News » Make it happen in 2016

So you’ve completed several half marathons in good timing and now you want to run a full marathon! 2016 is around the corner and everyone’s New Year’s resolutions are top of mind and we’ve got you covered with some expert advise on taking your fitness goals to the next level.

Virgin Active Biokineticist of the year, Grant Whaits, says that “When it comes to training for a full marathon, there’s more to it than simply completing two half marathons! It requires adjusting your training programme so that you will be able to run distance comfortably. Factors such as running specific resistance training as well as carefully planning your frequency and mileage with help, ensures that you don’t develop overuse injuries”.

Here are some tips that you can use to successfully make the transition:

DISTANCE TRAINING

If you are an experienced half marathon (21km) runner, you should slowly increase the distance of your training runs. The gradual escalation eases you into further distances, although you should not increase your distance by more than 2-3 kilometers per week, as your body will not be able to cope with the sudden increase. Easy does it!

RE-FUEL APPROPRIATELY

You will definitely need to eat and drink to re-fuel during your 42km run. Virgin Active’s top Dietician, Sandi van Zyl, encourages runners to “Figure out the correct fuelling strategy that works best for you. Everyone is different and what works best for one person might not be the best solution for the next. The secret is to listen to your body and stick to what is tried and tested. Never attempt something new on race-day, you want to start the race knowing that the nutrition side of things is covered, Dieticians will be able to help you with this, but also test and track how your body reacts to different amounts of bars, drinks or gels during your training runs.”

JOIN A GROUP

Most of the time a long run may seem boring when doing them alone. Join a running group to help complete the target distance! This will helps all members to motivate each other and also make your long distance a little less boring with people to talk to.