Top 6 Running Tips from an Olympic Athlete

I recently sat down with Olympian and National Record holder, Zane Robertson, for a live interview over video call.  Zane shared some insights into his own training, typical training of Kenyan athletes, psychology behind hard training sessions and races, food on race days and much, much more!

Rewind the clock back to 2006, which is when Zane and his twin brother Jake, packed a suitcase in their homeland of New Zealand and headed for Kenya. They only had one thing on their mind, to become two of the best athletes in the world. The initial years were tough, very tough. Living in a mud house, sharing a single mattress and surviving malaria are just some of the challenges they faced. After years of hard work, progress was really starting to show and they started to make their mark on the running world. Appearances at the Commonwealth games, Olympics and World Championships, as well as many high profile road races, have shown the world that they are ready to compete with the very best and the dream is becoming a reality.

I have known Zane for 6 years now, and each conversation we have, we learn from one another along the journey. Here are some of the learnings from this interview.

1. Don’t neglect your speed work. One of Zane’s favourite sessions is 400m reps x 20 for example, and also fartlek sessions such as one kilometre at race pace and one kilometre moderate and repeat for a set number of reps. Running at race pace or faster allows your body to feel more comfortable with running at race pace. Become comfortable with being uncomfortable.
2. Keep your training simple, because running is simple. Physiological measurements such as heart rates can be useful but more for after the training sessions and for analysis by a sport scientist. Resting heart rate at night can be used to monitor recovery ie if resting heart rate is raised; it is a sign of fatigue.
3. Keep food simple on race days and hard training days. Eat carbohydrates to give you the energy but be careful with fibre because it can affect the digestive system. White bread with honey in the morning, simple rice or pasta the evening before. Practice with sports drinks before using them in a race. Don’t do anything new on race day.
4. Be patient with your training and listen to your body. If you are feeling a niggle of a potential injury coming on, take the three days off to let it recover. Three days off now is better than 3 weeks or three months off at a later stage.
5. Make sure your easy days are easy. Ignore your speed and the distance that the watch tells you and instead just go by how you feel. Let your body feel good and easy. Run for an amount of time and finish when you still feel good.
6. Adapt to your surroundings and absorb what is useful. Living with and training with the best in the world sets a benchmark. It gives you a strong head game. Like any aspect of sport, or in life for that matter, competing against the best will bring out the best in you. Surround yourself with positive people who believe in you.

The full interview is on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja0WMOFBHUk
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