Running a marathon in heat (Vienna)

Toblerone1978 · 31-03-2014 10:42am #1

Hi folks

I'm running in Vienna two weeks so in the lovely paranoia state of tapering! I'm just looking at the weather over there at the moment and it's about 20 degrees! I'm very white, even by Irish standards!, so I could do without this.

I read some of the previous threads about running in heat and a lot of them relates to last summer, where some of the advice is not particularly relevant (run early / late, you will eventually acclimatise, etc).

What I did pick up is the following:

Suncream - common sense. P20 seems to the choice of the Boards runner, any more recommendations?
Hat – I’m bald so this will be very important. I'll use a buff type top.
Sunglasses – I could struggle with this but probably more without.
Drink a lot of water during the run – common sense.
White t-shirt – no prob.

Even if it’s Baltic during the next two weeks, I’ll probably wear the above, just to get use to them, although mileage numbers will be well down.

Anybody experience of running a marathon in the heat after training in more mild Irish weather! Any advice would be much appreciated!

Cheers.

MrCreosote · 31-03-2014 10:52am

You can acclimatise a bit before by simulating heat in your training- a few runs while overdressed or treadmill runs in a hot room.

Main thing is to be very wary of chasing a time in the marathon if you're not used to the heat. Run to the effort or heartrate you've trained to rather than the pace. That hot Boston marathon a few years back had much slower average times than usual.

Don't worry about the drinking- just drink when you're thirsty as usual. Don't overdrink.

PaulieC · 31-03-2014 11:12am

I thought this thread was about something else. I was going to advise about staying away from the dogs if you can...

TFBubendorfer · 31-03-2014 11:48am

I ran Vienna 3 years ago and while it was definitely a good bit warmer than Ireland, it wasn't THAT hot. The worst thing you can do now is panic about it. I have run several marathons here in Ireland at significantly warmer temperatures than 20 degrees and none of them was particularly bad.

Vienna has the advantage that a lot of it is run in the leafy Prater park where you are shielded from direct sunlight. You might feel hot between 15k and 20k but once you return to the Prater it will become better again.

Drink to thirst, don't overdrink. I am very much against any "drink xxx amounts water per hour" kind of advice. Thirst tells you exactly when you need to drink.

The have water coming down pipes at most water stations, every few miles, where you can run through them to cool yourself down if you are feeling to hot. I avoided them when I ran it though because I felt fine and was worried wet shoes and socks might lead to chafing. The choice is yours, obviously. They are also handing out sponges that you can use to douse yourself if you want.

White t-shirt, hat and shades are completely optional and I didn't need either. You are completely overreacting right now!

bambergbike · 31-03-2014 11:57am

Spring arrives so suddenly in Central Europe that the locals will probably be as discombobulated as the visitors if you do get a nice summery day with peak temperatures hovering somewhere around 24 degrees and have to soak your buff in cold water before the race and pour water over yourself during the race.

You'll probably have lovely weather (not too hot, not too cold, not too windy) and nothing to worry about beyond sun-cream and making sure your clothes won't chafe.

Cleanman · 31-03-2014 3:19pm

I've no advice to offer I'm afraid, I just thought that discombobulated was a very nice word:P

Krusty_Clown · 31-03-2014 3:27pm

Where I believe I've suffered in hot marathons (and I've done a few!), is in not compensating for salt loss through excessive sweating. If you're expecting heat, might be an idea to try to adjust to it (as suggested above) and try some form of salt tabs.

Also, P20 rocks. Just put it on in the morning and forget about the need for sun-cream until you're sitting in the beer garden after the marathon.

buck65 · 31-03-2014 5:37pm

20 degrees? Not exactly Badwater is it?

Krusty_Clown · 31-03-2014 6:07pm

buck65 wrote: »

20 degrees? Not exactly Badwater is it?

20'C makes no difference if your goal is to finish a race. But if your goal is to hit a specific target, where you'd already have been running close to your limits, then 20'C may be enough to push you in a different performance zone, (e.g. anaerobic instead of aerobic).

Jack Daniels includes some information about the impact of rising temperatures on race performances. If for example, you were capable of 2:59:59 at 16'C, assuming you get hydration and nutrition spot-on (to cope with the changing temperature). Then at:
18'C - 3:01:20
21'C - 3:02:41
24'C - 3:04:02
27'C - 3:05:23
29'C - 3:06:44
32'C - 3:08:05
35'C - 3:09:26

Toblerone1978 · 31-03-2014 9:44pm

Thanks folks for the advice, really appreciated. Good to hear what TFBubendorfer from his time there.

I do normally enjoying running in a (small!) bit of heat but I'm going for a PB time (sub 3 10) so as KC pointed out, I suspect the warmer weather will have an impact. It's just as matter of how best to handle it. I'll see how it goes!

Not drinking water for the sake of it is news to me. Not so much common sense as I thought!

MrCreosote · 31-03-2014 10:16pm

Just one thing to add to Krusty's numbers there- those are for people who are properly acclimatised to the heat as well. Not being acclimatised means the heat will have a bigger effect.

rainbow kirby · 31-03-2014 10:42pm

If you are super pale, P20 may not actually be enough to get through the whole race without getting burnt! I use the Boots Soltan one that's designed for children who are in and out of water, factor 50, because if I'm running or on my bike for more than 2 hours I will *always* get burnt otherwise. Got a nasty reminder of this on Saturday - a sunny morning, around 18c, 90 minute spin and I got burnt :mad:

viperlogic · 03-04-2014 2:13pm

what ever you do, test the suncream on a run at pace, whatever will make you sweat. I had a few runs before in Spain and OZ where didn't have P20 with me and the suncream started going milky and then running into my eyes. Last thing you need!

sixpack's little hat · 04-04-2014 12:29am

I ran the full in Vienna last year and found the heat very tough, especially after the cold weather we had here for the months leading up to it.

Still a bit early for the forecast but looking on the bright(shady?) side it is showing 14C for the 13th as of now which would be perfect.

It's a really well organised race, loads of water stations and even one with coke in the Prater at about 18 miles-ish from what I remember.

aero2k · 09-04-2014 8:20am

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

... The worst thing you can do now is panic about it..

Hi OP, sorry for the late reply.
If I was given a choice of race day weather, I'd pick calm and 5-10 deg, however my two fastest marathons were an unseasonably warm Dublin (15-18 deg depending on who you believe) and Edinburgh (25 deg). Thomas as always speaks sensibly. Heat is just one other obstacle to overcome, like hills, wind, tiredness, etc. With a 9am start time the temperature might only be a factor towards the end.

My strategy in Edinburgh was to take a bottle of water at every drinks station, take a couple of swigs, and pour the rest over myself. (the warnings about the risks of chafing are valid but I thought it was worth the risk). It might be worth wearing a wristband to wipe sweat and/or suncream from your forhead before it runs into your eyes.

Finally, don't let the fear of heat stop you picking a target time and going for it. Yes, you will be slower than on a cool day but in Edinburgh I left a couple of minutes out there by being too cautious in the first half and not having a definite time goal.

Best of luck, let us know how it goes.

Toblerone1978 · 09-04-2014 7:32pm

Will do. Nervoulsy looking forward to it now!

bambergbike · 14-04-2014 8:42am

Final verdict? On the weather and otherwise? I've got a thunderstorm as the backing soundtrack to my morning in the office, it somehow reminded me of this thread.

Toblerone1978 · 16-04-2014 10:07pm

Back to report on this event. I went over there hoping to do it under 3:10 and break my 9 year PB of 3:11:xx (which was my second marathon, my first being 3:59). In the meantime, I have ran 3 marathons and the ultra Connemarathon. I got two of those marathons in 3:14 and one just under 3:30), although to be fair I was largely concentrating on the bike during that time, running a marathon was something I done at the end of the year. Just before Christmas, I was in Waterford doing Xmas shopping with the OH and I brought this book for €5. And from this, it was the first time that I actually followed a proper training plan (doing things like intervals, hill running, low HR for LSRs, etc), as well as some generous guidance on this forum.

I got to the Expo on Saturday afternoon, after flying in that morning. I got my race number + storage bag and that was basically it! For €92 entrant fee, I thought they could have thrown in a t-shirt, a goody bag, etc. The time chip has to be rented for an extra €5, which is another first for me - it was included in the entry fee in any other race I've done (not that I have any other experience of running in continental Europe). The pasta dinner was another €9, which was grand but it was a trip to another side of town - with the benefit of hindsight, it was hassle I couldn have done without. The expo itself was okay, not as good as DCM. I made a novice mistake of having to try new items on marathon day by forgetting to bring my sunglasses to Vienna (as Saturday was a bright sunny day, I brought a pair of Oakleys at the Expo) and using a waist band type item for carrying gels (I decided the day before that my current bag for carrying gels wasn't going to be comfortable so brought a waist band to hold gels).

Our hotel ended up being a great choice, the marathon starting line was 200m down the road (having direct access to your own private bathroom so near the starting line is a big luxury on the morning!). The course is flat (I think it's the 15th flattest in the world, well according to them). There is no hill or drag of any note, plenty of water and refreshment stops. Very lucky with the weather, about 15 degrees with an overcast. The marathon itself is really well organised, good support, atmosphere and stunning city backdrops. The sunglasses fitted the finest and while I ended up carrying the gels, the band itself was also fine so I got off lightly with that one. I felt reasonably strong for most of the journey (HR stayed between 150 and 155) until the last 4 miles. Earlier in the race I was toying with the idea of pushing harder earlier in the race but I think I would have run myself into the ground if I did as my average pace of 7:02 dropped to 7:07 in the last 4 miles. But still, I lowered my PB on Sunday to 3:05:23 so delighted with the race itself.

The setup after the race is really good, carnival type. The Austrian Army had temporary showers set up so that runners could clean themselves up after the run and then enjoy the ‘festival’ for a couple of hours. However strong warning for any future participants: some of the beers served are alcohol free. But other than that, great atmosphere, food, beers with alcohol, etc.

Vienna itself is a great spot, a really beautiful place. Someone mentioned to me that it’s the no.1 quality of life city in the EU and I’m not a bit surprised by this. My biggest regret of the weekend (apart from drinking alcohol free beer) was not tagging another day on to the trip, we left yesterday morning. All in all, a great weekend for me.

aero2k · 17-04-2014 11:26am

Toblerone1978 wrote: »

However strong warning for any future participants: some of the beers served are alcohol free.

This is a really important warning - that stuff could do a lot more damage than a bit of sunshine. I had a very traumatic experience in Tunisia last year when I was halfway down the second pint before I realised something was seriously amiss and I wasn't getting the desired effect.:D

Great race report and performance.

SamforMayo · 18-04-2014 4:40pm

Well done, super race.

Running a marathon in heat (Vienna)

Comments