Marathon To-Do List

If you're in the heat of marathon training, you're probably 100% focused on your workouts. There's another side to preparing for a marathon that often gets overlooked. I'm talking about getting to your race destination. I'm currently training for my 17th marathon and  I've learned a few things along the way that have helped me out on race day.

Marathon Trip To-Do List
1. Book your room! Marathons are getting larger and larger and it's getting harder and harder to find a room (especially at a reasonable price). Race websites often have special deals at area hotels. If you try to book a room through the race website and all the rooms are full, don't fret just yet. That usually just means the block of rooms the hotel has at the special marathon rate is full. If that's the case, try one of the many discount travel sites like priceline.com, Travelocity, or Airbnb. When it's just been me traveling to a race, I've even used a hostel. One of my Trips to the NYC Marathon, I stayed in a hostel for a fraction of the cost of a hotel room. At this particular hostel, I had my own room, but the floor shared two large restrooms with showers. It was old and definitely had character, but it was in a great location on the upper West Side. Great little bakery next door. While I was getting my breakfast bagel the day before the race, there was an extremely tall man in line in front of me. Turned out to be Conan O'Brien! The day after that race, I was having lunch in a little restaurant along Central Park. While eating my lunch I heard this very distinct voice behind me. Turned around and it was Regis Philbin and his wife, Joy. So, cool!   

2. Find out what sports drink and/or sports gel will be provided along the course. Either train using what will be provided at the race or decide to carry your own or have family members/friends provide it for you along the course  (the latter is often hard on larger races or on isolated races where spectator access along the course is difficult). Never train using one brand then switch to another on race day.

3. Plan out what you're doing for food while at your race. You've probably figured out your dinner each night before your training long runs. But what are you doing the night before the race day? Will you be able to find food at a restaurant similar to what you've been eating at home? If you plan to eat out the night before the race, research some area restaurants to see which will best meet your needs. Then go ahead and make a reservation. Or better yet, pack your food and eat in the room. If possible, book a hotel with a kitchenette. These rooms usually have a small stove or cook top and refrigerator. Now you'll be able to fix your normal pre-run dinner and breakfast!

4. Become familiar with the race course. No need to memorize every street name and turn, but identifying major hills and other course challenges can be helpful.

5. Keep tabs on the weather. Periodically check weather.com  or one of the other weather sites or apps to see what the forecast is for race day; best to be prepared with cold/heat/rain gear than not. 30gal trash bags make awesome rain gear and are great for extra warmth before the race too. Just cut out head and arm holes and you're good to go. Don't need it for either? Makes a great mat to sit on prior to or after the race.
6. Give yourself plenty of travel time, especially if the race is out of town. If going to a new city, it's best to arrive two days before the race. This gives you time to acclimate to your surroundings and a new bed. It also allows you time to get to the race expo without panic that you're not going to make it in time.
7. Pack your race-day clothes and running shoes in your carry-on bag if you're flying. If your luggage gets lost you'll be able to run as planned.

8. Pick up your race packet early. No need to wait until the last minute to pick up your packet. You never know what may come up to delay pickup.

9. Take a sample but don't use a sample. Runners are often overwhelmed at large race expos. Every running related vendor imaginable will be at these expos, each handing you hydration and fueling samples. Take all of these you want, but don't eat any at the expo and definitely don't use any on race day that you've never used on a training run. Same with gear and clothing. Unless you forgot your running shorts, don't wear something on race day that you purchased at the race expo.

10. Have a plan for where to meet your family/friends after the race. No need speeding longer than it took to run the marathon looking for your family. Many races have family meeting areas, but depending on the race, those areas can be huge. If you get to the race site a day or two early, scope out the finish line area and go ahead and pick out an area for you and your family/friends to meet.
11. Layout your racing clothes, shoes, and gear the night before the race. Go ahead and pin your race bib on your shirt. Anything you plan to wear or carry with you while you run, lay it out. This will help you sleep better and save time in the morning.

12. Don't overdress for the race. Rule of thumb is to dress like it's 10-15 degrees warmer than it really is. Your body will warm up at least by that much while running. 

13. Take along some old sweats to the start. You don't want to overdress for the race, but some races have you at the start really early and it can get chilly in the wee hours of the morning especially at a fall or winter marathon. You can pick up old sweats at Good Will or a thrift shop for next to nothing! Wearing old sweats will keep you warm while you wait and then you can toss them at the start. Many races donate the discarded clothing to local homeless shelters. That 30gal trash bag mentioned earlier, comes in handy too for extra warmth.

14. Have your mental strategies rehearsed for Race Day. Don't start out too fast! There's a saying, "Most races are lost in the first mile." That often a very true statement. It's very easy to get caught up in the hoopla of the start and before you know it you're running a minute faster pace than you're supposed to! Hold fast to the pace at which you've trained. You can turn in on later in the race, if you've got extra gas in your tank.

15. Trust in your training and enjoy yourself!

10 Tips for Planning a Marathon Trip

Preparing for a marathon trip can almost be as exhausting as the actual race training. Over the years, I've realized there are a few things I like to check-out or do well before race day (especially if I'm traveling some distance to the race) to ensure a great trip.

1. Discuss the trip ahead of time with your family. The support of family and friends can be great, but they can add a lot of stress too. Unless you're a long-time marathoner and you have your process down pat, I'd avoid mixing a marathon trip and a vacation trip together. The main focus of a marathon trip should be the marathon. To make sure everyone is on the same page, hold a family meeting to discuss the purpose of the trip and how much you're going to need everyone's support.

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2. Scope out the typical race-day weather (precip and temp). The race's website usually provides this information, but you can also find it on weather sites like weather.com. This is very important if you'll be racing in a city that has a different climate. It's also important to keep checking the long-range weather forecast as race day approaches. I ran Chicago in 2007 and was prepared for a windy chilly run. Instead I got the heatwave of the century!

3. Scope out the best lodging for your pocketbook. Sometimes the cheapest hotels are in nearby towns or "the burbs." But if you have to rent a car or pay expensive cab fare it may be better to pay for a more expensive hotel that's in walking distance to the start or near public transportation or that may provide shuttles on marathon day. Speaking of cab fare, [click here] to estimate cab fare for your marathon city.

4. Don't limit yourself to the hotels listed on the marathon site. These hotels will give discounts and are usually in close proximity to the start/finish, but they may not always be the best deal. If you're really on a budget and traveling solo, check out hostels or nearby YMCA's that my provide lodging. One year I found a great hostel in the upper west side of Manhattan for the NYC Marathon. It was a great location for the race and in a great neighborhood. I paid only $65 a night! That was a few years ago, but even then, other traditional hotel rooms were going for over $250. It did have it's drawback such as only two common bathrooms shared by the floor, but I did have my own room, it was clean, and I did have a sink and a TV!

5. Pay close attention to hotel/air travel package deals. There are many sites such as Travelocity and Priceline.com that provide great deals, but read the fine print carefully. What is their refund policy if you have to cancel? Do you pay upfront or is it just a reservation? Also, read carefully various amenities provided by the hotel in package. Just recently while looking for a hotel for my upcoming Marine Corps Marathon, I wanted one close to the start finish that was also close to Metro access. As I was hunting, I decided to check out the price of a package that also included airfare. The drive to DC from my home is 5hrs. If I could find a hotel/flight deal that was reasonable, it might be worth not having the hassle of driving 5 hours, plus it would give me more time to get acclimated to my new surroundings. I thought I'd found the perfect deal—$350 for three nights in a 3-star hotel and airfare! The hotel was near Reagan National Airport which is near the race start/finish. Perfect! I almost purchased the package when I realized that the flight was not to National (a few blocks from the hotel), but instead it flew into Dulles—about 40minutes away! Last time I took a cab from Dulles into the city it cost about $50! That was about 10 years ago! Crazy! Needless to say, I'm driving to DC. So, read carefully before you buy.

6. Pay for the hotel in advance. One sure way to stick to a marathon commitment is to prepay for the hotel. Another upside to doing this is that often there's a discount for paying in advance. For the upcoming Marine Corps Marathon, I actually found a cheaper rate through the hotel's site by paying several months in advance. What I paid was quite a bit cheaper than what I could find using sites like Travelocity and DiscountHotels.com

7. Arrive at least two days prior to race day. Arriving at least two days before race day will give you time to acclimate to the new location. The first day can be spent at the expo picking up your race packet, finding the local grocery store (if needed), scoping out places to eat, as well as transportation options. You may even have some time to do a little light sightseeing. Day two can be spent relaxing and mentally preparing for the race. I never sleep well the first night in a new bed. Having two nights before the race helps ensure a better night's sleep prior to race day.

8. Plan your meals. This may sound odd, but the last thing you want to do is change your regular eating habits at race time. For example, you can't just assume your hotel will have a restaurant. Many hotels today only provide a free continental breakfast, which is awesome, but if they don't provide full restaurant services, what are you going to do? Are there restaurants nearby? Or are you packing your own food? If you're driving, that's probably fine, but what if you're flying? Are there grocery stores nearby? A call directly to the hotel or checking the amenities section of the hotel website can usually provide this information. Just like sports drink and sports gel, race time is no time to be changing your normal eating routine.

9. Don't forget your pre-race warm-up garb. Some races have runners at the start several hours before start time. NYC is a perfect example. You're bused to Staten Island a couple of hours before race time. It's the wee hours of the morning and it's the beginning of November. It can be quite chilly. If all you have is your race shorts and a singlet, you may get a chill. Not good before a race. I usually visit the local Good Will store and pick up an old pair of warm-up pants and a sweatshirt. These keep me warm prior to the start and I don't care about tossing them. Most races pickup discarded clothes after the race and distribute them to local homeless shelters.

10. Keep your race day items with you while traveling. The last thing you need is to have your luggage lost on a marathon trip. You can't prevent this from happening, but you can prevent your race clothing and essentials (I.D., registration info, etc.) from being in that lost luggage by packing them in your carry-on bags.