Here is a quick breakdown of what I will be wearing, the tech I will use and pre-race & race fuelling for the 2024 Chicago Marathon.

Nutrition:

So it kinda goes without saying but nothing new on race day and that can’t be more true that with the food pre-race and during the race.

As this one is an international travel race for me I bring everything I will eat for breakfast, on the way to the start and during the race, with me to take that risk out of it. There would be nothing worse than going out to buy something and not having it available or it is slightly different.

Pre Race:

My breakfast on race day is mostly the same as every weekend long run. At home I would have a bowl of porridge oats a couple of hours before the long run. For the Chicago Marathon I will be eating two travel pots of MornFlake porridge oats. These are ideal for destination races. Just mix in some warm water, stir and let them stand for a few mins and you’re good to go. This year I have replaced the race morning coffee with a 500ml bottle mixed with Maurten Drink Mix 320 CAF 100. I drink this for breakfast then take a second bottle of Drink Mix 320 to sip on whilst making my way to the start area and whilst waiting around at the start.

For races when there is a bit of a wait before the start, I am now taking a Maurten Solid 160 bar to eat at the start too, I may not eat this in Chicago as there isn’t a long travel time to the start or long period of waiting around unlike Boston or New York.

The aim of the breakfast is to top up the carb supplies, ready to burn through them in the marathon.

Race:

Again, nothing new with the race fuelling either. This autumn I have swapped from running with a 500ml bottle to an 800ml bottle after not hydrating sufficiently during the 2024 Boston Marathon which resulted in collapsing post race and spending the evening in ER.

I fill that 800ml bottle with 2 scoops of Science in Sport Electrolyte mix to keep on top of the electrolytes lost through sweating, this is especial important on the warmer days (like Boston) so the thinking is the extra 300ml will give me more to drink throughout the race and last longer into the race distance. I tried this during the 2024 Berlin Marathon 2 weeks ago and the bottle lasted through to 26 miles were I chucked it. Berlin was cooler than Boston and slightly cooler than tomorrows Chicago forecast so we will see.

Gel wise, I take a Science in Sport BetaFuel gel every 4 miles, each of these contains 40g of carbs which will give me roughly 80g of carbs if I am running on pace.

Race Day Gear:

The race day gear and tech is more or less the same as Berlin two weeks ago but then that was kinda the point, Berlin was the last long run and dress rehearsal.

The singlet is the Nike AeroSwift Drink-FIT ADV in black, its lightweight ad breathable, no issues with this during its first outing in Berlin so we’re going again.

The shorts are the only change from Berlin, this time I am racing in the Lululemon Fast & Free 6″ shorts, nothing new here though, I have ran a couple of marathons and many long runs in these shorts. They are my favourite shorts, two pockets on the inner tights which are great for storing a couple of gels in each.

Socks are the Lululemon Power Stride crew socks, by far my favour running socks. Smooth, soft, comfortable and no movement when running 26.2 miles. I have never had a blister from these and rubbing, perfect for the long runs.

Shoes are the Nike Vaporfly Next% 3, I raced in these in Berlin for the first time after running a couple of 10 or 12 mile sessions during training. I was so impressed with these, they felt smooth and comfortable, my feet didn’t ache at all and after losing a toe nail twice running marathons in my old Next% 2’s, these were spot on, all nails intact and no bruising or black nails. Fingers crossed for more of the same tomorrow.

On the tech side of things, nothing new here for a long time. I wear the Garmin Forerunner 935, I have had this watch for about 5 years I think. Many of the data points aren’t working now, the elevation gain, temperature are out but the key ones, GPS, pace, heart rate etc still work. This pairs up with the Garmin HRM pro to take the heart rate reading from the chest strap.

Finally, I will be wearing the Oakley Jawbreaker sunglasses, these are old, I got them early 2018, they have been through many marathons, triathlons and sportive I love them. I am somewhat gutted that they are starting to fade and have lots of scratches on them from being thrown in pre/post race bags or my pocket during wet humid runs occasionally.