“One minute you’re flying. The next, you’re a sad little puddle of Lucozade and shame.”
It happens to everyone. You set out for your big Dublin Marathon long run, ready to smash it. The playlist’s loaded, the gels are packed, and you’ve told at least three people you’re “just doing 16 miles today” so they can admire your madness later.
Then… it all goes wrong.
You bonk at mile 10. Your legs feel like they’ve been filled with porridge. You end up walking home in a sulk, mentally drafting your resignation letter from the human race.
Good news: a bad long run doesn’t mean you’re doomed. Here’s how to salvage your confidence, fix your body, and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Step One: Don’t Panic
Every marathoner, beginner or not has had a shocker of a run. Weather, sleep, stress, fuelling, or just a random bad day can derail you.
It’s not a sign you’re unfit. It’s not a cosmic omen. And it definitely doesn’t mean you should bin the whole race.
It means you’re training like a normal human. If training were a smooth upward curve, we’d all be Eliud Kipchoge in a few months. We’re not. We’re in Ireland. And Ireland has rain, and of course wind that could knock over a small cow.
Step Two: Look for the Why
If you can figure out why it went wrong, you can fix it. Common culprits:
- Went out too fast: The classic. You ran the first few miles like you were in the Raheny 5 and paid for it later.
- Poor fuelling: You skipped breakfast, tried a new gel, or forgot that Haribo isn’t a long-run nutrition plan.
- Dehydration: You were sweating buckets by mile 4 and didn’t drink enough to match it.
- Overtraining: You stacked too many hard days before the long run. Your legs were already toast.
- Life stress: Work, kids, bad sleep. Your body doesn’t care if it’s from running or life, stress is stress.
Step Three: Recover Physically
- Rest: If the run was a true meltdown, take the next day off completely. You’re not “losing fitness”, you’re letting your body heal.
- Refuel : Carbs + protein within an hour. Yes, this is the actual time for pizza.
- Hydrate: Water and electrolytes, especially if you sweated like a horse.
- Mobility work: Light stretching, foam rolling, or yoga. Don’t lose the run of yourself, this isn’t the day to attempt the splits.
Step Four: Recover Mentally
A bad run dents your confidence more than your fitness. Get your head back in the game:
- Talk to another runner. Everyone’s got a horror story. Hearing about the lad who tripped on his own gel packet will make you feel better.
- Remember the bigger picture. One run in months of training won’t decide your race.
- Visualise the next one going right. Same route, same distance, but with pacing, fuelling, and hydration sorted.
Step Five: Adjust for Next Time
Use what went wrong as your to-do list:
- If you started too fast, practice slower pacing on your next run.
- If you ran out of energy, test your fuelling strategy on a shorter midweek run.
- If it was hydration, plan your drink stops ahead of time.
The point isn’t to avoid discomfort. It’s to avoid the avoidable discomfort.
Why This Matters for Dublin
You’re still a couple of months out. That means:
- You’ve got plenty of time to get in more successful long runs.
- You can fix pacing, fuelling, and hydration issues before the 20-milers in September.
- One disaster now will make you far less likely to implode at mile 21 when you’re running up heartbreak hill on the Roebucl Road.
Conclusion
A bad long run doesn’t mean you’ve blown your Dublin Marathon. It means you’re training hard enough to sometimes fail and smart enough to learn from it.
So, cry if you must. Eat the emergency biscuits. Then dust yourself off, lace up again, and get back on the road.
Because in October, when you’re crossing that finish line, you won’t be thinking about the run that broke you. You’ll be thinking about the fact you bounced back from it.
And if all else fails, at least your shocker of a run will make a great “war story” in the pub afterwards. Especially if you add a few extra miles when you tell it.
