With less than a week to go, here are my special tips for the London  Marathon!

Weather

UPDATE: According to the BBC, we can expect temperatures on Sunday to be 19C! So definitely read the section on water below!

The forecast at the moment for the London Marathon on Sunday is 14C, with rain. 19C and sunny This provides almost perfect running conditions; not too hot, but not too cool either.  Hopefully the rain will be light, too. This makes life a bit harder, so keep hydrated and stay out of the sun all day Saturday and Sunday morning.  Keep your skin covered with a light long sleeved top as long as possible to prevent moisture evaporating from the skin.

Dressing for the weather is very important, but rather than haul a jacket around with you, take a bin liner and tuck it into your shorts.  If it does get too wet, unfold it and tear a hole in it,, and put it over your head.  This will provide emergency cover from the elements and provide some basic insulation  Don’t worry what you look like; by 17 miles no one, least of all you, will care what you look like.

Clothing

If you want to get ahead get a hat.  Seriously.  A hat will keep the sun off and stop the rain getting in your eyes.  But don’t opt for a trilby or a panama, go for a lightweight cotton hat.  You can now buy running hats, but my recommendation is to buy a cycling cap, or casquette.  These are the short brimmed hats you used to see the Tour de France riders using.  You can pick up an out of season team hat at a decent bike shop, and they only cost a few pounds, which means if after a few miles you get sick of it, you can just chuck it away and keep going.

Skincare

Vaseline is the lubricant of choice for many, but it’s the wrong choice.  Opt for Sudacreme or Savlon.  They provide the protective layer without being too slippery, and will not heat up (Vaseline absorbs heat, so gets hot).  Their real advantage though is the antibacterial element.  When you chaff you allow bacteria to enter the skin, so it swells and gets sore.  The anti-bacterial properties of these prevent this.  Buy a small tube from the chemist and either put it in your pocket, or squeeze some into a ziplock bag (about 5 fingers worth) and tuck it into your shorts.  It will not look pretty by you can then just scoop a load out when you need too and then toss the bag away.

More clothing

You will be waiting around at the start for a while, so you’ll need to keep warm.  Dig out and old sweatshirt or cardigan, or go to a charity shop and buy one.  About a quids worth will do.  Wear it at the start and for the first few miles whilst you get up to pace, then dump it.  There are no fashion prizes in a marathon, and you don’t want to haul that performance fabric training top along with you all the way either.

Water

Drink more water this week.  Add a litre a day to your normal usage.  You will need to go to the toilet more often, but after a day or two that will subside as your body starts to store the water.  Oh, and the more carbs you eat, the more water you can store, which leads us onto…

Food

Almost everyone knows about eating more carbohydrates before the race, and just go off and eat lots of pasta.  Wrong.  You cannot just eat carbs – you need to balance the metabolic effect of these with some protein, so get some meat or fish in with the pasta.  Porridge is even better, but rather than have tuna and oats (fishing communities in the north of Scotland used to eat fish heads packed with oats daily, and they were in amazing shape) use a protein powder either mixed in with the porridge, or as a drink on the side.

Pain killers

A common question I am asked is should you take painkillers before the race.  Not if you can help it.  It may sound like a good idea to take anti-inflammatories, but you risk gastric upset at a time that your body is working very hard.  If you must, take a couple of ibruprofen with you for later on, so if you absolutely need something, you have it to hand.

Food, again

A client of mine a few years ago stopped on the Embankment for a hot-dog and chips.  He said that he saw the van, and just knew he had to have some before hitting the last 5 miles.  He finished well, so he obviously needed it, but I am not sure you are going to see this in any nutrition plan!

Good luck on Sunday!