We have sourced the world's top writers and filmmakers to deliver any athlete, coach, parent or fan the ultimate portal for athletics education, enjoyment and inspiration. See for yourself at Runner's Tribe ADDICT. 

Monthly Plan (Worldwide)

$9.95 AUD Monthly ($6.59 USD)

Sign Up

Yearly Plan (Worldwide) - BEST VALUE

$89.95 AUD Yearly ($59.56 USD)

Sign Up

Weekly Plan (Worldwide)

$2.95 AUD

Sign Up

The post Lasse Viren: Legends of Athletics Key Sessions – 50 x 100 meters all-out appeared first on Runner's Tribe.

“All I want to do is drink beer and train like an animal.”

So said the champion New Zealand distance runner, Rod Dixon; And many runners agree. He is a fine example of the ideal marriage between running and beer. Dixon trained hard, enjoyed his beer, and ultimately won the bronze medal over 1500m at the 1972 Olympic Games (along with winning the 1983 New York Marathon). Beer may not have contributed to his success but it certainly didn’t hurt. 

The myth of the distance runner and their monk like existence is usually just that, a myth. Many runners, social and elite, have enjoyed a beer or two while in training, none more so than the Hash House Harriers ‘a drinking club with a running problem’ as their motto goes. The club was formed in 1938, essentially for runners to enjoy a run together on the trails followed by a chat over a pint or two of beer (usually at a pub). It now has clubs in over thirty countries around the world, including Australia. Of particular interest are two of its stated objectives that were written back in 1950: 

To continue reading this article and loads more, sign up to Runner's Tribe ADDICT.

We have sourced the world's top writers and filmmakers to deliver any athlete, coach, parent or fan the ultimate portal for athletics education, enjoyment and inspiration. See for yourself at Runner's Tribe ADDICT. 

Monthly Plan (Worldwide)

$9.95 AUD Monthly ($6.59 USD)

Sign Up

Yearly Plan (Worldwide) - BEST VALUE

$89.95 AUD Yearly ($59.56 USD)

Sign Up

Weekly Plan (Worldwide)

$2.95 AUD

Sign Up

The post Beer and Running: Running and Beer appeared first on Runner's Tribe.

We have sourced the world's top writers and film makers to deliver any athlete, coach, parent or fan the ultimate portal for athletics education, enjoyment and inspiration. See for yourself at Runner's Tribe ADDICT. 

Monthly Plan (Worldwide)

$9.95 AUD Monthly ($6.59 USD)

Sign Up

Yearly Plan (Worldwide) - BEST VALUE

$89.95 AUD Yearly ($59.56 USD)

Sign Up

Weekly Plan (Worldwide)

$2.95 AUD

Sign Up

The post Where Are the Medals? – Written by Australian 50km record holder Mark Tucker appeared first on Runner's Tribe.

Monthly Plan (Worldwide)

$9.95 AUD Monthly ($6.59 USD)

Sign Up

Yearly Plan (Worldwide) - BEST VALUE

$89.95 AUD Yearly ($59.56 USD)

Sign Up

Weekly Plan (Worldwide)

$2.95 AUD

Sign Up

The post Turning 40: Written by Australian 50km record holder Mark Tucker appeared first on Runner's Tribe.

“My philosophy is that I'm an artist. I perform an art not with a paint brush or a camera. I perform with bodily movement. Instead of exhibiting my art in a museum or a book or on canvas, I exhibit my art in front of the multitudes.”  (Steve Prefontaine)

When a stranger placed a loaded gun in Marina Abramović’s hand, raised it to her neck, and touched the trigger, Steve Prefontaine was coming into his prime. It was 1974 and Abramović, a well-known performance artist, was in Naples, Italy, performing one of the most daring and extreme performance pieces in history. On that infamous night, art patrons were greeted with a note and the following instructions:

RHYTHM O

Instructions.

There are 72 objects on the table that one can use on me as

desired.

Performance.

I am the object.

During this period I take full responsibility.

Duration: 6 hours (8pm – 2am)

1974

Studio Morra, Naples.

From: Walk Through Walls: A Memoir. By Marina Abramović with James Kaplan

Included in the 72 objects were a gun, a bullet, a knife and a hammer, along with less threatening objects such as a feather and a bottle of perfume. For the duration of the six-hour performance Abramović stood in the middle of the room totally still and passive, completely vulnerable to the public who became increasingly violent as the night wore on. At one stage her neck was cut with a knife and blood sucked from the wound before the ultimate flirtation with death:  a loaded gun placed in her hand and pointed to her head – a twitch of a finger away from her life ending. 

RUNNER’S TRIBE PAYS OUR WRITERS & FILM MAKERS TO CREATE EXCITING & ENTERTAINING CONTENT. HELP SUPPORT THESE PROFESSIONALS AND JOIN RT PREMIUM NOW.

TO VIEW THIS CONTENT PLEASE SIGN-UP TO RUNNER'S TRIBE'S MEMBERS ONLY PREMIUM CONTENT. WE HAVE SOURCED THE WORLD'S TOP WRITERS AND FILM MAKERS TO DELIVER ANY ATHLETE, COACH, PARENT OR FAN THE ULTIMATE PORTAL FOR ATHLETICS EDUCATION, ENJOYMENT AND INSPIRATION.

Monthly Plan (Worldwide)

$9.95 AUD Monthly ($6.59 USD)

Sign Up

Yearly Plan (Worldwide) - BEST VALUE

$89.95 AUD Yearly ($59.56 USD)

Sign Up

Weekly Plan (Worldwide)

$2.95 AUD

Sign Up

The post The Runner as Artist appeared first on Runner's Tribe.

“It ain’t over ‘till it’s over”. “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch”. Nearly everyone has heard these words before. However, putting them into practice when it counts is the hard part. Just ask the runners who have celebrated victory, or a major medal, before the finish line only to end up losing. It hurts. It not only costs them a place in the record books, along with associated prizemoney and glory, it can also be very embarrassing.

While it might be easy to criticise runners who celebrate prematurely only to lose, they can be great to watch. They get much needed media attention for the sport, they are entertaining, and they let others, who are that way inclined, experience schadenfreude – joy or pleasure at another runner’s misfortune, along with a thank god it wasn’t me type thought.

In the ‘good old days’ it was seen as unsportsmanlike to celebrate after a race let alone before the race had finished. An arm raised at the finish line was frowned upon. Now almost everyone does it. But not everyone loses a race because of it…

Treacy Vs Ovett: 5000m Crystal Palace, London, 1980

One of the most amusing and well-known premature celebrations of all-time goes to Steve Ovett. The media ‘bad body’ at the time – in direct comparison to the clean and respectable image of his great rival Sebastian Coe – Ovett played up to his image and some on this memorable night almost 40 years ago.

Down to a race of three with only 150 metres remaining, Ovett looked comfortable, in control, and about to pick up an easy win. With around 100 metres remaining he took the lead, closely followed by Ireland’s John Treacy. Almost immediately Ovett raised his hand to the crowd indicating he was in control and about to win. At around 50 metres remaining, with Treacy running hard and putting on the pressure, Ovett glanced over his shoulder, realised the situation and responded with a burst of speed to pull away again. Then Ovett went into cruise control, in his mind he had already taken victory, and slowed down considerably. Treacy kept sprinting hard to the line and lunged to victory as, simultaneously, Ovett raised his hands. A mixture of embarrassment and bemusement can be seen on Ovett’s face immediately after the finish.  

This type of playfulness and interaction with the crowd was not uncommon for Ovett throughout his career and was entertaining regardless if a minority thought it was arrogant. Ultimately, he was an Olympic gold medallist who made a mistake when it arguably didn’t count.

RUNNER’S TRIBE PAYS OUR WRITERS & FILM MAKERS TO CREATE EXCITING & ENTERTAINING CONTENT. HELP SUPPORT THESE PROFESSIONALS AND JOIN RT PREMIUM NOW.

TO VIEW THIS CONTENT PLEASE SIGN-UP TO RUNNER'S TRIBE'S MEMBERS ONLY PREMIUM CONTENT. WE HAVE SOURCED THE WORLD'S TOP WRITERS AND FILM MAKERS TO DELIVER ANY ATHLETE, COACH, PARENT OR FAN THE ULTIMATE PORTAL FOR ATHLETICS EDUCATION, ENJOYMENT AND INSPIRATION.

Monthly Plan (Worldwide)

$9.95 AUD Monthly ($6.59 USD)

Sign Up

Yearly Plan (Worldwide) - BEST VALUE

$89.95 AUD Yearly ($59.56 USD)

Sign Up

Weekly Plan (Worldwide)

$2.95 AUD

Sign Up

The post Premature Celebrations – A Look at the Classics appeared first on Runner's Tribe.

“I've always envied people who sleep easily. Their brains must be cleaner, the floorboards of the skull well swept, all the little monsters closed up in a steamer trunk at the foot of the bed.”  (David Benioff, City of Thieves)

Most of us have had it drummed into us how important sleep is. This is, ironically, why it can be so damn hard to get enough of it. We worry that we aren’t sleeping the magical number of hours recommended by ‘experts’ and that what we do get isn’t quality enough. We can become obsessive to the point of going to bed at the exact same time every night in a perfectly dark and silent room with ear plugs and eye mask, along with a sleeping tablet nearby if needed. And yes, I am talking from experience. Apart from the weeks following the arrival of my first child, the worst I ever slept was when I was running and racing competitively.

Now that may seem quite strange when you consider I was running up to 170km a week and thus I would be assumed to be extremely tired at the end of each day. But I wasn’t tired. And the reason I didn’t get much sleep was because I cared too much about it. I ‘knew’ I needed good sleep to recover and become a faster runner. That was the problem. Now that I have stopped racing, I have stopped caring as much about sleep. I sleep much better.

Back in the day I considered six to seven hours of sleep a good night and on some international trips there would inevitably be a few days in a row where I would only get a few hours of sleep. In total. There would also be times where I would complete a massive training week while only averaging four or five hours of sleep per night. Nevertheless, I always made sure I lay in bed, mostly with my eyes closed, for 8-9 hours, reading or just lying still. And I always felt I rested enough regardless of not getting anywhere near the amount of sleep I thought I needed and that was recommended as the right amount.

“Sleep, those little slices of death — how I loathe them.” (Edgar Allan Poe)

It was in America, confronted with loud noise, jet lag and a foreign environment, that I got into the habit of wearing silicone ear plugs every night which continued for the next 15 years until I finally broke the routine a couple of years back and slept without ear plugs for the first time in ages. And it was in America that sleeping tablets became a good friend, even getting to a stage where I was having one or two a night for extended periods of time. Thankfully, I was able to gradually cut this down to a quarter of a tablet taken on rare occasions.

Continuing with the American theme, there have been two much publicised cases of elite runners who have gone on record about their chronic insomnia, Bobby Curtis and Tera Moody. Curtis, a former 5000m NCAA champion with a 27.24 for 10,000m and a 2.11 Marathon to his name, had many years where he obsessed about sleep, specifically his lack of it, with night after night of little or no sleep, until finally, after an exhaustive search to cure his insomnia, he found some simple advice on one of his Internet searches that led to him sleeping significantly better from that day forward. The advice was to basically stop worrying about it and to just keep with his daily routine regardless of how much sleep he got the night before. 1

RUNNER’S TRIBE PAYS OUR WRITERS & FILM MAKERS TO CREATE EXCITING & ENTERTAINING CONTENT. HELP SUPPORT THESE PROFESSIONALS AND JOIN RT PREMIUM NOW.

TO VIEW THIS CONTENT PLEASE SIGN-UP TO RUNNER'S TRIBE'S MEMBERS ONLY PREMIUM CONTENT. WE HAVE SOURCED THE WORLD'S TOP WRITERS AND FILM MAKERS TO DELIVER ANY ATHLETE, COACH, PARENT OR FAN THE ULTIMATE PORTAL FOR ATHLETICS EDUCATION, ENJOYMENT AND INSPIRATION.

Monthly Plan (Worldwide)

$9.95 AUD Monthly ($6.59 USD)

Sign Up

Yearly Plan (Worldwide) - BEST VALUE

$89.95 AUD Yearly ($59.56 USD)

Sign Up

Weekly Plan (Worldwide)

$2.95 AUD

Sign Up

The post No Sleep? No Worries appeared first on Runner's Tribe.

RUNNER’S TRIBE PAYS OUR WRITERS & FILM MAKERS TO CREATE EXCITING & ENTERTAINING CONTENT. HELP SUPPORT THESE PROFESSIONALS AND JOIN RT PREMIUM NOW.

TO VIEW THIS CONTENT PLEASE SIGN-UP TO RUNNER’S TRIBE’S MEMBERS ONLY PREMIUM CONTENT. WE HAVE SOURCED THE WORLD’S TOP WRITERS AND FILM MAKERS TO DELIVER ANY ATHLETE, COACH, PARENT OR FAN THE ULTIMATE PORTAL FOR ATHLETICS EDUCATION, ENJOYMENT AND INSPIRATION.

Monthly Plan (Worldwide)

$9.95 AUD Monthly ($6.59 USD)

Sign Up

Yearly Plan (Worldwide) - BEST VALUE

$89.95 AUD Yearly ($59.56 USD)

Sign Up

Weekly Plan (Worldwide)

$2.95 AUD

Sign Up

The post Members Only – A column by Mark Tucker appeared first on Runner's Tribe.

“I would consider my diary serves the same purpose as going for a walk or a run. They are all physical ways of clearing a mental landscape.” (Chet Faker)

I recently visited the house I grew up in to collect all of my old training diaries. I had planned to have a quick read through before taking them all home to ultimately get some material for this piece. I couldn’t do it. As I flicked through the numerous pages all I could do was shake my head at this person who apparently used to be me.

I found a young, extreme, obsessive, naïve and selfish person taking himself too seriously (some might say there is still some residue remaining!). On the flip side I also found someone highly motivated, ambitious and analytical who just lacked the crucial insight that comes from life experience.

And to be fair to this person, the training diary was not a true reflection of who they really were, just an amplified version (who probably wouldn’t be a big fan of the person currently writing this, amazed at their lack of athletic ambition while still under the age of 40...).

Anyway, I forced myself to take one training diary home, from when I was still in Year 12. My first ever training diary. At least I would now have an excuse if I didn’t like some of what was written; I was still in High school…

Thankfully, the writing stuck mainly to training and racing and hadn’t as yet wandered over into a life diary, as it would later on…

“To live one’s life is hard enough. Why write down all the misery? It would resemble nothing more than the inventory of a torture chamber.” (Franz Liszt, Hungarian composer, when asked why he didn’t keep a diary)

And now, without setting out to, this is taking on the feel of an open diary entry! So onto my main question…

Why have a training diary? Will writing down the minutiae of each day and training session – times, weather, mood, how you felt, who you ran with, what you ate, how you slept, etcetera etcetera – help you achieve your running goals? Improve your life in anyway? Be interesting to look back on at a later date? Be entertaining to read? Possibly...

“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.” (Oscar Wilde)

And many runners over the years have found numerous benefits in keeping a regular training diary. But arguably the greatest benefit in having a written record of your training is that you can look back over it to ultimately improve your future performance.

RUNNER’S TRIBE PAYS OUR WRITERS & FILM MAKERS TO CREATE EXCITING & ENTERTAINING CONTENT. HELP SUPPORT THESE PROFESSIONALS AND JOIN RT PREMIUM NOW.

TO VIEW THIS CONTENT PLEASE SIGN-UP TO RUNNER'S TRIBE'S MEMBERS ONLY PREMIUM CONTENT. WE HAVE SOURCED THE WORLD'S TOP WRITERS AND FILM MAKERS TO DELIVER ANY ATHLETE, COACH, PARENT OR FAN THE ULTIMATE PORTAL FOR ATHLETICS EDUCATION, ENJOYMENT AND INSPIRATION.

Monthly Plan (Worldwide)

$9.95 AUD Monthly ($6.59 USD)

Sign Up

Yearly Plan (Worldwide) - BEST VALUE

$89.95 AUD Yearly ($59.56 USD)

Sign Up

Weekly Plan (Worldwide)

$2.95 AUD

Sign Up

The post Training Diaries: to write or not to write? – A column by Mark Tucker appeared first on Runner's Tribe.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood…his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”  –(Theodore Roosevelt)

The above words, uttered more than one hundred years ago, are particularly relevant in today’s world of social media and the extreme minority. A world where it is almost expected that you will be criticised if you find yourself successful and in the public eye; where every action, or non-action, is scrutinised and self-righteously commented on without any context or empathy.

Which brings me to Michael Shelley and the minority of criticism he has received from trolls over his Commonwealth Games victory. Apparently Shelley should have known exactly what had happened in the previous minutes to the Scottish runner, Callum Hawkins, and rendered assistance when he came by. Exactly what a half-delirious and dehydrated runner who has just run 40km flat-out in the heat and humidity could have done to help Hawkins is almost beyond comprehension. Piggy back him?

Remember, there were volunteers next to Hawkins when Shelley came by, and for all he knew Hawkins had only just collapsed and the situation wasn’t that serious. And from what I am aware, Shelley has no medical credentials, had no water bottle or anything else practical to offer Hawkins. All Shelley could have done would have been a token gesture – what most politicians and superficial idiots love to do and see. Perhaps a stretched out hand, a pat on the back, an ‘are you alright mate?’ Just like the movies and an episode of Home and Away, Shelley carrying Hawkins across the finish line with the sun setting, both in tears, and the crowd roaring. Except life isn’t like the movies. And of course it wouldn’t have helped if Shelley had stopped; it would have been absurd.  

Even John Landy admitted, of his famous sporting gesture to help Ron Clarke to his feet in the middle of the 1956 Australian mile championship, of being “embarrassed and upset about the whole thing. I still am. I wish it had never happened…Sport’s about winning and about records. It’s not about those sort of things. That was very personal business and I think it unfortunate that such a lot is made of it.”

(https://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/30/1083224590040.html)

And of course Landy, after Ron Clarke had taken a tumble, had accidentally stepped on Clarke’s arm when trying to jump clear of him, unlike Shelley who was two minutes adrift of Hawkins when all the drama occurred…  

Having run quite a few marathons, and putting myself in the shoes of Shelley who would have had very limited information about Hawkins situation at the time, there is no way I would have stopped. And there is no way, if I had been the one struggling on the side of the road, that I would have wanted Shelley to assist me. Actually I would have been appalled, told him he was being stupid and to keep on running. I’m sure Hawkins would have had similar thoughts at the time if his body and mind had been in better condition.

Nevertheless, the organisers could have been better prepared on the day, with much quicker assistance available for Hawkins and other marathoners on the course. And it just seems common sense to have more medical staff present for the last 5km of a hot and humid marathon…

Regardless of all that, from what I know of Shelley – having spent time with him on teams, training, and before and after races – he is a man who possesses great empathy, moral character and principles; he cares about other people and their welfare. So it is grossly unfair that a minority have decided to take cheap shots at him by ignoring the context and reality of the situation.

Naturally, watching on TV, it was extremely distressing to watch Hawkins in that sort of state and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one stressing out and shouting at the TV for someone to help him. But it was the medical staff I was shouting for, the ones who could actually help Hawkins if he was in danger, not the other competitors.  

So to Hawkins, who ran a gutsy race we will never forget and who we all hope recovers quickly, and to Shelley, who raced and endured like the champion he is to win a remarkable back to back Commonwealth Games Marathon title, we salute you both, and wish you all the best for the future.

END

About the Author- 

Mark Tucker has represented Australian numerous times through World XC, to the World Championships Marathon (2009). Tucker was known for is mental and physical toughness in training and races. In 2002 Tucker finished 4th at the NCAA National XC individual race representing Butler University. He has broken the 4-minute mile with 3:58.37 in Auckland. His marathon PB 2:13:49. He is now a proud father and an integral part of the Runner’s Tribe team.

The post In Praise of Shelley – A column by Mark Tucker appeared first on Runner's Tribe.