Marathon packing list: the race-day checklist, bag by bag

You have trained for months. The worst way to lose a marathon is to find out at 5 a.m. that your gels are on the kitchen counter, your watch is dead and the race won't take the backpack you brought. This packing list exists to stop that.

It is built the way race day actually runs: what you lay out the night before, what you put on in the morning, what goes into the gear-check bag, what you need after the finish, and what to pack if you're flying in. Print it, tick it off, and go race. It works for a half marathon too, with less fuel.

How to use this list

Lay everything out on the floor the night before, in the groups above. Seeing it in piles shows you what's missing in seconds, and it means race morning is only getting dressed and eating.

Three rules cover most of it:

• Nothing new on race day. Shoes, socks, shorts, sports bra, breakfast, gels: all of it should have been through at least one long run. The marathon is a bad place to find out where a new seam rubs.
• Pack for the weather at the start, not the weather at noon. At a big race you can spend a long time in the start area and the corral before you cross the line. That's what throwaway layers are for.
• Pin your bib the night before. It goes on the front of your top where it can be seen. If you're switching tops in the morning, use a race belt.

If you are still working out how much to eat in the days before, our guides on what to eat the day before a marathon and carb loading go into it.

What to wear and carry in the race

Keep it short. Everything you carry, you carry for 26.2 miles.

On you: broken-in shoes, the socks you do long runs in, shorts or tights, a top with your bib on it, a hat or visor if it's sunny, and sunglasses if you train in them. Anti-chafe balm goes anywhere that rubs on long runs: feet, inner thighs, underarms, the sports bra line. Many runners also cover their nipples with tape or covers.

Fuel: the gels or chews you trained with, in the number your plan calls for, plus one spare. Check which drink and gel the race serves on course; if your stomach hasn't tried it, carry your own.

Hydration: big road marathons usually have frequent aid stations; check your race's course map. If you want to carry water, check the rules first, because they differ a lot. The Boston Marathon prohibits personal hydration systems such as CamelBaks and any sort of vest with pockets or water bladders, but allows a standard fuel belt with bottles of one liter or smaller (B.A.A. info for athletes). The Chicago Marathon, for example, does not permit CamelBaks or any hydration pack or running vest with a hydration bladder, but does allow running vests with front pocket carry, fuel belts, handheld bottles and soft flasks (Chicago Marathon rules and safety). So a vest that's fine in Chicago is not allowed in Boston.

Pace: a pace band or a note of your goal splits. Our marathon pace chart and marathon splits calculator will give you the numbers to write on it.

Phone and ID: a phone, photo ID and a card fit in a belt or a shorts pocket. They are the things you most want after the finish and the things races tell you not to put in gear check.

Throwaway clothes for the start

Big-city marathons can have you at the start long before the gun. On a cold morning that's a long time to stand still in race kit.

The fix is old clothes you are happy never to see again: a sweatshirt, sweatpants you can step out of, cheap gloves, a hat. A large trash bag with a hole for your head blocks wind and rain and weighs nothing. You take the layers off in the corral or in the first mile and leave them at the side, where races collect them.

Races usually donate what's left behind, but don't count on getting anything back:

• The Boston Marathon says clothing you won't wear in the race must be discarded in Hopkinton and will be donated to a local charitable organization (B.A.A. info for athletes).
• The Chicago Marathon asks runners to put discarded clothing in collection zones marked near and within the start corrals, and says clothing discarded at the start will not be made available after the race (Chicago Marathon participant information).

So nothing with sentimental value, and nothing with your name or address on it.

How marathon gear check works

Gear check is the race's bag storage. You hand over a bag before the start and collect it after the finish. (An ultra's drop bag is different: it waits for you partway along the course.) It's where your dry clothes, shoes and snack live while you run.

At large US marathons such as Boston and Chicago, the rules follow a similar pattern:

• You use the race's bag, not yours. Packet pickup gives you a clear plastic bag, and that's the only bag gear check will take.
• The bag is labeled for you. At Chicago, for example, a gear-check tag comes on your bib and you move it to the bag.
• No valuables. Races are not responsible for what's in the bag.
• There is a pickup deadline. At Chicago, bags not picked up by 4 p.m. are moved to a room at the Hilton Chicago.
• Big bags are banned from the race area. Backpacks and rolling bags often can't come in at all, so plan what you carry to the start.

Smaller races are often more relaxed and take any bag, or have no gear check at all. That's why the only rule that matters is your own race's participant guide. Read it the week before and again the night before.

Example: Boston Marathon

From the B.A.A.'s info for athletes page, which at the time of writing covers the 2027 race:

• No bags other than the clear plastic gear bag provided by the B.A.A. are accepted at gear check.
• Do not check any valuables.
• Runners get a separate small one-gallon plastic Start Area Bag at number pickup. It's the only bag allowed on the buses or in Hopkinton.
• Gear check is in Boston, at designated areas on Boylston Street and Berkeley Street beyond the finish line. No bags are transported from the start in Hopkinton to the finish in Boston.
• The prohibited items list includes backpacks, anything similar carried over the shoulder, handbags of any size, any container that holds more than one liter of liquid, personal hydration systems, and any vest with pockets or water bladders.

In practice that means two bags at Boston: the gear-check bag with your post-race clothes, which stays in Boston, and the small Start Area Bag with whatever you need while you wait in Hopkinton.

Example: Chicago Marathon

From the Bank of America Chicago Marathon's participant information page:

• You must use your race-issued clear plastic participant bag. No other bags are accepted.
• Remove the gear check tag from your bib and attach it to the bag.
• Your gear check area is set by the color at the top and bottom of your bib.
• Don't check valuables such as wallets, money, jewelry, cell phones, cameras, or music or electronic devices.
• All bags must be picked up by 4 p.m. on race day.

The rules and safety page also lists large bags (backpacks, suitcases and rolling bags) as prohibited in Grant Park and on the course, and everyone entering Grant Park goes through security screening.

Rules change from year to year. Treat these as examples of how big races do it, and check your own race's current guide.

What to put in the gear-check bag

Think about the you who has just finished: cold, stiff, a bit dazed, and hungry.

• A dry shirt and a warm layer. You cool down fast once you stop.
• Dry socks and comfortable shoes or sandals.
• A snack and a drink you know you can stomach.
• Wet wipes or a small towel.
• A plastic bag for wet kit.

Pack it the night before, label it the way your race tells you, and don't add anything you'd be upset to lose.

After the finish

The finish area is crowded and you won't be thinking clearly, so decide the plan in advance.

• Agree on a meeting spot. Phones can be slow near big finishes. Pick a landmark or a family meeting area and a time.
• Keep moving. Walk through the finish chute, take the water and food, and get a warm layer on.
• Get your bag before the deadline. At Chicago, for example, it's 4 p.m. on race day.
• Eat and drink. Many runners go for something with carbs and protein once their stomach allows.
• Look after your feet. Clean socks and an adhesive bandage on any blister. If something hurts in a way that isn't normal tiredness, go to the medical tent; they're there for exactly that.

If you are traveling to the race

A destination marathon adds a few things to the list:

• Carry on what you can't replace. Race shoes and race kit go in your carry-on. Most other things can be replaced at the expo or a local store.
• Bring breakfast with you. Hotel breakfasts often start too late on race morning. Pack the bagel, oatmeal or bar you trained with.
• Pack for any weather. A rain jacket and something warm for the start, even if the forecast looks fine.
• Bring what packet pickup asks for. Usually a photo ID and a confirmation email or code; your race's guide will say exactly what. Remember that at races with clear-bag gear check, the bag itself comes from packet pickup.

Half marathon gear checklist

Everything above applies to a half marathon with two changes. You need less fuel, so carry what you practiced with on your longest runs rather than a marathon's worth. And because you're out for a shorter time, your post-race bag can be lighter. The gear-check rules are set by the race, not the distance, so read the participant guide just as carefully.

The night-before check

Before you go to bed, run through these five questions:

1. Is my bib pinned on, with the chip attached?
2. Are my watch and phone charging?
3. Is my fuel in the pocket I'll race with?
4. Is the gear-check bag packed, labeled and by the door?
5. Do I know exactly how I'm getting to the start, and when?

If all five are yes, the hard part is done. The rest is 26.2 miles.