HK100 – Am I good enough?
Mile 27 Coach Scotty Hawker had a break through performance at the recent TNF100. In this blog Scotty takes us back to the Hong Kong 100 where he finally gained the belief that he could compete with the best ultra-runners in the world. The lessons he learnt in this race can be used by all […]
Training for the Big Red Run (and other multi stage desert races)
The Big Red Run is the next race on my race calendar so I thought I would share how I plan to go about training for this multi stage desert race. It is a similar format to most of the multi stage desert races around the world, with 4 shorter days of 30-42km, and then […]
The secrets to improving your hill running
Hills. Love them, or hate them, running on the trails you can’t avoid them. For many of us, they are a great excuse to walk, as we know we will spend too much energy running up them. Although walking has its place, perhaps we shouldn’t give up on running them, or at least some of […]
Are you a fair weather trail runner?
Do you look out the window watching the rain pour down and start to dread your run? Clients often ask me what to do if the weather is “bad” for a particular training session. I’m not exactly sure what “bad” weather is. If you are looking for a sport that’s only played in “good” weather […]
Blood, sweat and lava dust on Mt Rinjani
One day after Catherine and I had decided to spend a month or two in Bali between relocating within Australia Catherine stumbled upon a photo on Instagram that mentioned the Mt Rinjani Ultra. A check of dates confirmed we would be in Bali when the race was on and I quickly decided that if there […]
Heel Strike – all you need to know
There is a lot of discussion in the media and running circles about running technique, and specifically heel strike vs forefoot and the pros and cons of each. Unfortunately almost all the discussions have over simplified the topic and miss a few key points. Before I go into more explanation let me summarise by saying: […]
Mind over matter?
Does your body or your mind limit your race day performance? We all know that dead feeling in our legs, the feeling of complete physical exhaustion. Mentally we could keep going but our body is saying no more. Or is it? The latest thinking is that the mind controls fatigue much more than the body.
Is using a GPS watch in training and racing beneficial or detrimental?
The latest GPS watches can give you an amazing amount of information – from current speed, distance and heart rate to altitude, VO2max and calories burnt – but are they really helping you run faster or train more effectively? Or would you be better of without one?
Does dehydration impair endurance performance?
For many years we have been lead to believe that a dehydration level of more than 2% will negatively affect performance and therefore we should drink to limit dehydration to this level. This advice has even been given out by coaches and trainers for years and was the official recommendation of the American College of […]
27 ways to improve your ultra running
Many ultrarunners I know like to keep it simple; put shoes on, head out the door and run. There is nothing wrong with that approach but if you want to improve then the body has to have the right stimulus to force it to adapt and become stronger. Elite athletes aim to leave no stone […]