Running Comrades - it's all in the mind -real or rumour? Iza Trengove

The countdown to the Comrades 90 kilometre ultramarathon on the 6th June at 5h30 has begun. Anxiety sets in as do sleepless nights. Many fear they haven't trained enough or that a niggle may prevent them from finishing the race. Added to these concerns is the unpredictable cramping that could jeopardise their endeavours. 

Available Comrades wisdom on social media, websites, podcasts and from well-meaning friends is contradictory and overwhelming. 

Health News interviews three gurus who give cogent advice which addresses the contradictions.

Firstly, Nick Bester, international athlete and winner of the Comrades, Ironman and Ultraman. Nick is also well known for his development of running and cycling in disadvantaged communities across South Africa. Another string to his bow is managing a team of ten professional runners who succeeded in attaining a Guinness World record when they ran from Cape Town to Johannesburg, a distance of 1609.3 km in 99:03:27. The runners had to complete 3 minutes 23 seconds a kilometre, day and night.

Secondly, Chris Cherry, Johannesburg Country Club’s running ambassador. Chris has done Comrades in 6:06 (up) and 6:03 down. He will be competing in this year ’s race and hopes to run it under six hours. Chris lives a plant-based lifestyle and is a professional actuary with Naked Insurance. 

Finally sport scientist and UCT Professor, Ross Tucker gives advice on how athletes can apply scientific research to improve their running. Ross is a strategic consultant to World Rugby and advisor to Virgin Active and Adidas. His PhD in Exercise Physiology focused on fatigue and the brain’s limits to performance. His goal is to bridge the gap between science and its application to every athlete through articles, coaching and his website. His personal involvement in sport lies in running 10km and half marathons. 

Nick Bester

Nick, what practical tips do you have for new Comrades runners, one day before the Comrades and also on race day?

It is very important that one does not make mistakes on race day. Don’t make any drastic changes. Stick to what has worked for you in the past. 

Don’t start any new or additional training a week before the race. I stop doing any extreme speed workouts, thirteen days before any major race and also run much slower. Five weeks before the race my long runs are no longer than fifty kilometres.  I decrease the distance by 10 kilometres a week up to the last two weeks when my long runs are up to twenty kilometres.  Don’t try and make up for not training enough in the weeks prior to Comrades.

One’s power comes from the stomach. Ensure it is protected. Take probiotics regularly. Three to five days before race day, avoid energy drinks or food that one is not accustomed to. I know of some top athletes who take imodium on race day to cope with a runny tummy and who run without problems. 

Running shoes are extremely important. It’s vital to train at least 100-150 kilometres in them to check that they do not chafe. 

What do you do if nerves keep you awake?

A good sleep is absolutely essential.  Two nights before the race is the most important . Don’t set an alarm.  Since one is over excited one usually doesn’t sleep well the night before the race. However, this will not affect one’s performance provided one has slept well a few nights before the race.  If one has difficulty sleeping consider a sleeping tablet. 

How does one manage one’s anxiety? 

It is normal to be nervous. If one is mentally prepared and has done sufficient training and hill work, one is ready for the race. Focus on being positive. Negative thoughts are stored in the brain very quickly.  Repeat positive thoughts until they get stored in the brain. Mental power is crucial and will carry one throughout the race.

And if unforeseen cramps threaten to jeopardise one’s race? 

I read an article recently about 30 Comrades facts. It said 48% of runners experience cramps during the race. There are many causes. Among them dehydration or an electrolyte deficiency, running very hard, or running a distance one’s, body isn’t used to. Accept that cramps will happen. Another cause could be too much sugar or carbs. One’s body then pulls fluids to the stomach to dissolve the heavy concentration of sugar.  Drink sufficient water to prevent the cramping.

How much water or fluid should one take?

It varies from runner to runner. The top guys take about 600ml to 650ml liquid per hour, but slower runners need less because they don’t sweat as much as the top guys. There are many excellent dehydration products on the market such as Biogen or Crampeze. One can also take potassium and sodium to ensure that one’s electrolytes are adequate. 

Should runners still compete if they have a niggle?

It’s best to ensure that you stay injury free during training. If you feel a niggle stop running completely for a few days to avoid it becoming chronic. Once it develops into an injury it will take 6-8 weeks to recover. Get some physio and cold and hot treatment. One can also take an anti-inflammatory. Don’t run until it is gone. During the race continue running and work through it.  You are there and you trained hard so just continue.

Is stretching advisable before the race? 

Don’t stretch before a long race because one’s muscles are not warm. In the days leading up to the race one can stretch after training.

How does one pace oneself?

Running well is an art. Don’t run according to a wrist watch. Listen to your body so that you don’t damage any muscles. During the final twenty kilometre stretch you can try to increase your speed and achieve that silver or gold medal. In the beginning you must relax and talk to people.  Don’t think about a time. You can realistically aim to complete the race by taking your best marathon time and multiplying it by two and then adding one and a half hours.

What is the most important factor that determines one’s performance during a long race such as the Comrades? 

I would say one’s mental toughness is the most important aspect of the race. No-one can teach you how to be mentally tough. I attribute my personal success to the fact  that I trusted myself and believed that I could achieve my goal. 

Do you have a mantra or visual strategy that carries you during the race? 

I have had different mantras. Every race I choose a different image or word.

In one race I imagined myself to be a kamakaze pilot who was willing to die in order to reach my target. In another race I imagined myself being a strong ox if I ran uphill and an eagle on the downhills. I also visualise colours, for instance red to take away pain and blue to give me power. It gives me something to focus on. During the 100km world championships I divided the race into ten parts of ten kilometres each. Each section represented a colour.  In this way I was only running ten kilometres once in each colour. This helped me focus on each part and not become overwhelmed by the distance. Mind games are important when running such long distances.

Tips on recovery after the race?

Full recovery is very important. It takes one about three months to recover completely. I believe in active recovery. It is much better than passive recovery. If you do nothing you are going to take longer to recover than someone who is doing short walks or easy cycles a couple of days after the race. Every time one does something, one’s body pushes more blood through the vessels. In this way one gets oxygen to the muscle and recovers much quicker. 

It is also much better to have cold showers or baths for the first three days after the race or after any injury or heavy workout. After that one can start heat treatment or saunas. When one does a long race such as Comrades, one gets small microscopic tears in one’s muscles. Cold showers help to stop the bleeding. Finally restore your body and eat food that includes good protein to build back muscle, carbohydrates to replenish energy stores and drink plenty of water.

Advice for post-race blues?

It is quite normal that for runners to experience post-race blues after achieving their goals. I usually start preparing for a duathlon and cycle to keep myself busy. 

Chris Cherry

Chris, what tips do you have for the average runner on the day prior to the race and on race day to run their best Comrades? 

With a race the magnitude of the Comrades marathon there are bound to be different schools of thought. Advice comes from everyone. I even get advice from people who have achieved slower times than I have.

It’s well intended, so I’ll never dismiss advice. My biggest lesson relating to advice is that you always need to consider if it applies to your own circumstances and to what extent. The more I’ve run and each successive Comrades I feel I’ve developed a better sense of when to push, when to hold back, the routines, diet and my race strategy. Experience really counts with a race such as Comrades where there will always be aspects to improve on each year. That said, there are some lessons that you don’t need to learn the hard way. So hopefully my answers will help some runners out there this year! 

Mental preparation: 

The prep should really start at least a few weeks before race day. During this time, where less training happens, I try to perfect my mind game. Comrades is a tough race and it’s essential to prepare your mind for the pain. Staying positive is key because naturally as race day approaches we start to doubt our training and our ability and negative thoughts creep in. I try to meditate on a few positive thoughts to drown out the doubt. In particular, it’s natural to fear pain and let’s face it Comrades hurts! If it didn’t hurt it wouldn’t be so special to finish it. So instead of dreading the pain, one can look forward to it, because when you feel it you’ll know you’re doing something life-changing. 

The few days before the race are particularly important. My main advice would be to relax as much as possible, knowing that a relaxed and positive mind set will help you run your best possible race, regardless of how well the training has gone. Keep your feet up when you don’t absolutely need to walk or run. While the pre-race expo is fun and exciting, don’t spend too much time there. It means more time on your legs and a greater chance of picking up germs and don’t buy new products at the expo to try on race day.  Stick to what you know and keep new products for next season. 

Diet: 

Eat foods that work with your body, if you feel that a jog the day before a race will keep your muscles loose then do that (just don’t run too hard and if you’re unsure I’d say rather rest).  If you’ve never taken a sleeping pill then don’t do it the night before the race, no matter how desperate you feel. 

Sleep and rest: 

It’s worth talking more about sleep in the couple of nights before race day. In my experience, the night before I feel like I hardly sleep at all, my body is restless and it seems to take an eternity (despite waking up ridiculously early on race morning... arggh). My first Comrades was the worst . 

I hardly slept a wink and I was convinced that the poor sleep would spoil my run. Yet, when the adrenalin of race morning kicks in, the seemingly poor sleep is forgotten about and I’ve still had great runs. I’ve just learned to trust that lying with my eyes closed allows my body all the rest it needs as it gets ready for battle the next day. Somehow just trusting that my body is doing what it needs to do helps relax my mind and makes it more bearable. That’s not to say that sleep isn’t important. 

Ideally you should aim to sleep well during the build-up to race day and in particular get a good night’s sleep two nights before the pre-race anxiety kicks in.

Stretching: 

Maybe rub your legs a bit and possibly a few leg swings (again, not if you haven’t done this before). You should start slowly so your body can warm up while you’re running. If you start fast, you’re in for a long day. 

Cramping: 

As for race day, again by this stage you should have an idea of what works for your body, so try to stick with that. Cramping is a particular concern and there’s not much consensus on what causes it and how to prevent it. It seems that fatigue is the primary cause of cramping, rather than lack of electrolytes, but I’ve found that on a run as long as Comrades it is essential to have enough salt. 

I actually carry a small sachet of table salt with me to make sure my sodium levels don’t drop too much as a high enough level of sodium is needed in the blood in order for fluids to be absorbed from the stomach.

Niggle close to race day: 

I’ve only had to run with niggles on rare occasions. It’s not fun. And if it’s a serious injury, in my view the risk of making things worse is not worth it. I’d suggest getting the injury assessed by an expert. If you’re lucky they’ll give you the go-ahead to run with some supportive strapping. 

Painkillers: 

Taking painkillers during the run is risky and in some ways it also detracts from the beauty of the race, which is to create an opportunity to overcome seemingly unbearable pain and accomplish your goal. If you need to take painkillers I’d suggest reading up about the potential damage to your kidneys and being sensible about it.

Runny tummy: I haven’t needed to take an imodium during a Comrades yet. If I get the runs I probably would, but I’m not an expert on potential side effects. I ensure I don’t overeat in the couple of days before the race and eat lower fibre foods, including white rice, bananas and protein powder to avoid an upset tummy.

Pacing: 

Hold back in the first half and hang on in the second half. If you don’t the second half will be a nightmare since the first half of the up run is particularly tough due to all the climbing. The second half is always tough and requires great mental determination to push through.  You will feel rested after the taper, so the first 30km will feel easy. You must consciously hold back and run within yourself. I’ve heard it suggested that 1 minute too fast through halfway will cost you 8 extra minutes in the second half! 

Recovery after Comrades: 

Just after completing the race, enjoy the feeling and sense of achievement. It will hurt, but it will be worth it. Look after your body and don’t make sudden movements. Walk slowly and know that while people are laughing at you hobbling along, they are secretly inspired to do something as great as you’ve just done! 

When is it safe to start training again?

 If there’s any doubt about whether to train or not, then don’t. After my first couple of Comrades I was back at it after 2 weeks. I’ve now realised that in order to be fresh (mentally and physically) for the next season, you need to recover properly. I now take 6 weeks off from running after Comrades, enjoying things like doggie walks, hikes and the like if I’m craving physical activity. 

Advice on dealing with sore muscles and injuries: I think this requires a blog/newsletter on its own.

Tips on coping with post Comrades blues.

It’s such a huge build up to race day and the event itself is life-changing. It’s only natural to feel a void after the race. As much as you want to start planning and training for the next Comrades, don’t! Use this time to catch up on the things you missed over the past six months. Family, friends, work. Balance is important. You’ll know when the time is right to get back into it. Enjoy the well-deserved break! 

Ross Tucker

Ross, when should one start tapering down before a big race and how?

It depends on the training you’ve done up to that point.  Those who’ve done really solid training and have laid down really strong foundations and fitness can afford a slightly longer taper, because they’ll be more “physiologically resilient”.  One must remember that during the taper, you’re going to lose a little bit of fitness in terms of endurance, but you make up for it with performance because you recover and feel sharper.  But, there is a payoff, and if a runner hasn’t developed a solid enough base of fitness, then that payoff may not be worth it.

So a rule of thumb is that for every two months of good, consistent training, one should aim for one week of tapering.  For most Comrades runners by then, they’ve done six months, a three-week taper is probably ideal.  If they’re nervous about losing fitness, then two weeks, but I wouldn’t go shorter than that, because you’ll carry fatigue into the race.

As for the “how”, you cut back on volume, but you keep the intensity similar.  You work backwards from the final week before the race to figure out the parts.  So, if your last week before the race is going to involve four easy runs, a total of 30 kilometres, then your second last week can be 45 kilometres, maybe 4 or 5 easy runs, and the third week out from the race, 60 kilometres.

So, there’s a “formula” of sorts where you cut your distance by 25 to 30% each week for the duration of the taper.  25% off in the first week of the taper takes a runner from maybe 90 to 60 to 65 kilometres, then another 25% cut brings you to 45 kilometres and finally 25% off that equals around 30 kilometres.

An important concept is to keep the intensity the same.  You don’t drop everything. The idea is you run your easy runs at the same pace as you always have and that you keep doing those harder sessions like hills or speed work or a weekly time-trial but aim to run them a little faster than usual.  You should feel sharp, and lively and full of bounce, because you’ve removed the “volume pressure” of training and can replace it with intensity.

Should one also stop doing strength exercises?

Similar principle to tapering, it depends what you’ve been doing.  If you’ve developed a route of one or two strength sessions a week, even if it’s just body weight strength training or core, then you should keep doing those right up to race week.  Your body is accustomed to them, so the impact they’ll have is trivial in terms of fatigue, but they keep your neuromuscular system activated and that’s important.

The key is to avoid increasing the load or doing more sets or higher weights for any given exercise.  So, if your routine, at peak was say 4 sets of 12 reps of a particular exercise, lifting 40kg, then definitely don’t increase that, and in the taper period, consider dropping the number of sets to 3, rather than four.  That’s how you reduce volume, but defend intensity, and you keep the training stimulus going.  

I have found that doing a leg activation session even three or two days before the race is a useful way to ’switch on’ before the race and may even be better than complete rest.  But again, this is true for people who are accustomed to doing them.  If you’ve not been to the gym or doing weight work often, then don’t read this and decide you need it only two weeks out from the race!

What should one eat the evening and morning before the race?

Whatever is habitual for you, with a bit of fine print.  The night before is probably less important, because less can go wrong, in the sense that what you eat is less likely to disagree with you.  But it’s not impossible, so you need to avoid things you’re unfamiliar with, and ‘high risk’ foods should be kept to a minimum.  Seafood and foods that are extremely rich (including sauces) are such examples.  You may be fine 99 out of 100 times, but why risk all those months of training on a one in a 100 chance something is dodgy.

The night before one also doesn’t really need to load up and fill your muscles. You’re already training less in that final week, so provided you keep eating your normal diet, your fuel stores will be fine.  My advice is eat what you normally do and if you’re in the social swing of things and want to have some pasta, then go for it, but stay away from the ones that are risky for stomach problems.

The same principle is true on the morning of the race.  Normal diet is first choice, but for many people that may involve milk or other dairy, that’s probably not ideal.  If you can play around with some breakfast options - toast and jam or marmalade, muesli with minimal dairy, a sandwich etcetera and figure out what you can digest and process quickly, between now and race day, that would be useful.  

Generally dry, easy to process foods are best.  It’s not gourmet, but it’s safer.  That said, you don’t have to eat a breakfast on race day - once you start the race, you’ll be able to consume energy pretty much non-stop, so it’s not critical that you eat a breakfast. Some people have trouble running within an hour or two of eating, and they should probably rather delay the meal, and wait until they start.

Those who can process food could consider the simple options mentioned above, or fruit juice or an energy drink, possibly some more pasta (light on sauce) and small portions. This is a ’starter fuel load, and the key is to keep it going once the race begins.

What should one pack for fuelling during the race?

The race itself provides so many fuel options that you can pack nothing at all and be ok.  What you want to eat or drink on the run depends a lot on preference.  There are people whose habitual diet is low carb and they’ll be able to get away with things like nuts, milk, other protein or fat snacks.  

For most of us, we rely more on carbs during exercise and so we should be aiming to replace the carbs burned as we run.  Quite how much this is, depends on the person, how fast they’re running and what fuels they use.  Rule of thumb is about 40 to 60 grams per hour. 

I’ll leave each person to do their own calculations, depending what they’re drinking or eating, but for example, if Coke has 11 per 100ml, then you’re looking at 350 to 500ml of Coke every hour.  Powerade, for example, has less sugar, around 8g per 100ml, so you’d need 500ml to 700ml per hour.  That’s a lot to drink at once, of course, so you can split it into four doses, maybe 100 to 150ml every 15 minutes.  That’s normally what you’d drink anyway, if you simply listen to your own body telling you when it needs fluid.  So, don’t over analyse this, drink when thirsty and make sure you are getting at least half your fluids with some carbs, or that you’re eating something at regular intervals.

This is done using the options provided on the route, energy drinks and Coke usually, along with less frequent stations offering things like potatoes, crisps, pretzels and popcorn. These latter options are quite important, because 8 to 12 hours of drinking nothing but sugary drinks and taking in gels can become overwhelming.  A lot of people end up in medical tents because of nausea, and I’m sure this is caused by the load of sugar and artificial sweetness.  So, think of those salty options as “palate cleansers” and even if you’re not hungry, try to break the cycle of sweetness when you can. A lot of people, who are familiar with them, have no problem. What you don’t want is to be sucked in by a marketing pitch the week before the race, especially at the expo and say, “I think I’ll try that”.  That is the most common cause of runners ending up in medical care. You won’t believe how many people try new things that week and pay the price.  Stick with your tried and tested methods, not what a marketer is selling the week of the race.

What should one wear?

Shoes that are at least three weeks old and not brand new and your club vest and shorts that are also at least four weeks old.  The problem is new clothing, especially shoes.  That’s a short cut to a bad day out, because they’ll be stiffer and more likely to blister your feet.

As for nuance, some runners run in two pairs of socks, to help prevent friction.  Others reckon that causes blisters.  So here, like for fuel and diet, do what you normally do.  You’ve done qualifying races and runs longer than marathons coming in - do on race day what you did then, because that’s what you’ve prepared for and now to work.

Plasters over the nipples to prevent chafing is never a bad idea - no real downside to it (just use the right plasters or taking them off will really hurt).  You may also want to carry vaseline because if you do start chafing anyway, it’s a good way of getting temporary relief.  You might practice this, not the chafing bit, but how you carry it (ziplock bag, safety pin to your shirt and tucked into your shorts, for instance) and just see what’s comfortable and manageable.  The same goes for how you carry any gels or salty snacks - work your system out in the final month before the race, rather than figuring out at the 50 kilometres mark of the race that you should’ve done something different!

If you have a niggle should you still compete?

In a perfect world no.  But in the real world, I know how it is for runners when they’ve trained for months and sacrificed so much, they’re going to take a chance. That’s fine.  I suspect I’d do the same in their position.

Couple of pointers here, don’t hide the pain of the niggle with painkillers, and especially not anti-inflammatories.  If you’re going to, then mild pain-killers is better than strong anti-inflammatories, because the anti-inflammatories can affect kidney function and that could be catastrophic.  Every few years, Comrades ends up with very serious medical conditions, and one of the primary risk factors for these serious cases is that the runner has taken large doses of anti-inflammatories.  That, combined with the fluid loss and exertion, can land you in big medical trouble.  So please, don’t mask pain with drugs.  

The other reason to avoid masking pain is that pain is an important signal.  If you have, say, ITB problems or an Achilles tendon injury but you can run on for a short time, Comrades may be a bridge too far, and the increasing level of pain is the thing that is going to tell you “Hold on, let’s not keep doing this because this is becoming excessive”.  You silence that ‘voice’, you’re running straight for a very serious injury, one that might end up costing you months of running in the future.

So, it’s risk and reward.  But if you shut off the pain signal using drugs, you can’t measure the risk.  And so, you’ve a very good chance of exceeding your body’s threshold and that’s a heavy price to pay.  

Bottom line - try it (I would), but try it naturally, and if your body won’t allow it, then that’s unfortunately a lesson learned, and there’ll be other races.

And a head cold?

I think you have to be very cautious - I mentioned previously that Comrades, like any mass sports events, will have one or two very serious medical problems every few years.  One cause is renal issues, probably triggered in part by anti-inflammatories.  Another is over-hydration.  And a third, maybe most serious of all, is runners who run while carrying a viral infection.  What can happen is that the virus affects the heart, resulting in a pericarditis, excessive stress on the heart and sudden cardiac death. 

This is not to be played around with, obviously.  It’s the most catastrophic of all outcomes, and even if the risk is 1 in 1000, you have to ask whether it’s worth it (obviously, it’s not).

So, the key here is whether you are absolutely confident that the symptoms you have (runny nose, sore throat etc) are local to a head cold, something mild, or are they symptoms of a virus you’re fighting?  If you can’t tell, then it’s just not worth it.  If you can, and you feel like it’s sinus, nothing more and there’s no hint of tiredness, sore muscles and joints, throbbing headaches, chest infections (all of which signal a systemic infection and likely virus), then you can try it, but again, don’t mask symptoms with drugs.  You can get medicines, even over the counter, that make you feel “OK”, when you’re not.  The problem then is that at say 50 kilometres, you might not feel the extent of whatever is wrong and push on through a point that really you should stop.

So as for niggles, my advice would be that if you’re absolutely confident that you’re only a little blocked up and not viral or post-viral, then you can try, but take it easy, reassess your goals, maybe adjust your targets and don’t hide what you’re feeling with medicines.  And then listen very, very carefully to your body.  I don’t mean to scare you with the cardiac death risk, but if that’s the thing that holds you back and prevents you from becoming a 1 in 100,000 statistic, then I’m glad to do so!

How should one prepare mentally for such a gruelling race?

You already have, if you’ve been mindful while training.  The point of training is twofold. The obvious one is physiological - challenge your body so that it adapts and you get fitter.  The heart, lungs, muscles, tendons, enzymes, and a hundred things that happen without us knowing about them.

The other part, equally important, is to challenge the brain and mental attitude towards running.  Every training session, even the easy days where you run slowly for short distances are there to constantly teach you about body management and self-awareness.  That’s the main outcome, mentally, that gets a runner through a race of any distance.

Self-awareness means hearing the signals that the body is sending, and understanding what they mean?  Knowing what is possible, when am I going too fast, why is my breathing laboured, how are my feet landing, are my joints and muscles feeling normal, or do I need to change anything.

Understanding where the ceiling or limit is, and how far I am from that ceiling? These questions are being asked a hundred times an hour, but not only during the race, but during every training session.  When a runner does their harder training sessions, long runs or time-trials or hill repeats, they’re pushing their body beyond its normal limits, but they’re also laying down templates or foundations that will allow them to understand what the same set of signals or “feedback” means when they race.

So being mentally prepared means being “tuned in” to the right frequency as often as possible during training.  The distance on race day is daunting, obviously, and may not have been done before.  But all the signals and physical challenges have been heard many times, provided the runner has been on the correct frequency.

So, the key, mentally, is to use every training session to calibrate the mind.  To teach it how to interpret what it hears, to teach it how to filter out the noise and listen to the right things, on that correct frequency.  Hopefully runners have done this, or they can make use of the last few weeks to do this.  

If they do, then the confidence they’ll take into the race will be enormous, and that’s what being mentally prepared means, knowing that you’re capable.

If anxiety gets the better of one what advice do you have?

Don’t try to run 88 kilometres  Rather run 21 kilometres, four times.  Or run 10km, eight times. Most people will realise that they can do those things, but if their mind can’t break the distance up, then it becomes too big to handle.

The same is true of pace.  OK, so you’re anxious about running 6:30 per kilometre for that long, that’s fine.  Can you run 6:30 for one hour?  That’s much easier, so just do that.

Or, maybe you change the pace.  If 6:30 is too much, what about 10 minutes per kilometre, for a few minutes.  That’s walking speed, you can do that, right?  So then do it, for five minutes.  Don’t panic that you’re walking, rather use it to relax, to recharge, to eat and drink without trying to juggle those things and creating more anxiety.

Plan to walk.  That helps a lot because you won’t feel so anxious when you do.  If the race winner can walk at a drinking station (as they do, often), then you can do.  So, when you get to every second or third drinks station, walk through it.  It’ll take a minute, you’ll “lose” 100 metres compared to if you ran, but so what?  It’s a 10 to 12-hour race, those 100 metres don’t matter and mentally, taking the walk will help you.

Just step back, try to take yourself out of the situation and look at yourself from afar.  That will give you perspective, and with a bit of perspective, you’ll be able to reassess what’s required.  Then you’ll realise that you can walk without it really hurting your race, that walking will help, and that if you plan to walk, the race will never get too big for you.

What does one do if one hits a wall?

It depends a little on why you’ve hit the wall.  The classic understanding is that you’ve run out of fuel, so now you’re “empty”.  If that is true, the solution is simple - it’s like a car that runs out of petrol.  There’s no solution to this other than to get to a petrol station.  Same for the body.  So instead of pushing through it, to the point that you push the your body into a real metabolic crisis, just walk, take the stress away, until you get to the next aid station and then take five to ten minutes where all you do is get as much fuel into as you possible.  Coke, Powerade, gels, potatoes, whatever it takes.  Obviously don’t overdo it so much that you’re bloated like you’ve had a five-course meal, because when you try to run again, you’ll pay for that!

But get fuel back in.  Stop for 5 minutes. Maybe someone can massage your legs.  Just take it easy, breathe, eat, replenish.  And then go again, but slower than before.  For at least the next 15 minutes, just to give your body a chance to ‘catch up’ and get that fuel where it needs to be.  Then do the same at the next aid station, or maybe the second one along.  After about 30 min, if it was a fuel thing, you should feel good as new.

But it’s really important that you don’t push through this.  The first signs will be that you’re lightheaded, feeling a bit loopy, dizzy perhaps, getting tunnel vision.  You will feel like you’re in a bit of a daze, not focused.  Auto-pilot.  If you feel that, don’t keep running.  Rather stop, and refuel, and take the next 30 minutes as “recovery time”, where you really walk and jog slower than normal.  I know it’ll be frustrating, but it’s crucial to pay attention to the early warning signs.

 How can one avoid cramping? 

Cramping is muscle fatigue.  The muscle loses its normal neural control mechanisms when it fatigues, and that causes it to spasm involuntarily.  The solution once it happens is to stretch the muscle.  It might help to stretch before it happens, and so if you know you’re prone to cramp, then you might start stretching as early as the 20km mark, and every 5km, just stop for a minute and stretch the muscles you know are vulnerable.

Ultimately, though, prevention is about training and being prepared.  Muscle strength is a massive factor.  Therefore, doing leg strength work is a huge contributor.  This means doing quite heavy weights to create strong muscles.  Strong muscles will be less likely to lose their normal neural control, and thus less likely to cramp.  So if you cramp in the quads, then leg press, squat, leg extension at the gym will be good.  For hamstrings, lunges, deadlifts, leg extensions.  For calf muscles, calf raises.  But not just 4 sets of 15 reps using light weights.  My experience is that runners have to lift quite heavy, and really get strong in order to avoid cramp.  This is not something you add in with only 3 or 4 weeks to go to the race - it’s something you have to do over 3 months, and so it may be too late to add this in now.  Don’t worry, there’s always next year.

What you need to do this year is try to stretch before the cramp happens, as mentioned above.  And also, don’t overdo it. There’s quite good evidence that people who cramp are the ones who go out faster than their training would predict.  In other words, based on people’s training they should be running at a pace of X.  If they go off and run at a pace of Y, faster than X, then they are likely candidates for cramp.  It’s pretty basic - if you overdo it, and start too fast, then you are asking your body to do something it’s not trained for, and cramp is one result.  So be realistic about your race pace, based on your training, and start at a pace you can handle it.

How important is breathing correctly when running such a long distance? 

It’s obviously important, but given the distance, you’re not breathing at anything like your capacity.  If you run a Park Run 5 kilometres, for instance, your ventilation will approach maximum levels, and then breathing becomes the limiting factor.  For Comrades, where you’re running maybe 2 to 3 minutes per kilometre slower than your Park Run pace, this is less of a problem.

However, in two phases of the race, it is important.  One is on the uphills.  Comrades has many of these and the key, breathing wise, is to regulate your pace so that your breathing is never laboured.  It’s actually a good way to manage your pace - if you’re running on the flat and breathing a certain pattern, for instance in for 3 steps (right, left, right) and out for 3 steps (left, right, left), then when you start the hill, try to keep that same pattern.  This will require that you slow down - if you don’t, then you’ll find that you have to breathe much faster, maybe switching to a two steps in (right, left) and 2 out (right, left).  That’s what you’d like to avoid, especially in the first half of the run.  Maybe later you allow the breathing rate to change as the intensity changes, but not early.

Basically, you can use your breathing pattern to regulate your pace, and this is really helpful on the climbs. Then on the downhills a different aspect of breathing becomes important.  Because you’re going downhill, your speed will pick up, the load on your legs will be higher, you’ll tend to land a little ‘heavier’.  And sometimes people will develop stitches as a result of uncontrolled breathing.  What’s important for the downhills is to breathe deeply, and smoothly.  Again, as for the uphills, pay attention to the rhythm of breathing, focusing on 3 steps in, 3 steps out (or 4-4, or 4-3, whatever works for you - practice this when you train!), but also pay attention to the depth.  Imagine your lungs are balloons and you have to fill them from the bottom up.  Breathe in right to the bottom of your lungs and then fill them up before you breathe out.  Breathe smoothly, especially when you exhale, because it helps you relax.  If you do that, you’ll relax and avoid any problems caused by the “intensity” of running downhill for a long time.

Finally, what is the best running advice you have been given?

  

Body management. The idea that performing in endurance events is all about managing your physiology.  Which means, as I mentioned above, that you tune in to the correct frequency, the one where you are listening to all the signals and sounds and messages that your body is sending you and then interpreting those and figuring out what they mean when they need to be listened to, when they’re normal, when they’re abnormal, and how to respond to them.

The best athletes, no matter what pace they’re running, are the ones who are best able to manage their physiology.  Whether they are elite and running 5:30 for Comrades, or running 11:59, they’re the ones who understand what is happening to them and what it means. That allows them to “spend their budget” perfectly, physiologically speaking. This is about physiology management, just as financial management means not taking out loans you can’t afford, or writing cheques that will bounce, or spending more than you have in your account!

So, the key advice for every runner is “listen and interpret”, because if you practice that, then you will best able to budget your efforts and get the most out of your physiology.