Training tips to help your running

Weekly training tips and strategies you can use to improve your running, stay motivated and use as form focus.

If you have a topic you’d like us to cover or a question about training click HERE.

Happy Running,

Steve and Margot Manning

SEPTEMBER 2021

Trail running

Trail running provides an excellent break to your road running year. Having a change from road running gives you a mental shift from the pressure of meeting time targets allowing you to be fresh and excited for your next year of running.

Aside from the change in scenery, there are many benefits to trail running. One of the most important of these is strength training. The undulating terrain significantly improves your leg strength. The impact forces felt on trails are often less, and the varying terrain and surfaces encountered can help reduce the risk of some overuse injuries. Biomechanically, when you are running over such varied terrain, you are triggering mechanoreceptors in your tendons that respond to movement. One of their main functions is to alert your nervous system to a notable change in direction sending a message to your tendons, ligaments, and muscles to act quickly. As you increase your trail running, these mechanoreceptors improve their acuity and response time.

This coming season, consider hitting the trails in addition to your running strength training.

Note: If you are concerned about your ankle, knee or hip strength, come and see the intraining’s podiatry and physiotherapy team who can give you some strength work that will complement what you will be doing on the trails.

Running Laps in races

The idea of running laps can be mentally challenging for many runners. However, the actual process of using laps can actually help you run faster and stay more controlled. Here’s why.

Familiarity: You learn the course: Once you know where you are going and know the terrain, your mind can prepare for each circuit.
Focus: Narrowing your focus to one or two factors relating to racing reduces head chatter. Once you know your course, your focus can more easily switch to the process of racing… your running form and your pace
Pacing: Racing well involves consistent cadence and pacing. This is so much easier to achieve and maintain on lap courses.
Cheering: The atmosphere on a loop course is so much more enjoyable as you get to see runners more frequently, and spectators are more closely connected on the course.

For anyone running the River Run 100 this weekend or the Twilight in a few weeks, take advantage of the multiloop courses with mindful strategies.