Run For Your Life: Running in the Real World

With due credit to Cliff Clark, our 10K/5K course is spectacular.

As a walker, runner or biker, you should always make sure to enjoy scenic beauty and a variety of terrains. From the view of Tut’s Hill to the shoreline of Dering Harbor, you will not be bored. This week’s article offers you an appetizer of the race for both our 5K and 10K audiences. We are about six weeks out from Race Day. Yes, you can still be there with some effort.

Did I say, variety of terrain? I meant hills. Despite repeated requests, Commissioner of Pubic Works Jay Card Jr. does not have the budget to flatten the course. So running or walking hills is an important success factor for your June 20 run/walk.

Your body, as opposed to your mind, approaches hills from the viewpoint of least effort. That means, positioned 90 degrees over the surface. On flats we are straight up, on down-hills we should lean down the hill — the steeper the hill the more the lean. For those nasty Cobbetts Lane hills, leaning back will reduce the effort.

That said, up-hills are never easy. Practice is the only real answer. But this tip gives you the insight to resist doing the exact opposite position.

Tip of the week: For 5K participants, when you train, run the first mile from the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church to Johnston Road (see the detailed race course map at ShelterIslandRun.com). Rest and then run back to the start. For 10K runners, start at the second mile point, the Cobbetts Lane firehouse, run to mile four, where Winthrop Road and Cobbetts Lane connect and return.

See you June 20.

Richard Denning is a member of the Shelter Island Run Board.