Final Birmingham Marathon Prep!

Greg Robson

12 min readOct 10, 2017

I’ve dug out some old half-marathon prep posts and have rehashed them. Some helpful tips and advice!

Nutrition

This could be complicated. The internet is full of opinions. Let me boil this down to something simple:

Eat a healthy balanced diet.

Yep, that’s what it boils down to. Check out these Google results — there are trends:

Fresh fruit and vegetables (a whole heap of good stuff in them)
Nuts (healthy oils)
Eggs (protein)
Fish (healthy oils)

You don’t need to go crazy over “super foods”, but one area of nutrition should be increased…

Nitrites

Nitrites (not nitrates — they’re different) have been shown to delay fatigue and improve performance. It seems to work for Tour de France teams — and they do everything they have to push to their limits for hours. They have teams just to plan their meals down to the calorie.

Very high nitrite sources include: arugula (rocket or rucola), bok choy, celery, chervil, collard greens, cress, lettuce, radish, red beetroot, rhubarb, spinach, Swiss chard.
High nitrite sources include: basil, celeriac, Chinese cabbage, chard, coriander, endive, fennel, kohlrabi, leek, mustard greens, parsley.

I did get very bored last year of beetroot and lettuce salads the last time I followed this advice, but I also felt a lot better in the later stages of the race. That’s only my experience though.

Electrolytes

I think this is an area that’s overlooked. Electrolytes are essential salts that carry electrical charge to control muscle contractions: sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium chloride.

You don’t need to overdo it — bananas contain potassium, the right vegetables contain magnesium. A packet of crisps contains sodium. I might have a drink of Science in Sport electroyte mix in each of the last 3 days before the race. (I’ll also be carrying it on the day in my running rucksack.) If you sweat a lot when running, then it it will help replace what you’re loosing.

Do I need to Carb Load?

Yes, and no: it’s complicated.

Your body is basically a chemical battery storing energy as glycogen.

Some is in the blood (easily available)
Some is in your muscles (not as easily available, but lasts longer)
Some is stored as fat (it’s a right pain to convert into usable energy!)

So long as you can maintain enough in the blood and muscles, you won’t hit “the wall” — that awkward moment where your body realises it hasn’t got energy readily available. We don’t want that to happen!

We want to make sure that you’re starting the race in the same state as your mobile when you go out — 100% charged, so charged that you unplug it as your Uber taxi parks outside!

For full marathons, you want to be really sure of this — you could be burning in excess of 3600 calories — more than your average daily requirement — in a few hours. Having used this calculator and my own personal pace and weight I will need approximately 3,500 calories for the race. My blood and liver probably hold 2,000–2,500 calories according to online sources. (It’s all going a bit Mark Watney [The Martian] here, but stay with me)…

…so I’m going to need an extra source of energy, which is why I’ll be carrying some gels. So make sure I’m “fully charged” when I start:

In the last few days pre-race I’ll make sure I’m eating well rounded meals. Foods that are rich in iron (which transports the oxygen in the red blood cells) are great. E.g. Some fish, sweet potatoes and curly kale (that bad boy has iron, vitamin A, potassium, calcium and a whole heap of other nutrients!)

Wait a minute? Not masses of pasta and rice?

Nope. Don’t need to. When I was doing 30+ miles/week I probably had to eat another 3,000 calories a week just to maintain the balance and not loose weight. But I’m not doing 30+ miles a week when I taper — therefore the extra calories are not used, and will be stored instead!!!

So eating the same amount as your peak training (but prioritising nutrient rich items) will probably be enough to keep you topped up. (Obviously if you kept this up, your body would start to convert the excess energy to fat, but we know we have a race day ahead!)

Overall: You want to wake up on race-day wanting breakfast, but not so hungry that you feel like you should have had something else to eat last night.

Back to the food preparations…

The night before: A good meal I know I can digest well.
Late night (10:30pm): Slice or two of malt loaf or tea cake, hot cross bun etc. You do burn some energy overnight. If you’re a breakfast person (I am) then I don’t want to be super-hungry in the morning.
1st breakfast. Porridge with cinnamon and honey.
2nd breakfast. Banana as I’m heading out the door.
Hour before. 3 or 4 fig roll biscuits (I love those biscuits!) or Jaffa cakes. They’re easy to digest and will hopefully boost your levels in the early race stages.

That is the basic overview of my nutritional preparation. I believe it’s generally sound, there’s nothing extreme, it’s all common sense. There are enough reputable websites out there that will allow you to find some meals that will suit you, your diet and your own half marathon preparation.

Non Food Preparations

Half a week before

You should have a good idea of what kit you will be wearing, make sure it is washed and dried — you don’t want to start with damp kit.
Make sure you have safety pins for your number.
Plan your journey to the start, aim to be there in plenty of time.

Two days before

Get a good night’s rest — you’ll be nervous the night before. A good 8 hours+ if you can.
Check the weather forecast and adjust clothing choices if required
Download the app or log on to the website to set up SMS/social media notifications for when you finish — tell loved ones your race number so they can track you online. https://socialmediaregistration.greatrun.org/
Go for a 20 minute walk, just to stretch the legs a little.

The day before

Make sure you have filled in the back of your running number. Fix it to your shirt and try it on. It’s much easier to adjust when you’re not under time pressure! (Note to guys: make sure the safety pins are not going to rub in any “sensitive” areas on your chest: pinning it lower helps!)
Your timing chip is part of your number, leave it attached: you don’t need to attach anything to your laces! One thing less to think about.
Lay out everything you will need/wear: clothing, socks, sweatband, watch, timing device (CHARGE IT!), arm band, waistband if you need to stash keys/change/gels somewhere, food, running shoes etc. You don’t want this stress on a Sunday morning — you just want to get up, put stuff on, eat and go!
Eat appropriately, drink well amounts of fluids(don’t overdo it!) and perhaps have a small glass of water before you go to bed. Try to get to bed EARLY.
Charge your timing device fully (watch and/or phone). Even if you’re not using your phone for timing, charge it anyway.
Go for a 20 minute walk, stretch your legs a bit.

On The Day

This should be the easy bit — get up, have a drink (not a massive one, you will still be hydrated from drinking plenty yesterday). You will be drinking during the race, so you really only need sips of water at this stage.

Have breakfast. You might not feel like it, but it’s best that you eat it.

Carry out any (ahem) bathroom activities as required. Nerves can be helpful at times!

Make your way to the race start…

The journey in

Hopefully you have read up on this beforehand and will have a plan.

At the start

It can be a bit daunting even if it’s not your first time — there are thousands of runners (all nervous like you!). Aim to be there at least an hour before your wave starts. This gives you time to drop your bag (already labelled) if required, use the toilets and warm up.

Warm up well!

Warm up everything! Not just legs, but make sure your ankles, hips, shoulders, arms, torso etc is ALL warmed up. Do a few light jogs up and down (you’ll see others doing the same) just to get the circulation going.

Now might be a good time to have a few biscuits, or the banana your brought with you. You only want to be sipping a bit of water at this point — the first drinks station is only 90 minutes away at most. You won’t dehydrate that much before then!

Move to your wave!

Head over to your wave so you are there about 20 minutes before the wave starts. Position yourself where you think is best (faster people nearer the front), you might see some pacers with flags to give you an idea.

Chat to people around you — it helps calm your nerves (and other people’s)!

A “mass warm up” for 10–15 minutes is normally run before the wave (and race) starts. You’ll know you’re warmed up properly when you are bored with the warm up and want to get started!

This is a good opportunity to check your mobile app (open it, make sure it has a GPS lock on your location), do any final adjustment to your laces, and do any other final checks.

Tie your bin bag poncho to any side railing if you can’t bin it. Leave any old t-shirt or water bottles tidily to the side of the road out the way.

Under Starters Orders

You will start on schedule barring any interruption. Unless you are right at the front, you won’t move immediately, but don’t worry you’re only timed from when YOU cross the line.

My advice is start any mobile app in advance of crossing the line (about 10m before) then start your watch (which is more reliable) as your cross.

Tips

General

If using the bag transport facility, take a photo of it on your phone — it’s helpful if you need help locating it.
If you can, avoid taking baggage — it’s another thing to remember, you probably only need to carry a few biscuits/banana and a small bottle that of water that you can throw away.

Using your phone for timing

It will work, but here are some things to help make sure your battery makes it all the way round.

Make sure it’s fully charged before you leave. Obvious, but still worth mentioning!
Turn off Bluetooth — unless it needs to connect to a heart rate monitor, it’s of no use and will only be scanning all the other phones nearby.
Switch from 4G to 3G data — 4G uses more power to operate.
Leave wi-fi on — it helps your phone get a better location lock.
Close out other apps running in the background. You don’t want mapping apps updating their location or Facebook alerts while running.
Turn auto-pause off. Strava, Garmin and Runkeeper can pause the timer which is helpful on training runs when waiting to cross roads. Sometimes this can happen mid-run accidentally. Best to turn it off.
If you want audio splits on times/pace set these accordingly.

Can I listen to music ?

You’re advised not to for safety reasons, although headphones for apps to give mile splits/pace updates can be handy.

In all honesty, the crowds, bands and other runners can drown out even the most upbeat music!

What to wear?

Err on the side of being a little bit cold at the start. I’m fine running down to 8C without gloves and in shorts. Yes, my hands may be a little bit cold for the first mile or two, but that’s preferable to being too hot for the remaining distance.

Err on the side of being colder at the start…

…unless, it’s either very windy, wet or both. Wind and water can cool the body greatly. Fingers crossed for dry weather!

Bin Bag Poncho (BBP)

Yes! The BBP is the ultimate fashion accessory. Lightweight, waterproof, wind proof and disposable! (Tie it to a railing just before you start)

Firstly some general tips on running the race:

Roads are not flat, they have a camber to allow for drainage. It’s easier to run nearer the centre of the road, although avoid the very centre because cats eyes are big things that you can trip up on! Don’t forget you will need to move across in time for water stations.
You can ignore traffic lights, yeah, you’re literally going to run red lights!
Roads seem wider as there will be no parked cars at the side. It’s a bit surreal the first time you run along a road.
Bollards and traffic lights occur in the middle of roads — while they should be identified by tape/cones, it’s easy not to see them coming if there’s a group of people ahead. Try to plan ahead if overtaking to avoid having to dart from side to side, you are playing the long game — taking 30 seconds to slowly pass somebody is perfectly good running.
RACE THE COURSE, NOT OTHER RUNNER. They may pass you now, but don’t get dragged into running faster, you might pass them later anway! Run to your abilities.
You will naturally be faster than your training. There are no traffic lights to wait for, no cyclists in the way, no reasons at all to slow down. This might be the first time you run non-stop for such a long distance. This lack of start-stop can be worth 10–20 seconds a mile!
Mile Marker = Status Check
Every mile there is a big sign at the side of the road marking the mile — it’s about 3 metres high and pretty easy to see. I use that as a “self check”: how are you feeling? Are your shoulders relaxed? Is your breathing smooth? Are you running the next mile faster or slower? When is the next drink station/toilet block? Use it review your pace and game plan and as a reminder to focus on a steady rhythm.
If all else fails, give children in the crowd high fives. They love it, and I think it makes you run faster.
Training is 95% of completing the route— this is the icing on the cake. Many people there will have felt rough when they got up on Sunday, this doesn’t indicate that the race will be bad at all. How you feel at the start is no indication of how you will feel mid race. All runners will have good phases (passing family) and bad phases (stitches or a hill that’s never ending!)
I can almost guarantee that at some point you’ll have a few miles that will suck. I mean REALLY suck. Remember that this will pass. Take your attention to your breathing and carry on, your mojo might return later.
Split the course into smaller goals. Focus on the next corner/street/hydration station. It makes the time go faster.
If you want to know what your time should be at certain mile markers one option is to write them in biro on your arm! Just remember the first 3 quarters will be faster than the last quarter, so adjust the times by a couple of minutes.
Some runners might see the timing car on the other side of the road followed by the elites. There’s normally a bit of applause from the passing runners. Let this inspire you, not dishearten you!

About the Hydration Stations

They are about 30–40 metres in length — don’t think you have to go for the first bottle you see (everyone else does!). It might be easier to pass the first half of the stand and grab a bottle further down. They normally are struggling to give their bottles away!
Grabbing that bottle. As you sweep in give a glance over your shoulder to make sure nobody is coming away from the tables that you might run into. Identify a bottle holder and stretch you arm in the direction of the bottle. Eyes on the bottle as your approach! It will magically land in your hand. Yes, you can grab a bottle at 8 miles an hour!
Should I pour water over my head? You will probably have water to spare, and if you’re feeling warm then pouring a bit over your head and down my back certainly cools you down for the next mile or two. Even pouring some down your arms will help your body cool itself down. Don’t do it with Lucozade ;-)
If you want to carry the bottle for a while, but only want half of the fluid, try squeezing/pouring some out as you run (carefully) — they’re quite heavy when full and will make you run slightly off balance. The less you carry the better.
When you have finished with it — throw it to the SIDE of the road so nobody will trip on it. Try to avoid the pedestrians and each other! Try to avoid tripping over any bottles dropped by other runners near the stations.
Try and drink over in short bursts — downing half a bottle quickly can lead to stitch. Try and take the fluids on board over the next 5–10 minutes.