Tag: jason fitzgerald

  • How to Win a Warrior Dash Obstacle Race

    How to Win a Warrior Dash Obstacle Race

    This guest post comes from Jason Fitzgerald over at Strength Running. Jason wrote our original obstacle race training guide. Take it away, Jason!

    When I beat nearly 17,000 other people to win a Warrior Dash obstacle race, I was more surprised than anyone.

    It was my first obstacle race. I had no experience with any of the obstacles. And I was just having fun!

    I didn’t do any specific exercises or or practice any of the obstacles. If you’re wondering how I did it, I’ll show you how to train for Warrior Dash without ANY obstacle experience.

    My only goal was to have fun and see if Warrior Dash could live up to the hype. The experience led me to write a free report showing you the same principles that helped me win the race.

    Want in? You can download it now, for free.

    Warrior Dash Course Report

    Most Warrior Dash courses have a narrow start – requiring a strategic start. Get close to the starting line so you don’t get caught behind the hordes of runners behind you, wading through mud and yelling warrior battle cries.

    Obstacle courses are typically set up on trails or in enormous grass fields. The uneven footing will slow you down and present its own challenges, so stay vigilant about where you step.

    The first obstacle will likely come out of nowhere (seeing around a lot of people is tough!). Take your time; you don’t want to get cut by barbed wire or suffer a running injury from one of the obstacles.

    Soon, you’ll realize that the obstacles you’ll face are significant:

    • A cargo net stretching two stories high
    • A vertical wall with a thin rope to pull yourself to the summit
    • Multiple truck tires to jump through
    • A concrete tunnel to somehow traverse through
    • A cargo net to climb over (don’t get your leg caught!)
    • Mud, barbed wire, and fire. Get excited.

    Don’t forget the hills! Most obstacle race courses are on an unforgiving series of rolling hills, uneven terrain, and wet grass.

    Preparing for an event like this requires a smart approach – here’s how to achieve success.

    How to Train for an Obstacle Course Race

    Here are the top seven ways to train for an obstacle race:

    • Don’t get hurt! Barbed wire and fire are real! Slow down and crawl low enough under (and jump high enough over) these obstacles. Women should wear their hair low but put together so it doesn’t get caught. Make sure you assume all obstacles (like fire, electrically charged wires, or barbed wire) are real.
    • Start near the front.Don’t start near the back or you’ll be stuck behind the crowd. Bottlenecks behind obstacles always happen, so get out ahead of everyone else.
    • Slow down (seriously).Don’t rush over any of the obstacles. Even though you have to slow down, remember that you can’t continue if you fall off a 15-foot barrier and break your foot.
    • Strengthen those muscles!You’ll be a lot faster over the obstacles if you’re strong. You don’t need to bench 300 pounds, but get comfortable with general strength exercises like a good medicine ball workout.
    • If you want to run fast, run fast.Let’s remember that to run fast, you have to practice running fast. It’s very helpful to run a variety of paces in your training, whether that’s classic repetition workouts on the track, hill repeats, or fartlek runs
    • Become a trail runner. The VAST majority of obstacle race courses are on dirt paths, trails, grass, and other uneven terrain. You’ll be at a huge disadvantage if you’re not ready to run on this type of terrain. Trail running improves your proprioception, balance, agility, and ability to cover uneven terrain more quickly.
    • Run more. Always! There’s a reason I beat over 16,000 other runners to win a Warrior Dash and it has nothing to do with my agility, power, or strength. I was simply a stronger runner.

    Train like a runner and you’ll dominate any obstacle race you enter.

    Train Smart, Race Fast

    Don’t be intimidated to enter your first obstacle race. The majority of registrants are more inexperienced than you are – and most obstacle races are completely accessible to anyone with even a small amount of fitness.

    But if you want even more ways to train for Warrior Dash (and maybe even win!), check out the free report on obstacle races here.

    Here are a few ways to prepare:

    • Run a trail race. The uneven terrain and hills will definitely prepare you for any off-road obstacle race.
    • A Parkour class will teach you how to run over obstacles quickly.

    Obstacle racing is a new and different way to run fast. If you’re bored of traditional road races and need a different challenge, a race like the Warrior Dash might be just the thing to break you out of your rut.

    Just remember that runners will always be the top finishers at any obstacle race so train accordingly!

    photo: Thatcher Clay

  • How to Hack a Boston Qualifying Marathon

    How to Hack a Boston Qualifying Marathon

    The following is guest post by Jason Fitzgerald. Jason runs Strength Running, a website that helps runners crush their goals. Just this week, Jason launched Run Your BQ — I’ll let him tell you more.

     

     

    For most runners, running a Boston Qualifying (BQ) marathon time is a bucket list goal and comes with a lot of bragging rights. And with good reason: only a tiny fraction of marathoners will qualify and earn their spot on the starting line in Hopkinton.

    Dubbed “the world’s most prestigious marathon,” Boston is unlike any other road race. It’s over 115 years old and has the fastest average finish time of any marathon anywhere.

    Marathoners dream of being part of this history; feeling the thrill of seeing the Prudential tower rise on the horizon as they make their way past roaring crowds toward the famous finish line on Boylston Street.

    I know what it’s like to qualify for Boston – I’ve done it twice and have a 2:39:32 marathon PR. But even more rewarding, I help runners qualify for Boston and run faster marathons through a special community called Run Your BQ.

    RYBQ is a group of nearly 300 marathoners who are passionate about improving their time over 26.2 miles – even if they’re far from qualifying. More than just a library of training plans, 45+ articles on nutrition, pacing, and motivation (though we have those!), Run Your BQ is an interactive community that helps each other reach big goals like qualifying for the world’s most prestigious marathon.

    What’s your background as a runner and coach?

    I’ve been running competitively for over 14 years and ran 2:39 at the 2011 Philadelphia Marathon. I’m also the author of 101 Simple Ways to be a Better Runner and have been featured in media like Yahoo, The Huffington Post, Health Magazine, Shape, and Active.

    I’ve been coaching for over two years and I’m proud that I’ve helped hundreds of runners get faster, prevent more injuries, and yes, even qualify for Boston!  Slow or fast, there’s always a better way to train.

    Why did you create Run Your BQ?

    First, I found that a lot of the marathon training advice on the web was simply garbage. Suggestions like, “run on a track!” and “do intervals!” are unfortunately all too common. What’s a runner supposed to do – search the entire internet for a good marathon training plan?

    Runners also can’t train in a vacuum all by themselves. You can achieve more and run faster (not to mention stay more consistent) when you have a support group pushing you to stay motivated. RYBQ gives runners a community of supportive runners to lean on with a thriving forum, regular live video chats where they get their personal questions answered, and a Feed to post race pictures, quotes, and status updates (like Facebook).

    What’s next for Run Your BQ?

    RYBQ is a growing group and we only accept new members a few times per year. We’re actually accepting new members right now – but only until Friday, 9/28. Click here and let us show you a video tour of the website, including many of our new features.

    As we keep getting bigger, we’re always adding new tools to help our runners. We just added smart phone capabilities so you can view your workouts anywhere and we’re planning a map of our members for meet-ups at races and for workouts.

    To see the video tour and learn more about Run Your BQ, check out the details here!