Body in Motion’s fittest client is probably also the most mad!

Nick Bell of Bournemouth has booked himself a place in the world’s largest ultra-marathon. Held in South Africa in June each year, the Comrades marathon is a 56-mile (89km) gruelling run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.

Nick has run seven other marathons previously, with a PB of 3hrs 32 minutes. This already is such a great achievement. His training for Comrades over five months will include four training sessions of marathon distance (26.2 miles) and above, culminating in a final training run of 40.3 miles.

But why, oh why would someone choose to run 56miles??

Lets hear from Nick:

N: The Comrades marathon appealed to me because I had always wondered about the mindset of ‘ultra’ runners – what sane person would try and run more than a marathon distance in a day?

I assumed ultras were only for super competitive, serious runners – the 8st kind that runs a 100 miles a week in training. I’m 14st, definitely not skinny and 30 miles is about my limit.

However, last year I met a perfectly ‘normal’ fun South African runner called Walter, middle aged and also not skinny who has run Comrades an amazing 8 (yes eight!) times. He convinced me that if I wanted to do it I could.

So I did some research and realized my initial assumptions were quite wrong. Of course you have to be fit, but ultras are about learning to run (actually jog) very slowly for hours on end, learning to take in food on the move and as always training your body hard enough to improve but without sustaining injury. And they are much a mental challenge as a physical one.

 Tell us about your current training regime?

N: I exercise only every second day to allow my body to recover. Run sessions are either long slow jogs at race target pace (10 minute miles) and shorter faster hill sessions. I do spin class on the bike to continue to build endurance and strength in my legs without the jarring from running. I also do circuit class once a week to increase my strength and fitness.

Apart from that I try to stretch after every session to keep my muscles supple and prevent injury. I also have a sports massage once a week at Body in Motion to prevent build up of knots, remove lactic acid accumulation and improve my performance.

 What about nutrition? You must be eating so much to be exercising so hard?

Is it all pasta and carbs?

N: I try to maintain a balanced diet- a good mix of protein for muscle repair and carbohydrate for energy. I also include plenty of fruit and vegetables to make sure I don’t get ill.

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I recently discovered that I have a wheat and dairy intolerance and that has forced me to think more about food and plan meals, rather than grab takeaways. Its also encouraged me to cut out a lot of processed food (not a bad thing) so I am probably eating better now than I ever have. My pasta is made from rice flour!

In addition I also take daily multivitamin, cod liver oil and glucosamine (for the joints) supplements. I also make very sure to replace electrolytes lost in sweat during training. I’m taking a little more salt on food than normal (plus the multivitamin helps) and never take plain water on runs, just an weak electrolyte drink (Gatorade or SIS).

How do you mentally prepare for such an event?

N: Its a five month training program this time, rather than my normal 12-16 weeks for a marathon. I’ll be running with four other Comrades ‘virgins’ in SA – plus Walter. In the normal course of training I chat with my run buddy about the distance, how we might feel, what time we’ll finish in. Over the weeks that turns into a strong mental assumption that we will finish, and we will be ok and injury free.

While being mentally positive, Comrades is different in one sense in that its the only run I have considered where I know and understand that I might not finish. Realistically its a huge distance, run mostly at about 20 degrees although we start at 5.30am. A couple of very experienced runners sadly died last year. I know I have to take it very seriously, train fully, and be prepared to stop if something goes wrong. There will be no shame in not completing the race. If that happens I know I’ll be back the next year to conquer it.

What time are you hoping to complete the race in?

N: Our training is based around an eleven hour finish, as the cut-off is twelve. After that they close the gate to the stadium and you are officially a non-finisher!

What advice would you have for someone who was thinking of doing Comrades marathon?

N: Give yourself plenty of time to train & plan the training carefully (find great proven training plans on www.comrades.com). Take the training seriously. And get sports massage at least once a month; more if you can. I have been using Body in Motion’s Bournemouth physiotherapy clinic for a few years and can’t recommend them enough. They fixed a long term knee injury I had, then, more importantly, have provided massage and advice since to keep me injury free.  Sports massage is a really important element of training and staying healthy, can’t recommend it enough.

Body in Motion will be following Nick’s progress with great interest. We wish him all the very best with his training build up and of course the race itself.

Good luck!

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Tags: marathon, physio, running, sports massage, training