10 last-minute marathon mistakes I wish I’d avoided

I mean, come on – how many other marathons around the world do people host parties for?

But if you’re running it, and are anything like me, you’ll be fretting that you’ve not thought of everything you need for the big day on Sunday.

While I hope that you’ve already got everything sorted, tested and packed neatly in your long-prepared race bag, for many of us there’s always that nagging feeling there’s something you might have forgotten.

I’ve done a few marathons and, while the race last weekend went well, I still made mistakes at nearly every point. Mistakes that made everything more difficult than it should have been, leaving me with too much panic pre-race, sore feet and a disgusting amount of chafing.

So here are my tips on what to prepare (and what temptations to avoid) if you’re gearing up for a marathon on Sunday. All of these items are still available with next day delivery, or can be bought at the Marathon Expo when you pick up your race number. Or save this article for future reference if you’re just thinking about doing your first 26.2-mile distance.

One of my key pieces of advice is a simple one, and something you’ll probably have heard before: don’t monkey around with new ideas ahead of the race.

If you’ve got this far through your training and not been experimenting with energy gels (which are essentially a sticky, sugary syrup, sometimes with added electrolytes to replace lost minerals) then don’t do it now. It’s a recipe for giving yourself stomach ‘issues’ during the race.

However, if you’re thinking of trying them in the future or have been practising with them in your longer runs, then grab yourself a box or two now.

If you’re thinking of starting, I’m a big fan of Science in Sport (SIS) gels – they’ve always worked for me, have good flavours and can be bought with caffeine to help your mental focus.

However, it’ll be Lucozade Sport Dual-Fuel gels in the London marathon, so stick with those and get yourself a few in preparation. You might be planning to rely on the ones being given out in the race, so you have fewer things to carry. That makes sense, but buying a few ahead of time allows you to stick a few in a belt and gives you an option if you decide you want to run past the water station and stay in a rhythm.

Saying that…

I could have put this in the section below of things never to buy immediately before a marathon, but if you’ve decided to take gels for energy and don’t have a plan for storing them, then now is the time to get it sorted.

You could try something like the SIS belt, but this can bounce about a little, or the gel corners can scratch your arm or thigh if they’re not slipped in at the correct angle.

My tip is a Flipbelt – they’re simply bloomin’ marvellous. Like a very small miniskirt around your waist, it sits so comfortably either under or over your t-shirt or vest.

I stuffed six gels in there over the marathon and, while they do require a touch of dexterity to get out, once you familiarise yourself with the location of the holes, it’s simple.

Plus you get one of the very best running belts out there – it fits on nicely, you can get a slimline water bottle to slot in and there’s even a little clasp for keys. If you go for the zipped version, it is a little more expensive, but it can also hold things like passports or medical devices when travelling too, so it’s got a few more uses.

One of the key things in my arsenal – thoroughly recommended.

If I could go back in time and tell myself to just buy five sticks of Body Glide from the moment I stuck on my first pair of trainers, I would do that.

I know, I could go back and stop all kinds of events from happening, but this one feels very important – the amount of chafing I suffered before someone opened my eyes to this stuff is something I’d very much like to forget.

You can use things like Vaseline, but Body Glide comes in a small stick and works by twisting the bottom (like a wide Pritt Stick) to allow you to rub the protective balm in key areas – it’s so easy (and mess-free) to apply.

It’s never let me down – if you’ve not considered your anti-chafing solution, this is the stuff to get. Trust me – your post-race shower will be a completely different experience as a result.

You’re about to do a marathon, so now’s the time to reward yourself for all that training- and a new kit bag is a great choice.

The KitBrix is one that my pal recommended to me recently – as a GB triathlete, he needs bags for lots of different active things. KitBrix are robust, easy to carry and you can buy a few of them and zip them together if you want extra space for damp kit, a cycle helmet… or just a section filled with ice and your favourite drink.

They’re not the cheapest, retailing for around £80, but Amazon has a promotion to save money if you buy two or more.

Whether you want to take them before or after the run, having a good range of carb-heavy snacks is a great idea for fuelling or recovery.

I’m a big fan of a couple of bananas and a pot (or two) of Sainsbury’s porridge in a cup – it’s nice, cheap and does the job if all you’ve got is a kettle in your budget hotel room, because someone forgot to book anything until the last minute…

(Oh, and bring your own big spoon. You’re welcome).

While it’s tempting to think only about getting through the marathon, and not care about what happens afterwards, planning your post-race recovery will make the whole experience so much better.

Pack a full change of clothes, both warm and cool, and some nice waterproofs too – you’ll be so happy to slide into them afterwards and will be prepared whatever the weather.

And while your stomach will probably feel too full of sugary gels and energy drinks to think about adding anything else in, you really should get some more carbohydrate and protein in your body as soon as you can from the finish.

My treat to myself previously was this ProMixx shaker – a battery-powered spinner at the bottom allows you to fill the beaker with water ahead of time, add in some recovery powder that you’ve stored in the self-contained unit (I like SIS Rego, but there are many great options out there to try out) and just press a button for instant mixing.

Sure, an electric mixer is overkill when you can just buy a manual shaker for a fraction of the cost, but I love hearing the whirring, seeing the little whirlpool appear, shaking the powder in and having a grit-free drink.

Staying warm pre-race is important, but you don’t want to be carrying a jumper with you for the next few hours.

There are two good choices: cut holes in a bin bag to wear, before ripping it off when the starting klaxon goes (simple, but not very environmentally friendly).

A better bet is to head to a charity shop beforehand, buy something warm and then throw it on the side of the road before the start or throughout the London Marathon route. Don’t worry about littering: the London Marathon organisers (and those at a pleasingly increasing number of other runs) work with charities to collect discarded clothing for reuse or recycling.

Plus you get the fun of trying to find the most disgusting thing to wear – I bought a Lithuanian university brown sweater a few years back, and I could sense the shop assistant was ecstatic to see the back of it.