One Day to Go Til Manchester Marathon

Only one day to go. I’m equal parts excited and apprehensive. I’ve always wondered if I’ve got a sub-4-hour marathon in me. Tomorrow I’ll find out.

I’m still doubting whether I can hold the necessary pace for that long, as I shared in my recent ‘Doubts‘ post. My ankles really hurt again (an ongoing issue I’ve had for years), definitely not helped by the intense training load.

There’s something quite calming, though, about knowing there’s nothing more I can do now except rest, fuel properly, and get my gear sorted. I’ve followed Ben Parkes’ training plan as closely as I could. Now it’s just about trusting that it’s enough.

Fuel

This week has been all about carb loading. Especially in the final three days: pasta, white bread, wraps, rice, juices, bagels, cakes, biscuits. It was brilliant for a time. Now it’s boring…

I’m also drinking loads – about 3–4 litres of water a day for the two days before race day. I don’t drink much on race morning itself (otherwise I’d be stopping for a pee every mile), but drinking plenty the days before should be good. Then on race day, I’ll rely on bottled water from the course to stay topped up.

Gear

Everything’s laid out and ready:

Trainers.
Running Shorts.
Running Top: I’m wearing my from my first ever London Marathon back in 2008. Three reasons: a) I’m sentimental, and it’ll remind me why I’m doing this, b) it’s white, and it’s looking like a hot day, c) it’s got my name printed front and back — crowd support makes a bigger difference than you’d think.
Race number pinned and filled in.
Bandana for warmth at the start.
Throwaway jumper.
Tracksuit bottoms for before and after.
Warm top for afterwards.
7 energy gels + 1 Kendal Mint Cake.
Electrolyte tablet.
Nipple plasters.
Anti-chafing gel.
Fully charged watch.
Bananas and snacks for before and after.
Still debating whether to bother with suncream and sunglasses

Logistics

Not the most thrilling part of marathon prep, but necessary.

I’ve booked parking near the finish – the start and finish aren’t in the same place this year, and I’m fairly sure my post-race body will thank me for choosing to be closer to the end!

I’ve also looked at the start and finish maps, sorted where I’ll meet Mel afterwards, and checked where the drinks and fuel stations are on course.
If it’s a hot one, fluids will be vital.

With all that sorted, all that’s left is to race.

Race Strategy

The goal: sub-4 hours.

Manchester, very thoughtfully, have both 4-hour and 3:55 pacers this year. I’m planning to sit with the 3:55 pacer for the first half, and then reassess how I’m feeling.

Allowing for a bit of distance creep (probably about 42.6km rather than a clean 42.2), I’m looking at a pace of 5:30/km to hit 3:55. If that’s too tough, dropping back to 5:45/km in the second half should still scrape me under 4 hours.

The absolute key thing, is not going out too fast! I’ve made that mistake before. Stick to the pacer. Get to halfway. Then see what’s left.