Coach George's Race Tips

After spending several months in training and preparing for your race, there is still some additional preparation that you need to do before your race make your experience a good one. Keep these tips in mind as you formulate your plans.

 Race Packet Pick-Up

Try to beat the lines and pick up your race packet early on the day before your race (or even two days before, if that’s an option) so that you minimize the amount of time that you’re spending on your feet. Grab your number, timing chip and t-shirt: browse through the expo, if there is one; and get back home, or to your hotel, and relax.

 Pre-Race Meal

Eat, drink and be merry, but don't drink too much or be too merry!! You’re going to be burning through lots of carbs on race day, so load up on them the night before the race! If you’re traveling to one of the big out-of-town marathons, it’s probably a good idea to try to make a dinner reservation well in advance so that you don’t have to wait a long time to get a table (again, stay off your feet as much as possible). Eat your dinner early enough to get to bed early and get a good night’s sleep.

 Race Morning

You don’t want to be rushing around on race morning, so get up early enough to leave yourself plenty of time to get ready for the race. Make sure that you eat something fairly substantial that will sit well in your stomach. Again, you’re going to need the fuel during the race! When you get dressed in your race gear, use some Body Glide on any area of your body that has the potential to chafe or blister during the race. Dress appropriately for the weather. If it’s on the chilly side, bring along a throw-away shirt that you can wear during the first few miles until you get warmed up, and then discard it. Some lightweight gloves can be helpful in cool weather as well. Don’t forget your gels, shot bloks, sport beans or whatever other energy replacement you’re going to be using during the race.

If you’re using some sort of gel packets, you can pin them to the waistband of your shorts so that when you pull them free the top will partially tear open, making it a lot easier to just squeeze the gel out of the package without having to fumble with tearing the pack open by hand. Before you head out the door to go to the starting line, don’t forget your race number and timing chip.

The Starting Line

It’s always a good idea to beat the crowds, get to the start line early and stake out a spot to sit and relax prior to the race. Be especially careful if you have to take mass transit to your race, as buses and subway cars can be incredibly crowded on race morning and the later you leave, the worse the crowding becomes.

(Note to MCMers: Getting off the metro at the Arlington Cemetery stop can be a nightmare. It can be difficult to get off the platform after exiting the train. Consider getting out at Rosslyn and making the 10 minute walk over to the start line from there. While you’re there, take advantage of the porta-johns in Rosslyn as well since there are no lines… and they’re clean!).

Bring some fluids along with you to keep yourself well hydrated before the race, especially if the weather is on the warm side. Other than a little light stretching, you really don’t need to do much in the way of a warmup prior to the race since part of your race strategy (that’s coming up a little later) should be to go out at a very slow pace, so the first few miles of the race will serve as your warmup. If you feel the need to do some jogging before the start, keep it to no more than 5-10 minutes. Conserve your energy for the race!

 The Race!

This is what you’ve spent your time and efforts for, so make sure that you have a solid race plan to capitalize on all of the hard work. The single most important thing that you have to remember on race day is that you need to be patient and disciplined and be sure to start out VERY conservatively.

There is no such thing as going out “too slow” in a marathon, but going out “too fast” is a mistake that will haunt you later in the race. It’s very easy to get caught up in the excitement of the moment and bolt from the starting line too fast during the first few miles. Once that mistake is made, there is no way to recover from it. Slowing down (and you will slow down!) isn’t going to make you feel any better, and the latter stages of your race will inevitably become a very unpleasant experience.

You’re much better off going out too slow than too fast. If you’re out a little slower than your target pace, there will be plenty of time to make it up later in the race. I would suggest taking the first six to seven miles of your race as a warmup, make sure that you feel like you’re running too slow during those early miles. After you get those first six to seven miles out of the way, start to get into chase mode and begin to pick off all of the runners who made the mistake of going out too fast! Psychologically, the race becomes much easier when you are the one who is doing the passing during the middle and late stages of the race, rather than the one who is being passed.

The second most important thing to remember is to make sure to take your energy replacement gels, sport beans, shot bloks, etc. every 40-45 minutes during the race. During the race you’ll be burning a lot of carbohydrates and you’ll be losing a lot of electrolytes through your sweat. If you replace them as you go, you’ll delay the point at which your body bonks and runs out of gas.

If you wait until late in the race to start replacing the carbs and electrolytes, it will be too late. You have to be replacing them long before you feel like you need them. So be diligent and take energy supplements at regular 40-45 minute intervals. It’s a good idea to take gels just before a water stop so that you can rinse any sugary residue out of your mouth.

Be sure to drink plenty of fluids during the race as well so that you avoid getting dehydrated late in the race. If you have trouble drinking while running, stop and walk for a few seconds while you drink but make sure that you get some fluids in you. Any time you lose while stopping for a few seconds to drink will pay dividends later in the race.

The WALL!

There is probably going to be a moment of crisis during the race when you ask yourself “Why the hell am I doing this to myself?!?!” The human body wasn’t built to run 26.2 miles, so most marathoners hit a point - commonly called “The Wall” - where things start to crumble physically, which can lead to some emotional distress. Almost everyone faces it, so take comfort that if it happens to you, almost everyone around you is feeling the same way! Be prepared for it and just keep putting one foot in front of the other if it happens. It may take a lot of willpower to get to the finish, but you can do it.

“The human body can only do so much. Then the heart and spirit must take over.” – Sohn Kee-chung, 1936 Olympic Marathon Champion 

Good luck with your races!

-Coach George Buckheit