Advice

Reclaiming Running

March 1, 2019 Ula Krajinska

This article discusses eating disorders. If you are affected by anything mentioned here, you can find support links at the bottom of the page. My name is Ula and I am in my second year at King’s studying nursing, as well as being a committee member for King’s Athletics & XC as welfare secretary. I am a long distance runner and am currently training for Edinburgh Marathon in May this year, raising money for the eating disorder (ED) charity BEAT. I have always been active and participated in sport from […]

Advice

World Mental Health Day

October 10, 2018 Jack Dickenson

What if there were an illness affecting a quarter of UK students? You can imagine the reaction: outcry, enquiries, the search for a cure and so on. At the very least, you would hope the illness gets adequate publicity and that those suffering get the support they need. One illness often mentioned in relation to students is meningitis. A nasty bacterial infection, it can result in hearing loss, kidney problems, loss of limbs, and in extreme cases, death. Freshers are now vaccinated against 4 bacterial strains, and there are ample […]

Advice

Running to recovery – beating my eating disorder.

March 1, 2018 Catriona Rennison

This week is Eating Disorder Awareness Week: an entire week dedicated to raising funds and awareness for one of the most common, but misunderstood mental health conditions. Today is also University Mental Health Day. Below, I share my story, and how sport helped me to overcome it. I’ve tried to keep it positive, but please don’t read it if you think it may be triggering. At the bottom is a list of helplines and support resources if you, or anyone you know, is struggling. “You are lucky to be here”. […]

Advice

A Tribute to Altitude Training

September 28, 2017 Daniel Woodburn

Altitude tents; elevation training masks; training programmes with names like ‘Airfit’; shots of concentrated beetroot juice taken in conjunction with training and hours before a race… These days if one wishes to get a legal edge when competing, there are many options to choose from. How effective are they? I’ll leave that for you to decide.
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Advice

High-tech running

February 15, 2017 Dan Richards

My first mass participation race was in 2005, the British 10k race in central London. I didn’t know much about running back then and I certainly didn’t have any tech, just a pair of Nike Free Run’s and bags of enthusiasm! My senses were on high alert with the various sounds and wafts of deep heat spray. People had bottles of homemade energy drinks and gels, and were talking about the route and expected completion times. I remember the shuffling sounds of people and the excited conversations taking place all […]

Advice

Off the beaten track

February 3, 2017 Dan Richards

I am a keen sprinter and will probably always claim to be. Roughly 3 years ago though, I was accidentally exposed to ‘trail running’ and since then I have become hooked! Trail running gives you a variety of terrain, scenery, people and awesome locations. Most importantly, the pain and monotony of training is replaced by feelings of freedom and euphoria, assuming you’re doing it right! True trail running can be found worldwide in large mountain ranges such as the Alps, but there are a few entry level routes in easy […]

Advice

How to train for a half marathon

December 11, 2016 Rahil Sachak-Patwa

Whether you’re an experienced runner or just just starting out, the half marathon is a distance which requires some specific training. A race of 13.1 miles is a long way and your preparation in the weeks and months beforehand should reflect this. The physical toll that running a half marathon has on your body should not be underestimated. The last few miles can be gruelling and the race is often just a case of desperately trying to maintain your pace until the end after an optimistically quick start. When training […]

Advice

Run Safe

November 25, 2016 Lucy Patchett

Earlier this month, tragedy hit the sports community as two young, aspiring athletes were killed while using a pedestrian crossing during a night time training session with their club in Hampshire. Long-distance runners Stacey Burrows, 16, and Lucy Pygott, 17, had followed the instructions of their club leaders to ensure they used the pedestrian crossing safely, but unfortunately that was not enough. This cautionary tale reminds runners everywhere of the dangers of the road. Runners must be careful as winter approaches and the days become darker earlier. All we can […]

Advice

Injury Anxiety: the path to recovery

October 25, 2016 Sophie House

All athletes experience injuries from time to time. But the thought of being injured, and taking time out from our sport, often evokes a hell of a lot of frustration, self-doubt, and anxiety. So, besides the obvious physical pain of injury, we are often left feeling heartbroken and a little bit empty too, torn away from our love affair by shin splints. There are plenty of incredibly useful articles out there about how to recover physically from sports injuries; from stretching to strengthening techniques, or ice and elevated resting. Many of […]

Advice

The Mindset of a Runner

October 16, 2016 Rahil Sachak-Patwa

At the elite level, there is a nature versus nurture debate in long distance running. Specifically, the question many people ask is, “why are East African runners so good?” Although many scientists have tried to answer this question, the running community is still unsure on the whole. Geneticists have shown that there are ‘athlete genes’, which predispose some people to be better runners than others, for instance determining how much athletes benefit from training. All thing considered though, we are all genetically very similar. If most people have the ability to […]