Comprehensive Prevention Campaign
"Your Health is the Goal"
With the goal of ensuring a safe and responsible participation in the Bogotá Half Marathon, Correcaminos de Colombia invites you to take proactive steps focused on your health, physical preparation, and nutrition.
1. Health
We recommend that you undergo a general health check-up to assess your current health condition and physical fitness, identifying potential cardiovascular or postural risks through your healthcare provider.
- Blood tests.
- Cardiac evaluation tests such as an electrocardiogram and echocardiogram.
- Stress test and/or Holter monitor.
2. Physical Preparation
We recommend following a structured and guided training plan that includes strength training routines, long-distance runs, running technique drills, speed workouts, and flexibility exercises.
- Strength training sessions: Exercises to strengthen joints, tendons, muscles, and ligaments using body weight, resistance bands, and/or weights, with the goal of preventing injuries.
- Running sessions: Also known as long runs, designed to develop and improve endurance capacity by gradually adapting the body.
- Running technique sessions: Drills aimed at preventing injuries, improving running efficiency, delaying the onset of fatigue, enhancing posture, and reducing impact while running.
- Speed sessions: Workouts intended to strengthen the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, improve running technique, and reduce the risk of injury.
- Flexibility sessions: Exercises that help improve mobility and relieve muscle tension, reducing the risk of injury.
3. Nutrition
Proper nutrition is a fundamental part of our daily lives. Maintaining healthy eating habits allows us to train and compete in optimal conditions, supporting recovery processes, performance, and injury prevention.
- Nutrition: Consuming a balanced diet (carbohydrates, vitamins, fats, and proteins) helps optimize performance and muscle recovery, prevents cardiovascular disease and hypertension, strengthens the immune system, and ensures adequate energy reserves to fuel training sessions and competitions.
- Hydration: Adequate intake of water and electrolyte-containing fluids is essential and key to preventing cramps and dehydration. It helps maintain physiological functions, blood volume, regulates body temperature, and prevents health complications.
4. Warm-Up and Stretching
Warm-up and stretching are just as important as the training itself. Performing them properly helps prevent injuries, improve performance, facilitate exercise execution, enhance coordination, and support muscle recovery.
Se recomienda que el calentamiento (inicio) dure entre 10 minutos y 20 minutos.
It is recommended that.
Warm-up (before): lasts between 10 and 20 minutes.
Stretching (after) lasts between 12 and 20 minutes.
- Warm-up (before): It is essential to perform it at the beginning of each training session and before the start of the race. It increases body temperature, prepares muscles and joints for effort, enhances blood flow to the muscles, minimizes the risk of injury, improves cardiovascular function, and promotes overall mobility.
- Stretching: Performed at the end of a training session or race, it facilitates muscle recovery (reducing stiffness and soreness), improves flexibility and blood circulation, helps prevent injuries, and gradually lowers heart rate.
5. Apparel and Equipment
Proper clothing and footwear play an important role in preventing injuries and discomfort, avoiding irritation, and enhancing overall performance.
- Clothing: Wearing appropriate sportswear facilitates physical activity by providing comfort, mobility, temperature regulation, and reduced friction—ultimately improving performance and helping prevent injuries.
- Footwear: Using proper athletic shoes is crucial, as they influence posture, musculoskeletal load, the occurrence of minor discomfort, reduction of injuries, joint and bone pressure, prevention of falls and/or sprains, reduction of fatigue or pain, and overall performance enhancement.
- Heart Rate Monitor: Using a heart rate monitor during training sessions or races is important because it helps control exercise intensity, detect increases in heart rate, prevent overtraining, and track both progress and workout intensity.
6. Other Key Factors
There are additional essential factors that make a difference, support preparation, and contribute to a successful race experience.
- Mental Preparation: This is fundamental throughout the entire pre-competition process, as it increases confidence and self-assurance, helps set and define realistic goals, prepares runners to face and accept uncomfortable situations that may arise, supports stress and anxiety management, and helps maintain focus and concentration.
- Rest: Adequate rest is crucial, as it improves performance, reduces the risk of injury, facilitates muscle recovery, helps replenish energy stores, and enhances concentration and mood. Otherwise, lack of rest can lead to injuries, poor performance, fatigue, greater perceived effort, and reduced concentration.
- Race Regulations: Knowing the race regulations is important to avoid penalties, ensure runner safety, support better planning to enhance performance, improve the overall race experience, and promote good sportsmanship.
