Tips for Running Safely from Dave Nuku

Last Sunday, a thirty-something runner died at the 3rd kilometer of the Mizuno Wave run at UPM Serdang. There were several other death casualties reported in road races in Malaysia earlier in the year.

In 2009, I even witnessed a runner collapsed at the end of a race and then passed away a day later. Read about it HERE and HERE.

I am saddened and shocked by those incidents but what can be done to prevent this from happening again?

As runners, we should take responsibility of our own health and educate ourselves on how to run safely. It is easy to play the blame game after the incidents but that is already too late.

We asked Dave Nuku (Blue Team Trainer for The Biggest Loser Asia TV show/ Regional Fitness Manager of Fitness First Asia) for some safety tips for running in an on-line chat session organised by Watsons Malaysia.

Our question:

There was a death reported in the Mizuno Run11 km road race last weekend. There was another death reported during the KL Marathon last June. What is your advice (safety tips) to runners, before, during and after race?

Here's Dave Nuku's reply.

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Your questions regarding tips for runners in relation to the tragic accidents that occured in the Mizuno 11km race and the Stan Chart Marathon is valid.

My advice is firstly to consult you doctor before entering the race if you have any medical conditions that may put you at risk.

Also know your limits and prepare for a race by doing the training, looking not just at running the distance but by also planning your meals pre training, during the run and post run.

On race day you should be in a familiar pattern which will help calm the nerves. Keep hydrated and depending on the race length you may need additional calories / carbs, again you should have trained this into your strategy.

Thanks to Dave Nuku for the tips and permission to publish it.

In line with topic, I would like to share some tips which I have taken from blogpost by a fellow runner/blogger in The Philippines, The Bull Runner.

She did a very useful blogpost on running safely by getting tips from a team of experts in Manila.

ON SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

COACH JIM S.: If you feel some form of pain during your run, slow down and have a feel of how bad it really is. If it seems to be going away, then go ahead and resume your regular pace. However if the pain persists and/or even increases in pain as you continue to run, seriously consider stopping and getting some help. Pain is the body’s way of letting us know something is wrong. No race is worth the risk of hurting yourself by continuing to run and causing a minor injury to turn into a major setback.

COACH JIM L.: Be smart. If you’re feeling poorly or sense “something is wrong”, a pain or sensation that’s new to you, TAKE A BREAK. Its not worth the risk and better to run again another day. I’ve seen too many runners trying to “push through” and they either ended up in extended injury, or worse.

COACH RIO: If you feel something is wrong, such as difficulty of breathing or pain in the chest, slow down. Stop and look for a medic or ask for help from fellow runners.

Do check out the rest of safety tips by clicking the link below. http://thebullrunner.com/2010/07/07/tips-on-running-races-safely-from-the-experts/

I hope you all can go through the tips not once but a few times so that you can remember them. Share the tips to other runners. It may save your lives too!

Let's run safely together!