Should you warm up before your race? It all depends on the distance you are racing. For races shorter than the marathon, the warm up is an important part of race day preparation. The purpose of the warm up is to prepare your body to run at race pace. It increases your metabolic rate, body temperature, circulation and prepares your aerobic system to begin performing at a high level right away. The shorter the race, the more critical it is to warm up, particularly the 5k, where you body immediately launches into VO2 max pace
The marathon is an entirely different space vehicle. The warm-up causes the body to burn a mixture of glycogen and fat, slightly reducing your glycogen stores. Since one of the challenges of the marathon is to reach the finish line before you deplete, the warm up can be more of a detriment to the marathoner then a benefit. Whether or not to do a any type of warm up at all depends on the level of the marathoner. For the majority of marathoners, it isn’t necessary to warm up…..most marathoners can warm up the first few miles of the marathon. The exception is the more serious competitive marathoner who will be running a faster pace right from the start. About 30 minutes before the race, run 5 minutes, starting slowly and then finishing about 1 min slower than marathon pace. Stretch for about 10 minutes, than run another 5 minutes again. That is all; there is no need for any further warm up.
Sometimes the conditions will limit what you can do for a warm up. In many large marathons you may be waiting in corrals for 30 – 40 minutes. This may mean running in place to warm up.
Pfitzinger, P., and S. Douglas. 2001. Advanced Marathoning. Champaign, IL: Human
The marathon is an entirely different space vehicle. The warm-up causes the body to burn a mixture of glycogen and fat, slightly reducing your glycogen stores. Since one of the challenges of the marathon is to reach the finish line before you deplete, the warm up can be more of a detriment to the marathoner then a benefit. Whether or not to do a any type of warm up at all depends on the level of the marathoner. For the majority of marathoners, it isn’t necessary to warm up…..most marathoners can warm up the first few miles of the marathon. The exception is the more serious competitive marathoner who will be running a faster pace right from the start. About 30 minutes before the race, run 5 minutes, starting slowly and then finishing about 1 min slower than marathon pace. Stretch for about 10 minutes, than run another 5 minutes again. That is all; there is no need for any further warm up.
Sometimes the conditions will limit what you can do for a warm up. In many large marathons you may be waiting in corrals for 30 – 40 minutes. This may mean running in place to warm up.
Pfitzinger, P., and S. Douglas. 2001. Advanced Marathoning. Champaign, IL: Human
