Back in the day, fat ass ruled trail-ultra. It had a vibe of an underground movement, and spawned ultra-runners from a hotbed of tough love. Where experienced runners run in no-fee events, with no prizes, no aid and no wimps.
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Learn to love snakes and it will greatly enhance your experience of trail running in Australia. Here’s my tips for ensuring your interactions with snakes are enjoyable ones.
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It was like watching the most extraordinary ballerina in full flight, her stage the Andean mountains, back-dropped with the white snow caps of the Cordillera Blanca, Peru.
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The Incas didn’t have a written means of communication so became expert runners, passing verbal messages across huge distances Kirrily Dear re-traced some of these ancient footsteps.
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Indeed the extreme conditions were potentially life threatening but a substantial amount of preparation and planning had gone into keeping me safe out there. There was no ‘luck’ or super-human ability in my survival. Each step was supported with tactical decision-making about heat stress monitoring and response.
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During late 2016 I had been developing my training plan for my 1300km / 19 day run across NSW and the primary focus of that plan was to work on my mindset; to challenge my mental boundaries, to extend them and reshape them. This became the catalyst for seeking out and eventually participating in the Andes Challenge, Peru.
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I could barely make the shape of the roof of our refuge below us. We had started our climb during the night and the circle of mountains around us still wore heavily its cloak of darkness. Its gracious, silent peaks bearing witness to our labour. Each step was a lung-burning triumph as the trail twisted its way up through the morena.
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Gavin was a relatively unknown runner, yet managed to nab the victory from some of Australia’s best. Naturally, everyone was curious about Gavin’s secret and the sharing of his story would kick-start one of the most significant shifts in race nutrition strategies in recent years.
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Fungi sits apart in its own kingdom, quietly making the fuel for our environment. It's scent, shape, texture and colour offers infinite variation, often morphed by the micro-system in which it exists.
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Have you ever wondered how to perfectly pace a long race? This article shares something I discovered when experimenting with pace during an ultramarathon.
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A piece of training and racing advice I commonly hear from elite runners is “Don’t ever let yourself off the hook”. In this article, I look inside the mind and achievements of Karen Barrett - champion ultra marathon runner - to learn exactly what that means.
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Trail runners happily run, sit and fall over on this silent environmental warrior with scarcely a second thought for the role it plays in creating the experience that feeds our souls. Next time you’re out on the trail, take some time to look and learn about lovely lichen.
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Kirrily Dear gently draws her fellow runners' eyes from the trail to the surrounding foliage. How well do you know the environment you breeze through almost every day.
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We invest our lives into gear, training, and entry fees so we can feel the cool-touch glory of that finishing bling snugged tightly in our hand. A possession that is ultimately worthless beyond the boundaries of our running dreams.
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