Frosty's Running Tips

Race Day

The preparation and training is complete and it’s close to race day!

Here are a few tips to make race day as smooth as possible.

If the race has an event guide make sure you note all the key information.

I always work backwards – when is start time, when can you get in your pen, how far is car parking from the start, how long it takes to get there. That way work you can work out timings and how much time you need to allow.

The last thing you need is extra stress alongside race day nerves.

You may not have a great nights sleep the night before – that’s normal.

But having a good plan helps you no matter how tired you may feel.

Here are a few things I have encountered over the years – road closures being mixed up so an additional 45 minutes to arrive in the car park.

30 minute queue to drop bag off.

45 minute queue for toilets.

Extended bag searches at the location adding 30 minutes at the start.

Always make sure you leave plenty of time “just in case” – especially if it’s a large-scale race like Great North Run, London Marathon etc. Even small independent events can have big toilet queues!

Getting to the event nice and early allows you time to go to the toilet (a few times!), a gentle walk round to settle the nerves, a good warm up and then getting ready for the race.

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

Don’t let that morning routine ruin all that hard training!