Race Day Strategy

It's really important that you have a race strategy in place before you get started and that you stick to it

Don't be influenced by anyone around you, either at the start or during the race. You must stick to your planned approach and don't deviate from it unless there are unforeseen circumstances. Be focused. This is your day and you need to be in control of it. Here we give you some pointers on how you can make it all go to plan with the right race strategy.

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Setting a race goal

It's always good to have an idea of your potential finish time but you should become overly fixated by it. It's very normal to take longer than your anticipated time, especially if it's your first event. This anticipated time may have been based on your longest training run, say 20 miles for a marathon, and you may have assumed the last six miles would be at the same pace. It's highly unlikely that they will be. They are likely to be much slower unless you have trained exceptionally well and you have plenty left in reserve on the day. That's really unusual so when you're thinking about a potential finish time just assume the last 20% of your miles will be at a slower pace than your longest run and potentially much slower.

The more you worry about your time the less you will enjoy the event. Unless you're a top runner looking to beat your best time don't worry about the clock. Of course you want to do well but it's more important, especially if it's your first major event, to enjoy the day and want to come back for another. If you want to see a target, make it a realistic one and one that you have a really good chance of hitting. Don't fall in to the trap of overestimating your potential finish time and end up chasing an impossible goal. Give yourself a chance.

The start

At the start of your race you should go off relatively slowly. Don't try to keep up with those around you because you think you look fitter than they do. Many runners struggle to lose weight so just because someone ahead of you may be a bit bigger don't assume they aren't as fit as you. They may well be much fitter than you are. And they may have started in the wrong start corral. Go at the pace you have trained at. Starting slowly will help you conserve energy and help you in the latter stages of the race. If you go off too quickly you could literally run out of energy and have nothing left for the challenging last few miles. During your long runs you will have settled into a pace that you should be able to maintain during your event. If you deviate from this on race day you may struggle. Keep it constant and don't be drawn into quick bursts of speed by the crowd or by runners around you.

The early stages

While it's relatively easy to keep to a constant speed on your long runs, while you're training on your own and with no distractions, it is totally different when you're being cheered on by thousands of people and with runners everywhere you look. The crowd will encourage high fives and there will be regular cheers and anthems that you can get drawn into. While you want to enjoy it as much of this as you can and contribute to it wherever possible you need to keep your energy expenditure to a minimum, so be careful and don't get carried away.

The early stages of your first big event will be a bit of a blur. You will have trained so hard for this and here you are running alongside thousands of others , your senses overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of what is an overpowering occasion. It is quite likely that your race plan be neglected and you will run far too fast. You need to be aware of this and ensure that you don't get sucked into all of the excitement. Remain in control. It is hard to describe the atmosphere at a really big event and absolutely no words can prepare you for it. All you can do is accept that it is going to be out of this world and make sure that you running, particularly in the early stages, is not adversely affected by it.

After a few miles most runners will have settled into their pace and the need for constant overtaking will ease. There will be plenty of movements as some will tire quicker than others, but generally speaking after about six miles the field will be much more stable. By this stage you will find it much easier to run at your normal long run pace and the distractions, although many and varied, will have become a little more familiar. The atmosphere will still be incredible and the crowd will still be cheering relentlessly, but now you will have more time to absorb it all and you can focus on your running.

The middle stages

As you approach the halfway stage of a marathon, you must ensure that you're not running the same pace as you would for a normal half marathon, you should be slower. At the end of a half marathon you should feel like you don't have a lot left, but at the end of the first half of a marathon you should have plenty left. The second half will be much tougher and you need plenty left in the tank to deal with it.

As you head through the middle stages your mind can start playing tricks on you and it's now very much a case of mind over matter. You'll be fighting mental battles from here to the finish and you need to be prepared for this. If you've trained well and you've done plenty of long runs this will be familiar, but if you haven't this will be new territory. You'll have two voices in your head, one telling you to stop and another telling you to carry on and they get stronger as you tick off the miles. Don't listen to the negative voice, especially as you head towards the toughest part of a marathon course at around 18 miles or 10 miles on a half marathon course. If you are forced to walk at any stage then try and do so as fast as you can. Some runners adopt a walk, run strategy from the outset , but for most the walking only starts when they physically can't run anymore.

The more you walk the longer you'll be on your feet, so try and walk in short bursts if you can.

If you're struggling at this point your mood will be darkest and morale at its lowest. You must dig deep and try and pull yourself through. If you haven't trained enough this will be a challenging part of the course and you may 'hit the wall', especially if you're doing a marathon. This is basically when the body runs out of fuel. Your glycogen stores will be fully depleted and things will be tough. On most big events routes there will be energy gels and drinks available and you'll be able to rebuild your energy levels by taking these, but be careful and don't have too many!

The last few miles

If you're running one of the big events the crowds will give you a huge boost during the final few miles. As you head past the 20 mile mark of a marathon or 11 miles on a half marathon, as a first timer, you'll probably be in new territory. You are unlikely to have run this far in training. Mind games will challenge you further and you'll start to wonder if your body can cope. This is where the crowd comes in.

They will urge you forward and you'll find inspiration from their enthusiasm. Throughout the race you'll be ticking off the miles and no more so than the last few. As you move through the early 20s in a marathon and 10 and 11 in the half you'll find new energy reserves from somewhere and then suddenly you're nearly there. It is then that you know you are going to finish and suddenly you start to enjoy it more. The crowd will continue to lift you and you'll be filled with emotion. Many first timers will shed tears at this stage especially as they run the last mile. There is nothing like it.

During your training you need to try and visualise moments like this. Images of running past Buckingham Palace in London or Central Park in New York will keep you going on the darkest coldest nights of those long winter training months. All of us need inspiration during training and there is nothing more inspiring than the last mile of a major event, absolutely nothing.

As you cross the finish line your dream will have been fulfilled and you can enjoy your moment of triumph. Make sure you take in the enormity of it all.