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Sixteen weeks have led to this moment.
Sixteen weeks of slogging along muddy canal trails, traipsing the Welsh hills and avoiding dawdling tourists at Hyde Park will bring me to the start line of the 2026 TCS London Marathon in Greenwich on Sunday morning.
I’ve not attempted the daunting 26.2-mile pursuit before, so the task of setting a goal has been a perilous prospect. How do you settle on a ‘valuable’ outcome when you are venturing so deep into the unknown, while being bombarded with endless running content from strangers online who tackle the marathon as if it’s nothing more than a casual jaunt?
Everybody approaches this question differently, but for me, this marathon has been about more than my Strava stats. I am running for Brain Tumour Research after somebody very close to me passed away with brain cancer last year. They do amazing work, and you can find out more about it – and my story – on my fundraising page here.
So my goal, the objective that has driven me through these sixteen weeks of training, has been to make the start line in one piece, to repay the faith that those who have supported my fundraising have placed in me without breaking my body in the process.
To get there, I’ve had to find the gear that withstands the relentless grind of a marathon training block. From running shoes and running socks, to sports sunglasses and supplements, I’ve tested it all. Here is what helped me, and may help you too.
On Sunday I will be taking on the London Marathon. Here’s how I made it to the start line
WHOOP
Tackling a marathon training block isn’t for the faint-hearted, especially if you’re a first-timer. You’ll hit weekly mileages never before experienced, putting your body through an incredible physical load, which can culminate in potentially race-ending injuries.
Recovering properly, therefore, is crucial. As somebody obsessed with data, WHOOP’s fitness wearable has proven hugely beneficial when planning my training runs.
By tracking my sleep performance and other health metrics like Heart Rate Variability and strain, it took away the guesswork and replaced it with unarguable data, becoming the voice of reason to recommend when to up the ante or take it easy on training runs.
Its AI-powered chatbot also allows you to dig deeper into the data and gain a better understanding of how your body is reacting to the heavy training. As a busy editor contending with the relentless hours of the football calendar, WHOOP gave me brilliant guidance on balancing work and training with optimal sleep throughout the block.
Foam roller and massage gun
Like prime Paul Scholes and Roy Keane, my foam roller and massage gun combined to great effect to help me navigate the aches and pains of the past 16 weeks.
The foam roller is low-tech but requires high discipline to regularly roll out my woefully fragile IT bands.
It’s been put to use on cold January nights while watching The Traitors, in the garden when hoping to catch a sliver of Spring sun, and after long, gruelling Sunday trots.
It’s far from comfortable, but you’ll thank yourself for going through what is a rather monotonous process.
The massage gun complements the roller beautifully, allowing you to target specific ‘hot spots’. Calves feeling a little tight? Glutes starting to feel sore? Whack on the massage gun and soothe those pains for 10 to 15 minutes.
Supplements
30g Carbohydrate gels, 15 pack
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Any good car needs top-quality fuelling, and for an athlete as mediocre as myself, I have needed all the help I can get to navigate the past 16 weeks without completely breaking down.
What you put in your body, both during and on either side of training runs, is of paramount importance. Fuelling is very personal, and people enjoy different things, but for me this is what has worked – without getting an upset stomach!
Precision Fuel’s PF30 energy gels have been the perfect carb supplement during long runs. I’ve found most gels to be far too sweet and sickly, but the PF30’s neutral flavour goes down really well. I take one every 30 minutes, and it provides a great energy top-up. At £34.99 for a pack of 15, they are on the more expensive side of the equation, though. A cheaper alternative that works for me is Jelly Babies.
SaltStick fast chews are a good chewable electrolyte tablet that helps combat cramps and heat stress. I like the peach flavour, but they also offer watermelon and mixed berry alternatives. Precision Hydration’s Electrolyte Capsules offer a flavourless option – but make sure you have water on hand to get the capsules down!
When I’m not running, I’m drinking one sachet of Science in Sport Hydro+ Mixed Berry powder a day, which helps top up vitamins and minerals like magnesium and potassium that I’ve sweated out during runs. I’ve also integrated a daily regimen of Collagen to provide structural support for my joints after pounding the pavements.
Brick
If you’ve run a marathon before, you can probably attest that your social media feeds for the majority of your training block are usually inundated with running content.
That has certainly been the case for me, anyway. The sophisticated, all-seeing algorithms have tapped into my marathon obsession and duly supplied me with TikToks, Reels and Reddit threads on everything from cadence improvement to race strategy.
It can overwhelm, though, and I’ve found myself falling into a comparison trap on countless occasions – with running influencers bombarding my feeds with their PBs and ‘expert’ advice only serving to cause immeasurable doubt in my own training and ability.
Brick has helped stop me falling into the comparison trap while training for the big race
Brick acted as my firewall against the endless running influencers. Acting as a physical tap-to-block device, Brick completely locks you out of the most distracting apps on your phone, allowing users to set specific windows for blocking during times when you are most prone to a doomscroll.
It allowed me to reclaim hours of mental energy which I otherwise would have wasted on TikTok or Strava, agonising over my own pace stats compared to others.
Brick was a game-changer and really let me lean into my own marathon journey. Of course, you can always ‘unbrick’ apps when you need to – I often did so if I wanted to engage with fellow runners discussing arrangements for the London Marathon, for example. But it gives you the control to dip your toe in as and when you want to.
Non-alcoholic beers
Four pack of 330ml non-alcoholic beers
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Early on during my WHOOP journey, a clear correlation emerged – my sleep scores were absolutely wrecked after drinking, having a major impact on recovery.
So early on in this training block, I decided to do away with the beers and seek out sleep-friendly alternatives.
Erdinger’s Alkoholfrei beer holds legendary status among runners because of its ‘recovery’ powers. It’s an isotonic drink loaded with B vitamins, so it gives you a good boost after a workout, while also tasting crisp and refreshing.
Athletic Brewing Co’s range was also a revelation. Their Run Wild IPA actually tastes like a craft beer rather than a sugary soft drink and, if you are not a Gooner and can get past the Arsenal branding, their Clock End Red Ale is brilliant.
I ditched the booze for this training block and Athletic Brewing Co’s range provided the perfect alternative
