We hang out with Alison John-Baptiste

Hello!

ISSUE 148 || APRIL 2022 A few years

We couldn’t have done it without…

Emma Kirk-Odunubi Emma is a sports scientist &

THE TEAM

EDITOR Esther Newman SENIOR ART EDITOR Alex Duce

LIFESTYLE

Headlines || People || Food || Kit ||

PUTPERIOD EDUCATIONON THETIMETABLE

A new study proves the link between period education and physical activity in girls

Raising awareness of RED-S

Pippa Woolven, a Team GB distance runner, is

FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS JOIN RUNNERS TO TACKLE WOMEN’S SAFETY

F emale officers from the Metropolitan Police have

STRENGTH WORK LOWERS RISK OF DEATH

New research from Tohoku University Graduate School of

This month we love...

SENSORY RETREATS DIVINE GLOW SELF-HEATING FACE MASK £15(boxof3),

NEW GEAR

We can’t take our eyes off those juicy HOKAs -can you?

Look after my muscles to keep running healthy and happy?

Running is a high impact sport that puts a great deal of stress on your muscles. How can you limit damage and injury?

HEALTH

The latest nutrition, beauty and health headlines. Because running doesn’t end at your feet

Lia Fyles

For Lia Fyles, the race director of the London Landmarks Half Marathon, running is an important part of her life, both inside and outside of work

FUEL

A double dose of turmeric-flavoured health news, a trio of vegan protein sources and two sweet treats to fuel and recover

All joking aside…

LIFE COACH Laura Fountain is a running coach,

MY BEST RUN

Kate Clarke, a mum of two and military wife, recently relocated to Scotland where she’s discovered some beautiful hills to train on

Events

BMW BERLIN MARATHON If you thought your chances

Should I travel to an international marathon or stick to a local race?

2022 marks the return – hopefully – of pre-pandemic travel opportunities, and the option of travelling abroad to race again. Should you stay or should you go?

INJURY CLINIC

WHO IS EMMA? Emma is a sports scientist

“I DON’T THINK I WOULD HAVE DONE LOVE ISLAND IN THE FIRST PLACE WITHOUT HAVING RUN LONG DISTANCES”

It’s been a busy few years for LoveIsland competitor, Priya Gopaldas. She’s managing to juggle ultrarunning with her medical studies and the aftermath of a summer in the spotlight. She tells us how running helps her cope

How to... RUN A MARATHON

Whether you’re tapering ahead of a spring race or toying with the idea of signing up for an autumn one, our complete guide busts marathon myths and maxes out on motivation

PHYSICAL PREPARATION

You’d think a marathon training plan would just be run after run after run but no… it’s a bit more complicated than that

THE DAY BEFORE

Be prepared, eat a lot and rest. The day before the big one is not the time to pound the high streets looking for retail therapy or sightsee a new city

The big day

The culmination of months of training, the day you’ve been looking forward to and the reason for all that hard work. Now go out and enjoy it!

Mental preparation

The main thing to remember when you go

RECOVERY

Something that’s left off marathon training plans but is very much part of the process: what’s next once you’ve crossed the finish line?

boobydoo

Having a well-fitting bra is crucial to our enjoyment of running. Here’s how one company is helping us all find the right bra

Running mates

Because we run better together

Rethink what you throw away

The darker, outer leaves, stems and the peel

BLACKPOOL FREEDOM RUNNERS

This free-to-join club prides itself on its inclusivity and is open to all ages and abilities

Your questions answered

Where to run wild in the UK, tips for those tempted to tri, and the best recovery drinks. Plus, how to take the hell out of hills (spoiler: there’s no miracle cure)

Win! ASICS KIT WORTH £300!

In our brilliant competition, you can win £300 to spend on the ASICS kit of your dreams!

DIARY

If you’re reading this on a cold day in April, and you’re dodging showers to get a run in, we have an idea. Check out this collection of summer races, book a couple and start dreaming of those hot summer runs. They’re just around the corner, we promise. See you on the start line – and don’t forget the SPF 50!

Penny Forse

Penny Forse competed for Team GB in the 1976 Olympics at the 1500m, and still runs at the top of her age group today, aged 72

COACH

New! See page 44 Running drills || Marathon

Running Drills

If you’ve ever watched athletes warming up ahead of a race, you might have seen them doing those weird hops and skips and leaps and wondered if that’s something you should have a go at yourself. Although you may feel a bit like you’re auditioning for Monty Python’s Ministry of Silly Walks, once you get used to running drills, they can be a powerful tool in your armoury as a runner to improve power, speed, form and efficiency

DRILLS

When you incorporate drills into your running schedule, you will begin to notice a difference in your running and after a few weeks of doing them at the start or end of your run, you should end up feeling a bit faster, more coordinated and much stronger. Let’s drill down into the detail!

MARATHON BASE TRAINING

If you’ve been inspired by the spring marathon action and are hoping to run an autumn marathon, you might be eager to kickstart your training. But with so many months still to go, it’s too early to jump into your marathon training plan. That’s what base training is here for

INTERMEDIATE & ADVANCED TRAINING PLANS

Choose whichever plan most resembles your current running in Week 1 and go from there

Hillary Allen

Ranked first in the prestigious Skyrunning World Series in 2017, Hillary was then involved in a devastating accident which threatened her running future

KIT

Shoes || Clothes || Tech

ESSENTIAL KIT

NEW RELEASE SHOES Spring into spring with these bouncy

BOOTCAMP

Natural obstacles || Hip strength workout || Perfect

NATURAL OBSTACLE RUNNING

Obstacle running isn’t all about scrambling over walls and commando-crawling under nets. Get out in the great outdoors and tackle nature’s own obstacles

Strong hips & cast iron core

Runners are often told to focus on their footstrike but the truth is that obsessing about that alone can miss the mark and cause other problems. This issue, we’re shifting our focus upwards to our hips, where the stride begins

Knee stretch – side lying quad stretch

Did you know that, for every pound you weigh, your knees have to absorb four times that amount of impact when you walk and even more when you run?

BALANCE

Strong bones || Recipes for runners || Life

STRONG BONES

How well do you know what lies beneath? As with everything to do with running, it’s not until something goes wrong, that we begin to investigate – but with our bones, it’s worth becoming an expert long before that happens…

BONE FAQS

Ann Clare, physiotherapist at MBST UK, answers our questions about bones

WORKOUT SNACKS

These brilliant recipes deserve a gold medal. Not

Kimberley Morrison

Kimberley , an INCUS Performance ambassador, is a professional triathlete from Norfolk who competes over the half and full Ironman distance

Forestry England

forestryengland.uk/forest-runner

GREAT RUN

GREATRUN.ORG

The National Running Show

www.nationalrunningshow.com

NEXT ISSUE OF Women’s Running

ASICS

British Red Cross

redcross.org.uk/privacy https://donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/disaster-fund

Locket Loves

www.locketloves.com

PODO

www.podo.london

Yeo Valley Organic

Women’s Running Plus+

RUNNERSNEED

RUNNERSNEED.COM

Healthspan Elite

www.healthspanelite.co.uk

Women’s Running Plus

shop.womensrunning.co.uk WOMENSRUNNING.CO.UK/MAR22WRP