First HM done 😁😁 more advice please

[bubblebird123]

Good morning...I completed my first ever race and HM last week. I am over the moon, throughly loved it.

I am definitely planning to enter another next spring but wondering if I have it in me to complete a full marathon.

I will be 52 next year and have regular niggles and nervous whether I can complete a full and also the time commitment to training. The most I can do is 3 runs a week

Any advice will be more than welcome...either convince me to give it a go or a more serious think 🤔

[roseabi Ultramarathon]

Congratulations!!! I have awarded you your Half Marathon virtual badge xxx

I am 52, have regular niggles, usually run no more than 3 times a week (often less!), and I have completed 6 marathons!! So there you go 😁

If you would like to try a marathon, go for it 😊😊😊

[nowster Metric Marathon]

Congratulations! 👍🏆🏅

I'm a similar age, and similarly didn't start running before summer last year (I'm not counting the two false starts in the spring).

I completed a half marathon distance last month (solo). I know I could extend beyond that, but I don't know if I want to at the moment. One problem is the time commitment, needing to set aside a good 3-4 hours or more for the long run (and all the associated faffing about).

My current plan is to consolidate at distances between 10 km and HM, at least until I have done my first paid-for race next weekend. I might then have the Metric Marathon (26.22 km) as a future target. Never say never, though!

If you have the intention, definitely go for it. It's certainly possible to double your distance safely if you have three months or more to do it in.

[Cmoi Marathon]

I started C25K in mid-May 2020 and completed a trail marathon (Trail du Gévaudan) three weeks ago, just before my 61st birthday. So it can certainly be done.

However, do think carefully about the training commitment and how you'll fit it in with your other commitments. Most of my preparation coincided with my busiest time at work and there was no way I could manage five runs a week over 16 weeks, as per my chosen plan. So I spread it over a little more than five months and aimed to run four times a week, though sometimes it was just twice.

Also, because mine was a fairly technical, hilly (1835m elevation gain) trail event, my pace was very slow and my longest training runs took 3.5 - 4.5 hours. Finding time to do that over the summer, when temperatures were soaring (I'm in France) wasn't easy, and also required a lot of patience from my husband!

So yes, by all means go for it, but be aware that it's not the same - in my opinion - as getting to HM distance. I managed HM and then metric marathon distance solo with no plan or proper training at all, months before I started marathon training. I found that getting properly ready for a marathon was much more demanding, but fabulously rewarding when I achieved it.

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Congratulations on your Half marathon!!! I'm sure you can run a full marathon with three runs a week, so long as you want to! I have completed just one marathon and didn't spend anything like as long on training for it as I should have - but I still did it! Not fast. Not elegant. But completed all the same and without an onerous training load. With careful planning you can definitely do it!