A PT’s Guide To Fine-Tuning Before The London Marathon

“By this point in your training, you’ll hopefully have tapered off – aka scaling things back. Tapering should ideally start immediately after your longest training run, which should be no later than three weeks before race day. Tapering is part science, part art, and part personal preference. In my experience, a two-week taper in which running volume is gradually reduced but a small amount of intensity is maintained will get you to the start line as fit and confident as possible. For most people, by the end of the taper (not including race day), the volume of your weekly mileage should be around 40-50% of your usual volume. If you’re usually doing 50 miles (80km) a week, then in the final week aim for 25 miles (40km). However, listen to your body – you may need to do more or less. Not too sure where you’re at? If anything, do less. Less running facilitates more recovery therefore giving you a greater chance to perform on the day, but keep things ticking over with a gentle jog here and there.” – Anthony Fletcher, founder of Onetrack 

“Don’t be tempted to buy a new pair of trainers for race day. Unless you’ve maximised your physiology and are looking for miniscule margins to gain seconds, having a fresh pair just for race day isn’t going to change much, unless your training shoes are really on their way out. The notion of ‘wearing in’ your trainers is a myth – it only applies if you’re switching from one brand or model to another. If you have found a pair you love and want a new pair exactly the same, you’ll unlikely need to wear them in for more than an hour, or a long run. If you are changing brand or model, wear them for long walks two to three times, then do a couple of easy runs in them followed by one long run.” – Anthony 

“In the final week before the marathon, focus on your mobility and muscle activation of your glutes, hips, calves and ankles. A glute bridge is a great place to start – lying on your back, lift your hips to form a straight line from your shoulders to your knees and hold for 30 seconds. Do this three times. Also incorporate clamshells and side-lying abductors, as well as ‘bounces’ – with soft knees, perform gentle bunny hops, bouncing on the toes. Do three sets of 10 seconds on the spot, left to right and forwards to backwards. These activation exercises should be performed before every run to prepare the legs. Done in the few days before the marathon, they can help reduce any muscle soreness.” – Arj Thiruchelvam, UK Athletics running coach

“If you have been given a charity vest or t-shirt to wear, be sure to do a few test runs with it prior to race day, and ensure it’s been through the wash a couple of times. If it still rubs, consider wearing a trusted vest or thin layer underneath – but not something so thick it’ll affect heat control. Sometimes, charity t-shirts rub around the armpit area, so consider using some Vaseline as a protective layer, or make a t-shirt into a vest.” – Anthony 

“Race-day adrenaline can start increasing 24 hours before you reach the start line. It can help to have several scenarios in your head of how the race could go: plan A, all the stars align and you nail it; plan B, you get a stitch or something slows you down, but you still nail it; or plan C, work out what your next target will be. The marathon is a serious challenge and sometimes things happen on race day that are out of your control – this happens at elite level, too. Giving yourself a couple of alternative goals can take the pressure off.” – Anthony 

“Everyone gets overexcited in the first mile, but stay calm and put your training into practice, remembering that even pacers aren’t immune to pre-race adrenaline. Try to stick to the pace you’d do in a normal long run for the first mile, and then once out of the thick of the start line, find a pace that feels comfortable. Remember, if you’re chasing a PB, you only have to average that pace, not maintain it constantly.” – Anthony