Things I WISH I Knew Before Running My First Marathon - TIPS to Run your BEST RACE!
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- čas přidán 10. 06. 2024
- I ran my first marathon back in 2002 (when I was 18 years old!) and with many of the big spring marathons right around the corner (London / Brighton / Boston / Manchester) there will be loads of people on the start lines running their first marathon too. So here is a few things I wish I knew before I ran my first marathon all those years ago. Let me know in the comments which marathon you're training for, and best of luck!
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Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:40 Before the marathon
4:43 During the marathon
7:40 After the marathon - Sport
If anyone wants a race day checklist, download one for free here -> benparkes.com/blogs/news/race-day-checklist
Three more tips from my more limited experience:
1 don’t panic at final week niggles, everyone gets ‘marathonoia’ and the things you worry about now won’t even be in your top 3 at the end.
2 get the gels and water down you before you think you need it: you can wing a half but need fuel for 42.2k. I know this clashes with Ben’s drink on demand tip!
3. Consider running each of the late kms/miles ‘for’ one of your nearest and dearest, past or present, for extra motivation.
Good luck!
These are great tips! I've only run 4 marathons but the day before the race, I find it helps the confidence/settles the nerves to go back through my strava training log. The number of runs is pretty crazy and I tend to lose sight of that in the midst of the training block. During the race, my biggest thing is to keep smiling and engaging with spectators when it starts to get hard - a bit of positivity can go a long way when the pain creeps in!
Yes, that’s a great suggestion Ken. Look back and see how far you’ve come!
This was so helpful. Thank you. I have a Mountain marathon in 3 sleeps 42km and 1974m elevation. I’m a bit scared but like you said, have fun!!
Have a good one 👍 Eat well now, before the race, then drink and eat well in the run.
If hot, drink more, take salt / electrolytes.
And foremost, don't rush at first half of the race - steady pace.
Take your time at the aid stations - if they have something hot (drink / soup) take it.
This is how a managed my 2nd 48k race 👌
(in my first I didn't listen 😂 and it was crazy hot)
Timely vid ahead of my first marathon this Sunday. Thanks Ben 😊
Good luck to everyone running a marathon in the near future!!
Best of luck, my first is in October!
Have fun and good luck Gemma!
Great work Ben, keep them coming
Loving these tips. Thank you Ben
Top shelf segue to the hats, nice work
Excellent summary of all one needs to prepare. Well done!
Thank you Ben, great tips and advice as always. I'm running London hoping for a 3.30 ish time. Been training hard for it. Good luck to all that have Marathons this spring. Good luck also Ben and Sarah 🤩🏃🤩
Really enjoying the channel Ben (And Sarah)! Just received my new hat and Singlet this week as well! Have the Royal Parks in a few months but looking forward to my 1st ever Marathon next year!
Great tips, thanks for sharing. Also, many of them would apply to any distance races, so really useful even if not taking on a marathon. 👍
Love these videos cheers from Mexico🎉
A well timed video, I'm at Brighton on Sunday. Excited!
If walking through a water station please be aware of other people around you. I had a lady stop dead after grabbing a drink, nearly went straight through her. Just carry on running then move to the side.
This is the best I ever seen for first marathon. Thanks!
Thank you Ben. Great vidxas always. Followed your plan for London, my first Marathon. Lowered ABC goals as have been out for 3 weeks. Just going to get around 😅
Thanks Ben I’m running Paris this weekend using your training plan. Your tips are really straightforward and easy to remember especially when the nerves hit😂😂😂
Big thanks Ben. Your videos plus your intermediate Mara running plan got me a PB (previous 2017) and my Missus a 20 minute PB and good for age time at Manc Mara. Your an absolute star. ❤
great content Ben & Sarah!!!
Loved this video thanks Ben!!
After my first Marathon in Brighton last year I felt little down after. Really enjoyed the training and suddenly it was done. Straight onto my next goal and booked a few 5 and 10k races. 😁
Running my second Marathon in London next month for Charity can't wait. Learnt loads from my first Marathon and mistakes made and putting them right this time with the Knowledge I didn't have before my first.
Great video Ben very helpful for first timers. 😁
5his actually made me tearful watching this remembering my first marathon. Thankfully I knew and employed many of the tips in this video but it would have been useful for me still. Such an inspiration, Ben. Keep it up, pal.
Thank you Ben. Great vidxas always. Followed your plan for London, my first Marathon. Lowered ABC goals as have been out for 3 weeks. Just going to get around
2:01 Having your name and running club on show helps so much. I was really struggling toward the end of my last marathon, until at 41 km a wonderful crowd member shouted "Come on Dan! Let's go (city of my running club)!" I woke right up and finished with my fastest split of the race. Thank you to that crowd member! An extra tip might be to cheer the runners after you've finished and recovered: In future I'd like to be that person for someone else.
Got my fist marathon this weekend at Brighton.
Really enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work and good luck to all the marathon runners this season.
Thank you, this was very useful - I’m doing my first marathon in Manchester next week. I’ll especially bear in mind the tips about kit and the water stations.
Great tips Ben 👍🏻
Don’t worry if running 10-15 seconds over first km or two with congestion. The race will come back to you when it thins out. So many get stressed out and start jumping left and right to burst through a tiny gap. You might want some warm clothes at the end
Very true Gareth!! Great thoughts 🙌
Great information! Thank you!
I’ve caught almost all of your vids to get tips and advice for running and keep me motivated and set some goals- even took your recommendation and got myself a pair of Novablast 3s!
5am runs in freezing temps, injuries and the inevitable winter illnesses over the last 12 weeks has brought me to my first marathon this Sunday and trepidation and adrenaline is kicking in. Can’t wait to see how it ends!
Thanks for helping keep the focus and faith 🙏 👍
Good luck Max!! Hope you have a great race. Let us know how you get on!!
Very good tips.
I'm notorious for trying something new before events. This is a huge, but uncommon, tip.
The GPS pre race is a good idea.
Don't let the marathon define you. I smashed the Frankfurt mararthon after two dominos and 4 cans of strong German beer 🍻🍻🍻
🤣
Great video Ben, not long till London now, my first time running it!!
Hope you enjoy it! Good luck!!
Great video! Watched this 3 days after completing my first half marathon. Teared up from some of the things you said. Well put, encouraging and comforting words! Watched most of your videos but never 'bothered to subscribe '... until now! Thank you so much for your input, truly inspiring. (Will outrun you soon though 😜)
Great tips Ben and nice old skool London Marathon pic 😀 Heading to watch the Brighton Marathon this weekend so looking forward to seeing everyone getting out there
Thanks Ben, my first one is Brighton this weekend. Nerves are really starting to build, plus the maranoia about getting ill. Can't wait to get started now!
@@davidfisherbarham6215 Best of luck with it David and the maranoia is all part of it 😅 Enjoy it out there!
Oh Brighton is a good weekend to kick off the marathon month. May have to go watch too
Appreciate your videos!
Glad you like them!
thanks ben!
Great video Ben ,I'm into week 13 of your level 4 marathon plan chasing the sub 3 .so far so good 🤞🏻
You got this! Let us know how you get on!
Good job 👍
Thanks Ben! Really useful tips 👍. Running Brighton this Sunday and I’m mega excited and nervous at the same time.. You ever done the Brighton marathon?
Great tips , thank you , I've got my first marathon in 8 wks In Edinburgh , I'm using your L3 plan I jumped from runners world to your plan a week ago 😂 I like having mp miles in the long runs 👍 im hoping for sub 3.30, coming off a solid years running 41m 10k and 1.35 half marathon but this is a whole new ball game , can't wait . Sub 3hr will come later 😂 Good luck to everyone running there races this year 👍
great tips
Glad you like them!
Chicago tomorrow. My first @ 36 y/o. Thanks for the tips 👍
I don’t like everybody the way human should but I like and trust you, Ben! ✌🏻
Was that Sid Vicious or a young Ben Parkes😂?
'It's just a 🏃hobby..!'👌👍
Thanks for the tips, im doing my first marathon in 5days🎉😊😮
Thanks for this video 🤩 My running buddy and I are completing one of your training plans and we will run Madrid marathon 🤞🏻🤞🏻 We just want to complete under 4 hours, because it’s just about completing. We ran 37 km on a pace 5:33 pr km and we can’t seem to hold the pace down 🙈 I hope we can stick to the plan on race day 🤞🏻🤞🏻
Good luck Martin (and your buddy!!)
Thanks @@BenParkes . Your programs have made two triathletes to runners 🏃♀️ 🏃♂️ In Triathlon season also I use inspiration from your programs 🤘🏻😎 Gold written on paper 📝
Good luck Marin not Martin ;-) !
@@dresden_slowjog I didn’t even read the extra “t”. Gus I’m just used to people wetting it wrong ☺️
18 year old Ben looks nothing like now Ben! Are you sure it was you? 😂 All great tips here and all very true. Can definitely apply to all distance too (esp if you're new to race days, a 5k is still nerve wracking) All things that every single race day I need to remember myself. Also, that bagel looked very nice!!
I've been running for 18 years now, in 2012 I ran my first marathon, I was preparing from the half for 2 years, the first year I run a 30k race on the same course on which then I ran my marathon. To be honest it was a big disappointment, I thought that it will feel amazing that I will be so emotional after the race. One thing is that I was too cautious in the beginning of the race but then I didn't hit the wall, it became really boring, I nearly wlaked home at 40k because I just didn't feel like running. After the race I just wanted to forget the race and for a year I was clueless and ran little. This day I'm just focused on getting faster at 5k, 10k. I don't know what went wrong for me, maybe marathon is not for everyone.
I wish I’d looked at (and trained for) the course elevation profile. My first marathon was much hillier than I expected, and running downhill at speed shot my quads.
I love your videos and this is great thankyou! Just wondered if you have any suggestions for uk female ultra runners that do similiar videos. Would love a female perspective on things as often when it comes to what you wear etc it doesnt just directly translate ( sarah needs to start her channel!!)
Only ran it twice , I must say, the attention to the hills is very important, especially downhills, 1-16.5 is so fun and fast, 17ish to 21 NO FUN, lol 21.5 to 25ish “where is the gas pedal ? My legs won’t go faster! I did the hills , I thought it was flat or downhill after that ? My legs are in concrete!!! “ ;)
I just did Barcelona and the vibe was amazing with the drummers and people cheering . What other cities do you recommend for a good vibes?
I have my first marathon in June so it could be really hot. It’s also on hilly trails. Woops!! 🙈
I’ve not long finished the book “Elite Minds” and subsequently I’m going into Paris Marathon this weekend with just Plan A. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Good luck Vince!
@@BenParkes 02 57 43 Sub 3 Plan A!
Well, considering all the tips, the easy pace + lot of drinks made me go a fast the last 10k. No wall, just tired.
To be fair, the course layout did help a lot! A run from Marathon to Athens is challenging ...and rewarding! You just need to THAT LONG uphill section 😊
Funny that you make a vid now... i wanna sign up for my first marathon on April 23rd (Bonn Germany) and test myself before running Berlin Marathon in September. From my Training i should be fine (did 30K Traingruns), but I`m really scared of the challenge.
Good luck Robin!!
Thank you so much - been training with your marathon plan and loving it so far! I got a question concerning the pacing during the marathon - Do you rely on the Garmin's lap pace or do you manually time each kilometer? Thanks in advance!
Depending on the course (London is terrible for losing signal) knowing your 5km splits is helpful.
Both work! I autolap every 1k as find it a faff to always be remembering to manually lap.. just have to be aware of how far from the official markets I am. But like concentrating on lap pace and keeping each lap nice and consistent
Ah young Ben did very well at 18! Its definitely easier to train for a marathon now with the likes of yourself and Kofuzi as inspiration, Strava, ParkRun communities with loads of helpful information and tips than it was back then studying through Hal Higden or Jack Daniels books for the right programmes.
Yes. I never remember doing any research at all.. the internet obviously existed back then, but it was so different to now!
Dont try a new breakfast! First marathon is in Paris on Sunday! Just got here struggling to find somewhere that does beans on toast!!
Hi! Now during my off season I’m running three days a week and doing two weekly strength training sessions (3+2). I’m not sure whether I will run 4 or 5 days a week during my marathon training. What are your thoughts of incorporating strength training into marathon training schedule? Is it better to have a 4+2 ( 5+1, in case of 5 running days) schedule or is it better to lift on running days (after running) in order to have additional rest days? I would prefer 4+2 or 5+1 approach, but then I will have fewer rest days, right? I would really appreciate your answer. Thanks a lot! Btw, I was heavily overtrained for two years a couple of years ago. Since my complete recovery, I have already run some relatively successful races, but I am paying my attention to the intensity of my training (before overtraining I always thought that training more is always better, not sure about that now).
Hi Ben, great vid, thanks for the tips. A question for you- on Sunday I completed a tough 20mile race in wet horrid conditions in a time of 2h 50mins giving 8:34 min miles. It was a struggle near the end but I managed to maintain a constant pace throughout. As a marathon really starts at 20 miles do you think I should drop that average pace for London?..maybe closer to 9mm, to achieve my best result.
London will have much better atmosphere so that helps a little and hopefully better conditions! Think if you could have done anything better with your fueling? Were you simply tired? Or did you feel something went wrong? Lots to think about it.. a slightly slower pace will be more sensible if you feel everything went ok in your 20. Good luck in London, have a great run!
Those first marathon glasses are ace Ben, Please tell me you still have them and wear them for your next London Marathon :D
Right out of The Matrix. 😅
You should definitely get those old sunglasses back from your first marathon
the problem is that I knew I have to follow a certain time but I don't every time hahahah dunno why. I did my 3rd marathon sunday and I faced my big friend "the wall". still got my pb 😅🤣
Congratulations on the PB!!
Make hats for ladies w high poney openings!!
1st of All, u have to go to toillete.
This Must done b4 start.
Would you ever run at altitude like denver, colorado again?
Yes! Would love to visit Boulder again very soon!
Is drink to thirst right? Too late then isn't it?
+70 marathons? Don't you recommend like 1-2 races per year?
How do a now what pace I should be running at? First marathon abs was hoping to get under 4 hours. How do I know if that's possible?
Have you done a half in less than 1:55?
@@axelnils No
Just a hobby? JUST A HOBBY?!?!?!? Give me running or give me death!
Casualties? I should hope not!
I take my running and myself very seriously. If i didn't then i am a joke to myself.
Terrible !!! At 3:05 in this video there is a woman clearly NOT registered in the race who is trespassing onto the course to hand something to one of the runners. This is so wrong! She was so intent on passing something to her runner that she could have tripped or crashed into another runner, causing injury, or legal liability to the race organization. If you know who this rude woman is, can you please explain to her how wrong this was?
£28 for a running hat😂
First thing to know before. It is just waste of time. Just do sports with your wife, family and friend for fun. Mataton is not hralthy for anyone and it is not fun. It is not valuable spended time at all. 😅
this is random but does anyone know if at manchester marathon the water is in cups or bottles. just a thing i would like to know xx