Running the Holy Half? Here are 13.1 tips to get through it
Earn your wings
This Saturday, April 9th, marks the 12th annual Notre Dame Holy Half Marathon.
On this day, 1,500 students, faculty, members of the South Bend community, and members of students’ families from all over the country alike flock to Notre Dame to run 13.1 miles around our beautiful campus in support of a different charity every year, this year supporting Reins of Life, St. Vincent de Paul, and Hannah’s House.
While this is an extremely fun and rewarding event, it’s no small feat, either.
Here are 13.1 tips that we hope will make your race a little easier.
- Make a killer playlist. Music is great at simultaneously focusing and distracting, and it turns the race into an individual, ~2 hour dance party.
- Figure out why you’re running. Set a goal, intention, or motivation before you begin. Last year, the night before the race, I wrote out a list of 13 people for which I would be running, and I dedicated one mile to each of them. At the hardest moments of the race, I would think about the person of the mile I was on, and it made it easier to push forward. Your motivation can be anything and doesn’t have to come in list form, but having a reason for running in the back of your mind that you can come back to in the toughest moments is extremely helpful.
- Tell everyone about it – that way you’ll be kept accountable. If your family and friends know you have a big race coming up, they’ll ask you how training is going, cheer for you on the day of (and maybe even come out to watch you run part of it), and ask how it went once its over. This will fuel you to keep going. If you don’t tell anyone that you’re running a half marathon you’re more likely to give up halfway through, not try your best, or even just decide morning-of not to run it altogether.
- Do as much as you can in advance so when you wake up morning of you’re ready to go and don’t have to worry about the small details. Pick up your race packet the day before the race (not morning of if you can avoid it), lay out your race clothes and shoes night before, etc.
- Hydrate hydrate hydrate the day before, and a little morning of (but not too much, you don’t want to have to go to the bathroom mid race!) and eat well in the days leading up to the race.
- Get enough sleep the night before. There would be nothing worse than to feel like you’re dragging the entire time you’re running because you went to bed too late.
- Dress appropriately; in layers, because it will start out chilly, but also dress for roughly 10-15 degrees warmer than it is, because you will get hot during the race and you can shed your layers as you go.
- Eat something morning of small enough to not make you sick but substantial enough to fuel all 13 miles.
- Get to the start line early. Being late will only add to the anxiety and pre-race jitters that you’re already inevitably feeling. Take a deep breath, and remember that its going to be okay (also remember that you voluntarily signed up to do this!)
- Run with someone else. It’s more fun running with a friend alongside you, and they’ll keep you motivated ot keep going when all you want to do is stop.
- Do not try anything new on race day. It might seem like a great idea to experiment with some of those runners’ Shot Blox during the race because you’ve heard that they’re good for you, but Mile 8 is not the time to try those for the first time–save that for your lower-stakes 5k next month.
- Start strong but not too strong, and don’t compare yourself to any other runners. Try not to focus on your RA’s mom who flew in from California and won the half last year at a 5:30 mile pace; there will always be people faster and slower than you, so just do your best and forget the rest.
- Mind over matter: that’s what this race comes down to. Continue to feed yourself with positive thoughts the entire time, and before you know it, you’ll be crossing that finish line with a feeling like none other in the world.
13.1 HAVE FUN! Running a half marathon is an incredible accomplishment in itself. The facts that you get to do it at Notre Dame, alongside 1,500 other members of the ND family, and in support of a worthy cause are all just added bonuses, don’t forget to enjoy it.
Good luck to all the runners this weekend. Earn your wings.