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Half Marathon Race Day Checklist: The Night Before to the Finish
What should you do on race day for a half marathon?
Eat a carbohydrate breakfast you've tested two to four hours before the start, put on anti-chafe balm, and arrive 60 to 90 minutes early for gear check and corrals. Start 5 to 10 seconds per mile slower than goal pace, take a gel every 30 to 45 minutes from about 45 minutes in, and drink at aid stations.
A half marathon is 13.1 miles (race distances in miles), and the median finish is about two and a quarter hours. That’s long enough for everything to matter: what you ate the day before, when you ate breakfast, whether you carry gels, how you get through gear check and into your corral, and how hard you run the first three miles. This checklist starts two days out. Tick items as you go; your ticks stay on this device.
The week before
- Read the race’s athlete guide: start time, corral assignment, gear check rules, bag size limits, and course time limit
- Book parking or plan transit. Many big half marathons close roads hours before the start
- Study the course map: hills, aid stations, and which aid stations have sports drink or gels
- Settle on your fuel: which gel, how many, and when. Use what you’ve used on long runs
- Trim your toenails two or three days out, not the night before
- Keep the last hard workout about a week out, then run short and easy
- Set up the race’s tracking app for friends and family, and pick a meeting spot after the finish
Two days before
- Shift your meals toward carbohydrate. Guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine suggest 10 to 12 grams per kilogram of body weight a day for 36 to 48 hours before events longer than 90 minutes (ACSM nutrition and athletic performance). In practice: rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, oatmeal, fruit and juice at every meal, with less fat and fiber than usual
- Drink regularly through the day; your urine should be pale
The night before
- Pick up your packet at the expo if you haven’t already. Bring the ID or confirmation the race asks for
- Pin your bib to the front of your shirt with four safety pins, without covering a timing chip on the back
- Lay out the race kit you’ve done long runs in: shoes, socks, shorts or tights, shirt, sports bra, hat, watch
- Pack gels, anti-chafe balm, a throwaway layer and your gear check bag
- Charge your watch, phone and headphones (if the race allows them)
- Eat a familiar, carbohydrate-centered dinner early in the evening
- Set two alarms, and plan to wake three to four hours before the start
Race morning
- Eat a carbohydrate breakfast two to four hours before the start. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests 1 to 4 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight in the one to four hours before exercise (ACSM nutrition and athletic performance). For a 155-pound runner three hours out, a bagel with honey, a banana and a glass of juice is in that range
- Drink 12 to 16 ounces of water early, in line with the ACSM’s 5 to 7 milliliters per kilogram at least four hours before exercise (ACSM position stand on fluid replacement), then sip
- If you use caffeine in training, have it about an hour before the start. The International Society of Sports Nutrition puts the effective dose at 3 to 6 milligrams per kilogram, usually taken about 60 minutes before exercise (ISSN position stand on caffeine)
- Put on anti-chafe balm: thighs, underarms, sports bra and waistband lines, and nipples (or use nipple guards)
- Use the bathroom before you leave
- Arrive 60 to 90 minutes before the start
What to bring
- Bib, already pinned, plus spare safety pins
- Timing chip, if it isn’t on the bib
- Shoes and socks you’ve done long runs in, never new
- Two or three gels or chews, in a pocket, belt or pinned to your shorts
- Anti-chafe balm
- A throwaway layer: an old sweatshirt, a trash bag with arm holes, or a heat sheet from a past race
- Gear check bag (usually the clear bag from your packet) with dry clothes, a warm layer, sandals and a snack
- Water bottle for before the start
- Phone, ID, a card and your key
- Tissues for the portable toilets
- Sunscreen and sunglasses, or gloves and a hat you can toss
At the start
- Drop your gear check bag before the deadline in the athlete guide
- Get in a bathroom line early, and expect to wait
- Warm up with five to 10 minutes of easy jogging or brisk walking and some leg swings. At 13.1 miles, the first mile can finish the warm-up
- Get into your assigned corral before it closes
- Find the pace group for your goal time, if the race has pacers
- Keep your throwaway layer on until the gun, then toss it to the side of the road, not in front of other runners
- Start your watch as you cross the mat
During the race: pacing 13.1 miles
- Miles 1 to 3: run 5 to 10 seconds per mile slower than goal pace. Weaving around slower runners costs energy and adds distance, so be patient in the crowd
- Miles 4 to 10: settle into goal pace. Take your first gel at about 45 minutes, then one every 30 to 45 minutes, each with water
- Miles 10 to 13.1: the race starts here. If you held back early, this is where you pass people
The American College of Sports Medicine suggests 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrate an hour during efforts of one to two and a half hours (ACSM nutrition and athletic performance). A typical gel has 20 to 25 grams, so two or three gels cover most half marathons. Drink at aid stations when you’re thirsty; on a hot day, drink at most of them.
| Half marathon finish | Pace per mile | Pace per kilometer | 10K split | Halfway (6.55 mi) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:45:00 | 8:01 | 4:59 | 49:46 | 52:30 |
| 2:00:00 | 9:09 | 5:41 | 56:53 | 1:00:00 |
| 2:15:00 | 10:18 | 6:24 | 1:03:59 | 1:07:30 |
| 2:30:00 | 11:27 | 7:07 | 1:11:06 | 1:15:00 |
| 2:45:00 | 12:35 | 7:49 | 1:18:12 | 1:22:30 |
| 3:00:00 | 13:44 | 8:32 | 1:25:19 | 1:30:00 |
After you finish
- Keep walking through the finish chute; don’t stop or sit down right away
- Take the water, sports drink and food, and wrap up in a heat sheet if it’s cold
- Pick up your gear check bag and change into dry clothes
- Go to the medical tent if you feel dizzy, confused or can’t stop shivering
- Meet your people at the spot you agreed on
- Eat a real meal with carbohydrate and protein within a few hours
- Take a few easy days. Many runners need a week or more before their next hard workout
Stepping up to 13.1
If your longest race so far is a 10K or 15K, the new things at the half marathon are fueling on a schedule, carbohydrate the day before, gear check and corrals. The 15K race day checklist is a good dress rehearsal three to five weeks out. When you’re ready for the full distance, the marathon race day checklist covers the full carbohydrate load, higher fueling rates and pacing past mile 20.
Find your next half marathon
- Half marathons by date, nationwide or in one state
- Half marathons near you, by ZIP code and driving distance
- Spring half marathons
- Fast and flat races for a personal record
- NYC half marathons, including the NYC Half
Quick answers
Should you carb load for a half marathon?
If you'll run longer than 90 minutes, which most half marathoners do, eating extra carbohydrate for a day or two before helps. Sports nutrition guidelines suggest 10 to 12 grams per kilogram of body weight a day for 36 to 48 hours before events longer than 90 minutes. Many runners simply make carbohydrate the center of every meal the day before.
How many gels do you need for a half marathon?
Two or three for most runners: one at about 45 minutes, then one every 30 to 45 minutes after that. That gives 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrate an hour, which is what sports nutrition guidelines suggest for efforts of one to two and a half hours.
When should you eat breakfast before a half marathon?
Two to four hours before the start. The bigger the meal, the earlier you eat it. Oatmeal, a bagel, toast with honey, a banana and juice are common choices. Eat what you ate before your long runs in training.
How early should you arrive for a half marathon?
Sixty to 90 minutes before the start. Large races have security lines, gear check deadlines and corrals that close before the gun, and the bathroom lines are long.
What is a throwaway layer?
An old sweatshirt or pair of sweatpants you wear in the start corral to stay warm and drop once you start running. Many races collect the discarded clothing and donate it.