On this month-to-month article sequence, ultrarunner, race director, and coach Gabe Joyes solutions reader questions on something and all the pieces working. Be taught extra about this ask-the-athlete column, and you should definitely fill out the shape beneath to submit your questions for a future article!
On this article, Gabe solutions questions on path tremendous footwear, consuming for optimum working, and planning race schedules within the period of lotteries. Plus, a working trend query!
Gabe’s Tip of the Month
Make racing low stress. Touring with an enormous group of individuals or having an infinite crew at an assist station with folks wearing unicorn costumes generally is a tremendous enjoyable group expertise, however extra folks imply extra personalities, moods, and must handle — even when all these folks love you and are wonderful. I lately raced the Lifeless Horse 50 Mile with simply the assist of my 13-year-old daughter, and it was a refreshing steadiness of enjoyable companionship and ease. I can’t show it, however I imagine the great vibes contributed to serving to me obtain a brand new 50-mile PR!
Holding it easy and enjoyable on the 2025 Lifeless Horse 50 Mile. Photograph: Gabe Joyes
Highway Versus Path Tremendous Footwear
What’s the precise distinction between among the newer light-weight path and gravel tremendous footwear and a street working tremendous shoe? — Julian
Because it feels like you might have already seen, Julian, not all that a lot! To be honest, lots of the speedy carbon-plated path footwear available on the market have some kind of building to make them extra steady, however steady here’s a relative time period. In comparison with street footwear, this sometimes means a wider base, barely stickier rubber, and a bit extra aggressive lugs.
From my very own private expertise, I’ve discovered that these speedy footwear are most likely solely good for filth street working and aren’t actually acceptable for the paths — at the very least in my space in Wyoming. In case your trails are extra like a buffed-out strip of filth, then they could be just right for you, but when your trails require any kind of hopping round or plyometric-type motions, then I’d advocate sticking to an precise path shoe. There isn’t a level in sporting a mega-fast shoe on trails in the event that they really feel wildly unstable and make you tiptoe round with low confidence, as that actually received’t make you any quicker! Anecdotally, I’d additionally say that sporting carbon-plated footwear for lengthy runs, races, or regularly in coaching appears to place an actual pressure on tender tissues within the toes.
So why put on carbon-plated path tremendous footwear? Simply as street tremendous footwear have lowered marathon occasions, path tremendous footwear are quick and do have a pleasant bounce to them. If you wish to really feel like you might be flying over filth, or in case you are chasing a 50k PR on a easy course, then these kinds of footwear can undoubtedly assist make that occur.
“Path” tremendous footwear in motion on mellow Wyoming filth street. Photograph: Gabe Joyes
Consuming Patterns and Timing
I at all times thought that the suitable technique to eat was to not overthink it and ate the identical issues day in and day trip. Nonetheless, after a few enterprise journeys induced irregular days of consuming, I seen how a lot better I carry out if I overeat the night time earlier than my morning long term. What’s the finest method? — Sami
A number of years in the past, I grossly overate cookies, desserts, and just about all the pieces at a vacation occasion with prolonged household, and was pleasantly shocked to set a half-marathon PR on a mere coaching run the subsequent day. My coach had a very good chortle about this with me saying, “Generally an over-abundance of energy generally is a excellent factor!”
Your abdomen is a superb reservoir for vitality as effectively, and I repeatedly begin each long term feeling a bit uncomfortably full for the primary hour. To a sure extent, I might say it is sensible to match your consuming together with your exercise stage — if you will run large, you then had higher eat large!
It’s vital to watch out right here. This recommendation doesn’t imply to starve your self on lower-activity days. Your physique wants many energy simply to operate correctly on a day-to-day foundation, even with out train, and there’s a strong probability your metabolism remains to be larger than the common particular person’s if you happen to run repeatedly. You do not want to earn your carbs both, as they’re vital for mind and physique operate, even on relaxation days.
From a efficiency and coaching perspective, there’s restricted to no profit to fasted runs, and I don’t advocate them. It’s fairly easy — well-fueled working is healthier working, and higher working is healthier coaching.
Vacation cookies make wonderful working gas. Photograph: Gabe Joyes
Embracing Lottery Uncertainty
How do you determine a race season schedule when a lot of the racing calendar is now dominated by races that require a lottery for entry? — Kaley
I do know you imply, Kaley, because the Hardrock 100 lottery has dominated my life each late autumn since 2013. My children have even executed comically weird pagan-like dances round a “exhausting rock” to extend our lottery odds. It’s unclear whether or not or not this has truly been useful [Editor’s Note: Of course it’s helpful!]
Lotteries do certainly finish in disappointment for most people, however that doesn’t imply your path racing season must be a wash both. There at all times appears to be extra new and wonderful occasions in essentially the most stunning of locations! I often run about 4 to 5 races or occasions per 12 months, and by occasion, I imply some kind of objective or journey which will or will not be a race. If I’m going to indicate as much as a beginning line, I wish to be in good kind, so I’m cautious to unfold exhausting efforts out all year long. Often, that appears like one winter occasion, one spring race, one or two summer season races, and often some kind of autumn occasion as effectively. On condition that define, I provide you with just a few races that match into every time slot and provide you with an “A” checklist, a “B” checklist, and so forth. Relying on how the lotteries shake out, I regulate the checklist accordingly.
Right here is an instance of what my summer season checklist would possibly appear like:
| Season | “A” Record | “B” and “C” Choices |
| Winter | HURT 100 (lottery) | RUFA 24 hours |
| Early Summer time | Extremely Path Snowdownia | Scout Mountain 100 |
| July | Hardrock (lottery) | Ouray 100, Excessive Lonesome 100 (lottery) |
| September | TDS | Dragon’s Again Race, IMTUF 100 |
| Late Fall | Idaho journey run | Yellowstone journey run |
The group on the Excessive Lonesome 100 lottery occasion. Photograph: Jordan Chapell
Vogue Befuddlement
Why do runners put on tank tops and arm heaters? — Eszter
Some doable solutions for you, Eszter:
Most likely the obvious motive for this trend phenomenon is that so many runners have extremely over-developed shoulder and higher arm muscular tissues that it’s troublesome to include them in an ordinary working t-shirt.
The human armpit is thought for releasing huge quantities of warmth and odor — maybe this ethereal trend combo has prehistoric origins? May it’s that some people are subconsciously making an attempt to undertaking their aroma and heat outward in hopes of attracting a possible mate?
Clearly, you possibly can combine and match sleeve and shirt colours, patterns, and supplies to create an irresistibly tremendous cute race day outfit. Tremendous cute undoubtedly means tremendous quick.
Some corporations’ advertising departments have led us to imagine that if you happen to add a layer of cloth to your arms, that by some means that can preserve you cooler in sizzling climate. I’m going to take this recommendation a step additional and put on no cloth on my arms all winter lengthy as a result of I don’t need my arm heaters to by accident make me too chilly in January.
The truth that a runner would possibly start an early morning race or exercise barely chilled after which have to rapidly ditch a layer as their temperature warms up appears too apparent and overly simplistic, and subsequently can’t be the right reply.
I apologize for not having a clear-cut reply for you, Eszter, as this one will go into my file of unsolved mysteries.
Your writer, making an attempt to resolve the arm heaters and tank high thriller on the 2019 Leadville 100 Mile. Photograph: Quinn Carrasco
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