For those of you winding up for the London Marathon now is the time to be sitting down and reflecting on the hard work you have done over the last 3 months. The marathon achievement is really about the journey of committing to months of grueling training and then surviving or, even better, thriving as a result.

Enjoy race day. It is the cherry on the top of the cake. You’ve done the hardwork. Now is the reward. 

For those of you considering HOW to run your marathon remember; the first 5km of London are downhill – many people will destroy their race before they’ve even passed through Greenwich by going too fast from the gun.

Be sensible. Using a calculator like the one found on https://www.mcmillanrunning.com/ can give you a good general idea of what time you should aim for – though it’s only an estimate!

For those of you interested in a data led approach to running well at London, Marathoner and Stats Guru Barry Smyth has two excellent posts that use London Marathon specific data to analyse and understand perfect London pacing. The first is perfect for the first time marathoner at London or those who feel a tad new to the event: 

https://medium.com/running-with-data/perfect-pacing-at-the-london-marathon-95f09db2ac5c

The second will suit those of you in for the PB hunt:

https://medium.com/running-with-data/race-expectations-a51eeaad656d

Treat the challenge with the respect it deserves – but most of all ENJOY! You’ve done the hard work already; the event is the fun bit.