8 Things to Know Before You Run a Marathon

It's not a matter of if it gets hard, but when

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Hello, OCTOBER! Not to start today’s newsletter off on a total tangent but I have mixed feelings about October. Fall is my favorite season, but god I just hate Halloween. I know there’s a whole culture of people who make loving Halloween their personality, but ugh. A little part of me died when I saw that some of my co-workers changed their display names on Slack to spooky-sounding variations earlier this week. I didn’t think I worked at a place like that. Bummer.

Thank you for indulging me… moving on! The first weekend of October is a big one for marathoning—I know of people running the Maine Marathon, the Twin Cities Marathon, and the Wineglass Marathon this weekend. What others are happening? I ran Wineglass in 2018 and it was just lovely. It takes place in Corning, a city in the Finger Lakes wine region of New York that’s known for its glass products, like Pyrex and the gorilla glass used in iPhones. I got a shirt when I ran it that said “I love you more than my Pyrex” and I thought it was so funny. Brutal.

In the spirit of marathon fever, I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve learned from running them. I’ve written down my learnings in iPhone notes over the years and read through them when another marathon comes up to remind myself of what to do and expect. I combed through them and compiled them below. If you have learnings of your own to share with the crowd, let’s see them in the comments!

My first marathon was the LA Marathon in 2017. I held my phone in my hand the whole time.

1. Run your own race. Don’t get caught up in the paces of the strangers who are running near you. It’s better to let them pass you at the beginning and for you to pass them later, rather than the other way around.

2. Carb load. This is probably the single most important thing you can do in the days before your race to prepare. And drink water/electrolytes. Read Featherstone Nutrition’s guide on how to do it right. You will feel gross on day three but it pays off.

3. You’re going to sleep poorly the night before the race but it doesn’t matter. Prioritize sleep the week before. The combination of pre-race anxiety and an early wake up call means I never sleep more than 4-5 hours before a marathon, but I find that the adrenaline of the race (and three 100 mg caffeine packs of Maurten) carry me through.

4. Put your name (and how to pronounce it, if necessary) on your bib. When I ran the NYC Marathon in 2021, I ran alongside a woman named Mary for almost 20 miles. She had her name on her bib and so many strangers cheered for her. I was so jealous of Mary! She got so much energy from the crowd. I randomly saw her at another race a few years later and it reminded me: the next time I run a marathon with thousands of spectators, I’ll put my name on my bib.

5. Drink water early on, when you aren’t thirsty. Take water at every stop. Even subtle dehydration can ruin your race.

6. Consume calories while you’re running. Don’t be one of those people who says they don’t “need” gels or sports drinks. You do. They’ll make you go faster.

7. It’s going to get hard, but it won’t be hard the whole time. I find that if a marathon is going well for me, it doesn’t start to feel “hard” until mile 18-20. When it gets hard…

   1. Stop looking at your watch. Just go by feel. No one cares about your time but you. Knowing your pace can be a crutch sometimes.

   2. Think about things you’ve done that are harder than running a marathon. Child birth. A root canal. Public speaking?

   3. Think about things that motivate you.

   4. Remember that you do this for FUN!!! This is literally your free time.

   5. Think about things you will eat or buy when it’s over.

   6. Think about people you love.

   7. Or people you hate. Imagine you’re literally running them into the ground.

   8. Find someone slightly ahead of you and try to stay on their heels.

8. There will be a time when you want to stop. Unless you’re sick, don’t do it! Tell yourself it’s not even an option. You’re on a train and the train isn’t stopping until the finish line. It’s a lot easier to keep going than it is to restart after you’ve stopped.

I also had a corny lines (have fun! be brave!) and some philosophical Kipchoge/Murakami quotes that aren’t really the ~vibe~ of this newsletter, so I’ll cap the list at eight. Share yours below.

Elaheh