With a little more than a week til Race Day for Melbourne marathoners, our focus turns to race day & our race plan.
If you're interested in getting the most out of your race day, read on to see my top Ten Commandments for running your marathon race.
Be a finisher!
Remember your 10 Commandments for Running a Marathon;
1. Know your Race Plan & follow your plan.
2. Don’t weave through people at the start, you’ll just waste valuable energy. Relax, there’s plenty of time.
3. Run the tangents, corner to corner, don’t make it any longer than it already is!
4. Don’t wear a hat, you’ll overheat, and you need to sweat to keep your cool!
5. Drink early & often, don't wait till you're thirsty.
6. Don’t do your shoelaces up too tight, and do double knots.
7. Run with the pack as much as possible for the first 30km.
8. Don’t fight the wind. Sit in behind a pack into a headwind, & wait til you’re downwind & relax to increase your pace.
9. Use the gradients – relax downhill, let your pace increase. Uphill - shorten your stride but maintain your cadence, ease your pace back a bit. It all evens out in the end.
10. Your goal is to get through to the 32k mark, or back onto St. Kilda Road in good shape. Your race starts here!
Finally, the marathon is all about economy & efficiency. Be mindful of this as you run.
How you run your first 10km will determine how you finish your last 10km! i.e. be conservative early to save your glycogen, for a strong finish, when you’ll need it!
When running, think about being relaxed. Think smooth, light & easy with your running form. If you’re not feeling this, ease off a bit, settle into your rhythm again before gradually picking it up.
And if you don't have a race plan, you better make sure you're not planning to fail!
Need advice for your Race Plan? It's not too late, click here!
