- Training support with a charity
- Running a marathon – you can do it!
- Running a marathon – the essential guide
Running a marathon - the essential guide continued...
What happens on race day?
The day of the race is a fantastic experience that no runner ever forgets, and completing the Flora London Marathon will make the build up and the culmination of your training all worthwhile. You should pack for the race a day or two beforehand, and on race day itself you will need to rise early so that you can top up your energy stores before heading for the start. Your marathon training plan will tell you what you need to eat and drink on race day – so make sure you read this in the week before the race, so that you have time to buy supplies!
There will be over 30,000 runners on the course on race day, which always makes for an amazing atmosphere. Everyone lines up in positions according to their expected finishing time, indicated by placards by the side of the road – and then the start gun fires and the race is underway (although you may have to wait a few minutes before you get to run!)
En route there will be drinks stations for you to top up with water and/or energy replacement drinks, and you’ll be able to see these locations on a map of the marathon in advance of the race. Note that you don’t need to – and shouldn’t – drink at every drinks station; instead, you should only drink when you are genuinely thirsty. Many runners also carry their own drinks bottle, so that they can take in fluid between drinks stations if necessary.
Pace judgement is also very important during the race, and your training plan will have helped you prepare for running at an even, consistent pace. Each mile will be clearly marked along the course route so that you can check your progress.
There will be huge crowds all along the course and at the finishing line, and crossing the line and achieving your goal is a memory that will stay with you forever. Once you have finished, you will receive your medal, food and drink, and often a goody bag with a souvenir race t-shirt and other products. A few days after your race you can expect to receive the race results and often also a selection of photographs taken around the course of you in action – which will be excellent mementos!
The Flora London Marathon – can I really do it?
The answer to that question is an unequivocal YES! After all, 600,000 finishers of the previous events can’t all be wrong! Progressing from non-runner to marathon finisher is always a real success story, and one that is genuinely achievable by following a correctly structured training plan that will help you towards your marathon goal. Preparing, training for and completing a marathon is a great accomplishment and a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding experience. And as well as achieving your goal, there is a great spin-off benefit too: improved general health and fitness. So, don’t worry about taking the marathon plunge, just do it – we guarantee that it’ll be the experience of your life!
