tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/marathons-18303/articlesMarathons – The Conversation2024-01-01T14:50:37Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2169792024-01-01T14:50:37Z2024-01-01T14:50:37ZWhy some amateur athletes are giving up on smartwatches<p>Measuring the number of steps you take every day; tracking your heart rate, your pace or average ascent while jogging; memorizing the total distance you cycle over the course of a year and sharing it with an online community. These practices have become commonplace in the world of sport, even for amateurs.</p>
<p>This digitization of physical activity is unfolding against the backdrop of a global proliferation of self-quantification tools used to measure productivity at work, track <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1461444817698478">calorie intake</a>, <a href="https://med.stanford.edu/snyderlab/news/May-24-20211.html">blood sugar levels</a> and weight, monitor <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37461799/">sleep regulation</a> and more.</p>
<p>The market for these tools in sports activities, alone, is both <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Quantified+Self-p-9781509500598">lucrative and competitive</a>. As Finnish researchers <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373143547_Running_free_recreational_runners%27_reasons_for_non-use_of_digital_sports_technology">Pekka Mertala and Lauri Palsa</a> report, the digital sports technology business is estimated to be worth $12 billion a year, with more than 10,000 portable digital devices for running, alone. Some 90 per cent of amateur runners now use a smartwatch or mobile application.</p>
<p>Tracking your body with numbers is associated with a series of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1110016821002210">promises</a> to become more active, happy and healthy, and with the concept of empowerment. Because of its objectivity and transparency (compared with the approximate nature of bodily sensations), this knowledge is considered to be the foundation of a <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/70982364.pdf">personal self-optimization project</a>.</p>
<p>These embedded devices are also used for motivational support, to encourage regularity and assiduity and to put an end to lifestyle habits that are deemed unhealthy. Becoming part of a community of exercisers can also increase motivation by interweaving systems of mutual encouragement and competition.</p>
<p>Yet we are currently seeing a slowdown in this market linked to a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360361258_Why_Do_People_Abandon_Activity_Trackers_The_Role_of_User_Diversity_in_Discontinued_Use">massive phenomenon of either discontinuing the use of digital devices</a> or, at the very least, using them for short periods.</p>
<h2>The discontinuation of connected devices</h2>
<p>First of all, we should recall that the adoption of connected devices for sports is <a href="https://www.credoc.fr/publications/barometre-du-numerique-2019">not evenly distributed across the population</a>. It is over-represented among men who are urban, highly educated, socially advantaged and physically active. In addition, the 30-39 age group is the most equipped with <a href="https://www.cairn.info/revue-reseaux-2019-4-page-119.htm">smart bracelets and smartwatches</a>.</p>
<p>While certain population groups have less access to these embedded technologies, others who have acquired them will stop using them, usually after a limited period of use. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/16138171.2021.1918896">The mechanisms that lead to this are extremely varied</a>, and include logistical overload, the time-consuming dimension of transferring and interpreting data, a lack of accuracy and reliability in data collection, and difficulty in interpreting and using data, among others.</p>
<p>We believe that the rejection of these devices may be the result of a <a href="https://www.implications-philosophiques.org/lauto-quantification-de-son-activite-sportive-altere-t-elle-la-qualite-de-lexperience-vecue-un-scenario-possible-de-labandon-massif-des-pratiques-de-self-tracking/">deterioration in the quality of the experience of a sport</a> when using them. For some participants, putting numbers on an activity actually <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26570266">leads them to experience it more as forced labour than as free, self-determined leisure</a>.</p>
<p>Intrinsic motivation (the pleasure of running for its own sake) then tends to be supplanted by extrinsic motivation (rewards, comparisons, mutual monitoring). The context of a constant call to excel can lead to an anticipated fear of failure, as well as a feeling of shame and guilt in the event of underperformance. Cognitive overload and distracted attention can also lead to a <a href="https://www.cairn.info/revue-corps-2016-1-page-115.htm">disconnect from the here-and-now of one’s activity and the bodily sensations related to it</a>.</p>
<p>Looking at it differently, the withdrawal of the smartwatch could be an act of resistance with strong political, philosophical or even spiritual significance. This may be a desire to break away from what is perceived as a generalized surveillance system, to <a href="https://theconversation.com/sport-comment-les-reseaux-sociaux-transforment-les-pratiques-des-jeunes-207440">emancipate oneself from the pressure of sports social networks</a>, to reject a materialistic race to over equip or even to <a href="https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a36959570/running-without-any-technology/">put the emphasis back on bodily sensations in sports training</a>.</p>
<p>The attitude of rejection can be linked to <a href="https://aoc.media/analyse/2023/01/23/sobrietes-sportives-choisies/">the emergence of minimalist values</a> such as sobriety, voluntary simplicity and frugality. It’s a question of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373143547_Running_free_recreational_runners'_reasons_for_non-use_of_digital_sports_technology">rediscovering a form of lost freedom</a>, of lightness, or even of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/cmscontent/ASJ/Acceleration_and_Resonance.pdf">resonance</a>.</p>
<h2>The adherence to quantification tools</h2>
<p>Not all amateur runners who have started using a digital self-quantification tool have stopped using it. While dropping the tools is a significant and explainable phenomenon, the reasons for sticking to them must also be considered. What are the conditions that enable amateur runners to continue practising and quantifying their performance numerically while deriving pleasure and well-being from the activity?</p>
<p>We showed that <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366028928_Quelles_experiences_intimes_et_pratiques_effectives_de_la_course_a_pied_quantifiee_Etude_des_usages_ordinaires_des_montres_connectees_chez_des_coureurs_et_coureuses_amateures_a_partir_d%27une_auto-expli">the amateur runners who persevered in using digital tools were the ones who had developed a high level of expertise in self-quantification</a>. More specifically, they managed to cobble together and incorporate a series of tactics, or even <a href="https://www.gallimard.fr/Catalogue/GALLIMARD/Folio/Folio-essais/L-invention-du-quotidien">“everyday tricks,”</a> to use Michel de Certeau’s expression, which enabled them to interact with their digital device without altering the quality of their sporting experience.</p>
<p>A first approach in this is to differentiate and alternate the uses of the smartwatch over time. To begin with, they modulate the intensity and types of usage of the tool to adapt to changing life conditions (for example, by suspending the goal to exceed performance levels during a year when family life is demanding). They also learn to let go of certain areas of quantification (sleep, for example) in order to focus their efforts exclusively on running.</p>
<p>When it comes to the training cycle, these runners <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2159676X.2023.2225516">differentiate their modes of interaction with the tool</a> (frequency of consulting the tool, nature of the data collected) according to the type of training session they are engaged in. For example, they reserve intensive use of the smartwatch for interval training sessions but only consult it occasionally during recovery runs, marathon pace workouts or technical sessions. Finally, during a given running session, the runners target certain key moments when they consult their watch. Others never look at the watch during their run but only afterwards, or the other way around.</p>
<p>A second tactic consists of agreeing to adjust, revise or even abandon goals along the way, depending on a runner’s perceived state of fitness and/or environmental conditions. <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/health/exercise-fitness/do-you-really-need-10000-steps-a-day-a1058474912/#:%7E:text=Perhaps%20you%27ve%20heard%20that,and%20still%20get%20serious%20benefits">This flexibility</a> reflects the development of a relationship of self-care and benevolence towards oneself.</p>
<p>Finally, a third everyday tactic leads amateur runners to take systematic care to put into context what they consider to be counter-performances. Far from considering the figures only in their raw form, they use them to understand the mechanisms underlying the process of producing counter-performance (bad night, professional stress, etc.).</p>
<h2>The nature of the attachment to the device</h2>
<p>We wanted to gain a better understanding of the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373196405_Understanding_the_lived_experience_of_self-tracking_among_runners_by_taking_off_their_digital_watch_The_imposed_withdrawal_as_a_methodological_tool_for_approaching_the_embodiment_of_the_digital_techno">connection runners formed with their digital tracking device</a>. To do this, we asked them to take it off for a single running session, while describing in real time, using a Dictaphone, how they felt. This change, which was out of the ordinary for most of them, turned out to be particularly destabilizing and revealed how <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/14614448221083992">deeply incorporated their use of, and attachment to the tool was</a>.</p>
<p>All the subjects we studied initially admitted to being very apprehensive about the idea of running without their watch. They tried to deal with it in different ways: by postponing the outing; by running on a course that they had just completed with the watch, so as to use numerical reference points; by using the Dictaphone to estimate the duration and pace of the run; and, finally, by hiding a watch in a backpack to be able to record the amount of running they had done. </p>
<p>Most of the participants then felt a motivational void caused by the absence of the watch, which, when worn, functioned as an incentive to perform and a way to challenge themselves. They felt that the session without the watch was longer, harder, more painful and even pointless: why push yourself if you don’t know the exact result and it’s neither recorded nor stored?</p>
<p>The runners also noted that the simple fact of wearing the watch prompted them to over-focus attention on numbers to the detriment of their running technique, the external environment or their bodily sensations.</p>
<p>The absence of the watch was also seen by some as physically destabilizing. Deprived of their tool, the runners felt naked, unbalanced and asymmetrical and more often than not, they were unable to inhibit the reflex gesture of consulting it – proof that the object and movement associated with using it had been assimilated into the runner’s bodily habits. Lastly, some of them found it extremely difficult to regulate their running and reliably estimate common variables such as length, distance, speed and heart rate.</p>
<p>Ultimately, there’s nothing spontaneous, magical or automatic about interacting with your quantification device in a functional way. It has to be learned and built patiently. <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/ejrieps/7754">Physical and sports education in schools must adopt a training role in this field</a>, as digitalization is becoming unavoidable in the <a href="https://boutique.territorial.fr/sport-et-numerique-option.html">world of sports</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216979/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthieu Quidu received funding from the University of Lyon 1 for a research project entitled, "In search of sobriety: sociological insights into the emergence of minimalist sporting practices."</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brice Favier-Ambrosini received funding from the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et Culture (FRQSC) for a project entitled "Identifying the essential, eliminating the rest," an analysis of the trend towards minimalism in the consumption of sports leisure activities.
</span></em></p>To better measure their activity and become members of a sports community, many amateur athletes are adopting smartwatches and digital tools. But others are giving them up.Matthieu Quidu, Maître de conférences en sociologie du sport, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1Brice Favier-Ambrosini, Professor, Educational sciences, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1971842023-01-10T11:51:56Z2023-01-10T11:51:56ZGary McKee: what it takes to run a marathon a day for a year<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503590/original/file-20230109-9439-emvvcl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4741%2C3156&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">McKee spent close to 1,500 hours running to complete his challenge.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/runner-feet-running-on-road-closeup-1924494758">i am adventure/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For many runners, a marathon is a lifetime achievement. But a British man named Gary McKee took marathon running to another level by running one a day for 365 days in 2022 to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-64134196">raise money for charity</a>. </p>
<p>Not only did McKee achieve his goal, he ran an average time of just over four hours. Astonishingly, this is faster than the average worldwide marathon time of <a href="https://marathonhandbook.com/what-is-a-good-marathon-time/">four and a half hours</a>. He travelled over 9,500 miles in the year (around 800 miles a month) – a distance many of us don’t even achieve by car – and used 22 pairs of trainers to reach his goal. The amount of miles McKee ran is something that many <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35418513/">elite distance runners don’t even achieve</a>. </p>
<p>McKee spent close to 1,500 hours running in 2022 – around 29 hours a week. That’s more time running daily than the average adult <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/269870/daily-tv-viewing-time-in-the-uk/">spends watching TV</a>. He did all this while balancing a job and family life. </p>
<p>Given how impressive this feat is, many may be wondering exactly how McKee did it and what it takes.</p>
<h2>Once a day</h2>
<p>Completing an ultra-endurance style event can have <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2018.00634/full">profound effects on the body</a>, including suppressing the immune system, changing hormone levels, causing injuries and extreme fatigue to name a few.</p>
<p>As a result, one of the keys to McKee’s success would have been <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33389141/">minimising and managing the symptoms of fatigue</a> during each run and throughout each day. McKee would have been battling the effects of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27015386/">significant fatigue</a> in both the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8997532/">muscles and nervous system</a>, making recovery essential in order to limit the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29986641/">physical and mental</a> effects, such as muscle soreness and emotional exhaustion. If fatigue wasn’t properly managed, it would have made it harder for him to complete his challenge. </p>
<p>Fortunately, fatigue can be <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/11588760-000000000-00000">managed with proper nutrition</a>. McKee would have needed to consume roughly 5,000 calories a day in order to supply the energy needed to recover properly – roughly the equivalent of 20 plates of pasta. He would have needed a good balance of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29534444/">carbohydrates, fat and protein</a> to fuel each daily run and to help repair his muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones afterwards. McKee also avoided alcohol for the year as it can <a href="https://www.mysportscience.com/post/2016/02/03/alcohol-and-recovery">impair sleep and recovery</a> and reduce performance.</p>
<p>Despite doing everything to optimise recovery, McKee would still have been at risk of several overuse injuries because of the amount he was running without any rest. It’s hardly surprising to hear McKee say he was dealing with a <a href="https://www.lancs.live/news/local-news/cumbria-marathon-man-gary-mckee-25868450">hamstring injury</a>, which is common in endurance running due to the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22239734/">type of muscle activity</a> involved. </p>
<p>To overcome this, McKee would have needed significant mind over matter to push through. McKee talks about his <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/dec/29/its-me-against-the-road-meet-the-marathon-man-of-west-cumbria">motivation to run</a> and has said: “I find a reason to do it. If you break it down, it is just me against the road and there’s only one winner.” This positive state of mind has actually been <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-022-01748-2?utm_source=toc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=toc_40279_53_1&utm_content=etoc_springer_20230103">suggested by scientists</a> as being able to reduce feelings of tiredness during exercise.</p>
<p>It’s also worth noting that McKee has performed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bklhue5h_v0">many other ultra-endurance feats</a>. In 2021, he completed <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-57199008">110 marathons in 110 days</a>. This past experience may have been invaluable in how he was able to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1439399/">manage and prevent further injury</a> and find the motivation to keep running.</p>
<p>McKee is clearly a talented athlete, running the London marathon in just <a href="https://www.tcslondonmarathon.com/results/race-results">three hours and ten minutes</a>. This shows us that he was running significantly below his maximum effort during his daily marathons. By starting much slower than his fastest marathon, McKee was using a sensible <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16869711/">pacing strategy</a>. </p>
<p>By running slowly in his early miles each day and in each marathon early on in the year, McKee was giving himself the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-run-your-next-marathon-like-a-pro-it-could-help-you-smash-a-personal-best-191446">best chance of achieving his goal</a> by preventing over-exertion and fatigue. In fact, McKee maintained remarkable consistency in his pacing throughout the year, running his first marathon in three hours and 53 minutes and his last in four hours and 22 minutes. A similar pacing strategy was used by world-record endurance runner Sharon Gayter to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34831820/">run ten marathons in ten days</a>. </p>
<h2>Personal challenge</h2>
<p>But can anyone do this? The answer to this question is undoubtedly no. McKee clearly has the perfect combination of <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.694411/full">genetics</a>, training history, mental toughness and most importantly the reason and motivation to have completed the challenge.</p>
<p>Don’t let that deter you from going after your own goals, however. There are many things we can learn from McKee. For example, slowly progressing towards your goal with <a href="https://www.outsideonline.com/health/wellness/discipline-freedom-performance/">self-discipline</a> and an iron will may help you achieve more than you think you can. </p>
<p>McKee also shares many <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.02009/full">psychological similarities with superchampions</a> – including a fierce desire to overcome setbacks and set new challenges for himself. Science shows it’s possible to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022103117305449">change our own mindsets</a> in a similar way to help us better overcome challenges and achieve our goals. </p>
<p>If you’ve been inspired by McKee and want to undertake your own running challenge, you should <a href="https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/training/beginners/a772727/how-to-start-running-today/">start slowly and build up gradually</a> in intensity, number and distance of runs. Many new runners have found success with applications that help to do this <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/running-and-aerobic-exercises/get-running-with-couch-to-5k/">like couch to 5k</a>. A sensible strategy along with finding your motivation will help push you to achieve more than you ever imagined.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197184/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Melville is director of Breakaway Coaching and Analytics.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dan Gordon and Matthew Slater do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Running a marathon a day can have a major impact on your physical and mental health.Matthew Slater, PhD Candidate, Anglia Ruskin UniversityDan Gordon, Associate Professor, Cardiorespiratory Exercise Physiology, Anglia Ruskin UniversityJonathan Melville, PhD Candidate, Sport and Exercise Science, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1914462022-09-30T11:50:28Z2022-09-30T11:50:28ZHow to run your next marathon like a pro – it could help you smash a personal best<p>After his world record 2:01:09 run in the Berlin marathon on September 25, the world’s greatest ever male marathoner, Eliud Kipchoge, made a curious observation: “<a href="https://www.outsideonline.com/health/running/racing/races/eliud-kipchoge-shatters-marathon-world-record-in-berlin/">We went too fast, actually it takes energy from the muscles</a>.” </p>
<p>Despite running an average speed of nearly 21km/h – and running the fastest race marathon in history – Kipchoge was saying he’d made an error in his pacing. Meaning that, had he nailed his pacing from the start, he may have had the energy left at the end of the race to run under 2:01:00.</p>
<p>One of the reasons marathon world records have seen such big improvements over the last few decades is because of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17461391.2018.1450899?journalCode=tejs20">improvements in race pacing</a>. In the past, marathons were run using a “positive split” strategy, meaning that runners would start fast and gradually slow down in the second half of the race. </p>
<p>Nowadays, most professional marathon runners know it’s better to use even pacing (running the same pace through the whole race) or negative splitting (running very slightly faster in the second half of the marathon). Getting pacing right is extremely important and can even mean the difference between <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2015.1132841?journalCode=rjsp20">placing on the podium</a> or not at all.</p>
<p>While the average person setting out to run a marathon probably isn’t thinking about smashing a world record, knowing how to properly pace yourself could help you smash a personal best during your next race. </p>
<h2>Setting a strategy</h2>
<p>When it comes to the best pacing strategy for a marathon, the science is clear – and it may actually be the opposite of what you’d assume. </p>
<p>Most runners tend to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bdm.1984">start out too fast</a>, which means they slow down as a result later in the race. But if you run with even pacing instead, you’re actually far more likely to <a href="https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-sports-analytics/jsa205">run a personal best</a>. </p>
<p>Starting out too fast is a problem because it burns through your <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Abstract/1993/09000/Carbohydrate_dependence_during_marathon_running.7.aspx">body’s readily available fuel reserves</a>. This means you run out of energy quickly and have little left to use late in the race when you need it most. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A pack of runners taking part in a marathon." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487491/original/file-20220930-21-3w98bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487491/original/file-20220930-21-3w98bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487491/original/file-20220930-21-3w98bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487491/original/file-20220930-21-3w98bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487491/original/file-20220930-21-3w98bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487491/original/file-20220930-21-3w98bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487491/original/file-20220930-21-3w98bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Try not to get caught up with other runners who may ruin your pace.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/warsaw-poland-september-30-2018-runners-1195017055">PirahaPhotos / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is why runners that are more <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17461391.2019.1688396?journalCode=tejs20">experienced</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4738997/">faster</a> start their race at a more sustainable pace. By starting slower, it reduces the chances of feeling exhausted and “<a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/2404693247?parentSessionId=KvysNunMmRS9fFvnD12%2FuSOzPHfwUo2kG2mZ7B4sdZg%3D">hitting the wall</a>” in the later stages of the marathon. This may mean that you have a bit of energy in those crucial last miles to push for the finish. </p>
<h2>Get a personal best</h2>
<p>It’s very easy to run too fast in the early stages. This is where a pace plan can help. Before the race, use your <a href="https://www.sciencegate.app/document/10.14198/jhse.2022.172.05">training times</a> (or even <a href="https://bmcsportsscimedrehabil.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13102-016-0052-y">times from past races</a>) to get a rough idea of what sort of pace you can maintain. A GPS device or smartwatch may also be <a href="https://bmcsportsscimedrehabil.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13102-021-00347-4">helpful in tracking</a> this during the marathon or in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6400853/">practising</a> it in training. </p>
<p>Your pace should feel easy at the start. If you can hold a full conversation in those first few miles, your pace is probably good for you. Try also not to get too carried away with the experienced runners or too excited by the crowds at the beginning of the race. </p>
<p>Stay calm and try to avoid <a href="https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-sports-analytics/jsa0008">being overconfident</a> or <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00333/full">taking big, unplanned pacing risks</a>, as both have been linked to significant late race slowing. Being aware of your pace is most important in the early part of the race, so once you get to 20 miles you should focus on just finishing as best you can.</p>
<p>Importantly, you should adjust your goals and pacing depending on the weather. In particular, run slow early in the race in <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/fulltext/2014/06000/effects_of_heat_stress_and_sex_on_pacing_in.22.aspx">hot conditions</a> as late race slowing is often intensified due to the effects of heat on the body’s <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17645370/">circulatory system</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640414.2011.610348">right diet</a> can also be important for helping you keep a good pace throughout the race. Using sports drinks, energy gels or other high-carbohydrate snacks may help reduce the effects of fatigue and slowing in the later stages of the race. </p>
<p>Try to eat small amounts of carbs often throughout the race. However, it’s important to practice this strategy during training to see how your body responds, and know how much you need to refuel during the race. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/london-marathon-what-to-eat-before-during-and-after-the-race-191398">London marathon: what to eat before, during and after the race</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Pacing can be just as much mental as it is physical. The majority of runners report using <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/tsp/29/3/article-p258.xml">positive self-talk</a> as a strategy during a marathon. This may include repeating positive phrases or words in your head throughout the race. Positive self-talk may also be important in reducing slowing and helping you stay motivated in the later stages of your run. </p>
<p>Pacing a marathon is very hard – even the pros don’t always do it perfectly. But if you want to nail your race and smash a personal best then even pacing is the key. Start slower than you feel you should, hold yourself back and reap the rewards by speeding through the final miles.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191446/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Melville owns Breakaway Coaching and Analytics. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dan Gordon and Matthew Slater do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The right pacing is key.Matthew Slater, PhD Candidate, Anglia Ruskin UniversityDan Gordon, Associate Professor, Cardiorespiratory Exercise Physiology, Anglia Ruskin UniversityJonathan Melville, PhD Candidate, Sport and Exercise Science, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1860212022-08-09T18:44:24Z2022-08-09T18:44:24ZLessons from a cancelled marathon: Athletic events, heat and the effects of climate change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478321/original/file-20220809-18-89tjcv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=38%2C0%2C4211%2C2822&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Runners should have advance knowledge of what to expect in case of race disruption or rerouting prior to setting off on the course.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/lessons-from-a-cancelled-marathon--athletic-events--heat-and-the-effects-of-climate-change" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-marathon-2022-heat-warning-1.6493963">cancellation of the Manitoba Marathon due to extreme heat</a> may provide a case study for athletic event management in extreme weather. </p>
<p>As researchers in kinesiology and recreation management, we took an interest in how the disruption was handled not only professionally, but also from a personal perspective: one of us (Shaelyn) was participating in the half marathon. </p>
<p>The race was cancelled after it had started, with runners already an hour into the race. The result was ambiguity and confusion. Runners were left scratching their heads both during and after the race: wondering what they were supposed to do during the disruption, and pondering how the course shutdown was handled after the event. </p>
<h2>Racing in the heat</h2>
<p>Hot road races may become more common. The climate crisis is <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/">expected to increase severe weather</a>, which can have devastating consequences such as loss of life, injury and illness when people are unprepared. Even when lives are not lost, the negative experience of an emergency can have <a href="https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/48053">psychological consequences</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2014.5500">Runners can train for heat, wear appropriate clothing and hydrate, but even these steps are often not sufficient to overcome the effects of heat</a>. Exercising in heat and humidity poses a serious challenge to the body’s ability to <a href="https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200737080-00002">regulate body temperature</a> and running in such conditions can significantly decrease performance and lead to health issues such as exhaustion and heat stroke. </p>
<p>Managing the hazards posed by a changing climate will be necessary for all community event organizers going forward. </p>
<h2>A runner’s perspective</h2>
<p>Shaelyn’s first-person account is helpful in understanding what happened on the course during the cancelled Manitoba Marathon. Here is her experience:</p>
<p>Like other runners, I had trained in an extremely cold winter and spring and was not prepared for a hot run in the <a href="https://globalnews.ca/video/8930298/manitoba-marathon-expected-to-be-a-scorcher">record high temperatures that were forecast</a> for this late June race.</p>
<p>Event representatives <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-marathon-heat-advice-1.6493051">urged runners to stay hydrated and to adjust their goal given the anticipated heat</a>. I kept an eye on my email for an adjusted start time or cancellation. With no news, I headed to the start line. Once started, it didn’t take me long to feel the heat of the day but volunteers did a great job of keeping us hydrated.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An arm offering three bottles of water to a group of runners who are out of focus in the background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478318/original/file-20220809-18-369wt0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478318/original/file-20220809-18-369wt0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478318/original/file-20220809-18-369wt0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478318/original/file-20220809-18-369wt0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478318/original/file-20220809-18-369wt0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478318/original/file-20220809-18-369wt0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478318/original/file-20220809-18-369wt0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Runners can train for heat, wear appropriate clothing and hydrate, but these steps may not be sufficient to overcome the effects of heat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, I could not escape the heat; several miles in, my heart rate was above the ideal range. With eight kilometres left, a volunteer told us the course was closed and that we could keep running if we wanted to, which left me confused. Was the course really closed? Should I trust one volunteer? If the course was closed, what were my options? </p>
<p>The course was not physically closed and the runners around me were still running. Aware of no alternative way of getting back other than on my own two feet, I kept running. </p>
<p>This response is not surprising. When faced with a crisis, the <a href="https://emergency.cdc.gov/cerc/manual/index.asp">Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication manual</a> put forward by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control presents four ways people process information: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>simplifying the message, </p></li>
<li><p>holding on to current beliefs, </p></li>
<li><p>looking for additional information and opinions and </p></li>
<li><p>believing the first message. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>When I crossed the finish line, there was no indication the course had closed. It wasn’t until I listened to the news that I was able to confirm the closure. After recovering, I read Twitter threads from participants. My sense of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-marathon-race-cancellation-heat-response-communication-1.6495410">confusion and uncertainty was not unique</a>. Conflicting information circulated about water station closures and traffic no longer being controlled. </p>
<p>Shutting down the course was understandable to protect the safety of runners. However, participants may have been hesitant to stop considering they had likely trained for months, and may have been using the race to try to meet a goal or qualify for another race.</p>
<h2>Lessons for future races</h2>
<p>Effective communication reduces injury and loss-of-life during an emergency by providing the public with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEFM-06-2021-0054">information to make good choices</a>. A crisis can be the catalyst for organizations to <a href="https://www.workingwithcrowds.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/How_publics_use_social_media_to_respond-1.pdf">build trust</a> with their community or it can harm the relationship, depending on the <a href="https://doi.org/10.3727/152599521X16106577965224">strategy used</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of cyclists participating in a road race" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477523/original/file-20220803-23-sm6bgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477523/original/file-20220803-23-sm6bgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477523/original/file-20220803-23-sm6bgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477523/original/file-20220803-23-sm6bgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477523/original/file-20220803-23-sm6bgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477523/original/file-20220803-23-sm6bgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477523/original/file-20220803-23-sm6bgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hundreds of races — running, cycling, triathlon — and other endurance events take place in Canada during warmer months when extreme heat is a risk.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash/Quino al D)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Race organizers should provide runners with essential information regardless of the specific hazard. Runners should have advance knowledge of what to expect in case of race disruption or rerouting prior to setting off on the course. This way, whether there is a weather disruption, act of violence or other potentially catastrophic event, racers will be prepared to react. </p>
<p>Complicating the situation is the organizational structure of many events. Volunteers are essential for delivering many community events. While they bring skills and knowledge, they may not have specific training in emergency management nor be sufficiently prepared to help event participants navigate the challenges posed during a major disruption. Organization preparedness should include ensuring volunteer readiness to respond during an emergency. </p>
<p>Events like the Manitoba Marathon provide runners with the opportunity to reach a goal that took months of training. This year though, many runners hobbled away from the event with mixed feelings about whether the event should have gone ahead, and if so, how the situation should have been managed. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9018999/bc-heat-wave-temperature-records/">record high temperatures</a> continue <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/heat-wave-britain-1.6524808">across the world this summer</a>, investment in emergency preparedness is necessary to ensure communities can stay safe while sharing meaningful experiences together.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186021/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shaelyn Strachan receives funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine Van Winkle receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada</span></em></p>All event organizers should be prepared for emergencies and have a communication plan.Shaelyn Strachan, Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management, University of ManitobaChristine Van Winkle, Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management, University of ManitobaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1659552021-08-31T20:00:00Z2021-08-31T20:00:00ZAustralian charities are struggling with the loss of fun runs and other ‘fitness philanthropy’ events<p>In a typical year there are around <a href="https://www.ampsea.com.au/media/mass-participation-sporting-event-industry-seeking-48m-stimulus-from-government">21,000 mass participation sporting events</a> across Australia, <a href="https://www.ampsea.com.au/media/press-release">attracting 3.4 million participants</a>. From fun runs to marathons, road cycling to bush trekking, walking with pets to obstacle courses, Australians take part in these events at an extraordinary scale.</p>
<p>It isn’t just about the exercise. Many of these events are wholly or partly dedicated towards fundraising, with participants raising around A$75 million each year for charity. </p>
<p>In 2020, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ampsea.au/posts/180413783703201">around 19,000 planned events did not take place</a>. The sector has not fared much better this year, with the Australian Mass Participation Sporting Events Alliance estimating <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ampsea.au/posts/353167479761163">more than 70% of events</a> will not return for 2021. Their absence has hit charities during already tough times.</p>
<p>The alliance, representing over 450 event operators and suppliers, many of which support events with a significant focus on charitable giving, has estimated <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ec32b09dfd209722303a135/t/5f3a177657da8940e9e3b429/1597642621535/AMPSEA+Roadmap+to+Recovery+.pdf">45% of the industry may not survive</a> the impacts of COVID. They have called for government support through direct financial support, wage subsidies or a government-backed insurance scheme to cover cancelled events. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8b6ZlUvn8ZM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The 2021 Brissie to the Bay featured 7,500 participants, raising over $1.3 million for MS Australia.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Cancer Council has been hosting events like the Relay for Life since 1999. The event usually hosts more than <a href="https://secure.fundraising.cancer.org.au/site/SPageNavigator/about_relay/history.html">134,000 participants raising over $14 million each year</a>. Due to COVID-related impacts, the charity has so far taken a <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/day-of-reckoning-looms-for-charities/news-story/dc1c7330b497ec90dae36224d18228a6">$30 million hit</a> on expected revenues. Funding for new research grants from the council were reduced by a third in 2020, with similar impacts expected for 2021.</p>
<p>Research initiatives have also been affected at the Melanoma Institute of Australia. After not being able to host their Melanoma March in-person for two consecutive years, the institute lost $1.5 million in anticipated funding. Australia has the world’s highest melanoma rates, and it is the most common cancer affecting Australians aged 15 to 39.</p>
<p>MS Australia also relies heavily on activity-based fundraising events in supporting over 25,000 Australians living with multiple sclerosis. Sadly, many of their 2021 <a href="https://www.mswalk.org.au/">Walk, Run + Roll</a> events have now been postponed.</p>
<p>The loss of these events also means fewer opportunities for vital advocacy efforts, especially in drawing attention to conditions that are not well known.</p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/545753918" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Bloody Long Walk raises awareness and supports research into mitochondrial disease.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Weekend warriors and virtual innovation</h2>
<p>Australia has a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01490400.2019.1656122">strong culture</a> of fitness philanthropy, raising funds through physical activities that range from relaxed jaunts to gruelling endurance tasks, such as the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfK2KeoLY90">Kokoda Challenge</a>.</p>
<p>But most fitness philanthropists are not endurance enthusiasts. They are average “weekend warriors” seeking fun ways to support admirable causes. </p>
<p>Typically, fitness philanthropists <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jsm/22/5/article-p501.xml">get involved to give back</a> to organisations that have supported them, help others and to boost a charity’s standing. </p>
<p>Powered by social media, event participants can publicly display their willing efforts and evident pleasure — which can also motivate others to join the cause. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09669582.2014.986489">Participation in fitness philanthropy</a> can also improve mental health through empowering people within their communities and fostering new connections. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BWGpUXKppgE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The RSPCA’s Million Paws Walk has proven successful in part due to savvy use of social media.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unfortunately, it may be some time before many events are seen again in Australia. The Sydney City2Surf — usually attracting <a href="https://city2surf.com.au/history/history/">around 85,000 participants</a> and raising <a href="https://city2surf.com.au/">over $48 million for charity since 2008</a> — will again not take place in-person this year. </p>
<p>But some events are moving online in creative virtual alternatives.</p>
<p>In 2020, the London Marathon was held in-person for elite runners only. Other participants took part virtually, tracking their runs via GPS to earn their finishing medal. This October, an estimated 50,000 in-person competitors will be joined by 50,000 virtual participants, <a href="https://www.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com/more/press-and-media/london-plans-100k-person-marathon">making it the largest marathon ever staged</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/512844834" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Similar virtual formats have been adopted in Australia. Under COVID conditions, people have been running races in their own neighbourhoods, setting their own routes, tracking their times and getting involved via social media.</p>
<p>For this year’s race in July, the Gold Coast Marathon used digital run bibs, leader boards and custom photo certificates to bring the event to life. Even with a virtual race, <a href="https://goldcoastmarathon.com.au/community/run-for-charity/">3,360 participants ran</a> to raise money for 92 different charities.</p>
<p>The 2020 Virtual Melbourne Marathon used an app with voice prompts, comment functions, individual and team feeds, a dedicated music playlist, and landmark audio cues that connected with wearable devices to <a href="https://youtu.be/EZc-OM9FZYw">enhance the virtual experience</a>. For the 2021 event in December – which will again be held virtually – <a href="https://melbournemarathon.grassrootz.com/">over $105,000</a> has already been raised for charity. </p>
<h2>The run must go on</h2>
<p>While state governments have gone to extraordinary lengths to accommodate the AFL and NRL, many mass participation sport events have faced insurmountable difficulties. </p>
<p>Across its eight races, the Gold Coast Marathon normally hosts <a href="https://goldcoastmarathon.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/GCM19-Fact-Sheet.pdf">more than 27,000 participants</a>. Due to logistical difficulties presented by COVID-19, the event was cancelled last month for the second year in a row. Despite this, <a href="https://goldcoastmarathon.com.au/community/run-for-charity/">almost half a million dollars</a> has been raised for individually-nominated charities by runners participating virtually.</p>
<p>Fitness philanthropy is a crucial source of fundraising for many charities, and the loss of these events is depleting resources for health and medical research. Substantial revenue losses – compounded by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/money-for-telescopes-and-vaccines-is-great-but-the-budgets-lack-of-basic-science-funding-risks-leaving-australia-behind-160780">thousands of jobs lost</a> in the university sector – has weakened Australia’s research capacity to address serious health concerns.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rising-on-pause-dark-mofo-ticket-sales-delayed-the-government-must-insure-our-arts-events-161737">Rising on pause; Dark Mofo ticket sales delayed. The government must insure our arts events</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Calls from the Australian Mass Participation Sporting Events Alliance for increased government support, so organisations can survive current restrictions and come out the other side of COVID, have not yet be heeded.</p>
<p>But we should also think creatively about how other organisations could partner with charities in developing their own fitness philanthropy fundraisers. As we head into the summer of cricket and tennis amid potential ongoing lockdowns, could sport administrators and broadcasters support forms of backyard-based fitness philanthropy? </p>
<p>Such initiatives can foster participation in their sports while promoting worthy causes.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, keep an eye out for events offering virtual participation, and throw your support behind friends and family taking up these challenges.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165955/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Palmer receives funding from Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Filo, Matthew Wade, and Nicholas Hookway do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australians love mass sporting events and raising money for charity. Under COVID, these activities have taken a major blow.Matthew Wade, Lecturer in Social Inquiry, La Trobe UniversityCatherine Palmer, Professor of Sociology, University of TasmaniaKevin Filo, Associate Professor, Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel Management, Griffith Business School, Griffith UniversityNicholas Hookway, Senior Lecturer, Sociology, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1261892019-11-04T19:02:51Z2019-11-04T19:02:51ZWhy is Japan’s Olympic marathon shifting cities to avoid the heat? A sports physiologist explains<p>The International Olympic Committee last week decided <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-16/tokyo-olympics-plans-to-move-marathon-race-walking-to-sapporo/11609748">to shift next year’s Olympic marathon</a> from Tokyo to Sapporo to protect athletes from the heat.</p>
<p>Tokyo’s average temperatures during the month of August exceed 30°C, with some days reaching 35°C. Sapporo, about 800 kilometres to the north of Tokyo, is expected to be 5-6°C cooler than Tokyo at this time.</p>
<p>Some of Tokyo’s officials have argued for a night-time race in Japan’s capital instead, but without success.</p>
<p>While the move has stirred debate, shifting the events to a cooler climate will reduce the athletes’ risk of health complications that can result from endurance exercise in extreme heat.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-how-to-exercise-safely-in-the-heat-37286">Health Check: how to exercise safely in the heat</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Endurance and extreme heat</h2>
<p>In September, <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/other-sports/midnight-marathon-mayhem-as-heat-takes-its-toll-in-doha-1.4034041">several athletes collapsed</a> while competing in the marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. </p>
<p>Despite running the marathon at midnight, the extreme temperatures – <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/challenging-debut-midnight-marathon-doha-heat-humidity-190928072142268.html">about 32°C</a> – meant 28 out of 68 women did not complete the race. Similar effects were seen in the men’s event. </p>
<p>Sustained exertion in extreme heat can lead to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4596225/">heat exhaustion and heat stroke</a>. When our body is under heat stress, it moves blood to the skin to cool us down. </p>
<p>With prolonged exposure, this can mean a lack of blood reaching the exercising muscles, brain and other organs.</p>
<h2>Body temperature and time of day</h2>
<p>The body clock is responsible for regulating the cycle of our body temperature throughout the day. Of course, our body temperature is influenced by the conditions we’re in – but our body clock sets somewhat of a “baseline”. This “baseline” is generally highest in the afternoon. </p>
<p>An increase in body temperature speeds up metabolism and makes our muscles contract more effectively. So in general, athletes perform better <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1081/CBI-200041039">in the afternoon</a>. When body temperature is at its highest they experience peaks in speed, strength, power and flexibility. This is likely why more athletic world records are broken in the afternoon than other times of day.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ancient-clock-that-rules-our-lives-and-determines-our-health-85034">The ancient clock that rules our lives – and determines our health</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>However, endurance events in the heat present a unique challenge: extremely high body temperatures can jeopardise the athletes’ health and performance. </p>
<p>The 2020 Olympic marathon events were scheduled for 6am starts to avoid Tokyo’s highest temperatures. There were also plans to <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/08/14/commentary/japan-commentary/beating-heat-tokyo-olympics/#.Xb9kxEUzZBx">provide shade and coat the roads</a> with heat-shielding material to reduce road surface temperatures.</p>
<p>In response to the decision to switch to Sapporo, Tokyo officials proposed changing the start time to 5am, or even 3am.</p>
<h2>Are ‘midnight marathons’ the answer?</h2>
<p>At night the body is in “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1081/CBI-200053477">heat loss mode</a>”. Thanks to our body clocks, body temperature starts to drop in the late evening. It typically reaches its lowest point around 5am.</p>
<p>Starting a long-distance race with a lower body temperature has advantages. Competitors <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23328940.2019.1666624">typically reduce their body temperature</a> by immersing themselves in cold water or wearing cooling garments, but these methods only delay rises in body temperature. So combining these strategies with a naturally lower baseline body temperature may help athletes stay cooler for longer.</p>
<p>Despite this, night marathons still present challenges for athletes. As the body clock starts to reduce body temperature in the late evening to prepare for sleep, this slows down our metabolism and leads to lower energy levels. Many of us know the difficulty of getting up in the middle of the night to watch a sporting event – imagine having to compete at 3am.</p>
<p>And even though ambient temperatures are lower at night than during the day, overnight temperature lows in Tokyo can still be close to 30°C in August.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300028/original/file-20191104-88428-xwtysi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300028/original/file-20191104-88428-xwtysi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300028/original/file-20191104-88428-xwtysi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300028/original/file-20191104-88428-xwtysi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300028/original/file-20191104-88428-xwtysi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300028/original/file-20191104-88428-xwtysi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300028/original/file-20191104-88428-xwtysi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sweating is our body’s way of regulating its temperature. But this process doesn’t work as efficiently in humid weather.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">From shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another major factor, relevant in day time as well as night time conditions, is humidity. The process of sweat evaporating from the skin is what cools the body down. In humid environments, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/00007256-200737080-00002">we can’t sweat as effectively</a> because there’s so much water in the air – so the body can’t regulate its temperature as well. </p>
<p>In Tokyo, summer humidity can be <a href="https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Humidity-perc,Tokyo,Japan">well over 70%</a>. These levels, similar to those seen during the recent marathons in Doha, mean athletes shed heat less effectively. So the combination of high humidity and high temperatures can be particularly dangerous.</p>
<p>Athletes have to rely on other forms of heat loss, such as radiation (via infrared rays) and what’s called convection (movement of air across the skin). But even these can be less effective as air temperature approaches skin temperature.</p>
<p>Alongside these physiological challenges, running in darkness is associated with <a href="https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a20832610/why-running-in-the-dark-feels-harder/">greater perceived effort</a> and <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/2014/08000/Optic_Flow_Influences_Perceived_Exertion_and.23.aspx">over-estimation of distance travelled</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/extreme-heat-in-sport-why-using-a-fixed-temperature-cut-off-isnt-as-simple-as-it-seems-89771">Extreme heat in sport: why using a fixed temperature cut-off isn't as simple as it seems</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Ready, set, Sapporo</h2>
<p>The race in Sapporo has been scheduled during daylight hours, which aligns better with the body clock.</p>
<p>Similar levels of humidity in Sapporo may still pose challenges, but avoiding extreme heat <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4596225/">will reduce the danger of athletes overheating</a> and suffering health complications.</p>
<p>The downside is the timing of this decision: with the Olympics less than nine months away, athletes and coaches have already been <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23328940.2019.1666624">preparing for Tokyo and its conditions</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-olympic-athletes-learn-to-handle-the-heat-63438">How do Olympic athletes learn to handle the heat?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126189/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chloe Taylor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The marathons in next year’s Tokyo Olympics have been moved to Sapporo, because of concerns around Tokyo’s extreme heat. The move, though controversial, will reduce risks to the athletes’ health.Chloe Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/937382018-04-09T22:40:07Z2018-04-09T22:40:07ZBoston Marathon: How advertisers target female runners<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213649/original/file-20180406-5584-bdvuxd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The elite women at the starting line of the 2017 Boston Marathon, a 26.2-mile distance competition. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On an April morning in 1967, Kathrine Switzer ate a late breakfast of bacon, eggs, pancakes and toast. The Boston Marathon wasn’t due to begin until noon, so she had plenty of time to get to the starting line. </p>
<p>When the time came, she pinned the number 261 to her chest and started running through the Boston streets with her boyfriend, coach and friend in tow. Then, in a surprising contrast to the crowd’s cheers, she was attacked by a race official who’d noticed her ponytail and lipstick. </p>
<p>At this time, the Boston Marathon was a men’s-only race, and Switzer wasn’t exactly welcome in the field. After Switzer’s boyfriend warded off the race official by tackling him, Kathrine (registered as K. V. Switzer) crossed the finish line. Her efforts helped make the sport of endurance running more welcoming to women in the decades that followed. </p>
<p>“I wasn’t running Boston to prove anything,” <a href="https://kathrineswitzer.com/about-kathrine/1967-boston-marathon-the-real-story/">she later wrote</a>. “I was just a kid who wanted to run her first marathon.”</p>
<p>Today — 51 years after Switzer’s run — more than 10,000 women from around the world will compete in the Boston Marathon. The 42.2 kilometre (26.2 mile) run requires competitors to meet <a href="http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/participant-information/qualifying.aspx">strict entry requirements</a>, which means these women are some of endurance running’s fastest professional and recreational athletes. </p>
<p>As a marketing scholar, I study how gender and the body are represented in contemporary advertising. So, while the athletic world shifts its attention to Boston’s runners, I’m thinking about what those runners see in their social media newsfeeds or in the pages of the running magazines piled upon their nightstands. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213943/original/file-20180409-114121-1drz5k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213943/original/file-20180409-114121-1drz5k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213943/original/file-20180409-114121-1drz5k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213943/original/file-20180409-114121-1drz5k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213943/original/file-20180409-114121-1drz5k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213943/original/file-20180409-114121-1drz5k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213943/original/file-20180409-114121-1drz5k7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kathrine Switzer, middle with fist up, the first official woman entrant in the Boston Marathon 50 years ago, cheers at a news conference, Tuesday, April 18, 2017, in Boston, where her bib No. 261 was retired in her honour by the Boston Athletic Association.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Ads celebrate and denigrate women</h2>
<p>In my research, I’m examining a sample of nearly 60 advertisements taken from the January/February 2017 issues of <em>Runner’s World</em>, <em>Women’s Running</em> and <em>Canadian Running</em>. So far, I’ve learned that Switzer’s run has left a complicated legacy in advertisements targeting female endurance runners. </p>
<p>Specifically, the advertisements celebrate women’s physical and mental strength and, in so doing, support women’s participation in the endurance running subculture. Yet these advertisements can also share a negative sentiment when they tell women exactly how they should look and behave. </p>
<p>Many of the advertisements glorify chasing the “ideal” running body — tall, lean and muscular — through unhealthy diet and exercise habits.</p>
<p>There is a fine line between fitness and obsession, and the advertisements exacerbate this ambiguity. They encourage women to perform at a high level, but they also promote behaviours linked to a condition called “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Benjamin_Ogles/publication/284191276_Obligatory_running_and_gender_An_analysis_of_participative_motives_and_training_habits/links/56531ea008aeafc2aabafed8/Obligatory-running-and-gender-An-analysis-of-participat">obligatory running</a>,” a kind of run-at-all-costs mentality akin to exercise addiction. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213643/original/file-20180406-5578-13aze87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213643/original/file-20180406-5578-13aze87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213643/original/file-20180406-5578-13aze87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213643/original/file-20180406-5578-13aze87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213643/original/file-20180406-5578-13aze87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213643/original/file-20180406-5578-13aze87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=997&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213643/original/file-20180406-5578-13aze87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=997&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213643/original/file-20180406-5578-13aze87.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=997&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Built with chocolate milk.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These messages address the body as a machine that mustn’t break down. In one advertisement, for example, a champion triathlete is said to have been “built with chocolate milk.” Elsewhere, a woman is depicted running alone at dawn. The accompanying text praises her dedication and showcases a line of pain relievers, crediting them for allowing her to run through pain. </p>
<p>Since the magazines and advertisements both promote performance, the advertisements either implicitly or explicitly connect products to speed. A dedicated runner is a fast runner, but she is also the owner of an ideal running body. Whenever a woman is shown excelling in the sport, she has an almost masculine shape because she has “run off” her curves. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213726/original/file-20180408-5593-puwvzl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213726/original/file-20180408-5593-puwvzl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213726/original/file-20180408-5593-puwvzl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213726/original/file-20180408-5593-puwvzl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213726/original/file-20180408-5593-puwvzl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213726/original/file-20180408-5593-puwvzl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213726/original/file-20180408-5593-puwvzl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213726/original/file-20180408-5593-puwvzl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An advertisement in Women’s Running. Ads depict women with ‘ideal running bodies’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Women's Running)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In an advertisement for headphones, a woman is pictured running up a rock wall at sunset. Her long, powerful strides communicate her speed and agility. With her face in shadow, one must look to her ponytail and floral tights to confirm she is a woman.</p>
<p>On its own, this body type is unproblematic. But considering its appearance in nearly half of all the advertisements I have examined, this body type suggests a beauty standard for women in running. Combined with the fact that no advertisements that I have looked at visually depict a woman engaging with food — the most we see is a woman placed near food — the ideal running body denies a link between performance and food.</p>
<h2>No food in the ads</h2>
<p>This omission of food in these advertisements is disconcerting because runners need to eat —and eat a lot. Running <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21681120">burns more calories</a> than most forms of exercise, but research shows that runners <a href="http://go.galegroup.com/ps/anonymous?id=GALE%7CA123332696&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=fulltext&issn=00384348&p=AONE&sw=w&authCount=1&isAnonymousEntry=true">tend to underestimate</a> their caloric needs. Women may also <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/wspaj.10.1.17">use diet and exercise as punishment</a> for what they might see as their body’s aesthetic failures. </p>
<p>An ideal running body lacking proper fuel is at risk for a variety of health problems. One of the most serious and relatively common conditions among this market is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10865930">female athlete triad</a> or Relative Energy Deficiency Syndrome (RED-S), characterized by menstrual dysfunction, disordered eating and decreased bone mineral density. </p>
<p>While the thin, masculine body is certainly prominent in these advertisements, femininity is not left out of the dataset. The advertisements do depict femininity, albeit not in the context of high-performance running. When a woman is shaped in a more feminine way, or is dressed or carrying herself as a stereotypical woman would, visual and textual cues position her as an unthreatening competitor. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213724/original/file-20180408-5569-aex968.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213724/original/file-20180408-5569-aex968.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/213724/original/file-20180408-5569-aex968.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213724/original/file-20180408-5569-aex968.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213724/original/file-20180408-5569-aex968.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213724/original/file-20180408-5569-aex968.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213724/original/file-20180408-5569-aex968.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/213724/original/file-20180408-5569-aex968.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1001&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An advertisement in ‘Runner’s World.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Runner's World)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, in an advertisement for a diva-themed just-for-fun women’s race series, a woman runs wearing a tutu and tiara. She looks bored and her feet barely lift off the ground. Since there is no rationale given for the diva race, it gives the impression of an event meant to contain women and their femininity.</p>
<p>Interpreted alongside the story of Switzer’s run, these advertisements are reminders that bodies are a part of history. Situated within an endurance running subculture that initially wasn’t quite sure how it would deal with the “woman problem,” these advertisements are evidence that female endurance runners are still bound by regulations. </p>
<p>While they are free to enter competitive races, the advertisements communicate that women’s success and value are tied to a certain training regime, body type and style of gender expression.</p>
<p>This focus on the body is a hallmark of the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09581596.2010.529422">neoliberal ideology</a> that colours Western public life more broadly. In neoliberal thinking, a “good” consumer makes the autonomous, rational choices that lead to physical fitness. Not only is fitness assumed to be more attractive, it benefits the state by saving on the economic costs of obesity. </p>
<p>Studying these advertisements, then, is an important task because advertisements tend to shape — and are shaped by — <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09581596.2010.529422">social norms</a>, giving them a place of power in consumers’ lives. </p>
<p>What runners are seeing in the media can tell us a lot about what it means to be a runner today.</p>
<p>If we know nothing else about these runners, we know that there are a lot of them. A year ago, Switzer <a href="https://www.self.com/story/kathrine-switzer-2017-boston-marathon">ran the Boston Marathon</a> on the 50th anniversary of her debut run. At 70 years old, she was the 9,856th woman to cross the finish line. </p>
<p>Because advertisers have no shortage of female endurance runners with which to communicate, it behooves them not to take another 50 years to change the conversation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93738/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carly Drake does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Women endurance runners are being celebrated in the advertising world yet the ads also create negative sentiments by focusing on ‘ideal’ running bodies - long, lean and masculine.Carly Drake, PhD Candidate in Marketing, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/879892018-01-02T23:03:51Z2018-01-02T23:03:51ZExercise more this year – it really is good for your heart<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200337/original/file-20171221-17706-w4h2y6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Do not be derailed by news reports that exercise is bad for the heart. Taking more exercise is a New Year's resolution to stick to. Exercise reduces risks of depression, cancers, heart disease, stroke and sudden death. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the year stretching out before us, shining with promise, many of us have made resolutions to be more active. </p>
<p>As a researcher of exercise and health, I spend most of my waking time figuring out ways to help people become more active. I also apply that research on myself by regularly going swimming, for a bike ride or walking around my neighbourhood. </p>
<p>My work addresses the main reasons people give for not exercising: That there’s “not enough time,” or there’s a lack of facilities or “it’s just easier to sit and watch TV.” </p>
<p>Recent media coverage of new research studies has added to this list of excuses, through headlines such as: “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/10/18/excessive-exercise-may-harm-the-heart-study-suggests/#4683856f7fa5">Excessive exercise may harm the heart</a>.” </p>
<p>Is this really the case? Could exercise be bad for your heart? Is there such a thing as too much exercise? </p>
<p>Well, unless you’re participating in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19092706">ultramarathons and running 160 kilometres</a>, it’s unlikely you’re going to overdo it. </p>
<p>Exercise is good for us, and always has been.</p>
<h2>Does exercise cause heart disease?</h2>
<p>During 2017, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2017.07.016">three</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.027834">studies</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.116.026964">came out</a> suggesting that exercise may actually cause heart disease, as older athletes had more atherosclerotic plaques (a build-up of fat in your artery that can lead to a blockage) than people who didn’t exercise. </p>
<p>These athletes weren’t ultramarathoners either. On average they exercised 45 to 60 minutes per day — an amount that many people are already doing, and only three times more than the <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs385/en/">World Health Organization’s physical activity guidelines</a> (150 minutes of moderate activity per week). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200308/original/file-20171221-4980-1rhxc6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200308/original/file-20171221-4980-1rhxc6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200308/original/file-20171221-4980-1rhxc6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200308/original/file-20171221-4980-1rhxc6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200308/original/file-20171221-4980-1rhxc6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200308/original/file-20171221-4980-1rhxc6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200308/original/file-20171221-4980-1rhxc6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Unless you are particpating in ultramarathons, you can exercise safely without worry.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So are these studies conclusive that you can do too much exercise? No.</p>
<p>All three studies measured the amount of plaque using something called “coronary artery calcification.” Coronary artery calcification is a marker of how much plaque a person has in their heart. The greater the coronary artery calcification, the more likely that person has a plaque, and the greater the size of that plaque. </p>
<p>It’s important to note that none of these studies looked at actual heart events like heart attack or death. While coronary artery calcification is a marker of heart disease, it does not automatically mean someone with a high amount will have a heart attack.</p>
<h2>A different type of plaque</h2>
<p>The studies were also observational, meaning that they were not designed to see if exercise causes plaques. They only compared plaques in those who exercise with those who do not. They were also small studies in terms of the number of participants (between 250 and 3,000) compared to the studies that have shown the benefits of exercise (in the 10,000s and more). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200339/original/file-20171221-17728-1nq9lyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200339/original/file-20171221-17728-1nq9lyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200339/original/file-20171221-17728-1nq9lyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200339/original/file-20171221-17728-1nq9lyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200339/original/file-20171221-17728-1nq9lyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200339/original/file-20171221-17728-1nq9lyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200339/original/file-20171221-17728-1nq9lyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A recent study of more than 130,000 people from 17 countries showed there was no upper limit at which the benefits of exercise stopped.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(17)30577-3/fulltext">In one of the studies</a>, the association between exercise and higher coronary artery calcification was only present in white men, but not in the white women, black men and black women who were also studied. The authors acknowledged that this could be a fluke finding. This is very likely, because why else would exercise be bad for white men but no other groups?</p>
<p>Lastly, and perhaps most important, is that the type of plaque in the athletes was different from that in the non-exercisers. </p>
<p>In the athletes the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2017.07.016">plaques tended to be of the more stable type</a> which are less likely to lead to a heart attack compared to the plaques in the physically inactive people. So it is believed that the coronary artery calcification seen in athletes is actually protective.</p>
<h2>Reduce your risk of depression and cancers</h2>
<p>We’ve known for centuries that exercise is good for us, ever since the Greek doctor Hippocrates (c. 460 – c. 370 BC) said that, “walking is the best medicine.” </p>
<p>More recently, countless studies have shown that exercise is associated with reduced risk in conditions such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.16111223">depression</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-098391">some cancers</a>, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamacardio.2017.4069">heart disease, stroke and premature death</a>. </p>
<p><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31634-3">In our recent study</a> of more than 130,000 people from 17 countries, we saw no upper limit at which the benefits of exercise stopped. </p>
<p>In fact, the reduction in risk for heart disease and premature death occurred at amounts of activity 17 times that of the guidelines (effectively walking for eight hours per day). This <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamacardio.2017.4069">has been confirmed</a> in a subsequent research study in people at even higher levels.</p>
<h2>Increase your lifespan</h2>
<p>Even in people with heart disease, exercise is beneficial. Studies more than 25 years ago showed that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3398199">exercise programs reduced risk of premature death (by any cause)</a> by 20 per cent to 25 per cent. </p>
<p>So today, participating in exercise is part of standard guidelines for treating people with heart disease whether in <a href="http://www.cacpr.ca/resources/guidelines.cfm">Canada</a>, <a href="http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/125/7/e369.full">the United States</a> or <a href="https://www.escardio.org/Guidelines/Clinical-Practice-Guidelines/CVD-Prevention-in-clinical-practice-European-Guidelines-on">Europe</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200310/original/file-20171221-4968-1tdug20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/200310/original/file-20171221-4968-1tdug20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200310/original/file-20171221-4968-1tdug20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200310/original/file-20171221-4968-1tdug20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200310/original/file-20171221-4968-1tdug20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200310/original/file-20171221-4968-1tdug20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/200310/original/file-20171221-4968-1tdug20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">More exercise is a New Year’s resolution worth keeping.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The overwhelming evidence suggests that regular activity and exercise is beneficial for preventing heart and other diseases, as well as increasing lifespan. It is also one of the cheapest things you can do to improve your health. </p>
<p>We should recognize that a key problem in our society is that <em>people don’t do enough exercise</em>, not that they do too much. </p>
<p>So if you’re looking to begin an exercise program in 2018, you can do so knowing that it is really is one of the best things you can do for yourself.</p>
<p><em>Scott Lear writes the weekly blog <a href="https://drscottlear.com/">Feel healthy with Dr. Scott Lear</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87989/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Lear receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Novo Nordisk, Hamilton Health Sciences and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. </span></em></p>Taking more exercise is a New Year’s resolution to stick to. Exercise reduces risks of depression, cancers, heart disease, stroke and sudden death.Scott Lear, Professor of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/753062017-05-05T01:53:37Z2017-05-05T01:53:37ZBeware the hype – springy soles won’t make you run much faster<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166241/original/file-20170421-12645-18gej98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Springy soles, stiffer shoes, lightweight materials. When does shoe design give some runners an unfair advantage?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/544254466?src=ouwhewYFWf9JXeqj-kg3ig-1-45&size=medium_jpg">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most runners believe a good pair of running shoes is worth the investment. But advances in running shoe technology have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/08/sports/nikes-vivid-shoes-and-the-gray-area-of-performance-enhancement.html?_r=0">sparked debate</a> about whether shoes help you run faster.</p>
<p>Can they really allow marathon runners to break the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40279-017-0708-0">elusive two-hour barrier</a>, a challenge set to take place in Italy <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/2-hour-marathon/how-to-watch-saturdays-sub-2-marathon-attempt">this weekend</a>? Or can newer shoes help you improve your personal best? </p>
<p>If they do, can we class these shoes as “performance enhancing” technologies that give runners an unfair advantage?</p>
<h2>Light shoes, better performance</h2>
<p>The weight of your running shoes can have a <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40279-014-0283-6">significant impact</a> on running performance. As shoes get heavier, muscles use more energy to move your feet, causing you to fatigue earlier, reducing your running performance.</p>
<p>Advances in materials technology have allowed running shoes to get lighter and lighter. Premium running shoes weigh on average 250 to 340 grams each, while the controversial <a href="http://news.nike.com/news/nike-zoom-vaporfly-elite">Nike Zoom Vaporfly Elite</a> tips the scales at just 184 grams.</p>
<p>If shoe weight is so important, why not <a href="https://theconversation.com/mondays-medical-myth-run-barefoot-to-prevent-injuries-7901">run barefoot</a>? Running barefoot requires energy to be absorbed by the muscles of the legs and feet when the foot hits the ground. Shoe cushioning can alleviate some of that. However, adding cushioning also increases shoe weight. So, there is a trade-off between the benefit of cushioning and the detrimental effects of added weight.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2014&issue=02000&article=00015&type=abstract">recent study</a> found running in shoes each weighing 211 grams resulted in the same energy consumed for a given running distance (called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_economy">running economy</a>) as running barefoot. And running barefoot on a treadmill, that provides the same cushioning as shoes (without adding weight to the feet), produced a small (~1.6%) improvement in running economy. </p>
<p>So the ideal would be to provide enough cushioning with as little weight as possible for the best running performance.</p>
<h2>Springy shoes, the jury’s out</h2>
<p>Reducing muscular effort at impact through shoe cushioning can be beneficial. But traditional running shoes lose energy with every step (converted mainly to heat). So, this energy must be replaced, through muscular contraction, to propel the runner into the next step and prevent a drop in speed.</p>
<p>In fact, cushioned shoes <a href="http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/13/119/20160174">increase activation</a> of foot and leg muscles during push-off, compared to barefoot running. So the benefit of cushioning during impact may be offset by the increase in muscular effort needed to push off.</p>
<p>What if we could get back the energy lost at impact? Recent developments in running shoe design have focused on developing lightweight cushioning materials that act like springs to store energy from foot impact and return it to help power push off. In theory, this could reduce the muscular effort required to both absorb impact and power push-off and potentially <a href="http://jap.physiology.org/content/92/2/469">improve running economy</a>. </p>
<p>But there are complications we must consider before “springing” to a conclusion.</p>
<p>Springs only return energy they absorb when the shoe hits the ground. Springs cannot generate the <em>extra</em> energy needed to run uphill or accelerate. So muscles must still do this extra work and we do not yet know how a spring influences their ability to do this. This may potentially affect how efficiently you run uphill, downhill, accelerate or slow down.</p>
<h2>Stiff shoes help, but not too stiff</h2>
<p>The way the foot moves is also important. Our toe joints naturally bend when we push off, which dissipates some of the energy added by calf muscle contraction.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165190/original/image-20170413-25898-145hwo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165190/original/image-20170413-25898-145hwo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165190/original/image-20170413-25898-145hwo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165190/original/image-20170413-25898-145hwo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165190/original/image-20170413-25898-145hwo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165190/original/image-20170413-25898-145hwo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165190/original/image-20170413-25898-145hwo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">High speed x-ray of running foot during push-off, when the toes bend and absorb energy. A hypothetical carbon insole is shown, which should theoretically reduce how much the toes bend and therefore reduce energy lost.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided, with Mike Rainbow, Susan De'Andrea and Nicolai Konow.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Reducing the amount the toes bend by making shoes stiffer can reduce the amount of energy lost. Stiffer soled shoes <a href="http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2006&issue=03000&article=00023&type=abstract">can improve running economy</a>, but only if the bending stiffness is <a href="http://www.jbiomech.com/article/S0021-9290(17)30015-5/abstract">optimised</a> for the specific athlete.</p>
<p>Too stiff and the calf muscles have to work too hard to produce the required forces to rotate the ankle; too soft and the benefit becomes trivial. </p>
<p>So it is not surprising shoes <a href="http://www.runningshoesguru.com/2017/03/nike-zoom-vaporfly-elite-the-shoe-of-breaking2-you-cant-buy/">Nike is preparing</a> for running marathons in under two hours have carbon fibre insoles where the bending stiffness is “tuned” for each runner.</p>
<p>The optimal stiffness of a shoe sole also varies depending on factors like the runner’s weight, leg length and strength. But a bigger design problem is that the optimal bending stiffness also varies with constantly changing factors.</p>
<p>Running at different speeds means we must change how we activate our muscles. But a simple spring, such as the <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/blade-runners-do-high-tech-prostheses-give-runners-an-unfair-advantage/">carbon fibre blade</a>, cannot change its stiffness for different speeds. </p>
<p>Even if we could tune shoe stiffness as we ran, this wouldn’t help with the added effort required to run uphill or accelerate.</p>
<h2>Are shoes ‘performance enhancing’ devices?</h2>
<p>Advances in shoe technology have the potential to improve running economy. At most, it is estimated this might make a difference of <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40279-017-0708-0">up to 2% in running economy</a> when running on a flat course, in ideal conditions.</p>
<p>For professional runners, we don’t think the latest improvements in design provides an “unfair” advantage because the shoes do not give runners extra energy; they only help preserve energy our muscles generate and are likely to require precise conditions to be effective.</p>
<p>While recreational runners may get a small performance benefit from lighter, better cushioned or slightly springy shoes, they would be better off increasing their fitness, and making sure their next shoes are comfortable and fit to reduce the chance of injury.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75306/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Glen Lichtwark has received research funding from Asics Oceania to conduct footwear and running related research. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC), Cerebral Palsy Alliance and Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation. He currently holds an ARC Linkage project in collaboration with the Australian Sports Commission. He is a council member with the International Society of Biomechanics</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dominic Farris receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) including a current ARC Linkage Project in collaboration with the Australian Sports Commission. He has also applied for ARC funding in collaboration with Asics Oceania to research foot and footwear biomechanics. He is a member of the International Society of Biomechanics. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke A Kelly has received funding from Asics Oceania to conduct footwear and running related research. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the National Health & Medical Research Council of Australia. He is a member of the scientific committee for Sports Medicine Australia.</span></em></p>Running shoes with springs in the soles have been touted as the next big thing in shoe design. But they won’t turn a weekend warrior into an Olympian.Glen Lichtwark, A/Prof in Exercise and Sport Science, The University of QueenslandDominic Farris, Research fellow, The University of QueenslandLuke A Kelly, Research Fellow, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/730272017-05-02T12:09:25Z2017-05-02T12:09:25ZWhy we have such a love-hate relationship with work<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167012/original/file-20170427-15117-1bvmy2h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pexels.</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Shock, horror, <a href="https://theconversation.com/happiness-mapped-why-work-is-the-place-we-feel-the-worst-72689">a new study</a> shows the British public don’t like their jobs. Using smart phones <a href="https://theconversation.com/happiness-mapped-why-work-is-the-place-we-feel-the-worst-72689">researchers mapped the happiness of people</a> in real time, while they went about their daily lives. And they discovered that people do not report feeling very happy at work. </p>
<p>In fact, apart from being ill, work was shown as the activity that people reported they were least happy doing. </p>
<p>Without devaluing the research, I suspect that this finding isn’t surprising – most of us hate going to work. Or if “hate” is a bit strong, I’m sure most people would much rather spend their time doing something else.</p>
<p>My first experience of work was a summer job in a factory and apart from the noise and smell, I remember that I was struck by how miserable the place seemed to be. Work was clearly not something to be enjoyed, a message that everyone I encountered was keen to share. Then, as now, people seemed to love hating work. </p>
<p>The message I was given wasn’t new. The English folk singer <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jan/25/ewan-maccoll-godfather-folk-adored-and-feared">Ewan McColl</a> sang it to an earlier generation in his song The Manchester Rambler: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I may be a wage slave on Monday, but I am a free man on Sunday. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>A century before, Dickens <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/four-hour-work-days-charles-darwin-dickens-why-better-better-job-performance-a7656266.html">told his readers just how bad work was</a>. Look back further and we can see the same old story. </p>
<p>Even Cinderella was locked in a zero hours contract doing long hours of menial low paid work and left dreaming of escape. Meanwhile Jack gladly exchanged the hard work of the farm for a few magic beans and a chance encounter with a beanstalk. Upon his return, Jack (like Cinderella) had no need to work and lived happily ever after. The giant he slayed was work. The dream of escaping this ogre is common to us all. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167011/original/file-20170427-15086-3c3a94.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167011/original/file-20170427-15086-3c3a94.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167011/original/file-20170427-15086-3c3a94.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167011/original/file-20170427-15086-3c3a94.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167011/original/file-20170427-15086-3c3a94.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167011/original/file-20170427-15086-3c3a94.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167011/original/file-20170427-15086-3c3a94.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The modern mantra?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pexels</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Today we no longer rely on the supernatural for escape. Instead education is promoted by parents, teachers and politicians as the antidote to the tyranny of work. Granted this modern message is less romantic – we cannot avoid work, rather we must work hard today for a slightly better tomorrow. The best we can hope for is temporary respite. We might be free on Sunday, but without the supernatural there is no avoiding Monday. </p>
<p>Yet paradoxically, despite recent research revealing the unhappiness that work brings, it seems being deprived of work only makes things worse. We are caught in a <a href="https://www.faust.com/legend/pact-with-the-devil/">Faustian Pact</a> where in order to be happy (by not working) we must work. And like Dr Faustus, we imagine we are smart enough to trick the devil. </p>
<h2>The joys of hard graft</h2>
<p>Perhaps then it’s down to employers to make work more fun? Clearly there is merit in this, but <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/09/12/the-ten-happiest-jobs/#3aefa49d7703">research suggests it isn’t just our working conditions</a> that make us unhappy. In fact despite major improvements in working conditions and terms of employment over the 150 years, people remain unhappy at work. </p>
<p>Research has also shown that physically demanding work often leads to <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/436628/mike-rowe-dirty-jobs-can-be-good-jobs">greater job satisfaction</a> – irrespective of how well it is paid. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167015/original/file-20170427-15084-8j0eft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167015/original/file-20170427-15084-8j0eft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167015/original/file-20170427-15084-8j0eft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167015/original/file-20170427-15084-8j0eft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167015/original/file-20170427-15084-8j0eft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167015/original/file-20170427-15084-8j0eft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167015/original/file-20170427-15084-8j0eft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Happiness toolkit?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pexels</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many of those working in harsh conditions doing tough manual labour or apparently unpleasant jobs actually find it rewarding – even when it is not highly valued monetarily. This then goes some way to explain why <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/09/12/the-ten-happiest-jobs/#3aefa49d7703">firefighters and construction workers</a> seem to like their work more than most.</p>
<p>The author <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/fe7cce2e-bdf1-11e5-846f-79b0e3d20eaf">Emma Jacobs has written about</a> this in her book which looks at the best of all the world’s worst jobs. She illustrate how those involved in dirty work think positively about their low paid and often unrecognised work. </p>
<h2>A new kind of labour</h2>
<p>But with hard physical work becoming increasingly rare, many people are now finding ways of doing it for free. The outdoors has become a place of extreme work and pain – with marathon runners, triathletes, iron men and <a href="https://theconversation.com/tough-mudder-a-modern-day-cheese-rolling-competition-20660">tough mudders putting their bodies on the line</a> with no expectation of getting paid. </p>
<p>Elsewhere gym bunnies do similar work and pay for the privilege. People even pay personal trainers to make them work harder. </p>
<p>What was once considered work is now fun. We enjoy labouring in our homes and gardens, creating beautiful spaces, or growing plants. While the resurgence of crafts and hobbies sees an army of unpaid workers making clothes and finding joy in baking and cooking. Rebranded as retail therapy, shopping has also been transformed from a household chore into a leisure activity.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167016/original/file-20170427-15091-2sxicu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/167016/original/file-20170427-15091-2sxicu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167016/original/file-20170427-15091-2sxicu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167016/original/file-20170427-15091-2sxicu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167016/original/file-20170427-15091-2sxicu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167016/original/file-20170427-15091-2sxicu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/167016/original/file-20170427-15091-2sxicu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Working for yourself.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pexels.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Others work in their “spare time” as writers, bloggers and vloggers perhaps dreaming of a life free of work, but ultimately enjoying creative unpaid work.</p>
<p>Ultimately, it seems that whether we like work or not, depends on why we think we are doing it. Work can be liberating, work can be fun, but only if we stop listening to the economists who tell us the only reason we work is because we <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/98d74346-de67-11e6-9d7c-be108f1c1dce">need to be paid</a> to do it.</p>
<p>For hundreds of years work has been something we have collectively dreamed of escaping so it is unlikely our relationship with paid work will change overnight. Like any successful relationship it takes time and effort (or hard work). </p>
<p>But as we all struggle to maintain a work-life balance, thinking creatively about our dysfunctional love affair with labour might just work in the long run.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73027/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Fouweather does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Why is work making us miserable?Ian Fouweather, Lecturer in Business Operations and Management, University of BradfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/438622015-07-01T04:22:33Z2015-07-01T04:22:33ZThe best time for marathon runners to get on the road<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/86687/original/image-20150629-9059-1ufcpk6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Intensive sun exposure for marathon runners in the middle of the day could lead to sunburn, skin cancer and cataracts. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rogan Ward/Reuters</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Running has been a popular recreational activity for many years. But for marathon runners who train outdoors, the significant proportion of time they spend in the sun means they are potentially exposed to harmful rays.</p>
<p>Solar ultraviolet radiation can lead to sunburn, fatal skin cancers and cataracts – particularly when the exposure to the sun is for a long time or during the hottest time of the day.</p>
<p>For runners, timing their sun exposure and protecting themselves from excess solar ultraviolet radiation are important in preventing the harmful effects of sun rays.</p>
<h2>Putting skin cancer into perspective</h2>
<p>Across the world, <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm64e0602a1.htm">skin cancer</a> has become the fifth most common cancer for men and seventh for women. Australia and New Zealand have seen large increases in <a href="http://sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/You-Me-and-UV/Looking-Closer/NZ-skin-cancer-statistics">skin cancer</a>. In South Africa, skin cancer forms about 30% of all histologically diagnosed cases of <a href="http://www.cansa.org.za/files/2012/05/SKIN_CANCER_Leaflet-2010.pdf">cancer</a>.</p>
<p>Ultraviolet rays are at their strongest in places that are: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>closer to the equator;</p></li>
<li><p>at a high altitude;</p></li>
<li><p>have snow, or other highly reflective (e.g. water) surfaces;</p></li>
<li><p>have low stratospheric ozone levels (a protective layer up in the atmosphere); and</p></li>
<li><p>have skies free of clouds and particles.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and South American countries face a particular risk of skin cancer because of their locations. South Africa, like Australia, is relatively close to the equator. New Zealand has clear skies, and parts of the country are at a high altitude and has several snow surfaces. In spring and early summer, all these countries experience the effects of <a href="http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/arep/gaw/ozone/">ozone depletion</a>.</p>
<h2>Timing South Africa’s sun rays</h2>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/php.12461/abstract">Our study</a> is the first to measure the exact time that sun exposure is most harmful. We did this by monitoring a sample of four marathon runners during marathons and training. A high-tech instrument that measures sun exposure was attached to an arm of each of the runners.</p>
<p>What made our study unique was that the instrument measured sun exposure every minute and instantly linked it to a specific time. This enabled us to track the exact movement and location of runners, including when they were likely running in shade.</p>
<p>The results show solar ultraviolet radiation levels at their highest between 10AM and 2PM.</p>
<h2>Tips for marathon runners</h2>
<p>Runners can experience excess sun exposure acutely in the form of sunburn after running for a short-to-medium time during peak solar ultraviolet radiation hours. Years of regular sun exposure can lead to more chronic health effects such as skin cancer and cataracts in adulthood or old age. </p>
<p>Running early in the morning or late afternoon, wearing protective and cool clothing, a hat and sunglasses, and applying sunscreen to exposed skin, will offer protection. Runners should use extra protection or regularly re-apply sunscreen in marathons that span midday hours.</p>
<p>Studies in <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michael_Kimlin/publication/27468775_Evaluation_of_differences_in_ultraviolet_exposure_during_weekend_and_occupational_activities/links/00b7d53af72806c273000000.pdf">Australia</a> and <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17576384">New Zealand</a> has provided important data about the levels of sun exposure from different activities. This has been used to guide interventions for groups at risk. For example, the government has produced a vitamin D guideline for <a href="http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/consensus-statement-vitamin-d-and-sun-exposure-new-zealand">New Zealand</a>.</p>
<p>It is hoped that detailed data on different areas of activity in South Africa will lead to targeted interventions and education awareness campaigns.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43862/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caradee Yael Wright does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Runners have a greater risk of developing skin cancer because they are more likely have sun damage on their skin as a result of chronic sun exposure.Caradee Yael Wright, Specialist Scientist (Public Health), South African Medical Research CouncilLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.