Latest news with #RunnersWorld
CNA
2 days ago
- Climate
- CNA
Exercising in the heat can boost your fitness – here's how to do it safely
Tish Hamilton is a veteran of 59 marathons and five ultramarathons. The 63-year-old former executive editor of Runner's World also lives in Savannah, Georgia, where training through summer heat and humidity is a given. And while the conditions are unpleasant, she has come to appreciate them, knowing that come fall, she'll perform at her best. 'I don't think I ever get used to it,' Hamilton said, 'but I know how good it's going to feel once the humidity breaks.' It's not in her head. Research suggests that exercising in warm, humid conditions can provide what some call 'poor man's' altitude training – improving performance in endurance sports like triathlon, cycling and running. In the first few weeks of training in hot conditions, your body sends more blood to the skin's surface to create sweat. This leaves less of it for your muscles, which is one reason you often get tired more quickly in early summer. But your body adjusts by creating more blood, as well as more red blood cells, over four or five weeks, similar to what happens to your body after three weeks at altitude. You may also experience a boost in your VO2 max, the maximum rate at which your body uses oxygen while exercising. While you won't necessarily feel the benefits during the thick of summer training, you likely will on the first cool days of fall. 'I've both experienced it personally and seen it with my athletes,' said Steve Magness, a running coach in Houston and author of The Science Of Running.' 'All of a sudden you get a huge boost, and you realise that summer really did pay off.' When summer is at its hottest, it's certainly fine to take your workouts indoors. But if you'd like to take advantage of the summer's payoff, here's how to do it safely. UNTIL YOU ACCLIMATE, ADJUST Before you even begin training in the heat, it's important to set expectations, Magness said. 'You will go from feeling good to feeling miserable,' he explained. 'Go slow, and don't worry about your miles or workout intensity.' Research varies on how long it takes to acclimate to summer conditions, but after about two weeks or so, you should begin to better tolerate higher temperatures and humidity. 'Start with small doses of training outside, like 30 minutes of easy activity,' said Jill Patterson, a cycling coach in Virginia and three-time national USA Cycling Gran Fondo champion. 'Be consistent about getting out.' Once you start, try to spend a few workouts a week in the heat. That's not to say that you should torture yourself. If the midday heat is just too much where you live, try other times, but stay outside the whole 30 minutes if you can. Plan to take more breaks, throw your normal pace out the window and pay close attention to how you're feeling. Monitor your thirst level, and make sure to hydrate more often than usual. Any signs of dizziness, headaches, confusion or chills are red flags to call it quits. Different exercisers will respond differently to heat training and you should talk to your doctor before beginning, especially if you have a medical condition. You can also try wearable patches that measure your sweat rate, fluid and sodium loss. For the best accuracy, wait until you've acclimated to the heat first. If it helps, you can also cool down by putting ice in your hat or sports bra, or pouring cold water over your head. TRAINING AFTER ACCLIMATION Even after you acclimate to hotter conditions, you may never be as fast or feel as good as you do in cooler temperatures. But you should be able to handle a similar training level. 'Focus more on the feeling you want versus the pace you want,' Magness said. 'If you want something harder, go after it, but be willing to stop or modify if you aren't tolerating it well.' For example, watch for a large jump in heart rate or breathing rate. Also pay attention to your ability to talk – if you could previously say a sentence at a certain speed but now can barely talk, dial it back or walk. This is a good time to check your ego at the door, Hamilton said: 'I switch from focusing on how many miles I'm running to how much time I'm on my feet.' Keep an eye on the weather for days when the heat and humidity take brief breaks. 'On those good days, do your favourite hard workout, and you'll get an indication that your fitness has improved,' Magness said. While you acclimatise in just a couple of weeks of heat training, you need to continue outdoor workouts to make gains and sustain them. You can maintain them on just a few sessions a week, until they begin to wane about a month after cooler temperatures set in. Once fall arrives, you'll get the reward you've worked so hard for all summer. 'When you get that beautifully cool, low humidity day, you appreciate how much less effort it takes,' said Hamilton. 'You feel like a million bucks.'
New York Times
04-08-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Exercising in the Heat Can Boost Your Fitness.
Tish Hamilton is a veteran of 59 marathons and five ultramarathons. The 63-year-old former executive editor of Runner's World also lives in Savannah, Ga., where training through summer heat and humidity is a given. And while the conditions are unpleasant, she has come to appreciate them, knowing that come fall, she'll perform at her best. 'I don't think I ever get used to it,' Ms. Hamilton said, 'but I know how good it's going to feel once the humidity breaks.' It's not in her head. Research suggests that exercising in warm, humid conditions can provide what some call 'poor man's' altitude training — improving performance in endurance sports like triathlon, cycling and running. In the first few weeks of training in hot conditions, your body sends more blood to the skin's surface to create sweat. This leaves less of it for your muscles, which is one reason you often get tired more quickly in early summer. But your body adjusts by creating more blood, as well as more red blood cells, over four or five weeks, similar to what happens to your body after three weeks at altitude. You may also experience a boost in your VO2 max, the maximum rate at which your body uses oxygen while exercising. While you won't necessarily feel the benefits during the thick of summer training, you likely will on the first cool days of fall. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Independent
12-02-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Jerome Drayton, 1976 Olympian and last Canadian man to win Boston Marathon in '77, dies at 80
Jerome Drayton, who finished sixth at the Montreal Olympics, won the 1977 Boston Marathon and held the Canadian men's marathon record for 43 years, has died. He was 80. Drayton died unexpectedly on Monday in Toronto, according to Cardinal Funeral Homes. Runners World magazine said he died during knee surgery. Born in Germany with the name Peter Buniak, Drayton changed his name after immigrating to Canada in 1956. He won Detroit 's Motor City Marathon in 1969 in a North American record time of 2 hours, 12 minutes, and shaved 47 seconds off the mark in winning the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan later that year. He won the 1973 Canadian championship before finishing third in Boston in 1974. Three years later — his fifth try in Boston — he pulled ahead when eventual four-time winner Bill Rodgers began to tire in the 77-degree heat and gave Canada its first victory in the race in three decades. Drayton finished second at the New York Marathon that fall. 'Jerome remains the most recent Open Division Men's Champion from Canada, and set the stage for generations of world class Canadian marathoners to follow in his footsteps,' Boston Athletic Association President Jack Fleming said. Drayton also set a world record on the track for the 10-mile run in 1970 in 46:37.6, and was the top Canadian in the men's marathon at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. The Canada Sports Hall of Fame, which inducted him in 1978, said that Drayton held 12 national titles and set 13 records in his career. After retiring, Drayton worked as a consultant with the Sports and Fitness Division of Ontario's Ministry of Youth, Culture and Recreation. 'He was a runner who cared not only about his own performance but the growth and development of the sport," Fleming said. 'The feedback and interest he showed in the Boston Marathon undoubtedly helped shape the marathon in the late 70s and beyond.'
Associated Press
12-02-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Jerome Drayton, 1976 Olympian and last Canadian man to win Boston Marathon in '77, dies at 80
TORONTO (AP) — Jerome Drayton, who finished sixth at the Montreal Olympics, won the 1977 Boston Marathon and held the Canadian men's marathon record for 43 years, has died. He was 80. Drayton died unexpectedly on Monday in Toronto, according to Cardinal Funeral Homes. Runners World magazine said he died during knee surgery. Born in Germany with the name Peter Buniak, Drayton changed his name after immigrating to Canada in 1956. He won Detroit's Motor City Marathon in 1969 in a North American record time of 2 hours, 12 minutes, and shaved 47 seconds off the mark in winning the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan later that year. He won the 1973 Canadian championship before finishing third in Boston in 1974. Three years later — his fifth try in Boston — he pulled ahead when eventual four-time winner Bill Rodgers began to tire in the 77-degree heat and gave Canada its first victory in the race in three decades. Drayton finished second at the New York Marathon that fall. 'Jerome remains the most recent Open Division Men's Champion from Canada, and set the stage for generations of world class Canadian marathoners to follow in his footsteps,' Boston Athletic Association President Jack Fleming said. Drayton also set a world record on the track for the 10-mile run in 1970 in 46:37.6, and was the top Canadian in the men's marathon at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. The Canada Sports Hall of Fame, which inducted him in 1978, said that Drayton held 12 national titles and set 13 records in his career. After retiring, Drayton worked as a consultant with the Sports and Fitness Division of Ontario's Ministry of Youth, Culture and Recreation. 'He was a runner who cared not only about his own performance but the growth and development of the sport,' Fleming said. 'The feedback and interest he showed in the Boston Marathon undoubtedly helped shape the marathon in the late 70s and beyond.'
CBC
12-02-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Jerome Drayton, who held Canadian marathon record for 43 years, dead at 80
Social Sharing Legendary long-distance runner Jerome Drayton, who won the Boston Marathon in 1977 and held the Canadian men's marathon record for 43 years, has died. He was 80. Drayton died unexpectedly on Monday in Toronto, according to Cardinal Funeral Homes. Runners World magazine said he died during knee surgery. Drayton was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1978. Born as Peter Buniak on Jan. 10, 1945, in Kolbermoore, Germany, he came to Canada in 1956 and changed his name. WATCH | Drayton runs to victory at 1977 Boston Marathon: Jerome Drayton's 1977 Boston Marathon win 6 years ago Duration 0:37 He turned heads in 1969 by winning the Motor City Marathon in a North American record time. Later that year, he won the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan with another North American record. Over his career, Drayton held 12 national titles and set 13 records over various distances, according to the hall of fame. In 1970, he recorded a world record on the track in the men's 10-mile with a time of 46:37:6. Drayton set the Canadian marathon record of 2:10:09 in Fukuoka in December 1975 and finished sixth in the Olympic marathon the following year in Montreal. Drayton's Canadian marathon mark lasted until 2018 when Cam Levins bettered it in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. In 1977, Drayton was the first Canadian in 29 years to win the Boston Marathon. He won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games the next year. After retiring, Drayton remained involved in the athletic world as a consultant with the Sports and Fitness Division of Ontario's Ministry of Youth, Culture and Recreation. WATCH | Levins breaks Drayton's Canadian marathon record: Cam Levins shatters 43-year-old Canadian marathon record 6 years ago Duration 1:48 In his marathon debut, Cam Levins of Black Creek, B.C., broke Jerome Drayton's 43-year-old Canadian men's marathon record by 44 seconds. Levins finished fourth in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon with a time of 2:09:25.
