Hong Kong Marathon: pasta, water and chocolate milk essential part of runner’s kit, says top sports scientist
- With just three days to go, former winner-turned sports scientist says athletes should begin to adjust now
- Daniel Lee Chi-wo suggests reducing training volume, getting a few early nights’ sleep, and packing in the pasta
Runners can expect fine weather at the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon this Sunday, and one former winner-turned sports scientist is expecting some fast times if competitors prepare well.
With temperatures expected to reach a high of 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit), and humidity predicted to be around 80 per cent, Daniel Lee Chi-wo, a former Olympian and now associate director at the city’s Sports Institute, said conditions should suit long-distance runners.
Some 37,000 competitors are take to the streets early in the morning for the three races – 10k, half-marathon and marathon – which all finish at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay.
Lee, a triathlete who won the 10k race three times and represented the city at the Olympics in Athens and Beijing, said runners would not need to worry about having specialist gear, but should remember to keep warm before and after the race.
And with only three days to go before they need to be at the start line, Lee said athletes should begin to adjust their training programmes accordingly.
“We would suggest they reduce their training volume by 50 per cent so that their body can get more rest during these few days,” he said. “Your body needs to recover if you want to achieve results.
“Some top-level athletes may still do short distance training with high intensity as they aim at getting results, but most of the runners can just do some slow jogging of 30 to 45 minutes on Thursday and Friday, while taking Saturday as a whole day of rest.”
Lee also reminded the participants the importance of adjusting their body clock for the race.
“All three races start early in the morning and runners should go to bed early within these few days and get up early in the morning, just like what they will perform on the race day,” he said.
“Their bodies need to be familiar with these conditions so that they can start well on Sunday.”
In terms of food, now is the time to start packing in the pasta, with long-distance running needing a large amount of energy.
“They should start doing carbo-loading from Thursday,” he said. “If their normal diet has 50 per cent of carbohydrates, they should increase it to 60-70 per cent by taking food such as rice, pasta or noodles so that they can have more glycogen in the liver for the muscles to tap during the race.
“On the event day, all runners will need to have sufficient water intake before they start and remember to eat breakfast, something like toast or small cupcakes will help. After the race, they also need to have sufficient water supply and can drink chocolate milk which is ideal for tired muscles for its rich carbohydrate content.”
But the former athlete warned runners to “do only what you can” and not risk their health for the race.
“You should probably know what your finishing time should be through checking your training results,” he said. “Don’t push yourselves over the limit if you don’t have the required training.”
The organisers have offered a cash prize of HK$10,000 to local runners who can finish the marathon in less than three hours for men, and 3½ hours for women. They are expecting to give out about HK$3.5 million.
