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 trail report: Inspiring short Documen

• Food to Fuel: Go all David Goggins on your breakfast

• Awe-inspiring Trail Events to strive for or hike: The UTMB

• The Creepers Flog: Wide toe box socks

• Podcast shoutout: David Goggins gives a kick up the ass

• Newsworthy: 6875 miles in 200 days - Conquering the The Great Western Loop

Thanks for reading Beating Sole! Subscribe for free and receive it in your inbox monthly and support my work.

A quote to inspire

"If there is any magic bullet to make human beings healthy it's to run."Daniel Lieberman - Professor at Harvard University

As an add-on to this, Daniel Lieberman is the author of the "born to run" paper released in 2004 (Endurance running and the evolution of Homo) that caused a lot of stir. by arguing that among all animals, we humans are best adapted for running. You can access the paper here.

BHAG Report

With nothing written up this month and no decent submissions I figured that rather than writing up a rushed, half-assessed write-up of a recent hike, here is a couple of bloody inspiring documentaries I watched recently that are very much worth the screen time:

#1: Lucy Bartholemew runs the entire 231km Larapinta Trail in the Northern Territory, Australia. She gets lost, falls a lot when running through the night, cries, and wants to quit yet smiles and laughs a heck of a lot. She is an amazing human with a kick-ass attitude.My three and five-year-old daughters loved watching this!

#2: Joe McConaughy ("Stringbean") hikes the 800 Miles Arizona Trail in the fastest known time - 13 days.Joe takes on a lot of challenges and is one of the best I've seen at knocking of FKTs of long trails (this isn't his only fastest known time record), showing an awesome combination of mental and physical strength. Day in, day out racking up days that anyone would be proud of, without rest!

*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 me (Shaun) an email HERE

Strength

"You can't go wrong with getting strong."

To have the capacity for hiking, running, and more, you need to work on strength, not just endurance. Here are some examples of impact forces:- Walking: 1.2 x bodyweight force - Running: 1.5 x - Downhill running 2 x This is why it isn't just about having endurance for many steps, but also the strength for each step. Strength training twice per week will help you last longer, feel better, move easier and reduce the risk of injury - less knee pain, cramp and post-hike soreness wouldn't be pretty sweet right?

The rear foot elevated split squat, also known as the Bulgarian split squat.

This is a fantastic go-to strength exercise that loads up the thigh quads, groin, hamstrings and glutes through a big range. It allows you to get deep, working your muscles harder for better strength gains.

Tips: #1: Don't do high reps. Aim for 8-10 repetitions maximum (add weight if needed to max out there and do 3 sets.#2: Keep your body weight centered at your front heel and ankle in order to activate your posterior chain best and make your front leg do the grunt work.

Here's a full write-up by iRunFar.

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

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.

Oatmeal. The BEST breakfast?

It's got protein, fiber, and slow-release carbs and sits well with most people's stomachs. You can add almost anything to it. peanut butter and bananas to up the nutrition. How about protein powder or chia seeds for added protein?

You could even follow David Goggins' daily pre-run breakfast of steel-cut outs and blueberries.

No specific recipe is needed but aim for steel cut or wholegrain/jumbo oats for the win.

For more info, cook times etc, check out this page from the ColoroadoRunner

Awe Inspiring Events: Ultra Trail Mont-Blanc

It won't be news to many of you and is tagged as the ultimate trail running event - it gets a lot of media attention. It is one of the most competitive races in the world, regularly pulling in top athletes. It's very commercialized but in my books, this is great for the sport - sometimes we just need to shout from the rooftops about how good trail running is.

10000 athletes converge on Cham for 8 races, with the biggest being the UTMB. It is 173km long and has a massive 9963m of elevation (more than Mt Everest).

When the race isn't on, you can fast-pack or Hike it. The hike will take you 7-9 days and the terrain is spectacular.

From the Creepers Socks FLOG (Foot Blog)

The essential socks for wide-toe box shoes

Podcast shoutout

I've gone deep this week with David Goggins material. Books, podcasts, tweets.He doesn't hold back, isn't for everyone but I love his honesty the below podcast is so damn good when you need a kick up the raise. This a reminder that the only person to hold you accountable is you and if you want it to happen, you need to turn up, every day.

If you've got a podcast episode you loved lately that is inspiring, wholesome, or just bloody good, let me know.

Newsworthy

Thirteen pairs of hiking boots, 17 pairs of socks, and five headlamps. Nine U.S. states, six national parks, and 25 backpacker hostels. Approximately 15 million steps and 6,875.5 total miles.

These dizzying metrics come from hiker Nick Gagnon’s recent completion of the Great Western Loop, a massive thru-hike that links together sections of the Pacific Crest, Pacific Northwest, Continental Divide, Grand Enchantment, and Arizona trails in a nearly 7,000-mile circle.

Adrian MacDonald (USA) won the inaugural Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko by UTMB on December 17 in 14:07, and that’s almost two hours faster than what he ran to win the Leadville 100 Mile this year. Read more about this via the link below.

Hiking has become a new years tradition.

In my family it certainly has. We hike a mountain every year on the 1st of January to start the year off in the best way. This year may have only been a couple of miles thanks to our 3 girls that are 6 and under but it was all the more special for it. I read this week that we aren't alone either and that it's a big deal for 10s of thousands of people (and likely more!)

Share this with a friend

What are friends for, if you can’t share things with them? These emails a made for you and for your friends so share a bit of "sole" with their inbox: trail inspiration, food, yarns and injury prevention and performance tips. It's what good friends do.

Cheers,

Shaun