Expert shares tips before big race
It is no secret that many sportsman including athletes with a high level of professionalism and experience can make mistakes.
As all roads will be leading to KwaZulu-Natal this weekend for the Comrades Marathon, a retired 15-time Comrade’s runner, Cassie Carstens, shared some tips for local runners taking on the challenge this year.
The Ultimate Human Race will take place on Sunday, 10 June, from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.
It is no secret that many sportsmen, including athletes with a high level of professionalism and experience, can make mistakes. To avoid a nightmarish experience, Cassie, the chairperson of Golden Reef Athletics Club, shares his personal guidelines which may help many runners, especially novices.
“You must be physically prepared for the race, you cannot run the Comrades without proper training,” he advised.
The down run this year will be exactly 90,184km. Cassie said the mindset must be right because, “The Comrades is like running twice the distance of a common marathon.”
Although this race has never been easy, Cassie indicated that it helps to visualise the finish line and avoid listening to people who’ve never tried the comrades before.
He also stressed the importance of sticking to your routine.“Runners should not try anything strange on the race day. Don’t try out supplements that you’ve never used before, take what you normally take. Don’t be late for the race and when the gun goes off, go out and enjoy yourself and don’t compete against anyone except yourself,” he concluded.
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