Pat Carroll is a four time winner of the Gold Coast Marathon, winning the event in 1983, 1984, 1988 and 1997. He is also the Australian all-comers record holder in the half marathon distance with a time of 1h 01min 11sec and has represented Australia three times in the Commonwealth Games Marathon.

Now a running coach with his own business, here are some tips that Pat has gleaned over the years – on how to run a your best marathon.

Pat has picked up these based on his experiences both as an elite athlete as well as from coaching other runners.

Have realistic goals

Make sure that your marathon goals are realistic and achievable based on your fitness level and the time that you have set aside to train.

For example, if your personal best at the marathon is 5 hours, it is not realistic to aim for a four hour marathon. Instead, it may be more achievable to target 4hr and 45mins.

Get comfortable running gear

When you commit to running a marathon, Pat suggests that you get yourself a pair of comfortable running shoes and nice looking gear because if you buy clothes that you like, you are more likely to want to train in them.

Find a buddy

Having a buddy will help you to stay motivated to run, as there is someone else who is accountable for your training, according to Pat.

Get support from your loved ones

Share your running goals with your loved ones, that is, your friends and family, so that they can support you and motivate you to reach your running goals.

Put your goals in public

Having your running goals in public will remind you and everyone around you, of what you want to achieve, and you are more likely to stay committed to training towards your goals.

For example you can share them with your friends on social media or you can paste them in the form of a note on your office cubicle at work.

Run somewhere you like

If you like the location that you are running, then you are more likely to continue training. The location can be within walking distance or it could be within driving distance depending on your personal preferences.

Do morning runs

Pat is an advocate of running in the morning because this means that you can get your run out of the way quickly and you will not need to think about it again. But if you are planning to run in the evenings, then there is a higher chance you will get tied down or exhausted after a long day, and you may forget about your run.

Have set training days

By having set days to train, Pat feels that you will be able to stick to a running routine better to prepare yourself for the marathon, because the regular runs have been locked into your schedule and will be less affected by your moods.

Run in all types of weather

And Pat stresses that it may rain on race day, or else it could be quite hot, so you need to be prepared to run in all types of weather and do not make excuses to skip your run simply because the weather is not ideal. Otherwise how will you cope on race day if the weather is not perfect?

These tips have been brought to you by the Gold Coast Marathon.