City to surf for beginners

The Active Foundation City to Surf has become an institution in Perth with thousands showing up annually to run, walk or wheel along the 12 kilometres from St Georges Terrace to the foreshore of city beach. This year we’re ensuring Perth VITA readers are in shape and ready to take up the challenge.

As with any physically demanding event, adequate preparation for the City to Surf is essential. Even if you’ve never put on a pair of sneakers, this preparation plan will get you up and running (pardon the pun) in time to hit the pavement on August 31.

Before you get started, make sure you register for the event. This will give you the motivation you need to keep your goals on track. Registration can be done online, by post or in person. Visit www.citytosurf.activ.asn.au for more details. Now you are registered, your goal is simple – to get yourself in shape to complete the run in less than an hour.

PHYSICAL PREPARATION
The most important aspect of preparation for events such as the City to Surf is correct exercise and a structured training program is essential. A 12 kilometre run is primarily an ‘aerobic’ event so you must create a solid level of aerobic fitness before you tackle this.

Longevity is also vital as you need to be able to maintain a reasonably high level of intensity for an extended period of time. This is known as your ‘anaerobic threshold’ and will ensure you achieve your goal time for the event.

All training sessions should begin with a warm up and cool down component to reduce the risk of injury. The warm up should comprise of six to eight minutes of light jogging followed by some drills to take your limbs through a longer range of motion. These drills may include ‘high knees’, ‘butt kicks’ and ‘stride outs’.

High knees is essentially jogging on the spot where you bring your knees up to the front of the body as high as you can towards the chest. Butt kicks are jogging on the spot where you bring your feet up behind you so each step is kicking your feet up towards your glutes. Stride outs are short bursts of running generally for about 100 metres at about 90 percent of your normal capacity.

A few stretches should also follow. The warm down should simply be eight to 10 minutes of light jogging with stretching again.

For a complete physical preparation plan, nutrition advice and more, grab your copy of the Perth VITA winter issue on sale from all good newagencies now.