During Marathon Preparations

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Question:

. Whether or not the supplies you seek are already on the course, generally depends on the size of the race. I figure during Boston or NY you could have a seven course meal and possibly furnish your house with the supplies along the way. With Cape Cod Marathon and only a few hundred participants, even water was a bit sparse.

Size of race is important. My last HM had 42 cups at the one water stop, out and back for two stops. No water for me on the return. Palmer

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – [snip] Thanks again y’all. (can you tell I’m from the South?) I always believed that proper grammar dictated that in Virginia and to the south, Y’all is singular; and *all* y’all is plural as in "Thanks again all y’all." Jennifer – and last, "all y’all’s" is plural possessive, as in thanks for all y’all’s sound advice

LOL. I stand corrected! (My Granny would be so disappointed in me…now if you want to get in a discussion about "over yonder" and "you’uns", let me know.)

Response:

It seems to me I heard somewhere that Jenn e fir wrote in article

As I was saying, It seems to me I heard somewhere that Cheryl Michel wrote in article These are Cheryl’s questions; my answers haven’t been included. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -1. Don’t wear Thorlo’s. Wear socks with two layers so the layers can rub against each other. Less chance of blisters. RR consensus? I had horrible blister problems. Now I wear the Thorlos but with a Band-Aid Blister Blocks on the forefoot. 2. Wear Thorlo’s if that’s what you prefer, but grease your feet with vaseline to avoid blisters. RR consensus? Yes. Blister-Block and vaseline. 3. Make sure you eat plenty of carbs before and during the race. Do the aid stations and water stops have carbs for the taking during the race? I never tried the carbs during a race. I’ve never gotten accustomed to the taste. Rather, I just stick with Gator-aid or water or whatever is on the course. I think the Gels or Gu have an effect, but generally I think they’re overrated and unnecessary. 4. I wear a waist pack w/water bottle on my long runs. In the next marathon, I’m considering the waist pack. I figure, with my own Gator-aid on hand I can avoid the water stop congestion during the early going. Then, about mile 10 or so ditch the waist pack and bottle to a pedestrian. Whether or not the supplies you seek are already on the course, generally depends on the size of the race. I figure during Boston or NY you could have a seven course meal and possibly furnish your house with the supplies along the way. With Cape Cod Marathon and only a few hundred participants, even water was a bit sparse. Jennifer

– Don The Internet proves that a million monkeys at a million keyboards couldn’t reproduce the works of Shakespeare.

Response:

And PLEASE don’t spell it "ya’ll", either… Ellen – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – [snip] Thanks again y’all. (can you tell I’m from the South?) I always believed that proper grammar dictated that in Virginia and to the south, Y’all is singular; and *all* y’all is plural as in "Thanks again all y’all." Jennifer – and last, "all y’all’s" is plural possessive, as in thanks for all y’all’s sound advice

Response:

[snip] Thanks again y’all. (can you tell I’m from the South?)

I always believed that proper grammar dictated that in Virginia and to the south, Y’all is singular; and *all* y’all is plural as in "Thanks again all y’all." Jennifer – and last, "all y’all’s" is plural possessive, as in thanks for all y’all’s sound advice

Response:

4. I wear a waist pack w/water bottle on my long runs. It has mesh pockets, in which I carry GU and quicdiscs (read about them here on rr and they’re great!). I read on one of the posts that you shouldn’t carry anything extra with you. Where to carry the quicdiscs, gu, etc.?

I’ll just echo the suggestion to check out the Race Ready shorts with the pockets. They’re great – and very comfortable. My basic approach is to trust the race organizer to provide water but carry whatever else I’ll need with me. That’s why I like QuickDisk – all you need is a water bottle and water. You don’t even need the bottle, if you’re willing to eat the things. <g A couple of packs of Gu, a plastic film container with Succeed caps, Quickdisks, and I’m on my way. If there’s other good stuff out on the course, fine. But I don’t depend on it. Mike Tennent "IronPenguin" Ironman Canada ‘98 16:17:03 Great Floridian ‘99, 17:13:38

Response:

Thanks to all for the great advice. 3 of my running partners are doing the same marathon, so I compiled all the replies for them. (call me anal…) I ordered a pair of the Race Ready shorts, with mesh pockets all around, to carry my quicdiscs, gu and bandaids. Figure I’ll get the water at the stations. When I joined up Team in Training to run this marathon, my goal was 5 hours. My goal is now to take my time (like 5 hours isn’t taking my time???), enjoy myself and be able to dance at the party afterwards!! Thanks again y’all. (can you tell I’m from the South?) Cheryl

Response:

Cheryl Michel wrote getting ready for my first marathon …… Where to carry the quicdiscs, gu, etc.? Again, is there any of this stuff on the course?

On where to carry Gu etc. I have tried pinning Gu packets onto running shorts. I didn’t care for this method, the packets flapped around and it hard to get the Gu unpinned. Pinning inside the waist band could cause real irritation. A company called Race Ready (they advertise in Runner’s World) make terrific shorts with a series of mesh pockets on the outside. I swear by them. In fact while running the Cleveland marathon in ‘98 several runners (who were passing me) inquired about them. Good Luck in your first marathon.

Response:

1. Don’t wear Thorlo’s. Wear socks with two layers so the layers can rub against each other. Less chance of blisters. RR consensus?

I had horrible blister problems. Now I wear the Thorlos but with a Band-Aid Blister Blocks on the forefoot. 2. Wear Thorlo’s if that’s what you prefer, but grease your feet with vaseline to avoid blisters. RR consensus?

Yes. Blister-Block and vaseline. 3. Make sure you eat plenty of carbs before and during the race. Do the aid stations and water stops have carbs for the taking during the race?

I never tried the carbs during a race. I’ve never gotten accustomed to the taste. Rather, I just stick with Gator-aid or water or whatever is on the course. I think the Gels or Gu have an effect, but generally I think they’re overrated and unnecessary. 4. I wear a waist pack w/water bottle on my long runs.

In the next marathon, I’m considering the waist pack. I figure, with my own Gator-aid on hand I can avoid the water stop congestion during the early going. Then, about mile 10 or so ditch the waist pack and bottle to a pedestrian. Whether or not the supplies you seek are already on the course, generally depends on the size of the race. I figure during Boston or NY you could have a seven course meal and possibly furnish your house with the supplies along the way. With Cape Cod Marathon and only a few hundred participants, even water was a bit sparse. Jennifer

Response:

One pair thick coolmax with udder cream(sold at wall mart) rubbed liberally on the toes. Never so much as a hot spot. Try whatever you are going to use both on long runs and on race pace runs. 2. Wear Thorlo’s if that’s what you prefer, but grease your feet with vaseline to avoid blisters. RR consensus?

See above. Speaking of blisters and chafing, make sure you use bag balm, body lube etc on other areas that chafe. For me it is behind and under the arms, nipples, between the legs. Another secret is to "wipe" with udder cream on your last pit stop before the race. This will eliminate that nasty burning sensation that can otherwise follow you for the week after the race. After every long run note any other areas that chafe and make sure to lube them before the race.(and other long runs) 3. Make sure you eat plenty of carbs before and during the race. Do the aid stations and water stops have carbs for the taking during the race?

Don’t over eat the night before the race. A medium to large lunch and just a light dinner. Don’t eat anything your not used to. This can be a problem if you are out of town so plan ahead. Make sure you test everything you are going to eat before trying it in your marathon. That is one of the uses for long training runs. Bring your own carbs for the race. I put a few packs in each pocket. Set the mile markers that you are going to eat them before the start of the race. I usually end up with one or more left in my pocket and not near enough in my blood stream. If the race provides any carbs other than sports drink it will be about mile 20 which is way to late. Find out what the sports drink is and test it at race pace before hand. I’ve discovered that most sports drinks are fine at easy pace and start to foam in my stomach at race pace. 4. I wear a waist pack w/water bottle on my long runs. It has mesh pockets, in which I carry GU and quicdiscs (read about them here on rr and they’re great!). I read on one of the posts that you shouldn’t carry anything extra with you. Where to carry the quicdiscs, gu, etc.? Again, is there any of this stuff on the course?

I have worn a two liter belt pack in two marathons(very few water stations) and a fanny pack in two. Assuming your first marthathon is not an all out effort(recommended) it shouldn’t hurt much if you tested it on a long run. However, only bring things you are willing to throw away in case they get really annoying or start to chafe. Remember, you have never run that far at that pace before. What worked so well in a long run might not work in a race. I highly recommend not bringing music. After the first three miles you will be running with basically the same group of people. Get to know them and chat. Galloway’s suggestion of bringing five jokes with you really works. (make sure the jokes are tasefull since the people you tell them to were complete strangers half an hour ago). If you are going too fast to hold a conversation you are going too fast and you will hit the wall hard, no exceptions. I have never met anyone out of hundreds of people I’ve run marathons "with" who didn’t feel better by talking during the marathon. If you start getting ahead of your group ask yourself if you are going too fast. They will probably catch you again before the end. If you find the group is going too fast for you (because you went out too fast) drop back and make another group of new friends. If you want to pick it up at the end (last three or four miles) try to get one of the group to go with you or grab the pace of someone who is passing you. I love running alone on my long slow days, but running alone in a marathon is a disaster. If you are racing for a place it is a competition. If no one but you is going to notice what place you took, ( like 99.99% of the rest of us) make it a cooperative effort to get the best run possible for as much of the group as possible. Encourage each other and you will all run faster. Towards the end of the race pick out targets and pass them as a group but encourage them to join in. They won’t join, but you’ll feel good asking them. Joke with the crowd too. One person asked me how I could be so happy after running 25 miles. I honestly answered that if I wasn’t upbeat there was no way I could finish that last 1.2 miles. I apologize if these are stupid questions. The longest race I’ve ever done is a 10-miler and I’m not sure how marathons are organized. I’m doing Mayor’s Midnight Sun in Anchorage on June 17th, btw.

These are all good questions that I wish I would have asked before my first. Don’t forget that the purpose of your first marathon is to enjoy it enough to want to do a second. Good luck, Mike – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Thanks in advance, Cheryl

Response:

It seems to me I heard somewhere that Cheryl Michel wrote in article I’m getting ready for my first marathon and actually don’t have a training question. I’m getting all sorts of ‘during marathon’ advice that I wanted to bounce off y’all and see what you think. Here are a few of the pieces of advice I’ve been given… 1. Don’t wear Thorlo’s. Wear socks with two layers so the layers can rub against each other. Less chance of blisters. RR consensus?

I don’t wear Thorlo’s because they’re too thick and my feet swell during marathons; they’ve always been my standard training sock, but next time I buy I may go for something different. For every race for the past several years I’ve used either of two pairs of socks my wife found someplace; they’re similar to Thorlos but thinner and more comfortable. I’ve never seen them in the stores since I found out how good they were. 2. Wear Thorlo’s if that’s what you prefer, but grease your feet with vaseline to avoid blisters. RR consensus?

I’ve sometimes put on vaseline particularly around some vulnerable spots near my big toes and around the heels. Otherwise, no. I also used to talc up fairly thoroughly, but I don’t know how much it helped. I can recall only one blister in 27 marathons and maybe 50 or 60 other races, but that probably depends on the foot more than on the preventive measures. 3. Make sure you eat plenty of carbs before and during the race. Do the aid stations and water stops have carbs for the taking during the race?

Pass – noncompetitive 4. I wear a waist pack w/water bottle on my long runs. It has mesh pockets, in which I carry GU and quicdiscs (read about them here on rr and they’re great!). I read on one of the posts that you shouldn’t carry anything extra with you. Where to carry the quicdiscs, gu, etc.? Again, is there any of this stuff on the course?

I’ve started wearing a fanny pack: vaseline, power bar (now changing to gu), extra handkerchief, maybe bandaids. I wouldn’t think of audio equipment or anything else heavy. I apologize if these are stupid questions. The longest race I’ve ever done is a 10-miler and I’m not sure how marathons are organized. I’m doing Mayor’s Midnight Sun in Anchorage on June 17th, btw.

I’ve run a lot of marathons and I’m still sort of in the dark about how they’re organized–each one is different, even when it’s nominally another running of the *same* marathon. — Don The Internet proves that a million monkeys at a million keyboards couldn’t reproduce the works of Shakespeare.

Response:

Welcome to the fraternity (although you are technically a pledge). 1. Don’t wear Thorlo’s. Wear socks with two layers so the layers can rub against each other. Less chance of blisters. RR consensus?

Wear what you wear in training. Experiment there. Some people wear no socks, others wear a thick pair, others wear 2 pair of thin socks. 2. Wear Thorlo’s if that’s what you prefer, but grease your feet with vaseline to avoid blisters. RR consensus?

I have never done this and only got blisters in 1 of 4 marathons and no other races except where my feet got really wet from rain or running through spinklers/hoses. 3. Make sure you eat plenty of carbs before and during the race. Do the aid stations and water stops have carbs for the taking during the race?

YES! Carb load. You will be a little heavy from the additional water (each gram of CHO brings ~3 g of water with it into the muscle). This water is available for thermoregulation. Take the CHO early in the race, do not wait til the end. Numerous studies bear this out. 4. I wear a waist pack w/water bottle on my long runs. It has mesh pockets, in which I carry GU and quicdiscs (read about them here on rr and they’re great!). I read on one of the posts that you shouldn’t carry anything extra with you. Where to carry the quicdiscs, gu, etc.? Again, is there any of this stuff on the course?

Carry it with you. You never what will be on the course or if it will be what you like. A marathon is NOT the time to experiment. Also they might run out. If the race has the same gel you are using, take it and keep your stash as a reserve. I apologize if these are stupid questions. The longest race I’ve ever done is a 10-miler and I’m not sure how marathons are organized. I’m doing Mayor’s Midnight Sun in Anchorage on June 17th, btw.

Nothing stupid about these questions. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Thanks in advance, Cheryl

Response:

There already has been some good advise but I’ll add a couple of quick comments.

: I’m getting ready for my first marathon and actually don’t have a : training question. I’m getting all sorts of ‘during marathon’ advice : that I wanted to bounce off y’all and see what you think. Here are a few : of the pieces of advice I’ve been given… : 1. Don’t wear Thorlo’s. Wear socks with two layers so the layers can : rub against each other. Less chance of blisters. RR consensus? I prefer a thinner single sock. For me thick socks especially Thorlo’s have proven to cause blisters. You need to test things out in you’r training runs and use what works for you. Two key points in preventing blisters a good shoe fit (fit with a specific sock what ever that may be) and a sock that won’t bunch up. I like the ultimax socks. : 2. Wear Thorlo’s if that’s what you prefer, but grease your feet with : vaseline to avoid blisters. RR consensus? Some people swear by greasing their feet. I tried ti a few times in my early running years for my first couple of half marathons but haven’t since then. I’ve seen severa sources state that this can actually increase your risk of blisters in a long race like a marathon. : 3. Make sure you eat plenty of carbs before and during the race. Do : the aid stations and water stops have carbs for the taking during the : race? Don’t be dependent on anything other than water being available at the aid stations if they have GU, Power Gel, etc. then they have carbs but they might run out or what they have might not agree with you. People who were at the back of the pack at the first Rock and Roll marathon might tell you to not even count on water being there. Some unlucky people near the back of the pack didn’t get any water for the first 6 miles on a hot day with a 45 minute delay in the start. : 4. I wear a waist pack w/water bottle on my long runs. It has mesh : pockets, in which I carry GU and quicdiscs (read about them here on rr : and they’re great!). I read on one of the posts that you shouldn’t : carry anything extra with you. Where to carry the quicdiscs, gu, etc.? : Again, is there any of this stuff on the course? Personally I wouldn’t wear a waist pack for the marathon, training runs trail runs, and even some trail races w/o support are the only times I’ll wear one. I’ll carry my gells pinned inside the waist band of my shorts (inside to minimize bounding). Use saftey pins through the tops (above the seal) of the packets. A word of caution here if you carry too many packets you may find you have to reach down from time to time to pull up your shorts. Another option is a pair os shorts like the race ready line (there are oters) which has a wide mesh pocket in the back tha can hold you gells, tabs, drugs. : I apologize if these are stupid questions. The longest race I’ve ever : done is a 10-miler and I’m not sure how marathons are organized. I’m : doing Mayor’s Midnight Sun in Anchorage on June 17th, btw. Marathon organization can very greatly. Try to check with the organizers and see what they plan on providing (just remember they can run out of items before you reach a given point on the course). Once you find out what sports drink, gel, etc. try them out on your training runs see if the official items agree with you it not then don’t use them on race day. You should get a good idead of how much of what you need on race day from your long trainign runs. If your race is too close to try things out then just carry what you have been trainining with and go with that. : Thanks in advace, : Cheryl Good luck, Tom

Response:

I’m getting ready for my first marathon and actually don’t have a training question. I’m getting all sorts of ‘during marathon’ advice that I wanted to bounce off y’all and see what you think. Here are a few of the pieces of advice I’ve been given… 1. Don’t wear Thorlo’s. Wear socks with two layers so the layers can rub against each other. Less chance of blisters. RR consensus? 2. Wear Thorlo’s if that’s what you prefer, but grease your feet with vaseline to avoid blisters. RR consensus? 3. Make sure you eat plenty of carbs before and during the race. Do the aid stations and water stops have carbs for the taking during the race? 4. I wear a waist pack w/water bottle on my long runs. It has mesh pockets, in which I carry GU and quicdiscs (read about them here on rr and they’re great!). I read on one of the posts that you shouldn’t carry anything extra with you. Where to carry the quicdiscs, gu, etc.? Again, is there any of this stuff on the course? I apologize if these are stupid questions. The longest race I’ve ever done is a 10-miler and I’m not sure how marathons are organized. I’m doing Mayor’s Midnight Sun in Anchorage on June 17th, btw. Thanks in advance, Cheryl

Response:

1. Don’t wear Thorlo’s. Wear socks with two layers so the layers can rub against each other. Less chance of blisters. RR consensus?

wear whatever has worked for you in your long runs….me-I like the real thin socks like nike makes now. They never feel wet. 2. Wear Thorlo’s if that’s what you prefer, but grease your feet with vaseline to avoid blisters. RR consensus?

Again, go with what has worked with YOU in long runs. I hate vaseline on my feet. But my feet are so calused from years of training and not wearing socks( while not running) who am I to say..My wife doeasn’t want me to wear sandals w/no socks in public :)

Response:

sorry…..wanted to finish with your questions and hit the wrong button. 3. Make sure you eat plenty of carbs before and during the race. Do the aid stations and water stops have carbs for the taking during the race?

gotta lov those gels. Check with the race. Word of caution however…I have relied on the aid stations for gels (an ironman in 95′) and some aid staions ran out and I missed two feedings that I was counting on. 4. I wear a waist pack w/water bottle on my long runs. It has mesh pockets, in which I carry GU and quicdiscs (read about them here on rr and they’re great!). I read on one of the posts that you shouldn’t carry anything extra with you. Where to carry the quicdiscs, gu, etc.?

If you are used to wearing that pack and are comfortable w/ it. Go for it. Have you seen the small neopreme packs that have some stretch in them so that you don’t experiece any bounce. Those are wonderful. Anyway, if you are in doubt, carry it. I apologize if these are stupid questions. The longest race I’ve ever done is a 10-miler and I’m not sure how marathons are organized. I’m doing Mayor’s Midnight Sun in Anchorage on June 17th, btw. Thanks in advance, Cheryl

There were no stupid questions. Good luck Cherl and write us a race report. I have that race on my to-do-before-I-die list. I would love to hear a first hand account of the race. Randy

Response:

I’ve never worn Thorlos but I think one pair of anything will suffice. If I know an area is susceptible to rubbing I put a small amount of vaseline on before the race. DO NOT cover your feet with it. This race will have aid stations every two miles. Water or Gatorade. At most stations you may grab an orange slice. Also wet sponges. There maybe Gu at the later stations but I am not sure as I don’t like the stuff. If you do it is probably best to carry one or two with you and take it at your pleasure. Eat a decent high carb breakfast the day of the race but don’t overdo it. No high protein or fatty stuff. Good luck!

Response:

[snip] 1. Don’t wear Thorlo’s. Wear socks with two layers so the layers can rub against each other. Less chance of blisters. RR consensus?

The only marathon blister I’v ever had was a KILLER right on the ball of the foot last year in Boston. It was also the first time I had tried double layer socks for that distance and I believe it was due to the meterial bunching under my foot. 2. Wear Thorlo’s if that’s what you prefer, but grease your feet with vaseline to avoid blisters. RR consensus?

I’ve never used it, but have friends who swear by it. Try it at least once before the race! 3. Make sure you eat plenty of carbs before and during the race. Do the aid stations and water stops have carbs for the taking during the race?

Don’t relay on aid stations. If I plan on gel packets I stuff them into a pocket and accompany them with water on the course. 4. I wear a waist pack w/water bottle on my long runs. It has mesh pockets, in which I carry GU and quicdiscs (read about them here on rr and they’re great!). I read on one of the posts that you shouldn’t carry anything extra with you. Where to carry the quicdiscs, gu, etc.? Again, is there any of this stuff on the course? I apologize if these are stupid questions. The longest race I’ve ever done is a 10-miler and I’m not sure how marathons are organized.

Test *all* of these items out on training runs (I know I broke that rule last April ) Good lusk! — … tramps like us, Before you buy.

Response:

[snip] 1. Don’t wear Thorlo’s. Wear socks with two layers so the layers can rub against each other. Less chance of blisters. RR consensus?

Test *all* of these items out on training runs (I know I broke that rule last April ) Good luck! — … tramps like us, Before you buy.

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