Today, visualize this emotional moment at the finish line.
Runners often say the marathon is 20 easy miles followed by the hardest 10K of your life.
Today, the Marine Corps Marathon countdown series focuses on those final miles, and on the techniques that can help get runners through them. The series is based on a chapter from an old edition of Runner’s World’s “Guide to Running,” which advocates visualizing a marathon in manageable chunks during your taper to prepare to run the race in manageable chunks come race day.
Miles 20 and 21 take runners across the I-395 bridge and into Crystal City, where they'll run a quick out-and-back into the city, turning around at the 23-mile marker and heading to the finish line — and the hill at the Iwo Jima Memorial before it.
It may be helpful to break this part of the race into three portions: the bridge, the two miles out and back in Crystal City and the finish. Imagine yourself running hard, posting evenly paced splits and even picking up the pace a little. These miles are tough, but you're ready for them, because you've trained hard and raced smart. Imagine yourself running strong and steady to the finish, where you'll use up your last bit of energy on the short-but-steep .2-mile hill before crossing the finish line and picking up your finisher's medal.
Other installments in this series:
Marine Corps Marathon countdown: visualizing miles one through five
Marine Corps Marathon Countdown: visualizing miles five through 10
Marine Corps Marathon Countdown: visualizing miles 10 through 15
Marine Corps Marathon countdown: visualizing miles 15 through 20
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