Running a marathon is on the bucket list of millions of people around the world. The mammoth task of running over 42km in one race takes a lot of physical and mental preparation. Other than the training, there are also all kinds of tech and gear you can implement. Here are some of the essential steps to making it past 40km and bringing home a medal of your own.
Training
Effective training is the obvious place to start. The person who can successfully run a full marathon with little to no training is rare, if at all real. You’ll find an unending amount of advice online about how to properly train for a marathon, but it boils down to a few key things.
Endurance
In order to run a marathon, you need to be able to run and continue running for a really long time. Obvious, I know, but the overall global average finishing time for a marathon is 4 hours and 30 minutes.
Building up your endurance and stamina is one of the most essential parts of training for a marathon. Many experts recommend starting with interval training. Set aside time to go for a run where you run or sprint for a short amount of time, then recover with a walk for a longer time, then run again, walk again, etc., until you finish your session. As you continue your training, you’ll steadily increase the time spent running and decrease your recovery walks, thus building your stamina steadily and sustainably.
By hitting the road and running as far as you can without stopping, you’re bound to reach the end of that run absolutely hating it. While many people may genuinely dislike running, chances are you’ve just never done it safely. Before you write yourself off as a running hater, try intervals and see how you go. A marathon may be in your future after all.
Physical Conditioning
Running for that long takes a real toll on the body. Not just on your cardio health, but also on your muscles and ligaments. Making sure your body is physically strong enough to withstand the high impact of running will be essential to your success.
Strength training builds muscle, which in turn increases the power and force those muscles can put out. This helps reduce the amount of energy it takes to stay at your goal marathon pace. Further, having stronger muscles helps to delay the onset of fatigue, which will delay hitting the dreaded runner’s wall.
As a general rule of thumb, aim to hit two strength sessions per week during your training program, and begin to taper off the intensity and frequency in the two weeks before your marathon. Some suggested movements to focus on include squats, hip hinges or deadlifts, and lunges for leg, hip and glute strength, planks, and upper body push/pull movements for core strength.
Mental Conditioning
As anyone who’s run long distances will tell you, successfully completing a marathon is just as much a mind game as it is a physical challenge. Tackling a marathon, mind over body, can help you push that little bit further.
If you’ve been loving training and preparing for your marathon, but then find yourself at the start line, anxiously anticipating all the worst parts of what you’re about to do, chances are, you’re about to struggle through, hate the experience, run a worse time than you’re capable of, and decide to never do this ever again.
Instead, focus on the positives. Think about how hard you’ve worked and how excited you are to make this achievement. Imagine yourself crossing the finish line and visualise how proud of yourself you’ll be. Focus on small goals throughout your run. Instead of thinking about the 20km still to go, aim for the next kilometre, the next two, and celebrate yourself when you get there. When you’re staring down the challenge of a marathon, changing your mindset is half the battle.
Get the Right Gear
There’s no perfect set-up of gear that will work for everyone. Just about every fitness brand has a runner’s range, with all kinds of things from socks to bras to sport polarised sunglasses that are designed to increase speed and reduce wind resistance, but there are some key items that are worthwhile investigating and finding out if they’re right for you.
Running Shoes
There are infinite options when it comes to getting the right shoes. While you could spend hundreds on the most high-tech pair, the right shoes for you are the ones that are the most comfortable and that you’re the most familiar with. Never run a marathon in a brand new pair of runners.
Fitness Watch
Everyone knows a distance runner whose most-used social media app is Strava. But using a fitness watch can be a great way to track your pace, which is an essential part of managing your endurance over long distances.
Running Vest
These vests can store all kinds of things, from water pouches to fitness gels. While some people will prefer opting out of the extra layer, try a cheap one on a shorter training run and see how it feels. Twenty-five kilometres in, it might just be your saving grace.
Running Undies
For the uninitiated, you might expect that you can just chuck on any old pair of socks and jocks and hit the road. But this is just asking for chafing and blisters. Investing in some good running underwear that is designed specifically to avoid wayward seams, lumps, and bumps will help you finish strong and with far less skin irritation.
Chafe cream
Speaking of undies, get your hands on some anti-chafe cream. Apply liberally to thighs, the undersides of your upper arms, and anywhere your skin brushes as you run. You can never have too much chafe protection.
Sunscreen
No one wants to spend their post-marathon recovery tending to a harsh sunburn. Marathons typically start in the morning and go into the middle of the day as the sun becomes its harshest, and few tracks will have adequate shade cover to prevent burns. Slip, slop, slap.
