Let's talk about consistently improving your running performance. Ever wondered why you have those good days when you hit a PB and you just can't account for it? And do you sometimes have a not-so-good experience (say a parkrun) where despite putting in the really hard effort you just couldn't get up to your usual speed? Every had one of those days where you experience muscle cramps making running feel very uncomfortable? Or maybe you felt fatigue and reduced energy levels can make it challenging to maintain a fast pace? You might even have experienced headache or dizziness, it can be difficult to concentrate on running and maintain balance. The reason for any of this might (might) be due to an excess salt consumption. How Much Salt Do You Need? How much salt do we need? For most adults, the American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 milligrams (mg) of sodium per day. This is equivalent to about 1 teaspoon of salt. Yes - one teaspoon!...
[This article was first published in February 2023]. Our running dogs’ diet And now for something serious but hopefully not contentious. A couple of months ago readers were invited to send in portraits of their vegan running dogs in action – ideally with the dog wearing a VR buff or something similar. A few proud dog owners responded with pictures of non-vegan dogs. Varied understandable explanations for the dog’s omnivore diets included being in an omnivore household; concern for the dog’s welfare; uncertainty on the suitability of vegan dog food and the dog itself refusing to eat vegan food. There are some long-standing strict compassionate vegans who are shy of inflicting their own views on their pets. It would be a wonderful thing if we could all be proudly and confidently running with vegan dogs (wearing their buffs) at parkruns. So, what’s the scientific position on this? Several research reports on the success and benefits of vegan diets for dogs hav...