All you need to know before marathon run

It's often the case that a person who has trained so hard for an event, tries equally as hard to find the right advice, and then stumbles across an abundance of tips, but is never sure which is the best bit to take. More advice doesn't always mean you've got the best advice.

As you read this article today with only 24 hours to go to until the starting gun at the start of the inaugural Marathon of the North in Sunderland, there are still a number of things you can do to make that run tomorrow your best yet.

And it more than likely involves simplifying all of the things you've been researching in an attempt to prepare correctly.

The real villain of any person struggling to complete a marathon is often dehydration. Most of the people that you see flagging towards the end of a long race are suffering from dehydration, a lack of water and stuff like salt that your body needs to function - leading to things like heat exhaustion, muscle cramps and can even lead to a person collapsing.

Twenty four hours before an event like this you need to be taking on water little and often. Resist the obvious temptation to consume large volumes of water in the hour or so before the race. This will not hydrate you.

It'll just make you a regular visitor to one of those plastic blue Portaloos that are very rarely, conveniently located. Besides, if you're finding that in the morning you're able to drink a large volume of water, you're definitely dehydrated and your body will not have time to absorb the water before the race finishes

The trick to keeping hydrated as you run along Wearside's stunning coastline tomorrow begins today. The little and often is so important. Any other way and you might find that a good nights sleep isn't possible tonight as you're constantly back and forth to the toilet in the middle of the night.

Sleep is massively important. Where possible you should aim to go to bed and rise at the same time as you have been doing all this week. Don't think that by going to bed significantly earlier tonight that you'll have more energy. That's not how it works. You'll just wake up earlier and throw out of the window one of the most important systems you're going to need - your metabolism. Simply, this is how and when your body decides it's going to release its energy.

In the 24 hours before the race, you should be looking to eat foods that involve lots of carbohydrates. For tea tonight, try a spaghetti bolognese or a chicken stir fry with rice, jacket potatoes with tuna or beans could also be an option and plenty of bread. To add protein for your muscles try fish or eggs and drink lots of milk.

On the morning of the race, resist the temptation to get too excited. Some of the very top performers in sport, people like Olympic legend Michael Phelps, choose to wear head phones and listen to music that keeps them calm.

Blocking out the noise and the electric atmosphere that surrounds them, as they know that this is one way to loose adrenaline. And it's loosing too much adrenaline what makes you feel tired early in a race. So use your iTunes account wisely. Calm, relaxing songs are important before the race. Save the Rocky sound track for during it. For the same reason, avoid energy completely

For fluids on the morning of the race you should switch to isotonics and food, be careful not to overload with a meal that is too heavy or takes too long to digest. Try toast with scrambled or poached egg and a glass of milk.

And one more thing. Don't forget to be warm before you stretch. I see many people making the biggest mistake of all when they're on the start line at an event like this. Stretching muscles that are stone cold. Make sure that your muscles are warm by jogging on the spot for 7-8 minutes before you stretch any muscles. To not do this means you're increasing the odds of an injury to muscles like your Achilles, calf or hamstrings that are going to get you round for the following four hours or so. Good luck.