Luggage vans in front of Verazzona bridge at start of New York City marathon

I’m very disappointed that due to injury I have had to cancel my entry this week for the ING New York City marathon on Sunday. Whilst I probably could make it round, I haven’t trained properly  for almost  5 weeks and I wouldn’t be able to put in a good performance, so I’d rather save myself for a different marathon in the new year.

As I have helped before at both the start and finish of the race, as well as running myself last year, I have a few tips to pass on to anyone else racing on Sunday.  There are many people giving advice on running a marathon, New York Road Runners give their own advice on completing the race along with their race etiquette suggestions, which I have touched on in a previous post. Marathons also put a lot of stress on the body. If you have been suffering from any recent illnesses or have not been able to train as planned it is always acceptable to withdraw from the race and enter another later on. No matter what your experience make sure you rehydrate efficiently and don’t push yourself too hard.

Paula Radcliffe has also given her own tips to first timers running the New York City Marathon and surprisingly some of her observations apply to both the elite and mass participation runners. Observations such as the Jewish Rabbis, who obliviously walk straight in front of the runners with no concern for anyone else, whether they are leading the race or as I experienced when you are part of the mass pack. Can’t give any advice here except watch out especially as you run through Brooklyn around miles 9-10.

To allow time to arrive at the 5am coach pick up I had to leave before 4am, which was over 6hrs before the race starts, so I recommend you take food with you to eat at the start area. There is food available at the start but personally I found bagels too heavy to digest before a race so I prefer to take my own bananas and dried toast. When I volunteered at the start food stands I was surprised how many people were taking energy bars they had never tried before and eating them before the race or asking my advice on what they should eat before the race. The day of the race is not the time to be trying out new products and you should have already established your pre race breakfast. By all means take the free samples but save them to try during future training sessions.

Runners wait in start corral as others run across Verazzona bridge.

As the marathon starts on Staten Island which can only be assessed by official transportation you end up having to arrive very early in the morning. Aside from the very long wait allowing your nerves to develop and boredom to set in, it is also very cold at 5am on a November morning. I recommend taking a book or magazine with you for entertainment, something to sit on such as a plastic bag and the side of a packing box as insulation from the cold wet floor, or even a blow up pillow. In spite of wearing three layers of clothing I was freezing whilst waiting 5 hours for the start and I noticed a few people were sitting inside sleeping bags, which I would recommend. I don’t know if they are accepted in the luggage trucks as you need to use the clear plastic bags provided so it may be necessary to try to find a cheap one you won’t mind if you have to leave it behind.  Also you have to drop off your bags and move to the start corrals over 1 hour before the race starts so it’s a good idea to wear old clothes over your race kit that you can remove just before the start. After the start volunteers collect the clothes to be donated to charity.

For those of you who haven’t raced a large marathon before you may not be aware of the blue line on the course. Whilst it is mainly of use for the elite runners, it indicates the route to run exactly 26.2miles. I’m not suggesting you religiously try to follow the line especially at the beginning but it can give you an indication where the turns in the course are as the line crosses over the road. According to my GPS I often run more than 1 mile extra during a marathon, something it would be good to avoid when you are already covering 26.2miles. It actually only equates to around 60meters extra per mile which isn’t much when you consider how much you move weaving between the crowds or crossing over towards the drink stations. Whilst every metre adds up, following the blue line will help to reduce your extra miles.

Finally make sure you remember to turn your clocks back on Saturday night before you go to bed so you take advantage of the extra hour of sleep.

Good luck to everyone running on Sunday.

You can apply for a good for age entry if you’ve run a full marathon in the same time, or faster than, the times listed below:

If you are Championship standard and have achived the standard below, then you have until 2 January 2010 to submit your proof.

More information about Good For Age entries can be found here or for Championship entries here. If you entered in the general ballot you will find out in early October.

Before London next year I have a few other races lined up. It is twelve weeks till the New York City marathon so if you are running it you should be well into your training schedule. Normally I just build on my fitness with some longer runs added to my existing training schedule, but as I’m recovering from an injury my base fitness and speed isn’t as good as I would like. This week I managed a slow 19 miles at 9.30min/mile pace. Although it has seemed to have not stopped raining all week I managed to choose the only consecutive 3 hours when the sun was out. In spite of taking drinks with me and running along a canal, so I can refill my bottle from a tap by the lock, it was hard to keep hydrated.

As there are no long training runs organised in my area to train for autumn marathons I have decided to enter the Robin Hood marathon in Nottingham next month, Sunday 13th September 2009, and use it as a long training run.  The marathon is part of the Experian Festival of Running and the half marathon runners join you on the first 12.5miles of the course, it also means that if you don’t feel up to 26.2 miles on the day you can always finish at 13.1 and still get a time and medal. Marathon entries for affiliated runners is £29 and £22.50 for the half if you enter before the 19^th August. This year entries for both events are £20 for the unemployed. There are lots of running events planned on the day from kids races to relays, and you can click here for more information.