A Sometimes Complete Rookies Guide to Multi Stage Trail Running
Just to be clear, this is by no means a professional guide to multi stage trail running! More like an almost "Complete Idiots Guide" to multi stage running, with some use full tips from qualified specialists like dieticians, sport scientists, seasoned trail runners, and some personal experiences added to the mix.
Over the next few weeks I’ll share some advice given to me or what I have experienced including training tips, dietary, nutrition & kit tips and requirements (mainly those of the elite’s).
Having done next to no racing the past couple of years, I consider myself being a rookie again, the only difference from 2010 till now is I’m older, slower & if gaining weight was a race, I’d be on the podium.
First things first, although the Rhodes Dryland Traverse has a solo category, the team category is where all the fun & games is! Who wants to suffer alone anyways? So find yourself a partner.
After a couple of pleas via the socials (Facebook, Instagram & X) plus a few BBM’s (hey, I’m old school) my trusty old partner from back in the day, Cole Stanton, answered the call for help! Now I reckon the last time Cole & I did a stage race together was somewhere between Justin Timberlake leaving NSYNC and the Covid Pandemic, but probably closer to Justin going solo!
Cole during the prologue in our last Dryland Traverse together back in 2014!
Partner sorted, it was time to follow the advice of the experts. Tip number 1. You should know your partner well, run and train together, know their running strengths and weaknesses, and see whether your running styles or in our case, lack there of, compliment each other?
Okay, so loads of little boxes to tick here. Do I know my partner? Yes! We studied together way back when and have run a few times in our lives.
Do we run & train together? We have twice in the past 4 years.
Know each other’s strengths & weaknesses, and do our running styles compliment each other?
If by style they mean dragging our broken bodies across the finish line each day, and then drink a few cold ones afterwards, then I guess that would be a “Hell Yes!!”
Perfect team mates? I think so!
Expert tip number 2. Nutrition and Dietary needs. Very important for long and/or multi stage races, but I’ll cover that next time.
For more information on the Dryland Traverse presented by Rhodes, go to https://drylandtraverse.co.za/
Till next time, happy running and just Keep Moving forward!