Don Olivers Comrades Up-Run Training Program

Introduction

If you want to run  an “up-run” Comrades Marathon,  you must be able to run hills. At least 50 km of the race is uphill, there is about 13 km of downhill running, and the remaining 23 km are either a steady climb or flat. You have to climb 650 m in only 43 km, and get over three major hills on the way to Drummond at half way. Then you have 43 km to go with the cruellest and steepest climb coming at Polly Shorts with 10 km to go. You simply have to be a good hill runner to complete an up-run!

In the six-month training plans in this booklet, there is a special hill-training programme for all three groups of runners. Wherever you finish in the field, you all have to get up the same hills! 

There are a few basic rules to follow to become a successful hill runner. These apply to all runners, from the sub-12 hour Vic Clapham medallist, to the Safe Bronze under 11 hours and the faster Bill Rowan medal winners coming home in under 9 hours. If you look at the Comrades results over the years, including both the records and the time the average club runners take, there is little difference in finishing time between the up-run and the down-run. This means that each runner has mastered the art of keeping up his or her own steady pace, notwithstanding the enormous and endless hills in the up-run. The up-run is about 3 km shorter than the down-run, which is a hidden bonus.

How to become a good uphill ultra-marathon road-runner

• To become a good hill runner you need a strong heart; good lungs; strong calves, quads and arms; plus the ability to run relaxed.
• Adopt a positive attitude towards hills so that you actually like them. You like hills because you don’t have to run fast, overtake anyone, or get behind schedule. It is a chance to relax and then feel proud as you reach the top of each and every hill. For some, you can enjoy a brief walk uphill.
• Never try to make up time on an uphill. Reserve that for the downs and the flat sections. Uphill is where you consolidate.
• Learn to become a faster downhill and flat runner, so that you can afford to go slower uphill.
• Relax the mind and body while going uphill.
• Spend six months training to be a good hill runner, by doing a “hills” session once a week.
• Strength-train your quads, calf and arm muscles in the gym.
• For training, select a 300 m to 400 m, fairly steep uphill. Jog 3 km to warm up and then run up the hill quite fast with a high knee-lift short stride and a vigorous arm action, all the way to the top. In the training session you must exaggerate these actions. Lean slightly forward and do not bend down and look at the road surface. Look comfortably ahead. Turn around and jog very slowly to the bottom and repeat as many times as your programme says. Warm down for 15 minutes by slow jogging.
• Later in the programme, as you handle the ups without getting out of breath, you can run faster downhill to the start again.
• Include hilly courses in your daily training runs. Practise maintaining a steady speed on the hills and remind yourself to relax. You only use the high knee-lift style in the training in Section 7. Develop your own style for uphill running in the races.
• In a road race, measure your pace for uphill, flat and downhill running. Develop the ability to pick up speed after an uphill. Use this knowledge to draw up your Pacing Chart for the next race.
• For the slower runners, include walking, not strolling, up the hills on really steep or very long sections of each climb. Remember, walking is very costly at 10 minutes per kilometre, compared with running at 6,0 minutes per kilometre. To stop is even worse at 0 km/hour.
• A good uphill runner must always be a good downhill runner as well.

The following is a reminder of how we defined the three groups of runners in the winter edition of Race Dates.
 
 Group 1: Current non-runners who want to start running and become regular road-runners.
 
 Group 2: Regular road-runners who have already run as far as a half-marathon and want to do the Comrades .
 
 Group 3: Comrades bronze medallists who want to do a better time in the next Comrades and get a Bill Rowan sub-9 hour medal.