A Complete Checklist of Everything You Need Before, During, and After a Race

It’s race weekend. You’ve trained for months, putting in gruelling hours and surviving unseemly chafing. You’ve gotten through taper madness by making a mental plan (when to wake up, what to eat, what to wear). You finally get to the starting line only to realise — your watch isn’t charged. Or you’re wearing the wrong sports bra. Or worst of all: You forgot to clip your damn toenails.

Whether you’re travelling for a marathon in an unfamiliar city or gearing up for a local 5km, here’s your ultimate race weekend checklist.

Pre-race

• Race confirmation
• Hotel confirmation
• Plane/train/travel tickets
• Proof of vaccine or negative COVID test (double-check your specific race’s policies)
• Mask (check your race’s policies — will masks be required during participant transportation, at the starting corrals, and/or during the course?)
• ID (and passport if necessary)
• Rain jacket (prepare for any weather, regardless of what the forecasters predict)
• Headphones for the flight
• Chargers for earbuds, watch, phone, etc.
• Course map
• Directions to race and number pick-up
• Safety pins
• Water bottle and hydration plan
• Healthy, carbohydrate-laden snacks for travel
• Area guide for restaurants and events
• Extra cash or credit cards
• Street clothes and shoes
• Toiletries (including a travel-sized first aid kit)
• Deodorant
• Ear plugs
• Travel alarm
• Toilet paper (you never know)
• Nail clippers
• Hair bands (or whatever you need for your hair plan — two braids for me!)
• Tweezers
• Anything you want to download from home, such as your running playlist or race tracking apps (like RaceJoy, which your supporters will need to download, too)

Race

• Watch or GPS
• Singlet/short-sleeve or long-sleeve shirt for race, as weather dictates
• Sports bra
• Shorts/tights for race, as weather dictates
• Old sweatshirt or T-shirt you can toss after a few miles
• Socks
• Shoes (orthotics, if necessary)
• Band-Aids or NipGuards, if necessary
• Vaseline or other anti-chafing lotion
• Sunscreen
• Lip balm with sunscreen
• Hat or visor
• Sunglasses
• Gels or sports drink (ONLY if you’ve been training with them)
• Energy bars (if you’ll be standing around for several hours before the race)
• Fanny pack (if you run with one, in which case, you’re cooler than me)
• Running belt, hydration vests (whatever you trained with)
• Equipment check bag containing post-race gear (although many races provide this at the expo or bib pick-up)

Post-race

• Extra socks (including compression sleeves or socks)
• Extra shirt and shorts/pants
• Waterproof jacket
• Food (if you won’t be fed at the post-race festivities)
• Towel
• Ibuprofen
• Plastic bag for ice, dirty clothes, etc.
• Someone to take a picture of you and your medal

When packing, keep in mind one of the most agreed-upon rules in the running community: Nothing new on race day. Don’t learn this the hard way by trying out a tasty new gel or by breaking in a fancy new piece of equipment. Trust us — and trust all the hard training you put into this race. You got this.