During the Race
Keep Your Pace
On race day, you’ll be excited, the adrenaline will be pumping, and you’ll feel great. This might be the case, but don’t let it fool you into going out too fast and running ahead of pace. At faster speeds, your body relies more heavily on glycogen as a source of fuel and less on fat so if you run too fast early in the race, you run the risk of depleting your glycogen stores sooner.
Training Tips: To avoid hitting the wall, you want to pace yourself in the easy effort zone early, progress to a moderate effort, and the hit it hard for the finish. Tune into your body and breathing so you know when your body is running in the easy, aerobic zone and when you cross into the hard zone when you’re burning more glycogen. It may feel counterintuitive but go ahead and take those walk breaks during your marathon. When you take short, strategic walk breaks, you’ll end up feeling better during your last home stretch than if you ran the entire distance.
Fuel On-the-Run
Set up a plan for when you plan to fuel throughout the marathon. Make sure to fuel early – before you feel you need it – to avoid hitting the wall. In addition to glycogen depletion, dehydration creates a risk of fatigue as well for runners. No matter the weather, you should be drinking “a little, but often” throughout the race.
Training Tips: A common guideline from sports nutritionists is to consume 30 – 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour and approximately 3.3 – 5 fl. oz of fluid every 5km. Energy gels are a great carb source during a run because they’re portable and easily digestible. Also, while most nutritionists will tell you to stay away from sports drinks on a regular basis, in this case, it’s actually helpful – they are hydrating and have the added benefit of containing sugar to help supplement your glycogen stores.
Trick Your Brain
“The wall” can be just as much mental as it is physical. While running, you should try to find ways to stay mentally engaged with the task at hand on race day.
Training Tips: One way to stay mentally engaged is think of the marathon as three shorter races – 10 miles – 10 miles – 10K. When you tackle each one separately, it might give you some additional motivation. You can even have a reward – whether it’s a gel, a special treat, or a group of cheering friends – waiting for you at the end of each of these “mini-races”.
If You Still Hit the Wall
Running a marathon isn’t easy. You can do all the exact right things before and during the race and you might still hit the wall. Weather conditions, how you’re feeling that day, even the crowd around you can have an effect on how you run. Don’t be discouraged, take notes of all the details of your race and keep them in mind for the next one you sign up for – cause who are we kidding – no matter the results, of course there will be a next one!
When you participate in the FirstEnergy Akron Marathon, we make sure to give you all the tools you need to avoid hitting the wall. Regular fluid and energy gel stations throughout the course help you stay fueled for your race, a great community to cheer you on, and we have the extra advantage of our amazing new course that is downhill or flat for the final 6.2 miles – perfect for helping you keep your pace throughout the race.
The FirstEnergy Akron Marathon features the ultimate running experience through 13 Akron neighborhoods and a world-class finish inside Canal Park Stadium. Join us to enjoy a great course and a great community that runners have come to know and love.
FirstEnergy Akron Marathon, Half Marathon & Team Relay
September, 28, 2019 | 7:30am
Downtown Akron
