Get Hyped
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
Such an amazing story, covering:
- The Tarahumara and what we can learn from their way of life & running
- The early days of ultra-running and the colourful characters in that world. Blow-by-blow stories of some incredible races
- How the heel strike was considered the ideal running style for so long, partly driven by Nike “Air” marketing. Impact of that on common injuries.
- Persistence hunting – we were killing animals for 2M years, but our first edge weapons only appeared 200k years ago. Appears we were running down animals before that!
Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins
This book is the story of David Goggins:
Goggins transformed himself from a depressed, overweight young man with no future into a U.S. Armed Forces icon and one of the world’s top endurance athletes. The only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller, he went on to set records in numerous endurance events.
I think this guy may be the person who has voluntarily suffered the most physical pain ever.
The book contains so many incredible war stories of physical efforts he went through (for instance, completing the Navy seal Hell Week with two broken but taped up legs) that have helped me pull through in difficult running moments. I just think back and compare myself to what that guy went through…
The Runners by Banyak Films
Pounding the tarmac through the seasons, a band of runners are brazenly challenged with intimate questions as they pace their routes. Liberated from responsibilities, their guards drop dramatically, releasing funny and brutally frank confessions, and weaving a powerful narrative behind the anonymous masses.
I’ve never seen something that captures so well the mental benefits of running, letting your mind wander, and the connection we can feel with other runners passing by.
Planning
Upcoming marathons
A nice clear list, covers whole world.
http://www.marathonguide.com/races/races.cfm?place=intl
MapMyRun
Manually create your own route & calculate distances. Annoyingly requires you to sign up, but works well otherwise.
https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/create/
TrailRouter
Pick a starting point and a distance, computes best routes for you focusing on trails / green areas.
Tracking
Garmin Forerunner 235
I’ve had the Garmin Forerunner 235 for a couple of years and really happy with it. GPS + heartrate monitoring is solid. Battery life 1 week+ (with couple of runs per week), syncing / software updates never fail, good UX overall. Minor miracle for a hardware product. Goes for ~£250 new now.
Strava
Needs no introduction.
https://www.strava.com/athletes/5734269
Shoes
Nike Free RN Flyknit
I’ve had the same Nike Free RN Flyknit shoes for the last ~4 years and they’ve served me very well. Didn’t replace them, no injuries, running on trail & road. Crucially, as with all shoes in the Free series, these have a small sole/cushion which favour forefoot running.
Nutrition & Recovery
Dextro Energy Glucose tablets
Way easier to digest than gels IMO. Sugar, carbs, salt. I try to take one every 5k during marathons.
Foam rolling
https://www.runnersworld.com/health-injuries/a20812623/how-to-use-a-foam-roller-0/
Ernest Oppetit 