8 Running tips from an Olympian

We sat down with Olympian and ASICS athlete Izzi Batt-Doyle to quiz here on her top tips for running a marathon. Here answers might just surprise you. 

#1. Don’t be afraid of carbs (seriously)

“An adequate carb load should take three-to-four days of eating low-fibre, high-carbohydrate foods. You will likely need to eat more than you think, and more

than might feel comfortable… However, if you get the carb load and the in-race fuelling right, you should be feeling strong in the second half of the marathon and not hit a wall at 30km.”

#2. Focus on what you can control

“I love the marathon because you have to focus on yourself and the things that you can

control and not so much your competition and race tactics like you do on the track. It’s

not only a test of your fitness and physical capabilities but also your mind, mental

strength and resilience too.”

#3. Trick your brain into being motivated

“If I really need to get myself out the door, I’ll put on a podcast or good playlist. I also find that switching up my running routes and putting on fresh shoes or new running apparel is a nice boost to my motivation.”

#4. Find your running tribe

“Join a local running group or coach to keep you motivated and accountable. Or at the very tips least a friend who you can run with. My partner Riley and I started RunAsOne in 2020 (we support the Sydney Marathon Rub Club in Adelaide, too), and I am continuously amazed by the amount of progress our runners make by being a part

of the group. We keep it fun and social and offer the support and guidance of qualified and experienced running coaches. Ideally, it’s great to find this in a real-life community setting, but if that’s not possible, being a part of an online community and having support can still be just as important.”

#5. Look after your body outside of training

“This could be getting a regular massage, physio treatment or just something to make sure you’re staying ahead of any niggles. Having some form of strength or Pilates in your

weekly routine is helpful, too.”

#6. Be nimble and flexible

“I believe the biggest difference between runners who thrive on race day and those who

struggle mainly comes down to the mental side. It’s great to have a plan but a flexible mindset is more important to make the most of race day. If you are mentally prepared and can be adaptive and stay positive, you should be able to handle whatever

is thrown at you.”

#7. Protect your feet with good shoes

“This is a hugely important one when you’re training for a marathon as you’ll spend plenty of time hitting the pavement. Some of my favourite shoes in my weekly rotation are the ASICS Novablast 4, ASICS Gel Nimbus 26, ASICS Superblast and my race day shoe, the ASICS Metaspeed Paris Edge.”

#8. Keep learning

“There are a lot of factors that play into a marathon, and it’s hard to nail them all – I still don’t think I’ve done it just yet!”  

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