ENRICHING THE COMRADES NOVICE EXPERIENCE

“The expert in anything was once a beginner.”

Phobians Athletics Club will host the first of four Comrades Novice Seminars in Gauteng North this Thursday, 14 March 2024 at 19h00. With 88 days to go to the 49th Comrades Marathon Up Run, the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) is putting Runners First, with an extra special focus on the Comrades novice athlete.

Thursday’s session kicks off at the Phobians Clubhouse, 378 Queens Crescent, Lynnwood, Pretoria and is designed for the first time Comrades Marathon runner.

Pertinent training information and advice from the Comrades Coach, Lindsey Parry and a dietitian will be shared, including injury prevention, training, running shoes, tapering and race day strategies.

The dietitian will cover runners’ nutrition, including meal ideas for optimum nutrition before, during and after training as well as race day sustenance.

Registered Dietitian, Nicki de Villiers works with athletes and guides them to optimum nutrition to train well and achieve their running goals. Nicki has been working in the field of dietetics for more than 20 years and has been concentrating on sports nutrition for the last 18 years.

Official Comrades Coach, Lindsey Parry will share pertinent information about training, including recovery; reasons for failure and how to prevent them. Parry’s advice to novices is: “As a novice, your main priority should be to arrive at the start line of Comrades, injury free and healthy. A few less miles in the bank and fresh legs will serve you far better than lining up with problems before the gun goes."

The Comrades Novice Seminars will also include short motivational talks by local running legends as part of the Comrades’ Local Legends campaign for 2024. The line-up includes:

• Pretoria: Nick Bester – 1991 Comrades Marathon winner
• Johannesburg: Bruce Fordyce – Nine-time Comrades Marathon winner
• Cape Town: Vladimir Kotov – 2000, 2002 and 2004 Comrades Marathon winner
• Durban: Blanche Moila – 18 Comrades Marathon finishes

These seminars are interactive and highly informative. Entry is free and bookings are not necessary.
No Doubt - Nakanjani