Slow Runners

As I drive around I see a lot of runners out on the streets and I wonder why do they seem to run so slowly. I mean these folks are not going fairly slow, they are going really slow. My first reaction is ''why bother'' then the more I thought about it the more reasons dropped into my mind. Maybe they have went through life threatening surgery and are out there giving it their best to try and get ready for their chosen race in which they can raise sponsorship for their particular charity. Maybe they are on a phased running schedule which means that for this particular run they are just ticking over slowly, a recovery run perhaps. It may be that they have just returned from injury and are gingerly making their way back to some sort of running pace. Of course maybe they are just so slow at running that perhaps this might be their last run. I came to the conclusion that there are many reasons for people running slow and although it may not look so good, for each individual it is part of their running journey, whatever that may be.

Tips from the Top Runners

Enjoyed watching the Cross Country Races in Edinburgh last weekend. It was good to see how the top performers started their new year debuts. When watching the main race, two things became evident that resulted in a good win for Mo Farah. Firstly, he paced himself really well, he sat in the pack near the front runners and then gradually worked himself into position so that when the really hilly part of the course came up he was ready to make his move to the front. Secondly, when tackling the steep hill - they did it three times in the race - he really attacked it and also kept going really strong over it. This gave him a great advantage and he went on to win the race easily. As runners, these 2 points are very important - Pace yourself correctly and attack hills both up and over them.