Runner's World UK

THE LOCATION With a summit rising to 3,715m above the Atlantic, ‘Pico del Teide’ on the Spanish island of Tenerife is the third-highest volcano in the world when measured from the ocean floor. The peak and its surrounding slopes are a wild and beautiful national park, and running here takes you through weird and wonderful vegetation, across lunar landscapes and ancient lava flows, and past sulphurous fumaroles (openings), reminding you that Teide is still active. The spring months of April and May offer ideal running conditions. THE RUN Starting at the Cañada Blanca visitor centre, a 25km circular route with 1,575m of ascent will take you to the summit and back. That’s a pretty punchy amount of climb and it’s very steep in places, so be ready to hike a few sections, but…

DID I MENTION I WON MY AGE category in the ultra I did a few months ago? Never mind the fact that there were only 10 runners in the race and, of those, only a few were 50 or over, I was still delighted to be ‘first oldie’ (as the race director put it) – it was the first prize of any kind I’d won in my 15-year running career. It was a nice reminder that although my PB-chasing days are probably behind me, there are still new ways to find joy and stay motivated as a runner as the years pass. This is very much shown by the inspirational masters athletes in our feature ‘The Race Against Time’ on page 30. As Richard Askwith says, despite the increased physiological challenges…

LILY CANTER A regular contributor to RW and other titles, including the Times and the Guardian, the keen runner and mum of two delved deep into the latest research on running during and post pregnancy, and spoke with mums who share their lived experiences in ‘Baby Steps’ on p38. RICHARD ASKWITH A quest to discover all he could about running and ageing led the lifelong runner and Feet In The Clouds author to both write his new book on the subject, and to compete at the World Masters Champs. He shares what he’s learned about ‘The Race Against Time’ on p30.…

TEMPTING AS IT MAY BE to hibernate during the winter months, running in green spaces could give your body a long-lasting booster shot. A new study, from Nippon Medical School in Tokyo, has identified a key mechanism by which activity in wooded areas can support your body’s immune defences. Trees emit natural insecticides called phytoncides that possess antimicrobial properties. The researchers found that inhaling these can give your immune system a meaningful boost. WORDS: YO ZUSHI; RICK PEARSON. PHOTOGRAPHY: HEARST STUDIOS. PROP DESIGN: LOU BLACKSHAW. PROP STYLING: MARIA LO…

IT’S EASY to overlook short, sharp interval training, particularly if you’re already running regularly. But a new study* underlines the importance of intense speedwork, even for those who are fit. Researchers worked with a group of sub-elite runners, adding two workouts per week to each subject’s routine. These were either six to 12 intervals of 30 seconds, run at 95% maximum effort, with three-minute recoveries, or 20 to 24 minutes of additional training at a modest effort. After 10 weeks, the results were clear. Those who simply added modest training showed little improvement. The speedwork group improved their VO2 max, lactate threshold and running economy, and had better results on a time-to-exhaustion test. The conclusion? Speedwork is worth the hard effort, even if you’re fast to start with. The great outdoors During…

Know each run’s purpose ‘When I do every workout, I’m thinking, “Why am I doing this workout? What’s the goal?”’ he wrote. ‘It’s not about going out and training hard, but trying to focus on what really matters for that session.’ Do a regular test Jornet runs a regular route and measures various metrics – time taken, lactate levels, etc – to learn what shape he’s in. This test can be part of a workout, he wrote, or it can be a training session in its own right. Embrace easy running The vast majority of Jornet’s training is easy running (heart-rate zones 1, 2 and 3). ‘I know I can absorb a great amount of volume,’ he wrote, ‘but if I do more speedwork [heart rate zones 4 and 5] for several continuous weeks, I…