Day 2 of the Oman Desert Marathon and after day 1, there was some anxiety. At 55km’s long, the stage was set to be tough. A planned 0630 start with sunrise, would provide participants with extra time in daylight. However, the weather had different plans. An inversion came in during the night and early morning reducing visibility in the valley to zero, the start was delayed 1-hour.
At approximately 0730, the runners were on the way despite some lingering mist. However, the mist was guaranteed to disappear quickly and it did. While it lasted, it gave an eerie feeling to the desert.
Sadly, Mohammed El Morabity was a DNS today. He was tired and feeling under the weather after long delayed travel and a tough first day. Although sad to see a competitor leave, I am sure Salah Al Saidi and Evgenii Glyva were somewhat happy to have one less El Morabity brother to deal with.
Having run a very strong stage 1, Salah Al Saidi took the race to Rachid pushing the pace. As always, Rachid started easy and looked relaxed while following and Evgenii was pushing to hold the pace.
For the women, Aziza Raji must have felt very confident after her stage 1 performance and huge gap. By contrast, Aziza El Amrany was probably wondering how she could pull back any time? Kathleen Leguin who was a pre-race favourite had suffered with sickness on stage 1 but started the day feeling better and the trio ran together with Veronique Messina behind.
Despite 55km’s, stage 2 was billed as a more runnable and easier day, it wasn’t. There was a great deal of soft-sand, several dune section and lots of heat. It was all too much for Kathleen and sadly she withdrew from the race at cp3.
It is never easy to tell if Rachid is suffering, but today there seemed some signs of fatigue and tiredness at cp3. He left with Saleh but looked happy to hold back and let the pace be dictated.
However, in a typical Rachid move, he finally applied pressure and opened a gap crossing the line in 5:47:24 to Saleh in 6:07:43. Evgenii finished 3rd in 6:23:13.
The two Aziza’s were playing truce today and duo ran together all day, Raji happy not to loose anytime to El Amrany and at the same time share the desert with a friend.
With Kathleen out of the race, Veronique finished 3rd, the times of the top 3 8:31:06 and 8:31:07 for El Amrany and Raji, 9:04:37 for Veronique.
Results HERE and GC ranking HERE.
Albert Jorquera and Pol Makuri were battling the day and due for an early evening finish, in darkness.
A long stop at cp3 allowed Pol to get some treatment for his feet and recharge ready for the push to the line; he’s one tough guy!
Tomorrow is stage 3, the night stage. The runner’s will start in two waves. The first around midday, the second early afternoon and they will go in to the night over roughly a marathon distance.
On a recent work trip I had a run shoe disaster. To cut a long story short, I was left with no run shoes.
Dropping in to the best run store I could find, I was rest assured with a great selection of trail shoes and gladly, they had options from which to choose. It would have been easy to purchase shoes I have already owned used and liked, and in all honesty, had they had a pair of Hoka Torrent I would have got them; a great all-rounder.
I needed a shoe with cushioning, protection, and a good outsole.
As it happens, I had three excellent choices and none of the shoes I had used before, a NNormal Tomir (23/31), a Hoka Speedgoat 5 (29/33) and a Merrell Agility Peak 5 (25/31), based on stack heights, three very comparable shoes. Interestingly the NNormal with 8mm drop, the Hoka with 4mm drop and the Merrell sitting in the sweet spot of 6mm.
I will be honest, I was instantly drawn to the NNormal, I had been waiting to test a pair for sometime and in my head, before trying any of them on, I had already made up my mind. I am getting the NNormal.
However, slipping them on, they just didn’t make me smile. The lacing was less than optimal, foothold was kinda ok but the overall feel was lifeless. The Hoka Speedboat 5 by contrast had life, had great foothold and was just solid. That’s it, I will get the Speedgoat…
But then the assistant said, you should really try on the Merrell, particularly if you like the Hoka.
So, I slipped the Agility Peak 5 on whoa, what a revelation. Foothold superb, heel comfort excellent, toe box space great and there was a bounce and life not present in the other two. The addition of Vibram Magagrip added to the package, to be fair, this was on the other two shoes too, but here on the Agility Peak 5 it was aggressive and with 5mm lugs.
I purchased the Merrell.
MERRELL
I had heard a great deal about Merrell shoes, nearly all of it positive, so, I don’t really know why it had taken me so long to eventually get a pair. Certainly trying on against the NNormal and Hoka only confirmed that my decision was coming too late, I had been missing out!
Superb cushioning 25mm front, 31mm rear.
A great looking shoe that means business. The side profile, the outsole and 5mm lugs, a visible rock plate, it’s clear that this is shoe is for the rough stuff.
Red rock plate showing through the Vibram MegaGrip outsole.
When a shoe is in version 5, I always get a little nervous. The plus side is this is a shoe that works and is loved, otherwise Merrell would not adapt, change and make a new version. But sometimes, the ‘need’ to make new version can sometimes spoil what was good about the previous ones. Having not tried an Agility Peak before, I was a blank canvas – a good thing!
THE SHOE
With reduced weight, increased rocker, increased heel grip and comfort, this shoe on paper was ticking all the boxes.
A breathable upper, excellent lace placement, gusseted tongue, a toe cap protection, EVA foot bed, FloatPro foam midsole, rock plate, a Vibram Megagrip outsole with 5mm traction lugs.
5mm lugs by Vibram MegaGrip.
A D-ring gaiter attachment at the front and velcro attachment at the rear,
Velcro tab at the rear for gaiter.
The Agility Peak 5 is a feature packed shoe. A 6mm drop with cushioning 25mm at the front and 31mm at the rear makes this a shoe ideal for long days out in gnarly terrain.
Slipping the shoe on I had an instant comfort factor that made me smile, I knew immediately I was going to like this shoe.
Great lacing and D-ring for gaiter.
Lacing up, foot hold was superb without any nasty pressure on the navicular bone. Holding the rear of the shoe.
Lifting my foot, there was no slippage and the gusseted tongue just added to the cozy comfort factor.
Spacious toe box.
The toe box is spacious, a 3, maybe a 4, on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being wide and spacious.
Standing up, there was a definite bounce and life as I moved backwards and forwards, up and down.
IN USE
I was committed and out-of-the-box I went straight in to a gnarly coastal run over very rocky and abrasive terrain, 37km and 1531m+. It was a great test! The Agility Peak 5 excelled.
The notable takeaways were all-day comfort and protection.
I never had to adjust the laces, my foot was held secure all day. The cushioning allowed for great ground feel but not at the compromise of comfort, especially with the rock plate protecting from all the sharp rocks and obstacles.
At 25/31mm in cushioning, I was concerned that maybe I would be a little too high from the ground, but this shoe has a wide footprint and this compensates for the additional stack height wonderfully. I had no rolling issues at all.
Notably, when walking and hiking, the bounce and comfort at the rear of the shoe was superb. When running, the flex behind the metatarsals was ideal giving a great propulsive phase. The toe box allowing enough space for toe splay but not at the compromise of precision. When climbing, my foot was secure, no movement, a combination of the new heel cup and the rear sling lock.
The outsole by Vibram is tried and tested, MegaGrip appears everywhere, but this is the first time I have used or seen the 5mm lug version and it is brilliant. The grip was superb. I have yet to try in the wet!
Was there a downside? In all honesty, no. It’s arguably the most complete shoe I have tried in a very long time and if I was to be picky, for a shoe that is so obviously designed for rough stuff, the toe bumper could maybe be a little more protective.
Despite the mean business looks, the Agility Peak 5 has plenty of life, speed and comfort for those wonderful single-track runs with little or no technicality. The rocker helping to propel you forward with excellent comfort.
Fitting true to size, this shoe is one of the best I have tried and tested.
CONCLUSION
Shoe technology gets better all the time and now there are sooooo many good shoes, it’s often difficult to pick a best one. Of course, this is a great position to be in. I have countless shoes that I would be happy to run in on any given day. But, some shoes have very specific uses. If I wanted guaranteed mountain grip in wet and dry, I would choose a VJ MAXx. I I wanted a fast shoe for single-track, I’d go for an Adidas Speed Ultra. If I wanted a just one shoe that could do all things and do them well, my choice has normally been a Hoka Torrent, that is until the Merrell Agility Peak 5 cam along.
The rock plate and grip is excellent.
This shoe has been a revelation. All day comfort, great grip, great foot hold, fast when you need them to be, secure when the terrain demands it and all wrapped up in an excellent good looking package.
The Agility Peak 5 is my shoe of 2024! A shoe that has balanced cushioned comfort with speed and versatility for all running, be that on trail or mountain terrain.
As a racing season comes to an end it is time to look back over your achievements and yes, your failures over the last 12 months.
What went right, what didn’t go right? It is a question we should all ask ourselves.
What were my strengths?
What were my weaknesses?
Once you know the answers to the above, you have an idea of what to do over the winter months to make the following year a better one, not only in racing but training.
Planning is key. You need to periodize training so that you get the most from it.
Do you lack endurance?
Do you lack strength?
Do you lack speed?
Do you lack an ability to run on technical terrain?
Can you climb well?
Are you mentally strong?
The above list can go on and on.
Certain key elements should be present in any training plan and by answering questions similar to those above, you will start to understand what you need to do.
Winter has often been thought upon as time to do ‘base’ miles. These were long and steady miles with many hours building endurance. It is easy to fall in a trap and do too much of this. Don’t do what everyone else is doing, instead do what you need to do. Ultra-runners often have loads of endurance, after all, they race long distances all year. But with all that endurance, they can lack some strength and speed.
You need to look at yourself and ask, ‘What do I need to do?’
Decide on objectives for the following year and yes, you can even decide on plans for the year after too. Sometimes our long-term goals are so big or challenging that we need longer than a year to prepare!
Decide on A, B and C races, please remember that you can have multiple A goals, you just need to make sure that you can train, race and recover. The best thing to do here is to get a planner that shows the whole year and then add objectives marking them A, B and C – you will soon see if your targets are achievable. This is an invalidly process and actually takes very little time.
A target needs blocks of training and depending on the A-Race, that block will vary in length based on the challenge and the experience of the individual. A classic marathon plan may be 12-16 weeks, whereas for 100-miles you may work on 28-weeks.
In our scenario, we are saying that our A race is a 100-mile race, 28 weeks away.
Yes, it’s a long way off but don’t be fooled into thinking you have plenty of time. Key races have a habit of sneaking up on you.
Go through the questions again.
If this is your first 100, training will be very different to someone who is running there 20th for example. Endurance may well be a primary target, whereas the experienced 100 runner will have endurance but may well want to go quicker?
100-miles is a long way so *base training and getting the miles in is key. We have allocated 8 weeks for this in the plan below. Hours of easy miles progressively building up to a C race (marathon or 50k). It is always good to have a goal and a target to aim for. The C race is a training race and will have no taper, you would race through it as a training long run.
*A traditional pyramid training plan starts with base and then typically adds speed as an event comes closer. However, we are ultra-runners and it is important to be specific. High intensity training creates a lot of fatigue and this is why I am a huge fan of reversing the pyramid and getting speed work done during the winter so that the training plan that leads into an A race is specific to the demands of the race.
So, if you are an experienced ultra-runner looking to improve with years of running and loads of endurance, think about making weeks 1-8 speed based with a fast marathon as a C (or maybe even A) race objective at the end of this block.
When you enter your racing season this will be in the build phase so it’s a good idea to place a B race objective that will allow you to progress to the A goal or multiple A goals.
As you come to the end of the build phase, you should be in form and race fit. What you want to do now is fine tune that form, tweak it and hold it for the A race. If you are cramming long runs in or looking for speed, it’s too late. You basically misjudged the planning or started training too late.
Maintaining what fitness, you have is also about being specific to the A target.
1 Is your 100-mile target race on groomed trail with little elevation gain?
2 Is it an out-and-out mountain race with gnarly terrain and plenty of elevation gain?
It’s important to be specific now, the two races above require very different approaches. This is something that you will have understood in January (or earlier in the year) when you looked back at last year, looked ahead to this year and understood your strengths and weaknesses so that you could plan accordingly.
▪ Scenario 1 requires running, good form and leg speed.
▪ Scenario 2 requires hiking, climbing, leg strength and plenty of endurance.
You can’t perform well at every event and this is why A, B and C races are important. Yes, I know the elite runners manage to race several key races a year but look at the training and look at the planning. We have all seen top runners turn up at early season races and place just inside or outside the top-10.
– Francois D’Haene
Francois d’Haene always provides a good examples of how to:
▪ Build
▪ Peak
▪Win
▪ Recover
▪ Build
▪ Peak
▪Win
▪ Recover
▪ Build
▪ Peak
▪Win
▪ Recover
In 1 racing year, Francois won 3 x 100-mile races.
That is an incredible skill and for sure as racing becomes more aggressive, faster and more brutal, this training approach is going to become far more important for those who want to race to their own potential and maybe more importantly race year-on-year. We have all witnessed the damage that racing and training too much can do at an elite level runner. Listen to my podcast with Geoff Roes HERE as he provides a great insight into potential problems.
The above questions are a starting point. Read through the list and add your own questions to appraise what type of runner you are. It may well be that running for you is an escape and social thing, you may be happy to race week in and week out and you are not worried about gaining a PB or improving; if that is you, great. I’d still say planning some RnR is a good thing to avoid burn out.
If you are someone looking to perform and improve, you need to be more self-critical. Plan your training and periodize your training so that you are able to (hopefully) predict good form on 1 or multiple A race days in a year. This is not easy.
Carefully plan races in terms of importance, ‘A’ being the most important. Also make the races progressive and in line with your A race. For example, if your A race is a 100-mile race, a C race may be a marathon, a B race may be a 50K or 100K and then the Ais the big step of 100-miles.
Remember you can only hold form for a limited length of time and if you want to peak, you need to make sure that this planning stage is done early so that you understand what you are trying to achieve. It’s all about steppingstones.
Ask yourself, what is the purpose of the training blocks you are planning:
▪ Are you laying base training?
▪ Building fitness?
▪ Maintaining fitness?
▪ Racing?
A training block with 2 x ‘A’ races (the 2nd race being 100-miles) may look like this:
Base Training Phase
Week 1 – Base or Speed
Week 2 – Base or Speed
Week 3 – Base or Speed
Week 4 – Base or Speed (with the addition of a longer run)
Week 5 – Base or Speed (with the addition of a longer run)
Week 6 – Base or Speed (with the addition of a longer run)
Week 7 – Base or Speed (with the addition of a longer run)
Week 8 – Base with C Race probably a marathon.
Build Training Phase
Week 9 – Build
Week 10 – Build
Week 11 – Build maybe a C Race just as a long run?
Week 12 – Build
Week 13 – Build
Week 14 – Build with B Race 50K.
Maintain
Week 15 – Maintain/ Specific
Week 16 – Maintain/ Specific
Week 17 – Maintain/ Specific
Week 18 – Maintain/ Taper with A Race
Recovery
Week 19 – Recovery
Week 20 – Recovery easing back into Build.
Build
Week 21 – Build
Week 22 – Build
Week 23 – Build
Week 24 – Build
Week 25 – Build
Week 26 – Build
Week 27 – Taper
Week 28 – Taper and A Race (this scenario 100-miles)
Recover, Recover and Recover.
This article is not a hard and fast plan, it’s a guide for you to go away, look at your targets having assessed past targets and hopefully it makes you think about future objectives so that you can plan for a successful, injury free year of running and racing.
IAN CORLESS 