Racing Tip
Tring2Town
Sunday, February 3rd, 2008It was a cold event, just like the weather forecast had predicted. The ground was frozen solid the first few hours. Luckily, it was mostly sunny and hardly any wind.
As on all ultra races, camaraderie among the runners was superb! Lots of nice people sharing stories and tips for the Marathon des Sables or other great ultra marathons. The organization was good, with water about every 6 to 9 miles and some snacks on the last check points.
I was wearing my extra-large trail shoes that I’ll be running with on the MdS; with two pairs of socks, the running went just perfectly. I’ll do the same on the first few days in Morocco, reducing to a single pair of socks once my feet start to swell.
The temperatures varied a bit, warming up after two or three hours with the sun reaching it’s peak. I took great care to adjust my clothing a few times to make sure not to start sweating.
The first half of the race went very well for me. At around mile 20 I wasn’t paying attention and tripped over something and hurt my left knee. What a bummer! I went on part walking part running the next eight or so miles, trying to get my knee to function again. The last ten miles went OK. I even managed to sprint from the finish to the train station in Tring to catch my train to London Euston. No problems with my legs or knee this morning. In comparison to how I did two years ago on the same race - although it was the opposite direction, downhill, and slightly longer, I ran about 90 minutes faster this time and felt much better after the run.
Lessons learned: My XL running shoes are excellent, my backpack superb. I am in a decent shape, I believe my vegan lifestyle is making a big difference to my running. However, I need to start eating much earlier in the race to avoid preventable mishaps due to lack of concentration.
Thames Meander, I am looking forward to thee!
No Comments »Countdown to the Tring2Town
Friday, February 1st, 2008The weather forecast says it’s going to be cold tomorrow. Very cold. -1 to +5 degrees for forty long, long miles. At least it’s supposed to be mostly sunny. I’ll carry plenty of extra layers of warm clothing in my backpack, especially for after the race when the body is working hard on adjusting temperature.
Being just two weeks away from the Thames Meander, the The Tring2Town is a great preparation for the big event, last chance for some real life testing of the backpack and my XXL-sized trail shoes.
I am a bit nervous, like on all my ultra races, but I am looking forward to it quite a bit. It’s the anticipation to a race that gives direction to my training, and it is the sense of achievement after a race that motivates to set new goals, so racing is part of my running life. Wish me good luck tomorrow along the Grand Union Canal!
No Comments »Getting ready for the Tring2Town!
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008Only three days to go until the Tring2Town ultra marathon! The Tring2Town is a great race to test parts of the MdS equipment in a real-life scenario. As in the Sahara, the runner must provide his entire equipment and food (except water) at the Tring2Town. The good thing is that the runner doesn’t have to carry around as much stuff as on the MdS - it’s just one single day! - but it’s wise to fill that backpack with all you might possibly need. The compulsory items are:
- Back pack
- Compass
- Whistle
- An emergency blanket
- A torch
- A map case or waterproof bag (e.g., Ziploc) for paper directions
- Waterproof Jacket
- Hat
- Long Sleeved Top
- Long Trousers
- 10 safety pins
- Personal food
On top of that, I will carry along:
- My personal mixture of maltose and fructose sugar and some cereal bars
- Additional spare clothes for after the race, including a scarf and warm hat
- Band aids, contact lenses
- My wallet and a train ticket for the ride back home
- My digital camera and music player
- My cell phone - just in case I need to call for help
Racing Tip #3: My 24-hour race strategy
Friday, September 28th, 2007Taking it slow, very slow, especially during the first 23 hours of the race. That’s the most important thing.
Keeping a steady intake of fluids is vital to finishing 24 hours gracefully. For this reason alone, it’s a good idea to take a friend along to assist you with monitoring your food and water intake. Your helper should also keep an eye on temperature and your clothing and hand you warm things to wear when night sets in.
I’ll be on my own this time, so I will be runner and coach “pro se”, making it even more important to have a clear strategy and schedule I can adhere to even when my brain starts getting a bit muddy after midnight.
Here is my race strategy in table format. Every hour I will leave the track and check the list for what I should be doing, crossing things out as I drink, eat or adjust my clothing.
The music player will come to use no earlier than after midnight. It is meant as extra motivation during the hardest part of the race (midnight to sunrise), and I will need to run on an outside lane, i.e., a lane that is slightly longer than the 400m inside lane, so as not to interfere with runners willing to overtake on the shorter inside track.
What’s next? In the upcoming post I’ll write about the Thames Meander and having a good map to find your way.
Keep running! Just 141 days left to the TM (184 days to the MdS), Andreas
No Comments »Racing Tip #2: Gearing up for my 24-hour race
Thursday, September 27th, 2007Just ten days to go to my 24-hour race October 6th/7th, and my adrenaline level is rising on a daily basis. It will be my first time to race for 24 hours on a 400 meter tartan track and I expect this to be a mental challenge, most of all. I am used to cover long distance and don’t mind running into the night, but I think I will feel like being trapped in a carousel in perpetual motion. We’ll see.
The nice thing about this event is that I will have a water station coming up every 400 meters and that I don’t have to carry any food or gear - no backpack required on this occasion. To keep the things I might need in a clean and waterproof place, I emptied a large plastic box that we keep in our garden for the outdoor toys of our children. This is what I’ll put inside to have next to the race track:
- Four pairs of running shoes, most of them oversized, four pairs of socks
- Warm running clothes - long sleeve shirts, long tights, rain jackets, buffs, hats, scarf, gloves
- Towel, soap, clothes to wear after the race
- Four water melons, some limes, table salt, maltose sugar, tea bags, water bottles
- 2kg cereal, fruit juice, bowl, spoon, knife, trash bags
- Band aids, Vaseline, Rhus toxicodendron (homeopathy), toilet paper, safety pins
- Cell phone, MP3-player with spare battery, photo camera, head light
- A small chair and a large umbrella
- 25 liters of good luck and 17 pounds of fun and motivation
I like to change my trainers every 4 to 6 hours on long races. Since I won’t have to carry my spare pairs of shoes, I’ll take along plenty of them. Knowing how my feed can swell up after about 50 miles, I’ll choose oversized trainers.
The day before the race I’ll check the weather forecast, but I will be prepared for sunshine, rain and low temperatures anyway.
I love water melons, especially with a little lime juice on top. I simply cut them in half and use my spoon to eat them, maybe with a little salt sprinkled on top. It’s a great way to get fluids into your body once you get tired of water and tea. About every hour I will have a bottle of water enriched with maltose sugar, also called maltodextrin, a low-GI carbohydrate that isn’t as sweet as white sugar or fructose. Cereal is another great way of getting plenty of carbohydrates into your muscles.
Rhus toxicodendron is a homeopathic medicine that speeds up regeneration and helps to overcome sore muscles. I’ve used it on all my multi-day events so far and it worked for me - perhaps it was just a placebo effect, but that’s fine with me.
24 hours can be a long and lonely time, so I’ll have my MP3-player for some extra entertainment during those never-ending hours after midnight. On my cell phone I can say good night to my family and text home to receive motivating short messages when I need them.
On top of that, the race organizers will provide vegetarian meals and plenty of water and tea. That should be all I need for the race. I hope.
Keep running! Just 142 days left for the Thames Meander, a few more for the MdS and my race strategy to tell in my next blog entry, Andreas
No Comments »Racing Tip #1: Your race schedule
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007Stating the obvious, you train for long distance events like the Thames Meander or the Marathon des Sables by running and racing long distances. Therefore, you will have a schedule of races leading up to the big event in February and/or March of next year that allow you to test your fitness and equipment in combat action. Don’t be shy to carry your backpack and water bottles to shorter races; veteran ultra runners will spot you and share their TM- or MdS-experience during the race, if you wish. It’s also a great way to get to know some of the competitors you’ll meet again along the banks of the Thames or the dunes of the Sahara.
This is my personal race schedule for the next six months:
- 24hour race in Tooting, October 6th/7th
- Munich Marathon, October 14th (Germany)
- Five2go trail marathon, November 10th
- Luton Marathon, December 2nd
- Tring2Town, February 2nd
- Thames Meander, February 16th
- Marathon des Sables, end of March
If you need to find suitable races in your region, start with the runners world events web page at
or even better, post a message on the TM forum pages and invite other runners to share their favorite racing venues with you. Races are a great way to spice up your training and getting to know new trails and parts of our beautiful country. Last but not least, races are lots of fun, so enjoy them and give a special round of applause to the organizers and race marshals!
My next blog entries will be about my training in preparation for the 24hour race early October. Keep running! Just 144 days left to the TM (187 days to the MdS), Andreas
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