Last Minute Advice For First Time Marathoners?

[Lexxiefern]

I meant to ask this before, but have been so busy. For those of us new to marathons any tips we need to know? Here are a few things I wondered about:

- Salt Packets. I have read about them. Are they necessary? Is there an alternative?

- Throw away clothes. Do I just go buy a sweatshirt, gloves, etc from walmart and plan to throw them on the side of the road?

- Food. Do you need to carry any type of food with you to get you through the marathon or are gels enough?

- Body glide. Do I need to carry it with me to reapply or will I be ok for 26.2 miles?


If you can think of any tips us first timers need to know, please share!!

Thanks
Becky

 

[windwalker]

I meant to ask this before, but have been so busy. For those of us new to marathons any tips we need to know? Here are a few things I wondered about:

- Salt Packets. I have read about them. Are they necessary? Is there an alternative?

I personally have never used any but John Bingham recommended one before you start if the marathon is hot. I use the Powerade at the waterstops, it has the salt and other electrolytes.

- Throw away clothes. Do I just go buy a sweatshirt, gloves, etc from walmart and plan to throw them on the side of the road?

Yes please take off as much as possible

- Food. Do you need to carry any type of food with you to get you through the marathon or are gels enough?

It's a good idea if you are going to do anything like that to try in on your training run/walks. It could give you stomach cramps so if that is going to happen have it happen on the training not the race.

- Body glide. Do I need to carry it with me to reapply or will I be ok for 26.2 miles?

Not sure better ask one of the pretty princesses who use it.


If you can think of any tips us first timers need to know, please share!!

Eat something when you get up before you catch the bus. I always eat 1 to to hours before a race.

Thanks
Becky

Good luck with your race.

Racing Panda

 

[tigger2esq]

I ran my very first marathon last October and here was my experience.... I carried with me NOTHING. yep nothing. no salt packets, no gels no water or powerade. I relied solely on the aid stations and it worked out for me just fine. of course I am a fairly slow runner (my finish was 5:45). and I ran through my hometown where there were lots of unoffocial aid stations (i.e. kids handing out girl scout cookies and gummy bear packets and orange slices). etc. this time I am going to try to carry something. probably gummy bears and a gel packet but thats it. and grab a powerade and water at each water stop.

re: throw away clothes. depending on the weather forecast plan to take something with you for the start that you dont mind getting rid of (I went through my DH's closet for an old set of sweats.....) you will be in the start corrals for at least 30 minutes (which is after you have to stash your gear bag to pick up at the finish). disney will collect the discarded clothing and donate to local agencies. you will also see people hunkered down in large garabge bags with holes for their heads.. LOL. (it actually helps!)

re: body glide. I did not carry it. I used it ahead of time. and then found around mile 10 my running bra was rubbing along the one side edge and one of the aid stations had vaseline. of course I had to apply in the middle of the race course but you just learn not to be shy about sticking your hand down the front of your shirt... LOL

you will be nervous but dont skip breakfast!!! I choked down a bagel and banana with peanut butter about an hour before the start.
and have fun!!!

 

[ironz]

Ditto to everything Renee said.

 

[cewait]

I meant to ask this before, but have been so busy. For those of us new to marathons any tips we need to know? Here are a few things I wondered about:

- Salt Packets. I have read about them. Are they necessary? Is there an alternative?

- Throw away clothes. Do I just go buy a sweatshirt, gloves, etc from walmart and plan to throw them on the side of the road?

- Food. Do you need to carry any type of food with you to get you through the marathon or are gels enough?

- Body glide. Do I need to carry it with me to reapply or will I be ok for 26.2 miles?


If you can think of any tips us first timers need to know, please share!!

Thanks
Becky

• Salt Packets. I have read about them. Are they necessary? Is there an alternative?
  
  
  Gels and PowerAde will supply the needs of 95+% of the folks out there. If you notice a white salty crust on your clothing post training run/walk then I would suggest trying salt caps on a training run. If you are worried or it turns out to be really hot 70F+ you may want to consider drinking a little more PowerAde and a little less water. I would not try them on race day​
• Throw away clothes. Do I just go buy a sweatshirt, gloves, etc from walmart and plan to throw them on the side of the road?
  
  
  If cold most definitely. Go to a second hand store if you have one in your area. I have a couple long sleeved cotton tees (from past runs), a sweat shirt (I have carried for 8 years) and a pair of sweat pants (I am on my third pair as I have used these twice). I take the seat pants and cut a slit up each side so I can get them off with my running shoes on. I always ditch the pants pre-run while in the corral. A final accessory that is really nice is the large black plastic bag. It fits nicely in a fanny pack taking little or no room. The bag can be used as a wind breaker or a rain poncho. When needed simply poke a hole in the bottom of the bag for your head and two holes in the sides for you arms.
  
  Please be courteous and toss all clothing, trash bags and water bottles over the side of the corral.​
• Food. Do you need to carry any type of food with you to get you through the marathon or are gels enough?
  
  
  Stick with your training. If you have been using gels, then stick with the brands and flavors you know. I always carry about near double what I think I will need in various flavors. You never know when that mocha flavored gel used in training will not work well. If you have been using solid food, then you already have a system to carry it with you. Note that Disney will have bananas and orange slices at miles 14 and 19, Cliff Shots (gels) at 16 and 19 and candy at 23.​
• Body glide. Do I need to carry it with me to reapply or will I be ok for 26.2 miles?
  
  
  Here’s the deal with body glide. It should last the entire race. However, you will/may find a hot spot or two during the race. All aid stations carry three items that can help with hot spots, muscle cramps and pain. These are Vaseline, Biofreeze (a topical icy/hot pain reliever) and Tylenol. You will see volunteers with large tongue depressor sticks loaded with Vaseline and large containers of BioFreeze. They will not apply it for you but feel free to take a glob any time you need it. If you need the Tylenol, you will be checked into the med tent before receiving the meds. (Don’t worry all they are doing is taking your race number and what they dispensed and you are set free).​

Other Items

• Do not try anything new. You will see lots of things on race day morning and really cool stuff at the expo. Do not try or attempt to do anything that is new to you.
  
• Trust your training.
  
• Do not get overly excited at the start – stick with your pace.
  
• Wear sun screen – miles 18-20.5 along Osceola head straight east. That coupled with the solar reflection from the concrete will bake you in no time flat…especially the folks from up north who have been uncovered for a month now.
  
• Do not make Saturday a killer park day. Going to the park is ok but bring your water and make sure that you take it easy.
  
• Do get outside the couple days before the race if you are not used to the central Florida weather.
  
• Carb load early in the week before the marathon. A heavy meal the night before may doom your race before it even starts. Eat balanced and light Saturday.
  
• Hydrate well the couple days before. Urine should be clear. If you are flying in, purchase a bottle of water after clearing security. Flying will dehydrate you.
  
• Do not check you running shoes. Carry a bag on with your shoes, clothing and race waiver. Gels should be ok in a carry on but you will need to put them in a clear plastic bag for TSA. Note that some smaller cities may take issue with them as they are in a metal foil pack. Don’t argue, check them or toss them if TSA makes it an issue.
  
• Eat a normal running morning breakfast. Carbs and liquids are in order. Do not go for anything heavy. You may find your normal bagel feeling heavy on race day morning…eat what you can in that case.
  
• Bring a bottle of liquid for race day morning. I drink a PowerAde but water works well.
  
• Try to get a good night’s sleep Thursday. Friday you will not sleep very well. I know that after 8 Disney mornings and several other races, I still toss and turn a bit the night before.
  
• Set your alarm on the resort clock, on your running watch and place a wake up call. Do your usual pre-run routine. Remember to replace the wake up call for your support team if they will be sleeping later.
  
• At the expo, look to see if you have two zip ties, a bib(race number), a chip and four safety pins. The bib and chip will be received upstairs at the expo. Do run your chip over the trail mat at the expo and see that your name pops up. The rest of the stuff is handed to you in a clear plastic bag at the back of the expo floor when you receive your shirt.
  
  
  4 safety pins – used to pin on the bib. It goes in front. People will point you out as a rookie if you put in on the back. Pin it on with the shirt on or you risk ripping it when the shirt stretches. Consider going to a running or triathlon store and purchasing an elastic number belt. They are less than $15 and hold the number in place.
  
  Small zip tie. Used to hold the chip on the shoe. The chip is that black thing you received at the expo and is a passive transponder. It energized when you cross the mat at the start and finish giving you your exact time on course. Use the small zip tie and loop it though a shoe string mid to fore foot. You can loop it in the strings but it is much harder to remove past race. Disney supplies volunteers at the finish who will remover your chip.
  
  Clear plastic bag – used to hold your checked gear. Your bib will have a removable strip on the bottom (or top) with a hole in one end. Do not zip up the bag before you are sure you have everything in it. Secure the bag by tying the draw strings. Use the large zip tie to secure the numbered strip to the bagel and loop the zip tie under the knot. Hand the bag to a volunteer in the appropriate checked bag tent.
  
  If it’s cold, make sure when you dress that you can easily lift clothing to show your bib. You will need to show the bib at the checked bag tent and at the corral.​
• Lay out your clothing early Saturday. Check it again before bed. Lay it out in the order you will dress. It may be dark, your mind foggy, etc. Put you sock in your shoes as these things tend to move around at night if not put in their place.
  
• There are many, many more porta potties past the checked bag tent.
  
• When you are done, walk for 10-20 minutes before getting a massage or boarding a bus. Stretch as best you can (it may lead to cramps so be aware of that). The walk will help keep blood from pooling in your legs and starving your brain. It will also let you cool off a bit and evaluate whether you need to hit the med tent.
  
• Do go to the med tent if you have any issue at all; especially if it is new to you.
  
• Do fill out the medical questionnaire on the back of the bib. It will talk for you if you cannot and assist emergency folks in finding some one to notify. It's much faster than relying on looking up a race number, etc.

Items to bring, wear or apply
Clothing
Warm over clothing
Throw away clothing
Trash sack
Shoes
Sunglasses
Sunscreen
Hat
Gloves
Runner’s lube
Band-Aids (I use as nip guards)
Fanny pack
Gels
Camera
Room Key
$20
Cell phone


LAST BUT NOT LEAST - HAVE FUN - YOU PAID GOOD MONEY FOR THIS

 

[gatorphipps]

After cewait's post...there is not anything else to say!

Just have fun and do what you did in training...try NOTHING NEW!

 

[tigger2esq]

when I did disney in 2002 we spent saturday at the magic kingdom (which we will do again this year) my running buddy brent and I to this day talk about how (since we were both hydrating hydrating hydrating) know where EVERY bathroom is in the park. LOL. I was going to take some pictures and do a scrapbook page of the "Pottys of the World"



good call on the sunscreen. you will not think of that on race morning as it will be DARK when you get up and at the start but will cook you good by the end of the race.

 

[ultramickeymouse]

As mentioned Charles knows all and tells all

I am a mule for the Goofy. I packed a small Bodyglide with me to reapply since I know I will have issues. I pack small Clif protein & Clif bars. I also pack endruolytes to help as I can't drink Powerade(I pack my own Cytomax).

After last years marathon, I will even more never trust a race for anything I need. If you are very slow make sure you take care of yourself. I started this when doing ultras.

 

[tigger2esq]

ooo I have another good story---if you are going for vaseline at the aid station--make sure what you grabbed is in fact vaseline!!

My one good running friend ran the Marnie Corps many years ago. he was experiencing some chaffing in his shorts so at the aid station grabbed a tongue depressor of what he thought was vaseline (and was told as much by the volunteer who handed it to him) after he took the product and stuck it down the front of his shorts, he quickly discovered what he had grabbed was NOT vaseline but in fact Icy Hot .... it made for an interesting scene in the middle of the race course as he dropped his shorts and grabbed some paper towels to correct the situation. I think he limped to the finish. he laughs about it now and uses it to warn all new runners to check and double check that you picked up the right stuff before stuffing it down your shorts!

 

[princessrunner]

ooo I have another good story---if you are going for vaseline at the aid station--make sure what you grabbed is in fact vaseline!!

My one good running friend ran the Marnie Corps many years ago. he was experiencing some chaffing in his shorts so at the aid station grabbed a tongue depressor of what he thought was vaseline (and was told as much by the volunteer who handed it to him) after he took the product and stuck it down the front of his shorts, he quickly discovered what he had grabbed was NOT vaseline but in fact Icy Hot .... it made for an interesting scene in the middle of the race course as he dropped his shorts and grabbed some paper towels to correct the situation. I think he limped to the finish. he laughs about it now and uses it to warn all new runners to check and double check that you picked up the right stuff before stuffing it down your shorts!

 

[cewait]

ooo I have another good story---if you are going for vaseline at the aid station--make sure what you grabbed is in fact vaseline!!

My one good running friend ran the Marnie Corps many years ago. he was experiencing some chaffing in his shorts so at the aid station grabbed a tongue depressor of what he thought was vaseline (and was told as much by the volunteer who handed it to him) after he took the product and stuck it down the front of his shorts, he quickly discovered what he had grabbed was NOT vaseline but in fact Icy Hot .... it made for an interesting scene in the middle of the race course as he dropped his shorts and grabbed some paper towels to correct the situation. I think he limped to the finish. he laughs about it now and uses it to warn all new runners to check and double check that you picked up the right stuff before stuffing it down your shorts!

I see nothing funny about this at all. That is other than the visual, the thought, the panic in is eye and of course that infamous icy hot in the wrong spot dance...... Was the volunteer a nerd (aka revenge of the nerds)

Let that be a lesson to all. look at what you are taking at the water stops, aid stations and food stations.

 

[Sandy321]

Thanks for the list - and the tip about carry on the gel paks...

after the horrendous heat for the Chicago Marathon, I'm not sure about bringing water or not - I know today's weather in Orlando, but not 3 weeks from now!!

(Crystal balls have a tendency to be inaccurate at times!! )

 

[smileyk8]

just had a random thought, do you need to have any sort of medical letter confirming you are fit to run? I'm only doing the 15km but wondered if this would be necessary to produce at the expo. Thanks and sorry it's not technically to do with marathon!

 

[Cruella de mom]

Not to be redundant, but it can not be said enough:

Try nothiing new on race day. No new food, no new clothes, no new shoes. If you have not eaten or worn it on a training run then don't try it on race day.

Also, at the Country Music marathon and the Georgia ING, there was a company selling paper clothing to wear on race day. For about $10 you could be covered at the start and literally rip your clothes off when you were ready. (Panda will like that part.) That should give you a spending limit on those throw away sweats. Personally, I use garbage bags. They are wind resistant & water resistant and cheap. You will be amazed at how much heat they can hold in too. I have even seen someone run an entire half marathon in a garbage bag. Iam sure it made for a lovely finish picture.

I was going to say that I knew someone that ate the vaseline thinking it was a gel but Renee's story is WAY better....

Charles - Amazing job on what to do race day! Thank you! Can I copy it to give to my non-WISH friends?

 

[tigger2esq]

ok the eating the vaseline has me LOL here in my office. my secretary must think I am nuts...

 

[cewait]

Charles - Amazing job on what to do race day! Thank you! Can I copy it to give to my non-WISH friends?

Feel free

 

[Lexxiefern]

Wow, thanks so much for the answers! Especially you Charles! So I guess I don't need the salt packets because I do gels about every 4-5 miles. I think I will carry a small body glide with me just in case.

Thanks again!!
Becky

 

[Sandy321]

Not only should you be wary of trying nothing new during race day - that holds true for afterwards also - dh is reminded of this every time he sees Kudos - granola type bars - His first marathon at the end they were giving them away free - to this day he cannot eat these!!

 

[tinkerbell of winter]

I want to wish everyone luck in the marathon and half marathon. I will hopefully be doing the Full in 09, this year we are doing the Family Fun Run 5K. I have done a 15 K and half marathon this year, and with the new year I will need to start on a marathon training program and start eating healthy again. Have a great holiday season and good luck with the run!

 

[littlegreydonkey]

My ex NZ running guru also told me that the day before the race is the most important for hydration, the day before that is the most important for carbing and sleeping.