COACH’S CORNER – THE IMPORTANCE OF MIXING IT UP, WITH ISOBEL ROSS

Kate Dzienis • September 30, 2021

Coach’s Corner is a feature for our AURA members, where qualified trained professionals provide you with advice and tips on improving and enhancing your ultra running performance.

Isobel Ross is a Level 2 Recreational Running Coach at Peak Endurance Coaching and accredited with Athletics Australia. She is also a UESCA certified ultra running coach, a Running Revolution certified coach and a qualified personal trainer. Isobel works with athletes of all levels at all distances and she is also the host of podcast Peak Endurance. Isobel is a 3-time Australian long distance mountain running representative at the World Championships with a best finishing place of 10th female. Twice Australian trail champion, she has won Six Foot Track marathon, run a sub-3-hour marathon, and won a 24-hour track race overall with a distance of 198.7kms.

The Importance of Mixing It Up

As ultra runners, it’s pretty clear we all love to run. And run. And run. However, there comes a point when running alone no longer elicits the training adaptions we are aiming for. The human body is always striving to achieve homeostasis; that is, a steady state within the body where all systems are working optimally. Although this sounds like a great achievement, this is actually the point at which we plateau. We want to constantly work to raise that level of homeostasis. Therefore, we need to mix our training up.

Let’s look at the different ways we can do this:

Cross training
Running different paces/terrains/surfaces/elevations

Cross training

There are many different forms of cross training that a runner can do. I will go over the ones that are the most beneficial.

Strength training: Anyone who has listened to my podcasts knows how much I advocate for runners to do strength work. Strength training helps to strengthen the ligaments, tendons and muscles in the areas being targeted. It also helps eliminate imbalances in the body (when we focus on one-legged exercises for instance). Both help with reducing the incidence of injury. Strength training obviously also helps to develop strength within the body. This is vitally important when we are getting towards the end of an ultra and the body starts to break down. Also, we all start to lose muscular strength from the age of around 30, so this is something we need to focus on not just for our running, but for our future health and quality of life.
Cycling: This could be on a road bike, mountain bike, gravel bike or stationary bike. I am biased towards mountain biking (MTB) because I used to race MTB before I was a runner. Road biking can be dangerous due to road conditions and other cars. Gravel biking is becoming increasingly popular and is good for those who may be worried about injuries with MTB. Stationary bikes are great for those who need to be at home for kids or can utilise them at gyms and thus saving on the cost of a bike. Cycling strength transfers incredibly well for running (sadly for cyclists it doesn’t go the other way). You will find an increase in quad and glute strength and fitness improvements without the pounding on the body from running. This is especially good if you are prone to injury, but it also gets the body out of homeostasis as it works to adapt to a new training stimulus.
Yoga/Pilates: I believe that there is more to yoga or Pilates than the purported stretching benefits. I believe its main benefits arise from increasing mobility and core strengthening. This is achieved through your practice getting you to make movements outside of the typical running movement pattern. Also, there is a lot of balance and one-legged positions that activate and strengthen your core. All of these are extremely beneficial for your running. And they definitely get you out of your comfort zone!

Run different paces/surfaces/elevations

Different paces: Too many runners head out for a run without a plan or purpose. Every run should have a purpose; recovery, endurance, VO2 work, Lactate Threshold building, etc. And these should be done at the right time within the program. Running at different paces throughout the week enables you avoid the dreaded ‘black hole’ of running. This is where you run your easy runs just a bit too hard (so it looks better on Strava perhaps??) which then leads to the inability to run your quality sessions hard enough. It took me a while to accept putting my easy runs on Strava (I was embarrassed to be seen running so slow) but I have learnt to accept it and not care (as much). I put all my energy into my quality sessions (and often walk/jog my recoveries). Ultimately this is making me (and will make you!) a better runner. And of course, not all quality sessions are equal. Depending what system you are targeting, means you will need to aim for different paces/rate of perceived effort (RPE). If you are running these at the correct paces you will need and look forward to the easy run days when you get to slow down, chill out and smell the flowers!
Different surfaces: It’s important to run on different surfaces: bitumen (preferably not concrete at all to be honest!!), dirt fire road, uneven technical trail, sand and grass. Just like yoga or Pilates getting you into different movement patters, so do different surfaces. The more uneven the surface, the more you engage those micro balancing muscles and develop overall core strength. Once again, it gets you out of homeostasis and keeps the body guessing and working hard to reach optimal performance on each surface. And it keeps life interesting!
Different elevations: Flat surfaces are great for easy and recovery runs, as well as to complete most quality sessions. Hilly terrain promotes leg strength and mental fortitude. And rolling terrain promotes stamina and strength. Even if you are training for a flat event, your body will benefit from the strength obtained from including hills. And the reverse holds true too. If you are training for a hilly/mountainous event and you only run hills, you will become slow and a bit of a ‘plodder’. Quality sessions on the flat keep up your leg speed and ability to pick it up when passing another athlete. And once, again, keeps the body guessing and adapting, as well as making it interesting.

Well, there you have it! It is so important to mix up your training program because you push your body to keep changing and adapting as it tries to reach homeostasis. Your running and overall strength will improve, your mental strength will increase, and you will have more fun along the way. Sounds like a winning strategy to me!

I would love to hear how you get on with some of these ideas. Email me isobel@peakendurancecoaching.com.au to let me know!

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AUTRA News Report 19-02-2025

By Kate Dzienis • February 19, 2025

The latest in race results, covering Cradle Mountain Run, City Run, Oscars 100 Hut 2 Hut and Yaberoo Trail Ultra.

Final 2024 Points Competition Results

By Alexis Oosterhoff • January 30, 2025

Results for the 2024 AUTRA Points Competition have been finalised, and are available on our Points Competition page. Full details of the top 10 (as shared on Facebook during January) are detailed below, and results for all participating AUTRA members can be found in the documents at the above link. It was a real battle throughout the year between our top two finishers, Phil Gore & Kevin "BK" Matthews, with both giving it their it their all at events, and through contributions to the community - volunteering at multiple events, and submitting articles to our monthly newsletter, Ultramag. They finished within 2km of total distance for the year (Phil on 1203.087km, and Kevin on 1205.510km), and it was only Phil's final volunteering effort on 6 Inch Trail Marathon in December that gave him the that very narrow victory. As you'd be aware from previous communications, this marks the end of the Points Competition. With trail running (of all distances) now incorporated into AU T RA's constitution, and after careful consideration of the costs of the competition payouts in it's current form, the committee felt it was time for it's retirement. This marks my seventh and final year of delivering the points competition to membership (2018-2024), after taking on the role from Cheryl Symons. It has brought me great joy in doing so, and I feel like I've had an opportunity to get to know so many of our members through seeing their race (and volunteering) performances over the years! I'm continuing in my role as the AUS/NZL statistician for DUV (from whom we shared the data for the points comp), and you can expect to continue to find your ultra-race result on their site. 1st Place - Phil Gore (WA) - 86 points Phil's achievements this year have included a massive 265.653km (and 2nd place) at the IAU 24h Asia & Oceania Championships, wins at the Red Dirt Backyard Ultra (33 laps), the Australian leg of Big Dog's Backyard World Team Championship (96 laps), and the Soochow/Taipei 24h Ultramarathon (270.826km). He also knocked out an easy (!) 72km at the Light Horse Ultra 24h in between supporting his amazing wife Gemma. Those two 24h wins netted Phil new Oceania 24h Open Male records, IAU Level 1 qualifiers, and pushed him to the top of Australia's 24h trophy board (with only the great Yiannis Kouros having run further). Phil topped-up his points by contributing one article to Ultramag, worked as an Event Director at Herdy's Frontyard Ultra, and volunteered at a further five events through the year. He finished on 86 points. 2nd Place - Kevin Matthews (WA) - 84 points Finishing in 2nd place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Kevin Matthews. He monstered his way through the year with finishes at Australia Day Ultra 100km, Delirious WEST 200mi, 24 laps at Herdy's Frontyard Ultra, 190km at Light Horse Ultra 24h, 23 laps at Birdy's Backyard Ultra, and also completed Feral Pig 100 miler, Sandman 50km and Six Inch 47km. And to top things off, he contributed five articles to Ultramag, and volunteered at five events. BK ran 1205km in Ultramarathon races this year, all of them AUTRA-listed, and surpassed 100 marathon finishes (including 51 Ultramarathons!) Kevin finished the year on 84 points, a massive 34 points ahead of our 3rd place finisher Sue Robertson. 3rd Place - Sue Robertson (WA) - 50 points Finishing in 3rd place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Sue Robertson. Sue completed the Ultra Series 100 miler trilogy of Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST, and rounded out her year with the Sandman 50km and Six Inch 47km races. She received 30 points from the racing at AUTRA-listed events, and was awarded a further 20 points by volunteering across eight events and contributing two articles to Ultramag, for a total of 50 points for the year. Thank you Sue! 4th Place - Margie Hadley (WA) - 47 points Finishing in 4th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Margie Hadley . She was the top-female finisher at both the No Time to Die Frontyard Ultra & Wild Dog Backyard Ultra, 2nd at Birdy's Backyard Ultra, ran 182km at the Australian 24h Track Invitational and placed 3rd at Coast to Kosci. Margie received 47 points in the competition 5th Place - Melissa Robertson (NSW) - 44 points Finishing in 5th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is NSW's Melissa Robertson. Melissa took out 1st place at Irrational SOUTH 200 miler, 2nd place at Lakes Trail Festival 100km, 1st place at Hume & Hovell 100 miler, 3rd place at Rumble in the Jungle and 6th place at Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko 100 miler! She also volunteered at the GNW 50km event, receiving 44 points in the competition! 6th Place - Aaron Young (WA) - 42 points Finishing in 6th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Aaron Young . Aaron finished in 1st place at each of the Ultra Series "Triple Crown" of 200 milers (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), 55 laps at Big Dog's Backyard World Team Championship, and rounded his year out with Feral Pig 100 miler. Aaron receives 42 points, just nudging ahead of Maree Connor (who also finished on 42 points) on a count-back 7th Place - Maree Connor (NSW) - 42 points Finishing in 7th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is NSW's Maree Connor. Maree had an outstanding year, achieving 2nd place with 221km (and an IAU Level 1 qualifier) at the IAU 24th Asian and Oceania Championships, 1st place at the Lakes Trail Festival 100km, 1st place with 67km at the Southern Sydney 6h race, and 1st place with 116km at the Narrabeen Allnighter 12h. Maree also competed at Spartathlon race this year (for which she contributed an article to the September Ultramag on her experience), receiving 42 points in the competition. 8th Place - Darren Linney (SA) - 41 points Finishing in 8th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is SA's Darren Linney . Darren completed 34 laps at No Time to Die BYU, 199km at the Adelaide 24h race, and 814km at the Australian 6 Day race, for a total of 1241km raced and 41 points . 9th Place - Tristan Cameron (WA) - 40 points Finishing in 9th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Tristan Cameron. Tristan completed the Ultra Series Triple Crown of 200 mile races (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), along with Feral Pig 100 miler, for a total of 1154km raced and 40 points. 10th Place - Jen Millum (WA) - 39 points Finishing in 10th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Jen Millum . Jen finished 1st at all three of the Ultra Series Trilogy of 100 milers (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), and was 2nd female with 35 laps at the Wild Dog Backyard Ultra. With a volunteer stint at the Yaberoo Trail Ultra, Jen finished the year with 39 points in the competition. To view the complete list of members who secured points in 2024 click here and then follow through to Points Summary under the 2024 tab. All winners have already been contacted, with cash prizes distributed for 1st - 7th places, and AUTRA Store vouchers sent for 8th, 9th & 10th.