This is an endurance event quite unlike any other. As a local, being born and raised in the area I first took part in the event twenty-two years ago and until this year I hadn’t done it again. This year is a particularly special event however as it marks the 100th Four Day Marches (Nijmegen marches). The history is well documented on the website however for locals it takes on a whole new meaning.
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Endurance
The chances are you’ll have already heard the saying that “life begins at forty” or that middle age begins around the same time. What you might not have heard is that from around forty-four years your risk factor for coronary heart disease starts to increase. If you are already in training and working hard you’d like to think that you’re covered and protected however it depends on what training you are actually taking part in, and at what level.
June is always a big month for both myself and for clients. This weekend (18/6/16) I’ll be taking part in the Rat Race- The Wall which is running for its fifth year. Athletes taking part cover sixty-nine miles in one day overall. On the 26th June I’ll also be taking part in the local Merchant Taylors Triathlon Event. What both of these fun yet incredibly challenging events have in common is that they are both endurance events.
What is endurance? Endurance is being able to do something for a period of time, usually an extended period and yet still be able to recover in a reasonable time. Just one example of an endurance event could be long distance running. Naturally your endurance level is seen to go hand in hand with your health level, mostly because being able to endure physical activity at a certain level for extended periods is associated with having good heart health, or cardiovascular health and fitness.
How long you are able to sustain an activity at a suitable level (while being able to recover from it fairly easily) is what is referred to as your endurance level. Endurance levels are built up via those dedicated to training (particularly maintaining a higher level of cardiovascular fitness) and those with overall optimum health and well-being levels. What trainers like me are seeing however are individuals working in the wrong way to build that endurance, often running the risk of causing real damage to themselves. There are better ways!