I've always ran with compression shorts and vest on and never had sore\chaffed anythings so I would recommend trying them.
I also use gels on my longer runs and do think they help towards the end of a marathon, but as Cosmic says you do need to get used to them well before ( months even ) the big day. One downside is I find that they make my dodgy stomach worse. Never had to go the loo on an actual marathon but have always crossed the line whilst clenching. And god help the person who uses loo after me.
I think I was unusual in actually running the full marathon distance in my own training prior to the actual proper marathon day. I did this purely for mental reasons as I didn't want to get to say 23m on the day and think "I've never been further than this". Although on the big day I was 30 mins off my target so who knows ! The next year I trained up to 20m and went on to hit my target.
I also use gels on my longer runs and do think they help towards the end of a marathon, but as Cosmic says you do need to get used to them well before ( months even ) the big day. One downside is I find that they make my dodgy stomach worse. Never had to go the loo on an actual marathon but have always crossed the line whilst clenching. And god help the person who uses loo after me.
I think I was unusual in actually running the full marathon distance in my own training prior to the actual proper marathon day. I did this purely for mental reasons as I didn't want to get to say 23m on the day and think "I've never been further than this". Although on the big day I was 30 mins off my target so who knows ! The next year I trained up to 20m and went on to hit my target.
