Nailing your race week routine

We spend a lot of time planning our training, but little time thinking about creating the ideal few days before a big race to leave us calm, relaxed and ready to race. Here’s a few things that I include in my race-week routine that might help you plan your own.

Alcohol and caffeine

If it’s an important race, I stop having alcohol and caffeine at least a week beforehand. Mostly this is about getting a good night’s sleep. I find that just one glass of wine or a morning coffee can mean a restless sleep, so in the name of resting up well, I cut them out in the run up to the race.

I also have gels that have caffeine in them for race day, and it feels like I get more of a kick from them mid-race after no caffeine for a week beforehand, but that might just be in my head. Some of my friends swear by a drink the night before a race to chill them out and help them nod off, everyone’s different.

Grooming

I’m not big on this generally, being someone who gets my hair cut twice a year at most. However, there’s a couple of things I do before a big race. First off, cut your toe nails a couple of days out from the race. Nails that are a bit long are more likely to get bruised running a long way. Cut them too short and the skin on the end of your toes will be too sensitive – a trim a couple of days before gives it time to toughen up.

Before Edinburgh in 2016, I painted my toe nails a dark purple. I was going on holiday a few days after the race and as swollen, bruised toenails are harder to paint, I thought ahead and got the nail varnish out. I have friends who get pre-marathon manicures and if it’s good enough for Olympians, it’s good enough for them.

Other than that my grooming only extends to shaving my legs if I’m racing in shorts. Trivial and personal preference most of the time, but when it comes to cross country racing I find the dried mud comes off a lot less painfully from smoother legs.

Other activities

We wind down out training as a race approach but don’t always think about the other activities in our lives. I try to avoid using too much of those additional hours in the week created by tapering for anything strenuous or that means a late night. There’s plenty of time for that post-race.

After getting knocked off my bike a few days before London Marathon a few years ago, going anywhere on two wheels is out of the question too.

Planning, planning, planning

It helps calm my nerves and avoid any last-minute mishaps to have a plan for race day and the day before. Where and what am I eating the night before? How do I get to the start line? How long will it take? What time do I need to get up? I double check I’ve got all the kit and nutrition I need, that supporters know where they’ll be and that everything is taken care of.

De-stress and reduce nerves

Stress is a waste of energy. For me the planning above takes away some of this in the last couple of days. For some races it means staying off social media and trying to think about things other than running. It’s difficult if you use running as a way to switch off, as you’ll be doing less of this during race week. So a hot bath with a book or a gentle walk with some relaxing music.

Music

Speaking of music; I don’t listen to it during a race but I always have a tune I’ll listen to on race morning. When I ran Edinburgh Marathon in 2012, Titanium by David Guetta played over the tannoy moments before the start. It stuck in my mind throughout the race, and so when I returned to Edinburgh in 2016, I listened to an acoustic version of the song a few times over before making my way to the start.

My race routine has evolved over several years, and the more you race the more you’ll find what works best for you. That’s why it’s a good idea to include a couple of warm-up races in your training for a big goal race. It helps you practice your routine, get familiar with it and reduce pre-race nerves.

If you’d like a little more advice on preparing for a marathon this year, check out my ‘How to Run a Marathon’ training guide.