Tunnel Hill Loop and Aerobic Capacity between Speed and Endurance Runners

Tunnel Hill Loop and Aerobic Capacity between Speed and Endurance Runners


Did a version of the Tunnel Hill loop today as a final run before this weekend's race. Up Little Vazquez, left on Ice Hill, up Lower Cherokee, then right and up on the Tunnel Hill (water board) road, then up the old Little Vazquez jeep road to the secret trail (Upper Chickadee) and down that to Chickadee and then back down Lower Vazquez. A really fun loop - 6.9 miles. Took me 1:03 at a very casual pace. Looking forward to this weekend; hopefully I've prepared better and things will go more smoothly then the last 50K race.

On another note, I'm sure almost every runner knows that running is good for your health. But what kind of running? Is endurance running better for one's health then say track workouts? According to a new study, endurance running is the best for aerobic capacity as one ages. Not until one reaches 80 years old does one see similar VO2max levels between endurance runners and speed and track runners (on average, there are always exceptions). However, the speed and track runners still exhibited far greater aerobic capacity then those who don't run. Just another little scientific study to back up our daily habit of going out and hitting the trails for a nice long run in the mountains!