Wednesday is Global Running Day and to celebrate, the Hartford Marathon Foundation is giving back to the community.
“Whether you walk, you run, doesn’t matter your pace, your speed -- just get out and enjoy this beautiful day and enjoy the fitness that running brings to you,” said Beth Shluger, CEO and president of the Hartford Marathon Foundation.
After hitting pause on live running events for 14 months, the Hartford Marathon Foundation is getting back to in-person races. On this Global Running Day, they’re encouraging runners of all ages and abilities to sign up for a future race, and they’ll give back to the community.
“Food insecurity is one of the greatest problems we have in our community,” Shluger said. “And we always try to support Foodshare.”
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The Hartford Marathon Foundation will donate $5 to Foodshare for every new registration to the Eversource Hartford Marathon Wednesday, whether it’s the marathon, half marathon, relay, 5k, or kids race.
“If people are closing their streets so that we can run, we want to give back to them to support the community.” Shluger said.
And for many runners gearing up for races, the community aspect is what they’re most looking forward to.
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“For many, many, competition is not what it’s about at all,” Shluger said. “It’s just about the comradery of being able to do something that you love with other people around you that also love it.”
Running in the Heat
As a result of the pandemic, even more people have taken up running. When gyms closed down, people hit the pavement to stay fit, and the Hartford Marathon Foundation saw thousands of new registrants for virtual events over the past year.
But with our first heat wave of the year just a few days away, there are a few safety tips you should keep in mind before you take off running.
“As the weather gets warmer, as it gets more humid this time of year, you really want to acclimate over the course of at least 7 to14 days and think about adjusting things like your exercise intensity and the duration while your body is getting used to that change in climate,” said Laurie Devaney, co-director of the UConn Institute for Sports Medicine.
Other safe running tips include:
- Hydrating before, during, and after your run
- Finding shade when possible
- Exercising in the morning or evening – try to avoid the hottest part of the day
- If training for a race, be sure to have some training runs at the same time of day as the race to best mimic environmental conditions
- If you’re new to running, don’t increase their training by more than 10% per week- that could be in mileage or minutes. Slow buildup is important.
For more information on prevention and treatment of heat-related illness, click here.
