5 things to avoid on marathon day!

Now that the marathon is just around the corner, the focus changes to the day itself and getting prepared for the start line. After all the training and preparation, a silly mistake on the day can jeopardise your chances of a comfortable race or good time. Here are 5 pitfalls to avoid on marathon day to prevent this from happening:
5: Don't start too fast - This is a fairly common mistake and can end up being very costly as too quick a start can lead to a very long and tough finish as all that energy used in exploding out of the blocks is needed in those last few tough miles! Be a slave to the garmin and don't stray from your allocated speed to ensure this doesn't happen!
4: Run your own race - I've covered this in a previous post but you'd be surprised how many runners become obsessed with what's going on around them rather than their own race which can have dire consequences when the real hard work starts over the last few miles!
3: Don't change pre-race habits. -  If you have had a bagel for breakfast pre long run, have a bagel on race morning! Any changes to routine now could be detrimental to the big race!
2: Don't worry about the previous night's sleep - Anyone who tells you they slept like a baby the night before a marathon are lying (unless of course they actually are a baby!)! Concentrate on your sleep for the days leading up to the marathon and that one sleppless night won't do you any harm come marathon day!
1: Don't panic - 26.2 miles is a long distance - any mishaps (rough weather, traffic, etc) can be recitified over those remaining miles. I don't think I've ever had a marathon where one thing or another hasn't gone according to plan in the early stages but I've regrouped to rectify later on during the race!