So I've been telling other people (and myself) for a little while that I'm never going to do a full marathon as I don't have the time to train for it. But I decided this morning that I'm kidding myself and I really want to see if I have it in me to complete one, so I'm going to find one to enter.
So I've spent my lunch break finding the right one to enter, which is not necessarily the easiest or quickest, but it's in a place that means a lot to me and I know that will keep me going better than a nice flat road race. It's at the end of May. I've also this lunchtime updated my training plan just to prove to myself that it's possible on paper at least. I've got 2 trail HMs built into the plan as well.
So two reasons for making this post. Firstly, I don't want to tell any people I actually know about this. I'd actually rather no one notice and just disappear off one day, so this feels like a safe place to post as along with wanting to keep this secret, I also want to shout from the roof tops about it 🤣
Secondly, I would be really interested to know what people's longest training run was before their first marathon? I've found plenty of training plans and I think I have a sensible plan of what to aim for, but I'm just interested in real experiences from people and what they managed?
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R4inbow
Ultramarathon
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Ooh, go you! Good luck keeping your secret 😍. I'm still saying never - and pretty certain I'm not kidding myself either - so I can't help with your question, but I can definitely wish you luck and happy training.
I'm not sure if I'll keep it a secret all the way, maybe if I feel a bit more confident as I'm training I will let it slip to a few people! But so far I'm a long way from feeling that confident.
That's exciting! Are you not even going to tell US which marathon it is???
You don't have to of course 😄😄😄
Before my first marathon my longest run was 35 km, aka 22 miles. 32 km (20 miles) is probably the most common distance for the longest run, but some training plans have shorter ones. Most do not go as far as the full distance because it is thought that to do so courts injury, but you may have noticed that Jeff Galloway's does - Jeff's run-walk strategies are designed with injury mitigation in mind.
Haha, I did think that. I may share it nearer the time, I'll see how I feel.
Thanks for sharing what you did. I have two 32km runs in my plan, the first being 9 weeks before, so that gives me plenty of scope if things go wrong to have run that kind of distance.
That was my reasoning. Just to see if I could. I searched for one I liked the look of and signed up. I chose one I thought was easiest logistically as well as FLAT 😃
I ran 20 miles just once in training. My training plan was 20 weeks 🙂
The run I've picked isn't flat, but neither is where I live so my training runs should have a similar amount of hills. Hoping I won't regret picking a run that's not so flat nearer the time.
I have 28 weeks (plus the rest of this week) including two HMs which I think are more challenging routes than the marathon - so I'm hoping that's sufficient time. But I guess I won't know until nearer the time.
The cut off for the marathon is 10 hours and I walked a much hillier version last year in 11, so I hope that as long as I'm reasonable in my expectations as to what I will achieve I will get to the end.
Really appreciate you sharing your thoughts and any tips though, thanks 😊😊. I completely agree, nice and slowly is the best approach to hills!
I pulled in several races during my training as I do enjoy them, and it’s good to have fun 🙂
My cut off point for my first marathon was approx six hours, or as soon as the light went As soon as light was lost that was it - game over It took me 5:59 I ran/walked it, and had planned to do so. It seemed strange walking from 2k but it worked and I was good at the end and afterwards. I did a looser run/walk strategy last year. This year my marathon is a week later so it could get dark earlier. We start at 9.00 am so hopefully I’ll get round in time. 🤞
I always seem to have a hill to confront when training near home but slow is ok by me “Small steps, small steps”, I chant as I climb 🙂 🙂
Good luck with the training I like a formal plan and try to stick to it at all costs If it’s on the plan it gets done ✅😃
Like roseabi, I went up to 22miles in training. However, I think this one depends on your speed, because it has been said that you do not make gains going over 3-3.5hrs ish. I don’t know, but I can understand that at that point glycogen stores are getting low so it takes more recovery time after these runs. So look at a few plans and see what suits you really. Fantastic idea to sign up and do it - hardly anyone knows I did one as I kept it quiet too, apart from on here 😁. Good luck and have a great time!
A tad over 32 km in my case. Then the day you hit 32.2km ask yourself "Can I run 9.99km more?" Also run the actual event as an extreme jog with the aim just to finish and don't even think about times and pace etc. Worked for me. Expect to feel like you might die around 38-40km but be cheered by the realisation that you you're now so close that can crawl the last few km if need be. Only (half) kidding
Hello, secret marathoner! I am running my first marathon (London) at the end of April. Like you, I thought I would keep it to myself but I have come out and am now open about it. Partly because I reckon I need the support and partly because I am running it to raise money for the hospital where I am a cancer patient, so need the publicity for sponsorship. I understand entirely that lack of confidence and wish to keep it to yourself, but I have found people have been nothing but brilliant. When someone asks me about time or goals, I simply reply that, for me, it is about completing the same day I start. When someone offers to cheer me on, I thank them and reassure them it won't be an early start given the length of time I am likely to take. I am managing expectations!
I ran the Royal Parks HM last month and trained to the full distance, but everyone tells me not to do that for the marathon. I am working to the 'Non-Runners Marathon Trainer'
book because I like the tone and approach. Their plan only goes to 18 miles, but I have adapted it and hope to run 21 miles for reasons of confidence and because I have longer to train than they plan for in number of weeks. I am reading around the subject voraciously and no one recommends much more than 22 miles so I am trusting that all these experts agreeing is more reliable than my own anxiety and I will follow instructions!
I am looking forward to following your progress hugely. Wishing you all the good runs and increasing confidence over the next few months!
My husband just caught me looking at the 'Non-Runners Marathon Trainer' book on amazon after seeing your post and said 'why are you looking at that, you're a runner'. It made me smile a lot! I wonder if I'll ever consider myself a runner
What I love about the book, which I treat as my bible, is that it is committed to the idea that everyone can be a runner and a marathoner even, but is also absolutely for those who have never run a marathon before. Quite a lot of the cohort they follow through training in the book had been running recreationally, but they were all new to 26.2 miles. I also love the emphasis on the mental and the physical in the training. Week 3 for me and so far, so good.
I hope your training is going well. Still keeping your secret!
Your secret us safe with us 😁. My longest training run was 34k on a 20 week plan. I think its between 32 and 34 in many plans. Best of luck with your training! If you are factoring the hills into your training then that should help. That last 10k is brutal as I’m sure you know.
Ha! I've not been one to tell everyone about either of my marathons either! I didn't keep them completely secret but only mentioned them if someone asked about my running.
For this years marathon my two longest training runs were 21-22 miles, with a few 16-19 mile runs preceding these. For me getting to 21-22 miles was important psychologically to feel I'd got close to the full marathon distance. I think a longest run of around 18-19 miles might be enough to get marathon ready. Good luck!
hahaha. its funny how we keep things to ourselves (guilty secrets, when actually its a fantastic thing to shout about! ) but yep, i'm with you and I probably wouldn't tell many people except my wonderful VRB's on here.
I've never got that far so cant offer any advice. Good luck with it and keep us posted
I only ever run longer distances on my own as l have no interest in group or organised events, whatsoever. I ran the whole marathon alone and the last run before l covered it was around 32 or so km. Now I'm doing my own training for the second attempt and it's pretty much freestyle. I normally decide how long I'll run once l start running depending on how l feel. No rules!
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