It's official - Rivalry is good for bringing out better running performances

I read an article last week entitled "To Run Faster, Get a Rival" which made a lot of sense.  Basically some research from the New York Stern school of business indicated that those runners running against rivals or who had rivals used this competition boost their own performances. The author of the research Gavin Kilduff says of competitive spirit, "This suggests that we may be able to boost our own levels of motivation and performance by either forming rivalries or harnessing the ones we already have."  Now anyone who is in a running club knows intuitively that this is true. Some of the best rivalries are within a club and I know that if a club member is right behind me or within reach in a race I will make an extra effort to beat them.

However with the advents of ranking systems for age this is enhanced beyond the club.  Using a ranking site such as Run Britain  it is possible to form rivalries with other runners without them knowing.  This is how it works.  You do a race and the results are posted onto Run Britain.  You see who is just ahead of you and then you compare your performances head to head on the site.  So the next race you enter you know how they have been performing and you then can make an extra effort to get ahead of them.  Below is an anonymised example.

The other change for older runners is the whole age category ranking system so that you can use Run Britain to find out where you are in the national rankings for different distances and events throughout the country. 

In addition to the rankings there are great sites like Strava that allows you to create segments or runs or whole runs that other runners then join a leaderboard for. So say you did a run in London and someone else had created a segment on that run when you uploaded your run to the Strava site you would be told where you were on the leaderboard.  Sometimes you are at the top of a leaderboard for segment - King of the Mountain or Course Record holder and sometimes you get deposed.  This increases rivalry and thus your performance.

I have been known to explore the segments in an area I am visiting to make sure I run it and see how I compare.

Parkrun - doing a recce for a possible route in Deganwy, North Wales

Today was meant to be a rest day before doing an 11k Trail Race on Sunday but all Parkrun recces have to be done at 9am on a Saturday i.e. the normal time for a Parkrun.  So this morning we set off for Deganwy 30 minutes away to park in the RSPB car park near the intended start.  The route was wonderful being mainly flat and on even trails with the most wonderful views of the Carneddau hills, Conwy Castle and the Conwy Estuary out to sea.  I think this run when it gets off the ground will be a huge success. Below is a possible route but please remember this probably will change when other options are considered and the course is accurately measured.

I took another Autographer time lapse video too.

What to eat before a race?

When I was younger this question was not a problem as I seemed to get away with eating anything at anytime.  Well with in reason.  Obviously a large meal before running is out of the question but I often used to run on empty. Since coming back into running I find it more of an issue. I have felt really hungry on the start line in some races and on others felt sick because I had eaten a sandwich before the race.  Morning races are fine.  A good breakfast including porridge, nuts, dried fruit and toast a few hours before the race and then a banana about an hour before the start.  However races that start at 7.30 pm like the off road 5 miler I did this week or a 3pm Cross Country race in the winter is more problematic.  This week I really thought about it.  I had scrambled eggs on a half toasted bagel and asparagus got lunch at 1pm and then a large home made scone with jam at about 4pm.  This worked a treat.  I was not hungry before the race and did not feel as if I had a lump in my stomach either. I no need to work out what to eat before the Cross Country season starts.

What is the best way to treat a rest day?

As I get older I really need to make sure I have a rest day after a hard run or race.  Sometimes it is two days after a really long or tiring race. But the problem is what to do on that rest day - nothing? I did the club handicap race last night where faster runners set of at suitable intervals after slower runners. I ran hard and even though the undergrowth was dense at times was only 8 seconds outside my PB on that course.  So understandably my legs are a little sore this morning and I need a rest before doing a 5 mile trail race tomorrow. So what to do.  If I do nothing I will feel lazy and I actually find that I stiffen up.  I don't want to run as I feel that my joints, tendons, muscles etc will complain.  So the plan is to go for a longish 3 mile walk off road and then do some Yoga later on using my favourite Yoga App - Yoga Studio