<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4><img style="width: 90px; height: 90px; border-radius: 50%; margin-right: 20px;" src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Original/8a1d4507-5605-49b2-9512-d91eb3b43460.png" alt="Kate Carter" align="left" />In the absence of serious races, now's the perfect time to think a bit more left field and consider targeting a more fun food-based challenge instead.</h4>
<hr />
<h4 style="text-align: right;"><strong>Kate Carter</strong> <em>(<a href="https://twitter.com/katehelencarter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@katehelencarter</a>)</em></h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>If you find yourself spending more time than usual at home at the moment &ndash; and who isn&rsquo;t? &ndash; and have four minutes and 33 seconds to spare, why not <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XtmwP6Dj5E" target="_blank" rel="noopener">watch a mile race on YouTube</a></strong></span>. Sure, the time would hardly be anything special for a top male athlete, but then again, top male athletes don&rsquo;t usually stop every 400m to down a can of beer. Not on camera, anyway.</p>
<p>If the concept of the beer mile is new to you, here are the basic rules: runners must drink a beer of 5% alcohol concentration or higher, from a 12 fluid-ounce (355ml) can or bottle. One beer per lap of the track, to be consumed entirely before running again &ndash; no more than 4 ounces must be left in the bottles. The world record holder whose majestically smooth run is featured in that video is Corey Bellemore. He actually ran an even faster beer mile in 2018 &ndash; reputedly clocking the actual running part within four minutes &ndash; but he got disqualified for leaving a bit too much beer behind. Last orders, please, Mr Bellemore...</p>
<p>Sound like fun, or utter hell? I&rsquo;m leaning towards the latter, given I&rsquo;m not sure I could drink that much fizzy beer in under an hour, even without any running in between. But then again, with precious few &lsquo;real&rsquo; races on the calendar, I&rsquo;ve found myself dreaming not of the serious races I'm missing, but the crazy bucket list ones I would love to do if Normal Life would just magically return.</p>
<p>When you talk crazy races, particularly ones revolving around alcohol, the first to come up is usually the Marathon de Medoc: 26.2 miles of jogging between wine tasting stops, listening to 50 orchestras providing a live soundtrack around the course. Fancy dress is pretty much obligatory, and if it isn&rsquo;t your slowest marathon time by a factor of at least two, then you really haven&rsquo;t done it right &ndash; or so I&rsquo;m told.</p>
<p>The only aspect of the Medoc race that&rsquo;s never appealed to me are the oyster and steak stops &ndash; I&rsquo;m not sure my schoolgirl French is quite up to &ldquo;Sorry, is there a vegetarian option?&rdquo; after 23 wine stops. But it has made me think over the years of the foodstuffs I would like to run for. Or perhaps run between.</p>
<p>As some of my teammates have been talking about having their own crack at a beer mile, I started musing alternative options: Prosecco, perhaps, instead of beer. Or why not food? I&rsquo;m not sure if choosing your favourite foodstuffs is a good idea or a truly terrible one: you could, I imagine, successfully put yourself off them for life. But, well, I do really love doughnuts, and though there doesn&rsquo;t seem to be a doughnut mile, I've come across the Krispy Kreme Challenge &ndash; five miles, 12 doughnuts, one hour. Now that&rsquo;s my kind of challenge.<br /><br /></p>
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<p>In my running career so far I've done 13 marathons, but I&rsquo;ve not yet been tempted into the world of ultra runs. However, I&rsquo;m sure I read once that one of the aid stations at the Tarawera Ultra in New Zealand involves a full English cream tea: scones, jam, clotted cream and all. That, and the lure of the stunningly beautiful New Zealand scenery, means it&rsquo;s the only ultra that&rsquo;s ever really tempted me. And running at what would be my ultra pace might even allow me to digest it.</p>
<p>There are in fact a surprising (or perhaps entirely unsurprising?) number of cake races or cakeathlons, though the more sensible ones leave the over-indulgence until after the running, rather than in the thick of it. Then I've also discovered the Hot Chocolate race &ndash; billed as &ldquo;America&rsquo;s sweetest race&rdquo; &ndash; and awash with the sweet stuff from expo right through to completion. The medal looks like it was designed by Willy Wonka and the goody bag apparently includes chocolate treats galore. Sign me up.<br /><br /></p>
<p><iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FHotChocolate15k%2Fphotos%2Fa.113411632048663%2F2787249601331506%2F%3Ftype%3D3&amp;width=500" width="500" height="572" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p><br />Of course, back in the UK we do have our own version of the Medoc marathon &ndash; the Bacchus race, in the vineyards of the Surrey hills. It&rsquo;s unfair, really, but my view of those hills is somewhat tainted by the fact that it&rsquo;s also the venue for many a grim, frozen cross-country race. I really should try to enjoy it in sunshine with wine.</p>
<p>But the most tempting race in the UK that I&rsquo;ve found in my recent googling is the Ciderthon, in beautiful Somerset. A half marathon through cider orchards with stops every mile for a taste, and a party at the finish. That&rsquo;s the kind of race that I really am dreaming of now.</p>
<p>Come winter, though, my idea of running heaven would be a race in Germany or Austria involving multiple warming stops for Gl&uuml;hwein and strudel. If anyone knows of, or would like to invent, the Strudelthon, please consider me your first and keenest runner.</p>

In the absence of serious races, now's the perfect time to think a bit more left field and consider targeting a more fun food-based challenge instead.

Quirky races food drink challenges

The Athletic Life: crazy races that combine running with food and drink

<p><br /><strong>Start your weekend here, with a round-up of some of the best athletics, running and fitness-related stories from the past seven days.</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<hr /><hr />
<h3><a href="https://sports.nbcsports.com/2020/07/31/bob-hayes-mel-pender-tim-layden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br />Full speed ahead</span></a></h3>
<p><em>Bob Hayes stormed through the 1964 Tokyo Games; Mel Pender&rsquo;s Olympic moment came later. And then they lived very different lives.</em></p>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/BannerNews/9f009988-b7e6-4776-868e-881c13f563b8.jpg?cachebuster=2953f47a-9304-4192-8491-471a34a76291" alt="Bob Hayes" width="600" height="214" /></p>
<p>The two Americans ran seven lanes apart in the 1964 Olympic 100 meters. They ran on a track made of dirt and cinders, rust in color and solid underfoot, yet loose in texture, like a well-traveled country road. It would be the last Olympic track meet on a surface that wasn&rsquo;t as hard as a countertop; before the race, sprinters secured their starting blocks by using a wood mallet to pound spikes into metal tongues at the front and back of the blocks.</p>
<p><a href="https://sports.nbcsports.com/2020/07/31/bob-hayes-mel-pender-tim-layden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Full article</strong></span></a><em>&nbsp;(NBC Sports</em>)</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/deanna-price-hammer-time-starts-200334600.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">For DeAnna Price, hammer time starts with a head-butt and a Sharpie</span></a></h3>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/3e68ab59-538e-4a57-a497-5f8fde76de7a.jpg?cachebuster=04526312-744b-4d33-82aa-50593a60dad6" alt="Deanna Price" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p>J.C. Lambert dropped off his wife and pupil, hammer thrower DeAnna Price, on Sept. 28 at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha and sent her off with a message.</p>
<p>Go get &rsquo;em. It only takes 76 meters to medal.</p>
<p>Price completed their pre-competition routine like she always does. She grabbed the sides of Lambert&rsquo;s head and crashed craniums.</p>
<p><a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/deanna-price-hammer-time-starts-200334600.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Full article</strong></span></a><em>&nbsp;(Yahoo</em>)</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><a href="https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/07/george-orton-penn-philadelphia-canada-1900-olympics-track-hockey-forgotten-history" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">An unremembered icon: the story of 1900 Olympic steeplechase champion George Orton</span></a></h3>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/549e60b3-dd84-40db-b560-88b6b3941669.jpg?cachebuster=88f53495-6ac9-492b-a914-d45d35a426f2" alt="George Orton" width="500" height="332" /></p>
<p>Clasping the rectangular bronze medal with his left hand &mdash; his good hand &mdash; as the blistering Paris sun beat down on his skin, George Orton felt sick to his stomach. Literally.</p>
<p>The Penn grad had just finished third in the 400-meter hurdles in the 1900 Olympics. A good finish by any standard, but he didn&rsquo;t travel across the Atlantic Ocean by boat to settle for anything less than first place.</p>
<p>While he would later have a tremendous impact on Philadelphia and Penn Athletics, he was currently focused on a single goal.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thedp.com/article/2020/07/george-orton-penn-philadelphia-canada-1900-olympics-track-hockey-forgotten-history" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Full article</strong></span></a> (<em>The Daily Pennsylvanian</em>)</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/athletics/article/2001380452/obiri-says-farming-keeps-her-on-track" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Obiri says farming keeps her on track</span></a></h3>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/b59e36f1-d99b-4a7d-a6c7-734c28afb44b.png?cachebuster=1af01d3c-fb8c-4efb-a514-f0eb04381b2d" alt="Hellen Obiri" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p>Things don&rsquo;t just happen. They are made to happen. And that clearly demonstrates world 5000m champion Hellen Obiri&rsquo;s bid to venture into livestock farming.</p>
<p>Despite challenges occasioned by Covid-19 crisis, Obiri is upbeat that her ambitions &ndash; in the farm and on the track &ndash; will be realised.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/athletics/article/2001380452/obiri-says-farming-keeps-her-on-track" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Full article</strong></span></a> (<em>The Standard</em>)</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><a href="https://sportsmax.tv/index.php/other-sports/column1/athletics/athletics-regional/item/66441-fraser-pryce-forgives-the-doubters-in-2008-at-the-time-veronica-was-the-sure-thing" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Olympic track and field MVPs</span></a></h3>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/7a4935eb-a4dd-4261-99c5-ed6586c173b8.jpg?cachebuster=98bfb56d-372f-4311-86fd-14706f60b121" alt="Irena Szewinska" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p>To mark what would have been the start of the athletics programme at the 2020 Olympic Games, LetsRun.com have compiled a list of the MVPs (most valuable players) for the past 28 Summer Olympics.</p>
<p>"Yes, comparing across events is always going to produce imperfect results, but that&rsquo;s part of the fun!," says Jon Gault. "If everyone agreed, it wouldn&rsquo;t be an argument. Some are obvious. Some are not. I&rsquo;m sure plenty of you will disagree with me. That&rsquo;s kind of the point."</p>
<p><a href="https://www.letsrun.com/news/2020/07/the-olympic-track-field-mvps-part-i-1896-1960/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Part one (1896-1960)</strong></span></a> | <a href="https://www.letsrun.com/news/2020/07/the-olympic-track-field-mvps-part-ii-1964-2016/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Part two (1964-2016)</strong></span></a> (<em>LetsRun.com</em>)</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><a href="https://www.the-star.co.ke/sports/athletics/2020-07-30-chepngetich-eyes-world-record-olympic-title/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Chepngetich eyes world record and Olympic title</span></a></h3>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/f824b7fd-b4a9-406f-91ec-ff92c49fbadf.jpg?cachebuster=043ad018-cf41-4801-b56e-0a5f8f0820e2" alt="Ruth Chepngetich" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p>World marathon champion Ruth Chepngetich believes she has what it takes to break the world record in the near future.</p>
<p>The record held by Brigid Kosgei stands at 2:14:04 set during last year's Chicago Marathon.</p>
<p>Chepngetich, who currently trains by herself in Ngong, reckons that with proper preparations and focus, she will dethrone Kosgei.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.the-star.co.ke/sports/athletics/2020-07-30-chepngetich-eyes-world-record-olympic-title/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Full article</strong></span></a> (<em>The Star</em>)</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.fastrunning.com/training/athlete-insights/the-training-of-steve-ovett/30460" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The training of Steve Ovett</a></span></h3>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/a3634f4e-0ee1-43fb-8f27-6ff0ab5a7c68.jpg?cachebuster=46fcdb99-1a9c-484a-86fd-ef1c79c07e40" alt="Steve Ovett" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p>Forty years since Steve Ovett's 800m victory at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, Colin Lancaster gives an insight into the training of his former training partner.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.fastrunning.com/training/athlete-insights/the-training-of-steve-ovett/30460" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Full article</strong></span></a> (<em>FastRunning.com</em>)</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/other-sports/the-running-life-of-shane-healy-ireland-s-most-daring-olympian-1.4319020" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The running life of Shane Healy, Ireland&rsquo;s most daring Olympian</span></a></h3>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/6da4b53f-1bb7-441a-9ac4-559f832d0aca.jpg?cachebuster=25703e49-2006-4293-9c5d-1c6313753a01" alt="Shane Healy" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p>&ldquo;Are you <em>the</em> Shane Healy?&rdquo;</p>
<p>We were outside some bar on Leeson Street, on the way to some nightclub, on a night somewhere late in the summer of 1997. I knew who he was and just wanted to make sure because even then there was something exuberant and wild and utterly different about the running life of Shane Healy.</p>
<p>He&rsquo;d a couple more years on me and that&rsquo;s all. I wasn&rsquo;t long home from America after a couple of years bumming around after college, still trying to make it as a distance runner, and he wasn&rsquo;t long home from running the 1,500m at the World Championships in Athens, having also made the semi-finals at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta the summer before.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/other-sports/the-running-life-of-shane-healy-ireland-s-most-daring-olympian-1.4319020" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Full article</strong></span></a> (<em>Irish Times</em>)</p>

Start your weekend here, with a round-up of some of the best athletics, running and fitness-related stories from the past seven days.


Start your weekend here, with a round-up of some of the best athletics, running and fitness-related stories from the past seven days.
 Full speed ahead
Bob Hayes stormed through the 1964 Tokyo Games; Mel Pender’s Olympic moment came later. And then they lived very different lives.

The two Americans ran seven lanes apart in the 1964 Olympic 100 meters. They ran on a track made of dirt and cinders, rust in color and solid underfoot, yet loose in texture, like a well-traveled country road. It would be the last Olympic track meet on a surface that wasn’t as hard as a countertop; before the race, sprinters secured their starting blocks by using a wood mallet to pound spikes into metal tongues at the front and back of the blocks.
Full article (NBC Sports)
 For DeAnna Price, hammer time starts with a head-butt and a Sharpie

J.C. Lambert dropped off his wife and pupil, hammer thrower DeAnna Price, on Sept. 28 at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha and sent her off with a message.
Go get ’em. It only takes 76 meters to medal.
Price completed their pre-competition routine like she always does. She grabbed the sides of Lambert’s head and crashed craniums.
Full article (Yahoo)
 An unremembered icon: the story of 1900 Olympic steeplechase champion George Orton

Clasping the rectangular bronze medal with his left hand — his good hand — as the blistering Paris sun beat down on his skin, George Orton felt sick to his stomach. Literally.
The Penn grad had just finished third in the 400-meter hurdles in the 1900 Olympics. A good finish by any standard, but he didn’t travel across the Atlantic Ocean by boat to settle for anything less than first place.
While he would later have a tremendous impact on Philadelphia and Penn Athletics, he was currently focused on a single goal.
Full article (The Daily Pennsylvanian)
 Obiri says farming keeps her on track

Things don’t just happen. They are made to happen. And that clearly demonstrates world 5000m champion Hellen Obiri’s bid to venture into livestock farming.
Despite challenges occasioned by Covid-19 crisis, Obiri is upbeat that her ambitions – in the farm and on the track – will be realised.
Full article (The Standard)
 The Olympic track and field MVPs

To mark what would have been the start of the athletics programme at the 2020 Olympic Games, LetsRun.com have compiled a list of the MVPs (most valuable players) for the past 28 Summer Olympics.
"Yes, comparing across events is always going to produce imperfect results, but that’s part of the fun!," says Jon Gault. "If everyone agreed, it wouldn’t be an argument. Some are obvious. Some are not. I’m sure plenty of you will disagree with me. That’s kind of the point."
Part one (1896-1960) | Part two (1964-2016) (LetsRun.com)
 Chepngetich eyes world record and Olympic title

World marathon champion Ruth Chepngetich believes she has what it takes to break the world record in the near future.
The record held by Brigid Kosgei stands at 2:14:04 set during last year's Chicago Marathon.
Chepngetich, who currently trains by herself in Ngong, reckons that with proper preparations and focus, she will dethrone Kosgei.
Full article (The Star)
 The training of Steve Ovett

Forty years since Steve Ovett's 800m victory at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, Colin Lancaster gives an insight into the training of his former training partner.
Full article (FastRunning.com)
 The running life of Shane Healy, Ireland’s most daring Olympian

“Are you the Shane Healy?”
We were outside some bar on Leeson Street, on the way to some nightclub, on a night somewhere late in the summer of 1997. I knew who he was and just wanted to make sure because even then there was something exuberant and wild and utterly different about the running life of Shane Healy.
He’d a couple more years on me and that’s all. I wasn’t long home from America after a couple of years bumming around after college, still trying to make it as a distance runner, and he wasn’t long home from running the 1,500m at the World Championships in Athens, having also made the semi-finals at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta the summer before.
Full article (Irish Times)

Weekly curated athletics articles summary

Weekend reads: the best athletics stories from the past seven days

<p><br />Cooking, like running and coaching, is a lifelong learning process. However good you become, there is always more you can learn. There is no limit to how far you can master your craft. With cooking, I&rsquo;ve tried over the years to move away from relying on recipes, and instead tried to work with what I know about ingredients to bring out the best in them and be creative.<br /><br /></p>
<div id="5e9acc430d00ae08f026e6b3" class="dropMedia">
<div style="background-image: url('https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/7292fdae-0010-44ce-8de7-2801e19fad78.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Distance runner and Asics ambassador Mara Yamauchi</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>One of my favourite vegetables is the humble aubergine. Its key characteristic, apart from its beautiful deep purple colour, is that it is like a sponge &ndash; not too exciting on its own, but it absorbs flavours and oils really well which can turn an unremarkable vegetable into something truly delicious. If you think about aubergine dishes across the world, such as French ratatouille, Arab baba ghanoush or Greek moussaka, many of them are strongly flavoured with other ingredients. Aubergines are versatile and lend themselves to being used in all sorts of ways&hellip; just add your favourite flavours and make sure you fry them long enough to soften the flesh to a lovely soft consistency.</p>
<p>My recipe today is a classic Italian way of cooking aubergines &ndash; adding tomato sauce and cheese. Melanzane parmigiana, or aubergines with parmesan, is a simple but filling vegetarian dish which can be eaten as a side dish, but is also substantial enough to be a main course.<br /><br /></p>
<hr />
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Melanzane parmigiana</h3>
<p><strong><br />Ingredients</strong><br /> 1 onion, finely chopped<br /> 1 garlic clove, finely chopped<br /> Olive oil for frying<br /> 500g tinned or fresh tomatoes<br /> 2 tablespoons tomato puree<br /> 1 teaspoon sugar<br /> 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar<br /> 1 teaspoon dried oregano<br /> Handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped<br /> 2 bay leaves<br /> 2 aubergines<br /> 200g mozzarella cheese, sliced<br /> 75g parmesan cheese, finely grated</p>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/97853c13-027b-4362-808f-58b365fca843.jpeg?cachebuster=ff52df5b-ce1a-4379-93af-99471e35fa41" alt="" width="600" height="400" />&nbsp;</p>
<p><strong><br />Method</strong><br /><strong>&bull;</strong> Slice the aubergines into rings about 1cm thick, spread out on a tray and sprinkle salt over. Leave for one hour. This draws the moisture out of them.</p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> To make the tomato sauce, fry the onion and garlic for five minutes in olive oil. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar, vinegar, oregano, basil, bay leaves and salt &amp; pepper, mix well and simmer gently for 40 minutes until thickened.</p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> Remove the bay leaves. Rinse the aubergines with cold water and pat dry. Fry the aubergine slices on both sides in a flat frying pan until browned, adding extra olive oil as it gets absorbed by the aubergines.</p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> Place the aubergine slices in the bottom of an ovenproof dish, followed by a layer of sliced mozzarella, then tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. Repeat this layering depending on how big your dish is, finishing with tomato sauce and parmesan on top.</p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> Cook in a pre-heated oven at 180 Celsius for 50 mins until browned on top and cooked through. Enjoy!</p>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/f39a380a-986b-4425-8a3f-62a8e44f5554.jpeg?cachebuster=ad659ea6-25d1-4d1b-a678-c60a0f0ef11b" alt="" width="600" height="400" /></p>

Cooking, like running and coaching, is a lifelong learning process. However good you become, there is always more you can learn. There is no limit to how far you can master your craft. With cooking, I’ve tried over the years to move away from relying on recipes, and instead tried to work with what I know about ingredients to bring out the best in them and be creative.


Cooking, like running and coaching, is a lifelong learning process. However good you become, there is always more you can learn. There is no limit to how far you can master your craft. With cooking, I’ve tried over the years to move away from relying on recipes, and instead tried to work with what I know about ingredients to bring out the best in them and be creative. 
Distance runner and Asics ambassador Mara Yamauchi
 
One of my favourite vegetables is the humble aubergine. Its key characteristic, apart from its beautiful deep purple colour, is that it is like a sponge – not too exciting on its own, but it absorbs flavours and oils really well which can turn an unremarkable vegetable into something truly delicious. If you think about aubergine dishes across the world, such as French ratatouille, Arab baba ghanoush or Greek moussaka, many of them are strongly flavoured with other ingredients. Aubergines are versatile and lend themselves to being used in all sorts of ways… just add your favourite flavours and make sure you fry them long enough to soften the flesh to a lovely soft consistency.
My recipe today is a classic Italian way of cooking aubergines – adding tomato sauce and cheese. Melanzane parmigiana, or aubergines with parmesan, is a simple but filling vegetarian dish which can be eaten as a side dish, but is also substantial enough to be a main course.
 Melanzane parmigiana
Ingredients 1 onion, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, finely chopped Olive oil for frying 500g tinned or fresh tomatoes 2 tablespoons tomato puree 1 teaspoon sugar 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon dried oregano Handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped 2 bay leaves 2 aubergines 200g mozzarella cheese, sliced 75g parmesan cheese, finely grated
 
Method• Slice the aubergines into rings about 1cm thick, spread out on a tray and sprinkle salt over. Leave for one hour. This draws the moisture out of them.
• To make the tomato sauce, fry the onion and garlic for five minutes in olive oil. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar, vinegar, oregano, basil, bay leaves and salt & pepper, mix well and simmer gently for 40 minutes until thickened.
• Remove the bay leaves. Rinse the aubergines with cold water and pat dry. Fry the aubergine slices on both sides in a flat frying pan until browned, adding extra olive oil as it gets absorbed by the aubergines.
• Place the aubergine slices in the bottom of an ovenproof dish, followed by a layer of sliced mozzarella, then tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. Repeat this layering depending on how big your dish is, finishing with tomato sauce and parmesan on top.
• Cook in a pre-heated oven at 180 Celsius for 50 mins until browned on top and cooked through. Enjoy!


Recipe healthy eating Melanzane parmigiana aubergines

Recipe: Melanzane parmigiana

<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4><img style="width: 90px; height: 90px; border-radius: 50%; margin-right: 20px;" src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Original/8a1d4507-5605-49b2-9512-d91eb3b43460.png" alt="Kate Carter" align="left" />The world's greatest athletes never fail to inspire. But sometimes it's the fellow athletes closer to home that can provide the biggest inspiration.</h4>
<hr />
<h4 style="text-align: right;"><strong>Kate Carter</strong> <em>(<a href="https://twitter.com/katehelencarter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@katehelencarter</a>)</em></h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The feats of the great athletes are endlessly inspiring, whether it's superhumanly fast times or tales of the sort of commitment to training that boggle the mind. My own personal favourite, Emil Zatopek, would train in a bath full of wet clothes when he couldn't run outside, or run miles and miles in army-issue boots. I swear I develop blisters even thinking about that.<br /><br /></p>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/a9ba25db-d739-42da-8149-e10d849888ec.jpg?cachebuster=fb5d9110-aeb8-4ea0-92a4-4216e874d2a7" alt="Emil Zatopek" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><br />But while I love these stories, and they do inspire me in theory, what actually gets me out the door and pushing that little bit harder is the people I know in real life.</p>
<p>My theory is that for most of us &ndash; amateur runners, that is &ndash; it's the people close to home who really provide day-to-day motivation. People with stories like our own &ndash; overcoming not so much insurmountable obstacles as just the same old tiring routines of work, or childcare, or commuting, that we all go through. Dealing with the minutiae of life and work and family, and getting out training nevertheless. I suppose it's obvious, really, that for those of us who are far from being full-time athletes, the stories of other &lsquo;hobby&rsquo; runners are just that bit more relatable.</p>
<p>If you are a regular runner, and have a group of friends who you train with, you probably feel the most intense rivalries (however much you pretend you don't) with those people who are just that little bit quicker than you. The ones you always seem to finish near in races. Or &ndash; worse &ndash; the ones who USED to be a bit slower than you but now seem to be always ahead of you on the road, or track, or to the finish line. That guy, or girl, who finishes minutes ahead of you is quite literally out of sight, and out of mind, but the ones you can count the gaps in seconds with? Those are the ones you want to chase, and one day beat. Those are the ones you measure yourself against, and push yourself harder to stay with, or overtake.</p>
<p><a href="https://worldathletics.org/page/fitter-with-friends?utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=article" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><br /><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/misc/FWF-5x2-banner.gif" /><br /></a></p>
<p>And it's also the ones who make you want to do more. When I joined my running club, about seven years ago, I was new to running, and new to races. I'd done a 10km, and one half marathon, but the idea of a full 26.2 miles seemed a dream, and one I wasn't planning an attempt at any time soon. I didn&rsquo;t really know that many runners at all. But at the regular club sessions I started going to, I met an amazing woman called Clare, who not only had run what seemed to me to be superhuman marathon times, but would also casually (and completely modestly) chat about this 50-mile or that 100-mile race she'd done recently. She was faster than me, and I dreamed of being able to keep up with her on those track reps. But what really inspired me, made me think maybe I could do that too (the marathon, not the 100 miler!) was actually how normal she made it sound. And more importantly: how much fun.</p>
<p>For amateur runners, a common way to measure yourself against others &ndash; perhaps those you don&rsquo;t see often in real life &ndash; is by age grading. It might be meaningless to some, but as we age, it can be a nice way to keep in touch with how we are performing relative to those advancing years. There are calculators online where &lsquo;masters&rsquo; runners can work out their age-related performances in percentages: very roughly speaking, upwards of 60% is &lsquo;local&rsquo; class, 70% is &lsquo;regional&rsquo;, 80% &lsquo;national&rsquo;, 90% &lsquo;world&rsquo; and 100% would be, well, a world record for your age group.</p>
<p>Reasonably local to me lives an amazing woman in the vet 55+ category called Clare Elms who regularly runs well into the 90% and has a few age-group world records to her name. I find her incredibly inspiring: I&rsquo;ve been lucky enough to meet a fair few Olympians in my time, but when I once found myself chatting to her before a low-key track race, I found myself completely tongue-tied.<br /><br /></p>
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<p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B6TnfU9n0vp/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">🏅🏅💫🍾Massive congratulations to Clare Elms who won two awards this week - Athletics Weekly Female Masters Athlete 2019 and the European Masters Female Long Distance Award 2019! See more at: https://www.athleticsweekly.com/athletics-news/winners-revealed-in-aw-readers-choice-awards-1039927117/ #mastersathletics #dulwich #athleticsweekly #europeanmastersathletics</a></p>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" href="https://www.instagram.com/dulwichrunners/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Dulwich Runners AC</a> (@dulwichrunners) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2019-12-20T19:47:44+00:00">Dec 20, 2019 at 11:47am PST</time></p>
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<script src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js" async=""></script>
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<p><br />It&rsquo;s the sheer willpower that amazes me. And others: several medic friends &ndash; doctors and nurses &ndash; who run after bone-achingly long shifts saving lives. My friend Julia, who loves running so much that a difficult pregnancy being unable to do much was torture for her &ndash; and who, beautiful son now born &ndash; has bounced back in a couple of months to run ridiculously impressively fast times in our club&rsquo;s virtual lockdown races. I think she's so happy to be running again that her feet barely touch the ground.</p>
<p>Thinking about what all these women (and I hadn&rsquo;t really considered before I starting writing this that they are, actually, all women &ndash; again, that relatability?) have in common is that they radiate a love of running. It might seem trite &ndash; I mean, why would anyone do it if they didn&rsquo;t like it? &ndash; but not everyone manages to convey this so well. Actually, I think I&rsquo;m guilty myself sometimes of making running feel like, or sound like, a chore: I&rsquo;ve &ldquo;got&rdquo; to do this track session, I&rsquo;ve &ldquo;got&rdquo; to do a long run. But I really don&rsquo;t: none of us amateurs have to do any of it. And yet they &ndash; we &ndash; do it anyway. Without a reward, not for a career, but just because they &ndash; we &ndash; really, really want to. What could be more inspiring than that?</p>

The feats of the great athletes are endlessly inspiring, whether it's superhumanly fast times or tales of the sort of commitment to training that boggle the mind. 


 The world's greatest athletes never fail to inspire. But sometimes it's the fellow athletes closer to home that can provide the biggest inspiration.Kate Carter(@katehelencarter)
 
The feats of the great athletes are endlessly inspiring, whether it's superhumanly fast times or tales of the sort of commitment to training that boggle the mind. My own personal favourite, Emil Zatopek, would train in a bath full of wet clothes when he couldn't run outside, or run miles and miles in army-issue boots. I swear I develop blisters even thinking about that.

But while I love these stories, and they do inspire me in theory, what actually gets me out the door and pushing that little bit harder is the people I know in real life.
My theory is that for most of us – amateur runners, that is – it's the people close to home who really provide day-to-day motivation. People with stories like our own – overcoming not so much insurmountable obstacles as just the same old tiring routines of work, or childcare, or commuting, that we all go through. Dealing with the minutiae of life and work and family, and getting out training nevertheless. I suppose it's obvious, really, that for those of us who are far from being full-time athletes, the stories of other ‘hobby’ runners are just that bit more relatable.
If you are a regular runner, and have a group of friends who you train with, you probably feel the most intense rivalries (however much you pretend you don't) with those people who are just that little bit quicker than you. The ones you always seem to finish near in races. Or – worse – the ones who USED to be a bit slower than you but now seem to be always ahead of you on the road, or track, or to the finish line. That guy, or girl, who finishes minutes ahead of you is quite literally out of sight, and out of mind, but the ones you can count the gaps in seconds with? Those are the ones you want to chase, and one day beat. Those are the ones you measure yourself against, and push yourself harder to stay with, or overtake.

And it's also the ones who make you want to do more. When I joined my running club, about seven years ago, I was new to running, and new to races. I'd done a 10km, and one half marathon, but the idea of a full 26.2 miles seemed a dream, and one I wasn't planning an attempt at any time soon. I didn’t really know that many runners at all. But at the regular club sessions I started going to, I met an amazing woman called Clare, who not only had run what seemed to me to be superhuman marathon times, but would also casually (and completely modestly) chat about this 50-mile or that 100-mile race she'd done recently. She was faster than me, and I dreamed of being able to keep up with her on those track reps. But what really inspired me, made me think maybe I could do that too (the marathon, not the 100 miler!) was actually how normal she made it sound. And more importantly: how much fun.
For amateur runners, a common way to measure yourself against others – perhaps those you don’t see often in real life – is by age grading. It might be meaningless to some, but as we age, it can be a nice way to keep in touch with how we are performing relative to those advancing years. There are calculators online where ‘masters’ runners can work out their age-related performances in percentages: very roughly speaking, upwards of 60% is ‘local’ class, 70% is ‘regional’, 80% ‘national’, 90% ‘world’ and 100% would be, well, a world record for your age group.
Reasonably local to me lives an amazing woman in the vet 55+ category called Clare Elms who regularly runs well into the 90% and has a few age-group world records to her name. I find her incredibly inspiring: I’ve been lucky enough to meet a fair few Olympians in my time, but when I once found myself chatting to her before a low-key track race, I found myself completely tongue-tied.     View this post on Instagram         
🏅🏅💫🍾Massive congratulations to Clare Elms who won two awards this week - Athletics Weekly Female Masters Athlete 2019 and the European Masters Female Long Distance Award 2019! See more at: https://www.athleticsweekly.com/athletics-news/winners-revealed-in-aw-readers-choice-awards-1039927117/ #mastersathletics #dulwich #athleticsweekly #europeanmastersathletics
A post shared by  Dulwich Runners AC (@dulwichrunners) on Dec 20, 2019 at 11:47am PST

It’s the sheer willpower that amazes me. And others: several medic friends – doctors and nurses – who run after bone-achingly long shifts saving lives. My friend Julia, who loves running so much that a difficult pregnancy being unable to do much was torture for her – and who, beautiful son now born – has bounced back in a couple of months to run ridiculously impressively fast times in our club’s virtual lockdown races. I think she's so happy to be running again that her feet barely touch the ground.
Thinking about what all these women (and I hadn’t really considered before I starting writing this that they are, actually, all women – again, that relatability?) have in common is that they radiate a love of running. It might seem trite – I mean, why would anyone do it if they didn’t like it? – but not everyone manages to convey this so well. Actually, I think I’m guilty myself sometimes of making running feel like, or sound like, a chore: I’ve “got” to do this track session, I’ve “got” to do a long run. But I really don’t: none of us amateurs have to do any of it. And yet they – we – do it anyway. Without a reward, not for a career, but just because they – we – really, really want to. What could be more inspiring than that?

Inspiring runners local ability heroes

The Athletic Life: let’s hear it for the everyday heroes

<p><br />During my career as an elite athlete, I often spent time in St Moritz, Switzerland, for altitude training. Surrounded by fresh air and gorgeous mountain scenery at 1600m above sea level, it was a wonderful place to prepare for major championships.</p>
<p>One of the highlights of being in Switzerland was enjoying one of its food specialities, Bircher muesli &ndash; a nourishing, filling and delicious breakfast dish. An interesting mix of sweet and sharp, Bircher muesli is, like my healthy cakes recipe, a dish that you can add all sorts of ingredients to and increase the variety in what you are eating.<br /><br /></p>
<div id="5e9acc430d00ae08f026e6b3" class="dropMedia">
<div style="background-image: url('https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/7292fdae-0010-44ce-8de7-2801e19fad78.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Distance runner and Asics ambassador Mara Yamauchi</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The word &lsquo;Bircher&rsquo; comes from Dr Maximilian Bircher-Benner, a Swiss doctor and nutritionist. This word has become synonymous with pre-soaking oats to soften them without any cooking. It also distinguishes Bircher muesli from regular muesli which is typically dry and eaten with milk or similar poured over it just before eating. The inclusion of lemon juice in Bircher muesli apparently begins the breaking down process, making digestion easier.</p>
<p>I often make a large amount of Bircher muesli at home which I keep in the fridge and eat over 2-3 days, adding fresh fruit as a topping each day. I mainly eat it for breakfast, but being simple, quick and portable, you can eat it at any time of day, or even take it with you to training to have as a post-workout recovery snack.</p>
<p>The recipe I use is based on one from the delightful Caf&eacute; Tea Rooms in Yorkshire, Bettys, which serve food inspired by their Swiss founder.</p>
<p><a href="https://worldathletics.org/page/fitter-with-friends?utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=article" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><br /><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/misc/FWF-5x2-banner.gif" /><br /></a></p>
<hr />
<h3><br />Swiss Bircher muesli</h3>
<p><strong>Ingredients</strong><br /> 75g jumbo rolled oats<br /> 25g sultanas or other dried fruit<br /> 25g chopped almonds (the original recipe uses hazelnuts)<br /> 100ml milk (use alternatives such as soy or coconut milk if you wish)<br /> 100ml fresh orange juice<br /> 2 tablespoons lemon juice<br /> One apple</p>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/3f5e63a6-7e19-4903-a79e-8f261dae9871.jpg?cachebuster=6558db01-7501-4466-ba9c-144be8e59c49" alt="" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><strong>Method</strong><br /> &bull; Mix all the ingredients except the apple in a large bowl, mixing well. Cover and leave to stand in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.</p>
<p>&bull; When ready to serve, grate the apple (with skin on) and mix in. Add chopped fresh fruit as a topping. I like to add yoghurt and a few seeds too.</p>
<p>Be creative with your toppings, and add whatever you like to eat to increase variety. I have used strawberries and blueberries; tahini, oranges and pumpkin seeds; and yoghurt, banana, pine nuts and cinnamon. Enjoy!</p>
<p><br /><strong>Mara Yamauchi for World Athletics</strong></p>

During my career as an elite athlete, I often spent time in St Moritz, Switzerland, for altitude training. Surrounded by fresh air and gorgeous mountain scenery at 1600m above sea level, it was a wonderful place to prepare for major championships.

Recipe Swiss Bircher muesli healthy eating

Recipe: Swiss Bircher Muesli

<p><br />I first discovered kimchi when I lived in Tokyo as a diplomat. Strong-smelling, fermented cabbage&hellip;.it doesn&rsquo;t exactly sound appetising, does it?! But as soon as I tasted kimchi, I was hooked. Fresh, tangy and full of flavour, I quickly fell in love with it.</p>
<p>Initially I only ate it in restaurants, but soon I was buying big tubs of it in the supermarket to keep in my fridge at home. You do need some courage to try it, but I promise it is well worth it, because kimchi is delicious!<br /><br /></p>
<div id="5e9acc430d00ae08f026e6b3" class="dropMedia">
<div style="background-image: url('https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/7292fdae-0010-44ce-8de7-2801e19fad78.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Distance runner and Asics ambassador Mara Yamauchi</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Fermented foods reportedly have lots of health benefits. They encourage growth of good, probiotic bacteria in our gut, which can help your digestive and immune functions. They are easy to digest because the breakdown process has already begun. And there is evidence that they can help with brain function and mood. So they are terrific for staying in good health generally. I read recently that good bacteria can help synthesise vitamin K, which has been found by Dutch researchers to be deficient in some of the worst cases of Covid-19.</p>
<p>There is a large variety of fermented foods out there including live yoghurt, sauerkraut, natto (fermented soy beans), kefir, miso&hellip; but my favourite is definitely kimchi. Recently I took the plunge and had a go at making it myself. It was simpler to make than I expected, and the result was delicious! Thank you so much to my friend Yulin for this recipe.</p>
<p><br /><a href="https://worldathletics.org/page/fitter-with-friends?utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=article" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/misc/FWF-5x2-banner.gif" /><br /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<hr />
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Kimchi</h3>
<p><strong>Ingredients</strong><br /> 1 Chinese cabbage<br /> 1 cup sea salt<br /> 10 cups water<br /> 2 tablespoons sticky rice flour<br /> Half cup water<br /> 2 ripe pears, finely grated<br /> Half an apple, finely grated<br /> Half cup of Korean fish sauce<br /> 2 tablespoons salt<br /> Half tablespoon sugar<br /> 1 cup Korean chili powder<br /> 2 tablespoons garlic, grated finely<br /> 1 tablespoon root ginger, grated finely<br /> 1 cup spring onions, chopped into 4cm long thin pieces<br /> 200g white daikon radish, grated finely<br /> 200g white daikon radish, chopped into 4cm long matchsticks</p>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/7f5e5358-2db3-47e5-a150-bd6037086fc8.jpg?cachebuster=efc9ba91-80a0-4268-9ec1-8a3d7e111cfa" alt="" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><strong>Method</strong></p>
<p>Chop the cabbage into quarters length-wise. Place the sea salt and water in a large saucepan and mix well. Add the cabbage and soak for five hours.</p>
<p>Rinse cabbage in clean water three times and drain well, squeezing out as much water as possible. Then cut into bite-size pieces.</p>
<p>Mix the rice flour and half a cup of water in a saucepan, and heat gently. Once it thickens, remove from the heat and let it cool completely.</p>
<p>Mix all the remaining ingredients into the sticky rice base, stirring well. Add the cabbage and mix well.</p>
<p>Transfer to a clean, airtight container and leave in a cool, dark place for 24 hours for fermentation. Then transfer into clean jars and store in the fridge. Enjoy!</p>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/f6e553af-7130-4e7d-a5ab-19edf86ff326.jpg?cachebuster=f58ef110-4706-4d79-b25c-a46a128232ef" alt="" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><strong>Mara Yamauchi for World Athletics</strong></p>

I first discovered kimchi when I lived in Tokyo as a diplomat. Strong-smelling, fermented cabbage….it doesn’t exactly sound appetising, does it?! But as soon as I tasted kimchi, I was hooked.


I first discovered kimchi when I lived in Tokyo as a diplomat. Strong-smelling, fermented cabbage….it doesn’t exactly sound appetising, does it?! But as soon as I tasted kimchi, I was hooked. Fresh, tangy and full of flavour, I quickly fell in love with it.
Initially I only ate it in restaurants, but soon I was buying big tubs of it in the supermarket to keep in my fridge at home. You do need some courage to try it, but I promise it is well worth it, because kimchi is delicious! 
Distance runner and Asics ambassador Mara Yamauchi
 
Fermented foods reportedly have lots of health benefits. They encourage growth of good, probiotic bacteria in our gut, which can help your digestive and immune functions. They are easy to digest because the breakdown process has already begun. And there is evidence that they can help with brain function and mood. So they are terrific for staying in good health generally. I read recently that good bacteria can help synthesise vitamin K, which has been found by Dutch researchers to be deficient in some of the worst cases of Covid-19.
There is a large variety of fermented foods out there including live yoghurt, sauerkraut, natto (fermented soy beans), kefir, miso… but my favourite is definitely kimchi. Recently I took the plunge and had a go at making it myself. It was simpler to make than I expected, and the result was delicious! Thank you so much to my friend Yulin for this recipe.

 
 Kimchi
Ingredients 1 Chinese cabbage 1 cup sea salt 10 cups water 2 tablespoons sticky rice flour Half cup water 2 ripe pears, finely grated Half an apple, finely grated Half cup of Korean fish sauce 2 tablespoons salt Half tablespoon sugar 1 cup Korean chili powder 2 tablespoons garlic, grated finely 1 tablespoon root ginger, grated finely 1 cup spring onions, chopped into 4cm long thin pieces 200g white daikon radish, grated finely 200g white daikon radish, chopped into 4cm long matchsticks

Method
Chop the cabbage into quarters length-wise. Place the sea salt and water in a large saucepan and mix well. Add the cabbage and soak for five hours.
Rinse cabbage in clean water three times and drain well, squeezing out as much water as possible. Then cut into bite-size pieces.
Mix the rice flour and half a cup of water in a saucepan, and heat gently. Once it thickens, remove from the heat and let it cool completely.
Mix all the remaining ingredients into the sticky rice base, stirring well. Add the cabbage and mix well.
Transfer to a clean, airtight container and leave in a cool, dark place for 24 hours for fermentation. Then transfer into clean jars and store in the fridge. Enjoy!

Mara Yamauchi for World Athletics

Kimchi recipe korea healthy eating

Recipe: Korean kimchi

<p><br />Congratulations on taking up running! It&rsquo;s an enjoyable, exhilarating and inexpensive sport, so you&rsquo;ve made a good decision! I have been running on and off for nearly 40 years, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have, and still do.</p>
<p>You&rsquo;ll soon discover that running makes you hungry... sometimes very hungry! Running burns calories fast, so you&rsquo;ll need to make sure you are eating enough to fuel your runs. But what are good things to eat before a run?<br /><br /></p>
<div id="5e9acc430d00ae08f026e6b3" class="dropMedia">
<div style="background-image: url('https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/7292fdae-0010-44ce-8de7-2801e19fad78.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Distance runner and Asics ambassador Mara Yamauchi</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Of the three main macro-nutrient food groups &ndash; protein, fats and carbohydrates &ndash; the latter two are the best for providing energy. Protein also provides calories but is a less efficient source. Rather, its main role is building and repairing tissues like muscle fibres, so it&rsquo;s ideal for after running. I am not a dietician but I made sure I learned as much as I could about nutrition while I was competing, to stay healthy and support my training.</p>
<p>Here are my five top tips for how to fuel yourself before running.</p>
<h3>1. Provide energy</h3>
<p>Any food that provides energy for your run, ideally as carbohydrate and/or fats, is ideal. Our bodies also store energy, but foods consumed and digested before a run will offer a readily available source of energy. Examples include bananas or a cheese sandwich.</p>
<h3>2. Make digestion easy</h3>
<p>The purpose of eating before a run is to make energy available for your exertions, so easy digestion is a must. Simple foods are therefore better than anything too heavy, oily, spicy or fibrous. Having to stop mid-run for the toilet is something we all want to avoid!</p>
<h3>3. Allow enough time</h3>
<p>Digestion takes time, so leave plenty of time between eating and running. How long depends on how much you eat, what you eat, and how well you can run after food. For a small snack, one hour before a run is a good start. Then you can adjust this according to how you feel.</p>
<h3>4. Remember hydration</h3>
<p>Dehydration makes you feel drowsy and out of sorts, and won&rsquo;t help your run. So try to make sure you&rsquo;re topped up with fluids at least two hours before a run. Snacks like smoothies, which include fluid as well as calories, are a good choice.</p>
<h3>5. Low GI</h3>
<p>GI stands for glycaemic index, which means how quickly glucose is absorbed from your gut into your bloodstream. High GI foods (eg sugar, white bread, white rice) absorb quickly and give a glucose boost which doesn&rsquo;t last long. Low GI foods absorb more slowly and supply glucose for longer. A lower, sustained glucose supply is a better source of energy for running. Protein, fats and fibre all lower the GI of any carbohydrate source.<br /><br /></p>
<p><a href="https://worldathletics.org/page/fitter-with-friends?utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=article" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/misc/FWF-5x2-banner.gif" /><br /></a></p>
<h1>Recipe: malt loaf</h1>
<p>When I was a full-time athlete, I often spent time in Albuquerque, New Mexico, doing altitude training. At the local supermarket, they had aisles displaying what they called &lsquo;international foods&rsquo;. There were aisles for Chinese, Thai, Mexican and Indian, but to my surprise they also had a &lsquo;British&rsquo; aisle. I was intrigued to see what foods they considered typically British. Of course there was tea, but also shortbread and custard cream biscuits, HP sauce, custard powder &ndash; what you might call the &lsquo;usual suspects&rsquo;.</p>
<p>But they also had malt loaf, a unique half-bread, half-cake, squidgy, slightly sweet, fruity loaf. The most distinct characteristic of malt loaf though is that all runners seem to love it. So here is my recipe for a home-made version. Malt loaf on its own would be relatively high GI, so I eat it spread with nut butter on top to lower the GI.</p>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/e01ad867-3071-4403-82ca-4819c14f3225.jpeg?cachebuster=ae994861-4256-403c-ad6b-1516197df8a3" alt="" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><strong>Ingredients</strong><br /> 150ml hot black tea<br /> 180g malt extract<br /> 85g muscovado sugar<br /> 300g sultanas<br /> 2 eggs, beaten<br /> 250g plain flour<br /> 1 teaspoon baking powder</p>
<p><strong>Method</strong><br /><strong>&bull;</strong> Grease and then line a loaf tin with baking paper. In a large bowl, mix the tea, malt extract, sugar and sultanas. Beat the eggs and add them too, stirring everything well.</p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> Add the flour and baking powder and mix well. Pour into the lined tin and cook at 150C for about 50 minutes until risen and a knife inserted into the loaf comes out clean.</p>

Running makes you hungry... sometimes very hungry!

Running fuel healthy recipe malt loaf

New runners - five essential tips for fuelling your run

<p><br />Risottos, or I should say &lsquo;risotti&rsquo;, are a terrific food for athletes and one of my favourite dishes. They are easy to prepare, and versatile &ndash; you can use a wide variety of ingredients to flavour them and to add protein, for example seafood. The main ingredient, rice, is a good carbohydrate source. And they are tasty and nourishing, as a proper meal after a hard training session, or in small amounts as a snack. I have been known to take leftover risotto in a Tupperware box to training to eat straight afterwards!<br /><br /></p>
<div id="5e9acc430d00ae08f026e6b3" class="dropMedia">
<div style="background-image: url('https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/7292fdae-0010-44ce-8de7-2801e19fad78.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Distance runner and Asics ambassador Mara Yamauchi</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Life has been turned upside down this spring by the coronavirus. Northern Italy, including Piedmont, the home of risotto, was one of the areas worst affected by this pandemic. In my own mind, northern Italy means hiking in beautiful mountains, delicious food, and trail running. So I remember watching aghast when alarming scenes from Piedmont&rsquo;s hospitals were on our TV screens. So this week&rsquo;s recipe is a show of solidarity for Italy and Piedmont. I just can&rsquo;t wait to go back to northern Italy, when it is safe to do so. In the meantime, we can enjoy one of its many delicious culinary inventions.</p>
<p>Risotti are typically made with sticky rice varieties, for example Arborio. But in this recipe I am diverging a bit from tradition and using barley grains instead of rice, which give it a crunchy and chewy texture. Interestingly, the combination of rice and protein such as meat, fish or cheese, is popular around the world, for example Korean Bibimbap, Indonesian Nasi Goreng and Spanish Paella. With some good flavours, it&rsquo;s a winning combination.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<hr />
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Mushroom and bacon risotto (risotto funghi e pancetta)</h3>
<p><strong>Ingredients</strong><br /> 1 small onion<br /> 30g dried mushrooms (ideally porcini)<br /> 200g fresh mushrooms, ideally a variety eg shiitake, maitake, oyster, sliced<br /> 50g pancetta, chopped into small cubes<br /> 250g barley<br /> Approx 700ml vegetable stock made from a cube<br /> 25g butter<br /> 50g parmesan cheese, grated<br /> 2 tablespoons olive oil</p>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/3afcbdfa-6191-4974-96bd-516b8e51ff18.jpeg?cachebuster=cc34a98a-eea5-4a26-9330-cd162b71ff02" alt="Risotto ingredients" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><strong><br />Method</strong><br /><strong>&bull;</strong> Pour 500ml of boiling water over the dried mushrooms, leave to soak for 20 mins, then drain, keeping the liquid.</p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> Make your vegetable stock according to the cube instructions.</p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> Finely chop the onion and fry for five minutes in the olive oil. Add the pancetta and all the mushrooms and continue frying, stirring regularly, until the fresh mushrooms have softened.</p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> Add the barley and fry for two minutes. Add half the mushroom stock and stir well.</p>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/b984b21c-d646-46dc-b9c6-531dc1d0f7d1.jpeg?cachebuster=b7563578-8911-41a5-a1f3-7e4157fb904c" alt="" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> When the liquid has been absorbed, add the other half and continue stirring. Continue this process with the vegetable stock until the barley is cooked but still a little crunchy or &lsquo;al dente&rsquo;.</p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> Finally, add the butter and half the grated cheese, salt and pepper to taste, and mix well. Place on dishes to serve and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.</p>
<p><br />(Many recipes call for white wine to be used as part of the liquid that you add &ndash; I have just used mushroom and vegetable stock in this recipe. Adding a little cream instead of butter at the end is another variation.)</p>
<p><br /><strong>Mara Yamauchi for World Athletics</strong></p>

Risottos, or I should say ‘risotti’, are a terrific food for athletes and one of my favourite dishes.

Recipe healthy risotto mushroom bacon funghi pancetta

Athletics@Home – risotto funghi e pancetta

<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4><img style="width: 90px; height: 90px; border-radius: 50%; margin-right: 20px;" src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Original/8a1d4507-5605-49b2-9512-d91eb3b43460.png" alt="Kate Carter" align="left" />Ever wished you could help heal the environment while also working on your fitness? Now you can &ndash; by plogging</h4>
<hr />
<h4 style="text-align: right;"><strong>Kate Carter</strong> <em>(<a href="https://twitter.com/katehelencarter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@katehelencarter</a>)</em></h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>As runners, we like to imagine our footprints are light. Of course, we might travel for races, but most of our efforts are probably done locally &ndash; from our front door, back home again. We move lightly (if only in our heads, not on our pounding feet) through the environment. We don&rsquo;t carry much &ndash; keys, perhaps water, a gel packet or two for the long ones. Most importantly, I hope, we leave nothing behind.</p>
<p>In races, as I dimly recall from those happy race-filled days of yore, when water is offered, I like to award myself imaginary time bonuses by throwing the cup or bottle directly into the rubbish bins provided &ndash; and I applaud and support all the races organisers doing their bit to cut down on their use of single use plastic. I&rsquo;m not much of a trail runner &ndash; geography rather denies me that pleasure &ndash; but I know a lot of the trail running and ultra-racing organisations rightly have strict race policies about carrying reusable cups, and disqualification policies for litterers.</p>
<p>But even if we consider ourselves to be positively saintly, we are still users of the environments in which we run. And if we use parks, commons, trails or green spaces, we might consider we owe them a little debt, even if we don&rsquo;t consider ourselves to be the &lsquo;cause&rsquo; of the problem. So why not repay this debt occasionally, and do a little plogging?</p>
<p>The word &ndash; and the concept &ndash; come from Sweden, a mix of <em>plocka upp</em> (to pick up) or <em>plocka skr&auml;p</em> (to pick up litter) and jogger (jog). The idea is very simple: take with you on your run a small bin bag and a pair of gloves and stop occasionally to pick up rubbish. Of course, you&rsquo;ll probably only scratch the surface, and possibly even come away depressed by the realisation of how much there is to do. Nevertheless, it all helps.<br /><br /></p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6BVZNFAaNAE" width="500" height="280" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><br />I live near one of the biggest green spaces in London, and recently its conservators revealed that in normal times, they fill a skip full of litter every six or seven weeks. With Covid-19 restricting indoor activities, but people flocking to green spaces, they are now filling that skip each week. Half of their staff time is currently spent dealing with this, and this alone. If people just took their rubbish home with them, plogging would of course be totally unnecessary &ndash; but as they don&rsquo;t, it&rsquo;s not.</p>
<p>I once went plogging with a group (again, remember those days?) in central London. I soon realised two things: firstly, that plogging can actually be its own, slow, competitive sport &ndash; who can fill their rubbish bag first? &ndash; and secondly, that the amount of plastic waste thrown on to London&rsquo;s streets, frequently within a few metres of bins, is utterly depressing. Drinks bottles, endless plastic caps, crisp packets, and endless, endless cigarette butts. It&rsquo;s sad enough sorting through all this mess on London&rsquo;s already fairly grimy streets, but how much worse when you see the same marring beautiful green spaces. Bits of plastic snagged in branches, or dumped in or near ponds: not just an eyesore but a danger to wildlife.</p>
<p>Above all, there is no better time than now to slow down and observe this: and do your bit. There are no races on most of our calendars in the near future. Nothing really urgent to train for that dictates we can&rsquo;t stop once in a while to pick up a bit of trash. And besides: it&rsquo;s actually really satisfying to have a concrete purpose to a run, rather than just getting outside. In the UK, there is a fantastic organisation called Goodgym who were set up to combine exercise with, well, doing good stuff. Everything from helping community organisations to building a new garden, to visiting isolated older people (that one, of course, in non-pandemic times). Even from a purely selfish point of view, it&rsquo;s a great way to take the pressure of yourself to &lsquo;perform&rsquo; a certain way on a run, recalibrating it entirely.</p>
<p>Plogging also has the benefit of being something that&rsquo;s great to do with a friend or small group (if Covid restrictions allow, of course) &ndash; even with people of very varying paces. There&rsquo;s no need to worry about being too fast or too slow, you can just agree on an area you&rsquo;ll try to clear, and the faster people can just move around faster and pick up more litter or double back and rejoin. If you are super keen to add some strength and conditioning work, you could even do a squat every time you pick up something from the ground.</p>
<p>With so much uncertainty and fear in the world at the moment, and so much to be negative about, it&rsquo;s actually hugely rewarding to set yourself a small, achievable goal: clear the rubbish from that particular lawn, that bit of the field, that square of grass, and do it. Give it a try: mission achieved, and green space &ndash; however small &ndash; restored, I swear you will feel a little bit better about the world, and your place in it.</p>

Ever wished you could help heal the environment while also working on your fitness? Now you can – by plogging

Plogging fitness environment

The Athletic Life: how plogging can improve your fitness and the environment

<p><br />The decathlon boys are back! Yes! Tomorrow, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/news/press-release/worlds-top-three-decathletes-to-square-off-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the latest Ultimate Garden Clash</a></strong></span> will see three of the world&rsquo;s best all-rounders compete for a unique combined events triathlon title, from their back gardens.</p>
<p>I can&rsquo;t wait! Apart from the marathon (I&rsquo;m biased, obviously), the decathlon is one of my favourite events because it&rsquo;s the pinnacle of athleticism. You have to be good at everything to be good at decathlon. Daley Thompson was my childhood hero, and the person who made me fall in love with athletics.</p>
<p>So in honour of these awesome athletes, today&rsquo;s recipe, tofu burgers, is all about protein. Decathlon calls for power and strength, for which plenty of protein in your diet is essential. But why tofu? I can hear a few meat-lovers out there defending 100% meat burgers already!</p>
<p>First, my burgers contain tofu <em>and</em> beef, so they have two protein sources &ndash; more variety than plain burgers. Soya beans, from which tofu is made, are a rich source of essential nutrients including fibre, iron, manganese, and several B vitamins.</p>
<p>Second, these days we&rsquo;re all under pressure to eat less meat because of climate change. For now, I am continuing to eat meat but I am drastically reducing the amount I eat. This recipe is an example of one way to reduce your meat consumption while increasing protein intake from plant sources.</p>
<p>And third, the tofu gives these burgers a lighter, more juicy texture than 100% meat burgers.<br /><br /></p>
<div id="5e9acc430d00ae08f026e6b3" class="dropMedia">
<div style="background-image: url('https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/7292fdae-0010-44ce-8de7-2801e19fad78.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Distance runner and Asics ambassador Mara Yamauchi</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><br />What I loved about the Ultimate Garden Clash pole vault editions was that, while pole vault is a power event, actually the clash was made into an endurance event. And tomorrow&rsquo;s event will be the same. We know from the suffering we often see when big strong decathletes run the 1500m that any form of endurance is tough for these athletes. They&rsquo;re going to need all the protein (and carbs and healthy fats!) they can get hold of.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<hr />
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3>Tofu burgers</h3>
<p><strong>Ingredients</strong><br /> 1 onion, finely chopped<br /> 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped<br /> 500g minced beef<br /> 200g tofu (firmer type works best but any is fine)<br /> 80g breadcrumbs<br /> 1 egg, beaten<br /> 2 tablespoons soy sauce<br /> Salt and pepper to taste<br /> Olive oil<br /> For the salsa: 50g mango, 1 large or 3 small tomatoes, handful of fresh mint<br /><br /></p>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/40f880dd-81e4-406f-9548-aefe0eb1eeb0.jpg?cachebuster=d65dafb1-09e5-4730-80a6-43b012eebb80" alt="" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><strong><br />Method</strong><br /><strong>&bull;</strong> First, remove as much moisture from the tofu as possible by patting with kitchen paper.</p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> To make the salsa, finely chop the mango, tomatoes and mint, mix together well with salt and pepper to taste, and place in the fridge.</p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> To make the burgers, place the onion, garlic, beef mince, tofu, breadcrumbs, egg, soy sauce, and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix together thoroughly with clean hands, form into small patties and set aside.</p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> Heat a little olive oil in a large, flat, non-stick frying pan. Fry the burgers for five minutes, then flip and repeat on the other side. Check if they are cooked through by inserting a knife into the centre of one of them. If the juices come out clear (not pink) then the burgers are done.</p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> I like eating burgers with rice and vegetables, with a sauce on the side (in this case salsa, but you could use any sauce that you like). These burgers are also delicious eaten in the traditional way, sandwiched in a toasted burger bun with melted cheese, pickles, tomato, lettuce, and ketchup.</p>
<p><br /><strong>Mara Yamauchi for World Athletics</strong></p>

The decathlon boys are back! Yes! Tomorrow, the latest Ultimate Garden Clash will see three of the world’s best all-rounders compete for a unique combined events triathlon title, from their back gardens.

Recipe healthy tofu beef burgers protein athletes

Athletics@Home – tasty tofu burgers

<p><br />Sushi is the most exquisite, sophisticated and beautiful art, made into food form.</p>
<p>Always delicate, colourful, and carefully presented, it is like a lifelong artisan&rsquo;s craft. The famous sushi chefs of Japan are indeed like craftsmen, who have honed their skills over a lifetime with patience and dedication. But sushi is also delicious &ndash; light yet quite filling, with an interesting mixture of being sharp and a little sweet.</p>
<p>Because I love cooking, when I lived in Japan as an athlete, I tried to learn Japanese cooking. Of course that included sushi &ndash; perhaps the most well-known of all Japanese foods. But I often heard people say that sushi is something you eat out, not at home. This is because sushi made by properly-trained chefs is so delicious, and it&rsquo;s difficult, at home, to produce sushi that is anywhere near as tasty and varied. This is a fair point and it&rsquo;s mostly true. But I also think it&rsquo;s a bit of a shame because it discourages ordinary folk from having a go and learning how to make it. So this week ordinary me is making sushi!<br /><br /></p>
<div id="5e9acc430d00ae08f026e6b3" class="dropMedia">
<div style="background-image: url('https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/7292fdae-0010-44ce-8de7-2801e19fad78.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Distance runner and Asics ambassador Mara Yamauchi</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>I&rsquo;m keeping it simple &ndash; maki-zushi with (mostly) readily available ingredients (traditional filling ingredients like takuwan, shiitake and kampyo aren&rsquo;t widely sold outside Japan so I have used more common ingredients). My sushi will never reach the dizzy heights of sushi made by a Japanese person, let alone a sushi chef. But it is fun to learn, and it is possible to make a basic but tasty version of this art-form at home.</p>
<p>Making it at home will hopefully whet your appetite for trying proper, authentically-made sushi in Japan. So if you&rsquo;re planning a trip to Tokyo for the Olympics next year, make sure eating sushi is on your to-do list!</p>
<p>Sushi is best eaten on the day it is made. The rice hardens up after that, as it does if you refrigerate sushi, which is a definite no-no. So set aside enough time to make your sushi feast and then enjoy the fruits of your labours soon afterwards.</p>
<h3>Maki-zushi</h3>
<p><strong>Ingredients</strong><br /> Nori sheets<br /> White sticky rice 480g, water 600ml<br /> Rice vinegar 4 tablespoons, salt 1.5 teaspoons, sugar 1 tablespoon<br /> Wasabi paste, sushi ginger, soy sauce<br /> Fillings: cucumber, tuna mayo, ham, smoked salmon, cream cheese, avocado, asparagus, carrots. All &lsquo;long&rsquo; items cut into thin strips.</p>
<p><strong>Kit:</strong> a bamboo rolling mat</p>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/1476927e-ceef-49ac-aab4-2b7968e2b5b7.jpg?cachebuster=8e7b33dc-714b-4ecd-9016-0e1d76c9ac0c" alt="Sushi fillings" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><strong><br />Method</strong><br /> Start by making vinegared sushi rice. Mix together the vinegar, sugar and salt. Rinse the rice in a little cold water in a saucepan by stirring the rice vigorously with your hand and pouring off the starchy water. Repeat 3-4 times until the water runs clear. Add 600ml water and leave for 60 minutes. Then cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes bringing it to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and leave to stand with the lid on for 10 minutes. (Ideally a piece of kombu seaweed should be added to the rice and removed just before boiling point, but if you cannot find kombu, just boil the rice without it).</p>
<p>Empty the cooked rice on to a large clean tray (ideally a wooden &lsquo;sushi-oke&rsquo; bowl but these are hard to come by), spreading it out, and sprinkle the vinegar mixture over it. &lsquo;Cut&rsquo; through it using a spatula. Cool the rice by fanning it.</p>
<p>Now you can start rolling. Cover your rolling mat in cling film. Place one sheet of nori on it, shiny side down. Cover the nori with a thin layer of rice, leaving a gap at the top. Rinse your hands in cold water frequently to stop the rice from sticking. Add small amounts of your fillings along the length of the nori.</p>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/8d747e6b-7de1-4373-ad6e-60efe1a2afb8.jpg?cachebuster=e8d5d7c2-dc05-402f-accc-dc91bd08bfa1" alt="Rolling sushi" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p>Tucking the fillings in with your hands as you go, roll the nori away from you, giving it a good squeeze at the end to make it compact. Using a very sharp knife, slice off the ends of the roll and discard, then slice your roll into bite-sized pieces.</p>
<p>Arrange on a large plate. Mix a little wasabi with your soy sauce on a small dipping plate, and enjoy your maki-zushi with sushi ginger.</p>
<p><img src="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/LargeL/c003030b-5672-4083-976d-c9657e61685a.jpg?cachebuster=3c10bf91-9163-411a-89d2-774ff14b79cf" alt="Sushi" width="600" height="400" /></p>

Sushi is the most exquisite, sophisticated and beautiful art, made into food form.

Sushi recipe healthy

Athletics@Home - sushi

<p><br />High summer is nearly upon us in the UK, from where I am writing, and nothing heralds its arrival quite like the flowers of the elder tree.</p>
<p>Delicate, pretty and fragrant, the tiny flowers grow together in large, flat clumps which can be as wide as dinner plates. Elder trees grow prolifically in temperate regions all over the world. When their flowers are fully open, their fresh, light and summery scent is unmistakeable.</p>
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<p>The arrival of high summer also means returning from training gasping with thirst! When your mouth is parched dry and you can&rsquo;t get hold of an icy-cold drink fast enough, elderflower cordial is the answer.</p>
<p>I am always trying to include seasonal and local foods in my cooking, and making cordial with freshly foraged flowers ticks both these boxes. The only downside of this cordial is that it includes a large amount of the dreaded white stuff: sugar. However, you only need a tiny amount of cordial diluted with lots of water to make a refreshing drink, and I reckon it&rsquo;s better than drinking processed, shop-bought drinks which may include all sorts of artificial ingredients as well as sugar.</p>
<p>Athletes aside, this drink is perfect for fans, spectators and officials of our sport when they&rsquo;re spending a long day at the track on a hot day.<br /><br /></p>
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Distance runner and Asics ambassador Mara Yamauchi</div>
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<p>The most common elderflowers are creamy yellow, and make a cordial with a similar colour. But their darker cousin, the &lsquo;Black Lace&rsquo; elder, makes gorgeous peachy-pink cordial. These tend not to grow wild, so I have &lsquo;borrowed&rsquo; some flowers from my neighbours, Peter and Val Lowman. Peter was a mentor for the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, and helped me when I retired from elite competition to forge a new life after sport. Both Peter and Val spend their retirement racing Ironman triathlon &ndash; amazing!</p>
<p>The elderflower season is just getting going in the northern hemisphere, so if you fancy making this cordial, the next few weeks are the perfect opportunity to give it a try. If you&rsquo;re even more adventurous, elderflowers can also be made into delicious tempura and the flower buds into pickles.</p>
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<h3>Elderflower cordial</h3>
<p><strong>Ingredients</strong><br /> 10 large elderflower heads (pick when just open and full of pollen)<br /> 900g granulated sugar<br /> 500ml water<br /> 40g citric acid (a preservative, can be found in pharmacies or health food shops)<br /> 1 lemon</p>
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<p><strong>Method</strong><br /><strong>&bull;</strong> Trim the stalks and leaves from the flower heads and carefully remove any insects or debris. Do not wash them as this washes off all the pollen. Place in a large bowl.</p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> Slowly heat the sugar and water in a large saucepan until the sugar dissolves. As it reaches the boil, turn off the heat and stir in the citric acid. Allow the mixture to cool slightly and pour over the flower heads.</p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> Grate the zest off the lemon and cut the lemon into small pieces, then add to the flower mixture. Stir gently and leave covered in a cool, dark place for 24 hours.</p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> Strain the mixture through a piece of muslin over a sieve, and pour into sterilised bottles. It keeps well in the fridge for a few weeks.</p>
<p><strong>&bull;</strong> Dilute a small amount with cold water to serve, adding ice and mint leaves as optional extras.</p>
<p><br /><strong>Mara Yamauchi for World Athletics</strong></p>

High summer is nearly upon us in the UK, from where I am writing, and nothing heralds its arrival quite like the flowers of the elder tree.