The secret sauce of 6-star finishers, results from Vasai Virar Marathon, RunStrong training plan, Gout Gout Breaks Australian 200m record and much more
#WhatsUpThisWeek?
Watch as Kartik dives into the stories of two accomplished six-star finishers from the Indian running community at #GeeksonFeet
The World’s Greatest Stretch improves flexibility and mobility know how to do it #WOW
Satara’s Kalidas Hirave Wins Men's Full Marathon at Vasai Virar Marathon, this and more at #RunSTRONG
Happy Reading!
#GeeksPoll
Mumbaikars, you had a tough weekend, deciding to select one between two of the best races in the city.
Imagine these iconic races (HM category only) happening on the same day, which one would you choose to run, and why?
Last week’s poll results on finish-line emotions are here.
#WoW - World’s Greatest Stretch
The World’s Greatest Stretch improves flexibility and mobility in key areas like the hips, hamstrings, and spine, enhancing stride efficiency and posture for runners. It is a dynamic warm-up, for optimal running performance.
How to do?
Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.
Take a big step forward with your right foot, lowering into a lunge. Your right knee should be bent at 90 degrees, and your left leg extended behind you.
Bring both hands to the ground inside your right foot, keeping your back flat.
Rotate your torso and reach your right arm upward, pointing to the ceiling while keeping your left hand on the ground. Hold for a moment, feeling the stretch through your spine and chest.
Lower your right arm, slightly shift your weight, and straighten your right leg to stretch your hamstring.
Shift your weight forward into the lunge position, step your right foot back, and return to standing.
Repeat the stretch on the other side.
@Geeksonfeet- Let’s Talk Running: Six-Star Stories
Watch as Kartik dives into the stories of Deepa Nayak and Vikram BJ, two accomplished six-star finishers from the Indian running community. From their first marathon experiences to earning the coveted Abbott World Marathon Majors Six Star Medal, this episode is a source of inspiration, insights, and actionable tips for runners of all levels. Link
#RunStrong Training Plans
We are happy to announce the first public release of our training plans. We have a lot of questions about what is a pace and how can we get to know individual paces.
Identify your paces by clicking on your race, and add your current race time and a realistic future goal time.
#RunSHORTS
Vasai Virar Marathon: Kalidas Hirave Wins Men's Full Marathon
Kalidas Hirave who hails from Pune clinched victory in the men's full marathon at the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation Marathon in Mumbai, narrowly missing the course record by just five seconds. Hirave completed the race in 2:18:19, securing a prize of ₹3 lakh. Pradeep Singh Chaudhary finished second, finishing just five seconds behind Hirave, while two-time winner Mohit Rathore came third with a timing of 2:19:06. The men’s half-marathon saw a photo-finish for the top two spots with Rohit Verma of the Navy piping Nitesh Rathva by a mere 1 second. Remarkably, the top five runners beat the course record of 1:04.37 set by Anish Thapa in 2019 by a huge margin and also registered their personal bests. Verma got Rs 2 lakh as prize money.
Sonika, a farmer’s daughter from Haryana and a Railway employee, won the women’s half-marathon with a timing of 1:13.22. It is not only a course record but also her personal best. The old record stood in the name of Ujala with 1:13.33 that she set in 2022. Bharti, also of Haryana, stood second with 1:13.51 while Sakshi Jadyal was third with 1:14.51. The amateur race saw over 5,500 runners, with half marathon being the prominent race category seeing over 2300 runners crossing the finish line. Read more here
Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata: Sharp rise in 25K and 10K runners
The Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata 2024 edition will see over 20,500 runners lacing up towards the start line. The ninth edition of the race will have 20,537 runners, the highest ever. The number was 17,557 in 2023. Over 60 percent of the total participants will run either 10km or 25km. In the first few editions, the percentage of runners in the 10km and 25km segments taken together would be less than 40 percent as per Procam, the organizer of this race which also organizes the prestigious Tata Mumbai. The 10K Open segment, including the Police Cup, will see 7,950 runners; the 25K (including the elite runners and army contingent running for the Vijay Diwas celebrations) will see 4,765 runners. The 10K Open and Police Cup run will be flagged off at 5.30 am. The 25K Elite race will start at 6.30 am, followed by the 25K Amateur and Vijay Diwas runs at 6.32 am. The race, which starts and ends on Red Road, runs past some of the iconic landmarks of Kolkata. The race will reportedly see some changes in the course, primarily aimed at making the course faster, by reducing the number of u-turns in an already flat course. Read more here
Sprinting Prodigy Gout Gout Breaks Australian 200m Record
Sixteen-year-old sprinting sensation Gout Gout shattered a national milestone at the All-Schools Championships in Brisbane, breaking a 56-year-old 200m national record set by Peter Norman. Gout clocked an electrifying 20.04 seconds, narrowly eclipsing Norman's legendary time of 20.06 seconds set at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
This remarkable feat also set a new Oceania record and catapulted Gout to second place on the under-18 all-time list, just behind American Erriyon Knighton’s world record of 19.84 seconds. He also recorded a wind-aided 10.04 seconds in the 100m the previous day, followed by a legal 10.17 seconds—an Australian under-18 record. Read more here.
Race Calendar
We have revamped our race calendar with everything you need to know about the race, route, experience, and much more. We have added information about major races and we need the help of the community to make it further robust. Thus we invite runners to share their experiences related to race routes and other information that will benefit runners.
Next 6 Months:
Walkaroo Coimbatore Marathon - December 15, 2024
Tata Steel Kolkata 25K - December 15, 2024
FreshWorks Chennai Marathon - January 5, 2025
Search and find races using our Race Finder at geeksonfeet.com/races.
#TipOfTheWeek - Tibialis Anterior for Heel Strikers
For runners specifically, strengthening of the tibialis anterior is an important consideration, particularly for those who are heel strikers.
The tibialis anterior is the muscle on the front of the shin.
It works eccentrically at initial contact to control the foot and then concentrically during the swing phase to prepare for the next foot strike.
Heel strikers place a lot of demand on this muscle.
Strengthening the tibialis anterior can help reduce pain in this area and improve running mechanics.
Include dorsiflexion exercises to strengthen the tibialis anterior.
#TriviaOfTheWeek - “180 spm” Cadence - origins of the magic number
The now-famous "180 spm" cadence benchmark comes from legendary running coach Dr. Jack Daniels. During the 1984 Olympics, Daniels meticulously observed the stride rates of elite middle-distance and long-distance runners, timing their footfalls per minute.
Daniels discovered a striking consistency among the world's best athletes: nearly all of them ran at or above a cadence of 180 steps per minute, regardless of their speed or running event. This pattern spanned distances from the 800 meters to the marathon.
While the number "180" has taken on a near-mythical status, Daniels himself noted that it’s a general guideline, not a strict rule. Variations occur based on individual biomechanics, leg length, speed, and other running conditions.
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Contributors to this edition: Aditi Pandya, Karthik Nadar, and Aravind Yarra