Last Sunday I ran the last 14k of the Toronto Marathon course, and today I did the first two-thirds of the Mississauga Marathon course, both at race pace.

I will be running Toronto on May 5th but both races go on that day, with start lines a mere 25k apart. But that’s another story.

It is fun to do your big races in exotic locations – my last marathon was in Las Vegas, starting down the strip with a stampede of Elvises. But if you’re looking to run a Boston-qualifying time like I am, and think it will be tight, it’s probably best to find a fast course close to home that you can get to know. Toronto, with a net 105m drop and a flat last half, does that for me.

Pre-running part of your race course at race pace has three main advantages:

Pacing: what is the impact of long, fast downhills early in the race, when you should be saving energy for later? Run it and find out! Mississauga’s course profile is similar to Toronto’s and I found those quick stretches not as taxing as I had feared. So if I’m running an equivalent pace early in the race I will be confident it’s sustainable.

Confidence-Building: I suppose there’s always a risk that a long race-pace session can backfire, and that you can be demoralized by failing to meet your expected goal. But if that’s the case I’d rather know and adjust (if necessary) rather than have an unpleasant surprise on race day. And in fact, if your training has been consistent, you should be on track. Today I finished a good two minutes ahead of target pace, and most importantly, with plenty of fight left for the last third of the marathon. This is very different from the Around the Bay 30k three weeks ago, which I finished with nothing left to offer. Now I feel ready!

Visualization: I have run the flat out-and-back 14k between Ontario Place and the Humber River, and that lakefront landscape will be playing through my mind constantly until race day. I imagine myself hanging in through the toughest part (heading away from the finish line), then turning back for the last 7k, grabbing a last gel, and defending the time advantage I’ve worked to build.

And finishing ahead of my goal pace with a smile.