Comrades Supplement Comrades Training and Info Guide, 2017 | Page 19

Arthurs Seat

Inchanga

SECTION 6

TOP OF POLLY SHORTTS TO FINISH (80KM – 88KM)

thinking that this section is a picnic. You climb through Cato Ridge and
Camperdown all the way to Umlaas Road, the highest point on the course.
Not even Harrison Flats is flat, but there are wonderful crowds of people at
these milestones along the way to keep your spirits up.

SECTION 5

UMLAAS ROAD TO TOP OF POLLY SHORTTS (69KM – 80KM)

As you go over the top of Umlaas Road, your destination is in sight. There
are more mountains to climb, but now it’s more down than up, so the tired
legs get a bit of a break. From the highway at the Lion Park turn-off you
have a very long run down to Tumble Inn at the bottom of Little Polly’s,
which is tough, but it’s not the big boy. With eight kilometres to run, you
face Polly’s, last of the Big 5. In its own right, Polly’s isn’t really such a bad
hill, but it’s just where it is on the route that makes it so tough – at the
bottom of Polly’s you have already run 79 kilometres. The aim here is to
get up Polly’s any way you can. Just survive it.

This section is actually easy, after running 80 kilometres, but few runners
who have run these final kays would believe that. Tired, sore legs just will
not cooperate, and small hills like Washington Road and Jesmond feel like
mountains. You need to put your head down and knock them off, kilometre
by kilometre. From the top of Jesmond the run into the finish is flat or
slopes down. You can enjoy these final kilometres knowing that you have
conquered the Up Run.

PLANNING, PLANNING, PLANNING

Barry concludes his Tour De Comrades with the following sage advice for
all Comrades runners: “I am not sure there’s anything I can tell you about
the Comrades Marathon that will fully prepare you to take on this unique
challenge. The race is hard, physically and mentally, up or down, so when you
have conquered this course, you can be justifiably proud. I hope that some of
the insight I’ve gained over the last 44 years will be of value when you plan
your assault on the 2017 Comrades Marathon. You can accomplish a lot with
good planning, both in your training and your preparation for the race, so the
advice I’m never tired of repeating is to plan your race, and race your plan!

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