Your Race Day Checklist for the Marathon

You’ve been training for months, and race day is finally here! Whether it’s your first marathon or your fifth, you want to make sure you have everything you need to perform your best on the big day. This checklist will help ensure you show up on race day well-fueled and well-prepared for anything that may come your way. On your mark, get set, go!

Pre-Race: The Week Leading Up

• Get Extra Sleep: Even an extra 30 minutes every night can help you feel energized on the big day.
• Continue to Follow Your Training Program: You don’t want to try anything new a week before your race, that could affect your performance.
• Lightly Increase Your Carb Intake: Drink an extra sports drink or eat an extra piece of toast where you can.
• Stay Hydrated: Drink sports drinks in addition to water throughout the week and add some extra salt to your food.
• Check Event Regulations: Make sure you know what you are allowed to bring and not bring. A lot of places don’t allow bags, so plan to have a friend hold your bag.
• Plan How You’ll Get to the Race: Take into consideration the traffic and closed streets for Marathon Day.
• Pack Your Race Bag Early: This ensures you have everything you need ahead of time and aren’t frantically trying to go buy your favorite energy gels the day before. Consider including:
  • Hydration belt
  • Running belt bag
  • Tylenol or other pain reliever
  • A running hat and sunscreen for extra sun protection
  • Energy gels or chews
  • Lip balm
  • Anti-chafe lotion
  • Race bib
  • Clothes and shoes to change into post-race
  • Towel
  • Electrolyte drinks
  • Recovery tools like a foam roller or massage gun

• Continue to Keep Your Safety a Priority: You may not need it for the race since you’ll be running with thousands of others but be sure to remember your safety when you’re running alone during your final training days or when you start running again post-race. SABRE’s Runner Pepper Gel with an adjustable hand strap for easy accessibility. Plus, pepper gel reduces the chance of wind blowback and only affects what it directly contacts.
  

  

Pre-Race: The Night Before

• Lay Out Everything You’ll Need: Make sure your race bag is fully packed and your headphones and fitness tracker are fully charged.
• Set Two Alarms: You don’t want to sleep through the big day!
• Leave Yourself Post-it Notes: Use this as a reminder in the morning to ensure you’re not forgetting anything.
• Pre-make a Carb-Loaded Breakfast: Make sure you wake up early enough to fully digest it!

Happy running and best of luck!

For more running safety tips check out:

Beat the Heat: 7 Tips to Make the Most of Your Summer Running

Outdoor Running Season is Back—5 Tips for a Safer Outdoor Run