With the London Marathon just days away, a woman from London who ran the race for the first time in 2025 has shared three mistakes she made while running to help others avoid the same errors.
Record-Breaking Event
The London Marathon ranks among the most celebrated marathon events on the planet, drawing thousands of participants to the iconic capital city each year. The 2025 TCS London Marathon smashed a new world record for the greatest number of finishers in a marathon, with 56,640 runners crossing the finish line. This eclipsed the previous record of 55,646, which had been set by the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon. With over 840,000 people entering the ballot for the 2026 race, there is every chance yet another record could be on the cards.
First-Time Runner's Candid Advice
Given these staggering figures, there are bound to be plenty of first-time marathon runners lining up on Sunday. To lend a helping hand, one woman who tackled the London Marathon for the very first time in 2025 has opened up about the three mistakes she made along the way, hoping to steer fellow runners away from repeating them. Taking to TikTok, London-based Carla Casadei, founder of Casadei Foods, candidly shared the three mistakes she made and how others might avoid them.
"I survived my first marathon, but I made so many mistakes," she admitted in her video. She went on to explain each of her errors, in the hope that fellow marathon runners would not find themselves in the same predicament.
1. Wearing a Running Vest
"The first one, it was this vest," Carla explained while displaying the running vest she had layered over her t-shirt. She revealed she had completed all her training sessions wearing that particular vest without encountering any problems. Nevertheless, she pointed out that because the weather had been exceptionally warm on marathon day, water had been sprayed over all participants, with Carla also dousing herself to stay cool. This additional moisture caused the vest to become significantly heavier than usual. "This was weighing like five kilos," Carla stated. "It was so heavy." As an alternative, she advises marathon runners to swap the vest for a belt, which can still carry your essentials but will not become weighed down when damp.
2. Wearing a Running Belt
"And these little belts," Carla went on while demonstrating a running belt that held her marathon bib. "Don't even bother." She described how during the marathon, the belt begins rotating around your body, consequently shifting the bib from the front to your side or back. As an alternative, she suggested simply fastening your bib with pins the conventional way, as this creates fewer difficulties while running.
3. Not Using Gels
"But I think, the worst mistake of it all, don't laugh, I didn't want to use gels," Carla confessed. Runners generally rely on energy gels to restore glycogen reserves during extended runs exceeding 90 minutes, in order to sustain high-intensity output, avoid "hitting the wall" with extreme exhaustion, and stabilise blood sugar levels. Nevertheless, Carla explained she was seeking a 'healthier' option. "So there was me and my little dates," she revealed, displaying footage of herself running the marathon while munching on a fresh date. Consequently, Carla reported she had nearly passed out, acknowledging there is a valid reason gels are so widely used. "On marathon day, just stick to the basics, just have your gels, take for every 5k after every 10k, just really the bare minimum, because what you need the most is to be free so you can run at your best," she advised.
By sharing these three mistakes, Carla hopes to help first-time marathon runners avoid unnecessary difficulties and enjoy their race experience to the fullest.
