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1. Mar 1 2026 Sofie Manarin Nickel Loppet
2. Try this VO2 max-boosting interval session on your lunch hour
3. How to be a lifelong runner
4. Sudbury Rocks Running Club - Group Runs
5. Photos This Week,
6. Upcoming Events: Mar 1 2026 Sofie Manarin Nickel Loppet, Mar 8 Frosty Growler, May 24 2026 SudburyRocks!!!

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VO2 max is the ceiling on how much oxygen your body can use when you’re working hard, and it’s tied to everything from running performance to long-term health. The catch is that a lot of workouts meant to push that ceiling don’t feel like they’re doing a lot, at least in the moment. The longer recovery intervals between very short reps can be unsatisfying and leave the session feeling like a pile of short efforts instead of one clear stimulus.

A less common, but more satisfying way to target the same system is Billat’s 30-30, named for exercise physiologist Véronique Billat. It uses very short, hard efforts with very short easier running intervals between them, so your oxygen demand stays high instead of dropping back down every time you recover. Billat’s work focuses on the“lag” effect, where your oxygen consumption doesn’t drop the second you back off, and can stay near max, even when you slow down. That lets you stack more total time near VO2 max while avoiding long, exhausting reps.

The workout
Warmup: (12-15 minutes)

10 minutes of easy running.

Run 4 x 20-second relaxed strides, with plenty of easy running in between.
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Run 2 to 3 more minutes of easy before you start the main set.

Main set: (start with 12–20 minutes total work)

Run 30 seconds hard at your VO2 max pace.

Follow that with 30 seconds of very easy running (with the short interval, your effort will stay near 50 per cent VO2 max effort)

Keep alternating until you can’t hold the hard 30 seconds at the same pace anymore. For a first go, cap it at 12–15 minutes even if you feel like you could keep going.

Cool down:

Run 10 minutes at an easy pace.

How to find your pace without a lab
Do a six-minute hard time trial on a track after a proper warmup. Take the distance you cover and divide by 12. That’s your target distance for each hard 30-second rep. Example: 1,800 metres in six minutes means 150 metres per hard rep.

This works well for runners who want a VO2 session that they can pack into an hour, and for anyone who likes a repeatable format. You can get a lot of quality work done without needing a long session. Make sure to follow this workout (or any speedwork) with a day of easy running or recovery.

If you’re looking for a “how to run forever” checklist, you could do worse than listening to someone who sees the long game up close. In a recent post, New York-based Howard Luks, a 62-year-old orthopedic surgeon (32 years in practice, with thousands of patients) and enthusiastic trail runner, laid out what he’d tell his 30-year-old self after watching, year after year, who ends up needing surgery at 60, and who’s still moving well at 80.

Treat hard efforts like they’re limited
Luks frames joint health like a bank account: you can spend big, you just can’t do it constantly (something that applies to most of your body). “Your joints have a finite number of hard efforts—budget them wisely,” he writes. Be intentional about healthy recovery, make easy efforts regular and stop treating down days like failure.

Build muscle while it’s easier
Luks points out that strength in your 30s is a long-term brain-and-body investment. He calls muscle mass “cognitive insurance,” pointing to the muscle–brain connection and how much easier it is to build capacity earlier than to claw it back later. Keep running, but don’t skip the lifting because you “don’t have time.”

Learn to work around injuries before they become chronic
Runners, take note: “learn to train around injuries now, not through them,” Luks warns. Pushing through inflammation doesn’t make you tougher; it simply makes the problem worse. The smart move is to adjust early with surface changes, intensity changes, cross-training, or physio (Luks emphasizes the importance of seeing a physiotherapist regularly)—before you’re forced to stop.

Keep the goal practical
Luks underlines the fact that consistent forward movement trumps constant improvement. Regardless of whether you’re able to blast to a new PB, the real win is being able to run because you want to, opting to take the stairs without worrying about sore knees and saying yes to whatever adventure with your friends or family sounds like fun.

    Wednesdays - meet at Apex Warrior parking lot departing at 1800h. Typically runs are 1 hour or 10km.
                    Saturdays - meet at Bell Park's Elizabeth St parking lot departing at 0800h. Typically runs are longer at 1.5 hours or 15km minimum.

Generally the pace floats between 5 and 7 minutes per km. Anticipate a mixture of roads and trail running on the routes.
Inclement weather is usually just a challenge. Group has only been cancelled for local races or xmas. Cancellations or changes in meeting locations will be posted.

Locations are show in the attached photos/maps.

Wednesday pm location

Saturday am location

Sofie Manarin Nickel Loppet
Sunday, March 1, 2026

 March 8, 2026

May 24, 2026

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