Winning the mind game for new runners – Part 2

Posted on January 22, 2020January 22, 2020 by gunnrunners

A few months ago, I talked about the resistance which new runners face when taking up running as their sport for the first time. If you haven’t read Part 1 of this article yet, consider having a read of it now. To recap: the child you once were, is alive and well and living inside your head even now! He or she is exerting an influence on your decisions. For many of you, your inner child sees exercise as a negative thing which is to be avoided. However, if you can get the little guy “on-side”, you won’t have to […]

Are you really looking after your feet? Now is the time to give them a little more TLC!

Posted on October 19, 2019October 20, 2019 by gunnrunners

This month, Nina Sventek, podiatrist and owner of FootBodySole in Albert Park, gives us some tips on taking care of our feet – often neglected but vital for our running. Tips for shoes and socks to keep your feet supported Although we tend to think more about shoes, don’t underestimate the importance of socks. Firstly, they should not feel too tight or cut in around the leg, as this can hinder your circulation. If you are prone to blisters between the toes, try toe socks which help to reduce friction between the toes. Compression arch socks are an increasingly popular […]

Tanya’s Kona marathon

Posted on September 20, 2019September 20, 2019 by gunnrunners

Hawaii – here we come! My first ever marathon was to be on Hawaii’s Big Island – the infamous location of Hawaii’s Ironman course at Kona. The journey had started with 5 months of training, then flying in from Melbourne via Sydney to Oahu 10 days before the event to acclimatise to both the heat and humidity prior to heading onwards to the Big Island. During my stay in Oahu I did a lazy 21km divided into 3 runs around the base of the Diamond Head National Park along the coast. Hawaii is full of runners, and with the climate […]

Winning the mind game for new runners

Posted on August 11, 2019August 25, 2019 by gunnrunners

Just how do you change your mindset? If you have just recently started running, you may have noticed that your hardest challenge is winning the mind game. That is, each time you start your training, something inside you is resisting your efforts. What is the nature of this resistance and what can you do about it? At this point I’d like you to cast your mind back to the child you once were. When you were a child, what sort of things did you like and what sort of things did you dislike? And what sort of things did you […]

Sunshine, surf and smiles at the GOR Running Festival

Posted on July 6, 2019August 25, 2019 by gunnrunners

I’ve been a member of Gunnies for almost four years now, but it was only about four minutes into my very first evening with the group that I realised three key things: 1. Gunnies is insanely social and friendly 2. Everyone is welcomed regardless of their running ability and times 3. The Great Ocean Road Running Festival (I’ll refer to it as GORRF) is one of the biggest events for the club throughout the year. So it was with much sadness that, some 18 months later and after a ton of training in my running shoes, I had to pull […]

Why do we find events irresistible, despite the price?

Posted on May 27, 2019August 25, 2019 by gunnrunners

I don’t hear my running friends complaining about the cost of entry fees, but we have all had this thought as we click ‘Pay now’: I could run this (or a very similar) course for free! I read an article written in 2011 that asked ‘Will we get to the point where people pay $50 to run 5km?’ Well, in 2019 we are there – some events are charging around $50 whether you choose the 5 or 10km run. So, if we keep paying the money we must be seeing value. There are clearly some tangible elements that add value […]

Do something different to get past a plateau

Posted on April 13, 2019August 25, 2019 by gunnrunners

Runners are known for being goal-setters. I started running 4 years ago with the goals of fitness and weight maintenance. I was soon hooked, and I wanted to run further and faster, and to enter events – I didn’t want to miss out on the fun that my fellow Gunnies were having! However, my 5km time had plateaued. Pushing myself had sometimes tipped me into the injury zone, so that tactic was not working for me. Mixing with a community of goal-setting, go-getting runners, this frustrated me. I was still getting a lot of pleasure from running and from the […]