5 tips for a successful Cape Town Marathon

With all the training behind you and excitement building for the big day, it is important to tick all the boxes in the run-up to the race, which should include a review of everything you need to remember on race day. Follow these golden rules to ensure a successful race and nail your target time! 

Every endurance coach tells their athletes, “nothing new on race day.” That means sticking to the nutrition, hydration, and fuelling strategies you’ve tested and used during your training.

This rule also applies to your gear. Don’t try new, untested shoes, socks, shorts or singlets on the day. Untested gear can cause chaffing and blisters, which are not only uncomfortable but can also detract from your performance if they become too painful. 

Make sure you’ve done a few training runs in your vest and shorts before your race, and that your shoes are adequately worn in and are correct for your biomechanics.

You trained according to a set plan to achieve a specific goal time. That means your training conditioned your body and mind to sustain a certain level of effort and intensity over the race distance. 

However, runners often get caught up in the excitement of the mass start and go out too fast with the bunch. This is a recipe for disaster because a harder effort in the first half of the race will sap your energy reserves for the remaining kilometres. 

Stick to your pacing plan from the first kilometre to have the best chance of achieving your goal time. Only if you’re feeling good in the closing stages of the race should you up the pace. 

Eat a tested and trusted pre-run breakfast before your race, despite the early start. You need to replenish your energy stores after the night-time fast, and you don’t want to start the race on an empty stomach and in a depleted state. 

Topping up your glycogen stores before the race starts is also an intelligent way to fuel your race and support your performance. Snacking on Biogen Energy Chews or a Biogen Energy Nougat Bar while you wait in your start pen ensures you have some glucose circulating when the race finally gets underway.

When the gun fires, the fuelling mantra for endurance athletes is to eat and drink early and often. This means consuming controlled amounts at planned intervals from a combination of liquid and solid feeds.

Biogen Cytogen Racing Mix is an ideal endurance solution with its blend of moderate and faster-releasing carbohydrates. This multi-stage energy release makes it the ideal endurance performance solution to help satisfy immediate energy requirements and provide sustained energy to fuel you to the finish.

Biogen energy gels offer a convenient source of additional calories and carbohydrates while racing. Biogen Real Food Based Energy Gels provide a tasty, short-term energy boost solution, made using real food, with natural flavours and no added sucrose, which you can easily carry in a pocket or fuel belt.

Take small sips periodically along the route, even if you don’t feel thirsty and set a reminder on your watch to take a gel every 20-30 minutes. Don’t overdo it, though, as this can lead to stomach and digestive issues while out on the course. Most importantly, don’t deviate from the plan that you perfected during your training. 

It is vital to start the race properly hydrated to limit your risk of exercise-associated muscle cramps (EAMC)¹. 

Drink a Biogen Electrolyte+ tab in some water in the days before the race and again in the morning before the start to help achieve and maintain an optimal electrolyte balance, which supports hydration. 

As magnesium is essential for muscle function², supplementing with this mineral may help support muscle health, and reduce muscle cramps and spasms. Magnesium also contributes to normal energy metabolism, which may help to reduce fatigue and assist in calcium and potassium uptake to aid electrolyte balance.

As the body can more efficiently absorb and utilise magnesium glycinate compared to other forms of magnesium supplements, a product like Biogen Magnesium Glycinate is ideal for use before your run, taken alongside your breakfast.

With so many people converging on a central point, there is always traffic congestion. Don’t stress yourself out or miss your start time by arriving late. 

So get your gear and race day nutritional needs ready the day before to ensure a hassle-free morning. Leave a little earlier to enjoy a stress-free trip to the start, with time left to warm up and get to the start line with time to spare.

1. Jung AP, Bishop PA, Al-Nawwas A, Dale RB. Influence of Hydration and Electrolyte Supplementation on Incidence and Time to Onset of Exercise-Associated Muscle Cramps. J Athl Train. 2005 Jun;40(2):71-75. PMID: 15970952; PMCID: PMC1150229.
2. Al Alawi AM, Majoni SW, Falhammar H. Magnesium and Human Health: Perspectives and Research Directions. Int J Endocrinol. 2018 Apr 16;2018:9041694. doi: 10.1155/2018/9041694. PMID: 29849626; PMCID: PMC5926493.