We don’t know about you, but nerves tend to make us, well useless… in an endearing way we think! There’s something about the butterflies in your tummy, and tingles in your toes that make the brain lack a little function and the memory make all kinds of crazy excuses.
The day before race day is a classic. You have endless thoughts running through your head including “Have I done enough prep?”, “Have I hydrated enough today?”, “Does my outfit really scream I got this?”. It’s these thoughts that tend to steal away the simple thinking and all pre planning goes to pot! The likelihood is you have thought about the following day, and you have planned for it, outfit, hydration and all but still there’s something about Race Day Eve that makes you question everything.
Now we can’t promise we’re going to be able to totally banish these wild thoughts, but what we can do is share with you our ‘Top 5 Race Day Eve Rituals’ to ensure you don’t miss a thing!
- Check your Race Number
Most races tend to send these out in advance, but if you apply late, or secure your place through a sponsor, often you have to pick it up! Naturally, you’ll need this to take part so if you come to realise it hasn’t arrived, drop the race organisers an email in advance. The last thing you want to be chasing on race day is your number whereabouts!
- Lay your Kit Out
In case you didn’t know, 90% of mainstream races tend to start pretty early, so a 6am scramble for the most supportive sports bra you own is not one you want to be making. Lay your kit out, including a good pair of pants (we highly recommend Runderwear). Not only does this make for a pretty pre race picture, it makes the early rise a whole lot easier knowing exactly what you’ve got to throw on before heading out the door. We make sure we include race number, race belt and tracker in this pile too!
- Prep your Snacks
As the miles become more, so does the need for readily available refuel whilst you run. We tend not to carry anything up until a half marathon, but we’re all different so if training has told you otherwise be sure to select your snacks the day before and have them ready to run with. Often these are shop bought, but homemade flapjacks also work a treat. It’s of course important you have tested these snacks on a training run too. Our ‘Race Day Flapjacks’ work a treat for us when upping the distance, and you’ll often find us winding down the night before a race by whipping up a batch of these!
- Plan your Route to the Startline
With great races, come great travels so if you have stepped out of the homeland this one is particularly important! There’s nothing like running late to rev up the nerves, and as we mentioned they’ll be enough of this going on without adding to them. Make sure you know exactly where you’re going, how long it’s going to take, and if travelling early any alternative routes you may have to take. Give yourself plenty of time to get there and pack plenty of layers, so if you do arrive early you don’t get cold. Better an early arrival and the need to move and stay warm, than a disastrous dash to begin!
- Have your Devices Run Ready
In this era, it’s not often you’ll find runners without a watch or some kind of tracking advice to tell them when they’ve reached each kilometer mark, and just how fast they’ve done it. From fancy Fitbit watches, to clever shoe sitting Milestone pods there’s something for everyone to tell them exactly what they want to know whilst they run. If you are relying on one of these watches to keep your pace proper, make sure you’ve got it powered up. They tend not to be much use without battery! As for the extra amenities, headphones, iPhone and iPods all play a premium part in many runderful races, so if you need it charge it!
TTH x
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