Race Day Checklist
Everything laid out the night before, nothing new on race day. Print this, or screenshot it, and stop rethinking it at 4 AM.
The night before
- Pin your bib to the shirt you are actually wearing (check the forecast first)
- Chip or bib tag attached, if your race uses one
- Lay out: shoes, socks, shorts, watch (charged), anti-chafe, sunscreen, hat
- Breakfast set out on the counter, coffee ready to go
- Gels or fuel counted out: one every 30 to 40 minutes of expected running
- Read the race's parking and packet emails one more time
- Set two alarms. Yes, two.
Race morning
- Eat the same breakfast you trained with, 2 to 3 hours before the gun
- Arrive with an hour to spare: parking lines and porta-potty lines are real
- Old throwaway layer for the start corral if it is cold
- Start your watch BEFORE crossing the mat, then relax the first mile
The one rule
Nothing new on race day. Not shoes, not fuel, not that cool singlet from the expo. Everything you wear and eat should have survived at least one long run.
Need the race first? Find one near you, or check what is running this weekend.