How To Survive A Marathon

How To Survive A Marathon

UPDATED: 9/7/18
 

I have run two marathons now and through the process discovered I really struggled with a few things…and I think I’ll be sticking to my half marathons for now! haha. But as far as surviving these marathons there a few things that made life MUCH better during and after the races.
 
This is not a complete guide of all the things to help you survive a marathon, this is instead a few of the items you may not have thought about when you decided to sign up for your marathon….or maybe you did but I’ve now reassured them for you.
 

Someone to Talk To

Something to Eat

For both of my marathons I had someone to talk to for at least the majority of the run and I found it to be helpful in distracting from the pain and number of miles left to go. I don’t think having or not having someone to talk to is a deal breaker…just see my “something to distract” category to learn a different way to get through the miles. Muscles need sugar to do their magic in taking you all 26.2 miles. You’ll want to pack something to munch on while you’re out on the run; some people like GUs, sandwiches, and hard candies. My personal favorite are jelly beans!

Something to Distract

A Post-Race Treat

It’s tricky to run for several hours without some kind of distraction. I found during my training long runs that audiobooks are the perfect distraction (if you find a good one that is). The story keeps you interested and compelled to keep running so that you can find out what happens next in your book. Most likely your marathon will leave you tired/exhausted, sweaty, and a few hours later…starving! My favorite post-run treat (that I thought about for the last several miles of each race) is a big ol’ Slurpee. There’s just nothing like a frosty sugary drink to help you recover after a long run.

 
 

What items have you found most important to you as you run big races? long races? or super hard runs? What keeps you going? and what kind of recover foods do you enjoy?