Wanna run? Print out this checklist and keep it handy as you train! You’ll learn a lot along the way, and sometimes some clear, concise advice is great for getting going.

• Nothing new on race day. Period. That’s the way!
• Practice everything before race day. Your clothing combination, your during-run nutrition, your breakfast, your sunblock, everything. On race day you only want to be worrying about the butterflies in your stomach and not your ‘gig’. Additionally, most people “stretch” distance to finish the marathon. That means most people will either not ever have run 26 miles or will not have done it since their last marathon. Take care of all the controllable elements and you can focus on running that extra 6? 8? 10? Miles to complete the race successfully.
• Go the distance. The more miles you log and the more time you spend running, the better. Consider your estimated distance, and shoot for completing a few regular training runs that take you within 75% or 80% of that. Then consider your finishing time and make sure some of your runs keep you going for that same amount of time, even if you run slower and don’t cover the same distance that you will on race day.
• Train with friends. It makes you show up (case and point: last night’s workout!) and has an amazing way of making the distance fly by.
• Consider sodium. Calculate how much sodium you’ll be drinking if you follow your normal routine. Then do some research about how much sodium you can sweat out on a hot day. Do the math and you may be surprised. Some people take flasks of chicken soup, others put ¼ teaspoon of sodium in their regular sports drink.
• Lube up to prevent chaffing, especially if you sweat a lot. The race organization at my last marathon “forgot” to provide those little pop-sicle sticks of Vaseline often at marathons and my nipples were raw by the end of the race…
• Pace yourself. In addition to keeping a level pace during the race, you’ll want to pace out your training. Don’t ramp up your mileage too quickly or you’ll invite sore knees and ankles, and maybe worse problems that can derail your training completely. Shoot for a 10% increase per week, or adding 1 mile to your long run each week. Figure at that rate, it’s 20 weeks to go from 6 miles to a full marathon.
• Train for your training, then train for your race. Building a foundation is key. You need to be ready for the longer mileage you need to train for a marathon, so start laying down long steady mileage early in the year. Consistency beats intensity.
• Soften the blow. You need to train like you’re going to race, which means pavement is unavoidable. On the other hand, it can take it’s toll on knees and make muscle recovery slower (due to the pounding). Dirt and trail days are great to throw into your training, especially for distance days.
• Have a training schedule. Make sure that you have a plan of action to get you ready for the race. Start soon, even if it is just a few miles a week and then slowly build up your mileage toward the race.
• Get lots of rest and good nutrition while you are training for a marathon. To feel your best while you are training and especially on race day, be giving you body what is needs to perform at its best: High quality nutrition and rest time to repair and rejuvenate!
• Get good shoes and foot support. If you are a runner, shoes are your only vital piece of equipment. Spend the little extra money and time getting a proper running shoe fit.
• Retire shoes after 300-500 miles, depending on your wear and tear on them. Also please recycle those old shoes through a program like: Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program (www.nikereuseashoe.com). Most running stores as well as the expo and finish line of races, have a place you can throw your old shoes in to have them recycled!
• Vary your workout routine. Set workouts where you just focus on increasing your speed, other workouts for strength training and workouts that are longer distances for endurance.