The Great Australian Run took place on the weekend, attracting in the realm of 4000 participants to the 15 kilometer fun run held in the city of Melbourne, Australia.

The race had some big-name draw-cards including Ethiopian distance king Haile Gebrselassie, Australia’s Craig Mottram and Kenyan Patrick Makau.

Gebrselassie, suffering from jet-lag, still managed to dominate his rivals, wining the inaugural event in 42 minutes and 40 seconds.

Ethiopian great Haile Gebrselassie burnt off his rivals for a commanding win in the Great Australian Run through the city streets here on Sunday.

Makau trailed in 35 seconds behind Gebrselassie to take second in 43:15, with well performed Australia athlete Collis Birmingham beating Olympian Craig Mottram for third placing in 43:35.

Kenya’s two-time world marathon champion Catherine Ndereba easily won the the women’s event in 50:43, Ndereba, 36, was second behind Romania’s Constantina Dita in this year’s Beijing Olympic marathon, but finished well ahead of sixth-placed Dita in the shorter event.

New Zealand’s Alice Mason was second in 51:27 and third-placed Lisa Weightman was the leading Australian in 51:31.

Click on the following link for a more thorough report on the Great Australian Run of 2008.

Technorati Tags: Craig Mottram, Haile Gebrselassie

Joe Kelly has put together 53 Rules of Running. A collection of tips and truths that’ll ring true with anyone who has experienced life as a distance runner.

It includes the motivating…

• 5. “Keep promises, especially ones made to yourself”
• 14. “When standing in starting lines, remind yourself how fortunate you are to be  there”
• 16. “A bad day of running still beats a good day at work”

… the practical…

• 4. “During group training runs, don’t let anyone run alone”
• 33. “Never throw away the instructions to your running watch” - never forget that one
• 34. “Don’t try to outrun dogs.”

… through to the wise and downright philosophical…

• 3. “Don’t make running your life. Make it part of your life”
• 21. “Approach running as if the quality of your life depended on it”
• 45. “Winning means different things to different people”

Joe’s list reminded me, once again how running is not just about faster times.
Running is about becoming a better, more rounded person who enjoys a greater quality of life.

Enjoy

• The 53 Runner’s Commandments

Photo courtesy of Mike Warren

Athletes have been practicing carbo loading since the late 1960s. But what’s the big deal with carbo loading? What the heck is it? Why do it? What are the benefits?

The short answer is that carbo loading enhances endurance performance by increasing the amount of glycogen in the body. More glycogen (Carbohydrates) stored in the muscles and livers equates to more energy at an athlete’s disposal.

The benefit? You’ll last longer in an extended endurance event!

In practice the body normally has enough Glycogen for events up to 90 minutes in duration. But if you are doing an extended event like a Marathon, there are some obvious benefits to extra glycogen stores.

So how does one carbo load? There are various carbo loading practices, which have changed over time with new Scientific findings. These are elaborated on at great length in an article I discovered the other day titled The evolving art of carbo-loading.

A Swedish physiologist named Gunvar Ahlborg was the first to introduce some scientific basis to the fact that the muscles and liver are able to store above-normal amounts of glycogen when high levels of carbohydrate consumption are preceded by severe glycogen depletion.

The stress of severe glycogen depletion triggers an adaptive response by which the body reduces the amount of dietary carbohydrate that it converts to fat and increases the amount of carbohydrate that it stores in the liver and muscles as glycogen -a phenomenon Ahlborg referred to as glycogen supercompensation.

From his findings he developed The Ahlborg method:

Perform an exhaustive workout one week before a long race (90 minutes-plus).

Consume a very low-carb diet (10%) for the next 3-4 days while training lightly.

Consume a very high-carb diet (90%) the next 3-4 days while continuing to train lightly.

Endurance athletes around the globe began to use Ahlborg’s carbo-loading plan prior to events anticipated to last 90 minutes or longer.

While it worked, it had its share of drawbacks. Many athletes weren’t keen on performing an exhaustive workout just a week before a big race. Also maintaining a 10 percent carbohydrate diet for three or four days carried some nasty consequences including lethargy, cravings, irritability, lack of concentration and increased susceptibility to illness.

Fortunately research later offered an alternative method that increased glycogen storage without first depleting it.

The no-depletion method came onto the scene:

Perform a long workout (but not an exhaustive workout) one week before race day.

Eat normally (55-60% carbohydrate) until three days before a longer race.

Eat a high-carb diet (70%) the final three days before racing while training very lightly.

The method was more pleasant to athletes and carried fewer of the risks associated with the Ahlborg method. Athletes were no longer required to perform a long depleting workout a week before a big race!

However, in 2002, however another method was devised by scientists at the University of Western Australia. This was perhaps the easiest method of all to follow as it only involved one day of preperation:

During the pre-race week, eat normally while training lightly until the day before a longer race.

On the morning of the day before the race, perform a very brief, very high-intensity workout. (In testing this consisted of two and a half minutes at 130 percent of VO2max (about one-mile race pace) followed by a 30-second sprint).

Consume 12 g of carbs per lb. of body weight over the next 24 hours.

The result? A 90-percent increase in muscle glycogen storage!

The method works best if preceded by a proper taper - several days of reduced training with the purpose of rendering your body rested, regenerated and race-ready.

So when should you use Carbo Loading?

Carbo-loading in general has been shown to enhance race performance only when athletes consume little or no carbohydrate during the race itself. If you do use a sports drink or sports gels to fuel your race effort - as you should - prior carbo-loading probably will have no effect. But it doesn’t hurt to do it anyway, as insurance.

Article Link:

• The evolving art of carbo-loading

Technorati Tags: Carbo Loading, Diet, Performance

Photo courtesy of jdiggans

Passing through Italy on your travels?

Why not add one the country’s best distance races to your schedule?

Runnerworld UK have an article titled, The Top 10 Italian Races, as selected by Runner’s World Italy’s Deputy Editor Vittorio Nava.

Vittorio writes:

From the thrill of running on the Formula One track at Monza to the more visceral delights of some of the world’s greatest cities, Italian races boast both ancient and modern pleasures for the visiting runner. For the best pre-race carbo-loading in the world and architecture to die for Italy has a wealth of breathtaking races.

(more…)

Technorati Tags: Distance Running, Italy

Photo courtesy of Martineric

Marilson Gomes dos Santos crossed the line first in this years New York Marathon in a wind affected time of 2:08:43. He ran down Moroccan Abderrahim Goumri in the final kilometer to take the men’s race in a dramatic fashion in the closing stages of the race. Goumri finished in a time of 2:09:05 ahead of Daniel Rono (2:11:22) and the aging Paul Tergat who could only manage 4th on this occasion coming home in 2:13:10.

“I never lost hope,” Dos Santos said.

“When I got into Central Park, the people got me going and inspired me to win the race.”

Paula Radcliffe, made up for a poor Olympic and now seems back to her best with a strong finish to take out the women’s title in 2:23:56. In doing so, she became the second woman to win the New York City Marathon three times. She crossed the line 1 minute, 47 seconds ahead of Russian Ludmila Petrova, with debutant American Kara Goucher only another 10 seconds behind.

(more…)

Technorati Tags: Abderrahim Goumri, Daniel Rono, Gete Wami, Kara Goucher, Ludmila Petrova, Marilson Gomes dos Santos, New York Marathon, Paul Tergat, Paula Radcliffe

WHAT do you get when you put together the greatest distance runner in history, a worthy challenger and a fast course?
According to Haile Gebrselassie, you’ll get a 15km world record. Organisers of the Great Australian Run have laid out a fast course through the streets for the November 30 event. Can the Ethiopian Marathon World Record holder pull it off? Point your browser to the link to Read more about The Great Australian Run of 2008.

Technorati Tags: Craig Mottram, Great Australian Run, Haile Gebrselassie, World Record

In the weeks following Haile Gebrselassie’s world record Marathon run of 2:03:59 in Berlin, speculation has been rife of a sub 2 hour marathon in our lifetime! With the dramatic drop in the Marathon world record over the last 10 years, sports promoters are naturally excited, but is a sub-2 marathon likely or even possible?

Sports scientist Ross Tucker, presents a more analytical look at the chances of one day seeing a sub-2 hour marathon run. He borrows a little from the history of the event and also the commercial aspects that might in some respects prevent great athletes from breaking the record. He then speculates on who might come through in our lifetimes.

The Key Points:

• Marathon running is in something of a golden era, 10 years ago the marathon world record stood at 2:06:50 and since then has dropped almost 3 minutes!
• When the next generation of endurance runners, the Tergat’s, the Gebrselassie’s, the Hissou’s, moved up to the marathon and the anticipated “overhauls” in the Marathon were proven correct
• Ross correlates what’s happening in the marathon with what happened over 5,000m and 10,000m on the track in the 1990’s - the 10,000m was lowered an incredible 30 seconds over a four year period when Gebrselassie, Hissou and Tergat were going at it! The point being that this kind of performance over 10,000m predicted what would eventually happen in the marathon, because the best predictor of Marathon performance is 10k time.
• While the drop in 10,000m world record was dramatic, it has recently plateaued, and come down less than 5 seconds since 1998 (thanks to Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia), a similar thing has happened in the 5,000m, which fell by a staggering 18 seconds in the four years up to 1998, then took another six years to fall just 2 seconds (Bekele again)
• This would indicate that while there has been a dramatic decrease in times in the marathon, it is unlikely to keep falling at the same rate.

So it seems a sub 2-hour Marathon is unlikely for a while yet and this is not even taking into account the commercial aspect of professional Marathon running - Ross has some thoughts as well as an opinion on the most likely candidates to lower the world record, it’s an interesting read.

Technorati Tags: 10000m, 5000m, Haile Gebrselassie, Kenenisa Bekele, Marathon, Paul Tergat, Salah Hissou, World Record

By Ramzi
The question was raised in the Ask the Running Doc section of Runners World: Should use gels or Gu every 45 minutes as well as sports drinks for energy in my first Marathon?

Dr. Lewis G. who Runner’s World claim is the “world’s premier running physician” certainly seems qualified to answer this question with an impressive list of credentials including: medical director of the New York Road Runners, the ING New York City Marathon and all of Elite Racing’s Musical Marathons, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program and he also serves as Chairman of the Board of Governors on the International Marathon Medical Directors Association.

The Doc advocates “real” food over gel or GU packets:

If you were at a barbecue on the weekend and on the buffet was barbecued chicken, salad, and lots of other “real” food, or an iced bowl of gel or Gu packets, which would you eat? Of course you would go for the real food. I absolutely prefer, without a doubt, smart food choices during your training and on race day

Dr. Lewis also advises that you should try nothing in a big event that you haven’t tried and tested in your training:

[you should be trying] nothing new (including food and or drink) on race day that you haven’t done in training. You should be drinking a sports drink and doing the salt in training as a prep for race day, as I’ve said in previous blogs.

On the overuse of gels and Gu, the Doc is critical of the high sugar levels offered by the supplements:

Overuse of gels and Gu, I have found, makes my runners and walkers not feel as well on long runs or half and full marathons. Whenever the body “sees” a high sugar load, as is in these products, there is a rise in sugar, followed by a rise in insulin which causes an abrupt drop in sugar. Doing this over and over again, every 45 minutes, gets you what we call the “yo-yo effect” and by the time you finish, your body is just plain worn out.

Generally what happens if you load up on simple sugars (which gels and Gu are loaded with) is the body is immediately charged with energy and you feel really good, but then insulin levels in the body rises which causes an abrupt sugar plummet - which drops you in a hole! This “crashing” effect is certainly not what you want in a Marathon.

The Doc states that scientific evidence has shown that if you take in a sugar load only once at “the wall” or about 17 miles/27 km you’ll increase your sugar enough to finish feeling strong.

This controversial post has certainly generated plenty of debate and flies in the face of what is recommended in many other articles and sources. But you must wonder if this is due to the massive market for supplements. Of course the manufacturers want you believing you should consume their gels as often as possible.

On the other hand the Doc’s comments strike me as a bit vague and leave a lot of threads hanging.

Admittedly it’s been a while since I read any literature on this topic myself, but my understanding - at least for the elite marathoner - is you should drink a low-concentration energy drink formula, frequently throughout a Marathon. As I recall, the Marathon is also the only race where this applies, any shorter distance and you naturally possess enough energy to carry you through to the finish line. This might not be true in all cases however.

While Dr. Lewis clarifies the frequency of fueling (at least in his opinion), he does mention the type of fueling. Presumably he is not a fan of gel/Gu products. He does not state if this intake at the 17 mile mark should be gels, Gu or another type of sports drink.

The Doc also seems to lump all runners into a single category when in reality there will people of all abilities participating in any given event, from the Elite to weekend warrior. Surely the fueling needs of the 4 hour plus “plodder” does not match those of an Elite marathoner who finishes in a little over 2 hours.

One reader also argued against the Doc’s information sources (Medical Human Physiology and Endocrnology textbooks on the stimulus and action of Insulin), that the “crashing” effect occurs when the body is at rest - an entirely different scenario than when you’re continuously active and placing the body under considerable stress as you do in a Marathon. Many more calories will be expended by your body and 100 cal of a gel will get sucked up pretty quickly as soon as it enters the bloodstream.

One point of unity in the discussion seems to be the acceptance that - in terms of fueling - what works differs from person to person and the importance of test your fueling strategy before a race.

The full thread can be followed here.

Technorati Tags: Fueling, Gels, Marathon, Performance

by Martineric

World record holder Paula Radcliffe will attempt to get her marathon career back on track when she lines up for the 2008 ING New York City Marathon on Sunday 2nd of November against 2007 Boston champion Gete Wami of Ethiopia.

Radcliffe had a disappointing performance in the Beijing Olympic, where injuries plagued her preparation. She finishing 23rd in a time, well below her best at 2:32:38.

Only year ago Radcliffe, 34, notched up an inspiring victory in New York, only 10 months after the birth of her first child in January 2007, pulling away from Wami in the final mile to capture the title in 2:23:09.

Radcliffe holds the women’s Marathon World record of 2:15:25, set in 2003 in London and also four of the five fastest times in women’s marathon history. She has won seven of the eight marathons she has finished, Beijing her only failure.

Paula remains unbeaten in New York which she has won twice, a third win would put her into second place for the most wins in the event, but still a long way behind Grete Waitz of Norway who has notched an amazing 9 victories in the event.

Other challenges will be 2:24 marathoner Dire Tune of Ethiopia plus Marathon first-timers Kim Smith (10,000m PB: 30:35) of New Zealand and America’s Kara Goucher (10,000m PB: 30:55).

Points will be up for grabs in the World Marathon Majors that awards $500,000 to the top points earners over the 2007-2008 period. Gete Wami is currently in equal first with 65 points with Paula in equal 8th place on 25 points.

Technorati Tags: Gete Wami, Grete Waitz, Marathon, Paula Radcliff, World Marathon Majors

Rocking San Jose this weekend will be the 3rd Annual Rock ‘N’ Roll Half Marathon, what is unique about this event is that there are Live Bands at every mile. If you can muster the energy, post-run you can stick around for the Headliner Concert in Cesar Chavez Park, where Creedence Clearwater Revisited will pump out their hits hits like “Fortunate Son,” “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” “Born on the Bayou,” “Proud Mary,” and many more.

Celebrating the good times and dancing like no one is watching, will likely be the last thing Kenyan distance athlete Patrick Ivuti will have on his mind, at least until after the race - he is tipped to win the 21.1km distance.

Chasing Ivuti and a total prize purse of over $50,000 will be fellow Kenyans Charles Munyeki and defending champion MacDonald Ondara, who will lead an exciting men’s field that includes U.S. Olympian Adam Goucher, who ran a sub 28:00 10,000m at the Olympic trials.

“I’m looking forward to racing in San Jose,” said the Kenyan Olympian who won the Bank of America Chicago Marathon last year and is also a double World Cross Country silver medalist, “I hear that the course is fast and flat, which should make for a very competitive race.”

The women’s elite field will be led by Yuri Kano of Japan, winner of the Sapporo half marathon earlier this year in a sub-70 minute time of 1:08:57 with British Olympian Kathy Butler, a five-time NCAA Champion at the University of Wisconsin, and Ethiopian Azalech Masresha, the winner of the 2007 Reims half marathon.

The 3rd annual road race is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 5 near San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose. The route will take runners through downtown, Japantown and the Rose Garden area with the finish line at Plaza de Cesar Chavez.

Follow the link to find for a more detailed race report.

Technorati Tags: Adam Goucher, Azalech Masresha, Charles Munyeki, Kathy Butler, MacDonald Ondara, Patrick Ivuti, Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon, San Jose, Yuri Kano