marathon

6 Running Goals for 2018 That Aren’t Running a Marathon

Zoey · November 13, 2017 · Leave a Comment

I love the marathon as much as the next person, but I think it’s probably misplaced as the pinnacle of all running achievements. I firmly believe that a fast or hard 5km is just as impressive as a marathon. Or whatever distance you put your mind to. It’s easy to get sucked into the lure of the marathon when a lot of the prestige appears to be around marathons. They get bigger medals. More likely to be gold than silver. And the holy grail of many a runner seems to be qualifying for Boston, for which there is no half marathon or 10km or 5km equivalent. It’s easy for those little cues to seep into your consciousness and you believe that they make the marathon more important. But it’s only as important as you make it, and if it’s not your jam, it’s not worth pursuing.

So here are some fun things to do in 2018 instead.

The Pan Pacific Masters are on the Gold Coast. If you are over 35, embrace the masters! They have a range of running events from track events to road running events to trail running events to suit most peoples interests.

The NSW Distance Running Championships. This looks SO COOL. And if the travel didn’t seem a bit difficult for me (given I am closer to Queensland than to NSW) I’d be all over this. And I think I might make it a goal in 2019 anyway. You compete for points across five events: Orange, Bathurst, Mudgee, Dubbo and Carcoar. Cannot imagine anything more fun than travelling around the place running half marathons!

Isn’t it time you got your 50 parkrun milestone t-shirt? If you haven’t checked out your local parkrun, I guarantee there is an awesome community waiting for you, and you could be on your way to your milestone in no time.

See how far you can go in Run Down Under! You can virtually run around Australia and join clubs (like the Operation Move one!) and check out the leaderboards and have fun with friends.

Want a really ambitious goal? What about a preferred start at the Gold Coast or Melbourne next year? At the Gold Coast, women earn a priority start if they have a 1:30 half marathon or a 3:15 marathon or a 43:00 10km.

What about a multi day event? You could do a two day event like Warwick Pentath (the total kilometres you run over two days adds up to a marathon)

What ideas would you add to the list?

Podcast: Episode 55 – Meet Sarah, Accidental Marathon Runner

Zoey · August 18, 2017 · Leave a Comment

This week we are talking to Sarah

And we are talking about the Paris Marathon. And there are actual castles and forests involved. But before we get to that, we talk a bit about why she started running, what made her want to sign up for a marathon, and what would make her want to do it all over again at the Melbourne Marathon Festival.

Head over to iTunes to listen (and subscribe! and review!)

You can listen and download episodes in Itunes here.

Podcast: Episode 21 – Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Ran My First Marathon

OperationMove · September 7, 2016 · Leave a Comment

This week, someone sent in a question . . .

And the question was: What do you wish you’d known before you ran your first marathon?

How long have you got? The first marathon is such a learning curve! But we talk a bit about:

How the fatigue of training can trick you into thinking you are less prepared than you are
Demystifying the bonk. It’s something that scares a lot of people, but it’s not really something that has to happen or that you can’t get through.
Why you probably need to step away from the internet
Mental preparation
The role of nutrition and why the last week is like cramming for a test.

If you have a question, or would just like to hang out with some fun people, you can join us in the Community Group. Learn to Run starts on the 19th September and you can get 10% off with the code podcast. You can also grab 10% off at RunFasterGear using the code OPMOVE.

Head over to iTunes to listen (and subscribe!)

You can listen and download episodes in Itunes here.

Podcast: Episode 18 – What is your best distance?

Zoey · August 17, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Just because it’s longer, doesn’t make it better. And just because you are good at it, doesn’t mean you will love it

We are talking about favourite distances this week and some of the ways you can tell which distance your body is best suited for too:

What are our favourite distances and favourite races
Why more isn’t necessarily more or even better
How to get a good idea of a distance that you are going to enjoy
Racing for time vs social runs at events
Distances that support your lifestyle and other goals.

Some things we talk about which you might like to read more about are:

Why the 5km is Awesome, Why the 5km, not the marathon is the ideal race and why speed isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

There’s also a discount code for podcast listeners who want to join us in September for Learn to Run (which is also on early bird rates for the next week, so you can get a total of 30% off).

Head over to iTunes to listen (and subscribe!)

You can listen and download episodes in Itunes here.

Podcast: Episode 13 – Am I Ready to Run a Marathon

Zoey · July 13, 2016 ·

What made you want to run a marathon? When did you know you were ready to take the leap?

This podcast I talk about how you know when you are ready to take the leap to run a marathon.

I talk a bit about what drew me to marathon training, some of the myths of marathon training and why I was secondary in my own first marathon. But more importantly, I also talk about how you know if you are ready to take the plunge. Hint: you already know the answer.

If you have any questions feel free to email me at zoey@operationmove.com.au or you can pop into the community group on Facebook.

Head over to iTunes to listen (and subscribe!)

You can listen and download episodes in Itunes here.