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Baked into this issue

• A quote to inspire: John Muir

• Food to Fuel: Isikiate

• Hikes worthy of your bucket list: The Queen Charlotte Track

• Incredible Races: The Abel Tasman Coastal Classic

• Trail Strength: To lunge or not to lunge…

• Podcast, Book and Blog Shoutouts

• News round up

Enjoy August’s late edition and have a bloody awesome end to the week people! It’s a bit of a New Zealand theme this week - I hope you enjoy and if you do, share it with someone for me.

See you out there,
Shaun

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

If in doubt, get a session of lunges in. They come in a heap of varieties of course but let’s keep it simple.

Squat or lunge? if you’re short on time, a tough workout of lunges is going to give you far more trail strength and resilience than a squat. Squats are fantastic for building strength, but with the symmetrical foot position, they simply can’t mimic the demands of running as well as lunges can. Think about the nature of running gait, the way that the two legs work in opposition. As one hip flexes, the other extends, and vice versa. It’s the same pattern in a lunge too.

Lunges?? They’ll hurt my knees!

Nope, they’ll protect them!

Too often I hear people don’t want to do lunges or are scared that they’ll hurt their knees. Sorry to tell you but if you can’t handle a few lunges, then you’re going to struggle going downhill when you’re landing one-legged with around 2X your body weight - you need strength!

So, get trail strong and one real key to doing lunges with the most comfort is to ensure the heel of your front foot is firmly in contact with the ground. Keep weight on the heel as you lunge down. Letting your heel come up and your weight transfer to your forefoot as you lunge down, shifts a lot of load forward to your kneecap and is where most people go wrong.

Here’s how to do it:
V1: Dynamic lunges.

• Grab something heavy to hold in front of your chest (kettlebell, sandbag, a sack of potatoes, etc), or behind you (sandbag)

• Perform 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps. Be in control!

• Don’t go so fast that you lose quality and also don’t be scared to choose a weight that makes 8 reps in a row, difficult.

• Video below

V2: Static lunges (easier, but maybe harder…)

These don’t have the impact of stepping forward and make them easier to control. I like these as then I can load up with more weight and actually make them harder than the dynamic lunges!

• As above, 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps

• Start with no weight initially, if you are new to this or struggling

• The goal is to add weight and aim for the weight that makes it tough to do 8 quality reps.

• Keep weight firmly through your heel at the front, rather than the majority of weight on your forefoot. You will feel your butt fire better here, you’ll be in more control and it won’t be just the quads doing the work.

_{*Disclaimer: Even though I’m a Physiotherapist - this is not medical advice! As always, if you have any injury concerns, pain etc, you should consult a health professional
**Have you got a tip that you want to share? Let me know, contribute to our community and get a shoutout. Email me}

A huge bonus of regular exercise 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.

Chia Fresca (Isikiate) Drink Recipe

It’s been used by by the Mexican Tarahumara Indians for thousands of years and gives a bunch of endurance energy. It’s easy on the gut, it’s tasty and only has a few ingredients!

• 2 tbsp chia seeds

• 2 cups water

• 1 lime (juiced)

• 1 tbsp honey (or maple/agave syrup/favorite sweetener. Honey is non-vegan)

Mix all the ingredients together in a bottle (sports bottle, protein shaker). Mix it really well, then store for 2-3 hours, ideally in the fridge. The seeds may clumb together a bit but nothing a good shake can’t sort out!

Recipe inspiration thanks to HurryTheFoodUp.

Hike it, run it, amble or fastpack. You do you.

TITLELOCATIONDISTANCETIMEFEATURESBEST TIME OF YEARSHORT WRITE UP

This one is a beauty! With stunning coastal views and numerous golden beaches, this track winds its way through the Marlborough Sounds at the top of the South Island of New Zealand.

It’s also very doable without any big climbs. The track, as it is now is very well maintained and can be run, biked, or hiked but it actually started off as a humble network of pioneer day bridle paths.

The Queen Charlotte Track is also part of the Te Araroa trail - the continuous 3000km walking track, the length of New Zealand. I’ll cover that another time.

LOCATION: Malborough, New Zealand
DISTANCE: 73kms
TIME: 3-5 days walking and hiking
BEST TIME OF YEAR: July-August to see the epic wildflowers (but maybe not on race week)

Check out the video below and you can find out more about it form the links below.

Read a more in-depth:
https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation
https://www.qctrack.co.nz/walk-the-track/ 

Does it make your bucket list? What's on the top of your list? let me know on Twitter and it may just make it into the next edition.

The Abel Tasman Coastal Classic

Following on with my New Zealand theme this month, this is one of the most rewarding, beautiful and fun races in NZ and possibly anywhere. And hey, aside form the race - this is a trail running paradise!

In fact when I did this race, back in 2019, I was sitting on the ferry to the start line beside Vajin Armstrong, (one of New Zealand’s most experienced trails runners, and winner that year), who said it was one of his favourite races of all that he had competed in around the world.

It may not tickle your fancy if you only run brutal mountain races where your thighs scream for you to stop.

However it’s certainly no “walk in the park” and if you love running through amazing scenery, native bush and golden beaches then this 33km race through paradise is the ticket! To top it off, it’s run by very experienced organisers and the post race prizegiving dinner is the icing on the cake.

Where: Abel Tasman National Park, NZ
Distance: 33km
Elevation: 2,028 m
Notable: A ferry ride to the start (seeing penguins here was a highlight!), fantastic people, Beautiful native forest & golden beaches. Spend more than a day here.

UTMB is this weekend! I love following these races. It’s an event that may be a little too commercialized but heck it gets such competitive fields and the course is amazing.

irunfar has great coverage and you can check it out on the website below or keep up with the live-cast feed on their twitter profile.

Choosing to Run: A Memoir, by Des Linden

If you've got a podcast, book or blog post you loved lately that is inspiring, wholesome, or just bloody good, send me a message on Twitter

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See you out there,
Shaun