Race-Prep

I ran my first World Marathon Major in 2018. Seven years later, I’ve completed 3/6 of the original races: Chicago, Berlin, and Tokyo. I’ve also finished Sydney, which Abbott added to the roster in 2025. That leaves three originals still to go: New York, London, and Boston. The question I keep coming back to is a simple one: can I complete the original six before 2028? That would be ten years start to finish — which sounds like a long time until you understand how the entry system actually works.

Training gets you to the start line fit. What gets you there calm, with the right kit, documents, and plan, is a different skill. StartLine is a simple checklist app I built that keeps travel, logistics, and gear in one place so you can focus on preparation instead of last-minute scrambles.

You’ve signed up for a running competition, and trained for it for months, and here we are, a few days before the race. The pre-race anxiety is ramping up. Today, I’ll share how to best manage it with my own few tips.