Many of these races take place early in the morning, which can be chilly even in the summer. It never hurts to take a sweatshirt or jacket you can throw on as you wait for the race to start and then peel off and drop to the ground as you line up. Hopefully it will be there after the race, but if not, make sure that it isn't something that you will miss terribly.

Once you have put in the time to be trained for the race and decided what you are going to wear, the only thing left is to plan your dinner for the night before, something light and not too greasy, get a good night's rest, and get up in the morning in enough time to have breakfast. If you have normally been running in the morning you should have a good idea of what you can tolerate and what you cannot. If not, some good choices are a bagel, a banana, or a peanut butter sandwich. To drink, have coffee if you normally do, but chase it with a glass of water. Otherwise, apple or orange juice as well as sports drinks are usually well tolerated. Definitely stay away from milk and breakfast meats unless you have tried this before and it does not bother your stomach.

On the morning of race day, wake up early enough so that you are not rushed, although too much idle time can be nerve racking if you are nervous. Plan on getting to the race venue about 30 minutes before the race. This gives you time to loosen up, get your race number pinned on, and take one last bathroom break. When you line up, plan on lining up toward the back of the group. It is much easier on your self confidence to start too far in the back of the pack and spend the entire race passing people, than starting too close to the front and spend the entire race getting passed.

When the race starts, it is important to run your own race. If you start out too fast, you will be pretty miserable before you are half-way through. Most races are marked so that you have a pretty good idea how far you have run. Maintain a comfortable pace, and toward the last mile, if you feel like you have some energy left, pick up the pace. Aim to finish strong.