Basic 32 firefighter training. The Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately 89 km. Wally Hayward medals (silver. Comrades Silver Medal Programme. Comrades is THE endurance event for South Africans and past winners like Bruce Fordyce have become legends in.
Training for the Comrades 2015 Let's qualify for Comrades March is all about qualifying for Comrades. In the Gauteng region there are three possible options for running your qualifying marathon in March 2015. These are the Vaal Marathon on 1 March, the Sarens Marathon on 8 March, and the Jackie Gibson Marathon on 22 March. This program will be guiding runners to run the Hyundai Rock ‘n Run half marathon, the Sarens half marathon and to run your Comrades qualifier at the Jackie Gibson full marathon. If you choose to qualify at a different Marathon, please adjust your weekly mileage accordingly. Runner s have until 4 May 2015 to qualify for Comrades, but it's always a good idea to get that qualifier 'out of the way' early.
Once you have qualified for Comrades, you will feel like Comrades 2015 has become a reality. This qualifier will be the first of two marathons leading up to Comrades. There is also one ultra marathon to be run before Comrades, so getting that first marathon done early should give you lots of confidence. Goals for March 2015: 1. To get that Comrades qualification under your belt. Let's look at the three option mentioned above. The Vaal Marathon run on 1 March 2015 from the Dick Fourie Stadium in Vereeniging, is a very pleasant two-lapper which gently meanders through four suburbs of Vereeniging and has a section along the backs of the Vaal River.
Silver Medal Army
Although the route is flat it is by no means the easiest marathon, and runners will have to work the whole way. The Jackie Gibson Marathon run on 22 March 2015 is a hilly double-lapper, perfect preparation for Comrades. It is the oldest race in Johannesburg, with the organisers club, Johannesburg Harriers Athletics Club celebrating it's 108th anniversary this year. The Sarens Edenvale Marathon run on 8 March 2015 is sponsored by The Rare Disease Society of South Africa (RDSSA), and is calling on the local community to head down to ‘Run for Rare Diseases’. This initiative is aimed at raising funds and awareness to help children and adults with life threatening rare conditions. The route is flatter than in previous years, and passes through Edenvale.
Silver Medal Clip Art
All runners who finish the marathon in less than 3 hours will receive a silver medal. All other finishers will receive bronze medals. A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to the RDSSA. The race promises family fun, with food stalls, spot prizes and market stalls. To maintain a comfortable 60 - 65 km per week building up to the Ultra marathon in April. This is achieved by running three runs during the week of around 8 - 12 km. Ideally this is done on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Monday and Friday are well earned rest days. Remember, your rest days are as important as your training days, as they help the body recover from the stresses of running and thereby reduce the incidence of injury. This year, the third and fifth Sundays of March do not have any organised races, so these Sundays are an ideal opportunity to either join your club for a Sunday club run, or go out for a nice solitary run of around 10 - 15 km by yourself. Club runs are a good idea as they are usually a lot of fun, and there is no incentive to run fast. The length of the Saturday run is dependent on the length of the Sunday run. The Saturday before the marathon should be a rest day. If you are only running 15 km on the Sunday, there should be no reason not to have a comfortable 10 km training run the day before.
An easy 10 run is advisable the day before the half marathon. To remain injury free and run comfortably within yourself. Be warned though, if you are feeling tired, over trained, or feel an injury developing, cutting back on these recommended distances is more beneficial than vainly trying to keep up with the distances at all costs. Secondly, don't speed up your running during this phase. The running required at this point in the year is still called 'long, slow, distance' running. March is still a time for training at a pace that is well within your capabilities.
Training should still be very comfortable, and relaxed. Total weekly mileage: 61 km, 63 km, 60 km, 66 km, and 58 km. During February the weekly mileage was 55 - 60 km.
March sees us pushing this up to 60 - 65 km per week. During April we will see the weekly mileage climb to the highest weekly mileage for the whole year. We are not quite there, so we will worry about that next month. Total Monthly mileage: 278 km. This is up from 231 km in February which is about a 20% increase. Road race distances to be achieved: 1x42 km, 2x21 km, 1x15 km and 1x10 km. March is a time of increasing your mileage, and we should try, barring injury, to get in a long run at least once a week.
Highlight of the month: To qualify for the Comrades marathon. What a highlight! You decided on running this year's Comrades marathon many months ago. You had to hand in your entry form last year, even before qualifying.
Now, after qualifying for Comrades, you can consider yourself a starter for running the Comrades this year. Good Luck with the qualifier.