Runners

48 RUNNER’S WORLD JULY 2018“BeforeIstartedrunning,ifIgotoutof bed before noon, it was early,”says ultra runner Dean Karnazes, whofamously ‘picked up’ the sport on his30th birthday. He now wakes up around3:30am, and likes to run a marathonbefore breakfast. While the followinghacks won’t transform you into Karnazes,STEPON E: GETOUTTA BED“I’M GLAD YOU’RERECORDING THIS,BECAUSE I WANTTO GO ON RECORD:Morning people do not exist,” booms Brogan Graham, the gregarious co-founder of the free morning exercise movement the November Project.With upward of 20 000 members in 45 worldwide ‘tribes’, as they’re called,the November Project has almost become synonymous with mornings.Convincing people to wake up before the sun – and often, in sub-freezingtemperatures – was no picnic, contends Graham. Waking up early objectivelysucks. It’s hard for everyone. But there is a reason, despite its daybreak starttime, that the November Project has grown so dramatically: working out inthe morning is special – dare we say magical? “A lot of it is an experience,”says Graham. “The a.m. is such an alien time. By the time the sun comes up,you feel like you’ve stolen something from the city.”Listen, we know you’ve heard that morning running is good for you –early bird gets the worm, and all that. There’s so much more to it, though.Researchers are discovering that in ways both big and small, exercising firstthing is significantly better for the mind and body. For example, runningin the morning, as opposed to any other time of day, is more effective atlowering your blood pressure, and inducing longer, more beneficial sleepcycles the next night, according to a study published in Va s c ular He alth andRisk Management. Run first thing on an empty stomach, and you could burn20 per cent more fat than exercising later in the day without eating, andreduce p.m. food cravings while you’re at it. Researchers have also found thatmorning runners finish their day with more total physical activity, regardlessof their weight. As Newton put it, a body in motion remains in motion.If nothing else, being a morning runner puts you on a schedule.“Consistency is the most important thing in running, and a.m. runningis consistent running,” says trail-running coach David Roche, whoencourages many of his athletes to transition to a.m. training. “Morningsare much more predictable; there are fewer obstacles.” What’s more, a2012 review from Tunisian researchers found that exercise performedat the same time of day produced greater physiological adaptations – inother words, sticking to a morning schedule can make you fitter.We get that all of these selling points won’t make the actual crack-of-dawn wake-up easier. Getting up early requires Herculean willpower, andthat ungodly alarm never quite loses its sting. The upshot? There’s neverbeen a better time to develop (or improve) your morning running routinethan right now. When this magazine hits the shelves, we will have just hitthe winter solstice, when the sun rises around 7.30am if you’re lucky; youneed to find a way to get up in the dark.To boost your drive, we spoke to exercise scientists, coaches, pros, andaverage running joes – and put together this definitive guide to owningyour morning. Use the advice, and you’ll build an efficient, productive,fulfilling a.m. routine that will help you generate genuine excitement forthe best part of waking up early – being able to run. And perhaps that’s allthat’s kept you from making the morning habit stick.