Moments
The “Sweaty Feet” Solution: Why Your Snow Socks Matter
Say goodbye to cold, clammy feet on the mountain. Discover why choosing the right snow socks matters, and how Lé Bent's merino bamboo blend helps wick moisture, resist odour and keep your feet comfortable all day long.
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TRAIL RUNNING — HOW TO TRAIN FOR HILLS
HOW TO TRAIN FOR THE COASTAL ASCENT ELEVATION By Vlad Shatrov It’s no secret that the Coastal Ascent course is challenging, but thats definitely a part of the reason people sign up and run this event. This particular course has you running into and around the Glenrock National Park which is located just south of Merewether beach in Newcastle. In terms of trail terrain it has plenty to offer including flowing fire trails, single track, technical terrain, sand, rocky coastal shorelines, some footpaths and ovals and HILLS. There are 7 main hills in the 25km event alone and just under 800 metres of elevation gain, so it’s a course that will take your breath away and also your legs — unless you have trained well for the hills. Lé Bent team trail runner and Runlab Coach Vlad Shatrov has put together these training recommendations that will improve your ability to cover hilly courses. Vlad also happens to be the Coastal Ascent race director, so he knows a thing or two about the course! One of the many hills that litter the Coastal Ascent course. Firstly, if you are relatively new to trail running or just running in general, the best thing you can do is gradually increase your overall running volume to a sustainable level to fit your lifestyle, mix up the intensity of your weekly runs and include a sound gym strength routine. Your gym work should specifically includes a focus on improving your core strength and functional and single sided leg strengthening exercises. Make sure the last 7-10 days before you take on the event are relatively easy. Now if your a serious runner, or someone thats been training for a little while and is really looking for training tips to take your running ability to the next level — particularly how to take on a hilly course like the Coastal Ascent — this is what I would recommend. Recommended Hill Training Techniques 1. Challenge yourself in your harder workouts. Sure a majority of run training should be done relatively comfortably, but when it’s time for a solid session it's important to push hard. 2. Include a functional leg strength session weekly into your training. Just make sure this isn't the day before you do a harder run. I like doing 20 minute sessions the same day as my long runs (after the run, later in the day). I program 50-60 minute strength sessions for my runners but there is really only about 20 minutes of the workout which is strength specific. 3. Practice hill repeats within some weeks of your training. It’s also important to be able to handle the load of running downhill too. That’s where relevant hill sessions and gym strength sessions play a key role, these will allow you to run up or down hills (or walk the really steep hills which is totally acceptable) but ensure you aren't too fatigued over the remainder of the race. One of my favorite running workouts for hills: I run a circuit that includes some short hills and is approximately 1.2km - 1.6km long, with the last 400 metres being relatively flat and therefore, very runnable. After a good warmup, I will run these efforts hard but especially focus on running the shorter hills steadily with smaller steps before increasing leg turnover and running the last 400 metres fast. I have about 2 minutes recovery between reps and ideally will run the circuit between five and six times. Vlad's pins give the impression he doesn't skip leg day in the gym... and neither should you! One of my favorite strength workouts for hills: One of the most beneficial leg strength training tips for improved hill running is to focus on endurance. I.e. lots of reps in 30 seconds with relatively light weight or sometimes even no weight. These should be done one leg at a time. It’s also important to include some core and stability exercises to mix up the training as these are the key powerhouse hill running muscle groups. You can check out a comprehensive training program for the Coastal Ascent, including the Lé Bent 50km over on the Coastal Ascent website.
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INSIDE AN ULTRA TRAIL RUN
Over the weekend, hundreds of pairs of Le Bent socks ran hundreds of kilometres through the Aussie bush… Whilst we hope our socks are always out and about, helping our athletes float over trails, last weekend was a special one in that it saw our ever expanding team of trail runners converge on the multiday Ultra-Trail Australia (UTA). The race that began in 2008 and had 160 entrants and barely 130 finishers has evolved into not just Australia’s biggest trail running event, but the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere and the second largest on the planet. This year the UTA attracted nearly 7,000 runners and over 12,500 spectators to cheer on the former as they battled not just each other but the challenging Blue Mountains world heritage listed landscape. Le Bent athlete and UTA Hall of Famer Brendan Davies on the home straight on Saturday. THE STATS: Ultra-Trail Australia – May 16-19, 2019 – Katoomba, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia Total runners: 6700 (50/50 male/female split) UTA100 – 1500 runners, sold out in 3 days UTA50 – 2100 runners, sold out in 3 hours UTA22 – 2100 runners, sold out in 22 hours UTA11 – 600 runners, new race distance for 2019 Injinji 1km-4-Kids – 400 runners We sat down with two of Le Bent’s finest ultra-trail runners and talked about what goes into competing in such a grueling event. We’ve divided up what we wanted to know (and what we think you’ll want to know) into some short clips below… Left to right: Le Bent sales manager Steve Walshe, runner Ben Duffus, runner Brendan Davies and Le Bent director Simon Blondel, pre-race. QUESTION 1 – TRAIL RUN SOCK SELECTION “I’m always in the lightweight socks to keep my feet warm.” – Brendan Davies QUESTION 2 – TRAIL RUN LAYERING “When running you do heat up really quickly so it’s good to be able to strip off when necessary.” – Ben Duffus QUESTION 3 – LONG TERM PREPARATION “From six months, or even the race last year, I could argue that I’m planning in my mind, how I’m going to time my year leading up to it and how other races are going to fit into that timeline.” – Brendan Davies QUESTION 4 – FOOD “When you’re training a lot, you’re eating a lot. I mean, my friends make fun of me because I don’t eat out of regular bowls; I eat out of family sized salad bowls.” – Ben Duffus QUESTION 5 – MENTAL TRAINING “When there are challenging training days that’s an opportunity to build up that mental grit. If it’s cold and wet outside, well it might be cold and wet on race day. If it’s hot and humid, well again, that’s a great opportunity to practice suffering.” – Ben Duffus QUESTION 6 – RACE LEAD UP “I tend to hide in my cave a little bit more. I stay away from all the excitement and stay off social media, all that kind of thing. Give myself plenty of distractions and try not to think about the race too much.” – Brendan Davies QUESTION 7 – EVE OF RACE/RACE DAY “I keep things routine. Tonight I’ll kick back on the couch, watch the footy, maybe have a beer and then go to bed the same time I usually go to bed.” – Brendan Davies QUESTION 8 – RACE TACTICS “That third quarter is when the going gets tough, you’re far enough in to be tired but you’ve got far enough to go for it to be still intimidating. So I really focus on nailing that third quarter.” – Ben Duffus QUESTION 9 – RECOVERY FOOD (BEER & PIZZA?) “I’m probably the first one lining up for a beer or if someone’s throwing a beer in my hand I’ll gratefully accept it.” – Brendan Davies QUESTION 10 – TIPS FOR FIRST TIMERS “Don’t go out too hard...” – Ben Duffus Beers are on us fellas! Congratulations to everyone who competed and to all of our Le Bent team for doing us proud as always. As for what Le Bent socks our guys trusted to compete in? Lucy Bartholomew, of course, ran in her signature Le Lucy sock, Brendan was in the Trail Light 3/4 Crew and Ben was wearing the Outdoor Light Mini. Race results: Ben Duffus – 1st UTA22 Brendan Davies – 9th UTA100 Lucy Bartholomew – 2nd UTA50 Vlad Shatrov – Leading 1st UTA100 but DNF (injury) Wes Gibson – 16th UTA22 Matty Abel – 49th UTA50 Paige Penrose – 1st UTA11 Michael Milton – 1957th UTA22 (Badass 1-legged paralympian) See more results.
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