Let's Hear It For The Girls + Women's Running Australia Magazine Review

How special did I feel this morning when I work up to find a spike in my page views over night, thanks to my awesome bloggy friends Taryn and Ali! Thanks ladies, it made for a wonderful birthday surprise :)

Welcome new readers! Strap yourself in, things get a bit crazy around here!

This morning I checked my schedule (and then double checked given Wednesday's whoopsie-daisy moment) and saw that today was what was actually supposed to be my first speed work session; A 5km 'Gentle' Fartlek... Having done my one, whole fartlek session I have deemed myself a veteran of the art, and scoffed at the very idea of a 'gentle' fartlek... *Pffft* As gentle as being locked in a tumble dryer with a cat!

But, what the schedule says, the Kristin does, so off I went. I knew within 500m that this one of those craptastic runs that come along every now and again. With TTOM on it's way like an out of control freight train my 'insides' were already giving me grief, and the added wiggly-jiggle of running was making them squeal. I am aware this is probably a giant overshare but what-the-hey... I need to say something to justify my less than wonderful session!!

I was pretty unimpressed with myself for finishing the 5km in 30:00... Given that on Wednesday I had managed it in 29:51 with a terrible case of gurgle-guts. But with 7 more fartleks and numerous other speed sessions ahead of me before the 1/2 Marathon training is over, I have plenty of chances to get it right... *Groan*

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Seeing as I have already referenced 'Secret Ladies Business' in the form of TTOM in this post, it's seemed only fitting that I continued the feminine theme with a review of a magazine that I was very happy to hear about.

* I may lose some 'Northerners' here because this magazine is Australian... Sorry *

A couple of months ago I heard about the upcoming release of 'Women's Running Australia'. I have long been a fan of anything in magazine form and regularly pick up copies of Running World and R4YL but despite their best efforts, I always felt there was a huge gap in the market when it came to running magazines for us ladies. I looked at subscribing back then but funds were a bit tight so I made a mental note to keep an eye out for it. Alas, like most of my mental notes, I promptly forgot it and it wasn't until I happened to spy it in my local newsagency that I remembered. I grabbed a copy faster than you can say "Women shall inherit the Earth"

The Women's Running Australia Magazine website says "Here at Women’s Running we understand running for women is a whole different ball game. Women are just built differently from men which means we require different shoes, different kit, different training advice and sustain different injuries, not to mention the physical changes that can affect our training such as periods, pregnancy and menopause. Our magazine offers friendly, straight-forward advice, inspiration and guidance to all levels of runners, giving you the motivation to get out there." To which I reply damn straight!

As for their Launch Issue, I was pretty impressed. They managed to fit a lot in! So much that I have to admit I was worried about what it means for the magazine 12 issues from now?! More than once I have stopped buying a magazine because of information repetition. But that is something for the future to sort out! Let's look at what's here and now!

General Information
Title: Women's Running Australia
Price: $8.50 per issue
Frequency: Every 2 months
Website: www.womensrunning.com.au  
*I found the website as worthwhile as the actual magazine! Heaps of information and guidance on there!*

Worth Noting: There is currently a subscription bonus running - Subscribe for one year ($45AUD) and receive a 2nd year FREE!

The Good: 

As I said before, this issue packed a lot of info in! It covered everything from a beginners plan, running while pregnant, how to lose weight while running right through to using social media to boost your love of running! 

They took great care to introduce and explain the panel of experts that contribute to the magazine; Britt Calling (Sports Physio), Kerry Leech (Sports Dietician), Clare Minahan (Exercise Physiologist) and Lee Troop (Running Coach and Legend) which enusres you feel like the information you are getting is top notch.

There are interviews and stories not just from professionals but also everyday runners. People who have lost weight by running and run against adversity or other inspiring stories.

One thing that I really respected was the fact that they had a whole page on Treadmill Plans. Some 'serious' runners have been known to poo-poo the old tready a bit, claiming it's a poor substitute for road running. I say who gives a damn where you are running, if you are giving it a go, you've got my respect! The fact that this magazine seems to support my opinion by given all the tready-runners out there not one, but two plans for busting treadmill boredom, gets them two big thumbs up from me!!

The magazine also took the time to focus on the benefits of cross training and included sections on both spinning and yoga.

The Bad: 

I have to say, my overall feeling was that the majority of content, while great, was aimed more at very new runners or women looking to start running.This is not necessarily a bad thing, and I can completely understand that by doing this in the first issue, the magazine can start the running cycle from the start with it's new readers and hopefully progress to articles more suited to people who have been running a bit longer as they get more advanced.

The only other thing that irked me, and that's probably putting it harshly, was the break up of the 'Runner's Workout' sections. There was one starting on page 34 and one starting on page 68. The layout of each was so similar I found myself getting confused; Was it the same workout split across two parts of the magazine, had I put the magazine down and lost my spot or something? Once I concentrated a bit harder it became clear that they were two different workouts that just had similar layouts. On second thoughts, let's say this is more of a 'Me' problem and less of a 'Magazine' problem *Doh!*

The Ugly: 

There was honestly nothing in this magazine that generated such a negative feeling within me that I would class it as 'ugly'.

Overall:
I liked the magazine enough to be looking forward to the next issue! I love that there is finally a runningmagazine that is able to give the time and attention to the topics that other unisex running magazine may shy away from in fear of turning off/boring half of their readership. Kudos to Sarah Joyce and her team.

Your Turn:

Do you read any running magazines? Which are you favourites?