For a five-mile race, all that's really required is to rest up a bit. You can continue your running schedule, but ease up. You might take off a day before, but more than that isn't necessary.

Keep eating what you've been eating. There's no need to "carbo load" for a five mile race. That's for races more than about 20 miles. (Technically a marathon is 26.2 miles; not all running races are marathons.)

Get plenty of sleep, and be well hydrated.

On race day, wear what you've been wearing all along; don't get new shoes or clothes for the race. Bring your confirmation printed out so that you can show it to the people at registration. (Pre-registering is better; you don't want to go through the hassle of handling money the day of the race.)

I like to set out everything I need the night before, so there aren't any decisions to make. Races are often held early in the morning, especially long ones. Eat an ordinary breakfast for you; don't fast or eat something unusual.

Be sure to warm up. Experts differ about the value of stretching, but they all agree on warming up.

I doubt it will be cold, so you don't have to worry about what to do with warm-up clothing. Some people like to wear garbage bags to the start of a race, so you can just throw them away when you start running.

Run at your own speed. You've been training, it's easy to set out too fast. Pick your pace; if you still have energy in the last miles, pick it up then.

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