04/17/2026
The road to 26.2 miles isn't paved on race day; it’s built during the dark 5:00 AM wake-up calls, the rainy Tuesday intervals, and the grueling weekend long runs. As the city of Boston prepares to welcome thousands of athletes, it’s worth looking at what it actually takes to get to that starting line.
Running a marathon is a massive logistical and mental puzzle. It takes months of disciplined training—peaking at 40 to 70 miles per week. It takes learning the "marathon math" of fuel, electrolytes, and hydration to avoid the dreaded wall at mile 20. Most of all, it takes a specific kind of mental toughness to keep moving when your legs feel like lead and your brain is telling you to stop.
Running a marathon is as much about body maintenance as it is about mileage. To help you cross the finish line feeling strong, here are some pro tips and tricks from our staff Physical Therapists who have conquered the 26.2-mile journey.
Jenn: "Don’t try anything new on race day- stick to your practiced fuel plan, warm-up routine, sneakers—everything. Race day is not the time to test variables that could throw you off. Remember that your mindset will carry you the furthest. Know your why and trust yourself. Most importantly, enjoy it and take it all in!! There will be moments when you’re tired, hurting, and questioning everything—but don’t miss the little things: the scenery, the crowd, encouraging the runners around you. Those are the moments you’ll remember most."
Julianne: "My advice always is to focus on recovery! I did 16 week buildups for all 3 of my marathons and made sure to make my "easy days easy" and my "hard days hard" to avoid trashing my legs. I wore compression calf sleeves daily, toe spacers every night, and put my feet on the wall after every run to help get blood flowing back to my heart so my legs would feel fresher faster. Plus so much water and Nuun (electrolytes). Recovery is the name of the game in marathon training!"
Anna: "My foam roller and trigger point release ball were my best friends during the training for my 2 marathons! I also wore compression socks the day after my long runs. My biggest struggle was mid-race fueling and finding something my stomach could tolerate - I ended up making my own smoothie to sip on from a small bottle (banana, peanut butter, oatmilk). I also had another bottle with electrolytes, and Annie's gummy fruit snacks."
Kim: "I learned how important it is to prioritize rest and recovery - like focusing on going to bed early, getting good quality sleep, and running my recovery runs nice and slow. Doing those little things are what allowed me to do the bigger things (like longer and harder runs) better."
Whether it’s your first marathon or your 10th, the goal is always the same: get to the finish line healthy. Do any of these tips and reflections resonate with you? Drop a comment below with your biggest training hurdle, and let’s help each other get to the next starting line! 🏃➡️🏃♀️➡️🏃♂️➡️
