You’ve been running for some time now, and you’re ready for your first race. Congratulations! This is an exciting time. You’ve built your calluses. You’ve learned why chafing is an issues – and may even have some scars to back your claims.

Still, even though you’ve been running a track or running your neighborhood for some time now, you can still benefit from some extra tips when your first race is coming up. That way, you’ll know for certain that when you cross that finish line, you’ll have a smile on your face.

Prepare for Your First Race the Night Before

On the day of the race, all you want to think about is your first race. To make sure you can do that, set out everything you’ll need the night before. Lay out your clothes – every part of them. Check to make sure your headphones are working. Put out an extra hair elastic. Charge the batteries for all your electronics. Prep your breakfast. Make a checklist for everything you can’t do the night before, but have all the components of those points ready to go.

Sleep Well and Get Up Early

Focus on winding down effectively the night before your first race. Do calming things and try to relax as much as you can so you can have a restful night. That said, get up well in advance of the race. Even if it’s an early race, give yourself lots of extra time. Believe it or not, it’s more important to be in a relaxed state the day of your race than it is to have had a great sleep. Make sure you have enough time to get up, eat, dress and prepare, go to the bathroom that extra time, and even be ready in case there’s traffic on the way there. Don’t give yourself any excuse to get stressed. Be calm the whole time.

Use the Bathroom As Much as You Can

Whenever you have the chance to use the bathroom, take it. Even if you don’t think you need to go, go again. This will help you to be comfortable during the race and to avoid having to line up at the port-o-toilets at the race, itself. Even more important, it avoids the potential risk of having to stop at some point in the middle of the race – the last thing you want to do.

Tie Your Shoes Properly

Tie your shoes to the perfect comfort level for your first race. Then, once you know they’re not too loose or too tight, give them a double knot. That way, they’ll stay like that for the entire race. You don’t have to worry about them becoming untied or uncomfortable. You won’t have to try to quickly re-tie them and have one shoe tighter than the other.

Don’t forget to celebrate your victory after you finish your first race! You did it!