Tip 1 by Louie_Miller

Beginning marathoners go out way too hard during their first marathon.  The reason is because they are feeling good at the star line and start the race depending on how they are feeling.  This is one of th worst tactics you can use as a beginner because you will blow u in the later stages of the race as your heart rate begins to soar.  Work out  your splits for the 5,10,15,20 and 25 mile marks.

Simply work out what you predict your final time to be over the full distance and work to find your predicted splits at the mileage points.  You should also run the first 5 miles like you are running way too slow

then write these times down on the back of your hand (not the palm because it will rub off).  Then aim to pass the mileage marks at these points.  If your are say 60 sec. behind your predicted time for the 5 mile mark then you can slowly increase your pace with no great problems.  Hewever if you are 60 sec. below your predicted race pace at the 5 mile mark, then you could be in trouble in the late stages of your  race.

If you have no idea what race pace feels like then you can work out your race pace over a 400 m distance and aim to run these splits in the lead-up to your race on your shorter running sessions.  This will subconsciously ground race pace into your system so that yu can tap into it in the initial stage of your marathon.

Hope this tip helps someone