Pre-race prep

There are no gels supplied at the feeding stations at the Brathay marathon so I've had to buy my own. The trouble is that I only use gels during marathons, never during training so I always buy a large box and end up not using most of them.

But now I've discovered the marathon race pack from High5. Basically it has everything I need for pre-race, race and post-race nutrition.

£10 from Wiggle. Good value I think. There's plenty of gels, an energy bar and some supplements to add to water.

Now all I had to do is find a way of carrying them around with me on the course. My gel belt that I normally use is not the most comfortable so I'm going to use a FlipBelt. It can hold all the gels I need (six, I think if I go for one every half hour) as well as my iPhone and keys etc. I've tried it out whilst carrying my iPhone and by the end of my run I forgot I was even wearing it so I consider that a success.

Finally (I have been busy!), I've bought some Event Clips. These are a replacement for safety pins that allow you to clip your number to your shirt without the awkwardness that safety pins always cause. Being Welsh I've gone for the Welsh flag motif. I've not tried them out in anger yet but they do appear to work.

This weekend I'm running my last long run, 16 miles. I've saved one of my favourite routes until the end. I'm going to run through Richmond Park. I'll take my iPhone in the FlipBelt so I can take photos of the deer and parakeets if I see any. I might try out the Event Clips too if I remember.

Just over three weeks to go. Can't wait!