Expert tips: How to get the best start at the running festival in two months' time.
The clock is ticking, the 20th Linz Danube Marathon is approaching in giant steps. It's never too late to register. Especially if you choose the relay or quarter marathon as a soft entry option, you can still make a big difference "last minute" if you turn the right set screws in your preparation. Here are some expert tips:
There are still more than eight weeks left to carry out targeted training for a start in the relay event or the quarter marathon in Linz. Once is not a time, as the saying goes, but in terms of running that doesn't have to be true if you're already moving regularly elsewhere and aren't aiming for a top time or personal best, but have the goal as your objective. "If you basically do another sport, however, it would now be important to lace up your running shoes at least once a week and reel off five to seven kilometers," advises Linz marathon man Günther Weidlinger. By the end of September, you should be able to run eight to ten kilometers. Cyclists and endurance athletes in general would naturally have an advantage here, but tennis or soccer players also need to be fit as runners. "It is important that the running muscles are stimulated from time to time to prepare them for the longer run ahead," says Weidlinger. By the way, rapidly increasing the running workload is not beneficial at all. According to many studies, the risk of injury is otherwise significantly higher for novice runners than for experienced athletes. But even for young ambitious starters, there is actually no prohibition. "For healthy children and young people from the age of twelve, it is actually possible to complete a quarter marathon or part of a relay marathon without any problems after reasonable preparation," says Weidlinger.
Andreas Butz, a well-known German running coach, has developed a simple formula for realistically estimating your current 10-kilometer time in a race. After a good warm-up of at least fifteen minutes, you should preferably run exactly 1000 meters as fast as possible on a track. Not only does this give you an approximation of your maximum pulse, but it would also help in calculating the various pulse zones. To determine the competition potential, simply take the time achieved and multiply it by a factor of twelve. The pace for the bulk of the training sessions in preparation can be easily chosen. "Talking to a running partner, if you have one, should be possible at any time without hindrance," says experienced sports doctor Alfred Fridrik, who is also an important pacemaker at the running meetings for the Linz Marathon. Variety in training is nevertheless important. From time to time, a brisk running workout is also extremely useful to train tempo hardness, the experts advise.
Running, provided it's health-wise possible, has many benefits. A decent pair of running shoes, good sportswear - you're ready to go. Running is one of the most effective ways to increase calorie consumption. For comparison, you would have to invest three times the amount of time if you wanted to achieve the same energy expenditure by cycling. It doesn't get much more effective than that. In combination with preparation for a specific goal, such as starting in a race of the Linz Marathon, the motivation factor is even higher.
Photo: Erwin Pils
