How to Spend Your Time from the Day Before a Marathon to the Start of the Race

We are in the middle of the marathon season, but how is everyone doing? I imagine many of you are training or gaining practical experience for the latter half of the season in February and March, but I think most runners struggle with how to spend the day before the race and what time to wake up and arrive at the venue on the day of the event.

I have only participated in about 10 full marathons, so I am not exactly an expert, but I would like to share what I have learned so far. I would be grateful if you could take this as a reference, thinking, 'I see, there is that way of doing things and that way of thinking.'

How to spend the day before

How you spend the day before depends on whether you are traveling from home on the day of the race or staying overnight nearby, so I have summarized each pattern.

The following points are common to both patterns:
・Wake up at almost the same time as you will on the day of the race
・Do a morning jog
・Walk as little as possible
・Eat only things that are gentle on the stomach and intestines
・Attach your bib and timing tag
・Put the gels you will carry in your wear pockets
・Dinner at 5:00 PM, sleep at 9:00 PM
・Read the venue map and course map thoroughly

If staying overnight

If I am staying overnight, I always schedule my arrival at the hotel for around 3:00 PM. Arriving too early and trying to find ways to kill time in an unfamiliar place is exhausting both mentally and physically, and arriving too late makes things rushed, so this is the ideal time.

Once I check in at 3:00 PM, the first thing I do is organize my luggage. I always sort out what I will wear from the hotel the next morning and what I will take to the venue. I also immediately check for anything I might have forgotten, as I may need to purchase it in the area around the hotel. If you arrive at the hotel late, the shops around the hotel might be closed when you realize you have forgotten something. I also attach my bib and timing tag at this time.

Once my luggage is organized, I look at the course map for a final strategy check. Of course, I work on my strategy on the plane or train on the way there, but I do a final check here. Sometimes I make new discoveries. I also carefully look at the start venue map to confirm the locations of restrooms, baggage drop-off, and the starting line-up area.

I always make sure my accommodation has a large public bath. Taking a bath makes a huge difference in the quality of sleep and how well fatigue is relieved. It relaxes the muscles just right, which leads to improved performance the next day.

If not staying overnight

I don't do anything special just because it is the day before. I live my life as usual, but if I had to say, I try not to move around too much while also making sure not to let my body get stiff. Sometimes I go to a public bath (sento).

I also read the final information for the race I am participating in and watch videos of the previous year's event on YouTube. The race starts from the moment you wake up and head to the venue. If you are not properly prepared, you won't be able to perform at your best, so it is essential to plan your movements from the moment you head to the venue on the day of the race.

Regardless of the season, I always eat warm food. I never eat raw food. That includes salads.

Dinner

I have decided on chicken, rice, and simmered fish for the night before. In other words, I choose foods that are high in protein and low in fat, and easy to digest, while getting plenty of carbohydrates.
I have tried udon and pasta, but they didn't suit my body.

Examples of dinner include a simmered mackerel set meal, chicken porridge, or chicken and egg bowl (oyakodon). Blue-backed fish are rich in DHA, EPA, and calcium, and chicken contains a lot of essential amino acids with high absorption rates. Also, although not necessarily for dinner, I make sure to eat eggs the night before and the morning of the race. You know they are nutritious, right? The night before, I also eat yogurt with MCT oil drizzled on it.

Conversely, I avoid raw foods, fried foods, ramen, bread, cold foods, and other things that are hard to digest, high in fat, or damaging to the stomach and intestines. I don't drink alcohol at all on a regular basis.

Since I have been prone to anemia since I was a child, I take iron supplements on a daily basis. There are days when I don't take them, such as when I've had enough iron in my meals, but I always take them the day before a race. This is because I once collapsed from anemia immediately after finishing my first full marathon.

I make sure to finish my dinner at least three hours before going to bed, no matter how late it is, because digestion takes time. If your digestive system is still working while you sleep, it can cause indigestion and lower the quality of your sleep. If I need to wake up at 5:00 AM, I go to bed at 9:00 PM to get eight hours of sleep. Therefore, I make sure to finish my dinner by 6:00 PM at the latest.

How to decide your wake-up time

I aim to wake up four to three and a half hours before the start. It usually ends up being around 4:45 to 5:15 AM. The wake-up time is determined by the distance from my home or hotel to the venue. If it's close, I wake up three and a half hours before.

I want to arrive at the venue at least 45 minutes before the lineup closes, no matter how late I am, so I work backward from that time to decide when to wake up.

Morning routine and breakfast

After I wake up and brush my teeth, the first thing I always do is take a morning shower. I take a warm shower over my entire body, from head to toe, to wake myself up. There are many ways to warm up, but I think taking a warm shower is the easiest and quickest way (laughs). By warming up my body first, I believe it helps me digest my breakfast properly afterward.

After showering, I put on my race gear, wear a jersey or hoodie over it to keep from getting cold, and then have breakfast.

For breakfast, I start with a banana, followed by rice as the main dish, warm soup, and some form of small fish or eggs.

By the way, I never wear my race shoes from home. From the time I leave home until I finish my warm-up, I wear jogging shoes that are easy on my feet, and I only change into my race shoes when it's time to drop off my bags.
The reason for this is that walking in carbon-plated shoes causes fatigue, and I want to prevent the shoes from wearing out as much as possible so I can use them for a long time.

From arriving at the venue to the start

Depending on the scale of the event, I arrive at the venue between 1 hour 30 minutes and 45 minutes before the lineup closes. For a city marathon, I always arrive at the venue at least one hour before the lineup closes. The point is 'one hour before the lineup closes,' not 'one hour before the start.' Since you can only move around freely until the lineup closes, you must work backward from that time to figure out what you need to do after arriving at the venue and how long it will take.

Once I secure a place to leave my bags, I first go to the restroom, check the lineup area, and then eat a banana and a daifuku (rice cake). After that, I loosen up my body with dynamic stretches, starting from my ankles. I focus especially on my hip joints, back, and arms.

Every event has a warm-up area, so I do drills like skipping there, jog to warm up my body, and then 20 minutes before the lineup closes, I change into my race gear, drop off my bags, and go to the restroom.

Depending on how crowded the restroom is, if I have time to warm up again, I do some drills or jogging. I usually arrive at my lineup position at the last minute, about 10 to 5 minutes before the lineup closes. I want to warm up for as long as possible, after all. Even so, my heart rate often drops by the time I'm in line and the race starts.
(At the Kobe Marathon, I dropped off my bags 30 minutes before the lineup closed, but I had to wait in line for the restroom for 20 minutes, so I ended up being right at the last minute for the lineup.)

The trick is to create your own routine

I've introduced my routine, but the best thing to do is to create your own. Once you have your own routine, you won't have to wonder, 'Now, what should I do first?' when you arrive at the venue, and you can prepare calmly.

It's the same for every event, but it is essential to look at the venue map and course map the day before. The congestion at the restrooms will definitely change between when you first arrive at the venue and just before the lineup. It's more crowded right before the start. If it's a time like October, November, or March, it's also an option to do a light warm-up while wearing a jacket, finish dropping off your bags and using the restroom early, and then take time to warm up in your race gear.

Try out different methods and create your own flow.