"Stop running!"

There is one thing I believe and that is keep on moving forward in a race. Never stop. You can walk, in fact you should walk, but never stop. Never! And so how did I find myself sitting on a crash barrier on the side of the road at about the 70km mark in the Comrades marathon?

I suppose I could say it was the 30C heat and blasting desert-like wind. I suppose I could say it was the utter fatigue. I suppose I could say it was being in "no mans land" - that space far enough into the run to be exhausted, but far enough before the end to think you are nearly there. All of these are reasons, but still I have never before stopped, net alone sat down. It's a definite "no no" to sit in a race. I've seen people do it and never recover, and I passed many sitting on that day, hundreds in fact. Some even lying on their back with only 2km to go.

Yet there I was, sitting on the crash barrier, seemingly enjoying my Sunday afternoon watching the runners stream past. Why did I do it? There is no doubt I had fatigue, but despite all this I could have just pushed on harder. Yet something in our running easy philosophy called to me. "Try Easier". And so I decided I would reward myself with a 60 second "time out". I would sit on the crash barrier and imagine for a moment I was refreshing, resetting, renewing, as the runners went past. I would "try easier" not harder. And for just a moment I relaxed, I tried to reset.

One minute later I began walking, and a minute or so later I was running again. No, I did not feel like the race had just begun, let's be realistic - I'd been running for over 9 hours, my body is not that stupid that the brain can trick it like that. But I did feel a lot better. I felt like I had been rewarded for what I had done. I had a new resolve, a determination, and my muscles had received a small respite.

So...would I recommend this? Yes and No! It really is a high risk strategy. You could cramp if you sit. You might not have the resolve to continue on. You sit too long...so many risks, However if you feel like you are reaching the end of your strength, then rather take a break. But before you do make a deal with yourself as to how long it will be. I would not suggest more than one minute...and stick to the deal. Thereafter stand and imagine you are feeling much better. Rejoice in the reward you received and the greater one coming later. Then walk a bit to warm your muscles and slow return to running.

I suppose it's like music - without the gaps between the notes there would be no music!

Yours in running easy,
Craig

One of the things I have really had issues with in running is being able to stay hydrated. I am normally OK for anything up until a marathon mark, but that is because I am finished within just over 4 hours. The problem comes in the ultramarathons, and particularly the 11+ hour Comrades marathon.

Typically I start drinking well, trying to make sure I take something to drink every 20 minutes or so as I reach the water tables. However after about 3 hours of this I feel like my stomach is full of water and I don't feel like drinking. This feeling does not go away, and so I begin to dehydrate. The result in previous Comrades is that I have ended up in the medical tent, on a drip, dehydrated. My mouth is parched, I'm depserately thirsty, but I just can't drink. What in the world is going on?

Thankfully I heard about Prof. Tim Noakes and his research on hydration (see link to right for his book). I read his book and contacted him and discovered a simple truth. Drinking to drinking plans is not right. We must drink to thirst and we will be fine. The body tells us what we need and when we need it. You have been listening to your body all your life, why do we suddenly stop listening to it when it comes to running? And so for Comrades 2013, in the "hottest Comrades in living memory" I put his theory to the test, I drank only when I was thirsty.

The result? I finished feeling fully hydrated. No medical tent. No dry mouth. Nothing! It was truly amazing, and more evidence - for myself at least - that Prof. Noakes' method, which is now finally accepted by researchers, is the best way to go. I really encourage others to follow his wisdom, based on research, and not be taken by media hype and sports drink companies with profit-fuelled agendas.

Check out the video below where Prof. Noakes shares 3 really interesting beliefs that need to be challenged, including how we drink.

We have always told you that Running Easy is about "try easier". And this normally means putting in lots of walks. In fact our philosophy is "Walk BEFORE you are tired" NOT "Walk BECAUSE you are tired". 

This was so true on the epic 88km Comrades Marathon this past Sunday. We following our normal running easy training approach, and arrived at the race day feeling fit, uninjured and ready for the task. HOWEVER - while all the days prior to this, and the forecast for Monday were all cool, today dawned baking hot.

The day would soar to temperatures around 30C but made much worse by a blasting hot wind blowing directly into us as we ran. It was so hot that every 10 minutes, after completely drenching myself in water, I'd have to do it again as I'd be bone dry.

There was only one way to approach this - and that was walk more, hold back, conserve energy. And that is exactly what we did. We walked much more, and ran much more in the first half, only coming into halfway (44km) in about 5h30. Quite a bit slower than we normally would. And even then the second half of this "ultimate human race" would prove to be extremely tough. In fact near the end as the 12 hour cutoff loomed I had to push more and more. Thankfully I had some reserves to call on unlike thousands of runners who collapsed along the road. If I had not approached this in a running easy way, I'm certain I would not have made it. But thankfully I squeaked in with just over 5 minutes to spare and joined 8,000 others who finished, while sadly 4,000 never made it.

The lesson - and I too need to keep learning it, hold back, try easier, and you can go so much further!