Photo by Skip Lawrence Marathon runner Beth Weisborn, with baby Emery, 6 months, talks about her personal rituals before running a marathon after checking in for the Frederick Marathon at Harry Grove Statdium on Saturday afternoon.

But the runners also have their own rituals to ensure they are prepared for race day.

"I'm very strict about what I eat," said Dale Woodring of Bel Air.

The day before a race, he always eats a big plate of spaghetti, takes a hot bath, does some light stretching, takes some Tylenol PM and goes to bed.

"(The Frederick Marathon) is the one I've been training very hard for," Woodring said. "It's a great event."

Race day he smothers his feet in Vaseline to prevent blisters and walks just before the race. While most runners sprint, he prefers to walk to keep his energy up.

Woodring also has a very strict training partner -- his 11-year-old labrador, Selah. Whenever it has been a couple days and he has not run, she will nose him into running.

Woodring, wearing an orange shirt and LiveStrong bracelet, brought Selah, adorned in an orange jacket with a LiveStrong bracelet clipped to her collar, to registration for the marathon Saturday.

"She's my training buddy," he said.

Lynn Richardson of Hampstead always runs a race with her daughter Beth Weisenborn of Gettysburg, Pa.

The pair have run in the Frederick Marathon every year. This year they are running the relay and brought Weisenborn's two children -- 2-year-old Aiden and 6-month-old Emery to cheer them on.

Richardson said she always eats a bowl of oatmeal and has a cup of coffee prior to a race. Weisenborn has some sushi and a Guinness beer the night before.

"That's my daughter for you!" Richardson said laughing.

Ryan Foster of Bowie also has a pre-race routine.

"I get a lot of rest," he said. "I make sure to eat a lot of carbohydrates."

Lucy Halse of New Jersey said she really doesn't have many pre-race rituals besides eating dry cereal and drinking water.

"I listen to music," she said. "Anything to get me going."