Tips for Preparing for an Afternoon Race

The last half marathon I ran started at 2 PM. I found this to be quite an unusual start time since all of my other races (5k's, 10k's and wdw half) started in the morning. There were a few things that I did the week before to prepare myself to run a race at that time of day.

1. Acclimate Yourself to Running in the Afternoon- The week leading up to the race I did all of my training runs at 2 PM. I really think this helped my body to prepare to run at that time on race day.


2. Hydration- This was one benefit to running an afternoon race. I had all morning to make sure I was well hydrated for the race. There is a fine line between being perfectly hydrated and being overly hydrated. My goal was to not have to stop and use the bathroom during the half (which was a success!)


3. Practice Makes Perfect- By this point I know my go-to pre-race foods of choice. Timing is what is crucial for the afternoon race. Not only did I have to fuel about an hour and a half before the race, but I also needed to eat a small breakfast that morning. During my last two training runs before race day I pretended like it was race day with the timing of my meals and running. I had a bowl of cereal and banana for breakfast at 8:00. Then ate a greek yogurt at 10:30. Drank my pre-workout drink with a banana and 2 pieces of PB toast at 12:15. Practicing this made me feel more confident when it came to fueling on race day.

Have you ever run an afternoon race? Any good tips to share?

That's all for now!