News

Race Day Fuel for the Waterford Viking Marathon

For 2016, Waterford Viking Marathon has teamed up with the Department of Health, Sport & Exercise Science in the Waterford Institute of Technology to provide expert training information in the run up to the event. This week, performance physiologist Bruce Wardrop examines some recent research which will help you plan your race day nutrition strategy.

Have you considered what you are going to eat to get you through 2016 Waterford Viking Marathon? With only weeks left until the start of the race, now is the time to start planning & practicing your fuel strategy for the race itself. Depending on your weight, completing the 42km course will require anywhere from 2500 to >3500kcal. To meet this demand, your body will burn a mix of carbohydrate and fat. At rest, this mix is typically 30-40% carbohydrate and 60-70% fat. During low intensity exercise this shifts to roughly 50% carbohydrate and fat, with marathon runners burning about 60-80% carbohydrate and 20-40% fat. Well-conditioned athletes are better able to utilise fat and are less reliant on carbohydrate.

Fueling Up to the BIG Day

Sun Life Financial have been loyal sponsors of WVM for the last few years for which we are very grateful. In addition to sponsoring the event this year they are bringing back chocolate to the Goodie Bag, 70% plus dark chocolate which comes recommended due to its health benefits as a snack! In addition they have offered some delicious recipes for WVM followers...

Special Guests at 2016 Waterford Viking Marathon

Waterford Viking Marathon is excited to hear we will have two very special guests from Belarus along route on June 25th cheering on their 'Irish Mama' and her club mates from Graigue-Ballycallan AC as they run the half marathon in aid of Chernobyl Kilkenny Outreach Group.

Your 3 Crucial weekly training sessions and how they’ll help you succeed

Waterford Viking Marathon has teamed up with the Department of Health, Sport & Exercise Science in the Waterford Institute of Technology to provide expert training information in the run up to this year’s event. This week we’ll have a look at 3 types of fundamental training sessions and the reason why they are crucial for success.

1. The Long Run

The Long Run is the staple part of any endurance race training plan. Whether you are signed up for the quarter, half or full marathon you will need to gradually build up your capacity to run greater distances - this is achieved through the long run. A few reasons the long run is so important to your success are:

It will help develop your aerobic threshold. This is the training intensity you can sustain for a prolonged period of time without excessive fatigue – think of it as your marathon race pace.
It will improve your body’s ability to use fat as an energy source. During your long runs, you will gradually deplete your carbohydrate (glycogen) stores and rely more on fat for fuel. Your body will adapt by becoming more efficient at burning fat to fuel your running, which should improve endurance performance.
Depleting your glycogen stores causes your body to increase its ability to store glycogen in the future. This adaptation is crucial for many aspects of endurance performance. A good example is if you to finish fast; you’ll need the glycogen reserve to fuel this effort.

It's Over its' Oh-Oh-Ver!!

With Roy Orbison ringing in my head, yes indeed the Waterford Viking Marathon 2015 is OVER!! And so this is my final sign-off on what has been a wonderful six months of blogging and training.

Did you run? Were you one of the 2,300 who did either the quarter, half or full. If you were - WELL DONE. If you one of the volunteer stewards, musicians, pacers or supporters who came out - THANK-YOU. And a huge thank-you to everyone behind the scenes at the WVM Committee, at WLRfm and especially to the main organiser Roisin Ferris who has worked so hard on this since its inception. Your hard work really paid off guys, I hope you are all very proud.

There was a great buzz on Saturday morning down on The Mall, but little sheepish head here didn't want to be a part of it. Let's just say I wasn't feeling the best. I woke up at 6am, as planned, to fuel up on a breakfast of porridge, toast and coffee (not all at once obviously) and continue my fluid intake. It felt like the nerves had well and truly kicked in and I felt my stomach churn with excitement and a nervousness not felt since Santa's visits Christmas Eve back in the eighties.

To cut a long story short and not drone on too much about why I didn't make my target time, I just felt really on edge and quite sick - that horrible queasy dry-retching in a port-a-loo that doesn't instil confidence five minutes before a race.