First, DON’T Do That!
– Will in Good Will Hunting.
The Emerald Across the Bay 12K Run is a week from today and many of the SF Marathon Trainees had signed up to run it. So Samuel Harvell, one of our Saturday Coach at the SF Marathon Training Program, gave everyone a short and to-the-point useful speech on DO’s and DON’T during the race day.
Samuel also listed out common Race Day Mistakes that runner makes and gave suggestions on how to avoid making the mistakes.
So in case you missed any of it, here goes.
Marathon / Long Distance Race Day Tips
- Bring dry clothes to change into after the race. After a long run, you will definitely want to change into something fresh, clean and dry right-away, so don’t forget to bring a set of dry clothes with you to the race so that you can change into them soon after you finish.
- Have the family meet you in staging areas. If you are planning to have members of your family or your friends meet you at the race, do arrange to have them come out to one of the staging areas. This way, you are less likely to miss seeing each other while doing the race.
- Get plenty of rest, and avoid indulging. Make sure you get plenty of sleep the previous night. Also avoid drinking alcohol, or staying out late and partying !
Common Race Day Mistakes and How To Avoid Making Them
- Not Hydrating Enough. You need to stay hydrated and get enough electrolytes on your long runs, so make sure you are hydrating frequently and regularly throughout your race. The aid stations at various miles stops will also fill up your water bottle for you if needed.
- Starting your race too fast. When you start, there is lot of enthusiasm and excitement, so if you are running a 12K race, and you use your energy up in the first 2 or 3 miles, then it is going to be very difficult for you to sustain the energy over the 12k or the 26.2 miles if you are running the marathon. So for the first 2 or 3 miles, run slowly and then gradually increase your pace from there.
- Believing that other runners are your competition. There is always a tendency to compete with other runners. Don’t do that ! Run within yourself. Do not try to race with someone else who might be 5 or 10 meters ahead of you. Because if you try to do that, you will spend the entire race trying to catch up to that runner and in the process you won’t have much energy left when you get close to the finish.
- Running over-dressed. As you get your miles into the race, if you are over-dressed, you will start to feel really un-comfortable, so avoid over-dressing !
- Letting the Crowd drain your energy. At the start of a big race, there is a tendancy to feel claustrophobic. This is natural. Don’t let that distract you. Don’t spend all your energy extracting yourself from the crowd. Stay focussed, stick to your plan, run within yourself.
- Abandoning your Race Plan. If you have a set goal for your race, you would wanna stick to that plan, and to that pace. So stick with your goal pace until the last mile or two. Don’t deviate from your race plan.
- Running Un-lubricated. Use body glide, uder your arms, between your legs and other places where you might get blisters. Special note for guys, use band aids to avoid the Bloody-Nipple syndrome. It’s real ! L(0)(0)K !
