There’s no doubt that the City2Surf is one of the most iconic running events in Australia – it’s also surprisingly one of the toughest, as peeps find themselves surprised by the amount of time spent running uphill. Not to mention that amount of energy it takes to dodge the crowd of 80,000 runners in your way. With that in mind, here are the top mistakes to avoid this year:
Mistake 1 "Winging it". The event is only 14km and therefore a lot of people feel it’s OK to not put the time in to prepare. However, if you don’t prepare, you may end up injured. Don’t expect to run a good time and/or not get injured if you don’t put in the work. Train for it, build up the kilometres gradually in advance, do some strength training focusing on relevant muscles – ie. glutes, hamstrings, core – practice your hill sprints. Failure to prepare is one of the biggest mistakes people make for any event, including this one.
Mistake 2 Not testing your race attire and nutrition before the race. What does that mean? It means to use and run in the exact shoes, socks, shorts, top, etc, that you plan on wearing on that day to make sure you ‘wear them in’ and won’t get blisters or chafing on race day. The same goes for your pre-race nutrition. If you plan on changing up your diet and supplements, do this around two weeks out from the event. The last thing you need is an upset stomach or fluctuating energy levels on the morning of the morning.
Mistake 3
Getting carried away with everyone else's pace. The biggest mistake most people make is trying to keep up with everyone in the beginning, only to peak too soon and crash and burn later. Run your race. Be your person and work to our own pace. You'll probably end up overtaking most of the people in front of you later on anyway.
Mistake 4
Not tapering off your training the week before the event. You don’t need to run 14km the day before in preparation that will only leave you sore and tired for the main event. The week before the event, run fewer kilometres. If your strength-training days leave you too sore, consider dropping the weight a few days before the event. No point burning out before you even start!
