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Race-Week Checklist: What Runners Need for Race Day
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items Race week isn't the time to figure things out. It's the time to lay out gear you've already tested so race morning is boring in the best way. These are my picks for 5K through marathon: fuel and electrolytes to practice with before the big day, anti-...
Sections
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Race-Day Fuel & Electrolytes
Anti-Chafe & Blister Prevention
Race-Morning Kit: Bib, Pace, Shades & Start-Corral Layers
Socks & Laces That Won't Let You Down
Finish Line & Drive Home
Race-Day Fuel & Electrolytes
Gels, chews and electrolytes to test on your long runs now, so your stomach already knows them on race day.
GU is the gel you'll most often find at aid stations, so practicing with it means fewer stomach surprises on course, and each pouch packs 21-23g of fast carbs plus sodium. This 24-count variety box lets you learn which flavors you can actually get do...
GU Energy Original Gels, Mixed Flavors, 24ct
If sweet, syrupy gels turn your stomach late in a race, Maurten is the upgrade: a firm, nearly flavorless hydrogel with 25g of carbs from just six ingredients, and it's the on-course gel at Chicago, Boston and Berlin. It costs more per packet than th...
Maurten Gel 100 – 12x40g – 25g Carbs Energy Gel
Huma tastes like real food instead of a science project: fruit puree, cane sugar and chia seeds, and Runner's World named it the best overall energy gel of 2026. The real-food base is gentle on sensitive stomachs, and the variety pack lets you sample...
Huma Chia Energy Gel, Variety, 12 Gels
Not everyone can choke down a gel at race pace, and chews let you fuel in small bites instead of committing to a whole packet. Each sleeve holds six chews (two 100-calorie servings), and Black Cherry adds 50mg of caffeine per serving for a late-race ...
CLIF BLOKS Energy Chews Black Cherry 18Pks
Gels cover carbs, but on a hot Texas race morning heavy sweaters lose a lot of salt and feel it in the back half. SaltStick FastChews are small chewable tablets with sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium you can pop at an aid station, with no mixi...
SaltStick High Sodium Electrolyte FastChews Lemon Lime 60
Anti-Chafe & Blister Prevention
Balms, a waterproof roll-on and blister tape for the thighs, underarms, chest and feet that always rub after mile 6.
Chafing is the race-day problem nobody plans for until the post-race shower. Squirrel's Nut Butter is a simple coconut oil, cocoa butter and wax salve that ultra and marathon runners swear by for thighs, underarms, waistbands and bra lines, and the 2...
Squirrel's Nut Butter Anti Chafing Stick 2.7oz
On a rainy or sticky race morning a wax stick can sweat off before halfway, but SportShield's silicone roll-on dries invisible and keeps working for hours through sweat and rain. It's what to reach for on humid marathon mornings or anywhere you need ...
2Toms SportShield Anti Chafe & Blister
Inner-thigh chafe is the most common complaint for runners in shorts and skirts, and Megababe's wide stick covers more skin in one swipe than skinny balm tubes. It glides on smooth without feeling sticky, and at about $13 it's an easy add to the race...
Megababe Thigh Rescue Anti-Chafe Stick
If you know exactly where you blister, like the back of the heel or the ball of the foot, tape it before it becomes a problem. Leukotape P is a rigid, super-sticky zinc-oxide tape that stays put through sweat and wet socks far longer than regular ath...
Leukotape P Adhesive Tape 1.5in x 15yds
Race-Morning Kit: Bib, Pace, Shades & Start-Corral Layers
A no-pin bib belt, a pocket for keys and gels, a GPS watch to pace with, sunglasses, and cheap layers you can toss at the start.
Pinning a bib at 5 a.m. with cold hands means crooked numbers and holes in a good shirt. This elastic belt holds your bib with no pins, so you can spin it around or wear a throwaway layer over it, and its six loops keep your gels right where you can ...
RJ-Sport Race Number Belt with 6 Gel Loops
Your car key, phone and a couple of gels have to ride somewhere, and bouncing shorts pockets get old by mile 3. The SPIbelt is a small stretchy pouch on an adjustable band that sits flat under your shirt, expands to fit a phone, and barely moves, unl...
SPIbelt Original Running Belt, Phone Holder, Black
Going out too fast is the easiest way to wreck a race, and I race with my Forerunner 165 so I'm watching live pace, heart rate and distance on a bright AMOLED screen instead of guessing. It has built-in training plans and a battery that easily outlas...
Garmin Forerunner 165 Running Smartwatch
Squinting into a rising sun for 13 miles tightens your face and shoulders, and gas-station shades slide down your nose once you sweat. The Swank weighs about 23 grams with nose pads that grip better when wet and shatterproof lenses with full UVA/UVB ...
Tifosi Swank Sunglasses - Running, Cycling, Golf
Standing in the corral for 30 minutes on a chilly morning burns energy you need for the race, so wrap up in a mylar blanket like the ones races hand out at the finish and toss it at the start. This 10-pack works out to about $1.30 a blanket: a couple...
Swiss Safe Emergency Blanket 10 Pack
Cold hands at the start are miserable, but nobody wants to lose good running gloves at mile 2 once they warm up. These stretchy knit gloves cost under a dollar a pair, so wear them through the first few miles and toss them guilt-free (many big races ...
12 Pairs Winter Magic Stretchy Warm Knit Gloves
Socks & Laces That Won't Let You Down
Blister-fighting socks and no-tie laces, so your feet are the last thing on your mind at mile 20.
Darn Tough is what I run in, and this quarter-height Run sock is the race-day version: thin merino with underfoot cushion, a seamless toe and a snug arch, so nothing bunches or slides at mile 20. Merino handles sweat far better than cotton, and the l...
Darn Tough Men's Run 1/4 Ultra-Lightweight Sock
If you always blister between or on top of your toes, regular socks can't fix it, but toe socks can. Injinji wraps each toe in its own thin, moisture-wicking sleeve so toes don't rub on each other, which is exactly where marathon blisters start (they...
Injinji Women's Liner + Runner Mini Crew
For shorter races and hot mornings, Balega Hidden Comfort is the no-show sock running stores push for good reason. A deep heel pocket and tab keep it from slipping into your shoe, with plush cushion under the forefoot and heel, and it holds up where ...
Balega Hidden Comfort No Show Running Socks
A lace that comes untied mid-race costs you time and rhythm, and a double knot tied in the dark is often too tight by mile 10. Lock Laces turn any running shoe into a slip-on with elastic laces and a spring lock, so the fit stays put and gives a litt...
Lock Laces Elastic No Tie Shoelaces - One Size
Finish Line & Drive Home
Protein, a changing towel and a place to hang the medal, for the hour after you cross the line.
Most runners don't feel like eating right after a race, then an hour later they're starving and grabbing whatever the gas station has. A cold Core Power from the cooler gives you 26 grams of protein plus carbs in a chocolate shake that tastes like a ...
Core Power Fairlife 26g Protein Milk Shake, Chocolate, 14oz, 12 Pack
Every medal and bib stands for months of early mornings, and a junk drawer is no place for them. The BibFOLIO+ hangs on the wall with hooks for up to 24 medals and a flip book that stores 100 bibs, so your whole running story lives in one spot. Great...
Gone For a Run BibFOLIO+ Medal & Bib Display