The Boston Marathon is considered by most runners to be the crown jewel in the U.S. marathon circuit. There are certainly bigger, faster, and more scenic races on the calendar, but none test the physical and mental mettle of a marathoner like Boston.
If you are fortunate enough to qualify, then you have to prepare for another high-quality effort during the winter months—no small task. But preparation and fitness aside, you can still have a great day in Boston if you execute your race well.
More: Boston Marathon Race-Day Tips
What Is Race Execution?
Race execution is the understanding that, while each of us may have our own strategy on race day, there is a generally accepted way of running that will create the conditions for your success. It's a framework, a starting point.Whether or not you achieve your goals is then a function of your personal strategy, your fitness, how you handle race day challenges, etc. As experienced marathoners can attest, there's a right way and a wrong way to run on marathon race day. Here's how we break it down inside Marathon Nation:
More: How to Train for the Boston Marathon
Train To Race
From day one in our training, we are focused on what we will ask our bodies to do on race day. There are no junk miles, there are no recovery workouts. We run with intent to build the requisite fitness to achieve our best on race day.While your training is almost all done, take a moment to reflect on those critical workouts you have banked: the long run with the tempo finish, that breakthrough track workout and the hill workout where you were flying. Each of these are an essential part of your race day mental and physical preparation.
