Marathon runners, what are your top tips?

[Marvellousmarg]

Training for my first marathon and would love to hear any advice or tips you could share.

Anything at all.

What to take, how to make the most of the day, how to actually finish?

Tia

The other tip whilst you're training is to be realistic. Don't think that you can skip training and be 100% prepared. Dont think that you can do it in 3 hrs when you've never really run before doing 16 weeks of training. I have quite a few friends who haven't made it onto the start line because they've been injured during training when they over estimated their fitness / they pushed too far or fast / just set unrealistic goals.

Pacing is the problem I think. I tried not think to about it but then I go too fast.I am realistically aiming for a 4 anything. Seemed reasonable as I've done a half in under 2 hours.This means I can go as slowly as 7 minutes per km for 4:59. But it's really hard to go that slowly particularly at the start. I'm definitely not built for long slow distance running!

I ran about 10k recently with boy 2 really slowly and chatty but I can't be trusted on my own. They have a 4.5 hour and 5 hour pacer. I'm thinking in the middle of them ? Any wise thoughts

stroke why no chocolate milk? I thought it was a good recovery drink?

Dino you are speedy! Pacing is a dilemma. In the past I've tried to improve my speed. Still slow, my pb is 231 for a half, but now that I'm training to go longer distances I'm really really slow! I'm worried the course will be packed up before I finish! I was looking at taking walk breaks too. Is this a terrible idea? Someone up thread said its agony when you start running again!

Go England!

Marg I am much better at shorter distances .I am worried as the Richmond website says there is a cut off of 5 hours. Can you imagine running for 5 hours and not being allowed to finish !!
Which one are you doing?. I tried a walk break but it did feel awful to start running again. Even a toilet stop doesn't help. I think for me better to slow right down rather than walk. Though I'm prepared for a walk at the end to get enough energy to jog over the line

I ended up putt on loads of weight drinking chocolate milk, I think marathon runners tend to put on weight if they over estimate the calories they burn after a run.
So I'd think "brilliant I've just run 16 miles, that's 1600 calories burned" and then I'd drink a liter of choc milk, eat a burger and generally eat double the amount of calories I'd just burned.
Also I found the choc milk make me very phlegmatic as well so didn't really help with the training.

Ive not ran a marathon yet. Im in the London ballot, but if I dont get in that then considering either Edinburgh or Manchester.

Re walking. Lots of people do a method called Jeffing. Its where you run and walk at certain intervals. Certainly works for them.
I jeff on my lone training runs and on the last 5K of a half marathon.

This thread has been interesting. Im looking forward to my marathon next year (whichever one it may be)

Think it's a bit unfair to blame the chocolate milk and not the burger there!

It's really when you can't face food but know you have to have something in the first half an hour or so post long or tough run/race, nothing special just standard chocolate milk. I had a little 200ml yazoo one yesterday, it wasn't very nice but 130 calories isn't going to make anyone fat!

I have put on weight since I started training. Any tips on minimising weight gain? I'm usually low carb but have been eating far more recently.

I'm training for the Loch Ness marathon Dino, think they open the roads again after six hours. I can't believe they have a 5 hr cut off at at Richmond! I'm so impressed with your determination. It must have been so disappointing to get ill just before Edinburgh.

Interested in "jeffing" Dr but worried about prolonging the pain and that it will slow me down even more! I really want to avoid injury though.

stroke I'm interested in your salt bath? Is that bath salts or sea salt?
What do you recommend.

I'm interested in anything that will help me walk onto the plane the day after!

You might find run/walk intervals make you faster, if you do it from the outset you don't fatigue in the same way as running continuously. I do this whenever returning from injury or whatever.

I use Skyrr drinks for my post run protein hit. I don't tend to feel hungry for a good while after a long run but I can comfortably get that down.

Another thing I found useful when training was to book in races as some of my long runs, so 10miles, a half and a 20 mile race. It's all dependant on having the available locally in the right weeks but it gave me a good focus and a chance to try things out in 'race conditions'.

I haven't read the whole thread so apologies if this has been covered.

Where do I find a marathon training plan (I've just managed to complete c25k but feel totally inspired....)

And do I need some sort of watch to help me pace miles etc?

I got mine from London marathon website. I use runkeeper on my phone. It's free.

I'm liking the idea of Jeffing! Yes Marg it was awful. I am the same weight. The only thing that ever shifts it is 5 2 for me so I have started today with the hope of half a stone off by the start line.

They say 2 secs per pound per mile so that's nearly 15 mins right ? Should get me in before they fold up the tables...

My marathon plan was from runners world and sits on the fridge

I used epsom salts and also a jacuzzi soak as well.

I'm not sure there is anyway to feel great the day after a marathon. I had flown up to Miami for my marathon and pretty much shuffled around the mall the following day to try and stretch my legs. My face was the whole way around. That being said I was ok enough to get on the flight the day after that!

I'm not saying there's anything "wrong" per se with chocolate milk, it's a great recovery drink especially for longer runs over 13+ miles (for me), but I was chugging it after the shorter runs when I didn't really need to which led to weight gain.

I was using the excuse that I was marathon training to eat whatever I wanted, and that's why the weight tends to creep on.

a few tips somebody said your training pace is your race pace but if done right you should be able to go quicker than what you do your long runs in.
the person who said intervals are more important than long runs i have to disagree the best way to make sure you complete a marathon is consistent long slow miles.

a lot of the advice already said is great and much more than i can recommend having never run the distance before but something i hope to do one day
dh takes high 5 zero tablets in his water everyday for 5-7 days before the race and aims to drink 2 litres of this a day which he has said he found helped with cramps/hitting the wall
my dsis doesnt take energy gells but swears by having dates during her run, dh sticks to the cliff energy cubes which is the only thing he can stomach during a race

may be worth checking what drinks/gels the run provides at stations as you dont want to take a energy drink then you have no experience with in case it does not agree with you

for gels to save carrying too much extra equipment there is belts to run in specifically for gels

aswell as mentioned with kit and not trying anything new the on race day, i would watch food intake a few days before and not try anything new or unknown a friend fly to her first marathon in lanzarote only to eat something dodgy at the hotel and ended up unable to race

Good advice stripe thanks. I checked website to see what drinks and bars they will have en route and will order some to try out during my longer training runs. Save me carrying them!

What did you all use to record your run?
I use runkeeper but worrying my phone battery will run out half way.

bluegreenyellow. Yes that's what I've heard too. That the long runs are the most important. I'm interested in how the interval training is best incorporated.

dino 2 sec per pound?? maths is not my strong point!

But if you can run a sub 2hr half then you should be ok with the 5 hr cut off.

Getting used to running on very tired legs is good preparation, not every run all the time but if you can experience it beforehand and know what it feels to keep moving regardless it will help on the day.

I use a garmin watch, a forerunner 230 at the moment.

Don't wear anything new and put Vaseline everywhere - I do nipples even with sports bra, around seams of tshirts/vests/shorts, thighs, if you wear an armband for your phone put some around this.

Don't eat anything new - I try to avoid all the food on course as my stomach is especially sensitive.

Get up super early on the day and try to poo.

Carry compeed with you if susceptible to blisters

Have a concrete reason for doing it in your mind then focus super hard on this if you feel like stopping

Talk to other runners on route - I have previously called out that I wanted to stop and lovely lovely people have talked to me for a mile or so to keep me going! My favourite thing about running is that unless you're an athlete there is no real competition with each other.

I used the same watch as unavita, although now I use my iwatch as I can switch music tracks through it.

If I was training for much longer distances, I would probably use both...

Marg Yes 2 seconds per pound per mile. And thats faster without training! A friend of a friend did Loch Ness marathon and said it was stunning. As you'd expect.

Feeling perky as just ran round Richmond park much faster than last time and even overtook a girl on a bike going up the big hill ! Boom
Yes to vaseline everywhere at every seam even between toes, feels weird but works.

I have a garmin watch, love it. It wildly overestimates my potential times for races though. I guess if my BMI was 20 rather than 26 it might be on the money.The long run is the only one I never skip. I'm going to hope on making 20 miles and just hanging on like grim death for the 5 hour cut off. If they have a 5 hour pacer I guess if they go past it's game over

I ran my first in April with zero after effects/pain/barely any muscle soreness. I lost two toenails though!

I ran three times a week (but was a bit of a runner anyway) - one short (5-8k), one mid (8-15k) and one long (increasing k). I also weight trained twice a week and played netball twice a week.

My longest run was 18 miles, about ten days before. Then a half the week before. Then nothing for a week - zilch - while I ate all the pasta and pudding in the world.

I am currently training for my second in October. Am running 5/12/17 for my runs this week.