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Here are those top 10 marathon tips…

Sleep

Vitally important and very much overlooked by many a marathon runner. Some of you may already have your nightly dose, whereas others can manage on less.

In the week building up you need to ensure that at the very least you’re getting seven hours a night. Especially the sleep before the race.

Lack of sleep leads to stress, stress leads to cortisol and cortisol leads to unwanted fat, making you much heavier over those 26.2 miles.

Rest and recovery

It’s very easy to get carried away with your training, especially when you start hitting form, to over train and do much more than you should.

Time to rest and recuperate should be viewed as an active part of your training schedule and rest days should be planned and respected.

Fall into the trap of running too often and you’ll soon notice your progress slow or even come to a grinding halt.

Nutrition

You won’t get your best over 26.2 miles without fuelling yourself properly. Drinking and eating at the appropriate time is crucial.

There is not set rule on which gels or supplements you should take, so take the one that’s right for you.

Your event will likely have energy drinks and gels, so start testing early which ones give work for you best. The last thing you want is something reacting with you on race day.

Another good tip is to carb load at lunch the day before, not at dinner. If you eat too much then, it can often just sit on your belly!

Progression

It’s far better to approach your event with a clear schedule, which provides plenty of time for you to gradually increase the distances that you’re comfortable tackling.

There should be a steady weekly progression allowing your body to adapt to the increased demands.

As a rough rule, don’t increase your long run by more than 10 per cent in any one go.

Pushing it too hard can be a real danger and really push your body too far before it needs to be at that limit.

Spread the load

It’s true to say that training should be specifically directed at your chosen event, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything outside of running.

Running will only use a select muscle group, however, other muscles that are connected that become fitter and stronger will be just as beneficial.

It may even surprise you how much you will improve with a little resistance training and core work.

Stretching and increasing flexibility will also increase performance, activites such as Yoga and Pilates is perfect for this.

Injury prevention

Don’t be a standard bloke and ignore the red flags and blaringly obvious signs.

If your body tells you to stop, stop.

It could be as something simple as requiring a little more rest time or just a minor adjustment to your schedule or technique.

Take your time in finding this out.

If you rush and ignore the signs, you will only make it worse, you don’t want to miss the marathon altogether!

Don’t forget interval training

You may think that in order to complete a marathon it’s just smashing out the long runs.

Doing interval training will in fact give you the ability to run faster for longer.

One we do here in the office, is running at 80 – 90% for two minutes, with a 30 – 45 second break. Six sets of that and you should be struggling to breath.

If you were to do one interval training session a week you will notice strides in your long distance running.

Warm-up races

Getting these under your belt will make you a much more experienced runner.

It doesn’t have to be marathon distances, but including a half-marathon in your training will give you valuable lessons about pace.

You don’t want to finish the marathon thinking you could have done more, or equally burn out too fast.

The only way of judging this is by running plenty of races and getting a recognised pace that you can put into action on the day.

Practice makes perfect.

Have the right attire

Having the right attire is crucial for game day.

Off the back of the last point, having a GPS watch such as TomTom will help you keep the same pace mile to mile. Use it in your training and warm-up races and really know that pace time coming into the marathon.

Another one to bear in mind is your shoes. Running shoes can last anywhere between 300 – 500 miles, so if you’ve been using them for years as well as training, it’s probably time to get a new pair.

Having old running shoes can affect balance, comfort and speed as well as increasing the potential for injury.

Equally, if you do buy a new pair, make sure you have run a few races in them. Some shoes need to be worn and you yourself need to know if your shoes are the right ones for a 26.2 mile race.

Keep your balance in check

Yes you’re running a marathon, and yes it’s a big deal, but don’t let it take over your life.

Much like your working life, you need a break and time to live a real life.

Keeping to such a tight training schedule can often feel demanding, and even make you feel distant from your loved ones.

It may sound obvious, but really ensure you take the time out, it is after all, equally beneficial.

It keeps your mental state in check and in turn won’t make you loathe your training.

I mean, you do want to do another one after, right?