Mumbai Marathon: Trainer speak

Running a marathon is a challenge and it needs a lot of endurance and training to complete a full marathon, or even half marathon. The marathon distance — 42.195 km — takes an athlete, especially an amateur one, well beyond his/her comfort zone. Limitations of both body and mind are tested severely, so proper training is a necessity.

City marathoner Daniel Vaz has been training runners for over 12 years and is the head coach of Nike+ Run Club (N+RC). Vaz who started as a recreational runner, has completed some 29 full marathons and many half marathons. Currently he is training around 200 athletes for the N+RC programme at SAI Kandivli for the Mumbai Marathon. He is also training 175 prospective marathoners from different walks of life, of his own accord. He gives us the lowdown on what marathon training involves:

Marathon training is specific. We see whether the athlete is a beginner or has some endurance background. We conduct athletic warm ups, dynamic stretching to assess before workouts.

Running Gait Analysis is used to improve their run. Most run inefficiently, not moving their limbs in the right way. We do functional training for that, categorise speed workouts on a certified athletic track. We start with tempo-runs comprising 200 metre repetitions or 2.5-3 km. Then we focus on the right type of stretching.

We conduct structured training throughout the year, mostly on the weekends. After initial training we impart progressive training, make them run five kilometres every week, increasing mileage. They are trained for 18-22 weeks.

We ensure people are medically fit to run the race. The average age of the runners is mid-30s, though we see people from the ages of 25-55.

The runners are also given tips to stay injury-free during training. We give them tips on how to use the correct shoe with right length and when to change the shoe, advise them to do strengthening and stretching on a regular basis.

If they are injured, we teach them how to treat and rehabilitate. We give a protocol for nutrition — carbo-loading and hydration. Tell them what to do before races.