Anya Culling's transformation from a recreational runner to an elite marathoner is a testament to hard work, dedication, and smart training. Her journey, which saw her slash her marathon time from 4 hours 34 minutes to an impressive 2 hours 36 minutes, is an inspiration to runners of all levels. This article delves into Anya Culling's weight loss tips, diet, and training strategies, offering insights into how she achieved her remarkable success.
From Beginner to Elite: Anya Culling's Running Journey
Anya Culling's running journey began somewhat unexpectedly. In 2019, she ran the London Marathon for charity, finishing in a respectable 4 hours 34 minutes. However, she admits she had little idea what she was doing at the time. "I didn’t know what I was doing-didn’t have carbon shoes, didn’t follow a plan, didn’t have a watch-didn’t understand anything," she recalls. Despite the challenges, the experience ignited a desire to improve.
The COVID-19 lockdown provided the perfect opportunity for Anya to focus on her running. She started using Strava and running with friends, which made the sport more enjoyable and social. Meeting Nick Bester, who later became her coach, was another turning point. With consistent training and a focus on enjoyment, Anya steadily improved her times, culminating in a 2-hour 36-minute finish at the Copenhagen Marathon in 2023, where she represented England.
Anya Culling's Tips for Improving Running Speed
Anya Culling emphasizes the importance of mental toughness and physical strength in achieving running success. She found motivation to improve when she started running for her health and mental well-being. As she explains, "At the start, I ran to be healthy and for my mental health. While I loved it, I didn’t start working on speed until the Covid lockdown. I used to go for runs with my brother and I was really slow and he said he wouldn’t go with me until I got faster. So I worked on my speed until I was able to keep up. And then keeping up became easy and I could tell that I was improving."
Joining a Running Club
Joining a running club provided Anya with structure and a supportive community. She recommends joining one if you're looking to get the most out of your runs. "First, it’s a really social activity where everyone looks out for each other and helps them improve. I used to think that running wasn’t much of a team sport, but if you go to a running club, you’ll find that people are willing to pace you so that you get faster. Most people want the best for everyone else and everyone runs alongside each other - and the atmosphere is amazing. It also means you have something to turn up to, which helps you stay consistent with training and not put off a session because you’re busy or tired."
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Getting Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
Anya's key tip for increasing speed is to "get comfortable being uncomfortable." This involves training in different heart rate zones to build speed and endurance.
- Zone One (50-60% of maximum heart rate): Used for warm-up and recovery.
- Zone Four (80-90% of maximum heart rate): The "golden zone" for improving speed endurance, where the body optimizes its ability to get energy from carbohydrates and increases its tolerance to lactate.
Utilizing Fitness Tech
Anya relies on fitness tech to monitor her heart rate zones and track her progress. She uses a watch that displays her current heart rate zone, helping her stay within the desired range during workouts. The watch can also store and play workouts, providing alerts to speed up or slow down as needed. "It is like having a coach on my wrist at every training session, without having to pay for the coach’s time," Anya explains.
Strength Training for Runners: Anya Culling's Workout
Anya Culling is a strong advocate for strength training, emphasizing its role in preventing injuries and improving running performance. "It can make you a more powerful, resilient runner," she explains. "It can reduce the risk of injuries and improve your longevity in the sport, allowing you to stay consistent and keep improving every session."
To maximize her time, Anya focuses on short, simple strength training workouts that incorporate multi-joint movements and single-leg exercises. Here is the workout she relies on:
- Barbell Squats: 3 sets of 10 reps with 60 seconds rest. Focus on keeping your knees wide and chest forward.
- Single-Leg Romanian Deadlifts: 3 sets of 10 reps each side with 60 seconds rest. Emphasize explosive power and keep most of the weight on one leg.
- Step-Ups with Knee Drive: 3 sets of 10 reps each side with 60 seconds rest. Driving your opposite arm and leg mimics the running action, making it full-body.
- Calf Raises: 3 sets of 10 reps with 60 seconds rest. Perform with both feet together or one leg at a time to build strength.
- Abs Finisher: A circuit of 5-10 abs exercises performed once or twice round for 40 seconds each with 20 seconds rest.
The Importance of Recovery
Anya emphasizes the importance of recovery in preventing overtraining and injuries. She uses a wearable to track her sleep patterns and daily readiness score, which is based on heart rate variability, sleep data, and resting heart rate. If her readiness score is low, Anya will take a rest day. "I’m not afraid of rest days and I’m not afraid of carbohydrates," she says.
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Anya Culling's Diet and Nutrition Tips
While Anya hasn't drastically changed her diet, she emphasizes the importance of getting enough calories, especially carbohydrates, to fuel her training. "When you get to doing the amount of running that I do, it’s about getting the calories in before worrying about everything else." She eats a lot of pasta and rice to fuel her muscles and always eats pasta before a race.
Anya also shared her personal experience with managing her weight and diet. She admits to having a sweet tooth in the past, but she has since learned to control her sugar intake. She also found that quitting alcohol helped her gain more control over her body and mind.
When she increased her running frequency, Anya noticed an increase in her appetite. She addressed this by ensuring she never missed a meal and adding extra calories through healthy fats like peanut butter and nuts. She also allowed herself occasional treats like pizza.
Based on her research and personal experience, Anya developed a diet plan that suits her needs:
- Divide breakfast into smaller portions and two parts.
- Divide lunch into two parts as well: hot food and cold food.
- Stay hydrated by keeping a water bottle with you at all times.
Mental Fortitude: Training Your Brain
Anya believes that training the brain is just as important as training the body. She focuses on building her psyche and self-belief, and finding ways to overcome self-limiting beliefs. Journaling has been a valuable tool for her in this process. "I journal every single day," she says. "When training is going well, I write down how I’m feeling and how well I know my body can do in a race. I love to look back over my thoughts the night before a race and remember what I felt when I was in sound mind, without the pre-race nerves. My body can do so much more than my brain tries to trick me into thinking, and journaling is a way for me to remember that."
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Race Day Strategies
Anya's race day strategy involves focusing on each mile individually and maintaining good posture. She also visualizes the feeling of accomplishment at the end of the race to stay motivated. "During the race, I just focus on every single mile. It’s a lot easier to stay motivated if you think of it as a collection of miles rather than a 26-mile feat of endurance," she explains. "If I’m flagging, I don’t alter my speed. I just try to focus on my form and make sure that I have a good posture. By the time I’ve corrected that, I normally feel better in my stride and that helps me to keep going."
Running to Lose Weight: A Beginner's Guide
Running is an effective way to lose weight, but it's important to approach it in a safe and sustainable manner. Here's a beginner training plan recommended by UK Athletics running coach Caroline Richardson:
- Phase One: Start with three 30-minute sessions a week, with rest days in between. Begin with a mix of walking and running, gradually increasing the amount of time you spend running.
- Phase Two: When you can comfortably run for 30 minutes, start increasing the distance or time you run. Introduce a weekly longer run alongside your two other 30-minute sessions.
- Phase Three: Consider introducing interval training, such as running 400m fast and then resting for three minutes. Gradually increase the number of repetitions.
It's important to remember that diet plays a crucial role in weight loss. "The quality of the food you consume as much as the quantity is hugely important. So, while running can help you lose weight, diet plays a huge factor-you can’t outrun a bad diet," says Richardson.