So you’re in the Virgin Money London Marathon? Now what?

Don’t panic! First of all, congratulations on getting into this wonderful race. Most people get a reject magazine – so you are one of the lucky ones. It’s going to be hard work, but you will be rewarded with an amazing day at one of the greatest sporting events on earth.

So what now? What do you need to do next? What do you need to think about? Here is some expert guidance on how to start getting prepared for this awesome race.

1.If you don’t have some already, you’re going to need to get some good trainers. It’s worth getting yourself down to a decent running shop and getting your gait analysed, doing this should help you stay injury free.

2. Don’t leave your training until January…Many people do and this then causes extra stress and will likely lead to you doing too much too soon. Start building up your mileage slowly as soon as you can, with a goal of being at around 10 miles (at least) by Christmas.

3. Find others that might be training for the race too. The majority of your training will be taking place through the darker months, so it’s always good to buddy up.

4. Plan your training carefully, don’t wing it, sit down and write/find/pay for, a sensible and realistic plan that suits your life and your goals for the race.

5. Don’t assume all free plans off the internet are good, they’re not!

6. Plan some nice running routes. You don’t want to do the same loop every other day.  You’ll get bored and it will become harder to motivate yourself to go out.

7. Take the first few runs nice and slowly. Your body won’t be used to it (if you are new to running longer distances) so there will be an adaption period.

8. Look to enter some stepping-stone races in the lead up to VLM. I’d recommend a 10k before Christmas and a half marathon in the new year.

9. If you are still feeling overwhelmed and want support in the lead up to the race, consider getting a coach, this chap is pretty good 😉

10. Enjoy every step!

Good luck, and I hope you have a successful and injury free build up to the big race.

If you enjoyed this article you might like https://www.runmummyrun.co.uk/running-and-training/marathon-nutrition/ https://www.runmummyrun.co.uk/articles-features/7-things-before-running-a-marathon/