My name is Sophie, I'm 29 years old and live in Cambridge, New Zealand. I am part of the NZ High Performance Triathlon Team targeting Olympic Qualification for Tokyo 2021. I started the sport of triathlon as a 16 year old in 2008, and have loved being in the High Performance team from then up until now. A big highlight for me was competing at the 2019 Tokyo Test Event. My training is a little different than many other triathletes. My coach and I are not big on volume, but prefer specificity and a "quality over quantity" approach. I train around 20hrs a week, including 4-5 runs, 4 rides, 4 swims, 2 gyms and 1 yoga session a week. My favourite sessions are speed sessions where I might do 300m reps as fast as I can run. I love the feeling of running fast and I find the most satisfaction from these sessions. I occasionally enjoy long steady runs but prefer to do these with company so we can have a chat and a laugh! Nothing beats a bit of banter with friends. My husband George and my friend Ryan Sissons paced me to a PB 5km last year of 16:37 which I found a lot more fun with them beside me!
By Nick Roger Clarke
THURSDAY MARCH 19, 2020 – 10km recovery run.
I approach a floodlit MCG which is fully aglow, revealing such a spectacle of electric brilliance that it sucks all the light from the night’s stars, from the CBD skyline, and from the Punt Road traffic lights, before blasting...
In our sport, recovery is very important as we put so much pressure on our body and we demand so much from it day after day. To be able to get what we want from our body, it’s important to care for ourselves, especially after doing a hard race or session that can leave the body feeling stiff and sore. Below are 5 recovery tips, as well as some convenient alternatives to have you feeling more ready for your next race or session.
Are you chasing that elusive sub 3hr marathon? Not sure exactly how to do it? Benita Willis (Oceania marathon record holder - 2hr22) has listed 12 key things to think about:
Be realistic – is it attainable for you this year? Sometimes you are better off taking smaller chunks...
From day one, Melbourne Track Club has been the home of some of Australia’s, and the world’s, best athletes. Founded by Nic Bideau, his group has grown bigger and better over the decades and been a successful passion project from day one. Many distance greats have gone before us and paved the way for all the current members today, and with our group being more inclusive than ever before, many athletes have had the opportunity to rub shoulders with Australia’s best. I have been a part of MTC since late 2013 when I decided to move from college in Florida back to Australia. I have been lucky enough to have trained with many of the amazing athletes that have come and gone over the years. Today I thoroughly enjoy training, traveling and competing with a such strong group of athletes and personalities that make this group a fun and supportive environment to be amongst.
There are many different ways to approach race tactics. No two races are the same, and depending on the type of runner you are, there will be a certain style of race execution that is best suited to you. They key is to try a range of different tactics and work out what feels right. There are front runners who like to lead the whole way or be close to the front, kickers who like to be at the back and finish hard late, runners who like to sit mid pack, and versatile athletes who who can do it all. Working out what is best for you is the key.
The Commercial Hotel in Kerang, a rural town in Victoria’s Mallee region, is as unlikely a site for a High-Performance Training Centre as you could find. Yet it may have a claim to being Australia’s first such facility.
Since 2007, I have started every year with a training camp at Falls Creek, with the only exception being the start of 2020 where I wasn’t able to make it up there due to the bushfires. The start of 2021 was back to normal operations however, and I was...
Regular readers will know that this column loves the annual rankings lists.
If there’s one thing better than watching a year’s athletics unfold around the world, it’s reading about how respected observers of the sport rate the way things have gone. Whether it is done by popular vote or detailed...
By Ryan Gregson
Post the 2020 European athletics season, the MTC athletes who were in Europe competing needed to get home after what was overall a successful campaign. This wasn’t as easy as it seemed though. We were trying to come home in October, however when we were looking at flights in September, news reports mentioned that there were 25,000 other Australians who were also trying to come home. This number, on top of the fact that there were limited flights going to Australia that had limited seats available due to each city having a passenger entry quota, it took us a couple of weeks to be able to get a flight home.
