My top 3 tips for surviving the City2Surf

The iconic City to Surf is this Sunday! I’ve seen a bunch of patients who are very excited to be running this year, and for some of the less seasoned runners 14km is a solid distance to tackle. Here are my top tips for those of you who are taking on this beast for the first time! Those of you who are seasoned and have put in the work – gun it!

Top tips for surviving the City2Surf (for those that are not quite prepared).

1. Warm up
Essential before any workout or run, but the most often forgotten task. Getting to the race early and easing into a 20-30 min light jog and a few 200m race pace repeats can drastically reduce the risk of injury. Even just taking it slow off the start line and easing in to the first k will do it. Don’t let all your hard work of training be ruined by missing out on the warm up! In addition, the warm up can help qualm any nerves you may have before the start.

2. Have a Plan
14km can seem quite an intimidating distance to manage continuously . Breaking up the distances into more manageable distances can help reduce the intimidation factor. Eg. running for 900m and walking for 100m. Another great tip when it comes to pacing is to be aware of not starting out too fast and leaving nothing in the tank for the second half of the run, pacing yourself to begin with and building on that pace throughout the run can make it a much more enjoyable experience.

3. Walk up the hills
Seeing a large hill can seem quite daunting; reduce the workload of your legs by either walking briskly up the hill or decreasing your stride length & increasing your cadence. This can greatly reduce your VO2 requirements and allow you to breeze through those hills and come out strong and fresh on the other side.

Lastly, have fun and enjoy the experience that is City to Surf. Good luck!

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