by Naomi Stewart

Whether you’ve signed up for a 10K or just wanna dust off your trainers and get movin’ – going the distance isn’t always easy. But don’t get in a sweat – here are my top running tips to get you across the finish line…

Commit

If you say you’re gonna do it, do it. Don’t enter, ‘forget’ to train or leave yourself with no time to train and then have to pull out. Know what you’re signing up for before you begin and make a rough plan of how and when you can train.

Plan

This one is kind of a biggie. No great athlete turned up to race day without training and smashed it. You gotta train, train and then train some more. Build yourself up slowly, monitor how you feel before and after you run. Keep track of your distance and time. If you’re a first time runner or expert you’ll find that you can quickly build momentum and speed in a matter of short weeks.

Bad Days

Everyone has ‘off’ days when they don’t feel like training and that’s absolutely fine. But don’t make them a habit. Even if you’re not feeling it, just do what you can – and you can’t beat that post-exercise feeling, right?

Food

Keep track of what foods make you feel good and bad when you run. I recommend a jam sandwich about 45 mins before running. Why? It’s got high sugar and carbs for energy (and it’s pretty damn tasty too!)

The Night Before

I’m not gonna lie to you, if you’re a newbie to events like this you’re not gonna get much sleep (pre-race jitters) but that’s OK. Eat your last meal around 6/7pm so that everything has time to digest properly. Check the weather and prep accordingly! Leave out your badge number, sports kit, trainers, gels, or whatever else you might need so that on race day you’re not running around getting everything ready and can focus on the actual run.

Race Day

There’s no going back now. Don’t eat anything that your body isn’t used to on race day. It’s a recipe for disaster (literally). If this is your first run or you’ve done a few of these by now, the crowd and support from the sidelines is phenomenal. This and the adrenaline alone will keep you going. Remember there are water stations so don’t weigh yourself down with a water bottle. Oh and ALWAYS save the best ‘til last! Start slow,finish FAST! 

You got this, girl!