26 Ways to Run a Better Marathon

14. Fuel Appropriately.
Beginning about the Wednesday before race day, start changing the ratios of your food. Start eating more carbs and reducing protein. Avoid eating MORE food, just change the ratios. Some great carb sources include sweet potatoes, quinoa, and squash. Continue to eat whole foods and avoid junk calories, as you are running less. Starting one to two days before race day, This is when your food consumption really matters. If you are anti-carb, now is the time to suspend your evil notions of carbs and embrace them to fuel your glycogen stores. Endeavor to eat three to five grams of carbohydrates for every pound of body weight. Carb sources should be easily digestible and dense sources to minimize the overall calories. Good sources—familiar, easily digestible foods-cereal, oatmeal, breads, pasta and rice, juices, fruits, and starchy vegetables. Again, don’t eat more, but rather adjust your margins. Have a small piece of chicken and a larger portion of pasta, instead of your typical portion ratios. If the race day forecast is going to be particularly hot, add a little more sodium to your diet. Sodium is an electrolyte and is necessary for absorption of hydration. This extra consumption will help improve your ability to perform on a hot race day. Drink a V-8 or two before race day. MOST IMPORTANTLY, DON’T TRY ANYTHING NEW.

Marine Corps Marathon Training Tips

“Bagels” by Flickr user Ezra WolfeLicense.

15. Eat a Light, High Complex Carb Meal 1-2 hours Before the Race
Eat something you know will not upset your stomach, e.g., something you have eaten prior to training or racing before. Suggestions include whole wheat toast with peanut butter, cereal, oatmeal, banana, or bagels, with 16 oz of water. If you are used to drinking coffee, have some. Caffeine has an ergogenic effect and is a performance enhancer, but can also lead to GI problems, rapid heartbeat and other side effects so if you have not experimented with this in training, do not try it on race day, but if you have, take some caffeine about 15 minutes before the start, if you can. One caffeine pill is equal to one cup of coffee and is sufficient to boost performance, provided this is something you’ve practiced with; otherwise, do not risk it. Do not eat simple sugars that morning ( If you eat mostly simple sugars such as candy or sweets, your blood glucose levels will spike and then drop rapidly, leaving you with low glucose levels at the start of the race. STOP eating within 1 hour of race start, but you can have sips of water at the start.

16. Dress Appropriately
Dress as if it’s 20 degrees cooler than the highest predicted temperature for race day. If it’s expected to reach 60, dress as if it’s 80. Bring throwaway clothes and a trash bag at the start to keep warm. If it’s raining, consider bringing throwaway socks and shoes to replace your footwear immediately before the start. Throwaway gloves, and arm sleeves are great options as the temperature rises throughout the race.

17. Dynamic Warm Up
At the start line, Warm up with dynamic stretching (butt kicks, high knees, strides) for 5-10 minutes before start in corral. Remind yourself not to start too fast.

18. Don’t Go Out Too Fast
If you feel like you are going too slow, you are probably running at an appropriate pace. Use the “talk test” to ensure that you are not running too fast and depleting your energy. Maintain a steady pace throughout the race and break it down by miles.  You cannot bank miles!  Going out too fast will deplete your energy stores that much quicker, while tearing up the muscles you need to get through the last ½ of the race.  Even if you bank two minutes during the first half, you will lose that very quickly if you need to slow down 15-30 seconds per miler later on.  Instead, aim for a negative split.  “Gee, I wish I had pushed the first half and ran as fast as I could, so I could run slower and walk a bit during the second half,” said no runner, ever.

19. Watch the Tangents
Start on path of least resistance- try not to weave around other runners, which will use up unnecessary energy. Stay focused on a straight path to pass through the crowd, rather than around them at the beginning. Typically the far outside of the pack is less crowded, but if you are running along the side make sure to watch your footing for any potholes, gutters, grates, etc. and remember to still aim to run the tangents of the course to avoid adding extra mileage to the course.  To do this, when the course curves, do not run along the curve- rather, aim for the next curve that comes into sight a run diagonally to the next point. In longer races, running the tangents can take several minutes off your finish time.

20. Even Effort on Hills
Take advantage of the downhill, not the uphill. When running uphill, allow your pace to slow a bit, shorten your stride, keep your head up, look twenty feet ahead, and try to stay light and avoid exerting too much energy. Once at the top, pass all of those who passed you on the way uphill.

21. Have an “A” and a “B” Plan
Stick to plan A, and if it’s not your day, instead of resigning to having a bad race, focus on plan B to stay in the game. For the first few miles, you should not be racing anyone but yourself. After you settle in your pace, focus on every legal advantage: running tangents, drafting if it’s windy off someone taller than you, pacing with someone who is running your pace (while paying attention to the pace to ensure you are not going too slow or fast), and taking in nutrition.

22. The Last Four Miles of the Marathon are the Race
Use the first 22 miles of a marathon to prepare for the final four. Keep your pace steady, exert as little energy as possible otherwise—don’t surge or weave, and avoid too many high fives and energetic gestures. Mentally prepare for mile 22 and know that mile 22 is where the race begins. Nutrition intake before and during the race will determine whether there is a “WALL” at mile 20 or an open door toward a strong finish. It’s going to hurt. Embrace the suck, use your positive mantra, which leads to…

23. Ask for Encouragement in the Final Miles
Consider asking a friend or family member to stand at mile 23-24 to get you through the last 5K.  Each time you pass the mile marker, think about how far you’ve come since you started training.  If you start to feel depleted, remember that the discomfort you are feeling is very temporary and the accomplishment of finishing the race is permanent!

24. Walk and Walk Some More After the Race
Continue walking after crossing the finish line and for several days thereafter. Walk (or even light, non-impact cross training such as swimming) as much as you can the next few days to remove the lactic acid from those legs. Treat yourself to an ice bath.

25. ​Refrain from Racing for at Least a Month
While you may feel amazing and want to capitalize on your fitness gains, you need time to recover. You’ve torn your body to shreds, and if you rush your recovery to run a 5K, that will increase your injury risk significantly.

26. ​Finally, congratulate yourself
It’s great to feel proud with yourself your achievement. That feeling of pride about your success is an important motivator to get into it and really live it and feel it. The next time your 5AM wake-up call comes, you might need to find that feeling again to get you up and dressed in you running gear!
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