Runner the Gunner: Charlie Sharpe

[Scroll down for English] Charlie Sharpe je trener trčanja iz Ujedinjenog kraljevstva koji se prvobitno bavio penjanjem. U decembru 2010. godine se počeo spremati za učešće na trkama i od tada je završio preko 250 trka i preko 100 ultri. 2017. godine je učestvovao na Jahorina Ultra Trailu kada je na najdužoj stazi (104 km, 4100m) pobjedio s vremenom 10:44. Imala sam čast trenirati s njim prije toga i naučiti dosta od njega, upoznati se s njegovim pristupom trčanju, treninzima i vođenju drugih u postizanju ličnih ciljeva.

Razgovarali smo i o specifičnostima ultraških treninga kao i njegovim preferencijama kada su u pitanju vrste i formati trka. S obzirom da na blogu već dugo postoji rubrika ”Žene i tene”, ovim intervjuom započinjem novu rubriku posvećenu muškarcima u tenama “Brke i trke”.

Sanja: Još uvijek čujem od profesionalaca kako trkač ne bi trebao trčati više od 2 maratona godišnje. Ti si jednom istrčao dva maratona u dva dana. Kako je to izgledalo? Kakvi su ti bili rezultati? Kako si se oporavljao?

Charlie: Često radim treninge dužine maratona i 2 duga trčanja u 2 dana kako bih bio snažniji na ultrama. Postoje različiti ljudi s podijeljenim mišljenjima o treninzima. Ako neko želi trčati maraton i postići svoje najbolje vrijeme onda ne bi trebao trčati puno maratonskih trka ali ako je ultraš kao što sam ja, a mani je 100 milja omiljena distanca, onda tijelo treba biti u stanju trčati maraton za maratonom jer  su to na trci 4 uzastopna maratona. Jednom sam 6 sedmica uzastopno trčao svaki vikend po 2 maratona najčešće za 2:46 do 3:00 sata. Ovo je bio ugodan tempo, dakle ne sa 100% snage jer su te trke zapravo bili moji treninzi.

Sanja: Uspio si još u nečemu mnogo izazovnijem. Završio si 2 trke na 100 milja zaredom. Kako treniraš za takvu vrstu izazova? Kako znaš da si spreman za takav ekstremni test izdržljivosti?  

Charlie: Da biste trenirali za veoma duge ultre ili trčali više ultri zaredom, tijelo mora biti u dobroj kondiciji. Trebate biti snažni ali i imati dobru tehniku jer se u protivnom opterećuje tijelo što dovodi do povreda. Takođe, morate biti mentalno jaki što dolazi s redovnim treninzima tokom dužeg niza godina. Moj plan tog vikenda je bio da na prvoj trci na 100 milja trčim svoje najbolje vrijeme što sam postigao za 13 časova i 58 minuta a da drugu završim u komfornom tempu bez brige o vremenu. Do tada sam već iza sebe imao velike trke i sedmično trčao preko 300 do 400 km, čak dosta sedmica i s preko 200 km istrčanih na treninzima, iako mi je prosjek 130-150 km sedmično. Tijelo je odlično u adaptiranju.  

  

Sanja: Kakve trke više voliš, velika takmičenja poput trka UTWT-a ili manje trke? I Zašto?

Charlie: Moje omiljene trke su uglavnom birane na osnovu same staze. Zaista mi nije važno da li je na trci 10 ili 1000 učesnika. Trčanje je više moj lični izazov iako volim i da upoznajem nove ljude i otkrivam nova mjesta na trkama. Na malim trkama dobiješ priliku da se upoznaš s gotovo svima dok na velikim takmičenjima ne upoznaš toliko novih lica. Dok god je organizacija trke dobra i sunce sija, ja sam zadovoljan.  

Sanja: Pošto si iz UK-a, možeš li nam objasniti šta je ”fell running” koji je tamo popularan? Šta su osnovna pravila?

Charlie: u Osnovi ”fell running” je vrsta “off road” trčanja i najčešće trail trčanje koje se odvija na terenu sa značajnim usponom i spustom. Veoma često, trka se zasniva na samostalnom navigiranju terenom kada takmičari sami biraju nabržu rutu između kontrolnih tačaka, npr. ravno uzbrdo nekom padinom ili brdom do vrha umjesto da se kreću stazom koja se postepeno penje do vrha.

  

Sanja: Šta je Escape from Meriden? Možeš li nam ispričati šta se dešavalo na toj trci?

Charlie: Escape from Meriden je jedinstvena trka na kojoj trkači imaju cilj da u roku od 24 časa, od starta koji se nalazi u centru Engleske trče što je moguće dalje u kom god pravcu žele. Svi učesnici nose GPS lokatore koji pokazuju gdje su i mjere udaljenost. Trkači mogu izabrati rutu koju žele i moraju organizovati vlastitu podršku. Učestvovao sam na toj trci i planirao da se držim glavnih saobraćajnica ali je čak i tokom noći bilo izneneđajujuće puno saobraćaja i nije bilo trotoara. Istrčao sam 60 km i stao jer mi nije bilo zabavno svako malo skakati u stranu izbjegavajući kamione i automobile.

Sanja: Trčao si takođe i Bolton Hill Marathon na kom je bilo puno kiše i blata. Koji su najgori vremenski ulovi po kojima si trčao na nekoj trci?

Charlie: Trčao sam po svakakvom nevremenu, ali je najvjerovatnije najteže kada si na planini a pada jaka kiša i duva snažan vjetar. Tad su tehnički zahtjevne sekcije još teže i klizavije. Trčao sam i po jako visokim temperaturama (preko 40C) mada se u takvim uslovim može usporiti kako bi se tijelo rashladilo, ali meni vrućina uopšte ne smeta.

Sanja: Meni se jako sviđa to što je od trčanja nastalo toliko podjela tako da se čini da svako može pronaći vrstu trčanja ili distancu koja mu/joj odgovara ili svako se može prebacivati s jedne vrste na drugu tako da nikad ne može postati dosadno. Koje su tvoje omiljene vrste i formati?

Charlie: Najviše volim ultra trail ili skyrunning. Ako je duga trka s mnogo uspona i tehnički zahtjevnom podlogom, ja sam zadovoljan. Uživam takođe i na dugim ravnim trailovima kada se može pojačati tempo pa testiram koliko brzo mogu ići ali ako moram da biram onda radije idem na planine.

Sanja: Šta je tvoje najveće postignuće do sada?

Charlie: Najveći uspjeh mi je rekord na 100 milja koji iznosi 13 časova i 58 minuta što sam postigao na trci od Liverpula do Mančestera. Morao sam mnogo trenirati za to ali imam namjeru da u budućnosti oborim ovaj svoj rekord.

Sanja: Često organizuješ Q&A sesije s trkačima. Koje su to teme koje najčešće pokrivaš?

Charlie: Najčešća pitanja koje mi postavljaju se odnose na manje probleme koje ljudi imaju. Neki ljudi misle da će ako dobiju rješenje za  jedan manji problem time riješiti sve svoje brige. Kao npr, da li trebam uzimati gelove ili koristiti druge izvore ugljikohidrata dok trčim. Naravno da je važno da unosite energiju tokom trčanja ali se ovdje smatra da pod uslovom da dobijate dovoljno ugljikohidrata dok trčite vaše tijelo će se neprestano kretati. Zapravo ono što vam treba je sveukupni pristup koji uključuje dobre treninge, balansiranu ishranu, zdravo tijelo i sjajan mentalni sklop kako biste ostvarili svoj maksimum. 

Sanja: Organizuješ takođe i trening kampove. Gdje obično ideš i koje 

zemlje/oblasti bi preporučio za trail trčanje? Pošto si već bio u Hrvatskoj, Srbiji, Crnoj Gori i Bosni, da li misliš da je Balkan dobra destinacija za trail trčanje?

Charlie: Postoje fantastične oblasti za trail trčanje u svim zemljama koje sam ikada posjetio. Iako, nemaju sve te zemlje visoke planine dok neke od njih imaju više jasno označenih staza koje su takođe unesene u mape. Kada organizujem trening kamp, važno mi je da se do destinacije stiže lako, npr da postoji dobra avio konekcija, da se ne gubi previše vremena u putovanju, da postoje odlične staze, dobar smještaj i poželjno je da su dobri vremenski uslovi. Balkan je fantastičan i uživao sam na svim mojim putovanjima tamo. Ako se može lako putovati, onda je mjesto fantastično. 

Sanja: Već si bio u Bosni i 2017. godine učestvovao na Jahorina Ultra Trailu. Kakvi su ti utisci i kada te možemo očekivati ponovo?

Charlie: Uživao sam tokom svojih putovanja po Bosni i Hercegovini i volio bih da se vratim i istražim još više cijelu zemlju. Svi su bili jako ljubazni i susretljivi.

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Charlie Sharpe is a running coach from the UK who used to do a lot of rock climbing but started to train especially for running in December 2010. Since then he's done more than 250 races and over 100 ultras. In 2017 he took part at the Jahorina Ultra Trail and won at the longest race (104 km, +4100m) finishing it in 10:44. I was honoured to train with him once before that, I learned a lot from him and his approach to running, training and helping other people in achieving their goals.

We also talked about specific features of ultra-training and his personal preferences when it comes to different types of running and race formats. Since this blog has been hosting for some time a special topic dedicated to women runners called ”She and Running Shoe”, with this interview I start up new one dedicated to men: ”Runner the Gunner”.

Sanja: I still hear from running professionals that a runner should not do more than 2 marathons a year. Once you did two in two days. What was it like? What were your results? How did you recuperate?

Charlie: I often do marathon length training runs and 2 long runs in 2 days to make me stronger on the long ultras. There are all kinds of people that have different opinions on training. If you want to run a marathon and achieve your best time then you wouldn't want to be doing lots and lots of marathons but as an ultra runner where my favourite distance is 100 miles your body needs to be able to run marathons and still feel very good as it is almost 4 marathons in a row. I did about 6 weeks in a row where I ran 2 marathons each weekend mostly around 2.46 to 3.00 times. This is a comfortable pace but not 100% effort for me as the races were my training.  

Sanja: You also achieved something even more challenging. Two 100 mile races in a row. How do you train for such a challenge? How do you know you`re ready for such an extreme endurance test?

Carlie: To train for the very long ultras or doing multiple ultras your body needs to be in good shape. Strong but also running with good technique or else it will put bad pressures on the body and lead to injuries. You have to be mentally strong too which comes with regular training over a number of years. My plan was to run a best time on the first 100 mile at the weekend which I achieved in 13 hours 58 minutes and then do the second one at a comfortable pace without worrying about the time. I have done big races and covered over 300 to 400 km in a week before and a lot of weeks over 200km although my average training week is between 130 and 150km. The body is good at adapting.

Sanja: What kind of races do you prefer, big events such as UTWT races or smaller races? Why?

Charlie: My favourite races are normally chosen because on the race route. I don't really care whether there is 10 people racing or 1000 people. Running is more for the personal challenge to me although I love to meet new people and discover new places at races I do. On smaller races you get to meet almost everyone but at big events sometimes you don't meet as many people. As long as the organisation is good and the sun is shining I'm happy.

Sanja: Since your coming from the UK, could you explain to us what fell running is? What are the basic rules?

Charlie: Fell running is basically a form of off road and usually off trail running that takes in significant ascents and descents. Often the race will have an essence of self navigation where competitors can choose the fastest route between the control points for example straight up a fell or hill to the summit instead of a trail that might traverse it's way gradually to the top.

Sanja:  What is the Escape from Meriden? Can you recap what happened at that race?

Charlie: Escape from Meriden is a unique race were runners have 24 hours to run as far as they want to from the start, at the center of England, in any direction they choose. All runners wear a GPS tracker which shows their progress and measures the distances. Runners can choose their own route and have to organise their own support, I took part and planned to stay on the main roads but there was an incredible amount of traffic even during the night and no pavements which is unusual. I did 60km and stopped as I wasn't having fun jumping out of the way of trucks and cars.

Sanja: You also did, Bolton Hill Marathon which was wet and muddy. What’s the worst weather in which you’ve ever run a race?

Charlie: I have run in all kinds of bad weather, the hardest to run is probably heavy rain and strong winds when you are in the mountains, it makes the technical sections more challenging and slippery. I have run in hot temperatures (over 40degrees) although for heat you can just run slower to cool down and I don't mind that.

Sanja: It’s so impressive that running has developed info so many different sub-categories so it seems that everybody can find a type or distance he or she prefers or everybody can make shifts from one type to another so that they never get bored. What are your favourite types and formats?

Charlie: My favourite type of running is ultra trail or skyrunning. Providing it's a long event with plenty of ascent and technical ground I am happy. I do also enjoy flat trails where you can push the pace and just see how fast you can go but if I had to choose, I'd go for the mountains.

Sanja: What’s your greatest achievement of all?

Charlie: My greatest achievement of all is my 13 hour 58 min 100 mile pb which I set in 2017 running the Liverpool to Manchester event. I had to work hard but I intend to beat this in the future.

Sanja: You often give coaching and Q&A sessions to runners. What are the usual topics you cover?

Charlie: The most popular questions I get asked are usually minor issues people have. Some people think that knowing the answer to a small question will solve all their issues. For example, should I take gels or use a different source of carbohydrates whilst I'm running. Sure it is important to fuel the body but provided you are getting enough carbohydrates into the body when you are running, it will keep moving. You need a total approach including, good training, balanced nutrition, healthy body and great mindset to achieve your best performances.

Sanja: You also organize training camps. Where do you usually go and what countries/regions would you recommend for trail running? Since you`ve been to Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia, what do you think of the Balkans as a trail running resort?

Charlie: There are fantastic trail running areas in all countries I have ever visited. Not every country has huge mountains though and some countries do have more trails that are marked out or mapped clearly. When I organise a coaching holiday I make sure it is easy to travel to eg good flights availability, minimal travel time, great trails, good accommodation and hopefully nice weather. The Balkans are fantastic and I have enjoyed all my trips. If you can travel there easily then it is fantastic.

Sanja: You`ve already been to Bosnia and Herzegovina and did Jahorina Ultra Trail in 2017. What are your impressions and when can we expect to see you again?

Charlie: I loved my trips to Bosnia and Herzegovina and I would love to come back and explore more trails around the country. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming.

Foto: Adnan Bubalo, Jadran Čilić, Novak Elčić, Učka Vertical, privatna arhiva 

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