With Marathon season nearly on us, we have put together our top tips for running your best marathon and achieving your goals. With many things to think about from nutrition to kit, to training our advice should make it a little easier.
Firstly and most importantly, ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE. Whether you are running for a time, to raise money for a charity or just to complete the race, running the marathon will be the culmination of months of long, hard hours on the road, you have earnt the right to enjoy the day. Get your earphones out to soak in the atmosphere, wave when your name is cheered & high five at every opportunity, this will help you over the line
Don’t experiment. You’ll hear this lot but it is always worth re-enforcing the message. You don’t want to introduce anything new on race day. Nutrition, kit/shoes, breakfast, hydration should all remain the same as it has throughout training. A better the devil you know attitude is sensible
Don’t get carried away by the atmosphere. It is easy to get overwhelmed by the whole marathon experience, it’s easy to go out too quick or to speed up when your name is cheered, stick to the pacing plan you have trained to and you’ll be fine
Don’t panic at the start. The marathon mass participation start can be a claustrophobic and daunting experience, don’t feel you have to barge your way through the crowds at the start, they will soon thin out and then you can get into your rhythm
Finally, keep your expectations fluid. As there are so many variables you can’t control, make sure you are able to change your expectations accordingly. For example, if the weather is unseasonably hot as it was in 2018 you may need to drink more than normal, or if the wind blows a gale it will be hard to achieve that PB you were chasing. Whatever happens, always refer back to the first point on this list
