In 7 weeks’ time, thousands of runners will be lining up for the 50th Two Oceans Ultra and Half Marathon. As the excitement grows and the blood sweat and tears of our preparation commences, we thought we would help you with your journey to OMTOM 2019.

Totalsportsruncrew

Did you know Totalsports has a run crew called Totalsports Runcrew? The run crew started in January 2017 and has grown to over 80 members to date. The crew consists of likeminded individuals who are motivated in the pursuit of becoming the best versions of themselves. While having lots of fun in the process! The run crew is open to all levels of fitness and people from all walks of life.

Here is a short video of crew captain, and founder of the run crew, Clint Morris:
https://youtu.be/AKbfxbzaX6A

Bianca Van Aardt – Two Oceans Ultra Marathon Entree

On the 20th of April, I will be one of the thousand runners participating in the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon.

How I started running

Running started as something I could do with my mom. She used to go for a run after a long day at work, or to shake off a few extra kilos. I love running with her and I’ve been running ever since.

In 2018, a friend encouraged me to join the Totalsports Runcrew. After I started training with the crew, I shifted my focus to running long distances and improving my performance. I can honestly say, running with the crew week in and week out for the past year has certainly paid off.

Road to OMTOM

I learnt that whether you’re attempting your first half marathon, or training for the Two Oceans Ultra, consistency is king.

Here are a few tips for your race preparation:

1. You want to focus on quality, not quantity. Give it your all on your hard days, but don’t underestimate the importance of proper rest and recovery.
2. If you’re training for the Two Oceans half marathon, you should be running four times a week covering about 36km in total. The Ultra marathon runners would typically train 4-5 days, averaging a weekly mileage of 50-65km.
3. Include a hill repeat session, a tempo run or track workout and an easy run. If there’s one piece of advice you take away from this, it’s that you should learn to love hills! It builds strength and endurance, and you discover how much you can push yourself.Run easy for 30 minutes, find a hill that’s not too steep and do 5 sets of 20 seconds running at 70-80% of your maximum effort. Walk down to recover after each repeat and then run another easy 30 minutes. Try to focus on driving the ground away from you, rather than sprinting. During the repeats you will train close to your maximum heart rate (HR), 220 – (age), while your recovery run’s HR should be below 180 – (age).

   

   

   
   
4. Saturdays are for long, slow runs to build endurance. Take it easy and enjoy the time on the road, it’s great mental preparation too. These runs are fantastic for testing your gear and what you will eat before and during the race. You don’t want to try anything new on race day. I’ve had issues with eating while running, so it’s best you find something that works for you.
5. During your training, try to get enough sleep and eat a well-balanced diet, refueling your body after long runs. If you’re feeling rested and energized, you will reap the rewards when you’re out on the road.

In order for you to fully prepare for race day, we are sharing with you the Totalsports Runcrew training calendar leading up to OMTOM (See calendar). The crew runs every Tuesday and Thursday from 18h00 – 19h30. To find out more information about the crew you can find them on Instagram @totalsportsruncrew.

What to look out for:

Totalsports will have a mobile pop up store at the Two Oceans marathon expo from the 17th – 19th April. Pop in to get race snacks, check out the running shoes and many more!