This was London Marathon according to runners like you

Preparing for race day

If you’ve ever run a marathon, you’ll know that there’s a lot of preparation. It’s not just the training. There’s also fuelling, kit, and race day logistics to think about – as well as things you’ll inevitably have forgotten about!

London is in April every year, and the weather is famously variable. Some years it’s blazing heat, while in other years, there’s wind and rain. It was a warm day this year, and that was one of the things Emily was most nervous about before race day: “After training throughout winter, I was most nervous about the heat because it’s one of the only things that is out of your control! It ended up being fine though, lots of water and showers throughout the course made it so much more bearable!”

For Lauren, it was the unknown that made her nervous. Most runners will go as far as 18 or 20 miles during their training block, saving those last few miles for race day. Lauren said: “Before the race I was most nervous about the unknown. Am I going to be able to run 26.2 miles on this day? What happens if it’s too hot? Am I going to hit the wall?” Spoiler alert: She was indeed able to run 26.2 miles, and we think it won’t be her last…

Stien was also worried about making the full distance, after picking up a cold in her taper: “I had been a bit sick with a cold all week, so I was mostly worried about the distance and whether my body would hold up.” She was also stressed about the start line logistics. As it’s such a big marathon, there are a lot of runners heading to the corrals, bag drop and toilet queues, as she notes: “I was also a bit stressed about getting into my start wave on time and the toilet queues. Luckily, it all worked out well, although the line for the toilets at the start was really long. Fortunately, a kind woman let me go ahead because I was about to miss my start.”

The race day strategy

Once the gun goes and the race begins, those start-line nerves dissipate, and it’s time for the victory lap. There were ups and downs for all of our runners along the way, but the trick is to have a strategy to deal with it. We asked them:

How did you handle the mental dip when it got quiet or tough?

Emily and Stien used the same technique of breaking the race down into smaller chunks. 26.2 miles is a big number and can be overwhelming to think about – but if you think about smaller milestones instead, it can be much easier to deal with mentally.

Emily: “I always break the distance down in my head, so I never think of the full distance and focus on smaller milestones instead (e.g. at kilometer 30, I don’t think of 12km left, I think two 5kms, and then a final 2km). That makes it feel like a series of smaller races which is mentally easier to get through, and also once you hit that milestone, it’s a bit of a boost!”

Stien: “I broke the race down into smaller segments. From around 30K it usually gets tough, but then I counted down to 32K because I knew that from there it’s only 10K left, and that feels manageable.”

  And for Lauren, it was all about the power of positive thinking. If you feel yourself getting into a negative headspace, think about why you’re doing the race: “I cancel out all negative thoughts with positive ones! If I think I can’t, I remind myself I CAN! If I think it’s too hard, I remind myself I can do hard things! I remind myself of my “WHY!” I imagine how I will feel when I cross the finish line. I tell myself pain is temporary but pride lasts forever.”

One great tip is to write your mantra or your why on your hand. Then, if you’re ever going through a tough spot, all you have to do is look down for a reminder.

Fuelling is another important factor in a race as long as a marathon. We asked:

What was your fueling plan, and did you stick to it?

For Stien, this was an important part of breaking the race down into smaller chunks. She said: “I took a gel every 6K, so I was always focused on reaching the next one.”

 And for Lauren, practice made perfect. She knows the importance of nothing new on race day, and said: “I practiced my fuelling plan throughout my training block so that I knew my stomach was trained to take this amount on board. This gave me confidence to keep fuelling throughout and not wait until it was too late!”

Soaking up the crowd support

The marathon in London is legendary for its supporters, who line the full 26.2 miles, sometimes 10 deep in busy areas like Tower Bridge. In fact, Tower Bridge was the most unforgettable spot on the course for both Lauren and Stien:

Lauren: “Nothing will prepare you for how it feels when running over it! The atmosphere is absolutely electric, you feel every kind of emotion all at once. It’s simply amazing!”

Stien: “I had seen this spot online every year, and this summer I was walking there imagining what it would be like to run a marathon across it. That was the dream. It felt surreal to actually experience it during the race.”

  For Emily, it was a more unexpected part of the course that was unforgettable. Canary Wharf is tricky for many runners. Coming at mile 18, it’s where many start to hit the wall, and the crowds of supporters can often be thinner than on other parts of the course. But Emily had a completely different experience: “Everyone told me that Canary Wharf was a tough part of the course but I actually really loved it. The energy was amazing and the crowds were so good. I remember that quite well because I was expecting to struggle through it, but ended up having a great time!”