{"id":22187,"date":"2026-04-26T05:24:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T05:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/22187\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T05:24:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T05:24:14","slug":"dont-make-these-critical-mistakes-during-your-first-london-marathon-expert-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/22187\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t make these critical mistakes during your first London Marathon, expert warns"},"content":{"rendered":"

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If you\u2019re running<\/a> the London Marathon this weekend<\/a>, chances are you\u2019ve been training for months to build up the fitness<\/a> and resilience needed to see you through 26.2 miles. The last thing you need is something unexpected to undermine all your hard work at the last minute<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The problem is, there are a few pitfalls worth sidestepping as you approach the start line. Anthony Fletcher, founder of running community and coaching platform OneTrack Club<\/a>, is here to help you do just that. <\/p>\n

Below, he details the common mistakes he sees people make over the marathon weekend<\/a>, as well as revealing how to avoid them. His tips can help you reach the finish line without any hiccups. <\/p>\n

Stick with your prep plan on race day<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a clich\u00e9, but we still see people do it every year: don\u2019t do something new on race day,\u201d Fletcher says.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been preparing for a marathon<\/a> months \u2013 building up your fitness, strengthening your body, practising your fuelling strategy \u2013 then throwing a spanner in the works is the last thing you want to do. But something in the human psyche is still tempted. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a stress response,\u201d Fletcher tells me. \u201cAnd that stress makes you make a bad decision. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou should treat race day like any other long run you\u2019ve done on any other weekend. Use the same kit you\u2019ve been practising with; use the same gel you\u2019ve been practising with; stick to the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Someone will inevitably thrust a new gel or product into your hand in the days before the race while promising it will deliver miracle benefits, he adds. But you\u2019re best off ignoring it. <\/p>\n

The same goes for shoes, kit, food and more. If it\u2019s not one of your tried and trusted items, politely decline. <\/p>\n

\"AfterAfter all that planning, race day can feel like a blur \u2013 it\u2019s important to stick to your plan (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n

Know your route to the race<\/p>\n

Fletcher has worked with plenty of runners<\/a> and has repeatedly found they have a habit of cutting it fine when travelling to their races. This is unnecessary stress, and also runs the risk of you wasting energy on lugging a heavy kit bag around London beforehand. Or worse, missing the start time. <\/p>\n

He recommends looking at your route in advance, checking for any possible disruption, and planning ahead to ensure your journey runs as smoothly as possible. <\/p>\n

\u2018Do not get on the world record travelator\u2019<\/p>\n

There is a pang in Fletcher\u2019s throat when he tells me this one \u2013 he\u2019s worked with people who have been burned by the travelator before.<\/p>\n

For reference, the travelator is an industrial-sized treadmill at the London Marathon<\/a> expo set to replicate the speed of a world record marathon runner. People excitedly jump on for a few seconds, then inevitably end up being shot off the back. <\/p>\n

At best, you might knacker yourself out before race day. At worst, you risk an injury \u2013 something Fletcher has seen happen several times before. For that reason, he advises steering clear. <\/p>\n

\"\"(Getty)<\/p>\n

Develop a hydration strategy<\/p>\n

This year, the London Marathon has updated its approach to drinks stations as part of sustainability efforts. Bottled water will be available every three miles until mile 12, then every two miles after this. There are also opportunities to refill your bottles and hydration packs dotted around the course.<\/p>\n

Fletcher recommends familiarising yourself with the new plans and creating a hydration strategy accordingly to ensure you are never parched. If you want to avoid queuing at every drinks station, it could be worth carrying a hydration vest, he adds. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe London Marathon, 2025. Held on 27th April (Local Library)<\/p>\n

Remember to focus on your run \u2013 and your planned paces<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t get caught up in the hype of the start line,\u201d Fletcher advises. <\/p>\n

You should have a rough idea of the paces you want to run throughout the race, having trained at these speeds in the months leading up to the event. However, with the loud crowd and energetic atmosphere of the London Marathon, it\u2019s easy for these to go out the window. <\/p>\n

Fletcher\u2019s advice is to enjoy the environment, but not let it derail your pacing plans. If you push the pace too early, you risk burning out before the finish line. <\/p>\n

\"It\u2019sIt\u2019s a long way to go \u2013 but (well-deserved) confidence can help you through the miles (Getty)<\/p>\n

A final bonus tip<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the day of the race, build yourself up,\u201d Fletcher says. Confidence is key, and given all the work and training you\u2019ve put in to reach the start line, you\u2019ve earned the right to have a little pep in your step. <\/p>\n

\u201cRemember all the training runs you\u2019ve done to get here,\u201d he continues. \u201cAll of those runs that you chose to do that you could have not done. All the hard sessions that built your fitness up. They should give you a confidence boost. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of the time people start to think they didn\u2019t do enough, or remember a training run they missed. But when you look back on your training, you realise how much you did do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, all that\u2019s left to do is enjoy the race. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[2917,173,10102,6355,529,10100,9846,27,6034,1317,6804,6767,771,9850,10101,9847,9848,5],"class_list":{"0":"post-22187","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-central-london","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-general-view","11":"tag-horizontal","12":"tag-human-interest","13":"tag-international-landmark","14":"tag-lifestyles","15":"tag-london","16":"tag-london-england","17":"tag-london-marathon","18":"tag-marathon","19":"tag-photography","20":"tag-sport","21":"tag-sports-race","22":"tag-tower-bridge-london","23":"tag-track-and-field","24":"tag-track-event","25":"tag-uk"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116469344757705011","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}