Sometimes we love them, other times we hate them, but we all know we need them every now and then. Rest days are a tricky one, especially for distance runners.

We all feel we need to be doing more to become a better runner, and somehow sitting on the sofa doesn’t feel productive, but it does a lot more than we realise.

Photo: Natalie White

They can be referred to as ‘recovery days’ or ‘adaptation days’ as this is essentially what they are for but often we think of them more as ‘lost days’, which they definitely aren’t. 

The frequency of rest days varies from athlete to athlete. One runner may benefit from consistently having the same day each week reserved for their rest day, another may work in a 10-day cycle, or someone else may take their rest day as and when they feel their body needs it and others may have none at all. 

Why do we need rest days?

Factoring rest days into your training schedule is just as, if not more important than the hard work you put in. Having a regular day off helps to keep you mentally and physically strong. 

Physical benefits. 

Carfagno and Hendrix (2014) say ‘athletes are pushed routinely to the limits of their physical abilities. When tempered with periods of rest and recovery, a highly demanding training schedule can have tremendous benefits’.

Therefore, when our bodies have the opportunity to recover from the intense training we put them through, the outcome can be significantly better than training alone without any time to recover. 

When we push our bodies to their limits, our muscles tear, and need to repair in order to regain their strength. However, this process struggles to occur without proper time allotted for rest.

Rest days allow the repairing process to take place, thus helping our muscles to repair and get stronger, allowing us to ultimately run faster. Rest days allow our bodies to go harder in sessions as you will feel stronger, less fatigued, and raring to go again. 

Sometimes your body just tells you when to rest. Photo: Natalie White

Mental benefits.

Rest days aren’t only to be cherished for the physical effects they have, but also for the mental.

However, as much as you love running, no matter who you are, you have days when you find your motivation and energy is low, and this is ok. If you find yourself itching to go out for a run on rest day, you don’t have to. Staying strong and allowing that hunger to build up, just for one day, will make your training to come much better in quality and enjoyment. 

Time with loved ones.

With a busy training schedule, whether you are up early in the morning to run, or conscious of being in bed at a decent time to recover properly, it can be difficult to spend a lot of quality time with your family.

Whilst lockdown has made this juggling act easier for some, it isn’t in times of normality, especially if you are at work during the day.

It is important to embrace the extra time you have available on a rest day and use it to catch up with your friends and family, even if that is over Facetime or Zoom at the moment. It also allows you to enjoy other activities whole heartedly without being time constrained.

Personally, over lockdown, I have discovered a newfound enjoyment for playing volleyball in the garden or hitting a beach ball as hard as I can with a cricket bat and seeing who can get it the furthest. 

Melissa using Laura Muir to make sure her rest starts straight after the race in Glasgow 2019. Photo: European Athletics via Getty Images

What the elites do.

Rest days are taken by everyone, even some of our countries most elite runners’ factor in much needed ‘adaptation days’. Here is how they spend them:

A lot of elites truly embrace the importance of rest days. Melissa Courtney-Bryant, European indoor 3000m bronze medallist (2019) and 1500m Commonwealth bronze medallist (2018), is just one of those who recognises the importance of taking it easy on your rest day.

“So, I don’t have a rest day every week, so when I do have one I really like to relax and just rest!

I tend to sleep in even if it’s just not setting an alarm that day to let my body recover and wake up naturally. Instead of having my usual pre run porridge I make pancakes or have eggs for breakfast as I have more time to spend in the kitchen. In “normal times” I’d get physio or a massage now we are in lockdown I’m relying on my husband to be my physio with the help of my actual physio on video call, so I spend some time having treatment.

In “normal time’s” I might go out for coffee or lunch on a rest day but right now I’m spending a lot of time chilling either watching Netflix’s, sat in my garden or like everyone else in lockdown I’ve got into puzzles! I really like to make the most of actually resting on my rest days to make sure I’m fully recovered for my next session.

Part of a coaching philosophy

Also coached by Rob Denmark, alike Courtney-Bryant, Amy Griffiths has the same approach to her rest days. She too believes you should make the most of the being able to relax and refresh.

I love my rest days and I take full advantage of them. During lockdown the basic structure of my rest days hasn’t changed much. Some rest days I’m more active walking my dog or doing activations/drills in my garden. Others I lounge around doing my final year uni work – the recent sunny weather has been amazing for this! 

I don’t have a set rest day each week like some athletes. My coach will slot them in throughout my training block when he feels they are needed. They typically fall on a Monday or Friday. 

I think rest days are really important at certain points within a hard training block both physically and mentally. 

Physically it’s a chance for my body to relax and recover before cracking on with training again. But ultimately it’s a day where I can switch off mentally and refocus.

There was only one sofa to rest on at the finish so it was a bit of a rush. Photo: Andy Peat

Middle distance runners love rest days too

800m runner, Lynsey Sharp, makes sure she incorporates a regular rest day off every Sunday to allow your body to reap the weekly gains she makes. 

‘I have every Sunday off! Usually a fairly quiet day- Saturdays are a big training day so I’m usually knackered by Sunday!! I try to get up later, make a nice breakfast such as pancakes, go for a dog walk, etc. I’ve lived in England for 7 years and I’m still not used to the everything closing at 4pm law (not a thing in Scotland) so usually a mad rush to the supermarket so I can start the next week stocked up! I then usually take ages making dinner because I have nothing else to do!

Mixing rest with busy work days

Isle of Man’s half marathon record holder and Fast10 athlete, Ollie Lockley, told us how he usually spends his rest days, and how he feels better for still getting in a bit of movement. 

‘Well normally I would take a rest day when I am fairly busy at work, just so I don’t have to worry about fitting in a run and I can concentrate on work.

However, at the moment I haven’t got much going on, and if I’m honest I can’t remember the last day I took a full on rest day. For example, last week I took a day off running, but I still did an easy 45min cycle, and a walk in the afternoon. I will always do something light even if it is just an easy walk (I just can’t sit on my ass all day!! Haha). 

But to fill my free time I enjoy watching documentaries, reading or listening to podcasts. When the weather is nice, I love to sit outside with a nice coffee doing this!’

Rest days as part of injury rehabilitation

Experienced GB runner Louise Small has been absolutely amazing with her patience and determination to recover from her achilles injury. She is truly appreciating the importance of allowing her body to absorb the rest. Now on her way back into training, Small told us how she spends her rest days in lockdown.  

‘I’m currently running about 25 miles a week. No particular structure I just wake up in the morning and decide what I want to do which is very empowering and also refreshing. Currently, I’m having at least one rest day a week and my other days off are filled with a long walk or cardio on the ski machine…

On my rest days currently: I tend to work on my dissertation, I’ve just started getting back into playing the piano after a 12-year hiatus! Catch up with friends (over FaceTime at the moment).

Most importantly I use rest days as an opportunity for my body to absorb all the training to reap the benefits in the future. After this injury I’ve also come to realise that it’s ok to have more than one rest day in the week if you need it. As elite athletes we often get very fixated on only have one day off a week and normally it’s Friday. You should do what’s right for you and your body. Be confident in your training and ability.’

Like Melissa Courtney, Hayley Carruthers knows the importance of resting after a hard effort. Photo: Ian Walton for Virgin Money London Marathon

Some find it difficult to take rest

Even though we know we should take rest days, and enjoy them, it isn’t always as easy as it sounds! Recent World half qualifier (postponed due to Covid-19), Hayley Carruthers has enjoyed slowing down a bit after initially finding it a challenge. 

‘I have started doing 30 mins of yoga on my rest day and reading a lot! I’m really enjoying the slower pace of life. I’m working from home so that keeps me busy during the day. It was difficult at first to ‘rest’ because training is reduced but now, I’m really getting the hang of taking time for myself and feeling grateful to be healthy.’

Whether you enjoy your rest days or not, there is so much you can gain from implementing them into your regular training schedule. There is no frequency that works for everyone, so learn what works for you and keeps you feeling fresh physically and mentally. 

References 

Carfagno, D. and Hendrix, J., 2014. Overtraining Syndrome in the Athlete. Current Sports Medicine Reports, [online] 13(1), pp.45-51. Available here.

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The temperatures may have dropped this week, and even in the absence of 2018 champions Alex Yee and Harriet Knowles-Jones, the races are set to be red-hot battles at the BUCS Cross Country Championships on Saturday (February 2).

BUCS cross country: students ready to battle

Alison Lundy looks at the female contenders in Devon, while Elizabeth Egan outlines the men to watch out for.

Not one of last year’s medallists in the women’s race – Harriet Knowles-Jones, Phoebe Law and Philippa Bowden – are entered to run in Devon, leaving the way clear for a brand new 1-2-3.

Anna Møller, Denmark’s European U23 champion and winner of the Cardiff Cross Challenge, is currently studying at St Mary’s and stands an excellent chance of becoming the first non-British winner of the women’s competition.

Photo: Paul Stillman

Møller represented Denmark at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 3000m steeplechase, setting a new European junior record. If she toes the line on Saturday, she must certainly be the one to beat.

There is no shortage of challengers however; Mhairi MacLennan of Edinburgh was seventh last year, and has been in fine form this cross country season, ninth at the Liverpool Cross Challenge in November and winner of Northern Cross Country Championships last weekend ahead of Lauren Heyes (formerly Howarth).

Also among the contenders is Jess Judd who was fifth at the race hosted by Brunel last year. The 24 year-old, who has unmatched racing stats in 2018, finished third behind MacLennan and Heyes at the recent Pontefract hosted Northern Cross Country Championships.

Last weekend, Judd showed once again that she’s capable of pushing herself over the cross country distance.

Fellow Loughborough student Amy Griffiths will also be looking to improve on last year’s performance when she crossed the line 10th; after a seventh place finish at European Cross in the U23s, she can expect to be challenging for the medals.

Loughborough’s entries also boast Abbie Donnelly who, like Griffiths, represented Great Britain at Euro Cross; they’ll be challenging for a victory in the team competition, but without a winner since Lisa Dobriskey in 2004, could this be the year for Loughborough to take back the individual gold as well as the team trophy?

St Mary’s may think not, as they will back Møller for gold, and in the team competition they may be fairly confident too, with cross country specialist Louise Small on their entry list, as well as GB Euro Cross representative Emily Moyes and Irish international Ciara Everard, although Everard is more at home over 800m.

Brunel’s Rebecca Murray is also entered, adding further experience to an already stellar field. While the 2017 champion, who her marathon debut in London last year, doesn’t appear to be in her best cross country form, she shouldn’t be completely ruled out.

Aiming to show that experience is not everything, this year’s crop of freshers will be vying to make their mark on the competition; Amelia Quirk joined Birmingham in September and has made an excellent comeback from injury through her first few semesters, while Khahisa Mhlanga (Writtle College) and Tiffany Penfold (Edge Hill) are the sole entries for their respective institutions.

Emile Cairess leads the chase for BUCS men’s honours

The newly crowned North of England senior champion Emile Cairess (St Mary’s) won the B race in 2017 before improving to third in the championship race last year.

The Leeds City athlete finished eighth in the U23 race at the European Cross Country Championships in December and will be looking to add to his growing medal collection, which also includes the BUCS 5000m title from 2018.

Photo: JHMSport

If Cairess is to complete his transition from B Race winner to overall champion, he’ll have to contend with a host of other accomplished athletes, not least Loughborough’s Patrick Dever, who finished ahead of him at European Cross.

Dever was the fifth U23 at the trials in Liverpool, but ran the race of his life in Tilburg to finish fifth and lead the British men to silver. He also led home the British senior men at the Stirling International in January, and is undoubtedly an athlete in form.

Oliver Fox (Cambridge), ninth at Liverpool and 19th in Tilburg, is the other member of the European U23 team entered. The Wells City athlete, who finished sixth at the English National last February, should expect to improve on his eighth place from Brunel.

Alex Teuten (Southampton), the 2017 BUCS Champion, is another stand-out entrant, and will have a shorter journey than most to the Exmouth course.

Teuten, who was also runner up at the English National, CAU Inter-Counties and the European Trials in 2017, didn’t finish at Liverpool in December, but put in a solid performance at the IAAF International in Dundonald in January, finishing seventh. If he is on form, the younger athletes will have a tough time keeping up.

Ellis Cross (St Mary’s) will also be looking to show a return to the sort of form that saw him pick up bronze in 2017. The Warwickshire Champion finished 12th last year and also has a bronze medal from the BUCS 5000m last May.

Another hoping to have a race more like 2017, and less like 2018, with be Petros Surafel who was fourth in Sheffield but only managed 24th at Brunel last time out.

Jack Millar (Oxford) was fifth last year, a massive improvement on his previous best performance of 43rd and will be looking to show further improvement this time out.

Luke Caldwell (Imperial), Jamie Parkinson (Oxford), and James Gormley (Birmingham), also finished in the top 10 last year and will be back looking for more of the same.

The step-up from schools to universities is a tough one, but Matthew Willis (Loughborough), 2018 English schools champion, will be hoping to make light work of that transition. His Loughborough and Euro Cross teammate Tom Mortimer, the 2018 Intercounty Champion, is another of the younger athletes to watch out for.

University Exeter have a large team entered, including Ben Holmes, their leading finisher from last year, but the athlete local fans should watch out for is Jake Smith, racing in the colours of Cardiff Met, particularly if conditions are dry. Jake is not a fan of the mud but will be keen to transform his recent road bests of 29:30 (10km) and 64:01 for half marathon into success on the grass.

Expect the unexpected

Amid all the other championship races and international opportunities this time of year, BUCS can throw up some surprises.

Photo: Gary Mitchell

Some athletes will be focusing more on the team aspect of the day and their university scholarship obligations, than individual glory. That said, all the stars lining up tomorrow will have at least one eye on adding their name to the illustrious list of previous winners.

Teuten, Cairess and Dever will each fancy their chances of taking the men’s title; Judd will look to finally add the BUCS title to her English National and CAU Intercounties titles from 2017, but will have Møller and MacLennan to overcome if she’s to do so.

The last five winners, both men’s and women’s, have not only been different individuals, but have also represented five different universities (eight different universities across both genders).

With Yee and Knowles-Jones not starting, it looks like we’ll have to wait another few years to see our first three-time winner since Birmingham’s Ray Smedley in the mid 70’s.

The team race may be among the most difficult domestic titles to win, but BUCS cross country is almost impossible to dominate as an individual!

Action gets underway at 12 noon with the women’s 8km race, followed by the men’s 10km race at 1pm. The men’s B race over 8km concludes the BUCS cross country at 2.15pm.

RELATED: What makes BUCS cross country so special?

RELATED: BUCS cross country: the big three rivalry

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The post BUCS cross country: students ready to battle appeared first on Fast Running.

Luke Traynor, Steph Twell, Richard Allen, Matt Bergin, Fionnuala Ross and Kris Jones are among the runners named in international teams for the Armagh International Road Races on February 14.

Year after year, with unmatched depth in each field, the men’s 5k and women’s 3k produce some of the quickest times across the UK and Ireland.

Last year a record 94 men dipped under the 15-minute mark, while and 34 women ran under 10-minutes.

Scotland’s team for the 2019 races includes a number of runners who will race in the Northern Irish city for the first time, including Traynor and Twell.

Giffnock North’s Traynor had a number of impressive runs in 2018, including a 5000m performance of 13:39.95, and no doubt aims to knock a big chunk of his 14:41 5k road personal best from 2016.

Photo: Bobby Gavin

Leeds Abbey Dash 10k winner Adam Craig and GB Euro cross country representative Jamie Williamson will race over 5k on the roads for the first time, while Luke Caldwell returns after finishing seventh in 2018.

British 5000m champion Twell, who ran a 2:30 debut marathon in December, heads the Scottish women’s selection along with Kerry Macangus and Eloise Walker.

In the women’s 3k race, the trio faces a strong English team with experience of racing around the lapped Armagh Mall course.

Lauren Howarth and Amy Griffiths finished fourth and fifth in 2018, while Eleanor Davis and Holly Archer race in the city for the first time.

England’s 5k champion Allen, whose PB of 13:51 was the third fastest time in the UK last year, leads the men’s quartet, which also includes Kieran Clements, Joshua Grace and Philip Sesemann.

Photo: Pete Brown

Northern Ireland’s women’s team features Leeds Abbey Dash’s female winner Ross, who is a member of the race organising club Armagh AC, along with Kelly Neely, Jessica Craig and Teresa Doherty.

Adam Kirk Smith and James Edgar both competed at last year’s Commonwealth Games and are joined in Northern Ireland’s men’s team by Neil Johnston, Seeley Cup 10k winner Ben Branagh and Conor Duffy.

Matt Bergin finished 12th in last year’s race and returns for Ireland in a strong quartet alongside Kevin Dooney, Brian Maher and David Flynn.

The Irish women’s team features Grace Lynch, Emma O’Brien, Nakita Burke and Una Britton.

Wales’ team was the final international lineup named and includes the returning Jones, who ran a PB of 14:03 to finish fifth in Armagh two years.

Joining the GB international orienteer and cross country athlete in the men’s team are James Hunt, Abed Teweldebrhan and Guy Smith.

Bronwen Owen and Beth Kidger are the sole Welsh females making the trip across to Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, other athletes also expected for the international racing on Valentine’s night include Emma Mitchell, Jess Judd, Claire Duck, Graham Rush and Charlie Grice.

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