9 Tips to Train Like Pros and Win Summer Racing Season

When you sign up for a summer race, you're not just racing against competitors, you’re racing against the environment itself.

The smartest athletes know: you don’t resist the heat, you adapt to it.

Training for summer endurance events means building structural strength early, refining fueling strategies, fortifying mental resilience, and methodically acclimating to heat stress. It’s deliberate. It’s systematic. And it starts months before race day.

Sue and Noor, seasoned endurance athletes who have raced alongside elite competitors and worked closely with pros across disciplines, bring insights shaped by real-world racing and deep technical experience. Their years spent creating specialized performance apparel for heat and humidity have given them an unmatched understanding of what it takes to thrive under pressure.

And with POWERMAN just around the corner, now is the time to sharpen your preparation. Here’s how to train smart, adapt to the heat, and line up ready to race at your absolute best.

1. Start Your Strength Work Early

Duathlons demand exceptional leg strength and endurance. Initiating a dedicated strength-training regimen at least three months before race day is crucial. Incorporate weekly sessions focusing on muscular strength and endurance, targeting key muscle groups used in running and cycling. Additionally, consider a running gait assessment to identify and correct imbalances that could lead to injury. Research indicates that adding strength training to regular endurance training can improve both running and cycling performance, enhancing overall race outcomes.

2. Train Your Mind for Endurance

Endurance races test not only physical limits but mental resilience as well. Conditioning your mind to endure prolonged stress is essential. Regularly training beyond race distances can build this mental fortitude. For instance, if preparing for a classic 10-60-10 duathlon, consider running up to 21 km and cycling up to 120 km during training. Similarly, if anticipating a four-hour race, occasionally extend training sessions to five hours. These strategies prepare your mind to become comfortable with discomfort. Studies have shown that mental training can lead to physiological adaptations, such as reduced muscle activation and metabolic factors during later stages of exercise, thereby enhancing performance.

3. Fuel Consistently and Strategically

Proper fueling is critical and often determines race-day success. Regardless of your training levels, inadequate fueling can derail your performance entirely. Your muscles require carbohydrates for energy and consistent hydration to maintain optimal body function and regulate core temperature. Many athletes underperform, not due to insufficient training, but due to neglecting fueling basics. 

According to research from the Gatorade Sports Science Institute and the University of Birmingham, athletes should consume 30–60 grams of carbohydrates per hour during endurance exercise to maintain blood glucose levels and delay fatigue.Aim to consume energy gels every hour, eat energy bars during cycling segments, and sip water every 15 minutes especially in warmer conditions. Adhering to this strategy ensures a smoother, and perhaps even enjoyable, racing experience.

4. Embrace Sweat as a Cooling Mechanism

Sweating is a natural and essential process for regulating body temperature during exercise. Embracing sweat rather than trying to stay dry helps your body cool itself more effectively, enhancing performance in hot conditions. A study examining lower limb temperature responses after a sprint duathlon competition found significant physiological changes, highlighting the body's reliance on sweat for thermoregulation. 

5. Choose Lightweight, Moisture-Wicking Clothing

In tropical races, what you wear matters. Choose moisture-wicking fabrics that stay light even when soaked, helping you stay comfortable and cool through every kilometer. The right gear doesn’t just feel better—it directly supports thermoregulation and reduces the drag of sweat-heavy clothing. Your apparel should pull moisture off your skin, stay in contact, and spread it evenly to speed up evaporation and cooling. One standout fabric is Hypermesh. It stays featherlight even when drenched and dries fully in just seven minutes—keeping you dry, cool, and focused on the finish. 

6. Acclimate to the Heat

Avoiding heat during training can be counterproductive, especially when racing in hot environments. Gradually exposing your body to higher temperatures helps build heat tolerance. Training during warmer parts of the day or in heated environments can aid adaptation, improving performance and reducing the risk of heat-related issues on race day. According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, heat acclimation can improve exercise performance in hot conditions by enhancing the body's thermoregulatory responses.

7. Maintain Adequate Hydration

Hydration is paramount when training and racing in hot, humid conditions. Regularly drinking water and monitoring urine color as an indicator of hydration status are essential practices. A study in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance suggests that athletes should aim to drink enough fluids to prevent body mass losses exceeding 2% during exercise in the heat.

8. Implement Cooling Strategies

In addition to hydration, employing cooling strategies can help manage body temperature. Techniques such as palm cooling have been shown to effectively reduce core temperature and improve performance. Research indicates that cooling the palms can enhance endurance and delay fatigue during exercise in hot conditions.

9. Monitor Environmental Conditions

Stay informed about the weather conditions leading up to and on race day. High temperatures combined with humidity can increase the risk of heat stress. Adjust your pacing and hydration strategies accordingly to mitigate these risks. A study in the International Journal of Sports Medicine found that performance declines by approximately 0.3% - 0.4% for every degree Celsius above optimal temperatures for endurance events.

Beyond Training: Why Your Apparel Could Decide Your Race

Training your body, mind, and strategy is only part of the equation. What you wear on race day can significantly influence how well you perform under heat stress. Specialized performance apparel isn't just about comfort—it's about enabling better thermoregulation, faster cooling, and sustained energy when the temperature climbs. If you want to dive deeper into how fabric technology can impact your endurance, recovery, and racing efficiency, explore the science behind it here: How Much Your Clothing Impacts Your Performance in Heat Runs.