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What are the race day essentials for a marathon?
As you stand at the starting line it can feel like a long way to the end. But if you start steady hopefully your feet will do the talking. Get into good habits early on and you’ll be in better shape to train well and give your running an edge on the big day. And don’t forget to make sure your muscles are warmed up for exercise to help prevent injury and improve your overall performance.
Marathon
When you start your training plans, you need to start thinking about what you drink and eat. This doesn’t mean cutting out things like cake – the main thing your body will need is more carbs, fluid and protein to stay healthy. About a week before the race is a good time to start filling up with high-quality carbohydrates. A good amount would be 8-10g per kilogram of body weight in the few days leading up to the race. For example if someone weighs 70kg, he should aim for up to 700g of cereals, pasta, potatoes and rice a day.
It is crucial to plan your training. This will help you meet your running goals and give you a real psychological lift by being able to see your progress. Once you’ve got a few miles under your belt, and you’re feeling confident, it’s time to step it up a gear. Think positively about the increased time you’ll spend on the road. It’s a chance to try out your new running gear, explore a new part of town or find the songs that’ll make the race-day playlist.
You’ve known about race day for a while – so don’t pack at the last minute. Make sure you know where your keys are, your lucky running socks or favourite headband. It sounds obvious, but it will happen to someone before every race. Get everything ready in advance and you’ll get out that door and to the race on time.
The morning of the race is also the last chance to fuel up. You should make every effort to eat and drink the right things on race day. Carbs and fluids are essential. Try to have 1-4g of carbs and 5-7ml of liquid per kg of body weight on the morning of the race. If you get that down you then you’ll be in with a much better chance of putting in a performance to be proud of.
That’s basically it. If you’ve put the effort in all you’ve got to do is finish the job.