Things I Wish I Knew Before Running the NYC Marathon

I’ve run the NYC marathon 2x. Run 7 marathons in total. Have coached numerous athletes to toe the marathon line in my work with Nike. Have also been asked insight that I have into surviving and conquering the NYC marathon course so I put some together while I was on…another flight.

Here are my quick thoughts below, in no particular order of importance, sharing ideas, strategies, tactics, and musings to make the most out of your marathon Sunday. Good luck to all the runners! You’re going to have a blast.

The Ideas

• Put your name on your shirt, if you can. Even if just crude writing on top of a piece of tape. There’s nothing more special than hearing New Yorkers cheer you on by yelling your first name loudly.

• If you’re running for time, don’t listen to anybody who says time doesn’t matter. That’s their ideology, not yours. Hold yourself to the standard you set and have faith in the training you put in. Go race that damn clock. Forget about running just to complete. Everybody may get the same medal but not everyone has the same finish time. Go out and perform if that’s what you said you would do.
• If you’re running just for vibes, then really lean into it. Enjoy it. Experience it. Turn off the music for a few miles and look around. Feel your breathing. The sites. Be with yourself. There’s no city in the world like NYC and there’s no other body in the world that’s yours. What a way to experience them both, together, by running a marathon.
• I’ve run NYC both for “vibes” and to actually race. They are two totally different experiences, each special in their own right. Whoever you do, or why you’re running, truly lean into it. The high of the race is both literal and metaphysical. Tap into it.
• Go to the after parties. Wear your medal. Walk the NYC streets. Most other races I never rock the marathon medal after but in NYC the amount of love you get is crazy. Lean into the cringe.

The Basics

• I might be late on this advice since race is tomorrow but still keep this in your back pocket. Carb loading directly before race is overrated. It’s making sure to get proper carbs intake 3–5 days in the lead-up and honestly during your training in general. Your glycogen stores should be good and then you support them with fuel during race. So don’t eat a crazy dinner the night before just because you think have to “carb load.” Don’t do anything to mess up your stomach.

• The worst part of the NYC marathon isn’t the sneaky bridges, it’s getting to the start (pictured above), especially if you aren’t an early riser. The bus, the ferry, etc etc. Find a way to get to bed early (a warm shower a few hours before bed might help with low dose melatonin), bring a disposable shirt/clothes to keep you warm (they then have donation bins before start), and stay relaxed. There’s a long time between when you wake up and when you’re going to start running, let alone get to Staten Island. The marathon typically falls on daylight savings so you get the benefit of extra hour of sleep. Use it.
• If you haven’t already started, hydrate. Don’t gorge yourself on water but if you haven’t begun consuming water, fruit, and adding a little salt to your food I would suggest doing that now.
• Pack the night before so you can relax. Set your alarm. Don’t stress out. It’s just another long run :)

The Strategy

• Don’t overdue it on the warm-up. Just go for a light jog if anything (0.5–1 mile) with simply dynamic exercise and light plyometrics. The first few miles of the race will be warm up and the morning before the race will be a long one. Don’t tire yourself out. If you need a quick warm-up, I have one for you here. Takes like 5 minutes.
• Chill the first 5k. Everyone zooms out the gate cause they are so excited. Most eventually bonk. I’ve passed quite a few of them. The course is tough with a lot of bridges. Conserve energy.
• If you feel awful in the beginning of the race, don’t worry. That happens to a lot of us, including me. You just gotta let your body and mind come to terms with what you’re about to do. Usually disappears after the first 30 minutes or so.
• You’re going to hit some sort of wall. It might come early, it might come late, but just keep going until you get to the other side of it.
• Find a buddy or two during the race. You don’t actually even have to know them, just someone that seems to be running the same pace as you or you want to be at. Running in a pack makes efforts feel easier. Humans aren’t made to be solitude. If you don’t want to run with them, use them as a marker. They’re you’re personal “rabbit”, a term used for pacers in running.
• You need to decide how you’re going to approach this race. Early in my marathon days I went with a “20 mile jog, 10k race” methodology. Basically that means you stay submaximal for most of the race, gradually build, and then finish strong. I don’t like to just “survive” and hold on at end of race. I always find better to err on side of caution.
• Fuel early and often + don’t skip all the water stops. I eat a gel every 20–30 minutes but I have an iron stomach. Some go every 30–45. Point being though, if you’re giving your body an external fuel source you need to use it before you actually need it. This is where sugar is your best friend.
• DO NOT LOOK AROUND ON 5TH AVE INCLINE AT END OF RACE. DO NOT LOOK AROUND. I REPEAT DO NOT LOOK AROUNDDDD. FOCUS ON GETTING IT DONE. PEOPLE DROP LIKE FLIES AT THIS PART. DO NOT ENTERTAIN THEIR STRUGGLE.
• Look around when you enter Central Park though. The crowd cheering you on as you enter the last mile or so is nothing short of cinematic.
• Caffeine is both a performance enhancer and a pain reliever. But you need a lot of it to have this effect + be aware of its half life. I learned this in my work with Nike sports research lab. If you’re not overly sensitive to caffeine start drinking coffee or tea a little bit after you wake up until start of race. Give yourself time for a couple bathroom breaks though pre-race. From there, during the race, think about utilizing gels that have caffeine in it consistently. This has helped me push through quite a few races.

The Products

• Sodium Bicarbonate. Sodium bicarbonate has been shown to have some performance effects. It’s baking soda but instead of drinking you can use it as a lotion on your legs. I’ve used AMP performance lotion which specializes in this.
• Sugar. Gels, drinks, chews. Whatever. I hope you found something that works for you to fuel during the race cause it is necessary!
• “Hot Shot”. I honestly don’t know if this works but I also have never cramped so maybe? It’s a capsaicin shot that is supposed to help with cramping.
• Vaseline. You’re going to chaffe. Lather up baby!
• Exogenous ketones. They’re all the rage now but I’ve been aware of them since the research NASA was doing. I’m not sold on them but the thought is it spares glycogen stores and allows you to conserve them for longer. It’s basically a shot you take thirty minutes before you run that’s thought to stimulate the usage of fat as primary fuel.

Anyway hope these brief thoughts helped!

Good luck to everyone running the NYC marathon or any marathon for that matter!