I CAN'T be the only one who has had to occasionally put up with mid-run conversations about “Strava segments”. For the few uninitiated readers, segments are running routes of varying lengths on the popular cycling and running activity-logging website, for which course records can be set.
It has led to what seems to me to be an obsession among some. The only course records (I wish!) or personal bests I want to set are in real races – not on a training day. Yet some are specifically targeting segment records – even if these are crazily short for distance runners, such as 30 seconds to one minute. Some have even been rumoured to do a run carrying racing flats which they put on specifically for their Strava segment attack!
While the occasional such attempt does no harm, it cannot be great to be regularly inserting such random sprints into your runs. Speedwork should be intervals and recovery should be exactly that – recovery.
Look out for a revolution in tech-related training, says Paul Halford
Mark Shearman
However, an even more recent technological craze, Pokemon, could create another change in how people run. In case you've been on another planet over the past few weeks, the latest version of this smartphone-based game allows players to track down and catch Pokemon who exist in a virtual world which is superimposed on to your phone via its GPS services. While I haven't played it as I'm a fair bit to the wrong side of 25, it's apparently pretty popular.