Athens Marathon: how to handle the last days before the race

What makes Athens different

Three things shape the last days before this particular race:

• An early start to the day. According to the organisers, the marathon starts at 08:30 in 15 blocks, and the buses to the start in Marathon leave between 05:00 and 06:30. For many runners that means an alarm around 03:30–04:30 and two to three hours between leaving home and starting to run. Later blocks start later – check the time for your block.
• A long climb. The course climbs for long stretches between roughly km 10 and km 31, with the highest point around km 31, and then runs mostly downhill into Athens. It is not a course for a flat-marathon personal best.
• November weather. Average November temperatures in Athens are mild – roughly 10 °C at night and 18–20 °C in the afternoon – but a cold, windy morning in Marathon and a sunny finish in the city can happen on the same day.

Wednesday to Saturday: the training

The hay is in the barn, as runners say. The research on tapering is clear: performance improves most when you cut volume but keep a little intensity and keep running on your usual days. For these last days, that means:

• Short, easy runs of 20–40 minutes, if that's what you normally do. Some runners feel better with a complete rest day; others feel sluggish without moving. Both are fine – do what you know works for you.
• A few strides or 2–3 minutes at goal pace on Wednesday or Thursday to remind your legs of the rhythm. Nothing that makes you breathe hard for long.
• Friday or Saturday: rest, or an easy 15–20 minutes with a few relaxed strides. Many runners like to move a little on Saturday; others save everything. Your choice.
• Don't test your fitness. A hard run now can only add fatigue.

Your legs may feel heavy or "flat" this week and small aches may appear and disappear. That's very common in a taper. Sharp, localised or worsening pain is different – get that checked rather than running on it.

Thursday to Saturday: carbohydrate

Carbohydrate loading works: with more glycogen in your muscles, you can hold your pace longer before you run low. The guidelines for events longer than 90 minutes recommend about 10–12 g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight per day for the 36–48 hours before the race – for a Sunday-morning marathon, that's roughly Friday and Saturday. No depletion phase is needed.

For a 70 kg runner, that's about 700–840 g of carbohydrate a day – a lot more than most people imagine. Some rough reference points:

• a medium banana: about 25–30 g
• a slice of white bread: about 15 g
• 100 g of dry pasta or rice: about 70–75 g
• a glass (250 ml) of orange juice: about 25 g

Practical tips:

• Spread it out over 5–6 meals and snacks instead of one giant pasta dinner.
• Go lower in fibre and fat than usual: white rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, honey, juice, rice cakes. Plenty of salad, wholegrain and beans takes up stomach space and can upset your gut on race day.
• Keep some protein, but let carbohydrate lead.
• Don't panic if you can't reach the top of the range. Many recreational runners can't comfortably eat 12 g/kg. Clearly more carbohydrate than usual still helps.
• Expect to weigh a bit more. Glycogen is stored with water, so a kilogram or so on the scale on Saturday is normal – that's fuel, not fat.

If you have diabetes, a digestive condition or a history of disordered eating, talk to your doctor or a sports dietitian before loading.

Drinking

You don't need to drink litres extra this week. Drink normally, a little more if it's warm or you're travelling, and use the colour of your urine as a rough guide: pale yellow is the aim.

On race day, don't over-drink. In a well-known study at the Boston Marathon, 13% of finishers who were tested had low blood sodium (hyponatraemia), and the strongest predictor was gaining weight during the race – that is, drinking more than they sweated. Slower runners spending more than four hours on the course were more at risk. Drink to thirst, use the water and sports-drink stations sensibly, and don't force down extra cups "just in case".

Nothing new

The classic rule exists for a reason:

• No new shoes, socks, shorts or tops. The expo is a great place to look around, not a place to buy race-day kit.
• No new gels or drinks. Use what you've practised on your long runs. Your gut adapts to what you train it with – which also means it hasn't adapted to things you've never tried.
• No new breakfast. Race morning is not the time to discover how your stomach reacts to something.
• Don't spend hours on your feet at the expo or sightseeing on Friday and Saturday. Athens will still be there on Monday.

Sleep

Many runners sleep badly the night before a big race. In a survey of 283 elite Australian athletes, 64% had slept worse before an important competition at least once in the previous year – mostly because they couldn't stop thinking about it. Those are athletes who still performed.

The research on a single bad night is limited, but it suggests endurance performance suffers less than it feels like it will – adrenaline does a lot on race morning. The nights two and three days before matter more. So:

• Go to bed a little earlier on Thursday and Friday.
• If you can, nap on Saturday afternoon.
• On Saturday night, prepare everything early, then rest – even lying quietly in the dark is useful.
• Set two alarms, so you're not checking the clock all night.

Saturday evening: prepare everything

• Bib pinned on your shirt (or race belt), timing chip where the organisers ask for it.
• Shoes, socks, kit laid out – including a layer for the cold morning.
• Gels or whatever you use, counted out: enough for the race plus one spare.
• Breakfast ready, plus a snack for the start area.
• Throwaway layers: an old sweatshirt or a bin bag for the wait in Marathon. Clothes left at the start are often collected for charity.
• Anti-chafing cream, plasters for nipples or toes, if you use them.
• Your bus point and time checked.

Race morning

Breakfast. Guidelines suggest about 1–4 g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight in the 1–4 hours before a long event – more if you eat earlier, less if you eat later. Because of the early buses, many runners eat at home 3–4 hours before their start (e.g. bread or a bagel with honey or jam, a banana, juice, rice) and then have a small top-up – a banana, a gel, a few biscuits – 30–60 minutes before the start. If you can't face food at 4 a.m., take your breakfast with you and eat it on the bus or at the start.

Caffeine. For many people, caffeine improves endurance performance. The research mostly uses about 3–6 mg per kilogram of body weight, typically about an hour before exercise. But responses vary widely – some people get a nervous stomach or racing heart. If you don't drink coffee normally, race day is not the day to start. If you do, your usual coffee is enough for most people.

At the start. Keep warm, keep sipping, go to the toilet early (the queues grow), and drop your bag in good time. A short, easy jog or some walking and leg swings before your block starts is plenty – save your energy for the course.

The race: run the course, not the clock

Athens punishes runners who treat it like a flat course:

• Km 0–10: mostly flat and fast-feeling. This is where many runners go too fast. Run this part controlled, even a little slower than your goal pace.
• Km 10–31: the long climb, with steeper sections in the second half. Run by effort, not by pace. Your pace will drop on the climbs – that's normal and everyone's will. Don't try to "hold" your flat-course pace uphill.
• Km 31–42: mostly downhill into the city. If you've paced the climb well, this is where you can gain time. Downhill running is hard on the thighs, so stay light and controlled.
• The stadium: the last stretch inside the Panathenaic Stadium. Look up and enjoy it.

Eat and drink early and regularly – don't wait until you feel empty. For races longer than about 2.5 hours, guidelines allow up to about 90 g of carbohydrate per hour, but only if your stomach has been trained for it. If you've practised 40–60 g per hour, stick to that.

A note on goals

Most people's Athens time is slower than their flat-marathon time at the same effort. How much slower depends on how well you climb and descend, the weather on the day and how you pace. If you have a time goal, consider giving yourself a range rather than a single number – and remember that finishing in the stadium where the first modern Olympic marathon ended is a goal in itself.