Downhill running looks easy: gravity works for you and your heart rate drops. Yet descents are what punish your legs most in a mountain race or a hilly course, and also where you gain or lose the most time. This guide explains why they hurt so much, how to descend with good technique and how…
Your first trail race has little in common with a road race. Pace per kilometre stops being useful, the climbs are walked and the descents hammer your legs harder than any interval session. If you pick the right race and prepare for the climbing a few weeks ahead, it is a very rewarding experience. This…
Learning how to start running seems like the simplest thing in the world: you put on some shoes and go. But almost everyone who quits in the first few weeks does so for the same reason: they go out too fast, they are out of breath after five minutes, they end up with aches and…
Running a sub-50 10K is one of the most popular goals among recreational runners, and it makes sense: it is a round barrier, demanding but reachable with a few months of well-planned training. It means running 5:00 per kilometer for all ten. In this guide I explain when it is realistic to go for it,…
A sub-2 half marathon is the big goal for many runners after their first half. It means holding 5:41 per kilometer for 21.1 km, and the difference between making it and finishing in 2:03 usually comes down to pacing and fueling more than fitness. In this guide I explain when it is realistic to go…
Tapering is the reduction in training in the days or weeks before a race, and it is one of the parts of a plan that runners get wrong most often. Some keep training hard until the end for fear of losing fitness and arrive tired. Others go to the opposite extreme, almost stop running and…
Your first half marathon is the natural next step after the 10K, and it is also where many runners realize that just going out for a run is no longer enough. It is 21.1 kilometers: twice a 10K and, for most people, between an hour and a half and two and a half hours of…
Your first marathon is a different league. From kilometer 30 onward, glycogen, race fueling and your head all come into play, and that is where everything is decided. With organized preparation, almost any consistent runner can finish one and enjoy it. In this guide I explain what base to start from, how long a plan…
Threshold training is probably the session with the best ratio of effort to benefit that a distance runner can do. It isn’t as hard as short intervals or as easy as an easy run, and it improves exactly what you need in a 10K, half marathon or marathon: the ability to hold a fast pace…