PORT Macquarie triathlete Harry Jones will aim for his fourth-straight King of the Mountain success at North Brother Mountain on August 20.
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Jones has had the ideal preparation for the event, having competed in England professionally for the last three months.
He said the main challenge for any King of the Mountain competitor was trying to maintain a constant speed while running up hill.
“Towards the end when the gradient hits approximately 12 to 15 per cent it can be incredibly tough on the legs and lungs,” he said.
“It's like all fairly long mountain climbs in that you can ever only see 50 to 100 metres ahead of you.
“You only have a rough idea when the mountain bends end, let alone the finish and this can be a psychological challenge more than anything.”
Jones admitted he wouldn’t alter his training for the event and said he hadn’t set any specific training programs.
“I'm going to treat the event as normal as ever because I really enjoy the mountain running,” he said.
“Not because I'm good at it - which I'm not, but because it's an incredibly hard running event.”
Jones said it was important to recognise the nutritional benefits of preparing for such an event.
“Runners should generally have planned what they eat prior and during the event, weeks and months in advance,” he said.
“I don't particularly have much on the day of the event nor do I have much during the event.
“If anything, I don't have any source of food, drink or fuel during the event as I'm only running for approximately 23 minutes.
“In terms of advice, I would advise a pizza or pasta dish the night before and on the morning of the event some oats, porridge and some fruit if possible and a nice coffee.
“Make sure this is consumed at least a couple of hours prior to the start of the event.”
The triathlete said the key to King of the Mountain success was to do with creating a strategy and keeping to it.
“Be conservative because it is a bloody tough event, especially if you're a first timer so pace yourself,” he said.
“It is tough, but making it to the top is a big achievement and its a massive reward in itself and the atmosphere at the top is fantastic.”