Cyclists with a "Running" Problem

[Pieter1]

Hey guys. I have 8 weeks before the marathon and there are 9 weeks left on the programme. Which one do I leave out? I was thinking 11?

[tjommies3]

Cape Town not quite flat, I recorded 206m of climbing yesterday, yet all the adverts and brochures in the run up to the race stated do your fastest Marathon, ONLY 46m of climbing!!!

 

There no real steep climbs or grinders, majority of it is flat and that takes a lot out of the legs as there is no resting

 

There is no such thing as a 'flat and fast' marathon. It's just an advertising gimmick. The Vaal River City Marathon claimed the same thing and I reached 344m of elevation. It's only gonna be fast if you are well prepared physically and mentally.

[HOEKVLAG]

I applaud you for this, my own pet hate as well

+1 (at least...)

 

I cannot recall ever seeing a single smoker actually keeping his bud in his car and this really boggles my mind - and that's only after I get past the fact that they are inconsiderate enough to smoke whilst there are other people in the car! Must be one of the most selfish habits out there. 

[ScottCM]

Less than 4000 entries left for comrades and its not even been 3 weeks 

[Andrew Steer]

Less than 4000 entries left for comrades and its not even been 3 weeks 

Lots of crazies out there these days 

[ScottCM]

Lots of crazies out there these days 

 

Judging by this i think OMTOM is going to have an issue with their website. I mean its bad enough that there are so many people entering the HM but to open entries for all the events simultaneously is just inviting trouble. 

[Andrew Steer]

Judging by this i think OMTOM is going to have an issue with their website. I mean its bad enough that there are so many people entering the HM but to open entries for all the events simultaneously is just inviting trouble. 

Agree to a point, but remember there is no rush to enter the lottery for the half (you have a couple weeks)... so will only be a rush for Ultra's, but even then it will sell out in a similar fashion to Comrades I reckon. Two Oceans is a tricky weekend for much of the country as it's Easter and school holidays, so flights, accom etc all at a premium.

 

Will be interesting to see though

[Barry Stuart]

What do you guys attribute the huge spike in popularity to? I've got a hunch that Parkrun (assisted by the Vitality points associated with it) has had a big impact in growing running in the country. People quickly realise they can run a 5km, then they figure out they can run it faster if they throw in a midweek run or two, then they start to think about a 10 kay, and it expands from there.

 

Then there's also the popularity of health tech, which has boomed over the last few years. People are now far more aware of their heart rates and how active they are.

 

That said, I suspect there are going to be a lot more entries on offer during the transfer window. Most likely due to people ramping up their mileage too soon and getting injured, I think.

Edited September 19, 2017 by Barry Stuart

[dave303e]

There is no such thing as a 'flat and fast' marathon. It's just an advertising gimmick. The Vaal River City Marathon claimed the same thing and I reached 344m of elevation. It's only gonna be fast if you are well prepared physically and mentally.

 

We also need to start taking elevation gain between strava and watches with a pinch of salt, neither are that accurate.

How many of you have had the barometric altimeter in your watch calibrated? Strava used to use an open source global DEM with I think 30m resolution, now they are updating that with data from uncalibrated user captured barometric altimeters so your elevation data can be updated by people who induce a lot of 'ID TEN T' errors.

Altitude from strava and watches are an ok indicator, but really not much more that that.

[shaper]

What do you guys attribute the huge spike in popularity to? I've got a hunch that Parkrun (assisted by the Vitality points associated with it) has had a big impact in growing running in the country. People quickly realise they can run a 5km, then they figure out they can run it faster if they throw in a midweek run or two, then they start to think about a 10 kay, and it expands from there.

 

Then there's also the popularity of health tech, which has boomed over the last few years. People are now far more aware of their heart rates and how active they are.

 

That said, I suspect there are going to be a lot more entries on offer during the transfer window. Most likely due to people ramping up their mileage too soon and getting injured, I think.

Could well be that and also add in the vitality shoe booster which if the people are running will give them free/cheap shoes.

 

At CPT marathon there were 8000 runners and these vitality series runs are getting around 5000 across all distances.  The Vitality hospitality at the finish of the Marathon was one of the biggest and chatting to some CT runners they were asking where the Vitality running club was based and were surprised by how big the club was because they had not seen anything of it before.

 

So Vitality is definitely having an impact on the sport I think

[Chris_]

What do you guys attribute the huge spike in popularity to? I've got a hunch that Parkrun (assisted by the Vitality points associated with it) has had a big impact in growing running in the country. People quickly realise they can run a 5km, then they figure out they can run it faster if they throw in a midweek run or two, then they start to think about a 10 kay, and it expands from there.

 

Then there's also the popularity of health tech, which has boomed over the last few years. People are now far more aware of their heart rates and how active they are.

 

That said, I suspect there are going to be a lot more entries on offer during the transfer window. Most likely due to people ramping up their mileage too soon and getting injured, I think.

 

I agree, I think the Vitality juggernaut has done a great job getting people out to these runs. Especially the 4 Joburg just had. I've seen all shapes and sizes and speeds of people on the road - its been so encouraging to witness. The routes have been awesome and credit to the clubs too who have (mostly) managed really well with organising. 

 

I've noticed this kind of move in triathlons too, all of a sudden every man and his dog has done a 70.3, people people seem to be generally - and myself included, taking aim at (historically) more daunting events. 

[Mudsimus]

What do you guys attribute the huge spike in popularity to? I've got a hunch that Parkrun (assisted by the Vitality points associated with it) has had a big impact in growing running in the country. People quickly realise they can run a 5km, then they figure out they can run it faster if they throw in a midweek run or two, then they start to think about a 10 kay, and it expands from there.

Exactly how I started. Forced to do my first Parkrun about a year and a half ago. Stuck to 5km a week for a few months and progressed to 10km and 21km from there. Now Im entered for Comrades and scared shitless????

 

Before I started running I watched the Comrades on tv and thought that its quite a far way to run. Now I think its bloody insane.

Edited September 19, 2017 by Mudsimus

[Andrew Steer]

Yeah, Vitality the biggest driver in my view... Parkruns, Health Rewards, Race Series now - they're pushing people off the couch and it's working.

 

Trail running has also pulled a lot more people in to running I reckon. Even things like Warrior race will have done it's share too, 6000 people at all those events, a lot of whom in my experience had thrown in the towel for sport after school. Crossfit falls into a similar vein.

 

People are more aware than ever at the need to get healthier and fitter.

 

There is also the fact that our roads have become incredibly hazardous to train on as cyclists...

 

Lots of small things making a big difference and it should be great for the future of the sport - more better organised events (in theory) 

[Paddaman]

Yeah, Vitality the biggest driver in my view... Parkruns, Health Rewards, Race Series now - they're pushing people off the couch and it's working.

 

Trail running has also pulled a lot more people in to running I reckon. Even things like Warrior race will have done it's share too, 6000 people at all those events, a lot of whom in my experience had thrown in the towel for sport after school. Crossfit falls into a similar vein.

 

People are more aware than ever at the need to get healthier and fitter.

 

There is also the fact that our roads have become incredibly hazardous to train on as cyclists...

 

Lots of small things making a big difference and it should be great for the future of the sport - more better organised events (in theory) 

The flurry of activity at the bottom of the pyramid (recreational sport) does not necessarily mean much change at the top of the pyramid.  The success in elite and competitive sport is bedeviled by many factors, which include (but not limited to) poor, spiteful administration, quota systems, emphasis on "youth development" at the cost of lifetime sport, government interference, parental domination, administrative fatigue, the collapse of the culture of volunteering, primadonna sportsmen, incestuous reasoning, and redundant funding models.

 

I foresee that the "run sport like a business" mentality will eventually suck all the money out of trail running and cycling (seriously damaging both sports), and the park run model will eventually reinvigorate the road running club model.

 

Trail running will also have to eventually start standardizing and regulating itself, so as to make it more accessible to a larger community.  At this stage it is rather niche with the big races protecting their "brand" with limited entries and hefty entry fees.

[Barry Stuart]

Exactly how I started. Forced to do my first Parkrun about a year and a half ago. Stuck to 5km a week for a few months and progressed to 10km and 21km from there. Now Im entered for Comrades and scared shitless

 

Before I started running I watched the Comrades on tv and thought that its quite a far way to run. Now I think its bloody insane.

 

Yeah, I also started at Parkrun. I still remember doing my first 10km after that and feeling quite daunted that it was two Parkruns and reminding myself to go out really cautiously in the first few km. 

 

And it all spirals out of control from there 

 

It's great to see. Chatting to one of the niche running shop owners, he told me how Parkrun has saved his business. Every Saturday around 9.30am his little shop gets flooded by people looking to replace their takkies with a proper pair of running shoes.

Edited September 19, 2017 by Barry Stuart

[Mudsimus]

It's great to see. Chatting to one of the niche running shop owners, he told me how Parkrun has saved his business. Every Saturday around 9.30am his little shop gets flooded by people looking to replace their takkies with a proper pair of running shoes.

It is, even in our small town its 1000 runners on a Saturday. Most of them probably never took part in an organized event before Parkrun. Its bloody addictive, I still cant wait to chase a PB every weekend.