The lure of the marathon – arguably working’s most heralded achievement – has by no means been as robust. A record-breaking 840,000 individuals signed up for the London Marathon 2025 poll. Huge metropolis marathons, akin to Berlin and New York, maintain setting benchmarks for the most important crowds toeing the beginning line. If you happen to’re among the many runners on the point of reply the decision of the 26.2 for the primary time – and also you’re sweating over the package it is advisable to get you there – you’re in the appropriate place.
I ran my first marathon in Paris in 2009 and have accomplished 58 marathons since. Some quick, a lot gradual, and I’ve put collectively a number of flat lays in my time. So I understand how necessary it’s to get marathon package proper.
From the very best marathon trainers for pace and luxury to stopping the dreaded nipple chafe, package selections could make or break your race-day desires. Or, on the very least, they are often the distinction between a contented day trip and hours of torment on the tarmac.
I can’t assure you’ll end with a smile, however right here’s my shortlist of the mission-critical package it is advisable to stack the chances in your favour. Beginning with crucial merchandise – your trainers.
One of the best package for working a marathon
Footwear for first-timers
Lately, advertising and marketing hype has prompt it’s important to run a marathon in a carbon-plate super-shoe. Nevertheless, the finest working shoe for first-time marathoners most likely isn’t a stripped-back race shoe that prioritises pace over safety.
I all the time advise inexperienced persons to ask themselves: will I nonetheless need to be working on this shoe if the wheels come off at mile 18, after I’m in a world of ache and every thing feels gradual, heavy and ragged? The proper shoe is the one which’ll work from mile one to mile 26.2. These fall, roughly, into three camps.
Tarmac-taming consolation
Brooks Glycerin Max
The Glycerin Max has a very big stack of latest DNA Tuned nitrogen-infused foam to offer softness, springiness and most cushioning with a extra dependable stability. Once you’re working on drained, beaten-up legs, the cocooned, protecting consolation will probably be sort to fatigued ft.
Males’s
£180 at Brooks Operating
£179.95 at Runners Want
Ladies’s
£180 at Brooks Operating
£179.95 at Runners Want
Nike Vomero 18
With a large stack of froth, plush-padded heel collars and tongues, and gentle, cosy uppers, every thing concerning the Vomero 18 is geared in the direction of cruising consolation. The twin-foam midsole is gentle and cushioned with out being leg-sapping. It’ll put some pep in your step whenever you’re shifting properly, nevertheless it’ll nonetheless take care of you should you begin to battle. All that further padding means it’s fairly heavy, however you’re buying and selling weight for consolation.
Males’s
£134.99, Nike
£134.99 at Professional Direct
Ladies’s
£134.99 at Nike
£134.99 at Professional Direct
Consolation and pace
This non-plated, big-cushioned working shoe is primarily designed for on a regular basis runs – and that’s a part of the enchantment. You should utilize it for many of your marathon coaching and it’ll carry out on race day. The gentle, bouncy, energetic midsole is flexible. It lacks the thrust of all-out race sneakers, however the experience continues to be clean, springy and managed. Once you’re shifting properly, with good kind and pushing your tempo, it returns the power you set in. There’s loads of road-impact safety at slower paces, too. It’s a succesful marathon cruiser and irrespective of how you are feeling at mile 20, it’s acquired your again.
Males’s
£134.99 at Sports activities Footwear
£135 at Asics
Ladies’s
£134.99 at Sports activities Footwear
£135 at Asics
All-out race sneakers
If you happen to’ve educated properly, you’re in nice form and also you fancy giving it full beans, lacing up a carbon race shoe can present leg-sparing effectivity good points. It may possibly additionally simply make you are feeling quick. Nevertheless, select your weapon properly.
Brooks Hyperion Elite 4 PB
From the present crop of carbon race sneakers, Brooks’s newest racer can be my alternative for inexperienced persons. It’s mild and ethereal, and so comfy on the foot that you could neglect you’re carrying it. The 100% Peba superfoam midsole and plate are quick and clean however, crucially, extra pure and dependable than some wilder carbon race sneakers. It delivers all of the power you need whenever you’re hitting your splits, however gives sufficient backup consolation ought to race plan A unravel to plan C!
Unisex
£200 at Brooks Operating
£199.90 at Amazon
Saucony Endorphin Professional 4
Springy and energetic however with a broader, properly secure cushioned platform, this shoe gives a few of that super-shoe power and effectivity however with rather more street safety to fall again on ought to issues get robust deep into the race. If it is advisable to decelerate and rock again in your heels, the Endorphin Professional 4’s high-cushion platform will aid you wobble dwelling in consolation.
Males’s
£229.95 at Runners Want
£230 at Saucony
Ladies’s
£229.95 at Runners Want
£230 at Saucony
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Race-day package
Operating underwear
Males’s CXP XP Endurance
From £37 at CXP
Ladies’s CXP XP Endurance
From £35 at CXP
Don’t underestimate the significance of a trusted pair of comfy working underwear. A lot comes down to private choice, nevertheless it’s value investing in run-specific underwear that makes use of gentle material that wicks properly, with minimal or flat seams to assist keep away from chafing.
Runderwear is a well-liked alternative. I additionally suggest the sports activities underwear specialist CXP. Its vary of working and coaching briefs – for women and men – is extremely mild, comfy and dependable towards undesirable rubbing. There are a number of completely different kinds, however the CXP XP Endurance is right for longer coaching and occasions.
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Operating shorts
Males’s Fujitraiil Elite shorts
£85 at Asics
Ladies’s Fujitrail Elite shorts
£85 at Asics
Some runners love the quick, free and lightweight feeling you get solely from the shortest race shorts. Others desire the second-skin, suit-of-armour protection provided by longer-leg half-tights. For sheer practicality, I discover the best choice is the storage brief.
A great pair of storage shorts mix built-in belts, zippered pockets and leg pockets to offer all of the stash area it is advisable to carry gels, cellphone, headphones and your different marathon necessities. Typically it is advisable to search for path shorts for max storage, and the Asics Fujitrail Elite shorts are a fantastic instance of a light-weight choice with ample stash area.
Operating socks
Stance Icon Sport crew
£12.99 at Stance
These outdated cotton health club socks would possibly work for the odd 5km, however they’re a quick ticket to blisters whenever you begin rising your distances. Completely happy ft make for a contented runner, so that you undoubtedly need a number of good pairs of comfy, sturdy technical working socks in your kitbag. There are many good manufacturers to select from, however Stance stands out.
You possibly can’t go far fallacious with a pair of Stance’s run-technical socks, however these crew socks are a superb mid-cushioned alternative which might be nice for consolation on longer runs. They’re fairly thick however that beneficiant padding within the bolstered heel, toes and all the way in which across the foot will probably be welcome in hour three of the marathon.
Operating watches
Coros Tempo 3
£219.99 at Decathlon
£219 at Amazon
The sunshine and compact Tempo 3 is among the best-value working watches you should purchase. It gives a powerful 38 hours of battery, dependable dual-frequency GPS and a aggressive suite of in-depth coaching, well being and restoration options, together with marathon coaching plans, health progress and restoration insights. Every part it is advisable to practice for a marathon is roofed, together with useful instruments for race day, akin to a digital pacer and race-time predictions.
Garmin Forerunner 165 Music
£289 at Argos
£288.56 at Amazon
It’s pricier than the Coros, however the Forerunner 165 Music is a extremely succesful watch with sufficient coaching and race-tracking instruments to overcome a marathon. The brilliant, smartwatch-style AMOLED show punches up the visibility of your very important stats, the 19-hour GPS battery life fortunately endures race day and there are dependable GPS and heart-rate trackers. If you wish to run phone-free, it additionally gives offline Spotify. Garmin’s PacePro instrument can create a pacing technique primarily based in your marathon course with real-time suggestions alongside the way in which.
Race-friendly working headphones
Amazfit Up
£42.68 at Amazon
A superb open-ear various to bone-conduction headphones, the light-weight, clip-on Up is among the many extra inexpensive working headphones. But it has loads of marathon-friendly options for the worth. That features an unshakeable match that leaves your ears open, so you possibly can soundtrack your run however keep tuned into the race-day environment. If you happen to battle carrying in-ear buds for hours on finish, this new model is extra comfy. It’s a bit like clipping two tiny audio system in entrance of your ears, the place they kick out surprisingly large, run-boosting sound. Throw in a marathon-taming six hours of playback on the buds – 18 extra within the charging case – and also you’ve acquired a cut-price rival for traditional headphones.
Different marathon necessities
Anti-chafe
2Toms Sport Protect
£17.99 at Mountain Warehouse
£18.99 at Amazon
Stand on the end line of any main marathon and also you’ll see numerous runners crossing the road with large pink circles round their nipples: the bloody aftermath of spending 26.2 miles with material rubbing your gentle bits uncooked. I’ve been that runner. It’s a painful mistake you make solely as soon as.
2Toms’ Sport Protect roll-on oil has been my go-to for a decade to keep away from that destiny. It gives a trusty barrier towards undesirable friction burns. It’s simple to use to all of the at-risk areas – nipples, thighs, below arms – and even the hardest-to-reach nooks and crannies.
It’s comparatively mess-free and covers simply, and one utility lasts all day. The tube is moveable, too – ought to it is advisable to take it with you. There’s additionally a Sport Protect Further selection that provides extra waterproofing and skin-soothing extras, akin to aloe, inexperienced tea extract and shea butter.
Solar cream
Riemann P20 SPF50+ spray, 200ml
£19.99 at Boots
£24 at Look Implausible
Once you’re coaching and racing, you’ll spend lengthy hours uncovered to the solar’s dangerous rays, so it’s sensible to slather on sunscreen. Nevertheless, conventional solar lotions run whenever you sweat and sometimes require reapplication.
I’ve been placing on P20 SPF50+ ever since I used it to fend off the Saharan solar whereas working the Marathon des Sables in 2015. It’s water- and sweat-resistant, so it doesn’t leak into your eyes and partly blind you mid-run. The spray bottle additionally makes utility about as mess-free as solar safety will get. And one liberal coating protects from all of the solar’s nasties for 10 hours.
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Hydration vest
There are advantages to working with a hydration vest, and so they’re nice for being self-sufficient on lengthy coaching runs. Having water all the time at hand throughout a race breeds confidence and saves you grabbing cups from hectic water stations on the transfer. Vests additionally supply a handy option to carry your power gels. Nevertheless, you’ll really feel much less burdened should you go away it at dwelling on race day. Most big-city marathons have support stations at frequent factors, so if you wish to lighten your load you possibly can safely go away the pack.
Compression arm sleeves
You’ll see a lot of runners slipping on compression arm sleeves in quest of marginal good points. These elasticated equipment are designed to enhance blood movement, assist increase oxygen supply and restrict the motion that causes tiny muscle tears, affecting restoration occasions. Analysis suggests, although, there’s no actual efficiency profit for runners. So until you’re utilizing them for heat, otherwise you actually love the way in which they give the impression of being or make you are feeling, skip them.
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