The Long Run

Man versus doona - the winter challenge

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 22:25:09 GMT

Scene: It’s so dark outside, it could as easily be 2am as 5.30. The neighbourhood dogs haven’t started barking, nor the kookaburras laughing. It’s just dark - and ...

How to avoid race day disasters

Tue, 28 May 2013 01:49:44 GMT

It’s amazing what silly things people do - or forget to - when race day finally comes around. After weeks of training for hard-won fitness, it is still possible to completely ...

Pace the key to long, slow success

Mon, 13 May 2013 22:58:05 GMT

Smacked myself on a long, slow run yesterday. Contradiction? Apparently not.

Since February I’ve been following (a bit loosely, as it turns out) the Furman Institute of Running and ...

Run less to run faster

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 06:49:13 GMT

It's always been a bit of a runners' trait to brag about weekly mileage, but research is piling up that challenges the point of doing high volume, low intensity training.

To get fast and ...

Running out of ideas?

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 21:45:53 GMT

Running is at its heart a pretty simple sport. Lace up a pair of shoes (or not, if you’re one of the hard-core Born To Run crowd), set off and, er, that’s it.

But, while there ...

Gifts for runners

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 21:45:53 GMT

Running is at its heart a pretty simple sport. Lace up a pair of shoes (or not, if you’re one of the hard-core Born To Run crowd), set off and, er, that’s it.

But, while there ...

Partner politics

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 04:03:26 GMT

I spend a lot of time running on my own. Often the times I go out don’t match up with running friends, or it may be a spur of the moment thing to go for a quick half-hour around the block ...

Thirsty work

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 01:58:56 GMT

Summer is almost here, which means beer, barbies, beaches and other stuff brought to you by the letter "B" that I can't think of right now.

But if you happen to be a runner, it also means ...

Get up and go

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 02:57:02 GMT

Most runners I know struggle from time to time with motivation. And I don’t mean the motivation to keep going in a marathon or maintain the pace to beat a PB in a 10k race. I mean the ...

Why dickheads don't run

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 01:24:55 GMT

At its heart, running is a social activity. Sure, there are probably pathological loners out there who will only run solo and shun company at all costs, but, for the rest of us, meeting other ...

Just suck it up

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 05:05:02 GMT

“Listen to your body.”

It’s one of those phrases you hear a lot in running, especially in discussions around injury or when to take days off from training.

And, of ...

Time to go harder

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 06:17:04 GMT

What’s not to like about the City to Surf?

From the excitement of the mass start to running through some of Sydney’s most iconic streets and then the chance to swap stories over ...

Agony and ecstasy

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 06:04:40 GMT

"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it." - Tom Hanks in A League Of Their Own

It’s one of the great and enduring mysteries that ...

Digging the dirt

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 06:53:55 GMT

“Stadiums are for spectators. We runners have nature and that is much better” - Finnish champion Juha Vaatainen.

I’ve just been lucky enough to ...

Mind games

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 02:48:20 GMT

There’s a well-worn running aphorism that goes something like: “The greatest distance you’ll ever cover is the six inches between your ears”.

For such an intensely ...

Words to move you

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 05:23:35 GMT

I’ve just finished reading Adharanand Finn’s book, Running With The Kenyans. Or rather devouring it.

Finn’s hugely enjoyable book is based around a simple ...

Competing interests

Thu, 24 May 2012 05:27:51 GMT

Last weekend I was one of the 10,910 runners who crossed the finish line in the SMH Half Marathon.

The race was a blast from start to finish. I had a good run and, by the end, I was ...

Do you run naked?

Thu, 10 May 2012 02:18:25 GMT

You’re wearing $200 shoes, a heart-rate monitor and a GPS watch. Your iPod is strapped to your arm and your earbuds in place ... you’re good to go.

But hang on, isn’t one ...

Why do you run?

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 03:04:53 GMT

I’ve been lucky enough to interview some extraordinary runners over the years. People like