The training is over, it’s now time to go and run the marathon. Weeks of hard work and lots of miles are done and the race is the only thing left to do. With less than 24 hours to go, how you spend this time can be valuable towards your performance on the day.

Go For A Run

If you’re like me then you’re probably feeling like a small child on Christmas Eve, full of excitement and anticipation in equal measures and not knowing what to do with themselves! While some of you will be travelling, for those of you already in London (or wherever your marathon is), it is worth to go for a 30 minute jog. Now, some of you may think this is a crazy idea given that you’ve got 26.2 miles to run tomorrow but an easy jog can help relax you and keep your legs ticking over.

The rest of the day can be a bit of a quandary, do lots of tourist things or just rest? If you haven’t already been to the Expo then you’re going to have to go today and the good news is, there are plenty of top speakers there providing all the tips and advice you will need for the marathon and there’s all the merchandise to buy as well. These places can feel like you’re a kid in a toy shop so take the credit card! If you’re not at the Expo, and can’t really sit in your hotel all day so it’s worth to go to one or two places, whether it’s to a park or a place of interest but try to avoid walking too far, it’s very easy to cover 10 miles without doing too much! Allow a few rest breaks for coffee, some food and a general sit down.

Early Dinner

Go for dinner early so that you have plenty time afterwards to relax. Go eat some pasta or something that you would normally have. Now is not the time to try something new or have too big a meal. Save that for after the race when you will want to eat all the food. The relax bit was a joke as it’s unlikely you’ll be able to sit still for more than 5 seconds so once you get back to your hotel, start to get your kit laid out for tomorrow. Pin your race number onto your vest, get the gels lined up, everything. The last thing you want to be doing in the morning is turning everything upside down looking for your socks. Make sure your Garmin is fully charged as the last thing you want happening is your Garmin dies during the run. After all, if it doesn’t end up on Strava, it didn’t happen. Once you’ve got everything lined up, make sure to take a photo and stick it across all social media to remind everyone that you’re running a marathon. They may have forgotten.

After that, you can breathe a sigh of relief, watch some telly and most of all, get a good night’s sleep as you’ll be up ridiculously early in the morning.

Have a great day :-)

Next Up – Race Day!