Cameron Poetzscher's Sports Blog​

​To the uninitiated, a cycling road race is a large cluster of indiscernible riders clattering along city and country roads towards a finish line. For cycling enthusiasts, it's a tactical game of chess coupled with team strategy and (most of the time) etiquette. 

​Learn to ride in a pack. Before getting into road racing it’s important to become used to drafting, maneuvering in a pack and dealing with the close proximity of other riders. Forget about strategy if you’re in your first road race, just try to reach the finish line while staying attached to the peloton without getting 'dropped'. If you're wondering, the Peloton is the main group or pack of riders.
Be Predictable. Do your best not to change speed suddenly or move erratically. Try to ride foreseeable lines, especially if you’re new. Being responsible for your front wheel is a rule in cycling, much like not crashing into the person in front of you when driving a car. Erring on the side of caution and predicting what the rider in front will do can help cyclists avoid collision, instead of reacting rashly and causing a crash.

During the beginning of the 20th Century, and in fact dating back much further, experts believed that we were physically incapable of running a mile in less than four minutes. It was considered beyond the realm of what is humanly possible. 

In 1861 a time just under 04:30 minutes was clocked by an Irish runner named Heaviside. 60 years later the famed Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi ran 04:10.6 before New Zealand’s Lovelock took it down to 04:07.6 in 1933. Slowly but surely, subsequent athletes lowered the mark until Sweden's Gunder Haegg set a 04:01.3 record. And then, in 1954 what no one believed to be possible happened. The dramatic moment took place on the Oxford, England running track. Roger Bannister broke the four minute barrier with a staggering time of 03:59.4. 
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Remarkable achievements of this sort often have an almost magical effect on fellow athletes. They seem to open their minds to new possibilities and remove the invisible barriers that had held them back in the past. Bannister's record is one of the most renowned feats in the history of running, he was even knighted in later life. Ironically, it took less than a month to break. His time was bettered three weeks later by an Australian runner, and after him breaking the four minute mile became routine. 

Roughly 30% of runners experience injuries due to wrong technique. Barefoot running advocates encourage them to take of their shoes in order to improve their style and protect their body from further damage. Barefoot running, or as it is alternately called, natural running, is a relatively new trend among modern athletes and recreation runners. However, there are many doubters and skeptics that dismiss the practice as unnecessary and even more harmful than beneficial.

​US politics is not something that we cover in this blog, but when Richard Branson and former US President Barack Obama got together for a spot of kitesurfing shortly after Obama finished his second term in office, it was something to behold.

Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, business magnate and billionaire is equally famous for his adventurous spirit and sporting endeavors outside of the business boardroom. When he’s not holidaying on his own private island, he enjoys sailing and all forms of water sports. Barack Obama was also a keen water sports man before he became President. As Branson tells it, one of the first things Obama told him when arriving at the luxurious island was the story of his last surf, which apparently took place in Hawaii not long before he became president. 

​Australia is home to one of the world’s most unique sprint races, the Stawell Gift. Its unusual nature and special competition format attract the country’s top professional and amateur sprinters to compete alongside one another in the nation’s richest foot race. 

The Stawell Gift is a 120-meter race and it's run on grass, on a slight up-slant at Central Park, Stawell. The festive race is conducted once a year over the Easter weekend and broadcast live across Australia. Part of its appeal is the prize money - the winner can pocket as much as $40,000 out of a total prize pool of $60,000 - but if you're wondering what makes this race so unique, the answer lies in the handicapping system that is applied to competitors. 

Many American runners have to deal with contrasting temperatures throughout the year, from sweltering heat in Arizona to bone chilling temperatures in New York winters. For those who live in moderate climates, the seasons are a welcome change, providing different conditions and refreshing variety, but for others weather is literally a show stopper. Minnesota is one of the coldest places in the US and outdoor running in winter is virtually impossible. Unless they were interested in pounding the treadmill, runners have had limited realistic winter options until now. ​

Cycling has a reputation problem. Systematic drug abuse has tainted the sport and its image and although the world’s great tours are eagerly awaited events, the drug aspect always looms over them. However, cycling now has a new form of ‘doping’ to contend with, and it isn't drug related. 

Race yachts are going to places many would have never dreamed of even a decade ago. Sailing has always been a high-tech sport at the elite level, with designers pouring their time into new keel, hull or sail designs to eke out an advantage over competitors. The pursuit of speed and performance has taken sailing craft designers to new frontiers with hydrofoils. Reducing drag and wetted-area to go faster now involves lifting boats out of the water all together.

While men’s marathons are becoming increasingly popular across the world, Dennis Kimetto's record remains unbroken. He set his record time of 2:02:57 at the Berlin Marathon in 2014 and became one of the few people to have broken the 2:04 barrier. The first was the great Haile Gebrselassie in 2008 with a time of 2:03:59. The question of whether the Marathon can be run in 2 hours or less has been occupying many athletes and commentators, and the opinions are divided. Much of the debate is centered around whether it is humanly possible to run almost three minutes faster over a 26.2 mile distance.