Tomorrow morning you will line up with close on 3000 other ladies for the Witness Spar Ladies 5km and 10km challenge around Pietermaritzburg’s Alexander Park. Each and every competitor shares a common goal of doing the best they can for their fitness level. It matters not if it’s up front with South Africa’s World championship Marathoner, Tanith Maxwell, or in the middle of the field where a goal time of 50 to 55 minutes would be the order of the day, or further back where just making it around the course in under 2 hours is a victory, achieving your goal is a matter of pacing.

The fittest athlete in the field can easily fall way behind their potential finish simply by using up too much energy too soon. On the other hand a participant who keeps control early and judiciously measures out their energy levels over the full five or ten kilometre distance, can be inspired to achieve that little bit extra in the final run to the line, and not only finish with a faster than expected time, but also a higher finishing position. With careful pacing we have the opportunity to experience a taste of our true potential. Poor pacing is like an unexpected and unwanted bill through the post: It nags depressingly at us, steals our energy, and feeds negativity.

So how do you pace the Spar Witness 10km?

1) Find your second wind: You may have thought you never lost your first one!, but one of the most important things is to have some form of warm up before the Gun. The pure excitement of the day sees virtually everyone going off too fast, even when they don’t mean to, so we need to be prepared for that when we line up. The great Comrades and distance runner believed that the ‘second wind’ came when the heart and lungs had ‘caught up’ and were into their rhythm. He felt that when we first start running in the morning the body goes ahead and the heart and lungs took time to recognize the need for the extra blood and oxygen to be pumped around the body. Simply by doing some light continuous jogging before the start for 10 or so minutes you will prepare for that effort and make it easier to provide a good effort. This is particularly important in the Spar 10km as runners’ face the 700m climb up through Alexander Park after the first 250 metres.

2) Choose your friends and acquaintances carefully: Even if you do know Tanith Maxwell, Grace de Oliveira or Jenna Challenor, the start of the race is no place to be hobnobbing upfront unless you can be sure you can finish in less than 40 minutes. That probably accounts for only ten runners out of the 3000, so stay away from the start line as if it is contaminated by swine flu! When the gun releases the runners they are adrenalin fuelled and speed off far too fast, so it is much better to stand further back where you can take it more gently and if anything try to stand a row or so behind some people you know to be slower than you are. That way when they go off fast they are probably setting off around your correct pace.

3) Start slow and build: The majority of good races come from starting slightly slower than your best average pace and getting faster from around 7 to 8km. For most recreational or new runners the Spar Witness 10km is akin to conquering Comrades, and the three climbs from the oval up to past Harry Gwala stadium probably feel like Polly Shorts on each occasion, but then learn the lesson from Arthur Newton who was last out of the 100 runners in the 1922 race as they trundled up from Durban, and first by a country mile by the time they reached the Show Grounds in Pietermaritzburg. The real secret to pacing is ‘even effort’ and that is only possible if you don’t use too much energy early on.

4) Use stairs to get up hills: The temptation is to charge your way up a hill n the hope that you can reach the top faster. This is another mistake. Even the slightest incline will increase your heart rate and so your effort. Effort after-all is a combination of heart rate and speed of running. The most economic way to conquer a climb is to shorten your stride and keep a steady but easy rhythm. Its like standing at the bottom of a 7 storey building with no lifts – just keep lifting your legs in a pendulum type style and soon you get to the top – if you try to take the stairs two at a time you end up hanging from the handrail while resting on the landing!! The more conservative approach allows you to increase the stride again as the hill flattens towards the crest and then to pick up speed into the flat or downhill. There are three major climbs in the Spar 10: - the first take you up Princess Margaret then from Albert Luthuli road up Alexander Road which is easier but longer, and then finally you get another crack at Princess Margaret.

5) Float the downs: Gravity can help or hinder on the downhill. If you are leaning back then you land on your heel and up to three times your bodyweight is hammered through your knees in a braking action. So not only are you slower, but also your muscles are being damaged and you become sore! Rather bring the hips up and forward and drive with the hips landing on your mid to forefoot so you actually roll down the hill using minimal energy – if you are about 90 degrees to the incline of the downhill this was all happen naturally. With three ups you get three downs the first of which comes in the second kilometre on Princess Elizabeth. The after the haul up Alexander there is some relief coming along Topham road and then finally with just under 2km to go the final flurry of blurred legs down Princess Elizabeth to finish in the Oval.

6) Run and Walk: Well planned use of short, but regular walks can not only make it easier to achieve even effort, but also bring faster finishing times. These are not slow dawdles, but short sharp determined walks and are best put in when the heart rate goes up beyond a comfortable level. So for the beginner the first might be outside the junction with Princess Wales road, the next half way up the Alexander Road ascent and the final one again on Princess Margaret opposite the Princess Wales junction. Even a 30-45 second walk will take you 40 to 50 metres, but your heart rate and breathing will see major recovery and mentally you can tick off the successful achievement and completion of the next portion of the race.

7) Will you finish strong? – whether it is the front or back of the field the major positional changes are made in the final third of a race. You must plan on a strong finish. Its not so much that you will speed up but just as much that others slow down – because they went off too hard to start with. So as you pass the main gate to Harry Gwala stadium start to stretch your stride and allow the disciplined approach to melt into speed as you work to catch the next person in front of you. Only ever focus on the next one in front and soon you will be well up from where you were. As you fly down Princess Elizabeth towards the Mayors Gardens let everything go and you know you are only 300 metres or so from the finish so you can afford to give it everything… You will finish!

8) Enjoy your Victory: One of the keys is to enjoy the run, but the greatest enjoyment comes from knowing that you did your best effort on the day. By planning and mentally preparing a strategy for the run you will be more than half way to achieving what you want. There are few more frustrating things than to cross the line in a time that you know you could have done better if you had just made a small change to your strategy or running style. So spend part of today determining what you want out of the run tomorrow, set your strategy – use this eight point advice – and go out and have a blast of a time. You’ve got a Spar breakfast to look forward to at the finish!

On behalf of the Witness and Norrie Williamson - Have a great run!