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News >> 02.01.08 >> 09.20.07 >> 09.20.07 >> 02.16.07 |
Running in Adventure Racing Jacques Marais You’ve watched the Eco-Challenge on television. You’ve heard about adventure racing. And you finally think you might be ready to graduate from Planet Pavement. Jacques Marais took a small step into the world of adventure racing to find out about challenges awaiting racers.
If you’re fit and you’ve spent the required time on your feet, you’ll graduate to marathon status without breaking (too much of) a sweat). So what exactly is it that makes off-road running, especially within the context of a multi-disciplinary sport such as adventure racing, such a challenge? In a nutshell, I think it boils down to a few main factors. Firstly, the transition between running and additional disciplines like paddling, swimming and mountainbiking taps into your energy reserves. Be prepared for muscular anarchy when kicking off on a run after spending eight hours or so in the saddle of your bike or crouched in a cramped paddling position in an inflatable croc. “But what about the running leg itself”, I asked some regular marathon runners competing at a recent short course adventure racing event after they pronounced the 26km (16 miles) course tougher than the Foot of Africa? And this seems to be where the second factor “surfaces”, if you’ll pardon the pun. In answer to my incredulous look, they went on to explain how the varying terrain and natural hurdles broke their rhythm, messed up their breathing and generally conspired to make the short trail run (including a range of surprise obstacles, I have to admit) hell on legs. MAX FACTORS ... Of course there are numerous additional factors that will affect your running ability once you venture beyond a short-course adventure race. Enter any AR event stretching beyond the 150km (about 100 miles) mark and you’re venturing into pack animal territory - requisite kit and equipment you will need to carry include a change of clothing, sleeping bag and shelter, 24 hours’ worth of emergency rations, a first aid kit, head torch, knife, rope, race foods and liquids. (This is in addition to any specialised equipment you will require during MTB, climbing and water legs). On average, you can therefore expect to have to deal with a 15kg (33 lb) monkey on your back. Add to this mix the hectic time frames of an adventure racing event (remember that you will be required to navigate a course between various coordinates on a map) and this will put a whole new spin on how long it will take you to get from Point A to Point B. Where 40km (25 miles) might take you three hours in a road race, the same distance traversing the rugged ranges of the Groot Winterhoek mountains might stretch time spent on your feet to 15 hours (or more, if you should get lost). Longer races, some in excess of 500km (310 miles), may take a week or
more to complete and you may expect doing up to half the
total distance upright on your feet. Psychologically you will also have to deal with the unknown; therefore never commence a multi-day race if you are not in both peak mental and physical condition. When estimating time to be spent along a certain section of the race, always remember that your calculations may be way out. Staying focussed, especially when getting lost and losing huge chunks of time, is very difficult and losing your cool will erode team dynamics and communication. Never being sure where the other teams are; when that threatening rainstorm in the distance will hit; whether you are on the right route or if your water will last until the next passport control point ... all of this piles up the pressure. Imagine the corresponding stress and then factor in that you have only had four hours sleep during the preceding two days and you may begin to understand the great divide between tarmac and trail. GROUND RULES ... Now that we know how tough it will be in the great outdoors, what about a few tips and techniques to assist you during that brave transition into treacherous terrain? Are you battling uphill or speeding downhill?; is the surface stable or loose?; are conditions wet or dry?; what will the average temperature be? - these are just some of the questions you should constantly be asking yourself as you progress along your route. Although every athlete will have his or her individual approach to technique and gear, some general guidelines will help beginners in approaching the challenge of venturing off-road. Keep on Single-tracking ... Running in sand Chad Ulansky, one of South Africa’s top adventure racers and winner
of the Desert Challenge, advises constantly scouting for the firmest sand
to run on; “The shortest route is rarely the fastest”, he
says. Taping up your socks or wearing gaiters will also help to keep sand
out of your shoes and socks, especially when striding down those dunes. Slippery when Wet ... And to Top It All ... EXPERT OPINION ... Running up and down mountains also necessitate an exaggerated posture, with the upper body leaning into or away from gravity while distributing power; cartilage and tendon stress points in your feet, knees and neck will have to take the punch here, so expect muscle fatigue in these areas. Focussed gym work will help to strengthen specific areas, but the best approach would be to take it slowly on your first few off-road training runs. Information courtesy of © 2003 World of Endurance. All rights
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So running is running is running, right? Not quite ... When you’re
out pounding those even tarmac surfaces crisscrossing our
suburban landscape, it is relatively easy to establish
a rhythm, maintain stride length and
control your breathing. 
