Friday Finds – 15th February

Friday Finds is a regular feature in which I collate and share interesting articles and posts on running/health/fitness which I’ve read recently. Some might be inspiring, some might be scientific, some might provoke debate. All are things I’ve found in some way thought-provoking.

Hello! Yes, it is indeed Saturday rather than Friday but an ongoing issue with my computer has left me a bit out of sorts and relying heavily on other devices. Keep your fingers crossed I can resolve things soon, and in the meantime I’ll do my best to keep my regular posts coming.

I want to start this week by returning to last week’s story about the runner who was attacked by a mountain lion whilst out on a run. As you may remember, in order to survive this attack the runner had to kill the mountain lion, but little further was known of the story. In the last couple of days, a little more was made public so I wanted to follow up the story with this piece, one of several I saw in which the runner was able to discuss what happened.

• Meet the Colorado Runner who Strangled a Mountain Lion

The rest of the articles I’m sharing this week are ones where we can get a bit of inspiration from the amazing things that are being achieved in the world of running. Let’s start with the World Marathon Challenge and runner Susannah Gill who not only completed what must be a pretty exhausting (and at times gruelling) challenge, but set a new female record whilst doing so. The idea of 7 marathons in 7 days on 7 continents is pretty intriguing, but the cost is prohibitive. Would you have a go if money was no object?

• Seven Marathons in Seven Days: British Runner Sets Time Record

Also setting a new record is the incredible Camille Herron who, despite being in a car accident just two weeks prior, set a new women’s course record at the Tarawera 100 mile race. She really is unstoppable!

• Camille Herron Wins Tarawera Ultramarathon Two Weeks Post Car Accident

Another woman showing us what can be done is Marianne Heading who won the 300 mile Montane Yukon Arctic Ultra. Yes, ARCTIC! I can’t even begin to think about how cold that must have been, and the added challenge of pulling all your kit on a sled really ups the difficulty level of this one. There really are some mightily impressive people out there!

• Derbyshire Woman Wins 300-Mile Montan Yukon Arctic Ultra Race

And finally, as if that wasn’t enough inspiration then here’s one to watch out for at this year’s Western States 100 mile: Kyle Robidoux. Why? Because Robidoux is going to be the first entrant in the event’s 45 year history to have a visual impairment. In an event brutal already brutal enough, Robidoux is going to be making history. I wish him all the very best for his training and preparations.

• Five-Time Boston Marathon Finisher to be First Visually Imparied Runner at Western States

Happy reading,
The Running Princess

Advertisements

Friday Finds – 8th February

Friday Finds is a regular feature in which I collate and share interesting articles and posts on running/health/fitness which I’ve read recently. Some might be inspiring, some might be scientific, some might provoke debate. All are things I’ve found in some way thought-provoking.

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a good week. It’s pretty stormy here right now so I’ll be hunkering down for the night and keeping cosy, which gives me plenty of time to write this post and give you some reading material.

Let’s begin with an update on a story I recently shared about the London marathon and happily a positive change has been made to the policy surrounding guide runners. Now, those who take part to support visually impaired runners will receive a medal as well as a chip time so their marathon achievement is recognised. Good news for those who selflessly take on this role.

• London Marathon will now let guide runners collect finisher’s medals

On the subject of London, you might enjoy this analysis of some of the Strava data on the 2018 event. I do love a bit of data, and this confirms what we likely already know – the fastest marathoners run further and more often in training than those with slower finish times. Simple, huh!

• What can we learn from last year’s London Marathon training stats?

With that done, there’s now going to be a definite theme to my remaining Finds this week: animals. Following last week’s story of the women who ran most of a marathon carrying an abandoned puppy, I came across a number of other stories featuring animals. First, something in a similar vein. The story of how elite runner Stephanie Pezzullo was “adopted” by an abandoned dog she encountered during a training run is just beautiful. I feel sad that the dog wasn’t wanted by its previous owners, but it brings joy to my heart to know that she found just the right person to give her the love she deserves.

• Who Rescued Whom? Dog Adopts Elite Athlete

Sticking with dogs, it seems that some runners in the New York City half marathon will be making history as the first to complete without a human guide…because the event has become the first long-distance race to allow the use of guide dogs for visually impaired runners. Even better, the article suggests that as official participants, the dogs will also earn a race medal. That only seems fair!

• These racing guide dogs go the distance for blind athletes

And finally, you may already have caught this week’s big story around running and animals, but in this one the animal sadly didn’t come off so well. In a quite startling story, a runner in Colorado was attacked by a young mountain lion and managed to kill it in order to protect himself. It is sad that this happened to the big cat, but I do totally understand why it was necessary. I know how scared I was that time I was attacked by a buzzard, so this must have been terrifying!

• How a Man Killed a Mountain Lion with His Bare Hands

Happy reading,
The Running Princess

Friday Finds – 1st February

Friday Finds is a regular feature in which I collate and share interesting articles and posts on running/health/fitness which I’ve read recently. Some might be inspiring, some might be scientific, some might provoke debate. All are things I’ve found in some way thought-provoking.

Congratulations! If you are reading this then you have officially survived January – all 57 days of it (or at least that’s what it felt like!). February is certainly not coming in quietly with bitter cold and disruptive snow in many areas, but it’s still good to know that the dreariest month of the year is behind us. So if you’re cosied up inside avoiding the arctic blast outside, here’s some reading material to keep you occupied…

On the subject of cold weather, while it’s been pretty chilly here in the UK the temperatures endured by our American friends under the polar vortex have been unbelievable, so I was surprised to learn of the 146 crazy hardy competitors who braved the elements to take part in a 135 mile ultramarathon in Minnesota. I think that would definitely be a “nope” from me, but I wonder if any of my readers would fancy giving it a go?

• Runners Brave Minnesota Polar Vortex for 135-Mile Ultramarathon

Next, I ask you to indulge me in just one more piece on Jasmin Paris. I’m still totally fascinated (and impressed) by her performance at the Spine Race and really hope to hear her talking about it on some future podcasts. This piece is from the always-excellent Sean Ingle at The Guardian and reminds us that perhaps the most captivating thing about this story is the sheer simplicity of it in a world of sponsorship and carefully calibrated media exposure. I love that Paris is staying true to her values and wants to continue doing things her way and keeping it fun.

• Jasmin Paris’s feat of endurance was a welcome antidote to modern sport

Which brings me nicely to the latest Alex Hutchinson column and his examination of gender differences in endurance. While the data can, as Hutchinson rightly points out, be read in different ways, it’s still interesting to look at the trends over the last 40 years and see how the gap between men’s and women’s times have changed. However possibly one of the best parts of this piece is Hutchinson’s praise for athletes such as Jasmin Paris and Camille Herron for the amazing performances they are putting in.

• Are Women Closing in on Men at the Boston Marathon?

Another fascinating piece of research has found that there are many similarities between children and well-trained endurance athletes, which is perhaps good news for those of us who long for the freedom and energy of childhood. Reading the article it makes sense how trail running, in particular, is similar to child-like play, however one of the things I love about running is the feeling of freedom and being able to go on and on, something that probably has its roots in childhood play. I’d love to know your thoughts on this one.

• Proof that playing like a kid is good for your running

And finally, this week I came across what is possibly the cutest running story of all time: a beautiful tail tale about a woman running the majority of a marathon whilst carrying an abandoned puppy she found early in the race. I just love that she did this and that she later adopted the adorable pup. It got me thinking about what I would do in a similar situation, and I suspect that given my tendency to stop and pet all the animals on training runs, helping a puppy (or kitten) would definitely become more important than the race – there are always other races but a helpless animal may only have that one shot at a better life. Well done Khemjira Klongsanun.

• This woman ran 19 miles of a marathon carrying a lost puppy

Happy reading,
The Running Princess

Friday Finds – 25th January

Friday Finds is a regular feature in which I collate and share interesting articles and posts on running/health/fitness which I’ve read recently. Some might be inspiring, some might be scientific, some might provoke debate. All are things I’ve found in some way thought-provoking.

Wow! I feel like I was only just complaining about it being January already and here we are at the last Friday of the month! Where does the time go? There have been quite a few interesting things popping up in my news feeds this week, so here are some bits and pieces to get your weekend off to a start…

Last week I began with Jasmin Paris and her historic victory at the Montane Spine Race and I couldn’t resist starting with a little more on this story. In this piece from The Guardian‘s Adharanand Finn, Paris tells us more about how she prepared for the race and what the experience was like for her. I’m just so thrilled to have a woman accomplish this feat and set the course record. Even more so because her daughter is just 14 months old and Paris was still breastfeeding.

• Ultrarunner Jasmin Paris on her gruelling 83-hour win: ‘I just had one job to do’

And now, the marathon. This week I came across a report packed with geek-tastic marathon stats and I LOVE it. I find it so fascinating to consider how I as an individual compare to the “average” times and to see how women’s participation varies in different parts of the world. For example, I’ve long been aware that there is near equal participation between genders in the USA, so was a little disappointed to see that we are not quite as close to that here in the UK where we are only a little beyond the average at 1/3 women. Still, at least there has been an improving picture. If you enjoy marathons and you enjoy stats, this is the article for you!

• World’s Largest & Most Recent Marathon Study

Sticking with the marathon, here’s an interesting piece from Runner’s World about Andrew Jones PHD, the coach who worked with Paula Radcliffe and was involved in the Breaking2 project. What is so interesting about him is that despite being a good runner in his day, he became an expert on marathon performance without ever actually running a marathon. Until now. This piece focuses on what happened when Jones ran his first 26.2 and what the experience taught him.

• Here’s What Happens When the Coach of the Marathon Record Holders Does His First 26.2

I was, however, sad to learn that there appear to have been a number of course-cutters at the Walt Disney World marathon earlier this month. I’ve said before that I just don’t understand cheaters – how could you accept a time/medal/race qualification knowing that you hadn’t legitimately completed the course. And cheating at Disney? Well that just makes it a million times worse. I’m pretty sure that every time someone cuts the course, a fairy dies 😦

• Disney Marathon cheaters number at least 300, says Marathon Investigation

And finally, we may have thought the UK weather had been pretty chilly in recent days, but it was nothing compared to conditions in Oymyakon, Siberia. In a recent event the “unbearable” conditions led to a distinct lack of finishers. I think I’ll give this one a miss!

• No One Could Finish the Coldest Marathon in the World

Happy reading,
The Running Princess

Friday Finds – 18th January

Friday Finds is a regular feature in which I collate and share interesting articles and posts on running/health/fitness which I’ve read recently. Some might be inspiring, some might be scientific, some might provoke debate. All are things I’ve found in some way thought-provoking.

Happy Friday everyone! Have you had a good week? It’s been pretty busy over here and I’m looking forward to the weekend now. In Friday Finds world I seem to have gone from not much to share over the festive period to having loads pop up this week, so I’ve selected a few interesting things to share. Here we go…

I have to start with the incredible story of the Montane Spine Race and the amazing victory by Jasmin Paris. I’m completely in awe of anyone who took on this brutal 268 mile race, but even more so Paris since she was the outright winner – and first ever female to claim the victory. Not only that, but she only gave birth to her daughter 14 months ago. What a fantastic achievement and proof that we really can do anything we set our minds too.

• Spine Race: Jasmin Paris becomes first female winner of 268-mile ultra marathon

Another race getting a bit of publicity this week was the London marathon and their announcement that World record holder (and arguably greatest marathoner ever) Eliud Kipchoge will be going head-to-head with European record holder (and home favourite) Sir Mo Farah. After stellar performances from both of these athletes in 2018, this will be an exciting race to watch. Here, Kipchoge is interviewed about the upcoming “battle” with Farah and his comments reveal much about how he thinks tactically and psychologically about races – even if his reference to Farah’s 2:05 in Chicago as “not really fast” reminds us of how relative these terms are! I do love both of these athletes and can’t wait to see what happens in London this April.

• Kipchoge calls Mo Farah’s 2:05 marathon “not really fast”

While we may not run at the blistering pace of the Kipchoges and Farahs of this world, we can all benefit from taking part in organised events. In a report perhaps a little obvious to those who regularly take part in races, a recent study has found that taking part in an organised race leads us to feel happier and more satisfied with life in the weeks after. I would extrapolate from this information that parkrun would have a similar effect as it also creates the sense of achievement and camaraderie which leads to that wellbeing boost. Time to encourage more of your friends to join you for a run?

• Runners Get a Wellbeing Boost From Participating in Organised Races

Sticking with good news stories, I was pleased to read about the steps taken at the recent Walt Disney World Marathon weekend to reduce waste and promote recycling. I was already aware of races seeking to reduce their use of singe-use plastics such as water bottles and most runners are hopefully conscious of disposing of their gel wrappers responsibly, however I had never really thought about races providing bananas and what would happen to those peels. But banana peels from the Disney races were not only collected, rather than going straight to compost there were measures in place to turn them into electricity or fertiliser. I hope more events, especially major ones, follow suit with recycling receptacles along the race route (I know the Paris marathon does this for plastic bottles) and look for ways to reduce waste.

• 28,000 Pounds of Discarded Banana Peels Will Be Put to Good Use After Disney Races

And finally, perhaps a little more grim as stories go, but I found this one absolutely fascinating. Apparently analysing your Garmin data might tell you a lot more than your miles splits and heat rate…it could link you to a crime! You have to read this one if you haven’t see it already and learn a bit more about how Garmin data helped to convict a hitman. My favourite line has to be “As seriously as Fellows seemed to take his preparation, he did not appear to consider witnesses would notice a cyclist wearing both commando gear and a hi-vis safety vest while toting a gun.” Right. Brings a whole new meaning to “Strava or it didn’t happen!” 😂

• Runner found to be a hitman after GPS Watch ties him to crime scene

Happy reading,
The Running Princess

Friday Finds – 11th January

Friday Finds is a regular feature in which I collate and share interesting articles and posts on running/health/fitness which I’ve read recently. Some might be inspiring, some might be scientific, some might provoke debate. All are things I’ve found in some way thought-provoking.

Hello! It’s finally Friday after possibly the longest week of the whole year – nothing quite like returning to work after the festive break to really make things feel like a grind! Still, If you’re reading this then it looks like you survived and are ready to kick off your weekend with a little light reading.

First, hot on the heels of last week’s news of the second fastest parkrun time ever, comes the news that the women’s parkrun record has been broken. I think my favourite thing about this is that Charlotte Arter, who set the new record, finished just a second behind the first placed male in the run. Go Charlotte!

• Charlotte Arter ‏clocks parkrun record in Cardiff

And on the subject of parkrun, the news coming out of HQ after the first “proper” (i.e. Saturday) parkrunday of the year is amazing as it was the biggest weekend EVER! Given that there were so many attendance records set on New Year’s Day I suppose it shouldn’t have been such a big surprise to see an increase, but it’s so cool to think about how far the event has come since that first ever run in Bushy park. Were you one of the 340,000+ that took part last weekend?

• parkrun Celebrate Their Biggest Weekend Ever

On a slightly less positive note, a story that came to my attention in the early part of the week. I was aware that visually impaired runners may choose to take part in races with a guide runner, and have always marvelled at the connection between the two – running a marathon together can’t be easy and the guide has a lot of responsibility. However I hadn’t realised that guide runners in the London marathon didn’t actually receive a medal. I suppose I just assumed that anyone who legitimately took part in the event and crossed the finish line received a medal, so can fully understand the campaign to change that rule. At present guide runners are not “official” participants in the race, and while I can see the point, it does seem a little unfair to not receive that recognition at the end. Guide runners are clearly marvellous and unselfish people who give their time to help another achieve their goal, and that is to be commended. I’d love to know your thoughts.

• London Marathon under pressure to award medals to guide runners after RNIB protest
• London Marathon: Visually impaired entrants urge organisers to reverse ’embarrassing’ guide runners rule

Next, a little something from the always-fascinating Alex Hutchinson, and this week he has encouraging news for those of us who like a nice long soak. It seems that there is evidence to suggest some targeted hot tub sessions might actually help us to acclimate better to hot weather. That certainly sounds appealing in the middle of January!

• A Post-Workout Soak Might Boost Performance

And finally, it’s pretty common to see runners out with their four-legged friends, but less common for that four-legged friend to be a goat. Yes, a goat! I highly recommend this short video about Norwegian Dwarf goat Penny running with her owner. Sure to bring a smile to your face!

• Goat Helps Woman Train For Marathon

Happy reading,
The Running Princess

Friday Finds – 29th December

Friday Finds is a regular feature in which I collate and share interesting articles and posts on running/health/fitness which I’ve read recently. Some might be inspiring, some might be scientific, some might provoke debate. All are things I’ve found in some way thought-provoking.

It’s the final Friday Finds of 2018…and I’m late in posting! Not ideal, but I’ve had a relapse of the cough I picked up a few weeks ago and decided to take it easy. But never fear, I still have some bits and pieces to share with you, mainly rounding up the year and looking forward to 2019.

First, a nice piece picking up on three standout running moments from the year. The piece is clearly aimed at those not following running as closely as we might, so it’s good to see some recognition in a year dominated by other sports as far as the media is concerned.

• Eliud Kipchoge, Kilian Jornet and Camille Herron: Three standout sporting moments of 2018 you may have missed

Also bringing us a roundup is Runner’s World who have brought together some of the most inspiring stories of the year. Which one is your favourite?

• 12 Running Stories From 2018 Sure to Inspire You

As we look forward to the new year, Runner’s World is also offering us a few life tweaks to help improve our running. There’s certainly a lot of sensible advice here that’s worth reminding ourselves of and perhaps one or two things to make a focus as the new year begins.

• 12 Life-Tweaks That Will Help You To Become A Better Runner In 2019

In a more humorous post (but with a great message behind it) is this column from Outside which really encourages us to be present in the year ahead, to notice the amazing things we are doing and react with enthusiasm. It’s an idea I really like and will try to apply in my running.

• Make 2019 The Year Of Maximum Enthusiasm

And finally, if you’re looking for a new challenge in 2019, how about running every street in your city? That’s what ultra runner Rickey Gates just did in San Francisco and it sounds incredible.

• Ultrarunner Rickey Gates Just Ran Every Single Street in San Francisco

Happy reading, and Happy New Year when it comes,
The Running Princess