Innholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2022 i Canadian Running

By the time readers have this issue in their hands, I will have participated in five races this season and volunteered at a sixth. Such is our collective joy at the resumption of in-person racing that some of us have gotten a little carried away with registrations! It has been so much fun to test ourselves, to watch elites throw down impressive times and to bask in the togetherness of being outdoors in one place with a lot of other happy, sweaty people. As much as it was fun to race again, to consider effective training strategies and to really push hard, I have always had a love/hate relationship with racing. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that racing sometimes elicits fear—of the unknown, of potential failure, of…

Canadian women dominate at Canyons On April 23, Jazmine Lowther, 30, of Nelson, B.C., dominated the women’s field at Canyons 100K in California, leading from start to finish and winning in a one-second course record time of 10:01:54, 23 minutes ahead of second-place finisher Leah Yingling of Salt Lake City (10:24:51). Lowther’s win earned her a golden ticket to the iconic Western States 100, which took place on June 25 (after the print deadline for this issue). Aroa Sio of Spain was third in 10:27:42. Katherine Short of Vancouver took the win in the 50K distance, in a time of 5:04:04. Adam Peterman of Missoula, Mont., shattered the men’s course record with his win in 8:31:58. David Sinclair of Truckee, Calif., was second (8:43:00) and Jared Hazen of Flagstaff, Ariz.,…

Norway has long been known for producing the world’s best cross-country skiers, but in recent years the small Nordic country has also turned out distance track stars, such as 400m hurdles world record holder Karsten Warholm and the Ingebrigtsen brothers, led by Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s gold medal performance in the Olympic 1,500m final. But how are so many incredible athletes coming out of such a small country? Olympian, doctor and coach Marius Bakken recently published a lengthy article about the Norwegian training system, and coaches and athletes around the world are taking notes. Controlled intensity + high volume = success In simple terms, the Norwegian training model has athletes running a large portion of their (very large) volume at an easy pace (Zone 1). Most of their interval training is done…

How much will running in poor air quality compromise your health? It depends on which markers of health you consider Here’s a bold prediction for the upcoming dog days of summer 2022: it’s going to be hot, smoggy and smoky. Whether you’re in a big metropolis sucking in diesel fumes or on a remote mountain trail coughing up smoke particles from a distant forest fire, there’s a good chance you’re going to encounter some less-than-pristine air over the next few months. Is that a problem? On the surface, the answer is obvious. Inhaling polluted air triggers a cascade of inflammation and oxidative stress that raises your risk of both immediate and long-term health problems. The rise and fall of air quality readings, for example, is mirrored by the rise and…

Sometimes described by competitors as “desert hell,” the Marathon des Sables (MDS) is officially a 250-km race, but only a few actually compete—most of the almost 1,000 competitors are simply trying to survive six days of running across the Sahara Desert. This year was the 36th running of the desert ultramarathon stage race. It started in 1984, when France’s Patrick Bauer, then 28, took on a completely self-sufficient 12-day journey across the Sahara, covering 350 km on foot and carrying everything he needed in a 35-kg backpack. “I wanted to create an adventure similar to what I did in 1984,” Bauer says, when asked what inspired him to create the event. “There’s no happiness without sharing.” Two years after his trek through the desert, the first MDS event was born.…

You can’t get away with much in Merritt, B.C. With a population of just over 10,000 (if you include the many surrounding ranching and First Nations communities), it’s the kind of town where anonymity is rare and small talk is inevitable. It’s the kind of town where the few regular runners all recognize each other a kilometre out by their silhouette or their gait alone. As a result, in the sunny Nicola Valley (90 km northwest of Kelowna) that cradles the self-proclaimed country music capital of Canada—as in many small towns around the world—accountability is high. This can work in your favour, or not. Growing up in the nearby Nlaka'pamux First Nations outside of Merritt, Darius Sam found himself repeatedly butting up against the hard side of that small-town truth.…

Editor Anne Francis anne@runningmagazine.ca Senior Editors Alex Hutchinson, Kevin Mackinnon Contributing Editor Christopher Kelsall Staff Writers Marley Dickinson, Brittany Hambleton, Madeleine Kelly Photo Editor Matt Stetson matt.stetson@gripped.com Copy Editor Amy Stupavsky Art Director Warren Wheeler (Roseander Main) layout@runningmagazine.ca Production Artist Warren Hardy Web Development Sean Rasmussen Digital Operations Dmitry Beniaminov Publisher Sam Cohen sam@gripped.com Editorial Director David Smart dave@gripped.com Advertising & Sales Andre Cheuk andre@gripped.com Account Managers Joel Vosburg joel@gripped.com Lorena Jones lorena@gripped.com Circulation Manager Robyn Milburn robyn@gripped.com Social Media Nikita van Dijk nikita@gripped.com SUBSCRIBE Send $22.95 (1 year) or $39.95 (2 years) to Canadian Running magazine PO Box 819 Station Main, Markham, ON, Canada L3P 8L3 or call: 1.800.567.0444 SUBMIT Manuscripts, photographs and other correspondence are welcome. Please contact Canadian Running magazine for contributors’ guidelines, or see them on…

Summertime elevates our senses—the smell of bonfires, the sight of tan lines from summer running, childhood picnics and the relief of cooling off in the lake or the ocean. Summer also boasts an abundance of fresh produce, with a depth of flavours that need very little enhancement. The picnic items of the past were child-friendly, easy to cook and could be spiced up for the adults. We’ve recreated a few of these recipes: freshening up pasta salad, livening up hot dogs (while still supporting the classic toppings) and leaning into the sweetness of strawberries for dessert. No one will leave hungry! Herby Pasta Salad Ingredients 2/3 cup pickles, finely diced (garlic or bread-and-butter are best)2 large celery stalks, finely chopped2 green onions, trimmed and thinly diced1/2 cup mayonnaise (can substitute…

With strengthening exercises, technique is everything. Your form either maximizes or minimizes the desired training outcomes specific to each exercise. For example, a front plank is effective at improving strength and stability of the anterior core muscles, but if your form does not entice your anterior core muscles to hold the plank position (i.e., your form is incorrect), there is no stimulus for them to adapt, so no improvement in stability and strength. Here are three popular exercises prescribed to runners and how to do them right. Kettlebell Swing Why: To increase hip extension power production ability Target Muscles: Primary: gluteus maximus; secondary: hamstrings How: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and slightly turned out. Stand straight and hold the kettlebell with both hands, with an overhand grip, in front…

Winnipeg may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of great trail running, but the city’s proximity to forests and provincial parks makes a fun area to explore on two feet. Its location in the eastern Prairies doesn’t boast a lot of elevation, but what it lacks in “vert” it makes up for in noteworthy Manitoban sights, such as bison, wetlands, white-tailed deer and more. Easy Assiniboine Forest This 283-hectare forest is a 20-minute drive from downtown Winnipeg and is one of the largest urban nature parks in the country. The forest comprises six trails composed of granular limestone, woodchip and asphalt, some of which can be combined to form loops of varying lengths. The Assiniboine Forest also connects to the Trans Canada Trail, which…

Just as exercise should not be punishment, food should not be viewed as a reward for exercising. Seems simple, right? But in practice, it’s not that easy. Think of how many times you’ve said, “I’m not running today, so I can’t eat carbs” or “I did a long run today, so I deserve this treat” or “I ate too much last night, so I need to run longer today.” If you’ve ever found yourself thinking along these lines, you’re not alone. The concept that you need to earn your treats and work off your indulgences is all too common, but also self-defeating. Exercise becomes a way of fixing your perceived shortcomings, and food becomes either a treat or a tool for self-deprivation. (No wonder people don’t like healthy eating or…

If you’re looking for a tune-up race before a fall marathon or a goal to keep you running all summer, the Under Armour Eastside 10K in Vancouver on Sept. 17 might just be the race for you. This race gives participants a different experience from the city’s typical oceanside events. “With a course that leads participants through the cobblestone streets of historic Gastown and into Strathcona—one of Vancouver’s oldest residential neighbourhoods—participants can look forward to a heritage tour with an industrial element as they run through sections of the city that are rarely closed to traffic,” says race director Ryan Chilibeck. The Under Armour Eastside 10K is now a hybrid event, offering the chance not only to join in person in Vancouver, but also virtually from anywhere in the world.…

American athletes have dominated the World Athletics Championships, the crown jewel of the sport, ever since the IAAF (as World Athletics was previously known) introduced the event in 1983. But until this year, none of the 18 editions has been held on U.S. soil. That’s all about to change, as roughly 1,800 athletes from across the globe descend on Eugene, Ore., for the 2022 World Athletics Championships, from July 15 to 24. Past editions of these world championships have been held in the Olympic stadia of Helsinki (twice), Rome, Tokyo, Berlin, Moscow, Beijing and London—all esteemed locations steeped in history. There are many who will wonder how on earth Eugene’s Hayward Field, located right on the campus of the University of Oregon, deserves such a prestigious event. To be fair,…

With the possible exception of battery life (which, according to our anecdotal research, is a big deal for many runners), what makes or breaks a GPS watch is not so much the specific features it offers (since most sports watches now have things like sleep tracking, recovery insights and training guidance) as the usability of those features for each runner, which is highly subjective. It’s things like the watch face’s readability and how the numbers look. You might pay a small fortune for something that, despite all its bells and whistles, is difficult to read in certain conditions, which is annoying. Similarly, a watch you can load your music onto is only worth the premium you’ll pay if it’s important to you to be able to leave your phone at…

For more than five years, Gurv (37) and Harv (35) Sihra lived their dream as professional wrestlers in the WWE. The B.C.-based brothers, known as the Bollywood Boyz (they used the surname Singh professionally), wrestled on national television every week and performed in some of the world’s largest venues. As glamorous as it sounds, the reality of a wrestler’s schedule is 300-plus days a year of flights, long drives and cramming in gym sessions before the night’s event. When the pandemic began in March 2020, everything began to change for the Sihra brothers. WWE cancelled all live events and gyms around the world shut down. Suddenly, rather than travelling and hustling to CrossFit gyms before performing, they were at home in Canada, searching for ways to stay in shape. “All…