Run Talk SA

Run Talk SA


What it takes to train for the Comrades Marathon in a Swedish Winter

August 12, 2014

You know how difficult it is to wake up early in the morning to head out for your midweek Comrades Marathon training runs. Particularly as the days get shorter and shorter as Comrades Marathon race day approaches and the temperature starts to drop.

How often have you said to yourself on those mornings “This sucks�

Have you ever considered that it could be worse?

Imagine having to start ramping your training up in December and January with only six hours of daylight to contend with. How about February, when your training really needs to be lifted to another level, and you have to deal with temperatures ranging from -3C to -22C?

If you think training for the Comrades Marathon in sunny South Africa is bad, imagine what it is like to train  for the Comrades Marathon in this!

How does Patrick Joyce train for the Comrades Marathon?
That is exactly what Patrick Joyce from Sweden has to contend with every time he decides he is running the Comrades Marathon.

This week on Run Talk SA we caught up with Patrick to talk a little about his Comrades journey and what it takes to train for the Comrades Marathon in Sweden,

Patrick tells us how watched a movie called ‘The Long Run’ and how before the end of the film he had decided that he was going to run the Comrades Marathon

We also talk about how the ultra-marathon running community in Sweden have embraced the Comrades Marathon, particularly now that the likes of Jonas Buud  and Frida Sodermark are performing well in the race and getting the Comrades Marathon a lot of media exposure in Sweden.

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