A 63-YEAR-OLD diabetic has revealed some of his top training secrets ahead of next month’s Yorkshire Marathon.
Semi-retired architect Richard Carr, of Station Road, Upper Poppleton, is preparing to take on his first marathon on home turf when he lines up with other runners to take part in the Yorkshire Plusnet Marathon on October 20.
Mr Carr, who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes seven years ago and took up running for exercise, entering the Great North Run in 2007, in aid of Diabetes UK, completing it in two hours five minutes.
He said: “I competed in three further Great North Runs in 2009, 2010 and 2011, improving my time by a few minutes on each consecutive occasion. For some time I have been nurturing the crazy notion of going for a full marathon.
“However, the logistics and cost of travel, accommodation, etc, to say nothing of the considerable minimum fundraising pledge required by some of the larger charities, has been more of a disuasion than the thought of the run itself. Imagine then, my excitement when opening the pages of the Press earlier this year, to find that there was to be a new marathon taking place on my own doorstep. Needless to say I wasted no time in signing up.”
Mr Carr, who lives with his wife of 41 years, Paula, and has two children — Adam, 30, and Annabelle, 27 – who both live in York, is running in support of the Stroke Association because his father, Herbert, died after suffering a severe stroke.
He said: “My training regime is simple. I try to get out three times a week. I use a variety of set routes with known distances. From mid-August onward, one of these weekly runs has been to ‘push the boundary’.
“I think it is important to know that you can manage maybe 18 miles in practice, to give you the confidence to feel that the full run is achievable.
“My only tips are: never run for at least two hours after eating, preferably three. Do a few basic limbering-up exercises before you go.
“Always take water with you – and make sure you drink it. Sort out your ‘call of nature’ needs before you set off.
“Don’t run faster than you are comfortable with. Marathons for most of us are about endurance rather than speed.
“Take earphones that wrap round your ears, and an MP3 player, loaded with good ‘trucking-on’ music – this helps enormously.”
To sponsor Mr Carr go to justgiving.com/Ricky63
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