Four Tips for a Successful and Stress-Free Race
It’s race week, your goal event is fast approaching, and this survival guide will set you up for success. You’ve trained hard and with dedication for months. You’ve said ‘no’ to social opportunities to get to sleep early for your morning long runs. And now you are wondering how to make sure you capitalize on all of these choices for a triumphant race day. You’ve come to the right place!
Read on for some practical tips you can implement to make your race week and race day as smooth as possible. If you are looking for training advice on how to taper for a big race, check out my article: Mastering the Marathon Taper.
1. Stick to your Routines
“Nothing new on race day.” A phrase we’ve all heard, and dare I say rolled our eyes at, multiple times before. As cliche as it is, it’s sound advice and, as a coach, I extend the timeline even further for my athletes: nothing new on race week.
Preparing for the big day is very similar to preparing for those big long run workouts you completed week after week. Sure, this week you’re probably thinking about the race more often than you do a workout, but your preparations should remain fairly similar.
Continue to go to bed at your normal time, run when you normally do, stretch and foam roll as often as you normally do, you get the idea. While your workouts might be shorter and less intense, maintain your usual eating habits, keeping what and when you eat consistent. The only caveat here is emphasizing carbohydrates more in the last 2-3 before your race: Find more on carb loading in this Guide to Carb Loading. This week is not the time to try a new pair of shoes, experiment with a new nutrition plan, or cram in a new type of workout that you haven’t done before.
When the pre-race doubts creep in about our fitness, there is a temptation to try to prove to ourselves that we are ready to go. Instead, stick to the plan, trust the training, and all will be ok.
2. Plan Race Day Logistics
To alleviate the stress of the unknown, I strongly suggest you write down your race logistics plan, personalize this race week survival guide. Trust me, your race day self will thank you!
Write everything down from when you are picking up your bib at the expo, where you are parking, when you are waking up and then leaving the house or hotel on race morning, what you are eating for breakfast, etc. Noting down all of these details makes them feel more manageable. Having a check-list set out before you keeps you from stressing that you may have forgotten something.
While race expos are fun and exciting, be smart with how much time you spend on your feet that day. Definitely enjoy the expo, visit the booths, support the local brands and stores. But be sure to put your feet up the rest of the day. You’re going to be using them quite a bit the next day!
3. Prepare the Night Before
The night before the race, lay out all of your race day gear including your warm up clothes, gear check bag, nutrition, hydration, shoes, outfit, even sunscreen. Make sure your bib is attached to your shirt and all your bags are packed. Don’t forget to pack some extra clothes (slides or comfortable shoes are a good idea too!) to put on after your race so you can enjoy the post-race festivities in comfort.
Sleeping the night before a race is often difficult. Excitement is high and restlessness kicks in. Do not worry. The night before a race isn’t the most important night of sleep. Sleeping well the whole week leading into race day is more important.
4. Arrive Early Race Morning
I love to arrive early enough to the start that I can warm up a bit, find the gear check, use the restroom, and still have a few moments to relax and collect my thoughts before the race starts. In order to ensure that happens, work backwards from the start time and calculate when you want to arrive, when you have to leave, eat breakfast, and lastly when you need to wake up,
Races can be stressful environments. Following this race week survival guide allows you to control what you can and be assured that you did all you could to arrive ready. Now, go give it your best effort!
Evan Covell is a coach with Team RunRun based in Santa Barbara, California. He helps runners set and achieve their goals through personalized, science-based training and injury prevention.
TRR coaches Evan Covell, Miles Bennett-Smith, and Jamie Spruiell have also partnered with the Oakland Marathon helping runners train for their best race.