The Dutch Edition of Runner's World features Scott Jurek. Thanks tot the book 'Born to Run', his achievements as ultra runner and the Opel Ampera commercial he needs little introduction.
Reason for his appearance in the magazine: The dutch translation of his book: Eat & Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultra marathon Greatness.
This triggered me to look around a bit and I found on his website a short promotional video (see below first video). A bit less bash full but to me more interesting is a short contribution to TEDMED (see second video).
Scott Jurek is not just a great ultra runner. He is a vegan as well. I think you might say he is a living example that being a vegan is healthy. Otherwise you would not be able to run 266 km in 24 hours or complete 100 miles trails in 15 hours!
In the TEDMED video he tells what inspired him to change his lifestyle.
Nop, the question mark is not a mistake. Read on and I will explain why I put the '?' in the caption of this blog.
The current development of running shoes is less sole, less drop, less cushioning, less heel landing and more forefoot landing. A more natural approach to running even resulting in, what I call 'gloves' for the foot.
TeVa looks at this development an thinks "Why not change the shoe instead of the running pose of so many runners? Lets take of the heel cushion and make a more round sole which makes it easier to roll from heel to toe.
TeVa want a chip of the growing market of off trail running such as mudruns.
"We took our testing beyond the traditional flat environments of a lab and developed a way to test both uphill and downhill movements, mimicking the various terrains of the outdoors," said Geoffrey Gray , Doctor of Physical Therapy at P3. "Our extensive data showed that the TevaSphere represents the best combination of performance and stability of any hiking, walking or running shoe we tested."
The TevaSphere design stands in stark contrast to bulkier, squared-off heels and over-cushioned insoles of other athletic shoes. It also addresses the poor support found in "minimalist" footwear that encourages consumers to change their stride to adapt.
"The majority of consumers continue to land on their heels whether running or walking," said Chris Hillyer , Innovation Manager at Teva. "We felt compelled to create a technology that allows people to transition through their stride in a natural way without expecting the consumer to change."
TeVa thinks heel landing is the more natural style of running for most runners and instead of changing your style they adapted the shoe. Of course I am no expert and certainly did not do al the research they say they put into it but looking at all the developments going on I tend to the idea of the barefoot approach of a more fore or mid foot landing. Hence the question mark in the caption.
And yes I agree, I also land on my heels certainly when I am tired at the end of a run. But yes I try to change to a more forefoot landing, smaller and quicker stride.
According to the article the shoe will be available from February 2013. As of now I can only find two women shoes on Amazon.com (see below the video).
From the same makers as 'The Beauty of the Irrational'. And again with Ryan Sanders (see previous post).
Thie film is a short impression of the Leadville 100, also known as 'Race Across the Sky'. It is one of the ultras featured in Born to Run by Christopher McDougall (see blog) with Micah True (still 'alive and kicking').
Some of the most irrational descision we human being make lead to the most beautiful moments of our lives. This roughly the explanation of the title of this short film.
In the Fish River Canyon in South Africa is a walking trail, 84 km long good for 5 days walking. South African Ultra Runner, Ryan Sanders, sets out to run it in the fastest time possible. He finishes in just under 7 hours in 6:57.
Micah True, known as Caballo Blanco, died in March while running in the wilderness of New Mexico (read related post on the tarahumara ambassador. He was found to have idiopathic cardiomyopathy, or heart disease with an unknown cause, said the Office of the Medical Investigator (source running.competitor.com).
I don't know about you but this is not telling me anything so googled the term a little bith and found more information on idiopathic cardiomyopathy. What I found is that cardiomyopathy can have various causes and if the cause is unknown it is called 'idiopathic cardiomyopathy'.
OK so what about this cardiomyopathy. Cardiomyopathy is a chronic disease of the heart muscle (myocardium), in which the muscle is abnormally enlarged, thickened, and/or stiffened. The weakened heart muscle loses the ability to pump blood effectively, resulting in irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias) and possibly even heart failure.
This 'enlarged' triggered me to read on if there was any relation with his running but not that I could find. I think it would have been mentioned by the medical investigator.
Read more in this medial dictionary.
Last week the news got out that Micah Treu, "Caballo Blanco", was found dead in Gila National Forrest. He did not return from a training run. Micah became somewhat of a running celebrity trough the book "Born to Run" of which you can read a review on my blog.
This book and the Copper Canyon Marathon promoted the Tarahumara Tribe: ultra runners by nature. In an earlier post you can find a short film on this run.
Wanna know what you need to prepare for a ultra run? For example to prepare for the Western States 100? At least it takes a lot of training hours. More than I can manage next to my regular work.
Check out the gear you need for a run. I prefer the hammock;p Met .
My previous posting introduced Caballo Blanco to you. He invited american ultra runners to take on the runners of the Tarahumara. A Indian tribe in the Sierra Madre in Mexico. The video below is a 10 min. documentry on this trbie, Caballo Blanco and his aim to preserve the heritage of the Tarahumara and their running tradition. Enjoy!
Looking for something to read? Preferably something to do with running? I can recommend Born to Run by Christopher McDougal.
The starts with the question; "Why does I hurt when I run?" In order to find the answer to this question the author tackels various subjects like:
barefoot / natural / chi running
ultra running
the evolution of mankind
the Tarahumara tribe
The storyline
In pursuit of the answer to his question the author meet various people with various views on running but in general the outline of the message is the same. Forget al the modern equipment (shoes) en try to run as natural as possible an above all: enjoy!
Chris find its way into Mexico to look for Caballo Blanco, an american ultra running athlete who lives among the Tarahumara. A tribe of indians in the Sierra Madre of Mexico. Renown for their ultra running capabilities. Through him he learns about their diet and how they enjoy running, already from a early age.
This Caballe Blanco has a wild idea: Bring together the best of the Tarahumara and American Ultra Runners in a race. The Copper Canyon Marathon. Among the american runners is Scott Jurek and Barefoot Ted.
The pictur to the right shows Scott Jurek in action with the best of the Tarahumara:Arnulfo Quimare. Pay attention to the sandals the Tarahumara use for running.
I wont tell who wins the race.
The style
The book is written like any popular crime novel. It is a pleasant and addictive read. The story leading up to the race is intertwined with side steps. Introducing the runners and the science of running. Including our own evolution. The evolution of mankind as runners
In this book the theory is posed that the reason man started to walk upright on two legs was to hunt down animals. Not by shear power or speed;but ENDURANCE. Thanks to the way we are build. Thanks to evolutionary features like sweat, breathing in a rhythm separately from our running pace etc. It is also an explanation why on the longer distance the gap between men and women in the running game becomes less and less.
Wanna know more? Click on the TEDx video below for an 18 minute talk by the author Christopher McDougal himself.
Heading out on a trail for the first time? Ultra runner Scott Jurek will give you some advice how to avoid some of the common mistakes made by runners who leave the road for the first time:
Running in commercials. Usually only when it is to promote running gear. But this is about to change with this commercial by Opel, introducing his electric Ampera with range-extender.
This, according to Opel, remarkable achievement is compared with three athletes:
Scott Jurek: ultra runner, 266km in 24 hour
William Trubrigde: free diver, 101 meter depth
Steve House: climber, solo K7, over 6000 meter
More fun than the commercial is 'the making of..' with the title 'Going Further':
I am a recreational runner. Sixteen marathons, and counting. This blog is the English version of the more elaborative Dutch one. It contains some stories about my own experiences as a runner or relavant information I have found on the web. Hope you like it....
Posts
The Dutch Edition of Runner's World features Scott Jurek. Thanks tot the book 'Born to Run', his achievements as ultra runner and the Opel Ampera commercial he needs little introduction.
(see below the video).
