It is unfortunate that one of the most memorable events in running lore--for both runners and non-runners alike--is not a hard-fought victory in a race, or a true act of sportsmanship, but is rather Rosie Ruiz's "victory" in the 1980 Boston Marathon. In these days of on-course video cameras, elite starts, chips, and checkpoints, it is amazing to think that anyone could have perpetrated, even for a short time, such an obvious hoax, but in the relatively unsophisticated world of road racing in the early '80s, although there were those who were suspicious from the start, it actually took a few days before the truth won out.
The real winner, Jacqueline Gareau of Canada, crossed the line in 2:34:28, but was essentially ignored by the media that flocked to interview Ruiz, who had crossed the line earlier. Apparently, Ruiz had dropped out of the race, hopped on the subway, got off about a mile from the finish line, and ran in from there. The effect was to rob Gareau of her moment of triumph, although she was later honored in a special ceremony a couple of weeks after the race. Second-place finisher Patti Lyons, whose 2:35:08 finish set a new American record, was also pretty much completely ignored.
While technology in the running world has changed a great deal, the reaction of the popular media has not. As they still do with any scandal that erupts in today's world, newspaper columnists, TV and radio talk show hosts, and other humorists had a field day making jokes about Rosie's Ruse:
Now Rosie Ruiz can be just like Bill Rodgers, and sell her own line of running gear. Rosie Ruiz shoes--so comfortable that when the marathon is over your feet feel like they've only gone a mile or two.
One disgruntled runner told Rosie Ruiz that she didn't look tired enough to have run 26 miles--so she hit him with her roller skate!
A guy in his driveway yelled, "Loosen your stride and work on your form!" as I ran by. How should I handle this?
You can deal with boors like Joe Bystander in one of three ways: Return the gift, tennis-match style, by shouting, "Clean up that crabgrass and lose 20 pounds!" Or remain silent and keep running. The third option? Profusely thank him. But chances are anyone clueless enough to critique a stranger's running form probably would not detect the sarcasm, so you'd only wind up reinforcing the behavior. Good luck. And lift those arms!
My husband runs with two (single and cute) female colleagues. I feel that's inappropriate for a married man. Am I overreacting?
Would it be okay if the women were married and cute? How about single but dumpy? Or dating somebody on-again/off-again, and kind of plain-looking? I don't mean to bust your chops, Ann. But you and your husband need to decide: Either he's "allowed" to run with females or he's not. Going case-by-case, based on a cuteness/availability algorithm, would just be fraught. Here's a final idea: Have you considered lacing up your own running shoes and joining them?
Beach runners look silly to me, shod or not. But if you must: Go bare. Unless you enjoy shaking sand out of your shoes for all eternity.
Sometime in the future, a distance you find challenging now will feel easy. When that happens, it means you’ve increased your running stamina. I’m not saying a marathon will ever feel easy, but one day you’ll look back and notice that what you find challenging now will come much easier. An increase in running stamina comes from consistency, that means running multiple times per week for multiple weeks to accumulate fitness – there are no quick fixes if you want to increase running stamina. It’s generally accepted that it takes 10 days to 4 weeks to benefit from a run. The time will depend on the type of run, quicker and more intense runs being on the lower end of the range with long steady runs being on the other higher end of the range.
Before you begin working on increasing your running stamina, you need to make an honest assessment of your current aerobic base and build on that. Whether you’re a new runner looking to complete their first 5k or an experienced runner looking to increase their stamina for the final stages of the marathon and avoid hitting the wall, the rule of ‘too much too soon’ always holds true, doing too much too soon only leads to injury or overtraining.
To increase your aerobic capacity and be able to run farther than you can now, you need to train consistently. Consistent training will build your aerobic base, increase your aerobic capacity (which is how much oxygen your muscles can use) and strengthen your muscles. When you begin to add extra runs to your week, they should be easy and slow – speed follows endurance! You should aim for 3 to 4 sessions per week for 30 minutes or more. Aim to make one of these sessions your long run where you plan to go farther than any of your other runs that week.
To run farther, you’re going to have to actually run farther! Either increase your long run by 5 – 10 minutes or add 0.8 – 1.6 km (0.5 – 1 mile) each time – it might not sound like much but it begins to add up. When you get into a bigger volume of training for a half marathon or marathon, your long run should be roughly 30 – 50% of your total distance for the week. Do your long run at a slow and sustainable pace; many people try to run their long run too fast and struggle to finish strong. Go slow and just focus on covering the distance. Remember, speed follows endurance.
These runs are normally run over a shorter distance, but at a higher pace than at which you normally train. Training like this trains your body to clear lactic acid from the bloodstream quicker, which means you can run longer before fatigue and lactic acid builds up and slows you down. It will also make your easy running pace or planned race pace feel easier – these runs are the key to improving your running speed. Tempo runs should be a ‘comfortably hard’ pace that lasts from 20 – 40 minutes and up to 60 minutes for more advanced runners. They should not be an all-out effort that has you gasping for breath, but a challenging pace that you feel you can maintain over the duration of the run.
That means carbs! As a runner, you should focus on carbs making 55% – 65% of your calorie intake from carbs. You don’t need to eat a mountain of pasta at every meal, but be mindful of your carb intake to make sure it’s complimentary to your training. Before your long run, it’s key to have a carb-based meal to ensure you have enough energy to cover the distance. If you find yourself tired, in a low mood or unable to complete your planned runs, then increase your carbs. Always go for complex carbohydrates such as whole grains, brown rice and oatmeal instead of refined carbs and sugary foods that will spike your blood sugar (a spike is always followed by your blood sugar crashing).
The farther you run, the more you’re challenging yourself and therefore need to ensure your body is recovering between sessions. Good recovery comes from a good diet, stretching and sufficient sleep. Aim to eat a quality meal or snack of carbs and protein within 30 minutes after finishing your run. This is the optimal window of recovery where your body can best absorb the nutrients to refuel and recover with. Focusing on this will enable you to recover between sessions and go into each run feeling strong and able to complete it.
Working on your running technique will make you a more efficient runner. If you run efficiently, you will be able to run farther without feeling as tired as you will use less energy. Good technique comes from running tall (imagine a string holding you up), ensuring your foot lands under your center of gravity and a cadence of around 170 – 180 steps per minute. If you have weight to lose, then losing extra weight will also help your running economy since you will be lighter.
Running farther than you ever have before can be daunting, but you can do it! Mentally preparing yourself for your longest run of the week will make it easier. Some ways to make a long run seem less daunting are to break it down to 1 mile at a time, or to treat it as 2 x a distance you can run easily, or 1x a distance you can do with a little bit more added on – a 10k with a slow 3k added on already sounds less scary than running 13k.
We hope this helps you increase your running stamina and help you run farther than before! Let us know what running topics you’d like us to cover in future posts by leaving a comment below.
Jonathan is a keen marathon runner with a person record of 3:02. The british guy likes to read about new fitness trends and ways to constantly improve himself and is always up for a challenge.
A playable map that is part of Robert Gee‘s thesis project enbtitled The Right Way is the Wrong Way: Dead-End Theory in Level Design, which explores dead ends in games. I briefly referenced the work in another of Roberty’s levels called Dead-end Freeman: Reload.
“My thesis project, completed at the Guildhall at SMU, examined the application and use of dead-ends for practical level design. Additionally it looked at several reward systems associated with dead-end areas and the effectiveness at different level design techniques to lead players into certain areas. This thesis includes a test level created using the Hammer editor in Half-Life 2: Episode 2. The choice of this editor was due primarily to its frequent use in other non-related projects and the large amount of online and offline support provided for troubleshooting.”
Short little map where you need to get out of the building.About 2 minutes playtime.It is just to show an example so..
for about 5 to 10 minutes with one area overlooking a previous map. Is the author hinting that these are short episode maps?
I wish in one area with the wounded rebel I couldve given him a medkit it would shown another intresting way to play the map
So whats next instore for us well something with balance in Meduim Combat alot intrestings surprises & a healthly dose rewarding gameplay.
Short and sweet without any real depth but what was here was well done. Textures and lighting was bright but ok for me, set design was a bit limited, and however for what the author was trying to achieve it was about right.
If you want 5 minutes play then this is well worth the download, otherwise look for something with more depth and gameplay. Nevertheless, this is good example of how to map a short mod with some meaning and it would have made a good introduction level to a more extensive mod.
This one was too short and straightforward for me to really like, even though it was well done. The most interesting part was the link between the two maps.
The only reason I’m saying think twice is because (A) it’s really short and (B) it’s really easy. It does have a nice concept though, I think dead ends should be used more in gaming. The map doesn’t look too great, it’s very underdetailed, and there’s one little complaint I have with the combat. It’s okay to ambush the player with regular combine, zombies or headcrabs. Just please don’t do so with shotgunners! I lost tons of health to something I couldn’t even see! Otherwise, if you’re looking for maps with this concept, I recommend you look at Robert’s other map, Dead-end Freeman: Reload. This one’s a lot shorter and easier, and that one’s more fleshed out.
Simple apartment map. It is essentially linear, but something always happens if you go off the ‘dead ends’ or wrong paths. This map alone explains the reason why many players like to explore maps fully instead of running thru it as fast as possible. That said, this map itself isn’t particularly interesting. People’s mouths dont move when they talk, for some reason. And the map gives off a strong ‘room-to-room’ feel which is basically how it’s designed.