MATT CREHAN was the winner of last year’s St Helens 10K. Here the St Helens Striders chairman, who recently opened the Made to Run sports shop on College Street, talks us through some training tips and advice.

  • If you’ve been training hard and logging the miles ready for the 10k now’s the time to start to think about the fine tuning and making sure not only the aerobic work is there but that kick of speed as well. Why not try adding in a couple of speed efforts during your longer runs over the final couple of weeks. Sprint between lampposts, or if you’re a Strava user build a couple shorter segments within your run. This time of training is called Fartlek which is Swedish for speed play and mixes continuous training with interval work.
  • Haven’t started training yet, had an injury or just haven’t wanted to get out in the cold weather of the last month, not to worry, you still have time to get prepared for North Road! Again try and get some runs in which mix slower longer running with a little bit of Fartlek to help work both those aerobic and anaerobic systems to get them firing on all cylinders.
  • Hills, St Helens and Merseyside aren’t known for being particularly hilly but the St Helens 10k is an undulating course so you need to make hill work an important part of your training. Why not go to Vicky Park and practice some of the 10k course and its hills – or even head over and do the St Helens Parkrun there on Saturday morning.
  • When it comes to what you eat, and “carb loading” before the race, remember that it’s what you eat two days before the race that matters. So if you’re thinking of filling up on pasta get that done on Friday night. Just have something simple on the Saturday before the race so as not to upset your stomach on race day morning. If you’re planning on using any gels or chews during the race, make sure you practice with these before the day to ensure they won’t cause you an upset stomach as everyone reacts differently.
  • Rest and sleep are just as important as training and diet, so make sure you’re letting your body recover between training runs and that you’re letting yourself get enough sleep to help recovery, metabolism and good mental health.
  • When it comes to stretching a lot of emphasis can get misplaced here. You don’t want to over stretch and risk injury and you don’t want to do any stretches that might be counter productive to your running. Instead look for stretches that are specific to running and the movements involved in the running gait. Areas such as the hip and glutes often get overlooked and yet tightness here can cause a wide range of injuries and discomfort further down the leg, from nerve pain to muscle pulls.
  • Core work is also important especially as you get older, so make sure you try and add some planking, press-ups and squats into your weekly routine.
  • Check your shoes, and your running bra if you’re a woman. A decent pair of running shoes only has an average life span of 500 miles so if you’ve been running in them for a while or bought a cheap pair on sale you might need an upgrade. And if you’re not wearing a proper running bra, you can be causing yourself severe and permanent damage.