I’ve run 15 marathons — here’s 12 essential running products I’d pick up in the Amazon Big Spring Sale

I’ve been running for 10 years, and most of the time, I’d say you can largely fly by the seat of your pants with regards to prepping for your races. The hard exception to that rule is marathons, or indeed anything longer than a marathon.

If you fail to prepare for a marathon, with regard to your kit and nutrition, you might not be preparing to fail, but you’re certainly setting yourself up for a rough time of it.

To complete 26.2 miles in relative comfort, you need tried-and-tested shoes and kit, nutrition you’ve practiced with, and some kind of plan in place to combat chafing. For there will be chafing.

Fortunately for those preparing for a marathon this Spring, the Amazon Big Spring Sale has come at the perfect time, and many essential products I’ve used for marathons and marathon training myself are reduced.

That includes shoes — both comfort-focused options like the Brooks Glycerin Max and speedy carbon racers like the New Balance SC Elite v4 — watches like the Garmin Forerunner 165, and headphones like the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2.

I’ve picked out a selection of useful products available in the sale below, and if you’re suddenly very concerned about chafing, I’d skip straight to the Anti Monkey Butt Anti-Chafing Stick, which is reduced to $8 at Amazon. That could be the best $8 you ever spend.