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Before you Run
You will have your own thoughts about how best to ready yourself for the race, but here are a few tips that you might find helpful.
Chances are that you will be nervous the night before the race, perhaps sleeping in a hotel bed that you are not used to. It often leads to a restless night. The body can easily cope with one sleepless night, as long as you have managed to get a few good nights in the week before.
Pasta is a great pre-race meal as it is full of carbohydrates and tends not to sit heavily in the stomach. Also, think about what you will eat first thing on race day. You will probably need to have something, but again, nothing too heavy. Most runners stick to what they would normally eat before a long training run. They know that their stomach will be used to it and they should suffer no discomfort during the race.
It is advisable to steer away from alcohol for a day or two before a race. If you feel like a drink, make it a small one, and make sure you drink plenty of water. It’s important that the body is fully hydrated well before the race – so you shouldn’t feel the need to drink an awful lot of water on the morning of race day, just plenty of small sips.
Have your running gear laid out and ready to put on when you get up on race day. Have a bag packed with a few essential items (for example, spare t-shirt, spare socks, etc) and whatever you think you might need straight after the race. Also pack some toilet paper of your own, as pre-race toilet visits on site are often met with empty paper dispensers. Don’t leave it too close to the start to go to the toilet – thousands of others will be trying to do the same thing!
With many thousands of runners taking part in large city races, the finish area will get very busy. Decide on a meeting place that everyone can find when you have finished the race. Remember, you probably won’t have your mobile phone with you.
