Innholdsfortegnelse for March/April 2025 i Canadian Running

There are serious runners, and then there’s Cory Nagler, 25, Canadian Running’s affiliate marketing strategist. For example: he won southern Ontario’s Georgina Marathon in 2023. His coach is multi-time national cross-country and 10K champion and 2021 Philadelphia Marathon champion Leslie Sexton of Vancouver. He has qualified for Boston multiple times, and was the seventh-fastest Canadian male at the 2024 edition. In December, he ran his 12th marathon, in Valencia, Spain, where he achieved a personal best time of 2:27. This was Nagler’s proudest achievement as a runner, coming, as it did, after weeks of cross-training and physiotherapy for a stubborn case of plantar fasciitis. (He also became ill upon landing in Spain a few days before the race, making his achievement all the more impressive.) Nagler credits the support of…

Are you itching to take on a challenge that’s not tied to a race that is months away? A run streak is one you can start anytime. A run streak is simply the act of running every calendar day. The minimum distance might vary from one mile (1.61 km) to 5 km or more, and the time frame from weeks to a month to several years (the longest current streak in Canada, as certified by the United States Running Streak Association, is 46.02 years, and is held by Toronto’s Rick Rayman). A streak can be a great motivator to get consistent with your training. Here are some considerations to help you decide if this challenge is right for you. Pros, cons and caveats Starting a streak could be a fun…

Signing up for a marathon means months of dedicated training that is likely to change your nutrition requirements. Here’s what runners need to know about how to fuel when training for the marathon. Periodizing nutrition needs Most marathon training plans take a periodized approach; this means training sessions will happen in a series of phases, so that you reach peak fitness just in time for your race. In any given week, for example, a training plan will typically include one long run that is preceded (and followed) by a rest day or easy run day, and your nutrition needs will fluctuate accordingly. The two components that change the most from day to day are your need for calories and for carbohydrates. Calories Most runners recognize that marathon training will result…

There is a magical, yet elusive moment in every runner’s practice when everything clicks. The movement no longer feels forced, and it might even be described as tranquil or Zen-like. Once they break through to this stage, they will chase that feeling every time they think of lacing up. For many, achieving that state can seem improbable. But according to the two coaches we consulted, the breakthrough is possible with the right approach. Olympic medallist Lynn Kanuka of White Rock, B.C., has been coaching for 40 years with a well-established learn-to-run program. Kanuka says the common mistakes people make in their search for enjoyment in running are that they try to run too far, too fast. “Step after step is really hard on the body,” Kanuka says. “How do you…

I wrote this article in my head on the treadmill. There’s not a lot to do on a treadmill. I was also listening to the audiobook of E. M. Forster’s Room with a View at the same time (though the Women’s Plus workout room in the Ottawa Y has no view). It is -18 C outside, and, at 78, I no longer want to be a winter running warrior. I’m signed up for the Gasparilla Race weekend in Tampa, Fla., in late February, so there’s no point in training in the cold—that would be too shocking a contrast. The drawback of running outside is ice to slip on, cold fingers and toes and fussed-over clothing that’s too cold at the beginning of a run and too hot in the middle.…

Editor Anne Francis anne@runningmagazine.ca Senior Editor Alex Hutchinson Staff Writers Marley Dickinson, Madeleine Kelly, Keeley Milne, Cameron Ormond Photo Editor Matt Stetson matt.stetson@gripped.com Copy Editor R. Turner Art Director Warren Wheeler (Roseander Main) layout@runningmagazine.ca Production Artist Warren Hardy Social Media Nikita van Dijk nikita@gripped.com Affiliate Marketing Cory Nagler 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 Catherine Melo catherine@gripped.com Circulation Manager Robyn Milburn robyn@gripped.com SUBSCRIBE Send $26.95 (1 year) or $49.95 (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…

I always like to compare strength training with banking. The goal for both is to improve your return on investment (ROI). It would be a shame to habitually spend hours in the gym, only to reap a portion of the available benefits. You don’t need to be an expert in the gym to get the most out of your strength workouts. Apply these six tips and watch your strength-training ROI improve. Tip 1 Form comes first Improving your skill at executing exercises will improve your ROI and minimize your injury risk. Use my Body Work routines as a start, find reputable videos online or hire a strength and conditioning coach, kinesiologist or credible personal trainer to teach you correct techniques for lifting exercises. A coach can also assess your current…

For many runners, the re-emergence of spring signals the real new year, when it’s time to kick things up a notch, get back into gear and start pushing the pace a little more. This includes returning to heavier workouts. Where winter is often a time for rest, easier runs and mileage maintenance, the spring thaw offers the promise of faster footwork and harder efforts as we prepare for target races in late spring or early summer. It’s repeated so often that it’s almost cliché, but for good reason: when returning to hard work, less is more. Trying to jump back to paces and efforts that you haven’t seen since the clocks turned back is a recipe for injury. Tim Uuksulainen has coached at several collegiate and community clubs in Ontario…

The Funchal Marathon in Madeira invites athletes to experience running on an active volcanic island in the north Atlantic, where exotic flowers thrive and terracotta-roofed houses cling to cliffs. (Don’t worry—the volcano hasn’t erupted since 2014.) Created by volcanic eruptions five million years ago, Madeira is the exposed top of a massive shield volcano that rises about six kilometres from the ocean floor. In 1418, Portuguese explorer João Gonçalves Zarco spotted the uninhabited island, and today, about 250,000 people call this subtropical paradise home. The landscapes are steep, with villages set in V-shaped valleys amid terraced farms. One street in Funchal, rue da Barreira, has a 45 per cent grade. However, the marathon course is relatively flat; to reduce hilliness, the route is divided into three sections, with views of…

“This is the most successful track and field team we have had since I have been on the team,” declares four-time Olympian and Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Moh Ahmed, referring to all of the major championships he has competed in since the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar. “From Olympics to Olympics, we have been in the top three or four in medal tallies.” When taking into account population size and GDP, Canadian athletes appear to be exceeding expectations. Ahmed himself claimed Olympic silver in Tokyo and the 2019 World Championship bronze medal, both at 5,000m, and finished fourth in the Paris Olympic 10,000m, missing another medal by just 33 one-hundredths of a second. Like many of the current crop of elite Canadian athletes, Ahmed is based in the United…

Beatrice Chebet smashes 14-minute barrier in road 5K world record On the last day of 2024, at the Cursa Dels Nassos 5K road race in Barcelona, Spain, 2024 Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion Beatrice Chebet of Kenya broke her own world record, winning the race in 13 minutes, 54 seconds and becoming the first woman in history to run faster than 14 minutes over five kilometres on the road. Chebet set the previous record of 14:13 at the same race in 2023; in addition to her Olympic titles, she is also the reigning world cross country champion, a title she has won twice. New U.S.-based track series to kick off April 4 In June 2024, four-time Olympic sprint champion Michael Johnson announced a new pro track league consisting of four…

The 2025 Indoor Track and Field Championships will be hosted in Nanjing, China, from March 21–23. To celebrate, we pay homage to some of the delicacies found in Chinese cooking, adding a Western twist. Drawing inspiration from the five key flavours of Chinese cuisine—sweet, sour, salty, spicy and bitter—we have crafted a menu featuring dishes with ingredients found in your local grocery store. To start the meal, we present an Asian-style Crispy Duck Salad, enhanced with vibrant citrus flavours and a Chinese five-spice rub. (Duck is a significant ingredient in many traditional Chinese dishes, and is valued for its symbolic, medicinal and cultural significance.) Complementing this is a simplified version of wonton soup, which can be prepared using frozen wontons from your grocer’s freezer section. Wontons, and the soups they…

See if you can guess the results of this recent study from scientists in Norway. They had runners do a workout of six times 10-minute intervals with two minutes’ recovery. In one condition, they did the workout all at once; in the other, they took a six-and-a-half-hour break halfway through the workout. Which one was easier? And which one was better? The first answer is obvious: it was physically and mentally easier to split the workout into two parts. The second is more nuanced. In fact, it’s the key question underlying the popularity of what has become known as the “Norwegian method” of endurance training, an approach made famous by track star Jakob Ingebrigtsen, triathlete Kristian Blummenfelt and others. The study, which was published in Frontiers in Physiology by a…

Tucked high in the Monashee Mountains just minutes from the B.C./Washington border, Rossland is the mountain town that all other mountain towns strive to be. Its storied embrace of outdoor adventure persists in its endless network of skiing and hiking trails, an iconic collection of rustic backcountry cabins and a passionate community that lives and breathes mountain sports. Once best known as a ski town (it has some of the most exceptional snow conditions and skiable terrain on the continent), Rossland has evolved into a veritable all-season outdoor destination, now regarded just as well for world-class trails as it is for skiing. Bring the mountain bike along for an unbeatable multi-sport summer trip. Or maybe don’t—there’s so much singletrack that just running will keep you very busy. Here are a…

It happens every year: you think you have plenty of time between winter training and your first race of the season, but suddenly, you realize there are only a few weeks left before the big day. Is it possible to get race-ready in just a couple of months (or a few weeks)? Good news: it is. Bad news: you’ve probably been approaching it wrong (by trying to cram in too much training of the wrong type in the time that remains). We chatted with a run coach, a dietitian, a physiotherapist and a mental performance coach to get you to your goal race, ready to run a personal best—or at least put in an effort you can be proud of. Whether you’re prepping for a 5K, 10K, half-marathon or even…

TRIED AND TRUE ASICS NOVABLAST 5 CATEGORY Neutral cushioning MEN’S 255 g (9.0 oz.) WOMEN’S 225 g (7.9 oz.) OFFSET/DROP 8 mm STACK HEIGHT 41.5 mm/33.5 mm (men’s), 40.5 mm/32.5 mm (women’s) $180 The Asics Novablast, first introduced in 2019, has become an indispensable trainer for many Canadian runners. It’s both sleeker and lighter than the Gel-Nimbus (which is really a long-run shoe), and now boasts a midsole made entirely of FF Blast Max—a lightweight foam that’s just the right mix of bouncy and responsive. This material provides a more comfortable, more responsive and smoother ride than ever. There are faster, more responsive shoes, but if you want to pay a reasonable amount for a shoe that you can use for everything, you can’t beat the Novablast. (Miraculously, the shoe…