'Bai Chay bridge slope is not a concern if runners practice enough'

Runner Nguyen Duy Kien (Hai Phong) is the running coach of the 4 a.m. (4AM) running group with about 200 members. During the month before MetaSports Marathon Ha Long 2023, he continuously updated information about the route and utilities from the Organizing Committee to support members in their strategies.

From the route diagram published by BTC, through applications, Mr. Kien analyzed the altitude diagram. "The highest point is about 50 m. But less than 20 km, the full marathon runner has gone through the most difficult slopes. If you have a reasonable strategy, the Bai Chay bridge slope is not a concern. But this is like a double-edged sword. If you put all your effort uphill and end up exhausted in the second half, it's quite a waste and it's easy to ruin your lesson," Mr. Kien said.

According to Mr. Kien, for those who are running a full marathon for the first time or have little experience, when entering the starting line, you need to add a gel pack and a salt tablet. During the first 4 km, you should run below your target pace for 30 seconds per km to gradually warm up your body. From the fourth step forward, you can run at the target pace.

"Regarding nutrition, with the MetaSports Marathon Ha Long race, I advise runners to add gel at the 9th kilometer, before climbing the first slope at the 13th kilometer. Then add another gel pack at the 17th kilometer, before climbing the first slope at the 13th kilometer. entering the final slope," he said. After km 18, the road becomes quite flat, so runners should maintain gel and salt at km 26, 32 and 40 to ensure safety until the finish line.

Mr. Kien shared that the MetaSports Marathon system's tournaments distribute water stations quite scientifically and reasonably. On average, there is one station every 1.5 to 2 km. Before arriving at the water station, BTC also arranges a sign system for runners to identify. This information is also included on the route map. Therefore, runners should research and think about the location of stations to plan strategies and gel bite times.

For Mr. Kien, energy gel is a "powerful assistant" before entering to conquer the slopes. "Gels create energy very quickly, after about 3 to 5 minutes you can see the effect, so runners need to prepare enough gel and salt, at least bring 6 packs for a full marathon, depending on reality, it can be possible. Use as needed.

Similar to nutritional strategies, runners also need to distribute energy at climbing points. "Climbing uphill makes many people exhausted and cramps are common. But many inexperienced runners often drop downhill quickly, which is also a factor that causes runners to cramp sooner because the muscles contract quickly at this time," Mr. Kien said.

To preserve strength and avoid cramps, runners should run about 30 to 50 seconds slower than their target pace for each uphill kilometer. "When going downhill, you should only compensate the same or be 5 to 10 seconds faster. Runners do not run based on inertia but must slow down by taking small steps to minimize pressure on the knees, avoiding injuries and cramps. withdraw," the male coach said.

He analyzed, looking at the route map, he could see that in less than 20 km he had gone through the most difficult slopes. Therefore, it is necessary to distribute appropriately to overcome the entire race. Especially from the 32nd and 33rd kilometers, the most common phase of the full marathon. This is even more likely to happen when you have been exhausted on the previous three slopes.

"The steep climb in the first half of the race is still a favorable point for runners. Another tournament I participated in in March also had sharp slopes from km 11 to km 17. Then go on a flat road with a slight slope. easy, but at km 36 there was another very steep slope. Many of you did not research carefully and come up with a reasonable strategy and failed to achieve your goal, ruining your lesson," he shared.

He advises runners who are not very experienced, when competing, to base themselves on the ground to stick to their goals, not to force themselves to achieve too high numbers because the marathon is a very tough race.

"Since last year, I started working on strategies before the race. After competing according to the strategy, the feedback was quite positive. That is also the motivation for me to continue researching and coming up with strategies for newbie runners. in important races," he said. Up to now, some members have followed Mr. Kien's lesson plan, achieved sub 3:30, and have been able to come up with their own strategies and lesson plans to serve the races.

The 4AM running group operates mainly in Hai Phong. In addition to MetaSports Marathon Hai Phong taking place in December, VM Ha Long is also a key tournament for members. To prepare for this tournament, Mr. Kien and the athletes made training plans from the beginning of May. During this time, many runners attended MetaSports Marathons in Nha Trang and Quy Nhon to check their parameters.