The Army Half Marathon takes place on 31 August. If you have entered this, you would probably have already completed your longest run and be tapering down your training by now – to be fresh on race day.
Here are some tips from Singapore’s Mok Ying Ren, the South East Asian Games 2013 Marathon Gold Medallist, to help you out on race day. He gave these out during an Army Half Marathon training run – organised by Running Department – on National Day.
Race morning eating strategy
It is important to not eat too much on the morning of the race. Something light, such as cereals with milk is good because it does not leave you feeling bloated, but gives you just enough energy to finish the race, according to Mok, a 26-year-old Doctor (Captain) in the Singapore Army.
Do not run the race on an empty stomach because the glycogen stores in the body would have been used up during sleeping – so you need to refuel. Otherwise you won’t have energy to run.
Go at your own pace
To run a good race, it is important to go at your own pace too. Do not start out too fast at the beginning, or else you will run out of energy midway during the race. This is especially important for a long race such as a 21km one.
Break up the race into segments
It will help to break up a long race into segments so that it does not feel too monotonous. For example, a 21km run can be split up into two 5km runs and two 5.5km runs. This will help you get through the race, rather than treating it all as one super long run.
Taking energy supplements
Consuming energy chew or gels is important so that you will not run out of energy midway during the race. It is recommended to take gels every 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how fast you are running.
Click here for more Army Half Marathon race tips by Mok Ying Ren.
