Project Swagger with Robin Arzón
Project Swagger with Robin Arzón

10 Ways to Ruin Your Marathon Before You Even Start

October 20, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Robin Arzón opens this episode of Project Swagger with a confession from her own race history: during marathon number 20, the New York City Marathon, she felt so good in Brooklyn that she decided to run 30 seconds faster per mile. She was, as she puts it, "feeling like hot shit." Any experienced marathoner knows what happened next. By mile 23, she had hemorrhaged those seven minutes she thought she had banked, and more. "The seconds that you think that you're making up in the beginning, you'll be very, very likely paying for in minutes," she says. That mistake — going out too fast — is the kind of error that ruins a marathon before the starting line, and it sets the stage for a list of ten others that are just as preventable.

The Taper Trap and the Nothing-New Rule

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:05) **Opening: The Siren Song of Brooklyn** - Robin describes feeling "hot shit" in Brooklyn during a past NYC Marathon, only to pay for it later.
  • 2 (02:02) **Mistake #1 & #2: Panic Training & Trying to Make Up Missed Workouts** - Robin addresses the nervous energy of the taper and the futility of "making up" missed training.
  • 3 (04:20) **Mistake #3 & #4: New Gear & Expo Fatigue** - A warning against trying anything new on race day and exhausting yourself before the start.
  • 4 (05:20) **Mistake #5: Carb Loading Wrong** - Robin clarifies what effective carb loading looks like versus overdoing it.
  • 5 (06:34) **Mistake #6: Obsessing Over Pre-Race Sleep** - A realistic take on sleep the night before a marathon.
  • 6 (07:23) **Mistake #7: No Bathroom Plan** - A practical tip on race morning logistics.
  • 7 (07:54) **Mistake #8: Dressing for the Start, Not the Finish** - How to dress for the full 26.2 miles.

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Guests on this episode

Robin Arzón

Show Notes

All you need to prepare for marathon season — or ahead of any race. Tips on sleep, carb loading, taper weeks, pacing, fueling, equipment, gear, and race-day logistics… All in under 20 minutes. 

Plus: why Robin’s favorite memory of the New York City marathon is from a year she didn’t even run the race, and Robin’s reflection on modeling resilience and a love of movement for her daughter, Athena, who was just under 9 months old the last time her mom ran the 26.2 mile course. 

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Project Swagger with Robin Arzón

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