By Hayden Shearman // One of the many frustrating things about running is the incredibly vague and contradicting uses of the terms “hilly”, “undulating”, “rolling”, and “flat”. Every runner has a different take on what these terms mean and even with a course elevation profile it’s difficult to make out the real magnitude of the hills on[…]
By Hayden Shearman // A quick Google search revealed 825 million results for “marathon training plan” in just 0.36 seconds. That’s a lot of choice. And a lot of noise. And unfortunately not every training plan is made equal. And, worse, unfortunately not every runner is made equal … which complicates the heck out of[…]
By Hayden Shearman // The obvious answer to the question above is that something in your body—whether it be bone or soft tissue—can’t handle the stress you’re putting it under. For distance runners, that stress isn’t usually from a one-off exertion but a small repeated exertion over time. In other words, running injuries are usually[…]
By Hayden Shearman For many of us, we were attracted to running initially because of its convenience. And, luckily, we can get a hang of a lot done to build fitness through just a 30-minute workout. So here are some of my favourite 30-minute smash-it sessions. They should each include at least 10-15 minutes of[…]
The gym isn’t just about using the treadmill when the weather turns to custard or riding the elliptical on physio orders. Instead, runners can garner so much from the gym that will ultimately make them faster, smoother, more durable runners. So, I wanted to dispel some popular myths or behavioural tendencies that I see from[…]
To carry on our race recovery theme, the other day I was live on Facbook (see below) sharing tips for bringing your body back from the hell you’ve just thrust it into by racing a half or full marathon. I mentioned the golden rule that for every mile raced you need a day of rest[…]
By Hayden Shearman Two weeks ago I raced a half marathon. Thanks to a good downhill battle to chase down the leader over the final few KMs (btw, I just missed the win by an agonising 5 seconds) my body was left pretty beat up. But my mind was ready to knuckle down into the training[…]
Thanks to the stresses and commitments of life, you can only run three times per week, how can your maximise that limited time, become as fit as possible and enjoy every step of your running training? Hayden spelt out how he typically recommends people to make the most of a 3-run training week in the[…]
Haoting Ma is a familiar face at Auckland running races. His youthful smile and ever-present determination have seen him cross the finish line in countless half marathons and 10k events, but at the recent Christchurch Marathon, and at only 17 years old, he stepped up to the big 42 kilometre challenge … and dominated, running a[…]
Last weekend Christine Adamson not only won her age group in the Waiheke Island 10k, but also was the first female overall and broke the course record. Pretty impressive for a 60-year-old! She’s also just finished a campaign at the World Masters Games where she claimed four gold medals from four events. She holds Auckland[…]