What’s the best strategy for getting the body back in the right condition after the marathon and how should your training look like? Read on… Finishing a marathon usually presents a huge climax (or sometimes anti-climax) leaving both mind and body somewhat drained. In running circles, the phenomenon has sometimes been described as the…
Ok, I had a good target but still didn’t reach it! You may come back and re-read this second part of our two-parter on marathon target pace AFTER your marathon but if you’re curious now the factors that can skewer even good predictions can have some value ahead of the race. Let’s take them one…
This is the million-dollar question isn’t it? Whether you’re experienced or brand new to the marathon, it will likely play on your mind unless you are one of the lucky minority who sets this question aside and simply says ‘I’ll run to feel this time and see where I end up’. The latter can be…
There’s probably nothing more dangerous than generalized advice if it’s used without adjustment to your individual situation and expeirence. Recently I have been hearing runner’s I train vocalizing similar fears and doubts to those I remember having when I prepared for my first marathon. I was lucky in many ways: my first marathon build-up happened…
When I ran my first marathon, in my very first year of running, I decided to ally with a coach from the very beginning. I felt that there was no point committing all my efforts to such a lengthy race and then risk having a bad performance on the day. In the end it turned…
In part two of our series dedicated to comparing the teachings of Arthur Lydiard with those of enigmatic Italian coach Renato Canova, I asked a panel of experienced Lydiard-coaches of their opinions on the matter among them Colin Livingstone, coach of Welsh international Tim Davies, Keith Livingstone, author of “Healthy Intelligent Training” and manager of…
The classical event over 26.2 miles or 42.2km is one of our favourite events as the “old school” training system that we employ makes runners tireless first and foremost and this is the most important attribute for the successful marathon runner. Our marathon training programmes do not differ markedly from other training programmes in the…
Thursday evening I completed my first “medium-long” mid-week run in almost six months: a 19.7 km run run at the best aerobic pace I could muster on the day without really pushing the effort. I knew afterwards that after my long period of ankle troubles, the body is beginning to function properly again. If there…
It’s almost time for the annual marathon craze to break out, so we thought it topical to dig out an old interview with Barry Minnock one of the members of the Irish Marathon Mission. Barry has competed in the hills for the best part of a decade. He is a native of County Offaly but lives and…
(author: Frank Murphy) This self-styled “athletic biography” tells the story of the marathon career of Leonard Graves Edelen better known simply as “Buddy”. Few who deserve to be remembered so well have been forgotten as widely, so the next time you raise a cheer to an over-rated modern sports performer, consider “Buddy” Edelen who died…
