Who runs Comrades?
Looking at the variety of shapes, ages, nationality and gender, there is no obvious common factor that the majority of finishers possess.
On average there are about 2,300 women and 9,100 men who finish. The age of the average competitor is over 40 years, ranging from 20 to 75. Truthfully just about anyone can do Comrades if you are adequately prepared and are not sick or injured as you line up for the start on race day.
Ideally, a Comrades starter would have a background of two years’ road running experience and would have completed a standard 42 kilometre marathon. There are many successful Comrades novices who do not satisfy these conditions but have been involved in active sport for several years and are in good all-round condition and able to quickly adapt to the rigours of Comrades training for a minimum of six months.
Older aspirants who are over 40 should have a medical check-up to detect any latent areas of concern. The only common quality is the will to survive and the desire to succeed.
You are required to belong to an official road running club in order to run Comrades, but not to compete in the official road race fixtures. When choosing a club in your town or area, it is wise to consider if the club is able to offer training runs and advice for Comrades. The larger clubs are well equipped and offer weekend-long training runs, time trials, showers, refreshment facilities and talks on related topics for runners.
Taking part in local and national road races is an integral part of the plan. An important and ongoing theme in the training is to participate in local races twice a month and complete slow club runs on the two alternate weekends each and every month. The pattern is established in the first month of the programme. That way you become an experienced road racer
Being a member of a road running club has a distinct early advantage, as you are surrounded by the infrastructure and people who are already enjoying the respect of Comrades finishes. To take part in club training runs before and after Comrades gives you an insight of the hopes and fears of those who have already experienced the rigors of Comrades training.
A road running club provides the security of long training runs, time trials, fixture lists, coaching and socialising. The club is an important anchor or base for Comrades training in these times. The benefit of ongoing advice from those who have done it all before is not only motivating but gives different views of problems that occur from January to May each year.
Of course, as your pride and loyalty develops with your club, it provides an inspiration that carries you a stage further when the going gets tough. The support you will receive during the tedious, long training road races from fellow club mates is beyond value.
How do you start?
The question commonly asked is ‘Where are we now?’ It is good to know where you are, so that you can fix some points on the trip between early January and race day. There are roughly 150 days to go, basically five months and you must use each month and each day sensibly building up to the big event.
Even rest days are classed as build-up, because that is when you are repairing your muscles and mind after six days of running of some sort or another. We regularly revisit the question ‘Where are we now?’ so that you can adjust and modify your plans if you are not on target in the early stages. We are continually assessing, in that way you can adjust the small things early on and still finish on time. We don’t leave it all to the last kilometre. By then it’s too late and you will have to run too fast to finish in time.
After the commitment, you have to stand back and reorganise your lifestyle and fit it into your running. The running is split into two parts: training and going to races. Note ‘going to races’ as opposed to racing. Most of the races are run slowly to build the stamina and endurance needed for the 90 kilometre test on Comrades Day. There is only one race.
Training during the week consists of five training days, from Tuesday to Saturday from 1 January to race day. Start from approximately 45 minutes daily during the week and increasing to one and a half hours in April and May. There is then the important longer club run or a race on Sunday morning.
These Sunday runs will start off at 15 kilometres, taking one and a half hours, and will increase to as much as four or five hours as the peak training period starts. It will include standard marathons of 42 kilometres and ultra-marathons of 50 kilometres and longer, with distances up to 65 kilometres as the longest.
You should look at allocating about one hour per day during your week to training, going out early in the morning or after work. Generally, most runners who have nine-to-five jobs run in the mornings from about 05h00. They are back home by 06h00. After a stretch and a shower, they can join their normal daily family and work routine. Training after work will suit those who have genuine difficulties getting up early in the morning.
This amount of time, which at the moment is not included in the daily schedule will take effort, not only from the runner but also all others who will be affected. Family, friends and work. Your commitment to running Comrades must be shared by all these interested parties. The prolonged and later intensive training will have an effect on your work performance due to some fatigue after heavy training or long races.
Many runners are accused of becoming obsessive about road running which can lead to a distraction from family and work life. It is one of the less attractive qualities resulting from motivation from the training programme. A balance has to be achieved in your interaction with non-runners in order to avoid losing their support which is one of the pillars success is built on. Many very committed, successful businessmen, doctors, politicians and family members have adjusted their daily schedules to accommodate Comrades training.
At the beginning of such a big project it is vital to acquire the right equipment, good running shoes and training gear. It is worth going to one of the shops specialising in running shoes, to invest in the right shoe for your running style. Socks and shoes go together so you must choose the right type of sock to fit the shoe. Some runners prefer a thick sock and some thinner socks but they must be fitted with the shoe to get the comfortable size. In order to train for Comrades, you will need a well-supported and cushioned shoe to accommodate the long hours on the road. The socks and shoes are a vital part of your kit because blisters can ruin both a race and training runs. Here is an article on buying the correct shoes. (Go Here)
Other racing kit will include shorts and a vest, obtainable at your running club. Remember, you must run all official road races in the approved club colours registered by your club. Your training shorts and tops are a personal choice but should be easily washable and either cool in summer or warm in winter. The choice of wearing sunglasses is also personal, but should always be a style that fits comfortably and offers you the protection you need for the long hours on the road. An appropriate sun protection cream is important to protect you from sunburn which can contribute to both discomfort and sickness.
All runners need an easy-to-read stopwatch that fits comfortably on your wrist. If possible, it should be able to record up to 60 splits to give you kilometre times over an ultra-marathon. More sophisticated models use GPS and measure current running speed, distance and altitude. There are also heart-rate monitors that provide you with data on how hard your heart is working and can be compared to pre-set limits.
Most of this data can be downloaded on your computer. The runner’s logbook must be completed every day to record distance, training route and your effort. In addition, it is valuable to record your mass and waking pulse each morning to detect signs of sickness or overtraining. A drop in mass is a sign of overtraining or an illness. A raised heart rate shows an impending sickness like, flu or a cold.
To your advantage though, both your resting heart rate and your mass will drop as you become fitter. Both of these factors will plateau after about six weeks and the values can be used as your baseline.
Make Sure of Your Comrades Medal – Don Oliver. Ever wanted to run the Comrades Marathon but were are unsure where to start? Here is a step-by-step approach given by experts, all Comrades medallists themselves, in their respective fields – Continue reading