#distance runner

Okay, i’m trying to compile runner/ track&field/ xc headcanons -times, running personality, events, etc- for the hunger games characters -especially the careers- and I want another runner’s opinion

starting with, I firmly subscribe to distance!runner clove, she would run an insane mile and two mile

On August 30th 1991,Liz McColgan won the World Athletics Championship 10,000 metres in Tokyo by a margin of 20 seconds.

The brilliant career of Liz McColgan can be broken up into three parts: her glory at the Commonwealth Games in her own country, her superb World Championship triumph in Tokyo and her ability then to adapt that track technique to the roads. All three of them were memorable because of the drama McColgan brought to the event, her refusal not to allow anyone to pass her on the way to gold.

As Liz Lynch she won the Commonwealth 10,000m title in Edinburgh amid amazing, patriotic scenes before in 1991, her front-running performance to win the world title was mesmerising, before she transferred that ability to make a record-breaking marathon debut. When she at her peak, she was unstoppable.

Liz won the gold medal for the 10,000 metres at the 1991 World Championships, and a silver medal over the same distance at the 1988 Olympic Games. Liz was also a two-time gold medallist over the distance at the Commonwealth Games, as well as winning the 1992 World Half Marathon Championships, 1991 New York City Marathon, 1992 Tokyo Marathon and 1996 London Marathon. Her 10,000 metres best of 30:57.07 set in 1991, made her only the third woman in history to run the distance in under 31 minutes. Both that time and her marathon best of 2:26:52 in 1997, still stand as Scottish records.

Liz, who is a mother-of-five children, was also chair of Scottish Athletics from 2003 to 2005 and her first-born daughter, Eilish, has been following in her mother’s running footsteps, she is the current 5,000 metres Scottish record holder and 3,000 metres steeplechase record holder.

26.2

Basics:

1. Replace your shoes every 300 to 500 miles. To save money, buy insoles. They extend a shoe’s lifetime and are cheaper.

2. Get two pairs (or more) of shoes and alternate using them to allow the cushioning to “bounce back”, for lack of a better word. It prevents injury.

3. Lower your mileage or don’t run when sick -- how I got my lung issues

4. When it comes to distance:

a. Start off with low mileage and increase every week

b. Start off with only a couple days (with off days in between) and increase each week

c. Try not to stop as much as you can, even if that means shuffling your feet.

5. When it goes for speed:

a. Start off slow and go for distance instead of speed (at first). Train your body to run for a certain amount of time, not distance. Otherwise, when you increase your distance, it might be harder once you hit a certain distance because it’s what your body is used to

b. Look ahead in advance to run around people / to look out for cars

6. Safety:

a. LOOK BOTH WAYS.

b. ASSUME CARS DON’T SEE YOU. Make eye contact with drivers before crossing.

c. Buy the appropriate clothing like neon jackets for the dark and good shoes to prevent injury.

d. Small, quick steps on uncertain ground (mud, ice, etc)

7. Always have at least ONE off day.

8. STRETCH I guess

9. Posture > Distance > Speed

Intermediate+/Personal recommendations:

1. Small, quick steps uphill

2. Let gravity do the work downhill. Long strides, make sure your knee stays in line with your foot, etc etc etc..:

3. Use a weird spiral when you do long runs if you are tired. Basically find a center point, run to the farthest point out from the center, and run the circle. That way, you stay the same distance from your starting/ending point in case of fatigue, injury, or...”Other”

4. Run against traffic to see cars if you need to run on the street (passing someone, end of sidewalk)

5. Layers layers layers

6. Mask for high density places, of course.

7. Stretch, run the first mile, stretch, continue

8. onthegomap.com for mapping your runs online -- includes bike paths

Disclaimer: Don’t think I need to say this but — No hate. This is just what I have found true in my experience. I am not a professional. To each their own.