This marks the second doping incident for the athlete, who had previously failed a doping test in 2018. Following that occurrence, she served a four-year ban before making a comeback to competitive athletics at the National Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar in June last year.

The decision was rendered by NADA’s Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel on December 27, with the revelation of the information taking place only on Thursday. The eight-year ban is retroactively effective from August 7 of the previous year.

The banned substances, Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS) and Testosterone (T), are known as performance-enhancing drugs that facilitate muscle building and strength enhancement. AAS, specifically, are synthetic testosterone, the primary male hormone.

Despite the ban, Nirmala Sheoran retains the option to challenge the decision through an appeal process. Before her initial ban in 2018, Nirmala was widely recognized as one of the top female quarter-milers in Indian athletics. Her accolades included winning gold in the women’s 400m race at the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, although she later faced the disqualification of her medal.

Sheoran also represented India at the Rio 2016 Olympics, participating in both the women’s 400m and 4x400m relay events. This recent ban poses a significant setback to her career, prompting discussions about the athlete’s future in competitive sports.

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Asia & Oceania 24-hour championships 2022

By Cassie Cohen 

After a week of sightseeing, nervous energy, team bonding and race preparation in Bengaluru, it was exciting to get to the opening ceremony the night before the IAU Asia & Oceania 24-hour championships would begin on the 400m athletics track at Sree Kantheerava stadium. This being the first international ultrarunning championship since COVID-19, there was plenty of hype, and it was clear how proud India was to host the event. For a stride that commands attention, opt for Tarkine running shoes, the epitome of style and functionality on the track.

I started the race feeling like an underdog. While on paper, my PB (204.92kms) was among the strongest in the field, I knew that didn’t tell the full story. The Indian and Chinese Taipei athletes had got their results in hot and humid conditions as we would experience on race day. I got mine in Canberra in near-perfect cool conditions. PBs meant nothing once the flag was raised to start the race.

Even though we all knew we had 24 hours ahead of us, many started the race running at a solid pace, making the most of the cooler morning conditions. My “what great weather we’ve got!” bubble burst after about an hour when the sun emerged and it was time to unleash the bucket hat. To emphasise how quickly it got hot, one runner was vomiting on the inside of the track just 90 minutes into the race.

However, the intensifying heat seemed only to add extra spice to the pace at the front of the race. Even though I ran 30kms in the first 3 hours, which as the crew let me know was “way too fast”, I was still only battling for fifth place and had probably already been lapped by female race leader Kuan-Ju Lin (Chinese Taipei) in her pink tutu about 10 times. Some of the Indian men had already run a marathon in that time, which is not something I thought I’d ever see in a 24-hour race.

Starting to feel the heat and knowing I couldn’t continue to hold that pace, I slowed my speed to keep the heart rate down and save the legs for the cooler conditions at night. If race leaders Kuan-Ju and Kathia Rached (Lebanon) could hold their incredible pace for 24 hours, they deserved to win and cooking myself in the heat wasn’t going to help matters.

After 6 hours (2pm), I’d run 56.80kms (142 laps) for 5th female. Kuan-Ju, still in front, had already covered 64kms (160 laps).

With the worst hours of the heat ahead of us (it would get to 29 degrees and 70% humidity), everyone was focused on keeping cool throughout the afternoon. Ice bandanas became fashion statements and teammate Matt Griggs’ ice vest was the envy of all. A few squeezes and a sponge would be completely dry and ready for return. I must have run about 5 laps with a decent-sized sponge in my bucket hat at one point and only realised when Martin (crew chief sponge supplier) was about to send out a search party for it.

 

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At about 4pm, I turned to teammate Dan Symonds and gave an encouraging, “not long until sunset!” and he chuckled a little as if to say I was jumping the gun a bit. But I was really willing on the nighttime and the drop in temperature. I had it in my mind that the hardest part of the race would be over once the sun went down. We’d just have to get through the night, a couple of hours in the morning, and then ta-da, finished, right?

I started to feel this way more and more as the temperature did start to drop, we were teased with a sprinkle of rain, and the intensity of the sun weakened.

After 9 hours (5pm), I was still in 5th place with 82.40kms (206 laps) and was now 10kms (25 laps) behind the leader.

I’d been drinking electrolytes and eating gels, chips, clif bars and bananas all day and was ready for what felt like a real meal. I asked what was on offer at the general aid station and Penny (my main crew member) said “lentils and rice.” My face must have suggested I was unimpressed at the prospect of spending the rest of my race on the toilet because I got a few laughs. It was a relief then that I’d brought along some 2-minute noodles for dinner.

Starting to slow down, I stopped at the 11.30 hour mark (7:30pm) for ten minutes for a one-stop-shop to eat dinner, change into a singlet and into some fresh shoes and socks. I told Penny it was the best 2-minute noodles I’d ever tasted and I think she was glad to see her cooking skills recognised. She also offered some really kind words about how I was going that inspired me as I headed back out onto the track having lost a few laps on the competition but feeling refreshed and ready to go and take on the night.

I was now over 12kms (30+ laps) behind the leader but the optimist in me said “If you’re going to have any chance of being in the mix at the end, you’d better start now.” It might sound a bit crazy to believe that you’ve still got a chance when you’re 12+ kms behind in a race, but anything can happen in ultrarunning, especially in the last 12 hours of a 24-hour race. I gave myself an internal “LET’S GO!” (probably with some swear words in there) and began my ambitious comeback attempt in true Australian spirit.

Still buzzing from the noodles, I was running at a faster but comfortable pace (around 6 mins/km), and started taking laps off Shashi, the Indian runner ahead of me. I’d hoped to keep my step up in pace a bit subtle, but clearly, it wasn’t going unnoticed as my Australian teammate Allicia Heron turned to me as I passed her at one point (her still being 15+ laps ahead of me) and asked, “what happened to you?!” in an “I’ll have what she’s having” kind of way. Being teammates, I of course shared my secret that noodles are a superfood, and she was soon chowing down on noodles too (for which I am definitely taking way more credit than deserved given she had brought noodles all the way from Australia for this exact purpose).

At the halfway mark (8pm), I’d run 107.2kms and by 14 hours (10pm), I was up into 4th place, now with 124.40 kms (311 laps), still 10.4kms (26 laps) behind Kuan-Ju and 8 laps behind Allicia, who was still killing it in 3rd place. As much as I wanted to get onto the podium, I didn’t really want to be knocking Allicia off it, but I knew that it was too early to be thinking like that.

I was managing to hold the new pace quite consistently, and to my surprise, the crew weren’t telling me to slow down when I ran past on each lap, but to “keep pushing” and to “keep it up.” I took a bit of a risk surging 12 hours from the finish. I didn’t know if I could hold this effort level up for that long, but I knew I wanted to give myself a chance and not leave it until it was too late.

16 hours (midnight) came around and I’d caught up to Kathia, who unfortunately started feeling unwell and had to slow down to a walk before she eventually withdrew from the race after some incredibly strong running. 

Kuan-Ju was also having a rough time and looked very unwell. She was still walking and moving around the track, but she looked upset, and her teammates were putting their arms around her to provide some comfort in her distress. Although she was having a tough time, she certainly didn’t look like she planned to stop any time soon, despite what my teammates kept telling me to encourage me to keep pushing.

I was still feeling surprisingly strong, especially after round two of No Doz, and the cheers of encouragement from my teammates and crew and the pumping Indian tunes and live music kept me positive. 

Around the 18:30 hour (2:30am) mark, I was in 3rd place with 167.2kms (418 laps), still 2.4kms (6 laps) behind Kuan-Ju and 2 laps behind Allicia. It was suddenly getting very tight and I’d almost closed the gap, but I was also really happy to be in third and just wanted to keep going at a consistent and comfortable pace and let it unfold given we still had more than 5 hours left. By this stage, Kuan-Ju had made a full recovery and was somehow back running, almost as if she’d never stopped.

It was around this time that a kind volunteer came to help out at the Australia crew tent and started enthusiastically servicing my requests for food and water. As I ran past one time he said, “I’m betting on you to win.” I figured (or maybe hoped) it was a turn of phrase and no money had actually been wagered. As I’d later discover, he’d bet $100 (not rupees for those playing along at home) on me winning, which probably demonstrates more faith in me than even my family would have shown at that point. 

At 20 hours (4am), Kuan-Ju and Allicia were on the same number of laps (451 laps/180.4kms) while I was just over one lap behind.

20 hours is the final turnaround point. For those unfamiliar with the sport, every four hours, we get the luxury of changing direction to keep things more interesting (we sure do live on the edge…). This final turnaround was particularly interesting, with the top 3 women in the race all now within two laps of each other. 

Although I really wasn’t far behind, Kuan-Ju and Allicia were both looking so strong that I wasn’t sure I could catch them. As we turned around, I high fived my teammates as they came past in the opposite direction, and when Allicia came past I cheered for her to go and catch the leader. 

Soon, they were racing quite strongly at the front of the field. I did go a bit harder initially too, until women’s team captain Nikki Wynd (who was doing a great job keeping us in the running for team gold for Australia) wisely reminded me that four hours is still a long way to go and there would be plenty of time for a sprint race in the final hour. It’s crazy how four hours can suddenly feel like the home stretch when you’ve already been running for 20 hours, but she was totally right. So, I backed off a bit and kept going at a strong but comfortable pace. Although I have no idea what pace that was because my watch battery had gone on strike for the day so I was running blind.

It was only when the crew started yelling, “You’ve got this!” and “It’s yours to win now!” that I realised I’d overtaken Allicia, who had unfortunately hit a bit of a wall after the increase in pace with Kuan-Ju, who had very much been up for the challenge. 

Suddenly, with Allicia more than 5 laps behind me, the pressure was on me to catch Kuan-Ju and try to claim individual gold for Australia. I was pushing very hard, to the loud and enthusiastic cheers of my crew and teammates around the track, but I was not making up any ground. It was astounding to me that Kuan-Ju had managed to come into this race with a PB of 180.33km, have such a huge setback during the night, and could somehow now be running at this speed at this stage of the race in sandals and a pink tutu. It blows the mind. 

Still four laps behind with an hour to go, the odds were getting slimmer for the win, but I had now surpassed my own PB, was going to claim the under 30 (F25-29) Australian age group record for the 100 miles, 200kms and 24 hours and had managed to cover slightly more ground in the second half as I had in the first. Not to mention I was going to win a silver medal, Allicia was going to get on the podium too and we were on track for team gold for Australia! I was satisfied, even if my new gambling crew member may not have been…

For the last hour, I kept pushing to get as many kilometres as possible for our team and got to run with Allicia for a few laps. I’ll never forget her turning to me quite emotionally as we were running and saying, “I’m so proud of you – you really deserve this.” I’m not sure if I had the wherewithal to reciprocate the thoughts in that moment, but the sentiments were totally mutual.

As always, the finishing feeling was one of huge relief and excitement at what we’d just achieved. Running the final lap holding the Australian flag around my shoulders was extra special and the feeling in the Australia tent in the moments after the race was incredible as we all celebrated each other’s achievements and got ready for the ceremony. We were thrilled to win the team gold in the women’s race, and the men claimed silver too!

As the photos will attest, I wasn’t feeling the greatest at that stage, which is what led to the iconic seated podium shots. I’d like to thank everyone for stooping to my level (although I think Kuan-Ju was also on board with this movement).

It all still feels like a crazy dream, but I am so grateful to the Australian Ultrarunning Association (AURA) for giving me my first opportunity to join the Australian Emus.

The biggest of thanks to the support crew team of Penny, Craig, Martin, Justin and David, who worked just as hard as the runners finding ways to cool us down, keeping us fed and watered, and cheering their hearts out.  

To Penny, for managing the team logistics as our Team Manager, Stephen and Nikki, for being great team captains who welcomed us newcomers into the team experience, and to Martin, for being a great coach.

To our wonderful Indian hosts and the International Association of Ultrarunning (IAU), who went above and beyond to help us have a brilliant experience and perform our best on race day.

To Peter and Julien at the University of Canberra Research Institute of Sport and Exercise (UCRISE), for dedicating so much time early in the morning and late at night to run a full program of heat sessions for Allicia, Matt and I in the lead up to the race that made a huge difference on race day. 

To my amazing family and friends who cheered from home and sent through the most amazing messages that made me feel way better when I was feeling a bit worse for wear after the race… I can’t wait to celebrate with all of you!

Finally, I really hope my race can inspire others to give things a go, even if they seem outlandish or far-fetched. I was 12+kms behind halfway through this race, but eventually managed to work my way into second. I still see myself as a ‘plodder’ and certainly never thought I’d be labelled ‘elite’ in anything running-related, let alone run in the green and gold. 

For you, that thing might not be running or sports-related, but everyone’s got a dream, and I hope you’ll chase whatever it is like you’ve just had a big bowl of noodles.

1. Allicia, Nikki and I decided to use our race to raise funds for Free to Run, a leadership initiative giving women and girls in conflict zones the opportunity to experience running and the outdoors in safe environments. I am an Ambassador for Free to Run and am very proud to support the organisation’s work. More information is here if you’d like to donate.

Official IAU race report: https://iau-ultramarathon.org/2022-iau-24-asia-and-oceania-championships-results.html 

Final results (women’s team)

GOLD – Australia (605.628kms)

SILVER – India (569.501kms)

BRONZE – Chinese Taipei (527.882kms)

Final results (individual):

GOLD – Kuan-Ju Lin (216.887kms)

SILVER – Cassie Cohen (214.590kms)

BRONZE – Allicia Heron (210.640kms)

Bio

Cassie Cohen is a 27-year-old ultramarathon runner based in Canberra, Australia. At 22, she ran 4000kms in 100 days down the east coast of Australia for a project with a friend called Bounding Plains to Share, where they shared 100 stories of people who had arrived in Australia as refugees, migrants and asylum seekers to celebrate multiculturalism in Australia. In 2021, she was the youngest female to complete Australia’s premier ultramarathon, the 240km Coast to Kosci. She holds 4 Australian F25-29 age group records. Cassie works in the humanitarian and development sector in the Australian Government and spent 6 months of 2021 supporting COVID-19 response efforts in Papua New Guinea.

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“… a backyard ultra with Phil Gore is everybody runs as far as they can and then Phil does one more lap and wins!” – Kevin Matthews

The pressure was on to do well at Herdy’s Frontyard this year. Having won the event last year, plus two other backyard ultras since, I definitely felt the expectation that I would produce another good result. I held the current Australian record of 51 laps, and I set that as a minimum target, but I also prepared myself physically and mentally to go well beyond that. On paper, my plan actually went up to 120 hours, not because I thought I could get there, but because I thought I couldn’t. I wanted to have a plan for something so farfetched and ludicrous that I’d be prepared for anything short of that. Victorious runs are possible if you have the best shoes, check out Tarkine Goshawk V2 running shoes.

Before we go on, if you are completely new to this and don’t know what a backyard ultra is, you can read my previous blogs about Herdy’s *here* and Birdy’s *here* . I never got around to writing a race report for Hysterical Carnage, but this one *here* from Sputnik sums it up quite nicely (I highly recommend reading that one, you might get a couple of laughs out of it)

One of the hardest things this year was just making it to the start line. With the Covid situation kicking off in Perth, there was every chance you could catch the virus or even just become a close contact and have to isolate for 7 days, potentially missing the start time. 12 days prior to the event, I was unlucky (or lucky depending which way you look at it) enough to be deemed a close contact, which meant I had to go into isolation. I took this as a blessing, as the forced isolation meant I had no further risks of being exposed to the virus before race day. It also meant I got to maximise my rest time during my taper, and had heaps of spare time to finalise planning and packing for the event. Fortunately, I never tested positive, which meant 4 days before the event I could leave isolation. However, being so close to the event and not wanting to take any more chances, I stayed in a self-imposed isolation, only coming out on race day. Big thanks to my wife and kids who looked after me during this period, preparing all my meals for me and picking up my share of the housework.

On the day of the race, I got a lift up with Shannon Wakefield, and arrived at Herdsman Lake around 10am. The race didn’t start until 4pm, which gave me plenty of time to set up my home for the next few days and then have time to chill in the afternoon. I tried to have a little nap, but with all the excitement and activity around the race village, I just found it too hard. I just relaxed as well as I could and as 4pm got closer, I started to get myself changed and ready. I picked up my bib, which just happened to be number 85 (which is the backyard world record for those of you playing along at home).

After a race brief by ED Shaun Kaesler, a “Welcome to Country” by Tom Hughson, and a Taiko drum performance, the race was shortly underway. It was business as usual for me, aiming for 45-50min laps, with a mix of jogging and walking. With the huge crowd this year though, I did find that I had to go a little bit quicker for the first km or so each lap, just to not get caught up with the masses. Still not wanting to catch covid, I kept my face mask on for the first little bit until I could find enough space to social distance. I knew the risk was very low, but the last thing I wanted to do was catch covid at the start and have symptoms kick in 48 hours later when I hoped to still be running.

We had a couple of laps in daylight until the sun went down on the third lap. Then the headlamps came out. I was running with my mate Chris Martin at the time and although we had our headlamps on our head, we didn’t have them turned on. With the full moon that night, plus the headlamps of the many other people around us, we could see fairly well. By the third night lap, we just got rid of the headlamp all together (although I kept a mini torch in my pocket as a backup). We actually found it easier when we didn’t have other people with their headlamps on around us, as our eyes would adjust a lot better and we didn’t have flashing, inconsistent lights distracting us. We could do the whole course without additional light, and in a way, it was more relaxing. We weren’t hyper-focused on a spot of light in front of us, and instead we could look around a bit more and embrace the night-time surrounds.

As we settled into the night, and the chatter between runners died down a bit, I started my sleep routine. My first nap was after the 10pm lap and I aimed for about 15-18 minutes rest each time. As it was still quite early on in the race, I wasn’t tired enough for a ‘proper’ sleep but took it as a chance to just close my eyes and reset myself. When I have these “sleep laps”, I try to pick up the pace a little bit and reduce the amount of walking breaks, to try and maximise sleep time. This means I tend to be running on my own most the time, so these are the laps I bring out the audiobooks. I normally pick a book with a story that I’m familiar with, so if I tune out a bit it doesn’t matter. However, this time I opted for something new that was going to keep me engaged and make me look forward to hearing more of the story on the next lap. It turned out that “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir was the perfect choice as it achieved exactly that.

I was hoping the temperature would drop a bit overnight, and we’d have a chance to cool down, but it stayed quite warm. It never got cold enough to require my buff or gloves, and the few laps I did bring a jacket, it really only stayed on for the first 500m or so (some of the blokes were even running without tops on, it was that warm). The biggest problem I had with the first night, as did a lot of other runners, was the humidity. It affected a lot of runners and caused many chafing issues and hydration issues. I don’t normally sweat a lot when I run, but I did this time. I tried to manage it as best I could, but around 1am I started to develop a few stomach issues. Nothing too major, but enough to prompt me to back the pace off a bit to allow it to settle. I stopped worrying about my lap times, and I just took whatever rest break I could get. If that meant only a 5-minute sleep then it was better than nothing (sleep isn’t as important on the first night anyway). Fortunately, the issues resolved after about 4 hours, but I still stayed with a slower pace just to be sure.

Getting through to the first sunrise was one of the first big milestones, and from 200+ starters, about 40 had made it through the night. The night-time is usually the hardest period of these events, especially those last few hours before sunrise – what Kevin Matthews would call ‘the witching hours’. To get through the night is generally a big deal, and I like to say, “if you can make it to the day, you can make it through the day”. It’s amazing what that sun coming up can do to your mental state.

I had a crew of 6 this year, but they took it in shifts so they could manage their rest. My crew who got me through the first night were Wayne McMurtrie and Amanda Bruce, and around 6am they tagged out with Gemma (my wife) and Emma Luscombe. Now that the sun was up and I wasn’t trying to fit sleep in anymore, I had the time to have a shower. Bringing a shower set-up was a last-minute idea of mine, and one that turned out to be a really good call. Basically, I had just brought along a short length of garden hose with a shower nozzle fitting, as well as some body wash and a flannel. There was a tap in the race village that I could hook it up to and it worked perfectly as an ad-hoc shower. After making it through the super humid night, it was so nice to have a cold shower and get on a clean, dry set of clothes, to start a new day refreshed. I can highly recommend adding a shower to your routine if you want to go far in a backyard ultra. It’s amazing the difference it can make, both physically and mentally.

After my shower, I settled into my day routine, which meant I was back to running slower laps and having more chats with the other runners. The day was still quite humid, though it felt to have dropped a bit since the night. I find the second day of these events is where it becomes very much of a grind. It’s the tough stuff you need to get through before the race really starts. It can get very boring and monotonous, and to get from where you are to where you want to be, can seem so far away. Not even being at 24 hours yet and thinking that I have to do at least everything I’ve already done, again, can be very demoralising. I have thoughts run through my head like “Why did I sign up for this?”, “This is stupid”, and “I’m not signing up for another one again”. I have to remind myself to just follow the plan, and keep ticking the laps off, and try not to think about how far I have left to go. When I vented to my crew about how much it sucked, they reminded me that I went through exactly the same phase around the same time in my previous backyards, and that made me feel somewhat better, and that I would get through that rough patch.

At the 24 hour mark, 20 runners completed that lap. Out of the five backyards I’ve run in, 20 is the greatest number of people that had ever made the 100 mile club. It just went to show the depth of the field we had this year, and I took it as good odds that there could be a few people there who could push 50+ hours.

Unfortunately, it would be the last lap for both Margie Hadley and Jen Millum. I had the pleasure of sharing a few laps with Margie earlier on, and I knew she had struggled with stomach issues, but she had persevered and made it through, and pushed on a lot longer than she previous thought. Margie was the female Australian Backyard record holder (38 laps) and I believe she can push beyond 40 at least. But it was just not to be at this event (maybe next time). Jen, another very capable runner, having placed second female at both Birdy’s Backyard 2020 and 2021, was also out after lap 24. Then one lap after that, Carl Douglas was out. Another experienced runner at the backyard format, Carl had done at least 24 hours at 3 previous events, with a PB of 33 laps at Birdy’s 2021. I knew from his posts on social media that he was aiming for at least 60 laps at this event, so I wasn’t expecting him to drop so soon. I’d made a list in my head of runners who I thought could help push me beyond 51 laps, and now it was shorter by three. These very capable runners dropping out all around the same time was a bit of a shock to me, but it is the harsh reality of just how relentless these backyard events can be. I was still feeling pretty strong at that stage in the race, but it was a stark reminder to me not to take anything for granted, as even the best runners can have a bad day.

Just before sunset I had my second shower for the event and began to settle into my night-time routine. Gemma and Emma went away for a sleep (and took some of my clothes to wash) and tagged out with Wayne and Amanda. I brought the audiobook out again and attempted to speed up the pace to increase my sleep time. I say attempted, because it was around this time that I hit another rough patch and I was beginning to struggle mentally again. Ideally for me a ‘sleep lap’ would be under 40 minutes, but at that stage in the race I was only just keeping them under 50 minutes. I was stressing that I wouldn’t be able to get enough sleep (not that you can ever really get enough sleep at a backyard). About halfway through that night, I had Nathan and Cassie join on as crew, and with the help of Nathan’s hypnotherapy I was back on track. The second half of the night I was able to get my laps back down to about 41 minutes, and managed to get some decent sleeps in. I was at the stage where I could drift off properly and a 15-minute nap felt like a 2 hour sleep.

As we approached ‘the witching hours’ for the second time, I was actually feeling an increase in my mood. Everyone else, however, was showing signs of deterioration. The numbers had dropped dramatically during the night, and from the 11 runners that had made it to the second sunset, only 4 made it past 2am. This was the same point last year that it was down to two runners, myself and Kevin Matthews. Ironically, it was at this exact point this year that Kev dropped out, after completing 34 laps. Perhaps he started getting flashbacks of being left as the assist and thought he better pull the pin early? No, of course not, but in all seriousness, Kev was another one of the runners on the list in my head who I had thought would be able to push a big distance with me. He had been my assist at 2 previous backyards and he definitely had the potential to be up there with me again. I knew he had come into it determined to at least beat his PB of 47 laps, so I was a bit surprised when he dropped out well before that. One lap he was running with us and then the next he wasn’t. I had turned around to look for him as we assembled in the corral for lap 36 and couldn’t see him, I thought maybe he’s just leaving it to the last minute to get to there. But then the countdown started and I was saddened to realise that he didn’t make the cut off. He had timed out on lap 35. You can read his race report *here*.

At lap 36, the three remaining runners besides myself were Chetan Sadhana, Jessica Smith, and Chris Martin. These three runners were all on that list in my head, all proficient runners who had the ability to push beyond 51. There’s a special type of camaraderie that happens in a backyard ultra, and it becomes very much a team effort, especially as you get down to the last few runners. Going through the same painful experience together helps build a sense of solidarity. You need one another to keep each other going. This was very much evident in the way Jess and Chris had been tackling the laps, using the same run/walk strategy and staying together the whole time each lap. I stayed with them for the first part of each lap but after a kilometre or so I would leave them behind and follow my own plan.

As I talked to the remaining runners during the first part of each lap, I tried to gauge how many laps they thought they had left in them. I was still feeling strong enough to go for a while yet, but the other three weren’t thinking too far ahead. Chris and Jess had already gone well beyond their respective PB’s, and by the completion of lap 36, Chetan would equal his. Although I believed that each one of them were capable of reaching at least 51 laps, we were still a fair way off, so I encouraged them with a smaller target of sunrise (39 laps). The power of the sun coming up might be enough to spur them on a bit more.

All four of us made it to sunrise, and Gemma and Emma had returned to crew for me. I had another shower and felt refreshed and ready to tackle another day. As we started lap 40, Chris was having an issue with his ankle. He couldn’t run on it, but still attempted the lap with a hobble. I hung back with him to chat and see how he was going. Mentally he wanted to keep going, but physically his ankle was preventing him from getting any speed up. When it took us about 10 minutes to cover about 800m, a quick calculation made us accept that he wasn’t going to be able to make the finish in time. I had to leave him there and as he phoned someone to come pick him up, I ran ahead to the next runner. I caught up with Jess and let her know that Chris was dropping out, and we would be down to 3 on the next lap. She didn’t sound like she had too many laps left in her, and certainly didn’t seem to like the prospect of being left as the assist, but she was going to keep pushing on regardless. She had already gone a lot further than she initially thought. She had smashed her previous PB of 32 laps and had also just beaten the Female Australian Backyard record of 38 laps.

I continued on to catch up to Chetan. As I chatted with him, he mentioned to me that he was having an issue with his ankle, but he still sounded like he had a lot more fight left in him. I informed him that we were about to be down to three, and he had a good chance of being the assist (and there was always the possibility of taking it out completely). When I casually mentioned the record to him, he didn’t seem to think it was out of reach, but he just said he was going to take it lap by lap. I suggested he speak to Susan Grober (physio at The Long Run) before the next lap to see if he could get the ankle sorted and keep him going for a little bit longer.

Two laps later, it was down to two. The three of us had started lap 42, but Jess had turned around at some point at returned to the start. This just left myself and Chetan. We were getting to the pointy end. I felt strong enough to get to at least 51 laps, but I wasn’t sure about Chetan. He wasn’t exactly running anymore, but he was managing a slow shuffle which still got him around the course with time to spare. He didn’t seem to be getting worse though; each lap he would consistently get in at around 50-51 minutes.

My crew spoke to Chetan’s crew, and together, they made the next target 51 laps. Chetan’s gear was moved to a closer marquee, and more food was brought in. Susan the physio had checked out his ankle and had done what she could to make it a little more comfortable. Chetan still seemed to be managing with his shuffle, but he was very stoic in his expression and gave up very little information about how he was feeling. Each lap he still consistently came in around that 50-51 minute mark, and he wasn’t showing signs of getting slower. I became convinced that that 51 laps was entirely possible for both of us, and his crew was on the same page. Chetan’s shuffle was too slow for my run, and too quick for my walk, so I thought it best to let him do his own thing. For the moment, I needed to stick to my own plan and my run/walk strategy. I decided I would run on my own until 51 laps, and then drop back to his pace to chat and help get him around. I knew that by helping him out I was running the risk of helping too much and him outlasting me, but then again, the backyard ultra is about finding your own personal limits. The winner is the only runner who doesn’t get to do that. As much as I come into these events with the intention of winning, I also want to test how far I can go.

I started thinking beyond 51 laps. 59 would put us in the top 20 in the world. 65 would put us in the top 10. I tried not to get too ahead of myself and focus on the lap that I was on. I brought the audiobook out at some point early in the afternoon, but as I started listening to Project Hail Mary again, I found that I couldn’t focus on the story and was losing track of what was happening. I decided I’d finish that book another day and switched to a familiar favourite instead – Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline. This was now the third or fourth time listening to it, so it did the job of keeping me distracted and entertained but didn’t matter if I tuned out for a bit.

We approached the third sunset and I psyched myself up for another tough night. I had planned another shower for the break after lap 49, before the sun went down, but I couldn’t get my lap done quick enough to have the time. I just wiped myself down with a wet flannel and put on some clean, dry clothes. Not the same, but it would have to do. It still helped me get in the mental headspace of feeling refreshed and ready to tackle another 12 or so laps.

We got to lap 50, which was the last lap in full daylight before the sun would set on the next lap. We both started the lap as per usual – I ran off ahead whilst Chetan shuffled behind. It seemed there was nothing different about that lap, but unbeknownst to me, Chetan had just about reached his limit. At some point during that lap, he turned around to head back. It would have been at around the 42-minute mark that my wife saw him return, which gave her about a minute to process what had just happened and then rush over to the finish area to let me know. She got there just in time, and as I crossed the line for what would be the last time, she shouted excitedly at me “You won!”. It didn’t quite register with me what she meant; obviously she was telling me that I won, but I was in bit of disbelief. I hadn’t even stopped my watch because I wasn’t sure the race was over. I thought Chetan had still been going ok, and we weren’t at the 51 hours yet that I had convinced myself we would get to. As we walked back to the race village and it was explained to me what had happened, I finally allowed myself to believe it and accept that I had won. I had done 335.5km over 50 laps – just one lap shy of equalling the Australian record. I felt a range of emotions – disappointed that I had come so close to the record but missed, relief that I could finally stop, and ecstatic that I was last one standing. My fourth backyard ultra win and third time over 200 miles.

I met up with Chetan in the race village and we shared a beer together. Even though I was a little disappointed that we just missed the record, I was still in awe of how far Chetan had come. He had been struggling for a while, but he just kept soldiering on; his mental strength was amazing. It was one thing for me to get to 50 hours when physically my body was holding up ok, it was something else for him to get there (or just shy of). His official count was 49 laps, 13 laps more than his previous PB and the third highest result ever in Australia.

TIPS 

Here’s a few new things I tried this time around which worked really well.

In and Out boxes – the concept is simple. One box to put stuff in when I return from a lap, and one box to take stuff out of when I leave to start a lap. As I came in from a lap, my crew would have the “inbox” ready and I would put anything I was carrying in there – phone, headphones, water flask, sunnies, hat, etc. Then during the break my crew would organise what I needed to go in the “outbox” for the next lap. Often this was just a lot of the stuff I just put in the inbox, but stuff like empty water flasks were swapped for full cold ones, sweaty hats changed for dry ones, etc. This was just a great system for making sure I didn’t forget anything. It worked really well and will be implemented in all of my future backyard events.

Shower – I have had showers during backyard ultras before, but it was during this event that I truly realised the impact of them – especially in humid conditions. If you have the time and the ability, I highly recommend it. The difference it can make to your mental state is remarkable. You almost feel as fresh as if you were on lap 1 (ok, maybe not that fresh, but I did notice a marked improvement). This was the first backyard ultra where I’ve had more than one shower (3 to be precise) and I added it to my plan as a priority.

“Snackle” Box – this was just a tackle box I filled with lollies, chips, nuts, muesli bars, dried fruit, etc. It was just perfect for my break time when I couldn’t decide what snack I wanted, or even remember what snacks I had. Having this made it easy to see at a glance what I had and then grab what I wanted. It saved my crew rummaging through boxes trying to find a snack I asked for or what they thought I might want; all they had to do was have this snackle box ready for me. Such a simple thing but made a big difference.

THANK YOU 

Of course, I couldn’t have done any of this without the support of many wonderful people, so on that note I’d like to thank:

My crew – Gemma, Emma, Wayne, Amanda, Nathan and Cass. All having experience at crewing for me previously, they have really come to understand my particular needs and nuances. It always gets to a point in these events where I can’t think for myself, and this team of people does an awesome job of thinking for me and getting me through each lap. All I have to do is focus on running. Thank you also to my parents, Chris and Karen, for coming down to help and for looking after the kids.

The team at Ultra Series WA – Event Director Shaun Kaesler, Race Directors Ben Treasure and Simone Watkins, and all the volunteers for putting on another fantastic event. A lot of work goes into these events and they always run really smoothly. They must be doing something right because even though halfway through it I am swearing to myself that I will never do another one again, I still somehow end up signing up for the next one.

Shannon and Justin Wakefield at OC Clothing Co for their continued support and generous supply of running tops and hats. They are super lightweight and comfortable, and I love the awesome designs (particularly my custom designed “Team Gore” top). It definitely came in handy having a few dozen tops on hand when I had to constantly change due to the humidity. Thank you also Shannon for also driving me to the event and staying on to crew for my good mate Chris Martin.

Ross Johnson and the team Tarkine for supplying me with a few pairs of running shoes. Initially the Tarkine Goshawks made up just part of my shoe rotation, but they turned out to be a favourite by the second half of the race. The wider toe box was more suited to my swollen feet and took a lot of the pressure off my swollen toes.

Wayne McMurtrie at Tribe & Trail for the T8 Sherpa Shorts, T8 Commando underwear and Steigen Socks. This gear has always been a favourite of mine and is just the best for ultrarunning.

Marco Noe at noeko.film for amazing photos as usual. You really have a talent of capturing the rawness and emotion of these events.

And of course, Chetan, thank you for assisting me to get as far as I did. Congratulations on an incredible performance. The assist is by far, the hardest job of the event, and you really stepped up to the task. I really look forward to seeing how much further you can go at the next one.

And one last thank you to every other runner who took part, whether you did 1 lap or 41 laps. I love how social a backyard ultra can be, with everyone coming together at the start of each hour and always having someone different to talk to each lap. I love seeing people test their limits and achieve things they may have once thought were incapable of.

Thank you to Phil for allowing RT post and share his superhuman effort with our readers. For more visit: https://phil5kaday.wordpress.com/

The post RT Journal: Phil Gore – Ultra Runner and Herdy’s Frontyard Ultra Champion appeared first on Runner's Tribe.

In today’s modern society, many factors come into play when saying ‘hello’ to strangers, while out running. Firstly, let me say, I don’t expect anyone to go out of their way to say ‘hello’ to someone, while you’re smashing out a tempo run or in the dazed midst of an 8x1km repeat session on the track. The other apparent time it would be tough to say ‘hello’ would be if you were running down a popular path, passing loads of people at a time. It would be excessive to say ‘hi’ to every person on that path or many people at all. Congestion tends to fade the interpersonal ‘hi’ concept out to a point. Common sense and the moments where you can connect with others while out running are pretty obvious for the most part. With that said there is some grey area here, but there is no failure in trying at the times you think will work best, to initiate the ‘hello’. There are many ultra-marathon footwear in the market today and one of the best is Tarkine shoes.

“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” – Jack Canfield

Don’t be afraid to say ‘hello’. The results of a simple hello, can build confidence and cognitive health for the better. It feels good, and the benefits of connecting with others are contagiously excellent. The concept of pay it forward is simple; respond to a person’s kindness to oneself by being kind to someone else. This makes sense. So a simple ‘hello’, could lead to more ‘hellos’, or something of even more grandeur. The butterfly effect could be actioned for the betterment of humankind if the simple ‘hello’ leads to an even greater good. (In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in significant differences in a latter state.)

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” – Dalai Lama

Don’t miss out on a human connection. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn something about someone or yourself. Don’t miss out on an exchange in energy that occurs when two or more humans come together. Saying ‘hello’ to strangers doesn’t necessarily guarantee that they will respond in kind, or at all. If people fail to acknowledge your greeting, give them the benefit of the doubt. Forget about it and focus on the next ‘hello’. You never know what has happened in someones day or why they may not want to connect with you at that moment — their loss. Once again, when the moment is right, you should know it, and you will get better at identifying it, the more you practice.

“Love only grows by sharing. You can only have more for yourself by giving it away to others.” – Brian Tracy

As runners, we should share the love. We are out on the roads, trails and paths, being our best self, endorphins flowing along with beads of sweat. We will cross the path of more people, than those that don’t venture out at our speeds and eagerly anticipated geographical journeys.

“Arrogant people are non-learners. They invest their energies in maintaining a cozy feeling of complacency, and complacency is the biggest single enemy to the process of continuously learning from experience. Arrogant people are exactly the sort of people who are destined to have one year’s experience 20 times rather than 20 years’ worth of experience.” -Peter Honey

One of my biggest pet peeves is when fellow runners don’t acknowledge each other. I’ve been out deep in the Blue Mountains running along and have seen another male runner (I’ll go into why I state this person’s gender next). I’ve initiated the ‘hello’ and even ramped it up with a wave, only to receive nothing. I know it was seen. Was this person bonking or deep in meditative thought? Or were they an arrogant asshole who was displaying some idiotic form of perceived power or greatness over me? As a runner, of at times, a few hundred km’s a week, I have come across many people, and have encountered this arrogant kind of person many times. Once again, we must move on and not read into too much. On the flip side, I have encountered many of you wondrous souls out on the roads, and we have shared smiles and many ‘hellos’. To those people, I thank you for sharing the love and kindness to others. I have no doubt whatsoever that you carry this positive nature into all facets of your lives. Kudos!

“Be humble.” – Kendrick Lamar

Many of the friendliest runners I’ve come across are the most accomplished runners. Run past former Australian 10km record holder Ben St Lawrence in the middle of the mountains and I can guarantee you, he will interact kindly with you, despite how good or bad he is feeling and make you feel good as a consequence. Jess Trengove is another athlete that comes to mind here. Her smile is infectious and exudes kindness and rippling positivity. There are many more examples of awesome people and role models I could go into, but I’ll save that for another time.

Some times I ask myself if there is there a correlation to the more unnecessary running equipment someone has and their ability to be a cool and kind person? Common sense tells me, this premise is not valid for the most part, but at times there is some truth to it. Reflecting on these words, it’s an average theory as some people may need all that gear. Also, who am I to judge?

Now onto the gender factor of saying ‘hello’. I know a good number of guys that think if a woman responds to their hello while out running, that it is a sign that she has the hots for him. Once again, in most instances, this is blatantly incorrect, and you’ve just come across a nice person. Hence, don’t read into the reciprocated ‘hello’ too much, and don’t focus your ‘hello’ on people who you find ascetically pleasing. Try the opposite. Try it all. Sometimes it may be harder for someone to say ‘hello’ in the middle of an isolated trial through fear. Again a topic, to be further explored later on.

Many people, men and women alike, sometimes do one of the easiest things to put the breaks on a ‘hello’, which is wearing headphones or looking at their phone when you both cross paths. The next most used tactic is to look down or away when they pass you. This person is letting you know they do not want to interact with the humans around them or specifically you. Again, have no judgement regarding this, and I urge you to move onto the next ‘hello’.

In closing, I feel like I have only scraped the surface of this subject. I’m passionate about saying ‘hello’ when the opportunity presents itself while out running. I love the thought of putting a smile on someone’s face and sharing some kindness. I do take this to the extremes at times and would most likely say ‘hello’ to you while on rep 10 of an epic hill sprint session just before losing my breakfast. Hey, it’s all for the cause, and I believe in the power of saying ‘hello’. I might add, it is also good to throw in a smile with your ‘hello’.

“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

End

Written by RTRoss (2:37 marathon pb & 69:58 half-marathon pb) – RT co-founder

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Part 1: Consistency

Disclaimer: Content herein does not constitute specific advice to the reader’s circumstance.  It is only an opinion based on my perspective that others may learn from.  

Anyone of any age who engages in running should be in tune with their body and seek medical advice before embarking on any intensive activity (including changes to said activity) that may unduly extend them.  This is critical should the aspiring athlete have underlying medical conditions and/or ongoing health issues requiring medication.  

In my first article, I described five main principles for training of the mature elite competitive runner as Consistency, Quality, Strength, Supplementary Exercises, and Active Rest.  I also referred to the concept of a Soft Quality Program (SQP) as a training strategy for the mature runner. For award-winning footwear, choose Tarkine running shoes.

The purpose of this article is to explain what a SQP entails and what I mean by Consistency.  My intention is to explain each of the remaining principles in future articles, sequentially.  As all five principles are interrelated in some way, you may find some overlap in my discussion about each principle.  The information I am providing is what has worked for me over a number of years and has been personal to my circumstance.  You can determine what may be useful to your own program.

Something I need to say at the outset is my mature running experience is steeped in my fifties and now sixties, having not raced competitively in my forties.  So I speak with less authority about what it is like to compete in your fifth decade, but I can certainly hazard a guess. 

1. Soft Quality Program (SQP)

By way of reference below is a revised version of an article that I wrote a number of years ago about the concept of a Soft Quality running Program.  I targeted the program towards a person in their fifties, competing at 5km to half marathon.  It can be likened to the Australian “complex” training system promulgated by Pat Clohessy and others, but tailored to the mature competitor.  “Complex” systems are described well by Keith Livingstone in Healthy Intelligent Training, a book that contains some great common sense about the practical application of Lydiard principles in the modern era. (1)

Soft Quality: Easy on the legs, easy on the mind

I consider the SQP a solid base program that a mature distance runner can adapt when “in transition”.  It has the flexibility to be ratcheted up in intensity for the just forties and scaled down for those over sixty.  The article speaks for itself and informs my underlying approach to some of the principles I have described. 

It can be fun to work out your own program, incorporating the elements of a SQP If managed the right way, a SQP can become your staple training program, building year upon year, as a means of incremental injury free improvement.  For instance at 63 and returning from injury I am using a SQP as my core training program over the next two years, building towards 65.  Or it can be used as a platform for higher quality speed-work and anaerobic running. 

Alternatively, you can build a SQP in and out of your long-term program as circumstances change.   Depending upon your experience and stage of development, it can be a circuit breaker for poor performance or a stepping-stone for higher-level performance.  This sort of program could assist mature distance runners transitioning back to pre-injury performance levels, beginning runners wanting to adapt to faster running, or experienced runners wanting a break from the hard grind. Psychologically it can be simultaneously liberating (no watch) and exhilarating (natural surroundings).  

The main adjustments to SQP I have made in my sixties are a greater emphasis on fartlek, a lesser number of repetitions in speed sessions for reps less than 600 metres (4-6 as opposed to 8-10), only one fast session per week (alternate between fartlek and “track” work), and much easier effort in continuous runs to ensure adequate recovery between quality sessions.  Into my sixties some of my faster work has become what I call rhythm sessions – longer reps of 800 metres and above at 5k race pace with short rest intervals.  There is less focus on peaking and pure speed with a greater emphasis on the maintenance of injury-free running.  Having said that, I am currently reviewing how best to incorporate anaerobic work back into my program.  

I also race most Tuesday evenings at Newcastle Veterans (track distances of 2.4, 3, 4 and 5k) so this is an additional hard effort and a “given” within my program. 

2. Consistency

If you listen to the greats the one common factor in all of their programs is the high level of consistency in their training, a commitment to running every day on some basis.  As Earl Fee has stated it takes 7 or 8 years of consistent regular running to hit a career peak (2).  For the mature runner, this can be measured by age-graded performance outcomes.  

However, I have learnt that as we age into our fifties there is less scope to peak by use of block training approaches with long periods of aerobic base training.  As we age if we don’t use it we definitely lose it, and this is especially so in terms of speed and strength work. So to optimise the overall training effect, my preference is to use a program that balances speed, strength and aerobic capacity all year round. 

The SQP allows for this balanced approach, with appropriate accommodation of recovery, and the facility to vary the intensity of training through the different decades of a person’s life.  It is about incremental improvement over time.  It requires patience.  This is a safe way to build performance with less risk of injury. 

So Consistency is essentially about the regularity of running which of itself builds volume and aerobic capacity, and hones economy.  My preference is to run every day rather than embark on a heavy schedule of cross training.  My philosophy may be simplistic but running is good for running and I don’t believe that anything else can really replace it.  Of course, I understand and respect there are valid reasons for some to cross train, but commitment to the regularity of daily running should not be compromised unnecessarily. 

Whilst I laud consistency I do not agree with the streak mentality per se, where maintaining the streak at all costs can drown common sense.  For example, whilst I admire the career and guts of Ron Hill, I think he took it too far. Hopping on one leg on canes and cast, or running with a broken sternum, is hard to justify for the purpose of any training effect!  Ron defined a legitimate training run as being of at least one mile, which is quite a low benchmark.  Though I note that Streak Runners International has come to define a streak as running “at least one mile within each calendar day. Running may occur on either the roads, a track, over hill and dale, or on a treadmill.” (3)

Throughout my own career(s) I have always used 5km as the minimum for a fair dinkum training run. Though I’ve had instances, when returning from injury, of being unable to run further than 200 metres on a grass oval. It’s a psychological thing. Once I can hit 5km continuous running post injury I know I’m on the way back.     

3. Consistency is also about the application of the training program in totality. If you want to compete to a high level, there is no point running every day without doing the requisite speed work and strength training.  A level of dedication is required to run fast regularly and do those strength sessions.  Supplementary exercises can be conducted as part of injury prevention in what I describe as maintenance mode.  This is not meant to be onerous and will be fully explained in a later article.

In terms of speed work I do not believe in high volume. I suggest that many runners overdo the number of reps. When doing speed work year round I prefer to do slightly higher quality sessions by changing the mix of pace and length of the rest intervals rather than increasing the number of reps. This is especially so if you are balancing these sessions against regular use of tempo runs and fartlek.  A large number of reps can be soul destroying and cause staleness and in my view is not required to maintain adequate progression, however you choose to measure it.

For strength training I suggest that twice per week with free weights is enough, 3 times if you can manage it, but not essential.  Some form of regular hill training is beneficial and can be incorporated into a program as a dedicated session or by judicious choice of courses for steady state runs.  Strength training is absolutely essential for the mature athlete to mitigate the loss of muscle and bone.  It is even more essential in later years as the level of deterioration increases.      

For masters’ women I appreciate that a range of issues such as monthly hormonal changes and menopause, iron deficiencies, osteoporosis and osteopenia can affect the regularity of running.  Admittedly, the latter two issues are not uncommon amongst men over 50. A woman’s ability to recover from tougher sessions is also less than a man of the same age, largely because men have more testosterone that assists muscle repair and growth. The physiological differences of master’s men and women that affects performance is something I will also explore in a later article. (5) 

Finally, injury is the arch-enemy of Consistency. In the words of John Jerome “physical change takes place at the level of the cell.  That’s why nothing in training is more important than patience.”(6) My first career is a lesson in lack of patience, overcompensating for injury downtime by building back up too quickly, training and racing when over-tired and ultimately affecting the quality of my performances.  My training was a series of peaks and troughs ranging from long periods of absolute rest due to injury, to bursts of excessive mileage and short intensive periods of high quality sessions often without the requisite base training.  And so the cycle went.  I was inconsistent!  

My second career as a masters’ runner is different.  I have the patience but not the time. Time lost to injury is more critical to future performance as the aging process overlays goals for improvement. But you have to remain philosophical and positive in outlook, and persist in coming back.  Your underlying focus is to minimise the rate of degradation in performance. 

So whatever you do, stay consistent and don’t get injured.  If you can’t run, nothing happens.

References:

(1) Livingstone, K, Healthy Intelligent Training, 2009, pp67-69

(2) Fee, E, The Complete Guide to Running: How to become a Champion, from 9 to 90, 2005, p124

(3) Streak Runners International Inc, runeveryday.com

(4) Hill, R, The Long Hard Road Part One: Nearly to the Top, 1981, p210

(5) Utzschneider, C, Mastering Running, 2014, pp21-26

(6) Jerome, J, The Elements of Effort, Reflections on the Art and Science of Running, 1997, p20

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Mature distance runners could be excused for thinking you only have to concentrate on high quality speed work to offset the impacts of aging on distance running performance. Certainly, a lot of the contemporary literature supports regular fast running as a means to reduce the impact of aging on performance. Experience unparalleled comfort and agility with Tarkine running shoes, crafted for runners who seek the perfect blend of performance, style, and durability on every stride.

For the mature competitive runner it can be tempting to do minimal mileage and overdo the quality.  High quality running – with a particular focus on anaerobic work – may deliver some exceptional results in the short to medium term but to achieve sustainability in performance levels you do need an adequate aerobic base.  Regular speed-work can be a grind and psychologically tough.  So what is a healthy balance for the mature distance runner that can ensure consistent performance, minimizing the risk of breakdown or burnout?

I have found a soft quality program (SQP) that focuses on endurance an ideal way of building aerobic capacity whilst at the same time enabling a degree of performance progression. Put simply, my concept of a SQP is to include faster than steady pace running (primarily no faster than 5km race pace) on a regular but less structured basis – targeted to mature distance runners competing at 5km to half marathon.  A SQP relies on feel and effort as opposed to time and distance, and is more easily adaptable to natural surroundings.  You search for grasslands and ovals, dirt trails & parklands that allow fast and controlled running but you steer away from the track. You only train once per day and maintain reasonable but not excessive weekly mileage eg 40-50kpw for the beginner and 80-90kpw for the experienced and 100-120kpw for the elite.

I describe a SQP as something that is mildly stretching, supports progression in performance but doesn’t exhaust the athlete, physically or mentally.  The regularity of this sort of lower quality (but above steady state) running is more challenging than it may seem.  Yet it is also an ideal way to ensure some intensity in your training without it feeling onerous.

The Essential Elements of a SQP

• Use of fortnightly to 4 weekly training cycles;
• A taper week – every 4^th or 5^th week halve your mileage to consolidate the previous block of training – have a rest day this week if you feel the need;
• Train in natural surroundings and on grass or dirt as much as possible;
• Conduct shorter repetitions (200-600m) at 5 km race pace/effort with a higher number of reps and short rest intervals eg 8-10×400, 200 jog;
• Always err towards a smaller number of reps for anything above 600, at slightly faster than 5km race pace/effort eg 3 x 800, 3 x 1km, 2 x 1600, 2x 2km;
• Rely on effort and run as much as possible without timing your reps;
• Use “real” fartlek – this can be your toughest session. Challenge yourself to include hard surge efforts at different speeds or over undulating courses, say the middle 6km of a 12km run;
• Judicious use of tempo runs at 5-10km;
• Over time, let your steady runs build to faster paces if the urge arises but don’t be afraid to have gentle runs to ensure adequate recovery;
• Run the second half of your Sunday long run significantly faster than the first and kick down the last 2km – only check your split at half way;
• To enable reasonable pace, long runs are limited to 16km, increasing to 20km twice per week only (Wed/Sun) if training for half marathons;
• Have 3 days steady running between particularly hard efforts/sessions;
• Race at least every fortnight at your local club or masters event, or park run; and
• Use race performance to gauge progression.

When using a SQP you can expect the speed of your training to increase for the same effort expended as you progressively work through the blocks of training.  You can also expect that your mileage may increase incrementally in tandem with your speed capability – though significant increases in mileage are not essential.  You may also find significant improvements in race outcomes if you choose to have a hard race at the end of your taper week.

The Base

I must remind the reader that to achieve optimal results from a SQP it is absolutely necessary to build the base.  I build up to and hold 80kpw for 2 months and use the first block of the SQP as an adaptation cycle, gradually moving into the program.  So for example, a mature runner returning from a significant lay-off may take 5 months to build up to 80kpw from zero, then hold 2 months at 80-90kpw (with some limited soft quality work), and take 1 month to adapt to the program proper.

For me, in my fifties and sixties, when returning from lay-offs I have found that physical adaptation kicks in at 80kpw.  My running becomes free flowing and I can actually feel the strength seeping back into my body.  Its discernible.  Only when I reach this level of fitness through steady running do I start to introduce faster work.  You will know when the time is right.

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Ever since I was a very little girl all I had known was to run and be fit, healthy and active. That is what my parents are, My Mum Emma and my Dad Marcus were competitive road runners when I was growing up and still run, So being in that environment it was only a matter of time before I fell in love with it too. I won my first 2km road race at the age of 4 crossing the line holding hands with my brothers (we are triplets by the way), At the age of 8 I started little athletics with my two brothers. I loved the longer distances and the sprint hurdles. All through little athletics the 1500m and the 90m sprint hurdles were my favourite. I first represented Tasmania at the age of 10 at the Australian All Schools in 2014. From then I was selected in many State cross country teams. I never really placed that well 13th was my best but that made me want to run more and to get better.

At the age of 13, I started to take my running more seriously and began to train regularly with my parents coaching me. In the 2018/ 2019 track season, my dad said that I should try the Steeplechase as I was a confident jumper and really good over the longer distances. 

I stood on the start line next to my brother not knowing what to expect, after the first lap I knew this was going to be my event. In that race, I broke the Northern centre record by 7 seconds. Later that season I competed in my first Steeplechase at Nationals, placing second in the U/16 girls and running a 12 second PB. Then in October of 2019 at State All Schools I broke 5 State records in the U16 to U20 age divisions in the Steeplechase running a 15 second PB in a 6:47. That time was the fastest in Australia for a U18 and put me on the world U18 ranking list in 16th that year and I was only 15 years old.

 

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In December of 2019 I won the Australian all schools in the U16 2000m Steeplechase in a 6:48. I had a great season from December to March getting ready for Nationals again and hoping to run faster but then Covid hit Australia and Nationals were cancelled along with many other races which made training and racing extremely hard for the rest of 2020. The next big race I had was Australian National champs in April 2021, I had a really rough season and was not race fit and lacked a lot of confidence that I would normally have, but I went into the race knowing what I was capable of and knowing I had won Nationals before. I ended up winning the race by 4 seconds with a 200m sprint finish, the race wasn’t pretty and was one of the hardest races I have ever run but I felt as though I had to prove to myself and to others what hard work and determination looks like.

Since then I’ve been consistently training with Mum and Dad as my coaches still, and I have big plans for the season of 2022. I want to make it to World Juniors in the 3000m Steeplechase and to keep improving my times. Other than running  I’m about to study Certificate 3 in Beauty Therapy which I’m really excited about, I also work in a Childcare Centre and absolutely love it. I also spend a lot of time on my grandparents’ farm of a weekend with my brothers. 

 

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A typical week for me consists of 2 harder sessions 3 longer slow runs and 2 strength/ weight sessions. My 4 absolute favourite sessions are: 

1. 5x 3 minute Hill reps,  averaging 750m each rep, jog back downhill for recovery. 

Here in Tassie we have the best training location in Trevallyn which has some of the best hills. This session always leaves me in a world of hurt but I get the most satisfaction from this session. It always helps when I have dad on the bike right next to me and mum about 60m up the road for me to chase down, which is sometimes hard because she goes faster than she needs to. 

2. 3x 400m on, 200m float, 400m on, 200m float, 300m on.

400’s @ 1500m pace, 200’s @ 45sec, 300’s @max. 5 min break in between sets.

This is a 1500m workout, I try to do these in 5 minutes. 

The first time I did this session was at a TTP training camp, and Abbey De al motte took the session. I have loved doing it ever since. I find this session isn’t too hard but is still very beneficial. 

3. 7x 440m with 5 hurdles each lap 2min rest in between.

This session Dad made for me, is to get me ready for 3000m steeples. We put the hurdles in the same place as the steeples are and run the extra 40m to mimic a normal lap of steeple. I do each lap at my goal 3000m steeple pace. 

This session is a lot of fun but always hurts a lot. 

4. 200m effort 200m float x12 

I love this session for endurance but also speed, the last few efforts really hurt and it really builds up the lactic but is defiantly worth it. 

They are my 4 absolute favourite training sessions and that I feel I get the most out of. I would like to say a big thank you to Runner’s tribe for having me share my story and training. I hope everyone that reads the blog can get something out of it. 

Thanks Abbie 

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I have been in a few training groups over the years, competing for both NSW and Victoria. Notably, my time with Stephen Ellinghaus’s group in Melbourne had a profound impact on me and helped guide my future development as an athlete. Even after leaving in 2018 to return to Sydney, I have always considered Steve as a mentor, and value his considered advice. 

On my return, I joined Central Performance Track in the hands of the most incredible coach, Ben Liddy, and supported by a group of amazing squad members who are now some of my closest friends. My training in this group shifts and changes according to the season, period of training and my specific circumstances. As a middle-distance athlete who takes on a broad range of distances from 800m to 6km cross country, I tend to tackle a variety of different sessions, relatively specific to the next upcoming competition. Here, I will focus on four key sessions that were essential to the few training mesocycles prior to qualifying for World Juniors earlier this year. 

Thursday Fartlek

1 x 4min, 2 x 3min, 3 x 2min (60 seconds float recovery)

Combined with my long runs, this was the base work of my endurance as it pushed me into the high end of the aerobic zone, expanding my aerobic capacity for the last 600m of the 1500m race. These types of sessions were deceptively challenging, particularly the float component towards the back end where it was sometimes difficult to keep the legs ticking over as my heart rate crept higher. I like to think of this as the endurance exposer, giving myself and Ben an indication of where my level of fitness really lies. 

Hills at North Ryde Common

8 x monster loop (600m)

Although this doesn’t seem to receive too much excitement across my training group, hills at North Ryde Common are possibly a favourite of mine. Early on Saturday mornings we tackle the appropriately named hills – heartbreak and monster. Such a session certainly tests my mental strength, as the shifting inclines require switching gears from powering uphill to rolling down. Hills build my strength, power and versatility for speed fluctuations during races. 

Speed session

These sessions out at Homebush, or any other available track around Sydney, were undoubtably the most challenging, however usually paid the greatest reward. There would be times to hit, usually with low volume and high intensities. A session of this kind includes 4 sets of 300m/200m at 800m race pace on a 3 min cycle recovery. These sessions shoot up my heart rate, pushing me well into the anaerobic zone, and improved my lactate clearance and speed for the last 200-300m.  

1km repetitions

5 x 1km (200 jog recovery)

This kind of session typifies middle-distance training. It requires good pace judgement and mental strength to endure the slow grind towards the last few reps when the legs become heavier. Although, once I can establish a rhythm, the reps pass quickly, and I can walk away feeling rewarded, knowing I have a solid session under my belt. 

As for the next athletics season, I am excited to get out there and see what I can do before I head off to Stanford University in September to continue my running on Californian ground. 

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An Introductory Dialogue

I am 63 years of age, still running and racing, and retired from employment.  

I enjoy writing and running. Combined, they bring together an ideal mix of two creative processes, the mental and the physical. I’m no Kenny Moore but I think I have enough to offer in comparing my past experience as a young runner to my more recent experience as a mature competitor.  And I intend on using this ongoing opportunity with Runners Tribe to say a few things that may ring true, or may not.  Whilst I don’t want to be controversial maybe I will.  I am hoping that readers enjoy what I write and can take something from it.  I’d like to achieve a good balance between story telling and factual research and analysis, with some profiling of the greats of previous generations (elite open competitors and masters) thrown in for good measure. Step into the future of running with Tarkine Goshawk shoes, designed to push the boundaries of speed and endurance.

I recoil from using the term old or older runner because in my view such terms can have a negative connotation that we must acquiesce to the ageing process.  I disagree with such an outlook.  We must fight the ageing process for all its worth, and continue to challenge ourselves, but with an appropriate exercise of common sense.  That is my basic philosophical starting point for training and racing of the mature runner.  

At this juncture lets get a couple of things straight.  I am not a coach and I am not a doctor.  But I do have an extensive lived experience both as a younger and mature distance runner.  Anything that I write is based on my lived experience in how it applies to my circumstance, and does not constitute specific advice to the reader’s circumstance.  It is only an opinion based on my perspective that others may learn from.  

Anyone of any age who engages in running should be in tune with their body and seek medical advice before embarking on any intensive activity (including changes to said activity) that may unduly extend them.  This is critical should the aspiring athlete have underlying medical conditions and/or ongoing health issues requiring medication.  

Early Days

In terms of my early running career, I’d describe myself as a good class club runner who failed to reach his potential.  I was fortunate to train with some local elite runners and high quality club runners at different times.  I raced track, road and cross-country; my best performances were probably in the 10km to half marathon range on the road. My serious running career petered out after I turned 30 due to chronic achilles tendon problems. 

My father, Jim Beisty, was a long time distance runner.  He became a respected coach in Newcastle NSW and used me as a guinea pig for his early coaching ideas. He was also one of the founders of the Newcastle Veterans Athletic Club, which is still in operation today.  I did some very high quality sessions at different times, especially when young with Stan Barwick in 1976/77, and later with David Forbes when he had his breakthrough season in 1983/84.  I also had the opportunity to train with Brian Morgan and a young David Lightfoot  (all 4 were accomplished middle and longer distance runners on the NSW and national scenes). Unfortunately this didn’t translate into the racing performances I expected as a senior.  

I progressed naturally through my teens with no injuries at all but once I hit senior ranks I was dogged by injury.  Even so, I had reasonable ability and some good races.  Similar to the experience of many distance runners, I never quite got the blend right between quality and quantity.  And though I remained heavily influenced by my father, to my detriment I was inconsistent in following his advice over the longer term.  Like my father I am a Lydiard devotee, pure and simple.  

Recent Times  

After nearly twenty years in the athletic wilderness I started running again in 2006 (47), building up slowly to a reasonable performance level in my fifties.  I had my comeback race in March 2008 at 49 years of age, a 3km track race at Newcastle Vets.

As a mature runner my best road performances in major events in Australia have been:

2nd M50-59 Sydney Half Marathon 2010, 77:21, 49th outright

2nd M50-59 Sydney Half Marathon 2011, 76:58, 59th 

2nd M50-59 City to Surf (14km) 2011, 49:45, 104th 

1st M55 Gold Coast 10km 2014, 35:42, 66th

2nd M55 Fernleigh 15km 2014, 54:14, 18th 

1st M60 Lake Macquarie Half Marathon 2019, 84:11, 16th

I enjoy competing each year in the local events of Hill to Harbour, Lake Macquarie Running Festival, Vets 10km Track Championship and Fernleigh 15. I generally prefer to run shorter faster races than the longer races.  I compete at Newcastle Vets track events every Tuesday evening, and I am an occasional park runner but those 8:00am starts kill me. 

I have always done free weights sessions for upper body strength throughout my running career(s). And now, given my age, this is more essential. To offset the reduction in muscle mass I tend to lift comparatively heavy weights. 

At this stage of my running career I am sticking with training by distance, having resisted the decision to train by time. But I know that, inexorably, that day will come.  I am clearly getting slower and cannot run the very longer distances of my younger years.  My current personal challenge is to hit a sub-40 minute 10km in 2022, after being injured in 2021. 

Things to Ponder 

It has been well documented that distance runners in their thirties and just forties can compete to extremely high performance levels.  There are many examples of this in Australian distance running circles, particularly in the marathon. However, when you hit your fifties and sixties it is a whole different ball game. Greater tailoring of running programs is required. Training and racing in your sixties is totally different again to training and racing in your fifties, requiring another degree of nuance.  And of course the implications for male and female can differ. 

The internet is awash with information.  Making sense of it all can be daunting. There are many authoritative works on the physiology of exercise and distance running for the open competitor and their coaches, but less so for the mature athlete.  However credible publications relating to masters performance include the following: Fitness After Forty (Hal Higdon 1977), The Complete Guide to Running (Earl Fee 2005), Mastering Running (Cathy Utzschneider 2014), and Fast After 50 (Joe Friel 2015). Elite performer Pete Magill also writes extensively on masters training and racing. These books explain some of the key components of a mature runner’s training program.  

For runners of any age motivation is integral to high performance outcomes. For the mature runner setting of goals is affected by ageing.  It can mess with your head. What are the differences in motivational factors as we age?  This is something worth examining. George Sheehan’s Running and Being (1979) is an enlightening point of reference, at least from a philosophical standpoint.  If you want a practical insight into what makes a champion tick John Gilmour’s memoirs Lasting the Distance (PD Collier 2010) is an easy read. Of interest, John’s 5000 metre track performance only declined by 161 seconds over a 24 year period, from 16:05 age 50 to 18:46, age 74 (p163), an amazing testament to his disciplined approach to distance running.   

Main Training Principles

After many years of experimentation, my main principles for training of the mature elite competitive runner are:

1. 1. Consistency is king. Daily running and regular quality sessions is the central platform for high level racing outcomes for the mature runner. 
2. Quality is key but Lydiard principles are always thereabouts. Soft quality is a term that I have coined for the training of the mature athlete, allowing a focus on some regular faster running without an over-emphasis on the anaerobic.  

Quality and Consistency together generates incremental improvement in performance, or the mitigation of degradation in performance, as we age. The rate of improvement, or degradation, depends upon the individual athletes age and relevant fitness background at their entry point to distance running.

3. Strength training is essential. Heavy free weights with appropriate supervision are best to develop upper body muscle.  Hill work may be a viable alternative to weight training to develop leg strength. 

It is well known that gait shortens as we age.  The main cause is a decrease in range of motion of the knees, and loss of strength in the lower leg, calves and ankles that affect the mature runners ability to push off from the ground.  The end result is runner’s shuffle.  In terms of general mobility, a shortened and slower walking gait is evident in the non-runner as a critical sign of the onset of frailty. 

Loss of balance is something that can creep up on the mature runner, particularly as we approach the mid sixties.  Running on varied surfaces can improve ankle strength and mobility.  Proprioception is the brain’s ability to direct your body to sure footing, and becomes more important as we age.  It assists the runner in making adjustments mid stride to different terrain and is closely related to balance. 

4. While I do not believe in a heavy reliance on cross training at the expense of running, supplementary exercises such as use of a foam roller, ball squats, and leg raises, are valuable adjuncts to running training.  They are especially useful to the mature runner in preventing injury and maintaining strength across a range of muscle groups.  Unfortunately many runners tend to adopt such exercises only after injury, as part of a rehabilitation process.  I am no less guilty of that.

The relationships between power, strength and endurance are complex and bear closer examination.  Some contemporary research supports the contention that higher intensity and downhill running can re-build bone density and ameliorate osteoporosis.  Though there is also the oft-put view that as we age wear and tear from running causes injury and adversely affects performance.

5. Active rest. I acknowledge that as we age we require more rest time between high quality sessions.  This has certainly been my experience comparing my teens and twenties to my fifties, and my fifties to my sixties.  I could do up to 3 sessions per week in my twenties plus race.  In my fifties I managed twice per week plus a race, but in my sixties it would be once per week of really high quality plus a race. 

However, in terms of “rest days”, rather than have a day off, my personal preference is to continue running each day at a lower effort to maintain a level of consistency in my program.  By adopting a soft quality program and a longer cycle of training (say 10 to 14 or 21 days instead of weekly) this enables more regular fast sessions of less effort, with greater variety and without exercising to exhaustion. 

Concluding Comments

So there you have it.  In summary, my main principles of training for the mature elite competitive runner are Consistency, Quality, Strength, Supplementary Exercises, and Active Rest.  Of course these principles are no less valid for the recreational or club runner on a scaled down level.  

These are issues I will explore in future articles, along with a myriad of other topics that relate to the mature runner, elite and recreational, male and female.  I expect that my articles will also have some relevance to the open competitor, if only to provide an insight about what may lay ahead. 

I hope to bring the reader along for the ride as I navigate through the remainder of my sixties.  It will be a time of reflection and maybe some turbulence, but ultimately I am anticipating “good times” and smooth sailing. 

We shall see.   

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