I am finding lately that it takes me time to get up to pace... about 2-3 miles. What do you think about warmingup for a marathon? My thoughts used to be, save energy for the race, but now I am leaning towards maybe a 1 mile warmup at least. signed OverThinkingIt

The Flying Pig start line was about 1 mile from the hotel. It turned out to be pretty much an ideal warm-up distance.

I run a couple of miles before racing, although I'll admit the warmup doesn't get quite as intense as it does before other distances.

What would you gauge your pace was relative to your ability... my warm-up was barely fast enough to actually be running.

Personally, just a few minutes of limbering up and some short strideouts at race pace are all that's needed. Then the first mile or so of the race will get you warmed up. I usually feel a little stiff for the first mile or two, but I don't lose any time. FWIW I watched the Olympic Marathon Trials in NYC last year and that's what they were doing before the start--easy jogs with short strideouts at what looked to me to be race pace. I certainly would not run a mile or more before a marathon. There's a theory that some runners follow called "cutbacks". That means that you deliberately start slower. So if you plan to run at 8-minute pace, you would run the first mile in 8:30, the second mile at 8:20, the third at 8:10, then the rest at about 7:57 to make up the minute. I've done this and feel like it really works, rather than running 8:00 pace from the start, which feels uncomfortable in the first mile or two, at least to me. Not that I've ever run a marathon at 8:00 pace, but you get the point.

thanks folks.