Treat running and rest as your friends

For so long, rest seemed the enemy of running, to me at least. If I wanted to run longer, to train more, I needed to be doing less resting and more running.

That’s maths, right?

It’s taken me years to learn that the equation is not quite that simple, that running and rest are friends, not foes and that running cannot happen (properly, and in a sustained way) when you are not rested.

I’m a bit dim when it comes to this maths, because it’s a lesson I need to keep hearing. Whenever I embark on a sustained block of training, sleep and rest are often sacrificed early.

And inevitably, I start paying the price – in my case, feeling tired, sluggish, headachy. And, yes, a bit grumpy (sorry, wha¯ nau and friends.)

That’s when I know I need to start prioritising sleep and rest again if I want to run better.

It’s a lesson American runner Maggie Guterl reminded co-host Matt Rayment and me of on our podcast.

The irony is that Guterl has recently won a remarkable race that relies, in part, on an athlete’s ability to endure extreme sleep deprivation.

Last month, she won Big’s Backyard Ultra, a race in Tennessee where competitors have an hour to complete a 6.7 kilometre loop – and they need to keep going every hour until there is no-one else standing.

Guterl was the last person standing, beating the second-tolast, Kiwi Will Hayward, by running 60 hours, covering more than 400km.

It’s an astonishing feat of endurance and an astonishing feat of fending off sleepiness.

But Guterl is in no way a champion of the boast, ‘‘I’ll sleep when I’m dead!’’

She told us how much she values rest and recovery – especially after an event like Big’s.

‘‘People keep asking me, ‘How long will it take you to recover?’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t know – I’ve never run that far, I have no idea’.’’

And so she has taken it easy over the past three weeks. ‘‘I’ve only run three times and no more than three miles.’’

She learned about the need to rest and recover after burning out in 2017.

‘‘I felt like there was no offseason, you just recover and train for something else – or you hope you recover and run something else.

‘‘You get pretty caught up.

You do well in a race and you think, ‘Oh, I want to do this and shoot higher’.’’

Guterl says she has been lucky with injuries, but the sign for her when she needs to back off is more mental.

‘‘When training becomes a chore, that’s when you need a break.’’

Of course, every runner will tell you that some days it’s hard to get out the door – it’s raining, or it’s cold, or there’s something good to watch on Netflix. Guterl is not talking about those days.

Those days, you just need to push yourself, and most often once you’re outside, you won’t regret it. ‘‘When it’s just a slog, that’s when you know. It’s hard on your adrenal glands and everything, it’s not just your muscles.’’

It’s refreshing to hear a runner of Guterl’s stature and ability talk about the importance of rest, of recognising when you’re in danger of over-training.

It’s a message I can’t hear too many times. It’s easy to get caught up in a desire to chase miles, to chase training goals.

When really, sometimes the best benefit will come if you remember the two Rs – rest and recovery.

Eugene Bingham and Matt Rayment are hosts of the trail running podcast Dirt Church Radio. Learn more at dirtchurch radio.com or get in touch via email dirtchurchradio@gmail. com

IRUN4ULTRA American runner Maggie Guterl says that when running is becoming a chore day after day, it’s time to take a break.