What you should know before running in the marathon this weekend

If you are running in the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon this Sunday, like many of the other 74,000 runners you may start worrying about which of your trendy running gear to use. The forecast is for cloudy weather with sunny intervals, temperatures from 17 to 20 degrees Celsius and humidity of 70 to 90 per cent – not bad for running a marathon at this time of the year.

Wearing the right running gear can help you finish in a good time that reflects the hard work you have done in training.

Here are 5 common mistakes runners often make during a marathon:

1. New clothes

You should not wear anything that you have never run in before. No matter how trendy, you never know if new clothing will chafe or block your running movements until you have tried wearing it on a long run. What works well in training should also work on the big day.

2. Ill fitting shoes

Nothing is more important than having running shoes that fit you well. The shoes should be snug, not too tight or spacious. They should be large enough to insert an index finger between your heel and the back of the shoe. If you are doing the full marathon, bear in mind that your feet tend to expand slightly over long distances. As with your clothes, you should train in the shoes prior to race day.