Cally Yang, born and raised in Amsterdam, has been working as a sports performance trainer for years. In his work, he helps hockey and soccer players, but his specialty is helping runners.

“I like to analyze an athlete (either a pro or not) and help them improve their technique and speed with strength, coordination and condition training. This will help them run better and get less injuries.”

The Perfect Marathon

On Saturday, February 22nd Cally ran the so called Perfect Marathon at SQM2 Gym in Amsterdam. His goal was to finish the marathon within 2 hours and 50 minutes, which is 10 minutes below his personal record. But why even do this? We asked him!

“Eliud Kipchoge was the first person to ran a marathon below the magical time of two hours. The way he did this and prepared for this has always mesmerized me.”

Cally thought about the perfect conditions to run a marathon. He eventually ended up with the idea to run it on a treadmill. “The surface is flat and there’s no rain or wind. We also put the airconditioning on 12 degrees and my coach gave me the right amount of nutrition and fluids every 15 minutes.”

Improving his own personal record

Cally’s goal was to run the marathon in 2 hours and 50 minutes. Together with his good friend and sports physiotherapist Maarten Mulder he created a full-on game plan. “While running tests we came up with my perfect speed.”

The race went well and Cally even was ahead of schedule, until 7km before the end. He ended up getting cramps in his calf and his hamstring was on the verge of snapping. “This meant we had to slow down a little.”

That’s when the race really started for Cally. “My heart, lungs, and head wanted to go faster, but I couldn’t.” It was Maarten who eventually got him to the finish line, mentally. “After 2 hours, 53 minutes and 27 seconds there was confetti and I finally noticed all the people around me. That was magical!”

Eventually, Cally ran the marathon 5 minutes below his personal record. An amazing job!

Preparations for the marathon

Cally was very happy to train with Maarten Mulder. “It was great to not give training but only listen and follow. Maarten has a lot of knowledge and wrote all my training programs.”

“I didn’t change too much in my nutrition since it’s already pretty good. My basics are up to standards and I left enough room for my other obsession: burgers!”

3 tips and tricks to reach your own goals

We’ve asked Cally for some tips and tricks if you want to reach your own running goals.

  • “Trust the process! A schedule is a helping hand, not mandatory. Want to skip a training? You won’t get worse at running. Don’t have the best run every once in a while? No worries, be patient!”
  • “Run according to a schedule. Don’t start making one yourself. You can easily get one from the internet or start running with a pro or someone who can help you.
  • “Invest in technique training. Don’t think you can just put on some shoes and start running. If you run 10km, you make the same movement 9.000 times. Meaning if you don’t do it well you will make 9.000 mistakes. And that’s only one run!”

Running with OneFit

Also want to work on your running skills? You can with the OneFit Runners! Cally Yang gives a training every week at the Olympic Stadion in Amsterdam.

In Rotterdam, you can join to prep for the Rotterdam Marathon in April. Quickly book a spot and join us!

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