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26 Marathon Hints, Tips and Traps

The marathon is a tough distance, a heroic distance, a humbling distance. When you are facing your first marathon, there are all sorts of questions that need answering to help you prepare to run the best race you can. Those of us who are marathoners get asked these questions by those wishing to become marathoners. We've been there, done that, got the race T-shirt, finishers medal and the blisters to prove it.

Here is a collection of my thoughts on this topic, some wisdom learned at the feet of those gone before me, some learned through the hard won teachings of experience.

Choose your target date. Pick a race far enough in advance that you can train and prepare for it properly. If this is your first marathon, give yourself at least six months preparation time.
Follow a marathon training program. They work and have stood the test of time. Check out Hal Higdon's or one of the others at the Runners World web site if you need one. I've used this one myself. Well, more or less. I tend to use the schedules as a guide for where I should be in my training schedule. I never follow it religiously, I just work in other races and changes into it and don't sweat it if I miss a tempo or I'm a little short on my LSD (Long Slow Distance) run. They are a guide, not a edict chiselled in stone.
Do your last long run three weeks before your big race. Some schedules say you only need a single 20 miler, but I have found that, for me, I have to run at least two, 23-25 milers prior to the race in order to put in my best performance on the big day.
Last short race. Do your last race (five to ten kilometres maximum) two weeks before your race.
Get pampered. If you can afford it, treat yourself to a light massage (not a deep muscle massage) a couple of days before the race.
Don't do any thing stupid. Don't do anything to throw away all the weeks of preparation by doing something stupid or "different" on those last few weeks. I play pickup hockey and fill in as goal tender for a number of groups. I tell everyone that I'm not playing the week before so they can make arrangements for another person to fill in. A bruise in the wrong place or pulled muscle can severely affect your race. Also, don't start an aerobics class, new exercise program, mountain biking, or bungee jumping, or anything else that could potentially blow all your hard work.
Taper. Give yourself two to three weeks of reduced mileage prior to your marathon to give your body a chance to heal up. All those long training runs are hard on the body and you need time to recover before the big race.
Get wound up. Be prepared for the excess energy, jitters and ants in your legs that a proper taper will give you. Resist the urge to go out and hammer run on the Wednesday or Thursday before the race, even if your legs tell you how effortless you are running. Shut it down, cut it short, better yet, run with someone much slower and let them hold you back. Trust me, they'll be doing you a big favour.
Prepare for strange things. Also be prepared for the aches and pains that healing will cause. Yes, you'll have ouchies that you never had before, but don't let it freak you out. It's normal. It's just that all that training hasn't given your legs a chance to heal up completely.
Stretch it out. I know you aren't running as much, but stretch anyway. And be careful not to over stretch. We can't let those muscles shorten up due to lack of use, can we.
Eat. But watch what you eat. Don't go for that second helping of mashed potatoes and meat loaf. You are tapering and you won't be able to run off the extra calories you were burning on your LSD's.
Be prepared. Get your Power Bars or Power Gels on the Wednesday before the race and put them INSIDE your racing shoes.
Drink lots of water. That last week have a water bottle glued to your hand. Keep drinking. You need lots of water to store glycogen in the muscles. And don't worry about the weight gain if you are watching your food intake. It's all that water and glycogen being put into the tank for race day. You'll feel a little bloated from the water gain, but you'll lose it all on race day. My wedding band is tight at the starting line, but almost falls off at the finish line. At the Columbus marathon in November 2000 I took the ring off and left it in my travel bag. I found it far too distracting on the last few miles.
Rest up! You probably count on not getting much rest the night before your race, what with all that excess energy and trips to the bathroom (see item 12). Your critical evenings to sleep are not the night before, but the nights three to four days before your race. Save the partying for when you are finished that 26 miles.
Race preparation. The night before the race, lay out everything you are going to wear. Pin your number to the front of your race shirt, not through the back. If you do that it makes it hard to wear the next morning. Don't put the number on the back. You'll look like a novice, besides how can they announce your name as you cross the finish line if they don't know who you are?
Grease up. Remember to bring Vaseline, Body Glide (my favourite) or your lubricant of choice. Grease up everything that rubs, under your arms, your butt crack, thighs, toes, and for the guys, your nipples. Also, if salt from perspiration dripping into your eyes is a problem, put some Vaseline on your eyebrows. Trust me, it works.
DO NOT DO ANYTHING NEW ON RACE DAY! Don't wear the new shoes, socks, shorts, or the singlet that you bought at the race expo. Resist the urge to try that new energy bar for the first time on race day. Only wear what you've worn before and eat what you've eaten on training runs. Break this rule and you risk incurring the wrath of the race gods. Bloody feet (from the rough spot in your shoes), abraded neck (from the tag that you forgot to remove), upset stomach or (horrors) diarrhea from untested fuel can ruin an otherwise perfect race.
Dress cool. Race morning, resist the urge to over dress. Remember that you heat up during the run, and the day gets warmer as the sun rises. At the worst, wear a throwaway T-shirt or garbage bag as a covering until you get warmed up. Better yet, if you have a race crew or support team (spectators, friends or family) along for the ride, make plans for them to take a hand off of unneeded gear. Running clubs are great for this one. On my first marathon, I remember handing my glasses to someone in club colours at the sixteen-mile mark, then realizing a mile later that I didn't know who they were. I got them back, but I was a little worried after the race that I was going to have to buy some new ones.
Plan your race, race your plan. Know your pace and stick to it. Resist the urge to go out too hard, or you'll pay for it the last six miles. Every ten seconds faster per kilometre you go out at the start, you'll run thirty seconds slower over those last miles. Or as a friend says, "On marathon day, start out slow and taper." These are wise words of advice. If you need help on figuring your pace, there's an Excel spreadsheet that you can download that can help you figure it out. Write them down on the back of your arm or hand. Don't bother writing it on the back of the bib number. Inevitably, you'll write it upside down and it will screw up your form trying to read it.
Drink at EVERY aid station. Don't skip any (well except maybe the last one). You can't drink enough at the water stations to keep yourself hydrated over the distance of the marathon. DRINK!
Run three races. A marathon can be though of as two ten milers, then a ten kilometre. The marathon is all about energy management. The first ten miles are the warm up. Resist the urge to go out too hard, just find that "run forever" groove. The second ten miler is maintenance. Hang on to that groove as long as you can and remember to check your form. If you run in good form, you'll run more efficiently. If you run more efficiently, you'll have more energy for those last ten kilometres. Those last ten kilometres are the reason you have done all those long runs. Remember those training runs. Focus on form, don't lean forward, don't slump, don't raise your hands or let them cross your center line. Run upright, with relaxed shoulders. The more efficient you run, the less energy you use, the further and faster you go.
Have fun. When you finish, collect that finishers medal, get that drink, get the after race massage and eat like a pig. Wallow in your accomplishment. Wear your race shirt and medal to work the next day, tell your coworkers, tell your family, tell your friends. Hell, tell strangers. You are the hero, you earned the right to crow.
Take it easy! Don't beat yourself up mentally if you crashed and burned during the race. Hey, it happens to everyone. Do not analyze your performance on race day. That's for later after you have had time to compare notes, recover and you can think clearly... And reread these notes.
Celebrate your accomplishment. Frame that bib number. If you can get it mounted with your finishers medal, your finisher's photo and your official time, even better. Most races issue an "Official Race Time" document that you can frame as well. I keep and mount all the bibs from races that I PB (Personal Best) on the wall in my office. That way I am reminded of my accomplishments and find inspiration to renew my training. Maybe even replace an old bib with a newer, faster bib.
Recovery time. After the race, take some aspirin, acetaminophen, or your favourite painkiller. Have an Epsom salt bath as soon as you can. Book another full massage the day after your marathon. Take the week off running or at least cut back on the intensity and mileage. Remember it takes almost a full month to fully recover from a marathon.
Plan your next race. Many runners suffer from depression after finishing their first marathon. All that planning, work and effort are done and over. Now what do you do? The best thing I have found is to find another race, be it a five kilometre race in the three weeks after your marathon or to pick your next marathon.

By Mark G. Collis

Revised: June 12, 2004.

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