"Cape Town Marathon is on a relatively flat course but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn't train hills," says ASICS FrontRunner Admire Muzopambwa. "On the contrary," says the road ace, "if you train hills your muscles get tuned to coping when things get tough. As they are bound to during a fast, competitive marathon race."

This weekend, Admire once again did his regular 30km long run through northern Johannesburg. "It was tough," he says. "The route takes in Sandton Drive, and it comes after halfway." 

Admire says he felt good in the early stages of the run, but started suffering during those middle stages, particularly when tackling the 2km climb that is Sandton Drive. "You're no longer speeding up and not longer slowing at this stage, just maintaining your rhythm and forging on," he says.

"After the Sandton Drive climb there is another sting-in-the-tail as you hit Illovo, where there is another 1km climb. When you get to that point and there is no other way home you just have to push through and finish it." 

Admire believes these types of sessions offer dual benefits: 

"They are both physical and mental. Your physiology gets the benefits of the Joburg altitude and hills, while your mind takes confidence from the fact that you pushed through and finished a tough route," he says.

According to Admire, he cannot wait for the Cape Town Marathon because of the sea-level altitude and flat(ish) course. 

To cope with the chilly early-morning winter temperatures, Admire ran in his Asics Accelerate jacket. "It keeps the heat in and the elements out," he says. "I really like its lightweight, noiseless construction and hardly know it's there when I run. In fact, when I did heat up during that middle section I didn’t even need to take it off."

On his feet, Admire used the ASICS GEL-Cumulus 20, "these are not fast and not slow but for me are the ideal 'long run' training shoes as they offer stability (when landing the foot) and are very comfortable."

Stay tuned to our social channels for more on Admire and the other ASICS FrontRunners' journey to the Cape Town marathon

Read more about why the Cape Town Marathon is the greenest marathon in Africa, here.