Coaches Say This Is What Surprises Marathoners Most on Race Day. Plus, How to Better Prepare.

A typical marathon-training schedule involves several months of increasing mileage. But the physical gains you earn from all of those runs are only part of the equation that can make or break your race.“As a coach, I always emphasize the importance of preparing for more than just the distance,” says Gab Reznik, NASM-certified personal trainer, run coach, and head coach at Tone House, a fitness studio in New York City. “Marathon training isn’t simply about building the fitness to cover 26.2 miles. It’s about developing the confidence, adaptability, and mental resilience to handle whatever challenges arise along the way.” Because if there’s one guarantee in the marathon, it’s that something unexpected will come your way.To help you prepare for any scenario that pops up during your 26.2, we tapped three run coaches for their insights about what marathoners tend to report back to them postrace—the things that surprised them, the mindsets that helped them when the miles got grueling, and what they wish they’d known sooner to make the race go smoother.Use this roundup of lessons they’ve learned along the way as your cheat sheet for a faster finish and more gratifying race day overall.You might feel wiped out before the race even starts.“One thing we’ve heard from several of our athletes after the marathon is how mentally exhausting the logistics of getting to the start can be; it’s a lot of hurry up and wait,” says Matt Wilpers, Peloton instructor and endurance coach. “You’re up early, navigating transportation, surrounded by thousands of other runners, and then sitting around in the athletes’ village waiting for your wave. By the time the race starts, you’ve already spent several hours managing logistics, anticipation, and nervous energy.”This can be true regardless of your race, even if you’re not tackling one of the World Marathon Majors, but many of those races offer particularly difficult starts.How to prep:A little extra planning can help make all of those prerace moments feel more streamlined and less mentally taxing. Wilpers suggests treating the hours before the start as part of your race plan. “Know your transportation options, anticipate the waiting, bring food and extra layers, and eliminate as many uncertainties as possible,” he says. “The more decisions you make in advance, the more energy and attention you’ll have available when it matters most.”Reznik also advises packing a portable charger, which is especially wise for big races, as the athletes’ village and start line at those often have bad cell service. “The last thing you want is to arrive at the starting line with a dead phone,” she says.It’s way too easy to start out way too fast.Getting caught up in the excitement early on in a race is natural, and “it’s easy to let that excitement dictate your pace,” says Reznik. If there’s any decline in the opening sections of your marathon (like the second mile of the NYC Marathon), it tends to be that much more difficult to restrain yourself and settle into a controlled rhythm.How to prep: Plan to begin slightly slower than your goal pace, advises Wilpers, and allow yourself to warm up when you’re in the race rather than forcing the pace from the beginning. “From there, the goal is to gradually settle into a rhythm and put yourself in a position to finish strong,” he says.Practicing holding back during long training runs will help it feel natural on race day and not leave you anxious about getting behind on your goal time.Weaving around other runners wastes energy.Many runners report being shocked at how crowded the big races can be and how much tougher that makes it to hit a personal record or goal pace, says Laura Norris, owner and coach at Laura Norris Running in Boulder, Colorado.It’s common to bob and weave around runners to maintain your pace, especially during the early miles of a race before the crowd has thinned out. “Sometimes minor amounts of weaving and small controlled surges help break out of a crowd, but weaving around too much can add distance and fatigue,” she says.How to prep:Reznik recommends looking ahead several steps and anticipating your next move rather than keeping your eyes down and having to constantly react to the runner directly in front of you. “Not only does this help you maintain a more consistent rhythm, but it can also prevent you from covering unnecessary distance,” she says.It’s also helpful to run the tangents when possible.Seeing other runners struggle might hit you hard.“One thing many of my runners have remarked about, especially after the Majors, is being surprised at how witnessing the late-marathon carnage mentally affected them,” says Norris.How that makes you feel can go either way: It can feel upsetting or it can help you put your own race into perspective and realize you might be doing better than you thought. Either way, she says, it can be jarring, especially because marathon running is such a mental game.How to prep:Visualize your race beforehand—including negative outcomes and how you can stay strong while experiencing or witnessing people walking, taking breaks, maybe even puking, cramping, or stretching on the sidelines.“It’s worth it for runners to know ahead of race day the range of suffering they may see, especially at big races, where it’s statistically more likely for under-prepared runners to participate,” says Norris. “If they know in advance, they can mentally prepare, and the sight may not be as upsetting on race day.”Postrace can feel brutal.Being done should feel amazing, right? Even if you’re there emotionally, that doesn’t mean your body will definitely follow suit.“The sudden stop in running after pushing for hours can feel jolting,” notes Norris. “When combined with varying degrees of under-hydration/dehydration, fatigue, and high emotions, many runners are taken aback by how physically off they feel right after finishing.”How to prep: Whether you’re running a big race with a crowded finish-line area or a small marathon where you can walk right off and lie down on the sidelines, plan to stay upright and walk it off.Norris recommends walking around and avoiding sitting down for at least a few minutes. “The sudden change from running to sitting can make some people feel dizzy,” she says.Eat something and get into dry clothes as soon as it’s feasible, she adds; that should help your muscles stay warm and keep you comfortable while you celebrate your accomplishment.Laurel Leicht is a writer and editor in Brooklyn. She's covered health, fitness, and travel for outlets including Well+Good, Glamour, and O, The Oprah Magazine.