Got a Place in the Tokyo Marathon? Your Preparation Starts Now

Congratulations! If you've secured a place in the Tokyo Marathon, you now have an incredible goal to work towards.

Race day might still feel a long way away, but your preparation starts now.

One of the biggest mistakes runners can make is waiting until the marathon feels close before becoming serious about their training. Good marathon preparation isn't about cramming as much running as possible into the final few months.

It's about gradually building a body that can tolerate the demands of marathon training.

Here are some of the things worth thinking about now.

1. Have a Plan and Build Gradually

A marathon is 42.195 km, but you don't prepare for that distance overnight.

Your body needs time to adapt to increasing amounts of running.

A good training programme should progressively develop your weekly running volume, long runs and eventually more demanding sessions, while allowing enough time for recovery.

Sudden increases in training load can expose your body to more stress than it is currently prepared to tolerate.

The exact progression will be different for everyone depending on their running history, current fitness, previous injuries, lifestyle and goals.

The important thing is that your training builds progressively rather than suddenly.

2. Start Strength Training

Running more isn't the only way to become a better runner.

Strength training can be an important addition to a marathon programme.

Appropriately prescribed resistance training can help improve running economy and muscular strength, while also increasing the capacity of your muscles and other tissues to tolerate the repetitive demands of running.

Your programme doesn't need to be complicated.

Exercises targeting the calves, quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and other major muscle groups can all form part of a runner's strength programme.

The important thing is consistency.

If strength training isn't currently part of your routine, now is a much better time to introduce it than a few weeks before the marathon.

3. Fuel the Training You're Doing

When your training increases, your body's energy requirements increase too.

This sounds obvious, but it's easy for runners to increase their mileage without increasing their food intake accordingly.

You need enough energy not only to complete your training, but also to recover and adapt to it.

Carbohydrate plays an important role in fuelling endurance exercise, while adequate protein supports recovery and adaptation.

Your long training runs also provide an opportunity to practise the fuelling strategy you'll eventually use on race day.

Don't wait until marathon morning to discover which foods, drinks or gels work for you.

Train your fuelling alongside your running.

4. Prioritise Recovery

You don't become fitter simply by training harder.

You become fitter by recovering and adapting to training.

Sleep is one of the most important parts of that process.

As your marathon training volume increases, pay attention to your sleep and overall recovery.

Work, family commitments, travel and life stress don't disappear just because you've entered a marathon.

Your body responds to the total load being placed upon it, not simply the kilometres recorded on your running watch.

Sometimes the smartest training decision isn't adding another session.

It's making sure you're recovering from the sessions you're already doing.

5. Sort Out Those Niggles Now

Have you had an Achilles that becomes sore every time you increase your running?

A knee that starts hurting on longer runs?

A recurring calf problem?

Don't assume it will disappear when marathon training becomes more demanding.

If something has repeatedly caused problems at lower running volumes, increasing the intensity or volume of your training may expose it again.

That doesn't necessarily mean you need to stop running.

Often we can identify the loads that are aggravating the problem, address contributing factors, modify training where necessary and progressively build your capacity.

The best time to address a recurring running problem is before you're in the middle of your highest-volume marathon training.

Tokyo Marathon Preparation Starts Now

Getting a place in the Tokyo Marathon is exciting.

Enjoy it.

But don't think of marathon preparation as something that starts a few months from race day.

The foundations can start now:

Build your running gradually. Get stronger. Fuel your training. Prioritise recovery. Address recurring injuries early.

Then, as race day gets closer, you can focus on becoming more specific with your marathon preparation.

If you're preparing for the Tokyo Marathon and need help with your training, strength program, running-related pain or injury management, come and speak to one of the experienced physiotherapists or trainers at Club 360 Tokyo.

We'd love to help you get to the start line healthy, prepared and ready to enjoy the experience.