Tackle any track with top tips from runners
You may not yet be ready to take on the North and South Poles like Jordan Wylie, but it’s marathon season in the UAE – look to our race calendar below to see what’s in store. Whether it’s the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon or the Adnoc Abu Dhabi Marathon you’re gearing up to tackle, here are a few training tips and tricks to help you along.
Personal trainer and marathon runner Lee Ryan from Dubai, who holds three Guinness World Records, says the best way to approach a training plan is to look at it in manageable chunks. “I like to use a four-week scope, as it can sit well in a month’s calendar, in and around your daily work and upcoming activities. Plan your four weeks around travelling, meetings, social commitments and adjust accordingly to make sure you stay on track.
“Once this is established, break it down further into single weeks, planning sleep patterns and the times you will be doing the runs. Are you an early bird or a night owl? If you know you will have evening plans or will be working late nights, commit to training in the morning. These small details will be the difference between a positive or negative response in the body. Establish the routine that works for you and stick to it. It goes without saying that a healthy and well-balanced lifestyle will be key to upholding the workload of this plan. Good sleep, good recovery and consistency. Trust the process. Some days you may feel amazing and want to run twice the distance in your plan – but don’t. It will catch up with you.”
Ryan says sleep is a crucial factor overlooked by many when training for a marathon. “Good, deep sleep is when the body repairs, reboots and grows. Think of it as recharging your batteries. Try and find a routine to give yourself enough time to sleep,” he says.
Closer to the race, the biggest mistake you can make is getting a new kit. “We all want to look good when we cross the line, but wear what you’ve been training in. Listen to your body and give it what it wants. You want to be tip-top on race day, but that includes being comfortable in your apparel.”
Comfort also plays a significant role if you’ve signed up for a desert race, say Kathleen Leguin and Toni Metcalfe, two UAE residents who have participated in numerous desert trails and mountain races, from the 7Emirates run to Oman by UTMB. “Personally, I prefer to use a hydration vest to carry fluids and store my running fuel, than to wear a running belt or [carry] a handheld water bottle,” says Leguin. “Concerning clothing, I prefer tight-fitting clothes such as compression gear – Runderwear socks, shorts and tops.” Metcalfe adds: “Your shoes should be supportive and comfortable. I also wear Hoka One One for long runs and Reebok Floatrides for shorter, faster stuff.”
The National’s head of social media, Jason von Berg, who has taken part in the Adnoc Abu Dhabi Marathon and the Ironman triathlon, has some tips on what to do the day before a marathon. “You’ve done all the hard training, and once you’ve sorted out your registration, collected your race packs and familiarised yourself with the route, you’re pretty much good to go, but there are still a few things to keep in mind,” he says “Keep hydrated by sipping on the water or electrolytes you have been using during your training and preparation. It’s also important to eat well throughout the day, and to not forget to stretch. If you feel the need to go for a little run the day before, keep it light, don’t push too hard, and don’t do anything longer than five kilometres.”
Finally, The National’s culture editor, Ashleigh Stewart, who has participated in the Christchurch Marathon and Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, makes three interesting observations about the day of the race. It may be ‘winter’, but it can
get hot. “Considering you’ll be waking up for most races before the sun has crept up from beyond the horizon, one would describe the temperature at the start line as mild, if not cool. However, don’t be fooled. By 9am, the sun is well and truly into the sky and it’s also well and truly bearing down on your sweaty skin. By 10am during a UAE winter, the temperature could be well over 20°C – which is about the point during the London marathon in 2018 when everyone started describing it in words like “scorching” and “heatwave”. Luckily, at most professional races, there are plenty of stations with sopping wet sponges filled with refreshing, cold water to pour all over yourself, and they are worth stopping at.
You’re going to chafe. Underarm chafing? Is that even a thing? Rather than dressing for the weather, how about donning activewear that will not leave parts of you red raw? I wore a new piece of clothing last year (ignoring all advice everywhere that openly warns against this) and after about 8km, the tags were digging into the skin under my arms, leaving me to somehow conjure up superhuman strength in the middle of the race, while trying to run in a straight line and also rip annoying little pieces of fabric off a very expensive garment. And that is definitely not the photo you want to be taking away as a post-race souvenir. Get someone there to cheer you on during your last leg.
Sure, your cheer person might want to head away from the race early to get a good seat at the finish line – but that’s a big mistake, unless you’ve got multiple people dotted around the course. My singular cheer squad at the Dubai Marathon abandoned me at about the 32km mark to get ready for the big finale, but honestly, I would’ve preferred if he wasn’t at the finish line at all. The home stretch is where the going really gets tough, and I cannot overstate how much even just a clap and a wave can do for the old morale. If you are left hoofing it alone for the final quarter of the race, make as much eye contact with random people on the sidelines as possible. It actually might help you from keeling over. The lift you get when a person looks at you and eggs you on is like a shot of adrenalin right into the bloodstream.