REAL TRAILS. Alexey Victorovih Kashirin
about running and running events I was lucky to take part in, I will tell you a few facts about the history of running and its evolution as a sport.
The evolution has naturally resulted in the human upright posture and walking on two legs. From the earliest times, humans had to count on their physical abilities and skills, such as dexterity, strength and speed, to survive. Physical abilities were the foundation upon which their entire life and their status in nature, community, or any other habitat form was built.
From one millennium to the next, the human genes were undergoing changes. The lower limbs were developing and improving. Walking and running were a natural and integral part of life.
The Tarahumara Indians made a cult of running, and it remains a major activity in their society up to the present day. They are famous for being able to run for extremely long distances. There is a tale about an Indian from this tribe who ran 600 miles, drinking water and eating only pinole along the way.
What is running? According to the scientific definition, running is one of the ways to move for humans and animals, containing a “flight phase” having both or all feet off the ground at the same time. Running results from complicated and well-coordinated activities of skeletal muscles and limbs.
Originally, running was the only sport in the ancient Olympic games, in the centuries B.C. Competitive running distances were divided into short distances (sprints), medium distances, marathons and ultramarathon races. The races were time-limited (6 hours, 10 hours, 24 hours and 48 hours).
Every distance, from a 100 meters sprint to an ultramarathon race, activates different groups of muscles during the process. Apart from physical abilities, a psychological training is also a very important factor for mastering an ultramarathon. Mental preparation means the inner readiness of the person to endure extreme loads, sometimes all alone and totally unaware.
In some form, running has become an integral part of every single type of sport, helping athletes achieve their highest results. Running is fundamental to the training of boxing, swimming, weightlifting and even chess.
Many famous grand chess masters included running in their training. Running helped them concentrate better and keep focusing their attention, staying mentally and psychologically active during extended chess tournaments.
Modern running competitions include new types of running distances, such as trail running, skyrunning and coasteering. There are also distances that combine these types, making running contests real adventures.
Let me tell you more about each of these three types.
Trail running is a sports discipline which combines cross-country running and hiking and can be performed as a training, hiking, or a competitive event at higher speeds. Trail running normally takes place outside, “on any unpaved surfaces”, such as hills, mountains, paths, brooks, and also sand deserts. There are a few famous trail-running events with a great history. It is an honour and a privilege to take part in them.
All running trails and paths are special and even unique, each in their own way. Apart from official competitions, athletes can choose trails to suit their taste and level of complexity.
For those who feel it is still not hard enough and are craving to conquer more new summits, there is another type of running.
Skyrunning is an extreme sport of mountain running, a speed ascent (some call it “cloud running). The conditions in these competitions should meet certain criteria: the running route should be above 2000 meters where the minimum average incline is 6 % with areas where the incline should exceed 30 %. The climbing difficulty should not exceed II grade according to the UIAA classification. If there are areas that are more difficult than II grade, only the athletes who have Alpine ascent experience will be allowed to take part in the event.
Skyrunning is divided into a few independent activities:
High-altitude marathon (sky marathon) is a long run with a distance ranging from 30 to 42 km and an elevation above 2000 meters. The trails go over passes, glaciers, and rocks, and can exceed the 4000 meters altitude. If the complexity level exceeds the allowed parameters it is an UHRA Skymarathon (ultra-high altitude marathon).
Skyracing is a run between 2000 and 4000 meters with a distance ranging from 20 and 30 km.
Vertical kilometer is based on the idea of attaining a 1000 elevation gain over a distance of only 5 km.
There is another type of running for those who love seas, oceans, rivers and lakes. It is for those who become mesmerized by the wildness of ocean waves or the smooth tranquility of water.
Coasteering is running along a coastline or a river or lakeshore. Depending on the landscape and water type, the route might include rocky areas, cliffs, sand or pebbled beaches, and some other natural hurdles and hindrances.
If it is impossible to run across a certain zone, athletes are allowed to swim along the coastline.
The route and the distance are officially regulated. The participants should also finish the race within the determined time limit.
These three types of sport – trail running, skyrunning and coasteering – along with the combined runs help to discover all the possibilities of a human body and spirit – and test it, pushing the limits.
Every race is a new adventure for an athlete to experience and endure.
Our life is continuous motion…
The Beginning of the Journey
When your life is taking its normal course and going steady and surgeless, when there is too much sweet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, everything becomes a routine and the constant effortless floating in one direction makes you feel exhausted. This sickeningly sweet aftermath of a prolonged full-bellied satisfaction starts to overwhelm, and you lose your motivation and no longer know what your goal is. When every single event in your life is scheduled in advance everything becomes boring, monotonous, and dull.
In 2014 after I had won a boxing tournament and been selected for a prestigious contest, I was excited to start preparing for the upcoming fight. I was training intensely, according to the plan: jogging in the morning, then training with punch bags, then rest, and in the evening – fight training again.
I was going to maintain this training routine for three months in a row. I was physically and mentally ready for loads like this. Training to the max, to the point of exhaustion, was giving me so much joy and satisfaction. Some types of personality need regular rest because it is necessary for them to shift their attention to something else for some time, otherwise they will certainly feel overtrained, which will lead to nervous breakdowns and worsen their performance. In other words, overtraining means losing motivation for them. But it had never been my case. I had never understood this approach and couldn’t accept it. I liked pushing my limits further and further every time, refining my technique by multiple repetitions of blows and combinations.
My preparations were in full swing, and it seemed like nothing could stop me or lead me astray when, unfortunately, a fatal contingency jumbled my plans and all my life. I seriously injured my middle finger. There was a risk at some point that it even could have been amputated…
I couldn’t flex my finger for almost a year after the surgery. Every day I was doing exercises for the mobilization of the joint. I could see the progress but it was extremely slow, and it had still been a long time before I was able to close my fist and make a blow.
I was trying to keep up my spirits and continued training, hoping that I would soon be able to fight again. I had to refuse from some exercises that used to be my routine and change others to adapt them to fighting with one hand. For months and months, every day, I kept on training and hoping I would soon recover. A year and a half passed before I could fight again with both hands without pain in my finger.
In 2014–2015, during the first twelve months, I decided to concentrate on running. Every training I ran, I gradually increased my speed and distance. I normally did 70 to 140 km of cross-country running a week. I started to feel excited at the thought that I was already able to compete with other runners. In spring 2016 I applied to participate in the Kazan half-marathon (21 km). My finishing time turned out to be really good.
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