Hello and welcome
For those who are new or even experienced Fun runners, here is a little checklist to ensure you make the most of and enjoy the upcoming events!
Brisbane Mothers Day Classic - (May)
Gold Coast Airport Marathon - 10km and half available as well (June)
Jetty to Jetty (July)
Bridge to Brisbane (September)
+ many more local events!
Before you even get to the "Funday"
1) Taper - You've trained hard, resting is training too!
Nothing is more rewarding than seeing your training work with a PB, keeping up with that "fit" friend or just making it without stopping. So reduce your total km's and keep the speed up in the week before your event.
2) Sleep - Excercise helps you sleep at night and sleep helps you exercise. Your race starts at 7am so get some sleep the night before, alter your "bed time" by that extra 1 hour for the week.
Practice running at the time of the morning that your run will be at, what time do you have to go to sleep to get your 8 hours and feel fresh. Nothing kills fun more than dead legs and sleep deprived you before you start!
3) Hydration - Running is hard and just because its early doesn't mean its not going to get hot.
The body needs its oil, being hydrated alows the body to remove waste, poor performance, headaches and a dry throat make your funday into a Monday...hopefully you don't need litres before your run if you are well hydrated the days before. Just sip before your race to ensure you don't fill your stomach up with water before your run.
4) Carb Load - You've been on a healthy diet right? right...? Add an extra spagetti meal or two the week of your race. But dont change your pre race meal!
Find what works for you, have a practice race or 2 with different meals and see which one gives you more longer lasting energy. Most likely if it involves high amounts of carbohydrates rather than sugar, fat or protein you will feel better.
5) Plan your travel
Its stressful enough as you hear the alarm go off in the dead of the night, have a plan as to what time and where you will be arriving and remember where your car is after the run!
5 things to do on the day!
1) Dont ruin your favourite singlet, have a race belt to attach your number
They are cheap, easy to use and re-usable and you dont have to worry about tearing your singlet, off centre numbers and stressing about losing your pins or number mid race! Also a hint, if its cold, take a throw away long sleave shirt. Wear this to keep the chill out then donate to the Salvos bins just behind the start line.
2) Take a snack, your tummy is going to be on edge
Remember the general rule for avoiding a stitch is to eat 3 hours before and sip water up until 1 hour before the run. Some foods you may find you can handle without getting a stitch, honey toast and a banana are my two "go to" foods with long lasting energy.
3) Go to the bathroom before you leave home!
This may seem obvious and hopefully well hydrated from the few days before, you wont be thirsty just nervious sipping as you wait for the start. Portaloos are not fun.
4) Have a goal and strategy to reach it, wether its following the flag "pacer", running with a stopwatch and counting the km marks or having a friend to run with.
Fun runs are unpredictable, dodging through other runners times and distances may not be accurate so PB's may not be reached, have alternate goals such as getting a higher place, not stopping, beating the "fit" friend. If you've run it before try beat that time.
5) Dont take it too seriously, I was once beaten by a clown
With all these helpfull hints the biggest one sometimes is to not take things to serious, I am from a top 10 finisher background and however practical and stress removing these tips are it took me 10 years of racing to actually slow down and have a "Fun" run. Enjoy the scenery, the atmosphere the fresh morning and the road conquered and even those annoying clowns...
Good luck with your preperation, goals and enjoy being part of something bigger than the daily grind.
Hope you enjoyed and can make use of these Tips, stay tuned for more in depth articles on each topic!