Happy Thanksgiving!

I am grateful for you, one of the thousands of runners who reads this newsletter each week.

I hope that you find my work helpful to your running, your mindset and your life.

Whether you are turkey trotting today (or tofurky trotting!), taking a well-deserved rest day, or simply running your usual route, I hope you can take a moment to be thankful for all that running has given you!

Make those long, cold runs more fun with audio books! Special offer just for Planted Runners! Just $0.99/month for the first 3 months Limited time offer. Auto-renews at $14.95 a month after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offer ends December 16, 2025. save today →

The Black Friday Bundle is here! Save $105 during the exclusive sale.

For just $99, you'll not only save 15% on your custom-made race training plan($115 value), you'll also get lifetime access to the Race Week Companion ($62 value) and the Find Your Flow State mental strength audio series ($27 value).

• Buy now and use your custom training plan for any race or plan now through 2026
• Get instant access to the Race Week Companion and Find Your Flow State

I've never offered this kind of bundle before, so grab it before it expires on Black Friday!

get the deal today

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ask me anything

Q:

I suffer from terrible leg cramping as soon as I do mileage over 30km even though I take cramp block product and hydrate. Help!

A:

Cramping late in a run or a race is a painfully common predicament.

In some cases, cramping is caused by low electrolyte levels. Electrolytes are lost through your sweat and if you are only drinking water to hydrate, you are diluting your balance even more.

But unfortunately, that's probably not what's going on (or you would have solved this already).

While leg cramping is not well-understood by science, it is believed to be a neurological response to muscle fatigue. When your calf muscle, for example, does more work than it was designed (or trained) to do, your body sends a painful jolt to attempt to stop you from doing more damage.

The solution would seem to be to strengthen your calves so that they are able to withstand the demand of long distance running.

The problem with that approach is that the calves really aren't the problem. Your calves are relatively minor players when compared the the real drivers of running: your glutes.

If your glutes aren't doing their job or they fatigue sooner than you'd like to run, your smaller muscles will try to do the heavy lifting. This could be due to your form when you run (and loss of good form when getting tired).

The answer is to ensure that you are following a well-planned running schedule to build durable legs slowly over time. You'll also want to be sure that you are doing leg-specific strength training with compound lifts a few times a week, especially on your hardest running days.

Strength training your legs (including your hips and glutes) after your hardest runs is by definition hard, but it will create strong, tough legs that will last your entire race, cramp-free.

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podcast

At some point in your running you are going to get stuck.

It might be a performance plateau, or it could be a motivation issue when you can’t seem to get out of the door for a run when you used to love it so much.

Or maybe you are stuck in your head and you can’t seem to will your legs to do what you want.

It might seem like it’s a physical limitation, that you just aren’t fit enough or young enough, but more often, it’s mental.

Is there a way to get unstuck in all these situations? Let’s find out.

On this encore run of The Planted Runner Podcast, I’m joined by Adam Alter, a psychologist at New York University and New York Times Bestselling author. His book, Anatomy of a Breakthrough, explores how to get unstuck when it matters most.

You’ll learn:

• Why we often get stuck as runners, especially in the middle,
• Why our obsession with round numbers and data can be a good thing, and
• how to work with our natural anxiety with perfectionism and on race day.

This has been one of my most downloaded episodes of all time! If you find it helpful, be sure to reply and let me know what you think. My inbox is always open.

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inspo

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”

— Robert Brault

Have a great run today, Coach Claire

P.S. Are you stuck in your running lately? Finding a group of like-minded runners transformed my running and my PRs. And it can work for you, too! Join the PR Team for coaching, community, and so much more. You don't have to do this alone!

Thank you for being a part of the Planted Runner community!

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My mission is to help runners just like you reach goals they never dreamed possible through science-backed training and plant-based nutrition.

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Since 2016, I've helped thousands of every day runners become fitter, faster, and stronger with truly customized training and coaching.

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I also love to share what I have learned from my own journey starting as a non-runner to a 2:58 marathoner at age 42, as well what I have learned coaching runners, completely FREE. I do that every week in this newsletter and on the Planted Runner Podcast.

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Being a part of this email community ensures that you first access to everything we have coming up – from free running and nutrition guides, to events like workshops and retreats, and so much more to help you get results.

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I'm so glad you're here and my inbox is always open. Feel free to reply with questions or feedback!

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If that's not for you, ​unsubscribe here​, completely guilt-free!

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