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The Comrades they don't show on TV, and the science behind it 2007-06-19 22:17:00 Today is our final look at the behind
the scenes of the Comrades marathon, and as promised, we'll have a look at some of the human interest stories and the science behind Comrades training. This is probably a bit late for many, but hopefully it'll be interesting and stimulate some decent training for the next down run (bring on 2009!)So as i said, I spent just about the entire day in the medical tent, but was lucky enough to have to go out to the finish area to try to identify and recruit the runners for our research study. Our medical passes got us into the final finish chute, where the runners receive their medals and then grab a Coke or Energade or leave for home/hotels. I'm sure TV shows this just as well, but the attrition in that finish chute is something to behold. Quote of the day comes from one of our Austrian cardiologist colleagues, who had never seen anything quite like this "Zis race is more the survival, no? People are training for 4 hours a week, zis is impossibl
Comrades marathon - An interesting observation from a fellow blogger 2007-06-19 00:52:00 The other day Andrew from Cape Town visited us for the first time, and dropped off some very kind and constructive comments. In a brief exchange between myself and Andrew, he dropped in this pearl from the Comrades broadcast on Sunday, which I think, more than any other, illustrates exactly the point I was making in my post on the race from Monday 18 June (check it out below)."Thinking of Sipho Ngomane, while watching the race on Sunday, they had an interviewed with him, and a comment of his peaked my interest, “As soon as I’m out of my contract, I’ll focus on marathons.” Listening “between the lines” I could pick up he wasn’t that keen Comrades anymore." Quote from Andrew at the Comrades blogIf this quote from an elite runner doesn't tell you what the problems with SA road running are, then nothing will. Until such time that people like Nick Bester and the drivers of the ultra-marathon machine stop exploiting the athletic talent we have, we will not compete with the Read more:fellow
, interesting
The Comrades - inside the medical tent 2007-06-18 00:09:00 So Durban (and South Africa) woke up to the sad news this morning that two runners had died during yesterday's race. As I promised yesterday, today we'll have a look at what goes on behind the scenes, especially in the medical
tent (since that's about all I saw of the race), and I suppose we should start with this sad event.Both deaths happened at the finish line, the first was a 34-year old man who collapsed at some point during the final kilometer and was then carried to the finish line by other runners, as is the Comrades tradition. It makes for stirring television and high drama, befitting the race, but unfortunately, can lead to complications for the affected runners. In fact, we had a celebratory dinner after finishing in the tent and when our Austrian colleague, who is also a cardiologist, heard that runners had picked up and carried a man across the line, he was shocked and amazed to say the least, since it can worsen the problem, especially if carried vertically (it's b Read more:inside
Comrades marathon 2007-06-17 04:04:00 The first ever Comrades held on the 17th of June has come and gone.I was in the medical tent, for the third year running, doing a research study, and so missed much of the race (next year, maybe I'll watch it!). But it was once again a memorable race, though perhaps for different reasons. It's a race that will be recalled for many years, or at least until the incredible 5:20 performance of Leonid Shvetsov is erased from the record books. Some are already saying that the record will stand for up to 20 years (the previous one stood for 21), I suspect that there were signs that Shvetsov will only run faster next time we head from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.For one thing, he was not challenged over the final 30km, effectively running a time-trial in conditions that few would suggest were good for long distance running. Another factor, of course, is the temperature - it was a much warmer day than previous years. And then finally, the manner of his victor, and perhaps more importantl
Roger vs Rafa: A lesson in application 2007-06-10 18:00:00 A lot has no doubt been written about Rafael Nadal's third consecutive French Open title yesterday, made all the more significant by the fact that he, yet again, denied Roger
Federer a chance to complete the set of Grand Slams. Commentators speak of Federer as though he is the greatest player in history and perhaps when he hangs up his racket in 5 or so years, that will be borne out by the numbers of titles he has won. But it beats me that he's the world number one, having watched yesterday's match. He makes more bad errors and mis-hits than any other player in the top 10, his game looks at any stage like it may fall apart altogether and he seems to disappear from planet earth for long periods. The statistics bear this out - 60 unforced errors in 4 sets of tennis, compared to only about 20 from Nadal. His first serve percentage was also down at about 30% for most of the match. And his forehand turns into a liability too often. The crowd in the front row behind Nadal were in dang Read more:lesson
So you want to run a fast marathon? 2007-06-06 03:18:00 As the marathon record creeps slowly to Ross's predicted 2:02, it is interesting to think about where the next world record might be run. Nearly every city and town seems to host its own race these days, and as a result there are hundreds of races each year. But where exactly are the "fastest" courses?How fast is a marathon race course?When we talk about marathon courses, we mention how some are faster than others. The "speed" of a race course is likely a function first of the nature of the course. To put it another way, it is unlikley that a hilly course will produce fast times, and same goes for a course at altitude.Two other predictors of whether or not a marathon course will produce a fast time are the depth of the field and the presence (or absence) of pace setters. For example, marathons that can assemble large and competitive fields will create large potential for a fast (and maybe record) time. If they include pace setters the potential increases.Finally, the weather wil
Oscar Pistorius - should he be allowed to run? 2007-06-02 21:13:00 You may have seen the picture of the day for the last while has been one of Oscar
Pistorius, a South African Paralympic athlete, who runs on prosthetic limbs appropriately called Cheetahs.Pistorius has been in the news recently because he is a man on a mission - he wants to be the first person to compete in the able-bodied Olympic Games without legs! In order to do this, he would have to run an Olympic qualifying time (established by the IAAF, the governing body for athletics). That may not be an unrealistic target, for his best at the moment over 400 m is only about 1 second off this! He is the current world record holder for double-amputees, and won the Olympic 100 and 200 m titles at the Paralympics in Athens.The counter argument to all this is that the limbs he wears provide him with an unfair advantage, and the IAAF has stated that they do not consider it fair that he run in the Olympics unless it is proven that they do not give him some advantage.So what do we as scientists ma
The end of the Ethiopian era? 2007-06-02 20:47:00 Apologies for the delay between posts, it's been a crazily busy time for both of us. But we're back, and feature two interesting athletic/running related articles today, now that the IAAF season is well upon us. Also, with the Comrades Ultra-Marathon coming up shortly, check us out for some interesting pre-race science, predictions and the usual post-race fare.But we begin with one of the more intruiging news events of recent times - the "demise" of Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia. The Olympic and World 10 000 m champion, and 10 time world cross country champion is already among the greatest runners in history, all at the age of only 24.Yet the last few months have seen nothing but turmoil for the Ethiopian
. In a fascinating article, which you can read at the following link:http://allafrica.com/stories/200705210745.htmla Kenyan based newspaper reports that Bekele has lost all his power and no longer has the strength to even "lift up a table". It reports how his younger brother, Tari
African running dominance - is there more to come? 2007-05-22 02:03:00 We recently (11 May, Good read, check it out!) featured some stats on the African
runners in the City Marathons, and Jonathan showed how in the Boston and New York Marathons, the Africans had not in fact moved the event forward. The winning times over the last 30 years have NOT improved and so the classic American & European runner's excuse of "We can't compete with the Africans" seems to have been discredited. However, there may be some among you who were wondering about this, because it's a slight departure from the classic perception of the Africans as a dominant force in long distance running
. And that certainly is true, but not in the major city marathons. If you want to see just how the Africans have moved long distance running forward, you have to look at the world records, where the cry of despair from the non-Africans may actually have some validity!So this article looks at the world records for the 5000m, 10 000m and Marathon events, and uses this to predict that the n
How much should I drink during exercise? 2007-05-20 02:10:00 One of our great interests is fluid replacement during exercise. In fact, Jonathan got his PhD looking specifically at this question, and my own work included two studies on the effects of the heat on performance, so this is something of a life's work for both of us.So in the coming weeks, we'll give substantial attention to this question. To begin with, the most basic question of all - "How much should I be drinking when I exercise?"· The simple answer is to drink as much as your body tells you to! · This issue is a controversial one and there is a great deal of conflicting information on it. · However, what is undoubtedly true is that if you obey your thirst and drink only when thirsty, then you will be safe and it will not affect your performance at all. · The only time that dehydration becomes a risk is when you have restricted access to fluids, and so for that reason, if it is a particularly hot day, plan your route so that you will be
Choosing your running speed - a question from research 2007-05-17 21:54:00 Here is a question for all runners:When you go out for an 8 km training run, how do you know how fast to go? And if I told you to head out for a 16 km training run, would you run at a different speed? And how would you know what that speed should be? At first glance, these may seem to be a rather obvious questions, but once you begin to give them some serious consideration, they have quite profound implications for how you might think about the physiology of exercise. Here's another example: If you are about to start a 21 km race, the pace you set out at will be quite different compared to the pace you would start at in your weekly 5 km time-trial.Well, you are thinking, that's obvious. Of course you would start out slower, because if you started both at the same speed, by the time you reached the 5 km mark of the 21 km race, you'd be exhausted. But what I'm really asking is how does your body know how fast you should go? And when does it decide what that speed is?Perhaps it Read more:running
Cross Training for Runners 2007-05-17 02:06:00 What is cross-training? Cross
training refers to any form of training that differs from running activity – it therefore includes gym training (resistance training), swimming, aerobics/taebo, spinning, rowing, elliptical training and cycling. Cross training gained popularity with runners as a form of alternative training to reduce injury risk and improve overall whole body fitness. There is some rationale for believing that this may be true. Cross Training
to prevent injury? The primary reason cross training is beneficial is an indirect one, because it allows the runner to manipulate the load on the normally used muscles and joints without necessarily compromising fitness and training status. In other words, they can obtain benefits from running at the same time as relieving the workload on those muscles and joints that running focuses on. The risk of injury from excessive running is high specifically because these joints are chronically overloaded, and so cross training r Read more:Runners
Are the Africans really faster than the Americans? 2007-05-11 00:14:00 In the 1980’s the first Kenyan runners began entering (and winning) marathons in the USA. The first to win a major city marathon was Jon Nzau at Chicago in 1983. Next was Ibrahim Hussein in 1987 at New York and Boston in 1988, and finally Douglas Wakiihuri won London in 1989. In the 1990’s the Kenyans and their fellow East Africans seemed to win everywhere. Kenyan runners won Boston from 1991-2000, and five of the last six races. In Chicago they made it six of the past nine, while in New York East African runners have won seven of the last 10 races. During this time period many in the USA began to speak of a decline in American running performance. The running boom of the late 1970’s produced legends like Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar, and Dick Beardsley, all of whom won major city marathons and even set a few world records along the way. However the last Americans
to win major marathons were Greg Meyer (Boston, 1983), Dick Beardsley (London, 1981), and Alberto Salaz
Coaching corner - training advice for athletes 2007-05-03 02:43:00 At the Science of Sport, it's our mission to provide practical, realistic, and cutting-edge information and knowledge on running and cycling training to you. We want to provide the very best tips and advice to help you improve and enjoy your running and cycling performance. Whatever your question or concern, we aim to address it!So look out for our series of feature articles on training tips and techniques to make the most of your running, cycling, swimming and triathlon performances. Some of the topics we will cover are:Putting your training programme togetherConcepts and principles behind trainingHow to integrate speed work and higher intensity training into the training programmeDiet and nutrition for optimal performanceTechnology and your training - heart rate monitors, GPS, iPods, and other technological innovations and how you can make best use of theseHow to avoid overdoing it - signs and symptoms of overtrainingHill training, track workouts and tempo runsTraining injuries and Read more:corner
Shosholoza down but not out in Louis Vuitton Cup 2007-05-02 02:21:00 Wednesday was a tough day for South African sailing enthusiasts. . .Shosholoza faced the behemouth BMW Oracle in their first match race, but refused to be intimidated by the American boat's gargantuan budget and vastly experienced crew. Instead they started evenly and Shosholoza lead for over half the race, constantly putting pressure on the American boat to stay with them.As they started the second lap of the race course, the boats split----one to the left, one to the right side of the course. No one could see who had the advantage, and all had to wait until they came back together to see which side of the course paid off. Unfortunately for Shosholoza, BWM Oracle nudged ahead during their split. . .and with the American's superior boat and racing experience, that was all they needed to hang on for the win.In their second race against #2 Luna Rossa, Shosholoza never lead outright but stayed with the Italian boat all the way around the race course. They did not have speed to pull Read more:Louis
, Louis Vuitton
Training programmes - the key principle of overload 2007-05-01 19:25:00 Are you in a situation where you have been training dilligently for a while now, but have stopped seeing results? Perhaps you are new to this training thing and you haven't really got much idea of how to go about constructing your training programme? Or you find that as soon as you try to do any big distance or speed work, you break down injured? Well, then, read on....TRAINING PRINCIPLES 101: OVERLOAD AND RECOVERYA famous legend has it that Milo the Greek developed his super-human strength by lifting a young calf while he was still a young shepherd boy. Over time, as the calf grew into a bull, he continued to lift it, the result being that his strength increased in proportion to the size and mass of the bull he was lifting. This story is often quoted to illustrate what is perhaps the most important and foundational principle behind developing a successful training programme - the PRINCIPLE OF OVERLOAD.Basically, this principle states that in order to see progressive gains (in this ca Read more:overload
, Training
Australia - cricket's first dynasty? 2007-04-30 21:30:00 In America we seem to be obsessed with the concept of sporting dynasties. As soon as a team wins a couple of championships, or does well in the post-season, the whispers and murmurs begin. For a true example of how much we talk about this here, just search for "sports dynasty
" on Wikipedia!All the professional and collegiate level sports in the USA have their dynasties---even collegiate cheerleading, although we challenge anyone to name the school who has won 15 championships between 1985-2006. The more well known dynasties, the ones that even sports fans seem to know, include the NFL's San Francisco '49ers who in the 1980's won four Superbowls in nine years; the Los Angeles who won five NBA titles between 1979-1991; and Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls of the 1990's who won an incredible six NBA titles in eight seasons and have the best single season record ever at 72-10.The concept of a sports dynasty has not yet extended to cricket, though if it did, the Australia
n test and on
Coaching corner - our mission 2007-04-30 20:02:00 At the Science of Sport, it's our mission to provide practical, realistic, and cutting-edge information and knowledge on running and cycling training to you. We want to provide the very best tips and advice to help you improve and enjoy your running and cycling performance. Whatever your question or concern, we aim to address it!So look out for our series of feature articles on training tips and techniques to make the most of your running, cycling, swimming and triathlon performances. Some of the topics we will cover are:Putting your training programme togetherConcepts and principles behind trainingHow to integrate speed work and higher intensity training into the training programmeDiet and nutrition for optimal performanceTechnology and your training - heart rate monitors, GPS, iPods, and other technological innovations and how you can make best use of theseHow to avoid overdoing it - signs and symptoms of overtrainingHill training, track workouts and tempo runsTraining injuries an Read more:corner
Pics of the Day archive 2007-04-30 00:46:00 Australia vs. Sri Lanka Cricket World Cup Final29 April 2007Team Shosholoza30 April 2007Shosholoza vs. BMW Oracle3 May 2007Next picture here
Chinese marathon running 2007-04-28 03:30:00 Check out this article on Zhou Chunxiu after her victory in the London Marathon.It talks about her weekly training distance, a staggering 300 km a week! That is effectively one marathon a day, no rest! She says it's broken up into two sessions a day, covering about 50 km in total.One wonders how much influence the famous turtle blood has on her ability to sustain such high mileage, because physiologically, it is almost impossible. Of course, there are exceptions, and in a nation of a billion people, it's not impossible that one would be able to handle this. But, given the history and the legacy left by the Chinese
women of the early 1990's, I'm sceptical.Also, interesting how the Chinese government takes 40% of the appearance fees AND prize money to re-invest into future athlete development. It won't all be going to her development, because other Chinese athletes will never even smell the kind of money she earned, but it is an unusual system for handling professional athletes Read more:running
CWC Final - halfway update 2007-04-28 02:06:00 Right, so we're halfway through the CWC final, with Australia making 281-4, thanks to Adam Gilchrist's brilliant 149 off only 104 balls - the highest score ever in a World Cup Final
, and fastest 100 to boot.The first 10 overs were steady, only 46 (Australia's lowest score off 10 this whole tournament), but between 10 and 20, they were unstoppable - 91 runs scored, and it wasn't even a Power Play.I must admit (somewhat sheepishly) that I had been thinking that perhaps the time was right for Gilchrist to retire, he hasn't been the dominant force he used to be. It's often appeared to me that he's not been hungry to keep going, and as a result, was making a lot of 20's and 30's, never going on to make huge 100's. But I guess what better occasion to be hungry than a world cup final? And he rode his luck, but what a great innings.Match-winning? I think so, it will take a phenomenal innings from someone to beat that. And Sri Lanka's problem is that they have a lot of run-a-bal
Rain delays the start of the final 2007-04-27 21:01:00 So rain has delayed the start of the CWC Final. Let's hope they get 50 Overs a side in.But wouldn't it be ironic that a 7-week tournament comes to and end with a final that has to be shortened because of rain?So I see that Ponting has won the toss, and Australia will bat - so our prediction from earlier can be filtered - Australia to win by 60 runs!CheersR
The America's Cup - Old foes meet again 2007-06-25 03:47:00 Saturday marked the start of the America
's Cup. All the lead up over the past three and a half years has lead us to this moment, where the Defender's (Alinghi from Switzerland) once again face Emirates Team New Zealand in a rematch from 2003. In that contest Team New Zealand proved no contest to Alinghi, who proceeded to thump the Kiwi boat 5-0 in the best of nine series of racing. Dean Barker (the Kiwi skipper) has ensured that history will not repeat itself entirely by taking the second match from Alinghi on Sunday to even the score (Alinghi won the first match) 1-1.This America's Cup competition has been hailed as one that has brought sailing to the masses. The series of races leading up to the main event was covered far and wide by the international media and saw three countries (Germany, China, and South Africa) enter boats for the first time in the Cup's majestic history. But what exactly is this sport all about, and what predicts performance?In many ways America's Cup saili
More on Doping - Can it guarantee performance enhancement? 2007-06-25 02:09:00 Thanks to Luckylab and bikejenbike for their comments on the earlier post (Shadow of doping, 23 June). This post will address those comments.First, for a quick and easy (and disturbing and fascinating) read on the East German doping "machine" of the 1950's to 1990, read Faust's Gold by Steven Ungerleider (pic below).Luckylab asked in a comment about how much doping actually helps, while bikejenbike wondered how the smaller American swimmers actually beat the East Germans from time to time.One thing we touched on briefly was that we do not know the real effect of all the different performance-enhancing drugs. This would require loads of studies that investigate each drug individually, and also in conjunction with other drugs (since often they are taken in combo with each other). The ethical issues here are too numerous to list, and that is why this research remains largely unperformed. Having said that, however, see the previous post that looks at the article of Franke and Berendonk, Read more:Doping
, enhancement
, guarantee
Drugs work - but by how much? A look at doping and performance improvements 2007-06-24 02:41:00 Performance enhancing substances - do they work? And by how much? It's a relevant question, and I thought it would be good to have a look at the answers. I was going to write an article on the Ethiopian dominance of long distance running in the last ten years, but we've been receiving such thoughtful comments and questions from people regarding our posts on drug use in cycling that I thought it might be better to continue on this theme and look at just what a scientist makes of the prevalence of doping in sport. I also said I'd look at altitude training, and I will, but I'll do that tomorrow. For now, we keep going on doping.Yesterday LuckyLab asked how much of a difference doping actually made? And unfortunately, it's quite difficult to get hold of that information! As you can imagine, it's difficult enough to find out who is doping and with what, never mind trying to track their improvements in a controlled manner! And make no mistake - this information exists, because Read more:Drugs
A culture of doping in cycling? Anything that could go, must 2007-06-24 02:23:00 Yesterday (23 June), I wrote two posts about the ominous shadow of doping in cycling, with the Tour de France coming up. In one post, I gave the example of how Bjarne Riis, the winner of the 1996 Tour, recently admitted to doping. The problem is that he does not appear to be an isolated case, and even within that race of 1996, the top 4 riders all have some sort of history or track record of doping. The same goes for every single winner of the Tour de France since 1996 - either they are known drug users, or they are rumoured to have doped (with plenty of circumstantial evidence), or they are currently being tried (as in the case of Floyd Landis).And so I wrote that the "deeper you dig, the uglier it gets" for the sport of cycling. And in response to this, Lei and LuckyLab posted interesting comments on the use of EPO when altitude training would work (check them out in that post on the 23/6).So I thought it would be good to do a post on the culture
of cycling and why exactly it seems t
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