Abe's Aides: Racing Tips

Here's a list of tips compiled from a variety of running sources. These tips will be very helpful in the last few weeks before the running of Abe's Amble on August 20th. But there are several of you out there who are going to try your inaugural race over the next few weeks, starting with the Bob Goldman Scholastic Challenge 5k this weekend. These tips are some sage advice on how to prepare and compete.

If you won't be at the race this Saturday, feel free to join the Grandstand crowd running from the fairgrounds race start area at 7:00 a.m. And if you are an advanced runner, and anxious to throw your hat in the ring to prepare for a marathon, check out our Half Wits blogspot (link at the right) and learn about our Half Wits going whole--the whole 26.2 miles that is!

Racing Tips

There are numerous ideas and tips that are written in running magazines and books. Here are a few you may want to consider when running your first 10k. Remember, every runner is different. Find the little “extras” that work for you. Nothing is set in stone and just because one runner “drinks only water and eats bananas right after running” doesn’t mean that it is right for you. In time and after several races you will find what’s best for you.

*Don’t wear new clothes or shoes for the first time the day of the race. This is especially true for the event running shirt you are given at packet pick up. Double knot your shoelaces.

*Don’t eat or drink anything out of the ordinary the night before the race. Eat early in the evening so your food will digest. Go easy on consumption of adult beverages containing alcohol. Relaxing is one thing and all out party craziness should be saved for later.

*Get up earlier than normal the morning of the race. Have your clothes set out the night before and THINK of what you need throughout and after the race. That event shirt might be just right as a “dry” shirt after the race while you wait for the awards ceremony. Take an extra towel…if nothing else you can sit on it in the car on the way home.

*Eating the morning of a race varies from person to person. The most important thing is not to do anything different than during your training.

*Clip and file your toenails before the race. Feet often swell…especially in longer races.

*Use Body Glide or Vaseline on areas of your body that might charge. In some cases use band aids if needed.

*Be careful to apply sunscreen on the back of legs and neck as part of your skin protection. Wear a hat if you trained with a hat.

*Arrive at the race site at least ½ hour before the race…some say 1 hour before. Stretch, relax, talk to others…enjoy the atmosphere. This is part of what running is all about.

*Don’t be up in the very front (unless you expect to win) or in the very back of the pack at the start. Sometimes there are “pace signs” to help you line up.

*Don’t bolt out at the start…but don’t go too slow either. For some it takes the first one to two miles in a 10k to find a comfortable pace. Find it…and stick with it thorugh the final couple hundred yards…then “pour it on” to the finish. However avoid “hot dogging” at the finish line.

*Stay hydrated! Drink liquids that you’ve used in training. Some runners use “gels” for an extra shot of energy late in the race (again don’t use it for the first time in the race). At a water stop…you can control the drinking and still run by crimping the top of the paper cup (plastic won’t work) and drink from one end. Best if the cup is ½ full.

*Some runners will use a second cup of water at the water stop to pour over their wrists or .back of neck when it’s very hot.

*Shorten stride and pump arms going up hills…lengthen stride and glide going down hills. Maintain control no matter how crowded it gets. Watch foot placement…especially in crowds. Water bottles and discarded clothing can literally “trip you up” and turn ankles in a crowd.

*Wear a garbage bag (upside down with head and arm holes cut out) if it is too cool or is threatening to rain. It’s easy and inexpensive to discard and weighs little.

*When running the course, watch the path of the course. If there are curves in the road or turns from one street to the next, run a straight line point to point. It can shave extra seconds off over the course of the race.

*Keep walking after the end of the race.

*Most of all…have fun! Generally someone is always faster and someone is always slower (or didn’t show up to run in the first place). Enjoy life and the fellow runners!

Run with us!