Travelling for a Race
Travelling for a race is extremely exciting; it’s certainly different to racing locally. But it also means you might need to be a little bit more organised.
Here are my top 10 tips for your racing travels:
Race Kit: Pop this in your hand luggage. Everything you want to wear on race day, should be with you when you fly. That way, if your luggage gets delayed, you know you still have your shoes etc. for the race.
Race fuel: Take your own fuel with you. You will have been training with it, so don’t rely on it being in the country that you are flying to. This will likely need to go in your checked luggage due to liquid allowances with hand luggage.
Flight food: don’t rely on your airline keeping you well fuelled and hydrated. Control what you can by taking your own meals and snacks. Also have water bottle that be filled post airport security to ensure hydration is still on point.
Google maps: is your friend in a foreign city, I recommend downloading the maps offline before travelling.
Phone: If you are travelling from the UAE, it is likely that your phone won’t work in other countries. So, I recommend that you purchase a Pay As you Go sim before you fly. Personally I just swap over to Three Mobile when overseas. WhatsApp etc works as normal!
Airport Transfers: Travelling can cause some stress, so eliminate as much as you can be being prepared with things like transfers, as opposed to just arriving at the airport then trying to figure out how to get to your accommodation. Most European cities have excellent public transport.
Coffee and breakfast: There is no excuse for drinking bad instant hotel coffee when travelling. If you know you like a good coffee and have a “go to” race day or long run breakfast, simply take it with you. I highly recommend an AeroPress for your coffee travels.
Pre race dinner: Don’t spend hours wondering around trying to get a feed the night before your race. Research a restaurant before you go and book a table. Alternatively if you are staying in self-catering, simply cook your normal pre long run dinner.
Race number collection: Most large races do not allow you to collect your number/bib the day of the race. So you need to ensure that you arrive in time to get yourself to the expo. Races will have a tab on their website with all expo times and bib collection details.
Clothing: If you have been training in Dubai, it’s likely that you will be travelling to a cooler climate. Pack some warmer clothes for travelling to the start line, which can be left in bag drop. And also take some older clothes that you can wear right until the start gun goes, that you don’t mind parting with, as these can be donated to charity on the start line at the last minute.
Hope that you enjoy your racing holiday.
