Last weekend in Quebec City, our group had some success at the FQA 10000m championships. The 10k track champs, run separately from the provincial championship meet to give runners a chance to double up in the 5000m, has been going on for 3 years now, or at least 2 as official provincial championship, and one unofficial.

I get asked a lot about running form, and I have to admit, I am often at a loss about what to say.

The long run is often the centrepiece of the training week, especially for marathoners. It’s a great aerobic stimulus, and for marathoners and half-marathoners, it can be a race-specific workout, too.

Last week we examined the reasons for racing, and the reasons we feel nervous before a race.

Last week I described the various possibilities for racing. I just wanted to set the table for a deeper discussion of why we race, and what we can do to feel good about it.

American Olympian PattiSue Plummer tells her high school girls cross country and track teams to remember “we are racers, not runners.” There is so much interesting about this idea, and also so much anxiety and hype over racing, that I want to unpack this weird thing we do called racing.

“I need to work on my speed.” This is something I hear all the time from new runners.