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Whats the one thing you wish you'd known before your first marathon...
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My first marathon was a disaster due to:
Not pacing myself correctly and not adjusting my plan for the course (New Forest...hilly!).
Not checking my kit (drinks belt) before I started. After my last long run I must have loosened the belt a bit more than usual. Stuck it on before the race, set off and only then realised that it wasn't right. Eventually stopped to sort it out, but couldn't and ended up being in a lot of discomfort for the whole race. Finished in 4:21
Bought myself a CamelBak for my next marathon (4 weeks later) and it was miles better. Finished in 3:43!
For those who are treading the roads of London for the first time. On race day think legs. What! I hear you say. Think about it. You get out of bed, you have to get to the start. You may well have had to take the train.
You have to walk from the station to the start area. Now you are getting nervous and you are walking around looking for friends or charity areas. You want to go to the loo, and you are forced to stand in a queue. You have a coffee and you are still standing !!!.
You change and then at last you go to your start pen. What!!! Still 30 minutes to go and your still standing. Yippeee the gun goes of. Hang on you haven’t moved. It could take anything up to 10 minutes before you actually cross the start line. THEN you have to run 26.2 miles.
The moral of the story is keep off your feet as much as possible on race day. Take an old shirt, jacket, binbag, anything to sit on wherever you can. If you don’t you will wish you had. Trust me I learnt the hard way.
Further to Gatton's post - stay off your legs the day before as well.
Don't take gels without water. I did that on my first marathon. Result: terrible cramp. The last 2 miles took 35 minutes.
If you are a plodder like me don't drink too much during the race. It may be fatal. And get your energy in early: after 20 miles your tummy will probably stop absorbing much.
Find someone to chat to and stick with them at least till Tower Bridge. The RW pace gpoups are great for this. And they'll help you to get off to a sensible start.
Don't rely on your support crew being exactly where you expect them to be. Have a fall back plan.
If you have done the training and the long runs, you WILL be able to finish. But at around 17 to 20 miles a little gremlin will appear on your shoulder suggesting you pack it in and take the underground to the finish. This is so common that it is recognized as a classic bit of sports psychology! Shrug the little critter off and talk to the RW supporters at 17 miles (and the Fetchies at 22 miles). Have a hug or two. They won't mind if you are sweaty.
If you are a plodder like me, remember that the crowds will have been there for hours and hours. They will have had a grueling time. Give them something back as you hit those last, tough miles. Smile at them, applaud them, yell things like "Let's have a smile!" and "You can do it!" and "Not long to go now!" If might sound silly but they'll love you for it and you'll feel the love
Mind you, some of your fellow runners might not find it so funny ...
I shot for a sub 3 in my first marathon aged 23 having trained in the cool of the evening. It was so hot on race day the tarmac was melting on the road. It turned out to be one the worst days of my life.
The pain of my final score of 4.38 is still etched in my brain. Had I reduced my expectations and shot for a 3.30 it might not have been another 23 years before I had courage to have a second attempt.
In that I unbelievably faced very similar hot weather. Having learned from my previous mistake, this time I walked off with a 3.25.
I'm now a marathon junkie, and have raced 12 in the last 4 years. I've already run a 3.07 this year aged 51.
Dull
Here are some things I learned from my first FLM in 2005:
The Portaloos on the course are not nice. Be prepared!
Carry plasters. I didn't have a single blister in training but felt one appear at about 6 miles. Interestingly I haven't had one in the same shoes since...
Don't fill a pack or belt with everything but the kitchen sink. You won't need it!
Cut your toenails short, or they'll end up black and falling off
VASELINE (or bodyglide)
Take a binbag for while you're waiting to stop getting cold. Don't worry, everyone else will be doing the same.
Don't be ashamed if you're overtaken by a rhino (it may become clear depending if you're as slow as me!)
Don't plan anything too serious for the next few days
Definitely have your name on your shirt - you will feel like a celebrity
Like everyone else has said...be prepared to cry! I cried running across Tower Bridge (and not only because I realised I wasn't even halfway...) and coming round the corner and seeing the finish line
Oh and if you can, carry a phone or a coin. Meeting friends and family at a letter on horseguards sounds easy, but when there are thousands of others doing the same it's really not. I just sat down on the floor near the letter we'd chosen and waited for them to find me.
Oh and tell your family to get a good spot for spectating early.
Wow I remembered more than I thought! I hope some of it is useful to someone! Good luck everyone!
When you're at Cutty Sark, just imagine Tower Bridge - it's great to be there.
At Tower Bridge, imagine Canary Wharf and all those tall buildings waiting for you.
At Canary Wharf, just think of the Tower of London.
Passing the Tower, imagine Big Ben
At Big Ben just think of Buckingham Palace
At Buckingham Palace you won't need to imagine the finish line, as you'll see it.
And for the whole week before, just imagine crossing that finish line ...
...and you will get there.
1. Tie my shoelaces up tighter, my trainers were a teensy big hence beautiful black toenails.
2. Raise my arms higher as l cross the finish line.
3. Eat more jelly babies for the sheer hell of it.
If you have a Garmin, turn the Autopause off.
You will lose GPS signal in Docklands and your Autopause will kick in, leading to much confusion!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Some brilliant suggestions and a huge morale boost
Oh hello!! Its you! Saw the name of the thread and had to come on and just say ONE THING
DONT GO OFF TOO FAST..... its the beginning and end of a good marathon....
All the above is briliant advice and hope I'm not repeating anyone, but don't be surprised if you're not elated at the end. I was just too damn tired to do anything but whimper gently for the rest of the day. The following day however......
!!!!!!!!!!!
* Don't go off too fast, it's easy to do with the atmosphere, well not at FLM maybe...
* Hold onto the thought that (I think) it's 98% of runners that cross the FLM start line do finish
*You're doing something amazing! Enjoy it! Even the hard bits make good anecdotes...
The first time I ran FLM I had virtually no recollection of London landmarks especially as the race went on. Afterward I saw a photo of me going past Big Ben but I did not see it at all. How big does Ben have to be for me to notice ?
Next time I ran it I made a conscious effort to take in the sights.
Like Geves, I was expecting to feel elated but I was too darn tired.
Top tips:
1. Take it deliberately easier than your planned race pace for the first 5K - e.g. if you're planning to average 9 minute miles over the whole distance, watch the distance markers and make sure you are doing 10 minute miles for the first three or four miles. You will lose 3 or 4 minutes at the start but you'll easily make up for it when you're still going strong in the second half
2. You'll probably have an energy & immune system slump 2-3 weeks after the race so for a couple of weeks, take plenty of vitamin C, eat well and go to bed early, clutching your hard-earned medal
3. Enjoy the day!
No caffiene drinks for say 5 days before the marathon, then on the big day treat yourself to a red bull just before the off - reduces feelings of fatigue later in the race.
For the first half, chat with the people around you, ideally find a race buddy someone who is after a similar time as you, so you can keep eachother going. Don't run too fast.....
Pee pee and pee again before the start.
After mile 20, it all looks rather differnet but your only 6 miles from the end and hey your a tough marathon runner, so just keep on going.
Once over the line, keep on walking (to aid recovery).......and give yourself a big pat on the back.
If you think you might be walking a bit and don't want your friends and family to see you, if you arrange to meet them at 15 miles, expect them to walk between the buildings and see you at mile 17 too
I wish I'd known what my body could take food and drink wise in the days running up to the race and the race itself. I got there in the end but it took a lot of training runs to work it out. All I would say is practice it lots! Work out what your body likes and doesn't like in race week, on the morning of the race and during the race itself as it makes all the difference. I cut off dairy/caffiene the day before the race and went with PB on toast on the morning and SIS gels every 45mins during the race but this was what worked for me - it will be different for everyone.
Also...if it's hot wear sunscreen and sunglasses, make good arrangements to meet your supporters on route and afterwards and enjoy yourself.
Wow you guys, thanks for the tips. There are loads here that I didn't even think of.
Keep them coming. I am sitting here with my wee notepad scribbling them all down.
be carefull with the lucozade drinks if you haven't tested them on your long runs before ..they can upset your stomach .
Take a few compeed blister plasters .
My biggest mistake last year was I used up too much energy in the first 15 miles waving frantically and screaming "thank you!"s to everyone who called out my name as it was printed on my vest. Also got too excited at all the bands playing and generally everything going on around me, kept jumping up and down and giggling and just used up FAR too much energy... which I paid for later.
I agree with whoever else said this - don't stop. I walked a few parts of the Leicester marathon last year and found it really hard to get going again. But everyone will vary on that. I just know my rule is to keep going no matter what.
Don't rely on your support crew for a specific flavour sports drink that you gave them the night before with very specific instructions of when to give it to you, then miss the last Lucozade station in anticipation of getting said nice flavour from supporters - THEY WILL FORGET TO GIVE IT TO YOU and instead take a silly photo of you pale-faced running towards them with your arm outstretched for the bottle looking very upset.......... (my mum has never forgiven herself for this!)
Don't expect to sleep much the night before. It's like the night before a driving test, all your childhood Christmas Eves and probably your wedding day (not had one of them myself) rolled into one.
So try and get lots of sleep in the week leading up to it.
Don't expect to be able to drink expensive champagne the night of the race. You may well be quite dehydrated for some time and only be able to stomach water...
Mikey T - that's a huge difference with your times, well done!!
Dull Napoleon - great story too, congratulations...
Judderman - didn't know about turning off autopause on Garmin, thanks for that.
Sorry for the waffle... see you all there, GOOD LUCK everyone!!
Apologies to OuchOuch above but I disagree with some of the advice given.
Avoiding caffeine for a few days before a big race is a good idea, as it means you'll sleep better and you'll be better hydrated going into the race (caffeine is a diuretic so it dehydrates you)
However, taking a big caffeine boost at the start of a marathon is a bad idea. It's fine for short races up to 10K, but caffeine speeds up the use of carbohydrates so taking it just before a marathon will make you more likely to hit the wall mid-race as your glycogen supplies will be finished sooner (the so-called "Coke crash" if you drink too much Coke too soon in a long race). It also makes you more likely to go too fast off the start. Best to keep the Coke, Red Bull and caffeinated gels until mid-race or later, to give you a boost when you need it most.
I do find a Coke, an ice cream and a banana really hit the spot just after a hot marathon finish though...
Mm, coke and ice cream!
I actually have a friend who swears by a can of red bull just before the start of a marathon.. These things do affect people in different ways. I think if it's your first time and you'd not tried it for long training runs you'd be absolutely bonkers to try something like that on the day though. Personally I just swig lucozade sport before the start.
I also thought of one more silly one.... if you are planning to run the whole thing with a friend and have a slight bit of friendly competition between you, make sure they cross the start line before you, even if you plan to cross the finish line side by side - that way your official time might be that crucial one second faster than theirs, hee hee.
aandersnog - do you have any evidence for that? The usual explanation for taking cafeine is that it aids in the metabolism of fat, which is pretty much the opposite of what you're saying there. Personally I find a strong coffee makes a very noticeable improvement; if you normally drink coffee in the morning, then not doing so on race day is bad.
Because you will be nervous, the first 3 miles will feel awful. Your breathing will be shot, your legs will feel like lead and you will be totally convinced that you won't make it to half way, never mind the finish. Once you have run off the adrenaline, it will get better, so just concentrate on keeping relaxed and getting through the early bit (and keep the pace slow as andersnog says).
Don't drink the whole bottle from each water station - it will make you ill. On a cool day, a few sips every 3 miles is enough, on a hot day drink a bit more but not too much, and pour some over your head - it really makes a difference.
Take sweets wherever they are offered - especially from kids as it will make their day. Keep them for later if you don't feel you need them now.
Don't look at the mile markers and think "Oh god, 17 miles to go" - think "9 miles gone and I'm still feeling ok" - PMA works!
One glass of wine later will get you pi$$ed, so have a glass of water too and take alternate sips.
And have a great day!