I'm struggling to get my head around the marathon distance. It seems so difficult to compute I wonder how people manage to get there head around it. It really feels like such a mountain to climb.. Do people have to treat it as a one off, ie not something they do on a weekly basis .
Struggling to actually explain my query, but wondering how people came to terms with the marathon distance when training to do their first one? I can sort of see myself doing 22,24,26k but anything past that seems immense and frankly quite off-putting
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pinkaardvark
Half Marathon
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That's a really good question. And I don't know the answer, never having done more than a half. That said, when I was cycling long distances it was helpful to break the ride into stages, and that's kind of what I did with the half; Get to five miles and see how I feel, I know I can do five miles. Get there, and, well, another five is do-able. Then it's only a park run to go. Once you've done the mileage in training it's a lot easier too. And my coach is saying we're not going to be training to marathon distance, so some kind of strategy is going to help.
That is a good way to look at it for sure! Although I have to tell you, when I have got to the last 5k of a marathon and people in the crowd are telling me there's "only a parkrun" left to go I do grimace a bit 🤣
Each time I've trained for a marathon I've built up my long run to a final 20 mile run (or 22-miler once) - as I'm sure you know, most trainers/training plans do not recommend running the full 26.2 miles in one go before the marathon itself. My 20 mile route is really lovely, but the first time I ran it I very carefully did not think too much about the extra 10K I'd need to do on the day But then I ran my marathon and after that I knew I could do it. And I knew that I wanted to do it again. That's the key I suppose... if you want to run a marathon then you run one!
But then to me the long run isn't off-putting, it's an exciting adventure! And each time I've done that 20 mile route it's seemed a little easier to be honest But don't get me wrong, a marathon is a helluva slog!!
Like andystev I have only done half a marathon too, but driving the race route the day before it seemed ridiculous to think I would be running that far and it sacred me a little. That said, I commute past my most common 5k run (route which is an out and back) daily, and for months after completing C25k even it I had just run it that morning I would drive past and feel astounded that I was actually able to run that distance.
Move forward to my HM training and setting out on a 10 mile run I was convinced for the first three miles that I would never make it and I would be wlaking home, because 10 miles seemed too far. But make it I did. As has been said I think you need to break the route into segments into your head
It is a part mental thing, and I think of it in terms of segments. The distance doesn't put me off, the thing that can stop me is simply physical - cramp, fatigue, a violent bird smashing into my face sort of thing, etc. The distance itself is just a figure (I keep telling myself..). I always ignore mental challenges, they can really annoy me. Just tell your brain to go away for a few hours.
I haven't done one yet, I'm in the process of training for York in October. This weekend was the middle one of three when I had to run 20k so for it, the previous one and hopefully the run weekend coming I've done/doing 21.1k because it's a shame not too! However, the rest I am running to plan (apart from the extra 4x5k I'm doing in July to get July mileage to over 160k).
Your plan is hardcore! I'm sticking with doing 3 runs a week and the longest, nearer the date, is 32k. To be honest I don't think too much (ask my husband 😄) it's a case of plan says this so do it. I'm hoping that will work on the day.
hardcore because of the 5 runs? Yes I agree, I may well drop down to the beginner plan as it get's tougher and also fully intend to spread it all out with some breaks and repeat weeks. As I am not at this moment targeting a specific event I just want to experience the training and the longer runs and get myself into shape to cope with them well. Good luck with your training
Thanks. I'm taking the leisurely route to get there. I started an Asics training plan at the end of Jan to start getting regular Kms in my legs and went into 'real' training end of June. I'm a distance person and once started keep going but speedy I'm not. Just hoping to finish the marathon in one piece, on the same day as everyone else!
Complex stuff and from a novice perspective who has not completed an HM yet.
Googling stuff for a while,lead by your post.
If you need to get an appreciation of the distance get mechanically mobile.🤔
Just a thought,convert the distance into time and think of it also in periods of time.🤔
I am so slow at 10 mins/ km a HM is 3 hours: 30 mins.🙈😂 Yet to do it.So no option for me but to think in time.🤔
Also read a very complex statistical analysis and formulae in predicting your HM performance and training performance into your expected on the day result.Not applicable for me🙈😂.But info for you perhaps.🤔
Maybe thought, if not interesting, at least reassure your own knowledge and estimates/ calculations to think about overall time and therefore the breakdown of that time.🤔
Atb Mike,I was unable to find anything on your precise line of thought.🤔Any amount on complex physcological stuff.🙈
Wish I had the running experience and knowledge.🙈
From a day in the mountains perspective all chords struck by the replies and advice on here.
TBH never thought about until your post and my snails HM preparation.💥🏃♂️💥
It is a long way. But I told myself that I once thought running 5k was a long way. And then I thought 10k was a long way. Then a half marathon. So a full marathon was just the next step. I built the distance up in training in 2 mile increments from hm distance until I got to 22 miles. Breaking the run into segments helps.
That makes sense. As I have only done a HM distance once, it is still quite alien to me, hopefully once I have some more 20+ runs behind me it will seem more achievable.
They’re not for everyone though. I have a neighbour who is a really excellent club runner, but he ran one marathon and says he never would again because “they’re too hard”. However, his motivation is different to mine. He likes to run fast, to “put on a bit of a show”. A bit of sport with his team mates sorta thing.
I don’t have anyone to impress and was doing it simply as it was just another distance to nail. Having done it I want to do an ultra. We just keep seeing how far we can go I suppose. Or not, as the case may be 🙂
I ran/walked it and finished in good condition. I managed 33k in training but in future I wouldn’t run beyond three hours. My marathon took me nearly six hours. Not the four hours I had projected based on my half marathon times. Projections are one thing. Reality is something else all together 😬
I was 60 though 🙂. If you’re much younger it probably won't take you as long. I am doing another one in November. The training for my marathon was done in better weather than for my February half marathon. My HM training was therefore mentally much tougher. I gave myself four months to train and pulled in a half marathon the month before.
Thanks for the in depth reply. I am training for it, and I guess that's the only way I will discover whether it is for me. I do like the longer running and the challenge, I guess I just need to see how I feel past the HM distance and up into the 30's. I'm guessing if you projected a 4 hour marathon you must have been running a sub 2 hour HM. I'm not sure i'm anywhere near that so would be worried about running over 4 hours never mind 6 . I guess if I stick on the plan to 32 I will be better able to judge what that looks like.
Yes, I was just under a two hour half, so you’d think four hours ish for a marathon, but it didn’t pan out that way
If you like long runs then you’d be ok mentally. If you do the training runs then you’d be prepared physically as far as you could be 🙂 The conditions on the day would come into play but you have no control over those, aside from wearing the right gear. I had really stiff hips in training, towards the end, and I seized up in training 😬. I bought some merino under crackers to wear on the day 😁
I knew I wanted to do one and I did Paris as my first. The long training runs are an adventure and I’ve done new routes since my first so it doesn’t get boring. On long runs i chunk it up into 5k’s and have a treat after each one. On my longest one I wrote the 5ks on a bit of paper and ate a hole through after each 5k. The first one was tough but when I did Brighton a year later I trained more and my plan was to finish strong and unbroken so I didn’t go hell for leather to get a PB. I knew my main aim was to keep running and my aim now w is always to be strong enough to walk out the door and run at least a HM if I wanted to and I know I can. I’d say slow your king runs down and find fun new routes etc. I used to get my sister to join me on her roller boots and that made it really good fun as I had to keep catching her etc and we had a lot of fun. Not sure if that helps but your post has given me the desire to do another as it’s been ages!!!
The idea of being able to take on a HM at short notice resonates. I think I'd like that as my base and hope this training program will help consolidate around that goal. I do find the longer runs far easier to approach mentally if they are interesting trail routes. I can just run up the busway near me all the way into cambridge and back for about 25k and if I started at st ives I could probably do nearly 35km on it but it would be the most hellishly boring route imaginable(though great for roller boots hehe)
Sorry I wrote my reply on the park and ride and it’s full of spelling guffs but you get drift. Yes your approach sounds very sensible. Do trails they are so much better I think and never boring!
Have only done a couple of HM's - and they seemed a very long way!!! Maybe don't have much in the way of advice but would just say that although I like to do longer runs off road, always make sure my last couple of runs before an event revert to dull roads to remind me of the tedium and surface. Broke the HM's down to 4 parkruns with a mile in the middle that covers the half way point.
No worry with that around my way, there is a strava segment near me called the roller coaster of doom. Basically a flat 1km stretch with some potholes hehe. I went over a hump back bridge on my last run and doubled my elevation for the run and felt a bit dizzy too
I run over the bmx adventure trail on my trail run route It relieves the monotony 😁. I have The Hill of Death and The Slope of Doom too Swines they are Oh and a chasm 🙄. This terrain can take its toll, so mixing up your routes would be a sensible idea
Strengthening also becomes more important too. 💪. Cross training is going to be on the agenda. The yoga becomes a joy to do 😁
While marathon distance appears challenging, what most novice marathon runners don’t realise that its not just the marathon distance which would be challenging, finding time to train for marathon running would present even bigger challenge. I really struggled to find the right balance between family time and my running time.
Advice given here is fantastic so if you follow that you would be fine. There are ample marathon training plans out there provided you like to have disciplined running, a google search for training plan will return with ample results so pick a plan which suits your lifestyle.
Dont pay attention to marathon distance, set yourself achievable targets, dont be ambitious for your first marathon and more importantly dont get hung up on finishing time either, objective must be to complete the marathon.
Hehe yes it is a challenge. I already have a plan which has 5 run days, I do cardio and weights 4 times a week and then yoga once a week if I can, so 10 activities into 7 days is a squeeze. I'm 5 weeks in and the long run is 20km this week with a weekly total of 50km so starting to get serious. I'm totally prepared to drop down the distance though to a more basic plan if I need to and as i'm not targeting any specific event yet I haven't thought much about times etc. Sub 3 hrs would be nice though
I did a HM in May (02:09:10) and am running the Tallin Marathon on 9 Sept. I've left off running for the last few weeks and my fitness has dipped a bit but am going to get back into the swing from now onwards. I plan to just try for a jogged sub 5hr marathon this first time although I've read that if you "run" it and have trained then you should do 2 x your HM time plus 20mins (04:40:00 ish for me...but I'll try for that some other time). I'm also running with a buddy so may stay together all the way (it's also a party atmosphere as it is the Estonian Centenary celebration etc.). My plan is to "chunk it" as JuJu explained and maybe walk for a minute or two through every water station (5km chunks x 8-9). I plan to do the same in training. It's then "just 8 and a bit 5k jogs" is the way I plan to tackle the mental side.
Haha, this exact question crossed my mind at least three times on my long run on Sunday! I love all these answers though, they're both practical and encouraging and I plan to copy them all down somewhere.
That kind of distance seems so far away from any of my capabilities and yet a half marathon seemed far away a month or two ago, and you know same as me that it's now—well, not easy, but doable. Of course a huge part of it is physical, and it seems it will take an exponential amount of effort and time to go beyond the half distance, but so much of it must be psychological too, perhaps arguably a greater portion?
I worry about boredom mostly, along with the fact there aren't enough hours in the day to train properly. A colleague of mine does fifty milers and a while ago I asked him about the boredom side of things and he said (like others above) that he splits his run into chunks—a podcast, an audio book, a playlist—and that both keeps him entertained and also gives him the feeling of progression, like chapters. It's curious I didn't think to ask him about how he trains physically, oddly that's the bit I feel least concerned about, though I'm still very far away from marathon distance so that's likely to change!
I think it's safe to say I'll never run fifty miles though. 😵
I'm self-employed, so I was able to train for my two marathons this season (Xmas and April) at my leisure. My main problem was that my long runs were in the bitter cold, which made them a bit harder - like needing to go to the toilet once an hour. I broke the longest runs and the marathons into quarters, which helped. Unfortunately my longest pre-race run was 25 km, thanks to an injury.
Like so many others, the marathon isn't really a test of my physical endurance, but my mental endurance. I definitely haven't mastered it yet, but will have to wait a long time until I can try again.
It's also worth remembering that training for a marathon is a completely different proposition for us slow coaches, whose longest runs are 3+ hours, compared with the speedy folk, whose longest runs are way shorter. What helped me was reading that there's no point in running for more than 3 hours in training because your body will end up needing more time to recover.
I am intending to try a full marathon in July next year - so I have 50 weeks . I have done 3 HM's and the longest longrun I did for that took me 3&1/2 hours. I only want to finish this marathon within cutoff time - which is 6 hours and 20 minutes. I do believe from "race" experience that being in a "race" as opposed to a long slow longrun by yourself forces you onwards and I can't imagine running a longer lonely longrun than 3&1/2 hours - so when the time comes for me to go further than that, I am going to do split runs - something like 3 hours tonight and another 3 hours tomorrow morning It is not "optimal" - but they say that marathon training is all about training yourself to run on very tired legs!!
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. I guess if I stick on the plan to 32 I will be better able to judge what that looks like.
What do you eat the night before a marathon?
🎩 hats 🧢 off to all you marathon runners 
What are you packing for your half marathon?
