What I learnt from running the largest marathon in the world in New York

Don’t introduce anything new on race day

At 9pm, I set my alarm for 4am and went to sleep. The clocks went back on Sunday so I was gifted a bonus hour of sleep and woke up feeling well-rested. I microwaved my porridge, adding some banana before heading to the race.

At this point the nerves started setting in. After the mandatory pre-race visit to the loo, I chucked my hoodie in a designated clothes donation box and headed to the start line, where I laced up my so-called “super shoes”, which have a carbon plate in the sole to give me an extra spring in the step. I had done about 90 per cent of my training in normal running trainers with the other 10 per cent in these, so they were nicely broken in for race day.

Break the run into sizeable chunks and don’t exhaust yourself early on

At around six miles, I felt quite strong. But it’s easy to catastrophise about aches and pains and let these niggles take over your brain. 

My coping mechanism for this was to segment the race into little chunks. For instance, at the 13-mile stage, I told myself that all I had to do was get to 18, a mere five miles of running, which isn’t too bad.

After that you get to 20 miles and then there’s only six left. Once at 22 miles, you have a mere three miles to go. Breaking the race down into bite-sized portions made it feel a lot more manageable.

Stay hydrated and keep fuelling throughout

In the latter half, I just kept telling myself that I had made it this far and that all I needed to do was maintain my pace. “Don’t fall apart now, just keep going and you’ll be there soon enough,” I told myself.

There was also something quite special about knowing my friends and family were tracking my progress from the UK – that kept me motivated when things were getting tough. Having not had a drink for a fortnight, I kept reminding myself how good that first beer would taste and then started thinking about what I would eat once finished. I’d repeat to myself “it’s less than an hour of hard work and then you can chill”.

The course concluded in Central Park with a gradual but cruel incline. The crowds spurred me on at this point and despite being quite far within the pain cave. My advice at this point is to dig deep and increase the pace if possible. The final 800m felt like it would never end, as I crossed the finish line I felt sick. Straight after I stopped running, my legs seized up and I could barely walk. As soon as I got back to the hotel, I ordered an 18-inch pizza, had long a bath followed by beers at a dive bar just off Times Square.

Look after yourself post-race

Make sure you drink lots of water after the race. As a general rule anytime you eat or drink anything, make sure it’s accompanied by a glass of water. Consuming electrolytes is also a great way to make sure you are properly hydrated. I’d booked in for a hot oil massage, cryotherapy and an IV treatment the day after the race after which I felt like a completely new human.

The massage will help ease any tension or stiffness in your body, the cryo is great for reducing muscle soreness and the IV is a fantastic way of giving your body all the essential vitamins and minerals it needs to recover quickly. Indulgent as they sound, getting treatments like these will help your recovery and you’ll feel amazing.

Don’t forget to take a minute to acknowledge your achievement. Doing the marathon is a big deal to everyone – wear your medal with pride.