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Marathon Race Day Checklist: Carb Loading, Fueling and Pacing 26.2

A marathon is 26.2 miles (how many miles in a marathon), and the median finish is about four and a half hours. Unlike shorter races, you can’t run a good marathon on fitness alone. You need a full carbohydrate load, a fueling plan you’ve practiced, kit that won’t chafe for four hours, and the patience to run the first 20 miles slower than you want to. This checklist starts a week out. Tick items as you go; your ticks stay on this device.

The week before

• Read the athlete guide end to end: start time, wave and corral, gear check rules and bag limits, shuttle times, course time limit and any cutoffs along the course
• Plan the trip to the start, including the backup if a shuttle or train is late
• Study the course: hills, aid stations, which ones have sports drink, gels or food, and where your supporters can see you
• Lock in your fueling plan from your long runs: which gel or drink, how much, and on what schedule
• Check your shoes have at least a few runs in them and plenty of life left. Don’t switch shoes this week
• Trim your toenails two or three days out
• Set up the race’s tracking app for friends and family, and choose a meeting spot after the finish
• Taper: keep runs short and easy, and sleep as much as you can. The sleep two nights out matters more than the night before, when nerves often win

Two to three days before: carbohydrate loading

• For 36 to 48 hours before the race, eat 10 to 12 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight a day, the range the American College of Sports Medicine gives for events longer than 90 minutes (ACSM nutrition and athletic performance). For a 155-pound runner that’s about 700 to 850 grams a day
• Make that possible by putting carbohydrate at the center of every meal and snack: rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, bagels, oatmeal, pancakes, fruit, juice, sports drink
• Cut back on fat, fiber and spice to make room, and to keep your stomach quiet on race morning
• Expect to gain a pound or two. Stored carbohydrate holds water, and that’s the point
• Drink regularly; your urine should be pale

The night before

• Pick up your packet at the expo if you haven’t already, and check the bib, chip and corral are right
• Pin your bib to the front of your shirt with four safety pins; write your name on your shirt if you want the crowd to cheer for you
• Lay out the kit you’ve run 18 miles or more in: shoes, socks, shorts or tights, shirt, sports bra, hat, watch
• Pack gels, anti-chafe balm, nipple guards or tape, blister pads, a throwaway layer and your gear check bag
• If the race offers special needs bags, pack yours with any extra fuel or a spare pair of socks, and drop it where the athlete guide says
• Charge your watch, phone and headphones (if allowed)
• Eat a familiar, carbohydrate-centered dinner early in the evening
• Set two alarms, for three and a half to four hours before the start

Race morning

• Eat a carbohydrate breakfast three to four hours before the start. The ACSM 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); with three or four hours to digest, aim for the upper half of that range. Bagels, white toast with jam, oatmeal, bananas and juice are easy on the stomach
• 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 until the start
• If you use caffeine in training, take 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 about 60 minutes before exercise (ISSN position stand on caffeine). Some runners save some for the last hour, in a caffeinated gel
• Put on anti-chafe balm everywhere anything rubs: thighs, underarms, sports bra and waistband lines, feet. Put on nipple guards or tape
• Use the bathroom before you leave
• Arrive 90 minutes before the start, earlier for a shuttle

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
• Six to eight gels or chews (or the carbohydrate your plan calls for), in pockets, a belt or a vest
• Anti-chafe balm, nipple guards and a couple of blister pads
• A throwaway layer, and old gloves and a hat for a cold start. Many races donate what runners drop
• Gear check bag with dry clothes, a warm layer, sandals, a snack and any medication you need
• Water bottle and a pre-race snack for the wait
• Phone, ID, a card and your key
• Tissues for the portable toilets
• Sunscreen and sunglasses
• A trash bag or old poncho if rain is forecast

At the start

• Drop your gear check bag before the deadline
• Bathroom line early, and again if there’s time
• Skip a real warm-up: walk, do some leg swings, and let the first two miles warm you up
• Eat a gel or a small snack 10 to 15 minutes before the start if your plan includes one
• Get into your corral before it closes, and find your pace group if there is one
• Keep your throwaway layer on until the gun, then toss it to the side
• Start your watch as you cross the mat

During the race: pacing 26.2 miles

Think of a marathon as a 20-mile run followed by a 10K race.

• Miles 1 to 3: 10 to 20 seconds per mile slower than goal pace. You’ll feel fresh, rested and full of carbohydrate, and every runner around you will be going too fast
• Miles 3 to 13.1: settle into goal pace and make it feel easy. If you’re more than a minute ahead of plan at halfway, ease off
• Miles 13.1 to 20: keep the pace and the fueling schedule, even if you don’t feel like eating
• Miles 20 to 26.2: the wall usually shows up between mile 18 and mile 22, when stored carbohydrate runs low. Break what’s left into single miles. If you still have it, this is the 10K to race

Fuel early and often. The ACSM suggests 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrate an hour during efforts of one to two and a half hours, and up to 90 grams an hour for longer efforts, using products that combine different sugars such as glucose and fructose (ACSM nutrition and athletic performance). Start at about 45 minutes and keep going every 25 to 40 minutes. Practice the higher rates in training; a stomach that has never handled 90 grams an hour won’t start on race day.

Drink to thirst. The ACSM’s fluid guidance is to avoid losing more than 2 percent of body weight through sweat, and also to avoid drinking more than you lose, which can dilute blood sodium to dangerous levels (ACSM position stand on fluid replacement). On a hot day, drink at most aid stations and take sports drink for the sodium.

Splits are for an even pace. If your goal is near the course time limit, check whether the race also has cutoffs along the course; the Marine Corps Marathon guide and the New York City Marathon guide show how two big races handle them.

After you finish

• Keep walking through the finish chute
• Take water, sports drink, food and a heat sheet
• Go to the medical tent if you feel dizzy, confused, very nauseous, or can’t stop shivering
• Pick up your gear bag and get into dry, warm clothes
• Meet your people at the spot you agreed on
• Eat a real meal with carbohydrate and protein within a few hours, and keep drinking
• Walk a little that evening and the next day; stairs will be hard for a day or two
• Rest. Most runners take at least a week easy before running hard again

Your first marathon

If the half marathon race day checklist is the one you’ve used before, three things are new at 26.2: a real carbohydrate load, fueling rates up to 90 grams an hour, and pacing for the last 10K instead of the first. Everything else, from the throwaway layer to the gear check bag, carries over. And if a marathon isn’t on the calendar yet, a half marathon or a 15K a month out is the best place to rehearse this whole list.

Find a marathon

• Marathons by date, nationwide or in one state
• Marathons near you, by ZIP code and driving distance
• Boston Marathon qualifier races and fast and flat races
• Race guides: Walt Disney World Marathon, Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego, the San Antonio Marathon, and marathons in Eugene, Oregon and Cleveland, Ohio