EDITOR’ S LETTER
SIZE MATTERS
AS A 100KG SCHOOL BOY I remember gassing out at distances over 400m, wondering how 10km could ever feel comfortable. Guys half my size kicked my butt at cross country, although I won the arm wrestles!
Fast forward through 40 years and I’ ve leaned down to 90kg and am running long and strong. The gap between me and my skeletal schoolmates has narrowed significantly. They have mostly enjoyed the privilege of conscience-free beer, but their lack of hours in the gym has seen their strength decline, and over time that becomes detrimental to power and speed. One day I will actually be faster! The moral of this story is that every dog has its day.
I’ ve learned to manage my size disadvantage by focusing on breathing, posture, pacing and smart shoe, distance and surface choices, and it’ s made me an efficient, thinking runner who’ s still strong on the bike and in the pool. That said, my daughters often remind me that I am no longer the hulk that once hurled them across the pool, and that I need to get into the gym so that their kids can enjoy pool time with their grandpa someday. Nothing like some blunt love to remind us that we can never become too complacent.
Ultimately we run for our health. Nothing burns as many calories or builds aerobic fitness faster than running. The endorphins that follow a hard, sweaty race or a gentle, scenic trot make everything right in your world. This positive energy is the most effective antidote for illness-causing stress. Combine a happy head with a strong heart and you’ ll increase your healthspan by a decade of unassisted living.
The good news for both ends of the ectomorph to endomorph scale is that lean muscle mass, the ingredient which we all need to run stronger and live longer, is not hard to build or maintain.
My interest in these subjects led me to two experts. Fred Richardson, the mindful runner coach of many top
athletes is bigger and taller than me, and has some hard-earned advice based on running countless ultras. It’ s an en-light-ening read( page 116).
An even bigger unit is Reeff Kuhn(@ graghoul), whose advice on building functional muscle is followed by more than 300 000 fans on Instagram. He
Big or small, fast or slow, find your flow.
“ THE ENDORPHINS THAT FOLLOW A HARD, SWEATY RACE OR A GENTLE, SCENIC TROT MAKE EVERYTHING RIGHT IN YOUR WORLD”
shared some interesting insights and time-friendly workouts( page 106) that appeal to me much more than CrossFit or bodybuilding-based sessions.
Yes, it takes some discipline to make conscious changes to your training, but as you age, muscle mass declines, so you can only benefit. You’ ll see evidence in both your race results and your sense of wellbeing. Your family and your joints will thank you.
While we’ re talking training functional muscle strength, let’ s add the elephant
in the room. Do supplements work, and if so what’ s the buzz about creatine, the white powder once considered a shortcut to instant muscle mass? Our sports nutritionist Kirsten Flanagan enlightens us on a harmless wonder drug that can make recovery and strength training a whole lot more effective( page 92).
Speaking of size, in the next two months we are going to have three big events take to the road with fields of more than 20 000 runners each. Each of these are considered must-runs by many local runners, but this year the Two Oceans, Cape Town and Comrades marathons will follow within weeks of one another. We enlisted the most muscled endurance coach of all, Matt Trautman, a sub 2:30 marathoner, to provide some sanity-saving advice on how to manage this unique load( page 50)
We’ ve also done a deep dive into who to watch at these big races( page 78) and among the names is that of dynamo George Kusche, who stormed into the headlines with a top 12 on debut at Comrades last year. Get to know our cover star on page 32.
As a bigger guy I like running with music to drown out the thunderous noise of my tree trunks pounding the pavement, but I too have been tempted to hurl an annoying boom box from a fellow runner with“ poor taste”. What is“ acceptable” music is so subjective, but our Last Word columnist Stuart Mann has some suggestions to ease the disharmony( page 130). What’ s your take on it? Go to our Facebook collaboration to let us know.
Enjoy the read, and do reach out to share your running stories with us.
Please send us feedback and suggestions on how we can improve your reading experience: paul @ electricink. co. za @ runmagsa
Get more news & views at bikeruntri. co. za
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