Dec201305

Stretching: The great debate0

Fitness, Ultra Marathons

by Megan Zetter

WHY STRETCH?

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To stretch or not to stretch has become quite the controversy in the sports and rehab arena. Some sources say stretching is good, but only at certain times and some say never stretch. Dynamic stretching is better than static. Don’t do it before you exercise. And then there is yoga, which is heavily based on stretching. Additionally, pilates touts that it lengthens muscles. So the million dollar question is, “Who is right?”. Unfortunately, as with most things in life, the answer lies somewhere in the mix of, do stretch, don’t stretch, do yoga, don’t, do, yes, no. I don’t know!! Lets shed some light on why muscles get tight and from there I think the answer, for you, will be more evident. (more…)

Nov201325

Respect stress fractures0

Fitness

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by Megan Zetter

Respect stress fractures

Stress fractures are a common injury among runners. The most frequent bones to be effected are the tibia (lower leg) and metatarsals (bones in the mid-foot), but it’s not unheard of to get a stress fracture in the femur (upper leg) or pelvis. I’m not sure why, but stress fractures are often viewed as a minor injury and just an annoyance more than anything. However, they are are serious and they should be treated as you would any other fracture of your bone. If treated correctly you can recover in as short as six weeks, with the typical time frame being 8-12 weeks, but if you don’t respect them they can persist for years. (more…)

Nov201319

Ultras – A teenagers perspective8

Ultra Marathons

 by TJ Hooks

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What does it take as a teenager to not only race UltraMarathons, but consistently place high?

My name is T.J. Hooks, I’m sixteen years old, and I run Ultras.

If that were true than I’d be completely qualified to write this. Unfortunately the truth is closer to…

My name is T.J Hooks, I’m sixteen years old, and I’ve run three 50Ks. Actually, with one being Karl’s baby, SpeedGoat, this would be more accurate…

My name is T.J. Hooks, I was fifteen years old, and I ran fifteen miles, speed hiked five, and then crawled up five just to find out that I’d only gone twenty-five miles, and there’s still a brutally steep four mile climb that didn’t exist according to the last aid station volunteer who may, or may have not been, laughing at my surprise and despair as I dragged myself up the mountain for what must have been the sixth time by my last count, or was it seven…?

My point is that I’ll need some help with this; and also that when the race is SpeedGoat, thirty two miles is pretty, really, painfully far.

(Sorry, Karl.)

Thankfully, I know some incredible people who may be able to explain what it is that makes us so different from the average teenage XC runner… (more…)

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