The assistant sub-inspector with CISF had one vada pav and she prays that her disciplined system doesn't eject this unscheduled entry. "It is not advisable to have more of such spicy stuff on eve of a marathon," she says as she goes on to explain her fraternity's ordeal in maintaining the delicate input/output ratio of their body on marathon eve.

It isn't just a metabolism concern but mentally draining too. "I'm can't sleep tonight, It is just not possible," says the woman who had just finished 3rd at the Mawana Sugars Mills marathon in Delhi last month.

Fifty-year-old Subhash Chandra Khatri, who won the under-55 category title for the last two years, too speaks about the 40 winks that he might be lucky to catch tonight. "I tried to have as much sleep as I can in the last 24-hours since I know I will not be able to sleep tonight," he says.

Khatri speaks about the ideal balance one aspires for while maintaining a stomach empty and at the same time have enough carbohydrates in the body to last the distance. "Frequent visits to the toilet through the night are very normal," he says. The problem recurs even during the day as Khatri confesses that there have been cases when he has to relieve himself while running.

But both runners are of the view that the toughest phase of the marathon is the 12 kms. "Every part of the body starts to give up. During the last kilometers it is only the will to complete that takes you through," says Khatri.