Marathon race day tips

• Organisation is the key to a successful day. Take the race start time and work back from it. Allow yourself at least an hour at the start to get used to the surroundings.
• Work out your travel plans based on getting to the start for this hour of familiarisation. However long you think it will take, leave a bit more time on top, to allow for on unforeseen hold-ups. Don’t forget that the traffic will probably be heavier than you’d expect, particularly if it’s a big event. Train travel can be especially difficult and the later you leave it the worse it will be.
• Don’t leave your kit packing until race day. Make sure this is done the day before, with your number fixed on and your ‘ChampionChip’ attached, if required for that event. The more things you leave to race day, the more things can go wrong.
• Try and get to bed reasonably early the night before and in keeping with the theory of not having to hurry on race morning, make sure you get up early. If you normally operate with one alarm clock then get another, leave nothing to chance. Many runners have missed events because their ‘reliable’ alarm clock has let them down, or they didn’t set it properly. Never rely on anyone else to get you up, like a hotel receptionist, they can easily forget!
• Definitely eat something on race morning although do not eat to excess. If you eat too much your body will tell you this around half way the course and you will have to stop and sort out the problem. This can be particularly embarrassing if there are no facilities. You should have eaten a big meal of carbohydrates the night before so some toast and tea should be sufficient for breakfast.

• Needless to say, make as many visits as you can to the conveniences before the race, even if it’s for physiological reasons. There’s nothing worse than lining up at the start with a niggling doubt in the back of your mind that you haven’t been enough.
• If you’re travelling to the event with someone who’s not competing, then try and get him or her to drive, or at least do the navigating. The more you can free your mind up to concentrate on the race the better.
• Make sure you take something with you to keep warm. A lot of events start early in the morning to beat the heat and there is a real chance you could suffer if you’re not prepared.
• Warm-up for 15 or 20 minutes before the start with a combination of muscle stretching and gentle running. Don’t overdo it though. It’s easy to get to the line tired because you’ve been warming-up for too long!
• Relax – it's impossible to run if you aren't relaxed! Pay attention to common tension sites, including the hands (unclench those fists), the jaw and forehead, and the shoulders. Practise running through a ‘body scan’ from top to toe. Are you gritting your teeth, or are your arms coming across your body? Take note of any tension, tightness or pain. A ten-second body scan every ten minutes or so can help you keep tabs on your technique, make you aware of any niggles that, if ignored may eventually become full blown injuries, give you an opportunity to stretch any tight areas and generally help you ‘regroup’ – so it's time well spent.

Enjoy your race!