The London Marathon is always one of the most special events on the running calendar, and I can’t wait to tackle 26.2 miles of running around my home city.
This will be my eighth London Marathon, but the event never gets old, and I still agonize over what gear to use on the day.
While some of my marathon gear is tried-and-tested, I’m also using some kit in a marathon for the first time at London 2025, and I’ve had to adjust my nutrition strategy a little to take into account that it's expected to be an unusually hot day on Sunday.
Below you’ll find the running shoes, watches and fueling products I’ll be using at this year's London Marathon, which I hope will help me run a PR.
If you’re running London (or any other marathon) and it’s your marathon debut, check out my colleague Jess Downey’s packing list for first-timers to make sure you don’t forget anything crucial.
My marathon running shoes
I’ve been using the best carbon plate running shoes for my marathons since the launch of the original Nike Vaporfly 4%, and I’m using one of the most exciting new racers to hit the market in 2025 on Sunday.
That shoe is the Puma Fast-R 3 Nitro Elite. I’ve only done a couple of runs in it so far, but I’ve been very impressed by its performance and I’m keen to see how it feels for a full marathon ahead of writing my review of the shoe.
In the past my go-to racer has been the Asics Metaspeed Sky Paris, which I’ve run two marathon PRs in, so it will be interesting to see if the Puma can match the standards of that shoe.
After the race I’ll slip on a pair of OOFOS OOah Sport Flex Sandals — it’s a good idea to have some comfortable recovery shoes like this in your kit bag to wear after the race. Consider it a thank you to the feet that have carried you through 26.2 miles.
My marathon running watches
Clearly I don’t need to wear two watches on race day, but it’s a great chance to get some testing done and compare two of the best sports watches to see how they perform in a big event.
My main running watch is the Garmin Fenix 8, which I’ve used throughout training. It’s accurate and has provided useful insights into my training over the past few months, along with an ambitious predicted time of 2:23:35.
On the other wrist I’ll have the Apple Watch Ultra 2, which is another watch I love and one that has, in the past, proved very accurate for GPS in the tricky patch around Canary Wharf on the London Marathon route, where skyscrapers make GPS tracking harder.
My marathon fueling strategy
After putting in the training, I’d say fueling correctly is the next most important thing to get right on race day to avoid running out of steam and hitting the wall.
I have a fueling strategy I’ve used for 10 marathons now that I’ll be using again at the London Marathon, and it involves carrying my own Maurten sports drinks, which I do in a set of shorts with pockets.
Before the race I have a 500ml bottle of Maurten’s 320 high-carb sports drink, along with a Precision Fueling & Hydration 1500ml electrolyte tab dissolved in 500ml of water.
Electrolytes will be important because it’s set to be hotter than usual on race day, with temperatures hitting 70°F, so runners will be sweating out more salts and will need to replace them.
During the race I take in some kind of carbohydrate every 5K. I carry three 250ml soft flasks containing Maurten’s 320 sports drink — two of these have the caffeinated version of the drink — plus a Maurten 100 Gel Caf.
After 5K I have the gel, and then every 5K from then on I drink around 125ml of the sports drink until I’ve finished my bottles at the 35K marker.
This is a lot of carbs and I've been practising with this strategy and consuming this much on the run during training. It's not something to try for the first time on race day.
I will also sip water from the bottles available on the course during the race, and I might take some Precision Fueling & Hydration Electrolyte Capsules because it is a hotter day than expected.
Other stuff I’ll be using
I don’t listen to music during marathons so won’t have headphones with me, or my phone, but my other key kit included is my club’s Soar Running Race Vest, which is comfortable and lightweight, and some trusty half tights from Decathlon that are no longer available, unfortunately.
Then on my feet I use Sporcks Icon running socks, which are lightweight, breathable and most importantly have unicorns on, which is why my daughter picked them. Hopefully, they're just what I need to carry me over the finish line to a PR on race day.
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