Fathers Day Marathon

Every Father's Day Manitoba's most popular race takes place – the Marathon. Some Manitobans are going further to try other races abroad.

Minneapolis, Chicago and New York are some of the best known but we are seeing travelers go all over the world for competitive events.

Some like the Marathon at the Great Wall of China have special considerations- additional vaccines, attention to possible air pollution, and even the massive gradient incline of some parts of the wall.

When I visited the Wall I had difficulty walking the slope so marathoners need to plan ahead.

Runners planning to run a Marathon need to gradually train themselves by building up their weekly mileage so they are up to the challenge.

They need to train just enough and ease up before the event. I have seen many runners start their training only 2 months before the event only to run into overuse injuries.

Athletes also can't train at a sustained level and must also allow a tapering off before big events.

Athletes may develop a mesocycle of training- keep in good general fitness with one or more sports year round and plan their training appropriately to peak their performance for their trip. There are published formulas of how much training to do and at what rate but these are only crude guidelines since athletes are all different and must listen to their bodies- if injured or ill this will affect their proposed training schedule. Although unpopular to say sometimes I just have to tell prospective racers they have to rest properly to heal and won't keep their deadline.

Overseas runners must prepare for different environmental conditions. If doing a Hawaiian Triathlon it helps to also be prepared for heat and humidity. Competitive travelers always have the “visiting team” disadvantage. This can be alleviated by traveling early to the event helps acclimate athletes to the new environment.

One other interesting running activity that expatriates overseas engage do is join the Hash House Harriers (HHH or H3).

The goal for a hash run is loosely based on hare hunting. One or more hashers (the "hares") lay out a running trail, that the rest of the club ( pack or 'hounds') follows. The trail may include false trails ( check-backs or CB ), short cuts (or splits ), breaks, and checks (a marking on the trail that requires the pack to search the area to discover the correct direction of the trail. These features are designed to keep the pack together regardless of fitness levels or running speed. They often describe themselves as a drinking club with a running problem. While this can be amusing drinking and running through traffic do not mix. A significany amount of traffic accidents are caused by drunk pedestrians as well as drivers.

Running is a great way to keep in shape but some races can be daunting.

In sports medicine I have heard of people doing double or triple triathlons or 100-mile races. This of course can get ridiculously and not all events are safe.

Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been defeated but also died at the finish .

So choose your event wisely.