Before and after each big race I am often asked about my gear. What shoes did I run in? what nutrition did I take etc. I always enjoy a running shoe chat and sharing my opinions on them and race strategies. Last week I posted my HOPES & DREAMS for the Tokyo Marathon, which is kind of a race strategy if you can call winging it on the day a strategy.
This week I thought I would share most of my Tokyo gear with you as I am packing. If the worst comes to the worst and I lose everything, at least I will have an accurate record of what I took for the insurance claim.
Pre-Race
I won’t bore you with details of what jeans, tops, socks, pants and jackets I am taking for day to day wear around Tokyo but I will list what my race morning routine is before heading out to the start corrals. I will also mention my day to day shoes, they are run related:
Race Gear
Ok so race gear. At a quick glance, this will look like a lot of stuff but I take clothing to cover all kinds of weather, hence there being two tops, gloves, hats, sunglasses and two pairs of shoes offering differing levels of grip.
It is worth noting, all of this gear here will be packed in my carry on bag and kept very close by at all times. Imagine losing your race gear and having to run the race in new shoes.
Race shoes:
The current weather forecast, one week out, is for a very wet race. I am taking two pairs of race shoes as one pair offers more grip than the other.
After running a massive 1:58 10k PB at TATTON PARK 10K three weeks ago, my racing shoe of choice is now the Nike Vaporfly 4%. The softness in the foam on foot strike is like no other, I came out of that race with feet and legs feeling as fresh as on the drive to the venue. The feedback from the shoe literally feels like it is pushing you down the road and the carbon plate inside gives you unbelievable stability. That said, there were some wet patches on the Tatton Park course and I did not feel like I had the grip to push off, I slipped a few times. My plan is to try a few runs around Tokyo in the days before the race and get a better feel for the grip in the rain.
If I am not happy with the Vaporfly grip, then I am also taking my Nike Zoom Pegasus 35 Turbo, which effectively is the next level down from the vaporfly without the carbon footplate but still that great soft landing and feeling of being pushed down the road. I have run 120 miles in these shoes in the dry, wet and even snow, I am very confident with the grip levels this shoe offer. My last two long runs were in this shoe and I’ll be honest, my feet have never felt so good after two and a half hours of running and they are FAST!!
No matter what shoe I run in, I swap the insoles out for the Enertor Performance Insoles. I was gifted these from Enertor and I am a brand ambassador for them so you can take what you want from this, but I wouldn’t risk running or racing in them if I wasn’t happy with how my feet and legs felt with them in my shoe. These insoles offer more cushioning on landing, they soften the impact of your foot hitting the surface which in turn reduces the risk of injury from that repetitive impact over 26.2 miles. I really like them and feel that they help my running and post-race recovery.
Running top wise, I don’t have any go-to top. I have long-sleeved, short-sleeved and singlets from all brands in differing styles and colours. For this race, I just happen to have picked the pink (it is pink, not red as the photo looks) Nike AeroReact top, basically because it matches my socks.
I am also taking my Gym Shark base layer, the thinking behind that was I can wear that under my Nike AeroReact top if it was cold, the race is early March after all. The current weather forecast for race time is looking likely to be between 9’c – 14’c which means I won’t wear the base layer, but I have it just in case the weather changes. Hey, it’s not often they get the forecast wrong right? lol.
Similarly to the Gym Shark Base Layer, I am taking the Nike Dri-FIT Element running glove in case it is cold but more than likely won’t use on race day now.
Short wise, I am taking the Nike Challenger 5″ shorts, I have not had any chaffing issues with these shorts, even when running in the rain. On hot days they are great at wicking sweat away from the body too.
I always wear a hat on race day, this helps to keep the sun and rain out of my eyes at the same time as stopping the sweat running off my head and yep I am a sweaty runner so it is needed, plus it helps to hide my ever decreasing hairline. For the last six months, I have used the Nike Dri-FIT Running cap.
Socks, I have found that I have a need for compression socks, especially over long distance. I have suffered from calf cramping in the past since I swapped to wearing over the calf compression socks, I have not had any calf cramping. Whether that was the cure or not, it works so I stick with it. I tried a number of different brands of sock before settling on the TIUX Compression Socks, importing them from Canada isn’t cheap but they are a far greater tightness than any other sock I tried, not so tight that they cut circulation off but I like them to feel tight to give me that confidence.
So the other running accessories I take out with me are the Wahoo TICKR chest heart rate monitor, the anker sport armband so I have my phone with me if I feel the need to take any photos before, during and most definitely after the race. I use the Fitletic running pouch for carrying my gels. I brought this to use during triathlons but I find it very useful during marathons too. I can fit 6 gels in the loops on the sides plus there is the waterproof zipped pouch which can fit my iPhone 8 & Samsung S9 (I have to carry two phones in training with being on 24×7 support at work) or the pouch can fit 4 gels in. My preference is to store 2 gels in the loops and 4 in the pouch. I found in the past that the gels in the loops can rub against my side, not all the time but it happened on a few occasions. Last but not least are my Oakley Jawbreaker sunnies, I probably won’t be wearing these in the rain as I have not got the yellow lenses anymore.
I will take a Science in Sport Go Caffeine shot to the start with me, I take this 30 minutes before the race start to give my body that added caffeine boost to get me going soon as the gun fires.
Post-Race / Recovery
The post-race recovery routine is tried and tested and the same as every long run.
In my bag drop bag, I take a shaker with 50g of Science in Sport Rego protein powder. This is so I can fill that with water and have that initial protein hit as soon as I pick my bag up after the race, in most cases, this is within 30 minutes of crossing the finish line, which gives my battered muscles the extra protein they need to regrow and recover. Also in my bag are my Oofos recovery sandals, again as soon as I get my bag, the race shoes and socks are off and the Oofos foam recovery sandals are on, their tag line is “Feel the ooo” and that is exactly what you say when you slip them on after 3 hours of running.
Once back in the hotel and showered I apply some DOMS Ease Oil to the calf, quad and glute areas, this really aides the recovery and I find it does help to prevent or at least lessen the muscle ache in the days after the race.
I also take my foam roller with me, this isn’t something I will do the night after the race, I like to give the muscles a day or two before going to town on them with the roller, but every night in the lead up to the race, I will roll them out.
The Cheshire Runner. 
Sounds like a good plan.
I keep and re-use my safety pins also. Why throw them away?
I wouldn’t go near oatmeal on race day. I avoid as much fiber as possible.
Have a great run!
Andy
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I have so many safety pins, every race seem to include them with the race number. For smaller races, I would rather they have a box of pins for those who don’t have any, seems such a waste.
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Loads of good tips in here Mark. I’m currently thinking through my nutrition for Liverpool. I used Tailwind in Chicago, but it’s in powder form so have to put it all in a bottle and carry the bottle the whole way round. Not sure that will work going forwards. Not a huge fan of the gels I’ve tried though.
Interesting about the enetors too and the compression. I got some calf sleeves a few months back, I sleep in them sometimes they are so comfy!
Look forward to keeping tabs on you. Also I have that same foam roller, those little nobbles are brutal!
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oh gosh yeh, you notice when it rolls onto those nobbles don’t you! Does the trick though.
I have never tried Tailwind but lots of people have said good things about it, I always carry a 500ml bottle on my long training runs and take sips every 1 mile or 5k to match the on course frequency, not sure if that works well come race day or not, keeps me hydrated on the training run at least. Have you tried the Maurten Gels or powders? they are supposed to be really good and different texture to the traditional gel.
I really like the Enertor insoles, I do feel they have helped with injury prevention over the last 6 months. Ironically, I forgot to put them into my race shoes in Chicago after getting them wet on the Saturday. Then during the race, my old compression socks rolled down 1 mile in and I decided it would cost time stopping to keep pulling them up. My calf cramped up at 14 miles and I ended up run/walking the last 10 miles. Not sure whether the insoles and/or rolled up socks would have prevented it or if it was just poor nutrition and hydration on that weekend. Not had any issues since.
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Yeah I’ve heard good things about the Maurten stuff, I’ll do some experimenting in the next half in March and see what happens. Have a great trip mate, very jealous, the medal looks sweet as well! All the best.
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