Runners' World: Ticker Taping?

How Exactly Does a Fitness Tracker Monitor Your Heart Health? 

We tapped an expert to break down how a heart rate monitor works—and who should invest in one. JORDAN SMITH/Runners' World.com/Sep 18, 2020 

Tracking your heart rate during workouts isn’t new, but heart rate tracking technology is rapidly advancing. Gone are the days of merely monitoring your beats per minute; the latest trackers can now alert you to an irregular heart rhythm, and some are even rolling out low-range VO2 max tracking. 

With more younger people suffering from strokes, and more reports of cardiac arrests happening during exercise, it might be a good time to consider upgrading your tracker. We tapped experts to find out just how much you should rely on your new tracker’s heart-monitoring software...

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PodiumRunner: A Short Marathon Build-Up?

The Case for a Shorter Marathon Buildup

The uncertainty of racing makes it hard to plan 4–6 months out. Take heart, 8–10 weeks might be a better marathon buildup. 

Sep 4, 2020/RICHARD A. LOVETT/PodiumRunner 

If you’re looking for candidates for the type of runners who’ve been most severely impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, marathoners are probably top of the list. After all, it’s fairly easy to do a virtual 5K or 10K — or give the mile or the 800 a go on a track or measured road. 

But a virtual marathon? With no aid stations and no other runners to keep you focused during those long, later miles? That’s a different beast, entirely. 

Which means that once COVID-19 restrictions on road racing start to ease, there’s going to be a big clamor for marathons. But, when a marathon finally becomes possible, that will raise another question: how far in advance do you need to start training for it?

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Runners World: Stay (Running) In Place

All of the Ways to Run While Sheltering in Place, Ranked from Best to Worst
From backyards to balconies, creative running courses have been resurrected in wild places during the coronavirus pandemic.

By HAILEY MIDDLEBROOK APR 23, 2020/Runners World On-line

With races cancelled and lockdown orders in place across the globe because of the coronavirus, some runners have turned to creative measures to get in their miles. Ultrarunners have measured out 50-plus mile courses in their small neighborhoods. Others have logged serious mileage on the treadmill. And some have completed marathons on the track, on a rooftop, inside a building, and even on a balcony. Here, we’ve ranked the weirdest places we’ve seen people running during the pandemic, ranked from best (the most approachable option) to worst (the one most likely to make us say, “I’ll pass”).

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RUNSAFE: "Too Much, Too Soon"

In the British Journal of Sports Medicine March 2020, we discuss the “too much, too soon” theory. 

In running, it is widely accepted that athletes sustain sports injury if they train ‘too much, too soon’. However, not all runners are built the same; some can tolerate more running than others. It is for this reason that prescribing the same training program to all runners to reduce injury risk is not optimal from a coaching perspective. Rather, runners require individualized training plans. 

In acknowledgement of athlete diversity, it is therefore essential that researchers, assisted by runners, coaches and others, ask the right causal research question in studies examining sports injury etiology. In the article, we conclude “In the light of the limitations of population-based prevention that intends to provide all athletes with the same advice, we argue that a stronger emphasis on research questions targeting subgroups of athletes is needed. In doing so, researchers may assist athletes, clinicians and coaches to understand what training advice/program works best, for whom and under what circumstances”. 

In this light, participants in the Garmin-RUNSAFE Running Health Study, are a part of one of the first research studies that, based on a priori defined criteria, seeks to understand what running advice works for certain runners.

Read more about causal questions and the “too much, too soon” theory here:
https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2020/03/05/bjsports-2018-100245 
Note that the publisher owns the copyright for these publications so only the abstracts are available for free.

Runners' World - Bring On The (Un-)Funk

The Best Sprays, Pods, and Pouches for Getting the Stink Out of Your Shoes 
Smelly kicks don’t stand a chance against these odor-fighting, bacteria-killing products.
 Amy Schlinger and Morgan Petruny/Runners' World, Jan 16, 2020

When you get home and kick off your shoes after a hard workout, there’s a good chance they reek. After all, when your feet start to sweat, that moisture is trapped in your socks, which is then stuck inside your shoe harboring funk.

A simple fix is using odor-reducing and germ-killing sprays or inserts regularly. Take a look...at info on the top five from our testing...
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Runners' World - Working Harder In The Room

Unreal Treadmill Sessions Push College Coach to Olympic Trials
Tyler Pence also trains with his distance runners, who inspire him to give his best effort.
Cindy Kuzma/Runners' World/Jan 14, 2020

Runners at the University of Illinois-Springfield abide by two rules: Be a good person, and work harder than anyone else in the room...
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Runners World: Compared to Whom

How Do You Compare to Every Runner on Strava This Year?
This year’s trends among Strava users may inspire your running goals for 2020.
Paige Triola/Runners' World.com, Dec 11, 2019

Whether it seemed to fly by or crawl along at a snail-like pace, with 2019 just about wrapped up, many runners are reflecting back on their year with a few questions:

• How well did I stick to my training plans? 
• Did I reach my annual mileage goal? 
• Was I doing enough cross-training? 

If you’re curious about how other runners performed this year, Strava can shed some light on the subject. The app’s annual “Year in Sport” report is out—and we wanted to put the running-related data on display for your viewing pleasure...

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Runners' World: Shoe Size?

Everything You Need to Know About Running-Shoe Size
The fit of your shoe is critical to your stride—here’s how to get it right.
By CINDY KUZMA/Runners' World On-Line/DEC 5

Zero-drop, carbon fiber plates, minimalist or maximalist—runners love to discuss and debate the latest shoe types and features. Far fewer long-run chats and online forums are dedicated to discussing running shoe size. But how well a shoe matches the length, width, and shape of your feet may actually matter as much as, if not more than, the cushioning that goes underneath them, says Geoffrey Gray, D.P.T....
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Outside: What's Harder Than Giving Birth?

What Kara Goucher Learned from the Leadville Marathon 
Martin Fritz Huber/Outside Online, 21 Jun 2019

As you may be aware, Outside has recently made a lot of new friends in the trail running community, thanks to an article that suggested that the demographic should be more proactive about volunteer work. At the risk of squandering the surplus of goodwill, last weekend’s Leadville Trail Marathon brought to mind a contentious question: What would happen if more elite road runners transitioned to trail racing? Or, as we asked in an article from 2015: Are the stars of the ultra scene only successful because the best distance runners tend to stick to the roads?

The answer appears to be “no,” at least if last weekend’s race is anything to go by.

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Sports Illustrated: Perhaps Toby Tanser Got It Wrong

Olympic Marathon Silver Medalist Eunice Kirwa Busted for EPO Doping, Provisionally Suspended
Chris Chavez/Sports Illustrated May 21, 2019

Olympic silver medalist Eunice Kirwa of Bahrain has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit after testing positive for EPO, a blood-boosting drug. Kirwa finished second in the women's marathon in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro behind Kenya's Jemima Sumgong.

Sumgong is currently serving an eight-year suspension after she tested positive for EPO in 2017. She was initially banned for four years but appealed the suspension and then lied at her doping hearing. An independent arbiter determined she provided false records of a hospital visit to try and justify her failed drug test. Since the positive test came after the Olympics, she will hold onto her gold medal from the 2016 Summer Games but cannot compete again until 2027. She made history with her victory in Rio by becoming the first Kenyan woman to win the Olympic marathon.

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RW: 'Cause It Bores Me?

Is Running on a Treadmill Harder or Easier Than Running Outside? 
New research debunks some persistent ’mill myths.
Hailey Middlebrook/Runners' World Online, Mar 22, 2019

 - A new meta-analysis published in Sports Medicine analyzes 34 studies that compare the physiological, perceptual, and performance differences between running outside and running on a treadmill.
- The research concludes that when runners speed up on a treadmill, they have higher heart rates and report feeling more fatigued than when they run the same speed on land.
- Runners display more endurance running outside than on a treadmill.

In a new research published in Sports Medicine, scientists from Australia sought to answer these questions by investigating the differences in running performance on a treadmill versus real ground. To gather this data, they analyzed 34 studies that compared treadmill runs to “overground” (outdoor) runs. Twelve of the studies asked participants run on a 1 percent grade on the treadmill, while the others used higher or lower inclines.

The researchers were focused on three key measures of comparison: physiological (how hard the runners’ bodies were working to maintain pace and finish their workouts, measured by heart rate, blood lactate levels, and VO2 max), perceptual (how hard the workout felt for the runners), and performance (how the runners performed in time trials).

 
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Runner's World: That Guy

Who Is the Guy Who Tells You to Have a Good Race? 
Ali Nolan/Runner's World, Jan 10, 2019

It’s 32°F at the start of the Philadelphia Marathon and the corrals are packed with runners bobbing up and down as the anthem plays. One of them, Gary Collina, stares straight ahead and reminds himself why he’s running today. He turns to a woman standing next to him, offers a fist bump, wishes her luck. Then turns to another runner, repeats the gesture...

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Runners' World: These Boots Were Made For...?

Why Runners Might Want to Try Walking in Minimalist Shoes
Alison Goldstein/Runners' World, 21 Dec 2018

As runners, we are encouraged to do a whole load of “prehab” activities: core work, strength sessions, stretching, and foam rolling, among others.

Sometimes, though, life gets in the way. Our other commitments—jobs, family, friends, even other hobbies—can encroach on that time, and we inevitably end up taking the gamble: We skip some of those injury prevention tasks, cross our fingers, and hope for the best as we set out for our runs.

So wouldn’t it be nice if something we already do as part of our daily lives—say, for example, simply walking—could double as an injury prevention tactic?

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Inner Voice - Not Traditionally Associated

A Wonderful Place
Rob Watson/Inner Voice, 19 Dec 2018

I like music even more than I like running. I don’t play an instrument, I’ve never had the gear, and I’ve never had the ability. But I’ve always been really into the punk rock/hardcore scene. I can’t explain it. I’ve been going to punk rock shows since I was 13 years old. Growing up, none of my friends were athletes, so I was the odd one out, but we were more connected through the music side of things. There’s just something about going to a concert that brings out a certain side of me...

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NYTimes - Anything You Can Do She Can Do Better

The Woman Who Outruns the Men, 200 Miles at a Time
Rebecca Byerly/NY Times, December 5, 2018

Courtney Dauwalter specializes in extremely long races. But her success in winning them has opened a debate about how men’s innate strength advantages apply to endurance sports...

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Outside - Trots and Beer

What Strava Tells Us About the State of Running in 2018
Martin Fritz Huber, Outside/November 29, 2018

This week, Strava, the activity-sharing network favored by endurance athletes and those who stalk them, released its annual “Year in Sport” report, which offers insights on data collected from over 36 million users in 195 countries. Even though Strava is looking to broaden its reach—for better or worse, roller skiers and kitesurfers can now upload their activities on the app—runners and cyclists continue to dominate...

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Runners' World - Better Run For Shade?

How to Handle Running in the Heat
Richard A. Lovett/Runners' World, Jul 26

However many bad-weather-will-make-you-tougher quotes we collect, there’s still one aspect of weather that most of us do our best to dodge: heat. In fact, many of us do everything we can to avoid it: running at dawn or in the late evening or even seeking shelter on treadmills in air-conditioned gyms. It is, however, possible to run in heat.

In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Portuguese distance star Maria Fernanda Moreira Ribeiro set an Olympic 10,000-meter record under hot, humid conditions (82 degrees with 60 percent relative humidity, according to historical data from Weather Underground). In the process, she posted a time of 31:01.63—one that 16 years later would still have put her in the top 10 in the much more temperate conditions of the London Olympics. The bottom line is that the human body is remarkably adaptable to heat. Its ability to adapt to high temperatures is faster and more dramatic than its ability to adjust to any other environmental stress that nature can throw at us, such as altitude or cold...

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NY Times - I Wanna Be Accelerated...

Nike Says Its $250 Running Shoes Will Make You Run Much Faster. What if That’s Actually True?//Kevin Quealy and Josh Katz, New York Times, 18 July 2018

If a running shoe made you 25 percent faster, would it be fair to wear it in a race? What about 10 percent? Or 2 percent? The Nike Zoom Vaporfly 4% — a bouncy, expensive shoe released to the public one year ago — raises these questions like no shoe in recent distance running history.Nike says the shoes are about 4 percent better than some of its best racing shoes, as measured by how much energy runners spend when running in them. That is an astonishing claim, an efficiency improvement worth almost six minutes to a three-hour marathoner, or about eight minutes to a four-hour marathoner.And it may be an accurate one, according to a new analysis by The New York Times of race data from about 500,000 marathon and half marathon running times since 2014...

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Runner's World: Prognostication for the Running Nation

The 8 Trends, Events, and Phenomena We’re Watching in 2018
From the women’s marathon to a hot hashtag (seriously!), the new year of running looks like an exciting one.
Runner’s World/December 20


Here at Runner’s World, we’re pretty excited for the New Year. How could we not be, given everything that happened in 2017? We saw Eliud Kipchoge almost break the two-hour marathon barrier, and we saw American runners win for the first time in decades at Chicago and New York. But what will 2018 bring? We’re hesitant to make out-and-out predictions (as runners, we know anything can happen!), but here are eight things—call them trends, phenomena, events, whatever—we’ve got our eyes on in the next 12 months...


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Rodale: Don't Wait Until You're Dead

Why You Can’t Stop Waking in the Middle of the Night
You can’t run your best unless you’re getting enough rest. See if one of these is getting in the way. Christina D'Adamio/Rodale Wellness, October 16, 2017


If you’re constantly waking up in the middle of the night, it’s safe to say, you’re not getting your much needed rest. That's unfortunate, because your body needs a certain amount of sleep—generally seven or eight hours—to help you make the most of your runs.


Fortunately, Adam Tishman is here to help you get the snooze you deserve. It’s time to find out why you’re constantly waking up in the middle of the night and correct your sleep mistakes...


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