Travel Tips for Marathon Runners

I love running marathons in foreign cities. Making travel part of my marathon habit is one of the reasons I’ve run so many. In fact, I’ve only run two or three at home in England. It’s a great way to experience new cities with a fellow runners, friends and family, and the Friday-to-Monday set up makes for a brilliant mini city break. However, being a marathon runner on the move isn’t without its potential pitfalls. With more than 20 marathons on foreign soil I’ve stumbled into plenty of mistakes and learnt a lot of these the hard way. Here are my top travel tips for marathon runners.

1. Don’t put your kit into the hold

If you ask a running mate of mine Ian Doyle, he’ll tell you that there’s only one thing worse than standing at the baggage claim belt when you realise your bag, with all your race kit, has been sent to Mallorca, and that’s having to run a marathon in entirely new, quite expensive, gear you’ve bought at the expo. To avoid this fate, wear your running shoes onto the plane and take your race-day gear with you as carry on.

2. Stretch on the plane

Being cramped airplane seat for a long flight isn’t the ideal preparation for someone who’s about to run 26.2 miles so make sure you keep that blood flowing mid-flight. There’s no shame in being that person doing deep lunges outside the toilets like they’re limbering up for a really strenuous motion. Ok, there’s a lot of shame but still…

3. Book a pre-race restaurant in advance

Around 6pm the evening before the race every other runner who is in the city you’re in has the same idea, ‘let’s go to that little Italian place for some lovely carb-loading pasta.’ So if you don’t get ahead of the game and book a table, you’ll either end up doing the pasta walk – that’s around 5 miles being turned away from every Italian in town – or you’ll be chowing down on something random. The worst I had was fish in orange sauce in Barcelona. Spinning the wheel with your pre-race meal is risky so be smart and book a place that serves the kind of food your running stomach likes.

4. Energy gels are liquids

If you can pour it or smear it, it’s a liquid so it’s worth remembering that those carb gels count. Most gels are under 100ml so this isn’t always a problem, though if you’re at an airport that demands youn fit all your liquids into one of those tiny clear bags, you can quickly find that five Gu Treacle Puddings don’t fit in there with your vaseline, moisturiser and toothpaste. So despite what I’ve said in my first point here, check these in.

5. Check when the hotel breakfast starts

Most hotels in big cities realise there’s a marathon on. Partly because it’s the job of hotels to know this stuff but mainly because from Friday their lobbies start to fill up with people in leisurewear and ASICS shoes. They also tend to move breakfast to an earlier slot on race day to help runners who have to be up earlier than the usual weekend crowd. But it always pays to check if your hotel has plans to be helpful. And then to ask what they serve. No one needs to wake up on race day to a breakfast of only salami and kimchi.

6. Don’t be a tourist (at least not on Saturday)

In my book, the Saturday before the race is the worst day if you’re running in a city you’ve never visited before. All your usual tourist instincts kick in and you want to see all the sights, have a cheeky glass of the local wine at sundown and do all of the things you’d normally do on holiday. But you can’t. Rather than putting in 10 miles of sight seeing walking, what you really should be doing is resting those legs for race day. Get yourself back to your hotel room immediately, you’re not here to have fun 😉

7. Do be a tourist (on Sunday or Monday)

Once the race is done, that’s the time to go walk the city. All your instincts – and by instincts I mean those mashed up quads and super tight hamstrings – will be telling you to sit your ass on a chair and only move if there’s a risk of soiling yourself. However, if you can keep moving, there’s nothing better for a quick recovery than keeping the blood flowing with a leisurely walk. Even if it’s only from cafe to cafe.