By Michael Beisty
Mature distance runners could be excused for thinking you only have to concentrate on high quality speed work to offset the impacts of aging on distance running performance. Certainly, a lot of the contemporary literature supports regular fast running as a means to reduce the impact of...
Written by Michael Beisty
Disclaimer: Content herein does not constitute specific advice to the reader’s circumstance. It is only an opinion based on my perspective that others may learn from.
Anyone of any age who engages in running and related exercise should be in tune with their body and seek medical...
Written by Michael Beisty
Disclaimer: The author is not a qualified medical practitioner or accredited coach. The information provided is not intended as medical advice or to replace advice given by trained medical or allied health professionals or qualified coaches. Content herein does not constitute specific advice to the reader’s...
Lifetime runners are a rare breed. I certainly was not able to manage it, the selfishness of the commitment dousing the fire of competitive desire and the level of dedication that lifetime running entails. Though a flicker remained through midlife, primed to become a raging inferno once I was ready again. I have come back to running, and I will not, cannot, let it go. This may sound melodramatic, and it is, quietly so, representing the flourish of commitment to a running life that faltered and is now renewed.
Written by Michael Beisty
Joanne Cowan’s story is one of persistence underpinned by a love of running that has never been extinguished. Though primarily a road runner, and specialising in the marathon, Jo competed in a range of distances on the track, road and cross country. A late bloomer, Jo...
A column by Michael Beisty
I started running on 20 December 1970, six days prior to my 12th birthday. On the same day, my mother started jogging to lose weight. I joined Glenhuntly Athletics Club, my father's club. At that time Trevor Vincent (club captain) was on a recruitment drive. ...
Anyone of any age who engages in running should be in tune with their body and seek medical advice before embarking on any intensive activity (including changes to said activity) that may unduly extend them. This is critical should the aspiring athlete have underlying medical conditions and/or ongoing health issues requiring medication.
A column by Michael Beisty
Distance running is full of untold stories borne out of connections between people, between countries, between competitors, and built on effort. This is one such story, steeped in the 1960s. Retold and written from the perspective of a loving son it is undeniably biased by...
Margert Beardslee’s story is not all flash and glamour. Known by many ‘old hands’ as Margaret Ricardo, she commenced running as a young girl, in what I would call a Ground Zero period of women’s distance running in New South Wales (NSW). Women’s participation during the 1970s was in its infancy, a small appendage to a male dominated competitive activity.
OPPs are the glue that holds everything together as the mature distance runner faces the inevitable setbacks that will occur. They are the bedrock for determination, for it is all too easy to give in or give up.
