It’s common sense that running a marathon places very different demands on your gear than an ordinary training session would.
Over 42.2 kilometres, what might seem like small problems on a shorter run really aren’t so small at distance. A sock that bunches. Shorts that bounce. A waistband that won’t stay put. Underwear that rides up.
Race-day gear needs to do the opposite. Stay put. Manage sweat. Keep you comfortable. And require absolutely no attention once you start moving.
With the Sydney Marathon approaching, here’s what we’d wear.
1. Shoes: Tried, True, and Tested
Race day isn't the day to pull a completely fresh pair of shoes out of the box.
Even if they're the exact model you've been training in, give them a few runs first. Make sure the lacing is right, the upper sits properly, and there aren't any pressure points waiting to make themselves known.
At the other end of the spectrum, don't line up in a pair that's full-on been through the trenches with you.
Ideally, your race shoes have seen a few sessions and at least one longer effort. By race morning, there should be nothing left to learn about them.
2. Socks: Boring Until They're a Problem
People often don’t spend too much time thinking about socks. Until they get a blister.
For the marathon, leave your everyday cotton pair at home. Cotton holds moisture against the skin, and moisture plus thousands of repeated steps is a recipe for disaster.
Go technical. Lightweight, quick-drying and secure enough that nothing bunches or moves inside your shoe.
And, like everything else on this list, wear them before race day to make sure they’ll hold up.
3. Underwear: The Most Frequently Overlooked
The rest of your gear is often well-tested and thought-out. But underwear? Usually whatever happens to be clean.
Over a marathon, your base layer is dealing with sweat, heat and friction for several hours. If it holds moisture, moves around or has seams rubbing in the wrong places, you'll know about it.
A good performance base layer should be pretty simple:
Stay dry. Stay put. Don't chafe.
ruhn performance trunks are built with quick-drying fabrics, seam-free anti-chafe panels and a secure fit designed to move with you without riding up, over any distance.
4. Shorts: Choose Function over Features
Split shorts, half tights, longer shorts - wear whatever works for you.
What matters most isn’t what style you choose, but how they perform once you've loaded them with everything you're actually carrying. Four gels behave very differently in a pocket than one. Test your shorts with your full race-day setup.
If your shorts have a built-in liner, make sure you've tested that over distance too. If you're wearing a separate base layer underneath, check that the combination doesn't create unnecessary bulk or overlapping seams.
Nothing should need adjusting once you're moving.
5. Singlet or Running Shirt: Prioritise Breathability
Your race top doesn't need to be complicated, but it does need to be lightweight, breathable, and quick-drying.
Avoid cotton and anything with excess fabric that starts moving around once it's wet.
Pay attention to the underarms, shoulders and chest during your longer training sessions. A little bit of rubbing at 15km can become a very different situation after another 27.
If you've already run far in it and barely noticed it, you're probably onto something.
6. Anti-Chafe: Before, Not After
Even the right kit can't eliminate every potential friction point over 42.2 kilometres.
Inner thighs. Groin. Underarms. Nipples. Heart-rate straps. Running belts. We’re sure you already know yours.
Use anti-chafe balm before the race for an extra protective barrier in those areas. Once you start to notice something rubbing, the damage is generally already underway.
And don't introduce a new balm on race morning either (you may be noticing a theme here).
7. Hat, Sunglasses + Sunscreen
A few hours in Sydney can give you a little bit of everything, and it’s very likely that starting conditions are no indication of what the weather will be like as the race progresses.
A lightweight cap can help with both sun and sweat. Sunglasses are key, but they should stay put without needing adjustment. Sunscreen should be sweat-resistant and on before you arrive at the start.
And of course, don't overdress because you're cold standing around before the gun. You're about to run a marathon. You'll warm up.
8. Gels: Test the Full Load
Your nutrition isn't separate from your kit.
If you're going to carry gels in your shorts or running belt, test the exact setup you're planning to race with. Not one gel - all of them.
Extra weight changes how waistbands, pockets and belts behave. Something that stays perfectly still on an easy 5km with an empty pocket might have very different ideas when it's fully stocked with your race nutrition.
Use your final long runs before the race to test the full system, not just the individual pieces.
Marathon Race-Day Checklist
Shoes: Broken in. Not broken down.
Socks: Technical, quick-drying and tested.
Underwear: Secure, quick-drying and built to minimise chafing and ride-up.
Shorts: Tested with your full fuel setup.
Singlet: Lightweight, breathable and comfortable when wet.
Anti-chafe: Applied before you need it.
Hat + sunglasses: Secure and tested.
Sunscreen: Sweat-resistant.
Fuel: Exactly as you've practised it.
The Best Marathon Kit Is the Kit You Forget About
Your gear doesn't need to make you faster. It just needs to stay out of the way of the training that has.
Test everything. Change nothing. And on race morning, put it on and forget about it.
Over 42.2km, unnoticed is exactly how good running gear should feel.