The question Lindsey answers on today’s episode of the Ask Coach Parry Podcast has again got to do with the Comrades Marathon up run. Vicky submitted it as she is concerned about how tough the up run is compared to the down run. Her question is a follows:

I entered my first comrades this year but became very tired. I got to Drummond in 6:05 and called it quits at Drummond as I did not think I would make the 12-hour cut off. I am very disappointed as I trained really hard for the Comrades Marathon. I want to try the Comrades up run, but I can only imagine how hard it is if the Comrades Marathon down run was this hard. Please help! – Vicky

Lindsey Parry: The Comrades Marathon up run is very difficult, let’s not pull any punches there. But it is a different kind of difficult. The Comrades down run definitely pummels your legs, so you get very tired in the first half and then you get very sore in the second half. Any kind of niggles, weaknesses or pain that develops really gets exposed in the second half of the down run. That’s what makes it so hard.

Why is the Comrades Marathon up run different?

The Comrades up run is very different – it’s not even as close to being as painful as the Comrades Marathon down run. But there is a slow cumulative fatigue as the day goes on. A lot of the damage in the up run is done in the first 37-40km’s. You do need to do a lot of hill training. You need to get your legs strong, but in a different way to the down run. So, where gym work helps for the down run to ease the pain, with the up run you need to do running type of strength work on the hills.

I’m a believer that cycling does help a lot with the hill climbing strength, you’ve got to prepare for that slow poison. It’s more forgiving if you do develop a niggle or something because it’s not quite as sore or nearly as sore as on the down run.

The last 15 or so kilometres of the up run are very tough again. This is because you’ve got to get over Polly Shorts. Then from 7km’s – unlike the Comrades down run – you really can run the downs. Once you’ve made it over Polly in the cut off, most people then go on to finish Comrades.