​Race Day Tips

1. Water Tables

A lot of time can be lost at the water tables. Try to avoid the first section of the tables as they are unnecessarily overcrowded. These tables are very long so you don’t need to panic and head straight for the first water sachet you see. Also, never ever run back for something. There will be more of whatever you missed a little further up the road.

1. Nutrition – you cannot run all day without eating. Not only will you add extra struggle to your day but chances are you’re going to be ill later that evening. Hopefully you have been practicing your race day nutrition strategy on your long runs. Personally, I have never taken nutrition seriously while running until this year. I know now that tired, heavy feeling in my legs can be avoided if I eat properly. Keep your electrolyte levels up with Energade, salted orange slices and race food offered at the water tables.  
2. Weather – Remember we will be running in a different climate then we are used to. The temperature will vary throughout the day as well. It will start out cold in Pietermaritzburg so bring a top that you are not particularly fond of so you can discard it later on to keep you warm for the first few km’s of the race. Even though you might warm up as you climb Polly Shorts you will want to keep your warm stuff for the bottom the hill where the temperature can dip again. The sun can be viscious and there are many sections of the race that offer no protection. Keep yourself cool by throwing water over yourself. Be careful of over hydration, I recommend watching the following clip, Waterlogged on YouTube.
3. Be Self-Sufficient – even though we have ARD planning to be along the route, there is no guarantee they will be able to get to us. Make sure you have whatever you need to get you to the finish on you and do not bank on getting ARD along the route. Chances are you will get them but they face many challenges race day as well.  Luckily, all along the route will be spectators as well. These strangers have devoted their whole day to help you get to the finish. Don’t be shy, take what these people have on offer. Last year the water tables towards the later part of the race were also very well stocked with food such as salted oranges, potatoes, bananas, crackers, race food, energy sweets etc. So don’t panic if you don’t get ARD support along the road. Try to make it easy for our supporters also. Put all your goodies in one bag to make it easier for them to carry to the road. They have to park far from the route and hike through the bush to get to us. Shoes, foodstuff, socks etc. can go in your Comrades drawstring bag you get at the expo. Label it with your name and ask someone to have it on route for you. Be appreciative and grateful for the assistance. It is not easy for our supporters and they sacrifice a lot to be there for us.

Comrades Mental Strength
I’ve read from numerous sources that Comrades is 75-80% mental. I have to agree. Even though I have run the race before, I am still surprised by how hard it is each and every time. Despite an increase in my training and physical fitness with each passing year, Comrades does not feel any easier.  It doesn’t seem to matter if I train 600km’s or over 1000km’s, at about 70km’s in the race, I’m exhausted beyond imagine. At that point, it is not my physical ability getting me to the finish, it is purely my mental strength. I remember the 2014 down run, everything hurt. It was so painful to take one step and I felt like I was giving myself a mental pep talk each and every time I put my leg forward. I found focusing on the following kept me mentally strong so I was physically able to keep moving forward.

1. Sacrifices: I thought about all the sacrifices I had to make to be there and how I could not let them be in vain. I thought of all the missed time with my children, with my husband, the early mornings, all those times it felt like that last thing I could do was go out on a training run and yet I still managed to lace up my shoes. I remembered all the times I struggled on my long runs, how I had to run through the nausea, blisters, lost toenails and other pains. If I could run through all that I could run through this. After all, all that pain was to prepare me for this day, I couldn’t let it all be for nothing.
2. Training: Training for Comrades is more important to building your mental strength than your physical strength. Yes, you will get much stronger but your mental strength increases even more. Because you have to run almost every day it is almost automatic. You no longer think about wanting to run, you just lace up your shoes and do it. Running has actually become habit that does not require you to think about is you want to run or not. You just do it. And that’s what you have to do in Comrades. Don’t even think about stopping, just keep moving forward. Just do it.
3. Visualization: This is something that is helpful in attaining any goal you have in life. When the road is extra lonely and feeling extra-long, visualize the finish and how working through these tough km’s will be all worth it at the end. To experience that finish and to hold your medal will be worth the pain in the end. Visualize coming to ARD, your family and friends and all the congratulations and happy faces you will see there.
4. Support: We are so blessed at ARD to have such tremendous support. A huge majority of our club will actually be flying up to Durban for the sole purpose of helping us get to the finish. Having familiar faces to see along the route is such a tremendous help. I remember my first Comrades, we were planning to meet up with the club at halfway and then see them at a couple spots along the route. The traffic was so bad though that they could only make it to the finish just in time to see the first ARD cross the line. Still, the thought of seeing my friends and family really pushed me to carry on. I thought ‘they will be just around this corner here. I’ll run just past this corner and I’ll see them’.  The down run is also nice because as you get closer to the finish, there are more and more spectators on the road cheering you on. Unlike the up run where it gets more and more desolate the further along you go. In 2014 there were a couple of spectators who would ask us what we needed, if we could have anything right now what would it be, they would then radio to their contacts further on the route to get our requests. We didn’t know these people, they were complete strangers. It is really amazing the support we have. Draw on that, think how tired the people are who are just supporting. Many of them, especially the ARD supporters, are up before we are to prepare our food and snacks so we can run. We can’t let them down. Acknowledge the supporters, thank them or even just smile as you run past. It helps, try it.
   

Those are some of my mental tricks I use to get through Comrades. The road can be lonely, even though you are surrounded by people. Stay focused on your goal. Please respond in the comments section with any of your own.

Pillars of Success in Ultra Marathon – Phil Sanderson
I was fortunate to come across a TEDx presentation on Ultra Marathon running that is applicable to Comrades (found here). This one was presented by Phil Sanderson who used entrepreneurial techniques to complete the Wasatch 100 (160km’s). This is a 30 hour race that climbs over 8000m through very difficult terrain. 400 athletes are chooses to participate in this race every year. Mr Sanderson explains how he was very excited to be chosen and started training for the race but fell victim to injury that prevented him from running for five months! He decided to still do the race, even though he only ran a few times, and was successful because of four key pillars he followed. These pillars are also needed for a successful Comrades and if followed should assist you in achieving your goal.
The Four Pillars are:

1. A Malleable Plan
2. Good Support Team
3. KPI’s
4. Have Fun

1. Malleable Plan: You need to have a plan.  Failing to plan is planning to fail. Saying that, you also need to realize that circumstances seldom allow our plans to unfold as we envisioned. You cannot waste energy feeling frustrated because the race is not going to plan. Understand that you will fall behind; you will take a few minutes to cross the start line, runners will block your way, climbs will be tougher than anticipated etc. Accept the setbacks and move on.  You have to be able to adapt your plan according to circumstances as they arise. Just because you had a really tough 10km stint does not mean the next 10km’s are also going to be tough. Keep going, keep pushing, and adapt.
2. Support. We are so blessed at ARD to have such terrific support from our club. These people have sacrificed their time, money and energy to be there for us so we can achieve our goals. Many of them will be up before us on race day preparing our food for when they see us on the road. Some have even decided to run with us for certain segments to help push us on. They have been there for us throughout our training, providing support and backup when they could have been doing anything else. Think of this when you are running. It will inspire you to keep going and push on. Draw on the energy of the crowd of spectators who line the roads to cheer you on.
3. KPI’s – key performance indicators. Heart rate is an excellent guide and Mr Sanderson explains how he kept his heart rate in the aerobic zone between 60-70% max. If he pushed harder, he would be in the anaerobic zone which would deplete his energy causing him to burn out before the end of the race. This is why it is important to go out slowly in Comrades. You do not want to burn out. It is especially dangerous in Comrades since the first 20km’s are mostly climbing (yes, even though this is a ‘down’ run, there is still a lot of climbing) and it’s easy to overdo it. To gauge if you are in the right zone, ask yourself ‘Can I keep this pace up all day?’ If the answer is yes, keep going. If it is no, you better slow down now before Comrades slows you down later. Mr Sanderson also explains the importance of nutrition in this pillar. He calculated that he would burn 200 calories every 20minutes of his race and forced himself to replenish these calories religiously. Every 20minutes without fail he ate 200 calories and drank 1kg of water every hour. Fueling is extremely important in these long runs especially comrades. It is hot and humid and you will quickly become depleted of your energy if you are not fueling properly. Saying that, do not try anything new on race day! Stick to what your body is familiar with.
4. Have Fun – this is so important. We run because we love it. For many of us, this is our last opportunity to run Comrades for a number of years. Let’s enjoy it as much as we possibly can. There is no other race in the world like it. The support, the atmosphere, the crowd, the terrain…it’s just phenomenal. Soak it up and enjoy! It is difficult, you will struggle but without those tough parts it wouldn’t be so gratifying. Accept them, push through them and go get that medal!