Ultrarunner Szilvia Lubics helps with Ultrabalaton

It all starts with what we do – or don’t do – before the start. Training alone is not enough in a race situation. Mental conditioning and, of course, rest are also necessary, as Szilvi Lubics confirms. “No matter how much you train, if you don’t rest and your mind isn’t right, you won’t be able to get the most out of yourself. If I were to put it into proportion, it would be roughly 60% training, 20% mental preparation and 20% regeneration.”

Of course, this doesn’t mean that anyone can start the 209 kilometers overnight. An Ultrabalaton requires years of persistent work. According to Szilvi, it’s worth trying several ultra-distances beforehand and gaining experience. “This is a very tough distance. You have to prepare for it carefully: go through the stages in your head, plan your pace, your heart rate, and what happens if something doesn’t go according to plan. Think about possible problems well in advance so that you don’t have to improvise. And you also have to decide whether you need a helper.”

Part of the preparation is also to experience how our body reacts to the load – especially in terms of nutrition. Although a basically balanced diet is a good starting point, as you get closer to the race, it’s worth reducing your fiber intake and consciously testing your carbohydrate intake. “Before the race, you need to practice what amount of carbohydrates works in the long run. Even if we plan to drink half a liter of Isotonic or eat a jelly – in the twentieth hour, it may not work anymore.”

This is when Plan B comes into play. “It is important to have an alternative – for example, with our helper – that we can eat or drink even when nothing else feels right. That is why experience is key.”

Completing an ultra-distance race, such as a single lap of the UB, affects a narrower group of the running community. The physical and mental challenge, which can last up to 2 days, requires tens of thousands of calories, which we can cover with the help of our charged energy stores and our well-planned refreshment routine (or refreshment points and our own helpers), revealed Sándor Németh, the BioTechUSA product specialist.

Among the participants of the annual running event, the proportion of marathon runners is much higher and mobilizes real masses. Therefore, the strategy required to complete the 42 km, which is also based on fluid, carbohydrate and electrolyte replacement, can also work here. The goal is usually to consume 30–60 g of carbohydrates per hour, and for advanced runners up to 80–90 g, and to consume 400–800 ml of fluid depending on the weather. Hydration is recommended with isotonic drinks (IsoTonic) or in hot weather (above 30°C) with water supplemented with electrolyte (mineral salt complex) capsules, starting from the beginning of the run, 15–20 sips every minute. The most practical way to replenish energy is with energy gels (Energy Gel), which should be consumed every 30–40 minutes; and in the second half of the race, a caffeinated version can help maintain performance. According to the expert, in the first stage, smaller amounts of more solid sources, such as energy bars (Oats&Fruits) or fruit purees can also be included. However, he also drew attention to the fact that in hot weather or in case of heavy sweating, special attention should be paid to replacing electrolytes, for example salt capsules (MultiSalt). “During an average 4-5 hour marathon, this strategy ensures stable energy levels and helps avoid snacking. It is important to test the refresher in training in advance, so that in addition to choosing the flavors, you can also get acquainted with the gels “it will be smoother,” said Sándor Németh.

Everyone has dead ends. Fatigue, feeling unwell, uncertainty. The question is not whether it will happen, but what we do with it. According to Szilvi Lubics, with a distance of more than two hundred kilometers, it is necessary to prepare for this in advance. “It’s best not to get caught up in these feelings – for example, when we feel tired or sick. I think that if we start to focus on something that’s bothering us – for example, a stomach problem – and keep it going inside us, it can easily lead us astray. For me, if there’s a difficulty, I focus on knowing that it will get better because I’ve experienced it a hundred times – it’s also good for this if someone has run an ultra before. Thinking things through rationally, how I’m going to solve this problem, not only physically, but also mentally. There are also those who can’t get out of such a situation on their own, in which case it’s worth discussing with the helper what they can say, what they can do to lift us out of this low point. The important thing is to know and accept that this is part of running, and we have a solution for how we’re going to get through it.”

You can’t “learn” to run a race at the last minute by practicing. In fact, it’s especially important to recover from the load during this period. How? “First of all, you need to reduce the amounts, spend more time on regeneration, obviously maintaining the intensity, staying in the intensity zones – for shorter periods, with fewer repetitions. It is recommended to make long runs shorter and shorter, reduce them proportionally first to 70%, then to 50%, and in the week before the race, we definitely don’t want to save the world” – emphasizes the ultrarunner, highlighting that by reducing training, we have more time to mentally review the plans.

He also draws attention to the fact that we shouldn’t neglect rest either. “Forcing training without sleep and regeneration is stupid, because the body cannot handle the load. This is especially important during the week of the competition, when it is worth taking time off from work if possible, and minimizing other stress factors, because these also greatly influence the outcome of a competition,” added Szilvi Lubics, who this year is the As an ambassador for the BioTechUSA Charity program, we encourage all participants not to request a refund for their timing chip deposit, but to donate it to one of the institutions selected by the company for charitable purposes.