t recommend Lake Garda and the Dolomites enough. I was there last week, firstly in the Dolomites to take part in an arduous but absolutely amazing cycle sportive, Maratona Dles Dolomites. I then stayed on and just ran the trails that I could find. Hilly, hard but absolutely stunning with nothing but the babble of mountain springs and the gentle ring

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How was your weekend running?

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From fun runs to the Decathlon 5km series and Race to the Kings, this weekend summed up the beauty of summer running…   During the winter, many of the athletic clubs take part in cross country races, fast, fierce and tough races, short in distance, usually extremely muddy, and fierce in hills and weather conditions. They do it to pitch themselves against other clubs for points. Come the summer, many of these clubs hold summer ‘fun runs’, those same types of short distance races - 3 - 5 miles - on off road conditions but in beautiful sunny, warm weather.

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How was your weekend running?

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So, I’m a bit behind with our #medalmonday post - while most of you were running fantastic races like the Two Castles Run (from Warkwick to Kenilworth) and the St Alban’s Half Marathon, I was taking time out from the purity of just running to participate in the 113 Cotswold Half Ironman…     ‘Graeme always has terrible weather at his events,’ confided one of the marshals the day before the 113 Cotswold Half Ironman, as I eyed up the lake I was due to swim 1.9km in the following morning. The next morning, I stood there again, having awoken at

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How was your weekend running?

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What running or events did you take part in this weekend?   Down here in Sussex, the first weekend of June is always the renowned South Downs Way Relay, a lung-busting, leg sapping relay race involving six men, women or mixed teams all racing their way from Eastbourne to Winchester over 100 miles. It’s an invitation only event and a hotly contested race every year. I was very fortunate to be part of the winning Arena ladies team last year, who amazingly have gone on to win it again this year. And what’s most notable about that is that ALL

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How was your weekend running?

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The weekend just passed had us thinking a lot about motivation and will power to push through when training or racing gets tough… Perhaps this was partly due to my taking on Grafman, a Half Ironman event, which comprises a 1.8km open water swim, followed by a 56 mile bike ride and rounded off by a half marathon at the end. But it was also because it was a weekend of running events that require a lot of mental reserve, such as the Night of the 10km PBs and the North Downs Way 50. Fittingly enough, the Girls Run the

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Marathon Mastery Series: How to avoid an upset tummy

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As we approach peak training load for those running Spring marathons, we often hear of runners complaining of an upset stomach and/or feeling sick during and after a run. Read on for advice about how to avoid it….   For many runners, stomach pain, feeling sick and needing the toilet urgently, are all unfortunate consequences of an increase in marathon training and long training runs. There are a number of factors at play that cause this, but one could be taking on too much carbohydrate in the form of gels. ‘If you take on too many gels or sports energy

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Marathon Mastery Series: What to do when injury strikes

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Injury happens to even the most seasoned of marathon runners, but it doesn’t mean you have to sit on the sofa stewing and panicking about your diminishing fitness and not being able to reach your marathon goal… The reality is that being injured very rarely means you should totally rest*. Ninety nine percent of the time, it means NOT running but keeping up your running fitness and strength to ensure that once you’ve recovered, you can get back on track to your goal without losing your hard run gains. All you need to do is find the right run replacement (check with your

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