Kim shares her marathon training tips on early morning runs for night owls

Like 32,000 other people, our Jog Division are training hard for the 2021 Therme Manchester Marathon on Sunday 10th October.

In her latest update, Kim shares her top tips on what helps to motivate her for early morning training runs…

If by definition you consider yourself a night owl, you’ll know how difficult it is to commit to a run in the early hours of the morning. Whilst most of us will actively avoid the notion of allowing an alarm to disrupt our precious sleep, there are times where the pain of doing so is inevitable. 

Perhaps I’m being dramatic, but I definitely wouldn’t call myself a “morning person”. However, more recently due to various other “life commitments” (eg. work, study and socialising), I’ve recently found how beneficial getting your run out of the way early in the day is, which has meant getting out the door by 7.30am.

Whilst this has become much easier as time has gone on, I recently found myself in a situation where I had to be ready for a trip to the Brecon Beacons AND do a 24km long run all before 9.00am. Doing some quick maths, I figured out I would need to be done with my run by 8.30am at the very latest. 

The following day, my alarm went off at 5.45am and by 6.15 I had started my run. It was raining, I was running fasted and the roads were quiet, but I had my headphones in and I was down for the cause! 

So, how did I, the unlikely early riser, do this unimaginable feat that thousands of others are so happily doing!? The not-so-secret secret is to pre-plan and commit (because it’s not as difficult as your mind tells you). Here are my top tips:

1. Always check the weather

2. Plan your pre-run routine (I sometimes even create a checklist)

3. Get your gear ready. This includes everything from bandaids through to your clothing (I cannot understate how important this is!)

4. Plan a “safe route” (emptier roads can be daunting for some. I opt to stick to main roads or run with a running buddy)

5. Set a motivation song as your alarm tone!

6. Plan your post-run (ie. make sure you can easily get home and can nab yourself a morning coffee!)

7. Finally…try go to bed a little earlier than usual