Georganne Moline
A banana, a bun and a good old hug. American 400m hurdler Georganne Moline gives us her pre-race ritual.
“My pre-race routine begins about an hour and 45 minutes before I race. My friends, family and coach know not to call and text me during this period because I’m in the zone.
“A big part of my preparation period involves the application of my make up, which can take 45-50mins. To me, if I look good, I feel good, and that makes me confident I can run well.
“I am very particular about how I apply my make up. Typically, I will start my routine by completely washing my face with soap and then putting lotion on the face. Then I put on the base – the powder to look a little bronze and then will I start on the eyebrows. I don’t know if people are aware, but I’m a natural blonde and I dye my hair a darker colour every five weeks. My eyebrows are a light brown colour, so I’ll darken my eyebrows.
“Then I will start on the eyelashes. I love wearing fake eyelashes. I don’t know why, I guess I like being dramatic. Then I’ll put on the mascara and eyeliner. The hair is last. I used to rock the pony tail but I got lazy and brought out the bun.”
RACE READY: Olympian Moline takes great pride in her appearance
“I never apply lipstick but I like to make the cheeks a little bronzer. I also like to shape and arch the eyebrows.
“I also like to take some time out on the bed to pray. I get very nervous before a race and this is the time when I take deep breaths and pray to God to try and calm myself.
“I always eat banana ahead of a race and take on board a toddler rehydration drink called Pedialyte. I used to get bad headaches before a race, and it may have been because I was taking on board too much water and flushing out too many nutrients from the body. The Pedialyte helps to avoid this happening.
“My pre-race routine has been pretty consistent for the last six years. When applying the make up I like to listen to music. I love R&B it helps to calm me and I really love listening to Jagged Edge. The last part of my routine is just before a race I hug my coach, Fred Harvey, or if Fred is not at the meet to hug my agent, Chris Layne.
“Finally, do I plan a change in my look for next year? Maybe. As I plan to go back to blonde I might also go for a more daring look and go for some crazy eye shadow next year.”