Advice for the London Marathon

It’s the big day on Sunday, the 2015 London Marathon. I’m sure for everyone running it, all the hard work in the training is all done and now is the time to rest and relax before the big day! I ran the London Marathon itself in 2013 as you can see in the above picture and it was a great day and gives you a great sense of achievement once you cross the finish line, you don’t feel that great from mile 21 onwards though! Below I am going to list several tips and bits of advice for everyone to do in build up to the day, things to do on the day itself and recovery work to be doing for the time after the event.

The day before
• Get a good night’s sleep. If you get at least 8 hours of sleep the night before a sporting event, it is proven that you perform to a better standard.
• Have a big bowl of pasta for dinner. Pasta is an excellent source of carbohydrates and provides plenty of energy for the following day.

The day of the race
• Drink plenty of water in the morning and the hours prior to the race. You should be drinking half a litre of water first thing in the morning. This keeps the body properly hydrated and helps you to perform at your optimum.
• Drink plenty of water through the race. Water is available at every mile point, take some but not a lot of water on board whenever you can to keep yourself hydrated.
• Have porridge, wholegrain toast or cereal for breakfast. These foods provides plenty of carbohydrates and energy for the day ahead. Do not have a fry up, this contains lots of salt which will dehydrate you.
• Eat jelly babies and other sugar snacks. Taking these provides a quick and instant release of energy to keep you going.
• ENJOY IT!

The following days
• Go for a walk the following day, nothing to strenuous, just a 20-30 minute walk at the most. This helps to relieve joint pain and reduce muscle pain, if you sit on the sofa all of Monday then your muscles will cease up and tighten even more.
• Get plenty of sleep on Sunday night. You will find it easy to fall asleep, it’s important to get a good night’s sleep to help your body and muscles relax and recover.
• Get a sports massage in the 4 days following the event. This helps to reduce the aching feeling in the legs and reduces the effects of muscle fatigue.