Category: THINK

3 Signs You Are Training Too Hard

Posted on 17/05/202105/05/2021 by Ruth Martin

Sometimes the hardest part of any training plan in the lead up to a race, challenge or event is listening to our own bodies and knowing when to take it easy and when to push on. Juggling life, work, training and responsibilities is a fine balancing act and judging when we need to take it easier in training can be a minefield when we want to compete well or complete a session on a training plan. How do we know when we are genuinely doing a bit too much compared with that feeling of ‘kind of want to go for a

5 ways trail running can boost mental well being

Posted on 07/08/202013/08/2020 by Rachael Woolston

During lockdown, more and more people have taken up running and discovered the huge benefits of getting out on the trails as they seek to find open, green spaces Being able to lace up our trainers and head out for a run has been a blessing for many of us, especially during the coronavirus lockdown. Small wonder that this has led to a huge increase in the number of people who have taken up running with Sports Direct reporting a 218% increase in the sale of running shoes. And it’s not just road running but trail running too with more

How to develop a winning mindset

Posted on 17/06/202029/07/2020 by Rachael Woolston

We chatted to sports psychologist, Dr Josephine Perry on our Instagram Live Chat series about how to develop a winning mindset – and staying motivated without races in 2020 How do you improve your mindset so that you can improve your ability to feel uncomfortable but still push through in training or racing? A lot of it comes down to motivation, which many of us are struggling with at the moment because the key determinants of our motivation are your goals, and Covid 19 has wiped out all the races. It’s much easier to get on the treadmill if you

News Release: Who are the fastest women in the UK?

Posted on 03/06/202004/06/2020 by Rachael Woolston

On 30th May, we challenged over 1800 women to race for Team North or South over 5km and see who was the fastest… For thirty days, 1766 women challenged themselves to improve their running technique, efficiency and speed over 5km with the Girls Run the World 30 Day Race Shape Challenge (usually £50, it was free during Covid to help raise money for Refuge). A further 89 women signed up for the final showdown, Queens of Speed North vs South virtual 5k challenge on 30th May. 40.2% ran for Team North, 59.8% for Team South. And the winners were… Team South, with an

Letting go of event goals during Covid-19

Posted on 14/05/202014/05/2020 by Rachael Woolston

Leanne Fullwood, 32, a critical care nurse from Birmingham explains how she has coped with letting go of training and endurance fitness during Covid-19 I’ve been a runner since university and a triathlete for five years, having done a full Ironman in 2018 and seven half distance triathlons of 70.3 distances. I love it but juggling three sports, rather than just running is tricky at the best of times. With the restrictions on exercise during Covid-19, adding to my role in nursing, I’ve had to learn to adapt and let go of worrying about loss of fitness and the disappointment

11 life positive tips for getting through Covid-19

Posted on 26/03/202026/03/2020 by Saffi Leigh

Feeling anxious and out of control due to the corona pandemic? Katherine O’Hara, 43, life coach, mum of two and former professional Ironman athlete, gives her tips on how to survive the uncertainty positively Having never experienced a pandemic like the Corona virus in my lifetime, all I know is that, much like an endurance event we are going to have to pace ourselves and break it down into steps that we know that we can achieve. The only difference is, we do not know where the finish line will be and that line keeps moving. The challenge is different

Julie Carter, has now been running for over 1500 days without a break

How does a running addict survive Covid-19 in France?

Posted on 20/03/2020 by Elsa Smith

Bad enough not to be able to run, when you’ve been on a running streak for five years. Here, Julie Carter, tells us how she is coping with the restrictions lockdown in France. As told to Saffi Leigh. How does a run addict survive COVID-19?? My name is Julie, and I’m an addict… A running addict. If someone had approached me and told me that I had an addiction, I would have laughed in their face. Me an addict? Don’t be silly. Like every addict I was still in the self-denial phase. It has taken COVID-19 to make me wake

How to keep strong and motivated during Covid-19

Posted on 16/03/202016/03/2020 by Rachael Woolston

With events being cancelled and talk of gym closures, it can be easy to lose perspective. Here’s our guide to staying strong, mentally and physically with online training options during the coming weeks and months of uncertainty Change your target event From London to Paris, Manchester to Madrid, the big name road races have all been cancelled, along with many Ironman 70.3 races. We’re sure more will follow suit, but that doesn’t mean you have to panic. We all like to have goals to keep ourselves motivated, and we’ve been working hard with our remote clients across the UK and

Poor recovery strategies could sap your will power?

Posted on 25/02/202027/02/2020 by Rachael Woolston

Countless studies have suggested that the harder we train without sufficient recovery, the more it saps our will power, leading to us choosing immediate reward rather than delaying it. A recent study published by French researchers in the the journal, Biology Letters studied 37 serious triathletes, half of whom increased their training load by 40 percent for a three-week period. At the end of this, they completed a series of decision-making tasks in a brain scanner. The overtrained athletes all chose immediate rewards – for instance £10 now rather than £50 in six months. ‘What does this have to do

Are you a mind or soul athlete?

Posted on 27/12/201927/12/2019 by Rachael Woolston

Being aware of what drives you, will help you to plan and choose which are the right types of events to enter and the best way to train for them If you were to think of well known athletes, who would you think of who is someone who is a mind athlete, someone who pushes through using the power of the mind, who is probably always breaking down the numbers in their head, driven by the statistics? And on the flip-side, who looks like they do it for the heart-pumping, lung-burning joy of it? Paula Radcliffe and Chrissie Wellington are