Aussie marathon legend Rob de Castella inspired at the UC Stromlo Winter Summit. Photo: Stromlo Running Festival.
When you’ve hit the 30 km mark of a 42 km run, you’re deep in the hurt locker and questioning your life decisions, how do you push through?
Australian former world champion marathon runner and Stromlo Running Festival (SRF) founder Rob de Castella has some ideas.
Alongside three academics from the University of Canberra (UC), Rob was given 10 minutes to deliver practical information and advice for runners to an audience of about 70 at the Stromlo UC Winter Summit.
“I focused on two things. The first was consistency in training and finding the right balance with all the other commitments and responsibilities in your life because endurance preparation is critical if your body is going to perform well,” he said.
“But regardless of how much you prepare, it’s going to be hard, and that was my second message.
“You will struggle, you will hit a wall with 10 km to go, and in that moment, what you lean on is what we call your ‘Why’. When you’ve run out of energy and your body is depleted, you had better have a strong answer to that question ready if you’re going to push through.
“What awaits is an incredible, overwhelming feeling of pride and accomplishment as you cross that finish line.”
The Summit gave SRF participants and running enthusiasts their first taste of what the event’s partnership with the University of Canberra really meant.
SRF director Mel Bingley said the event was a “resounding success”.
“Rob kicked us off with spine-tingling clips of his 80s conquests and some heavy-duty inspiration. Then each keynote speaker dropped pure gold for 10 minutes, keeping it to the absolute essence of their specialisation, and what resulted was a feast of practical, evidence-based information that audience members could take away and use,” she said.
“We normally don’t get to see our runners until they’re at the starting line, so this was an opportunity to help them on their journey in the lead-up to that point. The speakers presented topics that were highly relevant to that journey and participants had the opportunity to ask questions in a panel-style Q and A, concluding the presentations with some great conversation.
“It’s the first time we’ve held an event like this before the big day, and I think it’s safe to say it won’t be the last.”
Topics included nutrition and dietetics, heat acclimation and injury prevention – all central themes to an event like Stromlo, which is held in the typically warm month of November.
“Fuel for performance and strategies for heat management, injury prevention and mental resilience are all critical to ensure we don’t unravel on the day,” Mel said.
“There were some interesting surprise tidbits in all that information. Dr Michelle Minehan touched on the benefits of beetroot in the context of the efficacy of supplements, and really what it boiled down to was ‘Eat your vegetables’.
“Professor Julian Périard talked about the effects of sweat and techniques for heat training because our event is usually in hotter weather, but the training cycle is in cooler weather.
“Among other things in her segment, our physiotherapist Dr Jaquelin Bousie discussed strength training for runners, and how strength, flexibility and mobility, beyond helping you to stay injury-free, can actually lift your running performance.”
Participants gained invaluable insights into nutrition, heat acclimation and injury prevention. Photo: Stromlo Running Festival.
UC Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Enterprise and MC for the event, Professor Janine Deakin, said the university was proud to host the inaugural SRF Summit.
“Our contribution to sport research across high-performance, professional, and community sport is world-renowned, and we are excited to see it being translated into building resilience and wellness for those seeking to participate in the upcoming Festival as part of our commitment to being Canberra’s university,” she said.
“We believe that sharing our knowledge, based on sound research and experience with the Canberra running community, will inform athletes on how to approach their training and make decisions that will ensure their success on race day.”
The event concluded with networking in the foyer over plant-based canapes and boards of information designed by UC Masters students to engage participants.
“I think that’s one of the key characteristics of University of Canberra academics – they’re very practical,” Rob said. “They don’t get caught up in the academia of it or research for research’s sake. It was all very applicable, worthwhile advice for runners in the lead-up to Stromlo.”
“The UC team is all about finding ways that their academics and researchers can engage with and add value to the community while giving their students opportunities to put their skills and knowledge to practical use,” Mel added.
Stromlo Running Festival takes place on Saturday, 16 November, and Sunday, 17 November. Register here.
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