We are ecstatic to bring you the next edition in our Marathon Series. Meet Erin Mohring! She is the wife of an internal medicine physician, boy mom (times three!), writer, and runner living the good life in Nebraska. She ran her first marathon a year ago in Argo and had a smile on her face the whole time! She is currently training for the Chicago and California International Marathons in 2017.

FIVE ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR RUNNING A MARATHON OUT OF TOWN

By Erin Mohring
[Marathon Runner, Wife of a Physician, and Mom of Three Lively Boys]
homewiththeboys.net / Instagram @homewiththeboys

Running is a family affair for us. My husband and I started running five years ago, and now our three boys have joined in on the fun! We also like to make running a traveling affair! Many vacations, both as a couple and as a family, have been planned around races, so I’m starting to figure out what works for me in preparing for, running, and recovering from a marathon while far from home.

If you’re thinking about running a marathon in another city, state, or country, I have a few tips to help make the process a whole lot smoother!

Arrive early

We have both flown and drove (many, many miles) to races. We’ve experienced arriving the night before, the day before, and even two days before. Arriving early is definitely the way to go! This will give you time to get settled at your hotel, check out the surroundings, stretch your legs, and rest before race day. We like to get in during the day on Friday for a Sunday race, if possible.

Pack “safe” food

Chances are you know which foods agree with you and which don’t ahead of race day, so don’t leave anything to chance. It might be easy to find “safe” food to eat after you arrive, but packing items you know will fuel you well for the car or plane ride, and just in case for the destination, will keep you from upsetting your stomach for the race. Some of our favorite things to bring along are rice and oatmeal packets that are easy to heat up on the go.

Bring along options and layers

Let me tell you a story. Two years ago, we went to a race in Fargo, ND. We checked the weather many times before we left and packed appropriate race gear. When we arrive the night before the race, it was obvious an unexpected cold front had swept in. The race-start weather was suddenly going to be 20º colder and we were not ready! Thankfully, I had two pairs of gloves and some arm sleeves to help us make due! Ever since, I have thrown in alternate race outfits I know I can trust JUST IN CASE a cold front or warm front or rainstorm makes its way into our race day!

Plan meals

As I mentioned before, we don’t want to leave our food up in the air on a trip. We always scope out ahead of time a good place to eat our pre-race sub sandwiches the night before the race. Think about what you like to eat the night before and find a place where you can eat just that! You should also already know what you like to eat on race morning, so pack it or plan where you will buy it. And last, but not least, figure out a few places you might like to eat post-race because you might not have the energy (or mental capacity!) to research and choose a place after crushing your race!

Balance moving and resting

If you’re going somewhere with great sights to see, take in a few of those sights the day before the race to keep your legs moving, but don’t overdo it! You need fresh legs for race day! Likewise, you may just want to lay around after the race, but plan a little sight-seeing for that afternoon to prevent your legs from getting too stiff. On our latest racecation, we did a tour of Lambeau Field several hours after the race and it really helped my overall soreness and well-being…and it didn’t hurt that seeing the home of my beloved Packers was on my bucket list!

We have several more racecations planned for this year and we’ll be following these guidelines to help each one be a success! Are you headed to any fun locations for races this year? What tips would you give to someone running a marathon out of town?