The marathon race is a long stretch race which involves both running and walking. Speed is a not a factor in a marathon race, but attaining the finish line is its ultimate destiny. The marathon race is actually the reflection of a historic run by a Greek messenger to report about the victory in the battle of marathon. Unlike an ordinary race, a marathon is not that simple to do, it requires months of practice, willpower and strength endurance to complete the race; practicing and participating in more marathons can make you achieve your goal eventually.
The liver and the muscles in our body convert the carbohydrates (food) into glycogen. This glycogen burns swiftly providing energy to the runners. Once the glycogen level goes low, the body has to use the stored fat in the body to get energy. But, the fat does not burn quickly resulting in fatigue. This can make the runner collapse and lose their consciousness and also a runner is highly prone to health issues like muscular, skeletal and dermatological complaints. Hence, a proper hierarchy of ideas should be gathered by a runner before he starts his ultramarathon. Let’s have a glance at them.
- Stay calm
Marathon is a race which allows more than hundreds of people to run. Some beginners feel upset about the presence of too many people ultimately leading to the declination of their confidence. Remember, most persons who run a marathon are amateurs and people with no practice. Even though they start to run a marathon energetically they cannot withstand the finish line. Hence, it is very important for the professional runners to abstain from panic and stay calm before the race begins. Try to control breathe and console your mind, because getting nervous before the race begins can hike your adrenaline and cortisol level which can cause hypertension.
- Capturing the front person
As you know, marathon is long distance race and so capturing the person in front of you is not your target. Even when your co-runner is running a few feet ahead of you, try not to capture him as it can decline your energy level. Of course, you can capture him, but what about the persons still in front of you? Are you going to capture them too? Have patience. As time fleets, you can see many runners giving up voluntarily and you can capture them without competing them. From this you can learn a lesson that sustaining throughout the race is your success.
- Fueling technique
Since marathon is a long run, it can take hours or even days to complete the distance. But, achieving that distance with the food you have taken before the race is quite impossible. Once you complete your first 60 minutes of race, the food which you consumed is gone. Trying to propel forward can collapse you and push you out of the race. Hence, after the first 60 minutes of the race, you should take 30 grams of carbohydrates for every 60 minutes. Practice this plan before getting out for a real marathon and if you still feel tired then you can add 5 more grams of carbohydrates to your plan.
- Stay in present
While running a marathon, you should not care about the victory and the finish line. Do not lament about the distance and the number of contestants. All you have to do is to sustain the race. Get lost in your race by thinking about the happy moments of your life, a chat with your friends, fishing, picnics, camping or you can create your imaginary anecdotes. By doing so, you can have a stable run without any distractions. Mark a distance object in your mind and continue your run till that point. Once you attain that place, pick another distance object from that point and run. This technique can keep you from the stress and such other deformities that can affect your energy level.
- Chaffing
Chaffing refers to the abrasions and scratches on the body caused by the friction of your body movements. Before the race, the body would not sweat and the vests would be fit. But, as you go on with your race, you will sweat intensely. Moreover, the back and forth movement of the muscles in the hands and the groin area would create friction and cause blisters, burns and abrasions. To reduce chaffing it is always recommended to use synthetic clothes over cotton as they don’t store water. Moreover, apply talcum powder, petroleum jelly over the chaffed area to get instant relief.
- Right gear
Proper running gear is always required to take part in a marathon. One cannot simply participate in the race without appropriate gears which includes vests, sunglasses, marathon shoes etc. Sunglasses are required when the sun is at its peak, making your eyes shrink. In the same way, vests which are loose can hold more amount of air thus providing more resistance. This air resistance can reduce your speed and distance covered. To overcome this issue, vests which are fit with your body should be used. Moreover, shoes should be properly selected such that it protects your leg throughout the race. Care should be taken regarding the size of the shoes also.
- No jokes
While running a marathon, it is quite natural for anyone to develop more friends. You can have small conversations when you move slow, but do not engage in cracking jokes on your way because; jokes can induce your mind with anxiety to propel faster. Running faster can make you to lose your energy faster and very soon it can make you feel exhausted. Moreover, it is better to stay away from hearing music as it creates a mentality of exercising which is totally useless while you race.
- Practice
Practice is the key factor which makes a person to repeat an activity again and again to achieve his goal. Try to practice on a hilly terrain for about an hour every day. This kind of training can test your speed by providing high resistance as you move uphill. Such an intense practice at a terrain can build up your inner strength, endurance and stability to achieve victory in the leveled ground easily.
- Walk uphill
While running in a marathon race you may come across various landscapes like forests, roads, terrains, slopes etc. An experienced runner would always walk when he encounters a steep upward slope. Running uphill can eat your energy fast and hinder you from moving beyond a particular limit. Once you cover the uphill distance by a walk then you can go for a slow run.
- Stay positive
Even if a runner is very near to the finish line, a simple negative thought about any event in his life can leave him short of victory. While running a race, it is crucial to energize your brain repeatedly by developing positive thoughts. These positive thoughts can stimulate you to continue the race whenever you feel like giving up. Additionally, it is more important to be positive while you near the finish line as you need more strength to compete with your contestants.
