Run a PB in your next marathon with tips from Montreal Marathon champ

The recent women’s champ at the Beneva Montreal Marathon, Mélanie DesAutels, based in Sherbrooke, Que., didn’t plan on winning the race. She can, however, pinpoint some ways she tweaked her performance in order to nail that winning finish.

“I can’t say that it was a dream of mine to win, because I never considered myself to be an athlete of that caliber,” she says. “I only started training seriously in November 2019. At the time, my best marathon time was 3:57:05 (2012 Manitoba Marathon).” 

DesAutels, a civil engineering student at the University of Sherbrooke, had goals to run a PB and to keep an even pace from start to finish. She was in the lead from the start, but says that “the thought of winning did pop in my head, but I focused on keeping it smooth and easy for the first half of the race.”

DesAutels shares the four tips that elevated her race from good to great:

Focus on fuelling, and practice it in races

MD: During my very first marathon, I ate nothing and drank only a few sips of Gatorade. It wasn’t a good strategy, and in my experience, GI distress can really ruin a race. I would advise not only practising fuelling during training, but also in a competitive setting.

During training runs, timing your fuel intake is always easier than on race day: you’re probably not running at or above your threshold pace, you’re not boosted by a surge of adrenaline and you’re not overtaken by a misguided belief that you can run faster than Flash Gordon.

Sign up for a local race, pretend you’re at that goal race and follow the plan. With each race, you’ll learn more about what your body needs or craves and can tolerate. For the Montreal marathon, I ended up taking five Maurten gels and two XACT fruit bars, and I drank about four cups of electrolyte mix.

Prioritize sleep over (almost) all else

When I started training more intensely, I used to set my alarm for 4:30 a.m. and run before classes. I would trudge into a freezing blizzard in the dark to run the 20 km to the office where I was doing my internship, then work my eight-hour shift. I was disciplined and very tough on myself and ended up injured, which put my 2021 season in jeopardy.

I changed my mindset for this year. I don’t feel forced to wrench myself out of bed anymore to run before everybody else starts their day. Sleep is as essential for an athlete as any workout, yet is often the first element to be sacrificed. If you want to up the volume and intensity of your training, as is necessary for any breakthrough, prioritize sleep.

Try going alcohol-free for several weeks before a goal race

MD: Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy sharing a bottle of red wine with my husband over a nice meal. However, even if I rarely go overboard, I find that alcohol has a negative impact on my sleep quality and performance during training runs.

If a whole month seems unmanageable at first, I would recommend at least one week of alcohol abstinence. To make things easier, there are lots of non-alcoholic beers and mocktails that are now available and fun to try.

Embrace strength training (and don’t skip the gym)

MD: When I neglect my strength training, I tend to notice little aches and pains creeping in. I do some cross-training at home and at the gym twice per week, focusing on the upper body, hamstring muscles and glutes. I sometimes incorporate some plyometrics, although I try to keep the focus off cardio.

DesAutels says that after the cross country season (her first), she will probably try indoor track, and is considering tackling the 2022 New York City Marathon as her next big race.