Beating Sole #1, Racing at the edge of the world

Fulfilling content to satisfy your sole.

Curated running and hiking news, nutritious recipes, big hairy audacious race reports, wholesome articles and exclusive partner specials.

All this, just once a month.

Supported by Creepers Socks, the most comfortable & functional performance socks for hitting the trails.

Baked into this issue

  • A quote to inspire

  • BHAG Race report: Catlins Coastal Ultra race report

  • Food to Fuel: Peanut Butter & Banana Cookies

  • Awe-inspiring Races: Barkley marathon

  • The Creepers Flog: Are toe socks healthier?

  • Podcast shoutout: What I've enjoyed

  • Newsworthy: Noteworthy news from go-getters worldwide

Keen to contribute?

Are you as keen as a bean to contribute your bangin' recovery food recipe, an enthralling race report, or a great gear review?

That's bloody awesome! Send Shaun an email

BHAG Report

A what? I reckon everyone should have a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (thanks Jim Collins). A goal that everyone can rally around. A goal beyond your weekly run, regular hike or bike. Something that makes you nervous and bloody excited.

Racing at the edge of the world: The Coastal Ultra in the Catlins

This months report is by me, the author of this newsletter, Shaun Clark. I'm a Physiotherapist, father, husband and owner of Creepers socks from Mid Canterbury, who loves getting out on the trails and challenging my mental and physical limits.

Too often I set myself goals that I know I don't have time to train sufficiently for and that often comes back to bite me in the ass and this occasion was no different. We'll get to that soon.

The Coastal Ultra is a new event down on the southeast coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It's a beautiful, rugged, and open part of the country and once you get past the extreme weather and sandflies, it's a destination not to be missed if you get the chance.

The allure was too great, so I signed up for the 27km distance and got training. We set off in our old oxford caravan and once race day rolled around, we had great weather, to start with.

The race is through farmland, tracks, and single tracks around Waikawa Harbour finishing at Curio bay after a punishing few kilometers of beach running to finish off. I set off with a bang. Possibly too much of a bang? We'll see.

I was feeling great and got out ahead within a couple of k's and battled constantly up and down, through thistles, friendly steers, and past an excited alpaca to get a good lead on the rest of the pack.

That was, right up to about 10 kilometers in when I started getting lead in my legs. I kept the lead until 16 km when I hit the start of the last big hill and had to cede my lead. That's where the going got tough and I had to keep telling myself to just keep moving, no matter the pace. Battling against the other side of my brain yelling at me just to have a break.

The problem? Yea I hadn't done much hill training. It was my own fault and sometimes life just gets in the way but I have this nagging question in my head about what could have happened if I had gotten into the hills more than twice in my build-up? Getting 6th place definitely hit my goal of a top 10 finish but maybe one year I'll find out what I can do with more vert under my belt.

*Got a story to tell? The Beating Sole newsletter is about you and getting out and active. it's about growing ourselves through challenges, experiences, and community. We want to hear about an audacious goal that you've taken on. Send us an email HERE

A quote to inspire

“Make friends with pain, and you’ll never be alone,”

Ken Chlouber, Colorado miner & creator of the Leadville Trail 100

Monthly wellness tip: Sleep

Sleep. The easiest way to keep injury at bay.

A large study of 7,576 men and women in the US Army’s Special Operations Forces in 2020(ref), shone a light on the importance of sleep and our body's ability to repair.

  • Those that got 4-5 hours of sleep were twice as likely to get injured as those that slept 8 hours

  • Sleeping 7 hours compared to 8 still has you at a 24% higher chance of injury

Build good sleep routines and habits. This can include avoiding electronics close to bedtime, reducing late caffeine intake, starting meditation, and much more but we'll leave that to you to find what works best for you.

A good podcast to listen to on this is "sleep is your superpower" on the Rich Roll podcast.

Sleep well.

*Have you got a tip that you want to share? Let me know, contribute to our community and get a shoutout.

Food to Fuel | Travel far. Eat well

A huge bonus of regular exercises and sweating it out in the great outdoors? A great appetite and a need for refueling. We're here to help hit the sweet spot with tasty, nutritious recipes by yours truly, great blogs or, sent in by you.

PEANUT BUTTER BANANA OATMEAL COOKIES

Tasty bickies with simple whole food ingredients keep you going for longer.

Peanut butter has protein and lots of good fats, bananas give you energy, and potassium, and the oats break down slowly (choose wholemeal/jumbo oats) and are great for gut health.

Check out the recipe by Running on Real Food and feel free to send in your favorite recipes, whether they're handwritten or off a handy website like this one.

Awe Inspiring: Barkley Marathons

Crazy? Amazing? Superhuman? There are races, events and missions out there that most people would run in the opposite direction from but there are the special humans that relish the challenge. We put an event in the spotlight in each issue.

Awe Inspiring: Barkley Marathons

The Barkley Marathons is one the hardest races in the ultrarunning world. Created by founder Gary “Lazarus Lake” Cantrell, the race is one of the most grueling ultramarathons ever created. It's not just brutally tough due to the terrain and conditions either. There a few extras that make this one unique:

Why does it exist?

In 1977, James Earl Ray, who assassinated Martin Luther King Jr., escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in the town of Petros in Morgan County, Tennessee. A massive manhunt took place over more than two days, but Ray only made it roughly eight miles before being caught. Uninspired by the low mileage of the criminal, Cantrell believed he could make it 100 miles in the mountains around the penitentiary. Thus, Barkley was born.

  • Entry is capped at 40 participants

  • The starters list is often kept secret

  • Registering costs $1.60 and is mailed in as there is no official website

  • First-timers—or “Barkley virgins” as Cantrell calls them—are also asked to bring a license plate from their state or country.

  • the start time varies and the only indication is when Laz blows on a Conch shell 1 hour before the start

  • You must complete 5 laps of the course within 60 hours to finish the race and often, like this year, there are no finishers.

Learn more here.

It's brutal and if you complete 3 laps? It's called a "fun run". Check out the news article in the round-up down lower on how Jasmine Parks became the first woman since 2013 to complete the fun run.

From our sponsors: The Creepers Socks FLOG (Foot Blog)

Are Toe Socks Healthier?

Good health starts from the ground up and that's starting with our feet. They're two parts of our anatomy that are often taken for granted and it's worth asking the question, are the socks you wear good for your feet?

Should we keep putting our feet in traditional socks or are toe socks healthier? let's find out.

And yes, we may be a little biased, being self-proclaimed toe sock fanatics, but we'll do our best to just give you the facts!

For good foot health, my key factors are:

  • Dry feet

  • Breathability

  • Low friction

Read more via the link below on how wrapping your wrigglers in seamless, moisture-wicking sleeves changes the game...

Read the article HERE

Podcast shoutout

Podcasts I've enjoyed listening to recently​

#1: Rich Roll Podcast E618: Courtney Dauwalter

Why: Great insight into an incredible human with incredible mental strength and a unique view of the pain cave

#2: Dirt Church Radio E178: Lucy Bartholomew

Why: Love her attitude. One of my favorite athletes

#3: How I built this with Guy Raz E159: AllBirds

Why: I love a good NZ success story with a drive for using quality materials

Newsworthy

The fell runner from the UK came to the sport relatively late, but she seems to be making up for lost time

A group of older male runners head out in Kyiv every day even as Russian bombs fall around them

As an ocean scientist, I see the impacts of climate change every day. Here's what running has taught me about how to move forward.

Share this with a friend and help reforestation

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Forward this email to them so that they can subscribe and our sponsor, Creepers Socks have committed to planting a tree for every single new subscriber through the Eden Reforestation Projects.

Share the newsletter, get inspiration and help keep the forest green in the process.

Cheers,

Shaun