Thousands of runners will be at the start of the Wings for Life World Run in Breda on Sunday. This is a running competition where participants have to try to run for a moving finish line for as long as possible. The proceeds are for research into spinal cord. But how do you ensure that you are at the start as strong as possible? Running trainers Jip and Nico van Lent give tips.
- Good shoes
Nico: “Even if you walk in a cut jeans, it doesn’t matter. But we see starting runners on sneakers, that is asking for problems. Buy good shoes, important to prevent injuries.” - Environment
Jip: “Look for a nice environment to run in. Walk that journey the other way around, that gives a different experience. Or go into the forest, wandering.” - Build up
Jip: “Enthusiasm is good, but do not run too fast. The chance of pains is high and before you know it, you will be out for a long time. For example, you want to run a marathon, but is your basic condition moderately? Take it off nine to twelve months. The shorter the preparation, the greater the chance that things go wrong.” - Planning
Nico: “It’s more a matter of priority than time. If a hobby is important, then you make time for that. I was a physical education teacher and in the evenings I gave gymnastics lessons to women. Yet every week I succeeded in training nine or ten times. You need willpower for it.” - Motivation:
Jip: “If I am tired of a working day and do 100,000 things, I don’t always feel like training. I give myself a staircase under my ass. I always go, because running delivers a lot. When I am in the shower at home, the satisfaction dominates and my head is empty again.” - Varied training
Nico: “If you train as hard as possible every time, you are less advancing than when you train varied. A fanatic runner should go full training a week, but the rest you don’t have to walk to the hole.” - Power supply
Jip: “Make sure you eat carbohydrate -rich in advance, for example sandwiches or oatmeal. During the competition you should certainly have something after at least an hour and a half, such as a sports gel. Afterwards it is important to supplement your carbohydrates on time and proteins related to muscle recovery. A sugar -containing drink is good, such as chocolate.”
Nico van Lent (70) from Oss was a trainer for 27 years at athletics club AV Oss’78. He has been running fast for 48 years and in terms of kilometers he ran around the world four times. “What fascinated me is the curiosity how fast I could walk with this body. I have never been busy running faster than another, but wanted to be a better version of myself. That is incredibly addictive.”
The love for running passed from father to son. Jip (38) now represents the Netherlands as a military during championships. In addition to running his own running, he rolled into the trainers’ profession with his company Beberter Coaching.
“I was asked by a runner to look at a schedule. Enthusiasming for running is nice, but certainly also to keep someone running. It was the start of a hobby that got out of hand.”
