No Fear! That was the name of a surf brand that dominated beach shops, beaches and surfing competitions around the world in the 90s and early 2000s. This inspirational name became synonymous with not only high-octane action events but inspired just about every self-motivated sportsperson on the planet!

Overcoming fear in sports is a skill mastered by successful athletes while the elusive endeavour of the also-rans. In fact, many runners and other endurance athletes’ resort to disassociation rather than dealing with the fear-factor in the lead up to big events, i.e. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it! 

Fear and FOMO

How to master fear is up to each individual but master it you must. The distant cousin of this dreaded emotion is FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out! Fear is fear and never a good thingFOMO has been the undoing of many an endurance runner with big events like 2 Oceans, Comrades, Om die Dam, and many others luring an injured or underprepared runner to the start line, only to be followed soon after by disappointment or an even bigger injury! 

How to master fear is up to each individual but master it you must. The distant cousin of this dreaded emotion is FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out! Fear is fear and never a good thingFOMO has been the undoing of many an endurance runner with big events like 2 Oceans, Comrades, Om die Dam, and many others luring an injured or underprepared runner to the start line, only to be followed soon after by disappointment or an even bigger injury!

With the present lockdown situation and most local and international events cancelled, we’ve been presented with an incredible opportunity - the gift of time! Every year thousands of runners register for exciting events but instead of lining up with a fit, light, lean and confident body, many end up at the start line having taken shortcuts of a variety of anglesOther than a buffet of virtual events currently on offer (with the ever-present FOMO risk), there’s no rush to get ready for anything in the next five to six months.  

The opportunity to do some full-on periodisation and planning towards a dream event or two next year has never been so evident, yet so clearly overlooked by the endurance fraternity at large  
The term periodisation was popularised by Joe Friel over 40 years agoyet few maximisits full potential through proper planning.

What is Periodisation

This simple planning strategy encourages runners/triathletes/cyclists to identify their target event and then work backwards to where they find themselves currently through the allocation of macro cycles or phases, broken up into meso and micro cycles to ensure no part of the preparation is either overlooked or overcooked! 

The "Wing-It Approach"

However, a lot of runners follow the wing-it approach, and a typical Comrades strategy could look something like this: 

Begining of December

Start thinking about getting going towards a qualifying run in the New Year

End of December

Start thinking about getting going towards a qualifying run in the New Year

January

Enter a few short races and begin doing a few training runs. Receive a reminder at the first race of how tough even a "short"two-hour run can be! Also throw in a long run or two after entering for a qualifying marathon.

February

Line up for a marathon qualifier to "get qualifying out of the way". Receive a big wake-up call the last 15 km of the qualifier and vow to start training earlier next year!

March

Enter another marathon to "improve the seed" achieved at the February marathon. Aslo enter an ultra marathon to get the body "Comrades-ready". Receive a reminder of how tough a 50 km can be this time of the year!

April

Starting to feel fitter, although the body is still trying to recover from the second marathon which

May

The body is feeling the effects of four months of "building fitness" so a premature taper is started.

June

Starting to get a bit fed-up with all the Comrades talk and just want to get the race behind so that the body and mind can get some time to rest...

Sounds familiar? You’re definitely not alone! 

There are many runners who follow systems and strategies laid out by a friend or a club coach and it’s easy just to hop onto the bandwagon as it’s promoted as a trusted and proven way to a medal on race day.  

The good news is that your preparation can be so much more exciting and your results far better than you would have ever expected if you’d planned upfront and allowed for sufficient time spent in each preparation phase. 

Don’t panic, each phase can still include plenty of races, a lot of controlled, enjoyed races while a few select events will be used to test your fitness first and foremost, as well as the qualifier itself 

What Periodisation Looks Like

Base Phase

A typical layout towards a big event should firstly include a base phase to safeguard and prepare your body for what’s coming. For beginners and those coming out of injury or severe lack of activity, there needs to be a pre-base phase known as adaptation. This will allow your body to get used to the rigours of running, plus it will improvbasic mobility and flexibility, and ensure the start of the base phase won’t be such a shock to your system. 

Transition Phase

Following the base phase is the transition phase, where – as the name suggests, there’s a transition from the slower stuff to faster and more race-specific training components. One or two months in each of these phases will establish enormous security and readiness for the next phase. 

Specific Phase

This phase, which is packed with quality runs, mileage and general volume, is quite stressful on the body and can be where you experience signs of overtraining and fatigue if not niggles and breakdown due to injury.

Racing Phase

The racing phase, which includes some tapering and recovery in the lead up to race day, should be calculated and geared to assist you to be in the best possible shape when you line up on the start line. For a lot of competitorsit’s a juggling act of physio and biokinetics appointments as well as keeping your body together with duct tape just to ensure you can line up and have some semblance of performance on the day.


Preparation is Key

Many runners don’t realise how much better they could actually perform by being better prepared,” says running coach and owner of Fitness From Africa (FFA), Marcel Viljoen. The best runners in the world race two, maybe three marathons per year, as they realise the importance of proper preparation firstly, but also the need for recovery as muscle damage needs to be repaired after such a big effort. A week after Comradeswe feel as if we’re ready to train again, yet the muscle damage will still be there for a good few weeks to come, not to mention the slow-to-recover central nervous system. Most of our athletes at FFA only feel that the bounce is back a good six weeks after they’ve packed away the Comrades medal,” he adds.

Why you should enjoy the journey

It’s so important to remember that the preparation for a marathon or ultra-marathon is a journey and an experience in itself. There’s the planning; the early mornings; the healthy meals; sharing special times with others with similar goals during and after training sessions; sweating and suffering together as things go well and not so well; shorter races to test the progression; the care not to get sick; the mental prep to ensure your butterflies are behaving in the weeks just before the race; finding and sticking to the correct shoes; testing and using the correct race day energy products; and finally the preparation for your trip and ensuring nothing of importance gets left behind.  


The journey to the start line could be as big and daunting as the race itself. But getting started as the shot is fired is the culmination of the hard work and just the cherry on the top! 


So start getting those creative juices flowing, ensure you pick the right race for the right reason, rope in some training partners to share the journey if not the big day itself, gear up your mind to commit to the process and get ready to make some memories in the year that lies ahead! 

Use this periodisation table to help you prepare your body for an upcoming race:

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