Why do you run?

Although I enjoy watching top-class athletic meetings, and am actively involved in coaching competitive middle- and long-distance runners, I very much appreciate that not all of us run in order to compete.

I doubt if more than 10 runners in the 30,000 who take part in the annual London Marathon believe they have a chance of winning the race.

So, with 30,000 runners in the field, you might find 30,000 reasons for each of them being there.

We all have reasons why we run and they may be to seek competition, increase fitness or regain health. I was fortunate to talk to two runners this week who reminded me of this.

Any friend of Brian Aquilina who has not seen him for two years could be forgiven for not recognising him today. In the last 24 months, Brian has lost 22 kilos in weight, dropping from 92kg to a trim 70kg.

Along the way he has also cut something like 12 minutes off his half marathon time, and hopes to chop off some more next month.

Unfortunately, I only met the second runner at the start of the Qawra 10k. I knew him by sight since I go almost every road race, yet in the few moments before the gun, I was amazed to hear of his heart by-pass operation and how he could still run close to 1:40 for the half marathon.

This guy puts to shame the many unhealthy people in the country who need to exercise and can't be bothered.

The Health Education Unit should run a marketing campaign featuring him and demonstrate the life-saving benefits of exercise.

Now I just wish I'd asked him his name.

If you know who he is, please email me, or if you have an interesting story to tell of why you personally take part in the Malta Marathon, drop me a line to the email address below.

Carbohydrates

I've recently had conversations with several runners about carbo-refuelling.

One guy explained that he eats regular meals of meat and potatoes, as if this was good.

I spent some time explaining that potatoes are actually one of the poorest sources of carbohydrate for distance runners. In short, as a food, potatoes are not "carbo-dense" enough, so you have to eat large quantities to try and store any serious amount of muscle glycogen.

How many times per day can you eat huge meals? With the pace of life today, we need to grab carbos anywhere we can. And the less food we have to consume to do so, the better.

To get my point across, I prepared a simple list using regularly-eaten foods showing their carbohydrate content. The amount of each food is identical (100 grms), but, as you can see, the total grams of carbohydrate each food delivers is completely different.

Carbohydrate is a runner's prime fuel source. So, eat wisely and enjoy your running.

Carbohydrate sources

CHO per 100grms of food

Corn Flakes 84 grms
Raisins 77
Figs (dried) 70
Prunes 68
Angel cake/Madiera cake 60
White bread 52
Plain biscuits 52
Wholewheat bread 48
Christmas mince pies 42
Potatoes (chips) 36
Rice (brown) 26
Rice (white) 24
Potatoes (baked) 21
Bananas 18
Potatoes (boiled) 15
Apples 14
Beef/hamburger/steak/tuna 0

Official results

Derek Moss wrote in asking for the official results to include the age of each competitor, thereby allowing everyone to check how well he, or she, did compared to others in their age-group.

This is such an excellent idea that we will be delighted to do just that.

johnwalsh42195@yahoo.it