26.2 marathon training tips
1. Sign up. Then go and tell everyone you know that you’re running a marathon. Vocalizing your goal keeps you accountable to yourself and inspires others to help keep you accountable in reaching it.
2. Talk to your doctor. No need to panic, marathons are rarely ‘bad’ for people, but a check-up before you start an intense training schedule is never a bad idea.
3. Read up on nutrition for marathon training. You’ll want to consume whole foods and impressive amounts of water, because the reasons many of us aren’t hydrated enough are, frankly, dumb—especially during winter.
4. Learn the lingo. This way, you can communicate more effectively when comparing notes with other runners, shopping for shoes, or just hanging out at the coffee shop post-run talkin’ sweet, sweaty smack.
5. Don’t wait. If it’s raining, go. If it means getting up early, go. If it means putting off watching that last episode of (your favourite TV series here), go.
6. Get proper gear. Invest in shoes that fit your feet, and are lightweight but with appropriate support. Then invest in a pair of appropriate socks—we’re talking to both you ladies and you dudes. And for the love of TED Talks, tie your shoes like this.
7. Cross-train. Strength conditioning will reduce your chance of injury and increase your speed.
8. Talk to someone who has finished a marathon. All the better if they’ve run the marathon you’ll be running. There’s no better insight available about what it’s like on the course than from someone who’s run it.
9. Make training a social event. Find friends—or make new ones—who are training for a running race and align your schedules. The camaraderie is invaluable.
10. Time management. Pre-plan your day to help you complete your run, whether that means laying out clothing for it the night before an early morning session, or doing all your shopping on the weekend for healthy meals all week that support your caloric output.
11. Make slow runs slow. Your slow training runs are supposed to be slower. Revel in this reality and just take it easy on these ones.
12. Use a training app. Monitoring your speed, time and heart rate helps you fine-tune your training. Bonus: often apps will spout motivational encouragement for you as you’re running. Some even have zombies.
13. Train alone. Being inspired to get out there and pound the pavement solo can be good mental practice for the big day, and help you keep a pace true to your goals. Flying Han Solo can also put you a great headspace. Lean into that idea.
14. Conversely, train in a group. Running with a group helps to keep you motivated, often with a side order of healthy competition.
15. Set a goal. The joy of the successes of each session will keep you rolling stronger towards the Big Goal, the marathon itself.
16. Stretch. Yoga will do nicely.
17. Research the route. Because nobody likes a surprise hill at mile 22.
18. Mimic the course. Self-explanatory, yes? (Um, in case it’s not: try to train on a course similar to the one you’ll be racing on—or harder than the one you’ll be racing on, if you’re super hardcore.)
19. Stay inspired. Read a good book. Watch Chariots of Fire. Put motivational post-its on your bathroom mirror reminding yourself training is an evolution, not a destination. Translation: you’re already winning just for training.
20. Do a half marathon first. Or a 10k. This gets you well-versed on what race day will feel like (you know, times four), and a temperature check on running with all those other people (an adrenaline rush). A general rule is to do this run about a month before your marathon.
21. Add speed to your longest training run. This trains you to increase your effort and battle effectively through fatigue.
22. Taper. This is the time when you wind down the week or so before your marathon. You may weep. And no matter how confident you’re feeling, this is not the time to see if you can squeeze out an extra five miles on top of your final long run.
23. Chill out. Further to tapering, the week before the marathon stay off your feet and ease into a mindfulness of the energy around you. This is also not the time to move house, or start a new course at school. Practice a calm mind.
24. Carbo-load. Not to be confused with fat-loading. Since you’ll be tapering, you won’t need to eat more than usual. The Internet has a bottomless source of killer recipes for this express purpose, like this vegetarian pasta.
25. Change nothing. You’ve created a plan for race day, and even if the best runner you know suggests a different approach, stick with what you know.
26. Talk to yourself. Where the mind goes the body will follow. You are going to train. Then you are going to make it from the start line to the finish line. Repeat.
Bonus .2 tip: Don’t give up. Need one more good reason to show up at the start line? Check out Simon Webb.
Kate is a writer, fast-talker (literally) and our global blog editor. She knows that life is profoundly better outside—especially when there’s a board beneath her feet. Join her for the ride on Twitter and Instagram.
