Four Steps to Successfully Complete a Marathon

If you’re one of the crazy, inspired, motivated and driven people about to run in the upcoming Medibank Melbourne Marathon or any other marathon this season, it’s time to put your feet up and relax.

After months of training, planning and treading that fine line of avoiding injury, now is not the time to be cramming last minute long runs on your legs. There are many questions people often have regarding how to best prepare in the weeks and days leading into running the marathon. This will, of course, vary depending on your previous running, and especially marathon, experience but there are a number of guidelines that most people can follow.

Below I’ve outlined four important intervals pre and post-race that you should consider during training and preparation, on the big day and to ensure a good recovery after the race.

Last Few Weeks Out

Now is the time to begin your ‘taper’ and help those legs of yours freshen prior to the run. You don’t want to be chasing miles now in an attempt to build last minute fitness and a general guideline is that you reduced your total weekly volume by about 40-50% in the  second last week and 50-60% in the last week.

Be prepared however, for those ‘taper demons’ to enter your mind at some point. Your legs feel heavier than ever, you get out of the car and are sure you feel a little pull on your calf or you worry that you’re losing fitness. Don’t panic! This is very common and research indicates that, rather than losing fitness, a taper period will indeed help performanceⁱ. This can also be a great time for a remedial massage to help get your mind and body relaxed and help you feel that you’re doing something proactive.

Final Days Before the Run

So what’s the best exercise in the final days leading up to the marathon? SLEEP!!! Sleep is one of the primary tenets of optimal performance. It's essential for the body's hormonal function, recharging the adrenals and for tissue repair. When you’re sleep-deprived you perform at a sub-optimal level and you should therefore be aiming for nine hours sleep per night in the nights leading into the big day. Light exercise such as a gentle jog, stretching or even meditation can help keep you mentally tuned without depleting your glycogen stores or risking injury.

Nutrition is also very important at this stage. Keep your fluids up (water is best) and start loading up on those carbohydrates while keeping fats, proteins and sugary foods to a minimum.

On the 'Big Day' - Race Day!

So you’ve followed the above and race day has arrived! Get up nice and early, a good couple of hours prior to the event, and have a proper breakfast. You might like to try something like banana on toast, but most importantly make sure that you’re eating what you’ve previously eaten prior to running and something you know sits comfortably in your stomach. A light jog and some dynamic stretching such as ankle circles and leg swings should suffice as your warm up unless you’re managing an injury in which case a tailored warm up developed by your physiotherapist may be required.

Finally you’ve hit the start line! The golden rule here is don’t change anything too drastically or try anything new on race day. Brand new shoes are a bad idea and you should have purchased your racing shoes at least a month prior. When you’re waiting for that start gun to go off, be sure to smile, stay relaxed, say hello to the person next to you and take in the whole experience - this is what you’ve been working towards for months. Once the race starts, keep the excitement and adrenaline intact and run that first kilometre well within yourself and to your target pace. You should have a race plan prior and try to stick to this as closely as possible. Over a race of this distance, energy gels are recommended but, again, you should certainly have tried these during your training to ensure your stomach can handle them. You should also maintain good fluid intake during the race to avoid dehydration.

You can be sure that during the race you are going to have some flat spots and towards the last third of the race it’s going to get tough. Embrace these moments; they’re what make the marathon the marathon. The thirst you feel in your throat and lungs will be gone minutes after the race is over. The pain in your legs within days, but the glory of your finish will last foreverⁱⁱ.

After the Run

Post-race, refuelling with plenty of fluid and a good meal to replace depleted glycogen is recommended. More traditional static stretching can also be beneficial here, spending 30 minutes stretching all the major muscle groups and holding stretches for 30 to 45 seconds. Light active recovery over proceeding days such as further stretching, swimming or walking can also help while running is discouraged until all acute soreness has left your legs.

But most importantly, sit back and soak in the glory of your achievement. Only a small percentage of the population has the will, desire and ability to complete a marathon and you’ve just done it. Celebrate and know that you’ve just made the story of your life so much better!

Best wishes to those competition in the Melbourne Marathon in the coming weeks or any other running event!

Simon Holt - Physiotherapist, Director, Back In Motion Blackburn and Medibank Melbourne Marathon Competitior

Simon has extensive physiotherapy experience, having worked in a range of private physio clinics, major tertiary hospitals and spending two years working and training in London. He moved back to Melbourne from London in 2007 to take up his position as Principal Physiotherapist at Back In Motion Blackburn and has since become a Practice Director. Whilst developing a broad skill set during his time as a Physiotherapist, Simon has gained particular interest in the treatment of running injuries along with the management of neck and lower back pain. His 'Physio Philosophy' focuses on empowering each patient to understand and gain long-term resolution of their symptoms whilst also using effective manual techniques to help relieve pain.

When not working, Simon enjoys training for his next marathon, going to the football to watch the mighty Blues and, most of all, making his beautiful wife Amy and gorgeous daughter Scarlett laugh at his hilarious jokes.

References:

Powers, S.K., & Howley, E.T. 2001. Exercise Physiology: Theory and Application to Fitness and Performance, (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.