Ingalena heuck is the 2010 German half marathon champion, sports scientist and ODLO brand ambassador. On behalf of sportswear manufacturers, she invited to participate in the media workshop “running becomes feminine”. I, editor of eat smarter, serve you! We asked athletes to explain to us why more and more women wear running shoes, what they should consider in terms of nutrition, and why they are actually better at running marathons than men. Read the best tips for marathon stars here!
I was upset the night before. Today, I’m going to jog near Ulster in Hamburg with 26 year old professional marathoner ingrina heck. Maybe more likely to escape. That’s my fear. When female athletes come to the workshop in Hanseatic League City, there must be only running professionals. I will deceive myself and others. Although I am also an experienced amateur. First of all: there are several fast runners (yes, three of them!!!)—— Even the participants of iron man – but fortunately I didn’t deceive myself. Everyone was taken into account because “the slowest man determines the speed,” the athlete clarified at the beginning.
More and more women are taking part in the marathon
Although women are still in the minority in the marathon field, the number is increasing. Half marathon is especially popular with women. Ingalena heuck estimates that about a quarter of today’s competitive long-distance runners are women. At first it doesn’t sound like much, but the trend is positive compared with the early days. Fabienne gilli é Ron, public relations manager at ODLO International AG, explained that women were still banned from marathons in the 1960s. Two more years passed before women were allowed to participate in the Olympic Marathon (1984).
Marathon is actually more suitable for women
Marathon star ingalena heuck © It is a universal belief that the creator of ODLO / Oliver farys can run faster, longer and better. Marathon running is naturally more suitable for women, heuck explained. “Basically, the farther we women run, the more efficient we are.” Because women’s running ability in the range of fat metabolism is much better than men. They train harder than women in long-distance areas.
But athletes also know that if you train with boys and men, you will learn to stick to yourself. The fact that she used to only play sports with boys in the club will certainly help her finish the game. When it comes to ambition and motivation, men are often unparalleled.
Nutrition tips for marathon runners
The topic of nutrition is closely related to running: “everyone knows that if you eat too much, it’s difficult to run,” the marathon runner described a classic problem. Women, in particular, usually want to lose a few kilograms by running – but this only works if they consume more energy than they put into their body.
Athletes advise these women to eat a high protein diet. Unlike competitive athletes, they need ready-made calories from carbohydrates before the game, while people who want to lose weight need only a small amount of carbohydrates.
If you eat a lot of protein at night, you will regenerate faster and benefit from the so-called “fountain of youth effect”, which she lists. If you can, you should get up in the morning and start running without breakfast.
However: especially in winter, our immune system needs carbohydrates, otherwise the risk of catching a cold is too high!
For great recipes for female runners, visit our low carb recipe library.
Let’s go: Mini marathon and ABC running along the Ulster River
Go to school with marathon stars © After the ODLO / Oliver farys theory was completed, we began to talk about business: we were ready to run. The cold wind around Ulster made us all want to start quickly. After we jogged for a while, we got our personal running coach.
Ingalena heuck explained to us the importance of the so-called running ABC. In fact, this running school is indispensable, especially for amateur athletes. However, few amateur runners do these basic technical exercises.
When you use them, you will soon understand the importance of training and why you can use them to improve running style, training coordination and speed. Most importantly, actively prevent injuries!
Run a marathon – you can’t run without skill
Dangling arms, hard heel contact, or ugly sipping can quickly lift the veil of inexperienced runners. Therefore, the ABC of running includes, for example, “jumping” (a knee style running), in which the knees are pulled up and the thighs and upper body are at right angles to the highest point. The arms are slightly bent and the hips are flexible. Jumping helps move the legs further forward, increasing acceleration.
On the other hand, when the heel, the foot is brought to the hip with strong pressure, and the knee points to the floor. Here, the arm should also move actively. Keep your upper body as upright as possible. The heel is easy on the knee and is combined with jumping to practice dynamic running style.
For example, you can use YouTube Find the running school in video form on de – just enter the keyword “Lauf ABC”.
The fastest of our marathon testers ran the Ulster track after finishing ABC, and the rest of us jogged back more leisurely – after all, the well deserved lunch should be finished in 15 minutes, which is a little too fast for us.
Ingrina Huck
Ingalena heuck lives in Munich. She is the German half marathon champion and has won many German Youth Championships, and has successfully exceeded 5000 meters, 10000 meters and 10 kilometers. Since 2011, she has been working with her coach Dan lorang. In early 2013, she ended her competitive sports career with persistent foot problems and is now engaged in other running fields.