Running Training Advice

Baron de'Coubertin envisaged the Running event as the Soldier's final dash through the enemy lines to deliver his message.

Running has always been modern pentathlon's final event.

At Olympic level a Hungarian or chase start operates where competitors start in points order, thus providing an equal finish.

Warm up and cool down:



- jog before stretching to warm muscles before running - after the run/any other time stretch to aid recovery and increase flexibility/the probability of injury

Running:



- to improve your competition time you must train on distances much shorter than 3km (Wed night on track - on at 6pm every week) and longer endurance runs (i.e. 10 miles+ on Sunday, 10am Rad Cam) - when on the track you really must push yourself so you really feel your muscles burning due to the intensity - make sure you keep moving in a slow jog between intervals - the jog should pretty much at walking pace, but you should be on the balls of your feet, quick light steps, loose top half which is free to recover - by the end of the jog you should be ready-ish to do it all again, so the slower paced jog the better - then when you hit that line to start the sprint you run like the wind (duh) - it is important to work out what your realistic target lap time is in a 3km race - then you can use this in the sets to come and you'll go faster and faster and faster, guaranteed

Recovery:



- after exercising hard like tonight you have an opportunity to get faster/stronger by pilling on the carbohydrates WITHIN 2 HOURS OF FINISHING THE SET - in this window, carbohydrates (good!) are rapidly absorbed and will help your muscles recover asap - it is best to have a massive balanced carbo meal asap after training, but if not available any source of carbohydrate is good (fast or slow releasing e.g. mars bar to wholemeal bread) - bananas, Soreen malt loaf, orange squash, jaffa cakes etc are good sources... PS you will not get fat - simply impossible if you run hard. Period.

Kit:



- good comfy trainers that you can run for miles in - track spikes - leggings - watch with lap/split function - recovery drink (High5)

Fun:



- one of the good things about running is you barely need any kit - you can run any time, anywhere... don't forget that!

Running Injury Prevention Advice from the University of Illinois

The advice given on this page is intended for the use of members of the Oxford University Modern Pentathlon who are covered by the club's insurance. No responsability can be accepted for loss or injury resulting from following this advice. Please consult a phsician before begining any new excersise regiem. Oxford University Modern Pentathlon is not responsible for the content of external websites.