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What's in my marathon race bag?
As Ottawa Marathon quickly approaches I thought I would give you a glimpse into what I pack in my bag on race morning. These are the essentials I rely on to get me through the 42.2K. Some things don’t change — I might pack them even for a 5K road race but others are more unique to the marathon distance.
Caffeine pills: I love my coffee and as a legal performance enhancer I take a couple of these about 1 hour before the race start.
Tylenol: I pop 500mg 30min before the start. The reason? Acetaminophen can help lessen exercise-induced pain.
Imodium: Not much explanation needed here but marathons require fuelling and sometimes tummies can become upset. I take 2 of these 2.5 hours before the race start in hopes that I will have no porta-potty stops en route to the finish line.
Energy Gel: This season I have been using Huma gels. I won’t have any during the race but I take one about 10 minutes before the race start to get a head start on my race nutrition plan.
Bottle: I always have water on hand for mouth swishing. I don’t drink much an hour out from a race but a little sipping here and there is okay.
Skratch Labs Exercise Hydration Mix: This is what I am primarily relying on for fuelling during the race (pineapple my favourite flavour). It’s in all of my bottles with increasing concentration toward the latter kilometres.
Skratch Labs Endurance Recovery Mix: I’ll have this ready for me to take at the finish. Even though this marathon is the culmination of my spring training, I still want to recover well!
New Balance 1400v5: I’ll be lacing these beauties up for the race. It will be their race debut —they’ve felt great in practice and the 1400 has been my go-to for years!
Watch: I always race with a basic stop watch. I’m a pretty strong believer in leaving your gps watch at home on race day. This ensures I don’t run into any gps interference issues. The course is certified, marked, and those posted kilometre signs (and your final finishing time) are all that matters!
So that’s it. I hope this provided you with some insight to my marathon must-haves. Stay tuned for my post-race report after this Sunday’s race. Also, if you’re interested, you can use the athlete tracker to keep tabs on my progress during the race.