COACH’S CORNER WITH PETE COLAGIURI: WARMING UP WHEN IT’S COOLING DOWN

Kate Dzienis • April 30, 2021

Peter Colagiuri is a Sports Physiotherapist, Level 3 Running Coach and ultra runner. He works clinically at Bioathletic in Sydney and is developing the first mobile app (https://injury.app) to diagnose running injuries and prescribe rehab programs.

Warming up at the start of a training session serves a number of purposes.

It helps to get joints moving through their normal range to allow efficient biomechanics. It gets blood flowing through muscles to ensure they’ve got adequate blood supplies for the job ahead. And it improves the elastic bounce of your connective tissues to ensure they can effectively store energy and aren’t damaged in the stretch/rebound cycle.

Most runners warm up by just starting their run a little slower. Starting out slower for the first 5 minutes allows time for everything to warm up. It lets you ease into your optimal, efficient running technique. However in cooler conditions, this kind of warm up can present a few challenges, heightening your injury risk.

A typical winter morning in Melbourne, or any winter day in Hobart, involves temperatures in single digits and a wind chill that makes sure you know it’s winter.

Although it feels like you may never get warm, your internal body regulation is still remarkably effective – deeper and bigger muscles will warm up quickly with exercise. The problem actually relates to feeling cold and having reduced control over your periphery.

When your surface temperature is way down, the ability for your brain to perceive movement is reduced. With reduced body awareness comes inefficient movements and an increased risk of injury.

We often see a number of mid-winter injuries relating to cold starts – calf injuries from having to jump up over a gutter or hammy injuries in muscles that weren’t ready to stretch out.

So what’s the best way of overcoming a cold start?

Dressing for the conditions is good but it still relies on your body providing the warmth that your clothing will retain. And as any cold weather runner will know, the clothing that makes you comfortable when you step out of the door usually makes you way too hot a few minutes later…

Starting with a good indoor warm-up routine is your magic solution! That’s not running laps around your living room or garage (as we all did it the height of COVID).

To cover each aspect of the warm-up that we mentioned at the start, you need to get the blood pumping, your joints moving and your connective tissue bouncing.

Once you’ve done your indoor warm up, you can head out the door with the right combo of warm muscles and movement awareness (as well as clothing that’s already begun to store body heat.) You can get straight into your optimal running technique without the risk of inefficiency or injury.

There’s no right or wrong way to do your indoor warm up, as long as it provides increased heart rate, full range of motion in leg joints and some bounce.

Here’s a simple example (around 30 seconds on each exercise)

Alternating forward lunge with increasing depth
Push ups
Box squats over a chair or couch
Walking lunge focusing on stretching out and maintaining stability
Jump squats

Another injury risk factor in cold weather relates to stopping mid run. This might be a food stop, pausing for a gear change or stopping to chat to a friendly passing runner.

Once any rest stop hits 3 minutes, your heart rate has significantly slowed and there’s less blood pumping to your working muscles. After around 5 minutes, muscles have started to stiffen up which will affect your technique and efficiency when you start running again.

In cold weather, the negative effects of a rest stop are heightened as your skin surface temperature drops a lot quicker. Your ability to feel and adjust your running technique is diminished and the risk of injury increases until you warm up again.

If you need to stop for a break of 3 minutes or more, try to keep moving – even walking will maintain connective tissue and muscle properties. If you cool down too much, start out slow or walk for a few minutes before returning to your training pace.

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Australian Mountain and Trail Running Championships 2027

By Jin Kato • July 8, 2026

The world-class trails of Kunanyi/Mt Wellington will play centre-stage for one of the country’s fastest-growing sports, after the Kunanyi Mountain Run (KMR) was awarded the hosting rights for the first-ever combined Australian Mountain and Trail Running Championships (AMTRC). KMR was awarded the National Championships after a competitive bid process, overseen by the Australian Ultra and Trail Running Association (AUTRA) and Australian Athletics (AA). AUTRA President, John Claridge, said that KMR “offered everything we were looking for”. “World-class trails, proven event management and a passionate community. It provides the perfect stage for Australia's first combined National Trail Championships," he said. It’s expected that Australia’s elite mountain and trail running athletes, and support crew, will travel to Hobart, as they vie for a spot in the Australian team that competes at the 2027 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. "This is a landmark moment for trail running in Australia,” Mr Claridge said. "We're excited about what this championship represents; not just next year, but for the future of trail running in Australia... helping grow the sport and inspire the next generation of trail runners." The 2027 AMTRC at KMR will be the first time that all championship distances have been held together, at the one festival. “It aligns us more closely with the way World Championships are presented, creating a stronger pathway for athletes and raising the profile of the sport,” Mr Claridge said. KMR, a 3-day trail running festival which has been held annually since 2022, expects to draw more than 1500 runners and hikers from across Tasmania, Australia and internationally next year. The AMTRC will be embedded within KMR’s existing event program, allowing elite athletes to compete for the national titles, while sharing the same spectacular trails and event-experience as recreational runners. “We’re honoured to have been selected as host,” KMR’s founder and director, Lincoln Quilliam said. “KMR continues to welcome runners, and hikers, of all abilities. From the elites who want to represent Australia on the world stage, the group of mates or work colleagues who run the team relay together, the mums returning to running after having a baby, as well as those who are trying trail running for the very first time,” Mr Quilliam said. Tasmanian runner, Jessica Collins, who has represented Australia, said it was exciting news for KMR, Tasmania and the sport. “This is such a great opportunity for Australian athletes. I’ve run many of the KMR events and know the courses and the terrain are on par with what we see at the World Champs,” she said. The City of Hobart has supported Kunanyi Mountain Run since its inception, and Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said she was “thrilled” with the news. “Events like this not only showcase the natural beauty of our region but also reinforce Hobart’s reputation as a vibrant destination for world-class outdoor experiences.” The 2026 edition of KMR brought in $4 million to the Tasmanian economy, generating more than 8000 bed nights across the state, which Alex Heroys, Chief Executive of Destination Southern Tasmania, said was a “significant return for the visitor economy”. “Kunanyi / Mount Wellington is one of Tasmania’s great natural assets, and the Kunanyi Mountain Run shows exactly how powerful events can be in driving regional tourism,” he said. “We have an epic mountain right on Hobart’s doorstep, an airport less than 30 minutes away, and a city that is well set up to welcome thousands of visiting athletes, support crews and spectators.” “This event also reinforces Tasmania’s growing reputation as a world-class trail running destination. With steep, technical trails and real mountain terrain, Kunanyi offers conditions that are genuinely comparable to what athletes will experience at the World Championships, making it an ideal place to compete, train and visit.” For more information: Kunanyi Mountain Run Dates: 19-21 March 2027 Pic credit: David Nolan & Ryan Slater