India's Ultramarathoner Kieren D'souza advised distance runners participating in the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon on November 20 to begin the race at a gentle speed and not at brisk rate so as to cross the finishing line.
Talking about the do's and don'ts for those attempting a go at Delhi's Half Marathon on November 20 (and Kieren is a participant this time), the Delhi lad said, "Participants ought to do long runs, 5 km-practice will not help. At the beginning of the race, people generally start at brisk pace which is wrong. My advice would be to begin with a gentle pace as it can be carried out throughout the race.
"Make sure one is hydrated well, especially intake of electrolytes is handy as running leads to a loss of salts in body. After 2 hours into the race, a banana or an orange is again helpful. Plus, the recovery plan after the race is something indispensable," Kieren suggested.
The 23-year-old scripted history in April this year after successfully completing the Spartathlon, widely considered the world's toughest race, in 33 hours, three minutes and 25 seconds against the cut off time of 36 hours. Breaking that further down means he ran almost six consecutive marathons within one-and-a half days. So where does the enormous endurance come fromIJ
"My endurance training revolves around lot of long runs, lot of back-to-back long runs. Training for Spartathlon meant running 50 km a day and then repeating the same the next day. Another thing I focused on is running in the heat as Greece is searing hot during day time. So I ran on Gurgaon-Faridabad highway after 10 in the morning to get myself accustomed to the sapping heat," Kieren said when asked about his training regime.
In a week, the highest he has ran is more than 210 km and the lowest for the corresponding period is 60 km. "It completely depends in the type of training I am pursuing. When the race is around the corner, I just up the ante." Kieren adds.
Spartathlon is a historic ultra-distance foot race that requires runners to cover 245 km from Athens to Sparta within 36 hours.
Subsequently, the anecdote became the basis for an annual race and Kieren had time of his life participating in the same. "The experience was brilliant. People had earlier informed me how beautiful this race is and I realized it firsthand. Because it's such a long race, you get to pass so many scenic villages and towns with children wanting your autograph. It's like carnival. Everyone is out on street, cheering for you. I passed through sublime vineyards," he said.
"And once you near towards the finishing line in Sparta, the whole town is out on the street, literally. They just come out and encourage you. It's brilliant," he added
While Kieren feels resilience is extremely important for an ultra-marathoner to cross the finish line and not succumb before, he emphasizes a lot on recovery plan too.
"You should be focused enough to complete the race and have that mental fortitude to not succumb before the target. It's equally important to have a recovery plan in place once the race is over. Huge amount of running leads to muscle damage and inflammation. So massage post-race is extremely important," said the young champion who has been into long-distance running for eight years now.