As the day of your marathon draws close you should already be be tapering your efforts and resting up to conserve your energy. These tips from sportsshoes.com can help.
The night before your race, eat a good carb-heavy meal (avoid spicy food) and get an early night. But don't worry if you don't sleep well: it’s the adrenaline kicking in, which is a positive as it will help you complete your marathon.
On race day:
1. Get up early to eat a light digestible meal and drink lots of water. Go to the toilet: it's better to run on an empty stomach.
2. Don't be tempted to try something new on race day. This is not the time to roadtest a new item of clothing or take a supplement you've not used during training.
3. Apply Vaseline to potential chafing points: inner thighs, nipples, around your sports bra, under your upper arms.
4. Plan your transport to the starting point, especially if your marathon takes place on a Sunday when public transport can be unreliable. Give yourself plenty of time to get there, making sure you account for queuing time to go to the loo and drop off your bag.
5. Limber up before you start running: try knee raises, star jumps, jogging on the spot.
6. Wear an old T-shirt or sweatshirt you're happy to discard after the race starts, to keep you warm in the moments before you cross the line. It won't go to waste: many race organisers collect clothing left by runners and give it to charity.
7. Don't start off too quickly: it's easy to be carried along by the crowd and kick off your marathon in the wrong gear. Wear a running watch, or stick with a pacemaker who matches the finishing time you're aiming for.
8. At some point something will start hurting but this is normal. Part of your challenge is to deal with this, remember: 'pain is inevitable but suffering is optional'. Having your own mantra that you can mutter to yourself when the going gets tough will help.
9. Finally, make sure you enjoy the marathon. When you get to the race stage you have already done the hard bit. Think of the reward that will come with finishing.
How to survive a marathon
