Half Marathons V Full Marathons

[AlMorr]

On the website 'Quora' there is a good article saying HM are better for your health than a full marathon, to read it Google "Quora are Half Marsthons better for your health than full Marathons" the author thinks they are.

[Oldgirlruns 10 Miles]

Interesting Al - but I suspect neither would be very good for my health! Think I’ll stick to 5 and 10k! Hope you’re well.

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to Oldgirlruns]

After running/walking 3 Half Marathons from now on like you OGR I won't be running more than 10Ks, I am very well thanks, I ran 5K on Wednesday. 😊

[Freecloud Marathon]

Good read and some good replies from other posters. But I feel that he is stating the obvious.

Running a marathon, involves an awful lot of time, dedication, training and preparation, and that's before the event itself.

Because of my marathon training, I am now at the level where I run a half marathon distance at least once a month and would be able to at a push run one every week at a sensible pace. My body is used to it and my head is in a good place just wondering around and day dreaming. But a marathon is an endurance which goes far beyond what you body, mind and soul wants to do, and when one of them plays up you can almost guarantee that the rest will also start to give out in sympathy 🤣.

I did three marathons last year. I had a spell of terrible insomnia for my first and a complete mind bomber from the halfway point on my second and I finally conquered it on my third attempt. I have also signed up for three more this year and will hopefully do at least two if them (one was in a sale but it's a bit too close to the first one in May).

For me a marathon is my Everest. I know it will take a toll on everything. But that's part of the challenge.

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to Freecloud]

I recently was speaking to a man at a parkrun who had run one marathon but wouldn't run another, he said what you say Freecloud, training for a marathon takes up so much of everything else you do and takes a toll on other things you are supposed to do.

[Comfortnotspeed Marathon in reply to AlMorr]

It really does take over! I’ve signed up for a marathon this year and training eats up the weekends now the long runs are getting longer. The thing is that other distances which might be nicer don’t fit into the long run plan.

I saw a pop up on Instagram saying the event is a celebration of all the work you put in training. I hope that will prove the case.

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to Comfortnotspeed]

Good luck for your marathon plan and run, I am sure that all your training will be a celebration once you have completed that marathon Comfortspeed.

[chrisl72 Half Marathon]

This is an interesting question, thanks Al!

My somewhat tongue-in-cheek response, having read the replies on Quora, is that the run you are actually going to do is the one that is better for you.

Echoing Freecloud a little, the guided runs and coaching I've listened to make the point that it isn't the race per se but all the training up to it that is important and that's difficult to argue with. But on the back of that, and bearing in mind that marathon training plans don't give you a 26 mile run until race day, the fact of completing the occasional full marathon run isn't going to be decisive one way or another for your health, it's what you are doing week-in, week-out.

So arguably following a marathon training plan is likely (all other things being equal) to be quite good for you. Whether it is objectively better than following a HM plan seems to be open to argument - at what point are the returns diminished to the point that more does not equal better?

One of the later comments was canvassing what might be the ideal distance to run and suggested 5-10km. I wonder if there is any definitive research on that?!

Again thank you for the post, been interesting to mull it over and I'm fascinated to see what others with more experience than me have to say!

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to chrisl72]

Interesting post from you chrisl72, certainly I won't be running any marathons ever.

[RunWillie Metric Marathon]

I’m not running a marathon for health reasons. I love this quote “Only those who risk going too far, can possibly find out how far one can go.”- T.S. Elliot

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to RunWillie]

👍 🏃🏾 26 miles ✔️

[TailChaser Marathon in reply to RunWillie]

Yes, this is more or less what I said to  Katnap when we did our HM last weekend. It was a HM like no other I had done before - a road/trail HM. It was horrendously muddy, took us 3 hours and we had heavy rain for the last half hour. Added to that we both had completely the wrong footwear on. I finished it feeling just as I had after the Amsterdam marathon - like I could take on anything! It was horrid, it took ages, but we finished it! If we hadn’t done it we’d never have known. It’s not just marathons where you push yourself to and beyond your perceived limits.

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to TailChaser]

I must congratulate you TailChaser on completing that "horrendously muddy HM", some runs are lovely but others are like that horrible, the bad ones make you appreciate the good runs, not just marathons, but HM and even 10Ks,

[TailChaser Marathon in reply to AlMorr]

Absolutely Al, and the more you run the more you can appreciate that, making the horrid ones almost tolerable. Thank you 🙏

[misswobble Marathon in reply to TailChaser]

Thankfully the horrid ones are outnumbered by the better ones 🙂🙏

[TailChaser Marathon in reply to misswobble]

I’ve got my eye on some proper footwear misswobble, so if it ever happens again I’ll be better prepared. Any excuse for a bit of retail therapy!

[misswobble Marathon in reply to TailChaser]

Go for it! You need to be reliably shod 😀🏃‍♀️👍

I’m pleased with my “winterised”grippy sale jobs. I’m rotating the Pegs and Velocity’s. They’re great on the muddy wet trail, although supposedly road shoes 🙂

I’m going to get some more - looking ahead to a winter marathon.

[TailChaser Marathon in reply to misswobble]

Ordered. Probably why it’s stopped raining 😂

[misswobble Marathon in reply to TailChaser]

Never mind. More will be along shortly 👟🌂🧢☔️🌊💦🏃‍♀️😀

[TailChaser Marathon in reply to misswobble]

You’re probably right!

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

Reading the article, I think that it is saying that the problem with a marathon race is that, run as a speed race, it is at the limits of human endurance in terms of energy utilisation and refuelling for the human body. Ultras run much further, but it is a completely different event in terms of pace, terrain, food, rest etc etc. It shouldn’t put off any VRBs who are planning a Marathon.

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

I doubt if I would ever walk, let alone run a marathon or ultra marathon, just too long for me.

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to AlMorr]

Me too Al. It’s important that we enjoy what we do. Pushing myself to the occasional HM is still an aim, but we will leave Marathons to our younger colleagues. Happy to cheer them on from the sidelines. 👍

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

👍

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to AlMorr]

I should have included those who amazingly still run marathons at my age and beyond…just have to admire them.

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

Not always young, elsewhere there is a report of a 77 year old lady having run her 500th marathon.

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to AlMorr]

Exactly; age is definitely just a number 👍

[TailChaser Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

IMHO, an ultra can be a matter of opinion and capability, saying it should be beyond 26.2 miles is just putting a number against a word. When we started, a parkrun was an ultra.

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to TailChaser]

There is a reservoir not too far away from where I live which I ran, run 3 of week 7 of C25K, altogether it's 5K all around, when I did that run I only ran a bit over 3K but later after I graduated I ran the full 5k all around the reservoir, to many people a walk around it is too long and as you say TailChaser for any one who doesn't run, to them it's like running a ultra although I have never thought running at parkrun is a ultra.

[TailChaser Marathon in reply to AlMorr]

You could pretend it is. Have a quick break and a snack then carry on running… there you go, practically ultra running!

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

I don't know Quora- is it just an open forum for anyone to post? It's an interesting post, with lots of useful information, but I'm not keen on the title which I find a bit sensationalised. Later he states that his point is that 'a half marathon is more within the human body’s fast running parameters than a full marathon' which is slightly different than the inference of his title.

After all, a 5k is less demanding than a 10k, sitting on the couch takes less out of the human body than a 5k - but is the couch better for your health?

I'd hate his title to put folk off!

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Quora is a open forum, you can ask a question such as "Quora should I run a marathon" then it will have a answer regarding running or something associated with running.

[Cmoi Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Quora's a social media website for asking questions and getting answers. I personally wouldn't touch it with a bargepole for credible information.

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to Cmoi]

Good point Cmoi

[nowster Metric Marathon]

My opinion is that a HM is something you can do regularly if you've worked yourself up to it, but a full marathon is something that requires deliberate and careful preparation.

Now, an ultramarathon is a different beast again, with a different technique (and no expectation at all of continuous running).

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to nowster]

I remember Irish John saying a marathon was a beast compared to a half marathon, I suppose you could also say that about an ultra marathon compared to a marathon.

[Cmoi Marathon in reply to nowster]

I'd agree that a typical road marathon is a different beast to an off-road ultra. A trail marathon compared to a trail ultra, not as much.

Also depends on the terrain - nearest trail event to me, organised by a small local running club, is 1000m+ over 24km. Another club offers 1140m+ over 23km, 1880m+ over 37km. A third "technical trail" has 3210m+ over 56km. The Maratrail de St Jacques has now been taken over by UTMB and comes in at 2000m+ for 51km, plus hefty price tag. It's sold out.

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to Cmoi]

Great information about ultras, however, I won't be running any of those distances any time soon... or ever.

[nowster Metric Marathon in reply to Cmoi]

That puts my Welsh routes with 150m elevation into perspective! 🤣

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to nowster]

It does indeed nowster 🤣

[Teresa1632 Marathon]

Ran 10 half marathons last year, and training for my 3rd marathon. I'm no spring chicken (67), and a Type 1 diabetic too. So running has its challenges. I like the HM distance, it's easy enough to achieve. It takes me 4 miles to warm up/get into the zone anyway, so like Forrest Gump, might as well keep going 😛.

Last year at the Kilkenny HM/Marathon, I met a lady who was finishing her 300th marathon. She looked fresh as a daisy that evening, all high heels and sparkly dress, while I was walking like a penguin and praying I could get downstairs 🤣 In Longford, I met a 77 year old lady completing her 500th marathon.

Marathon training does take a lot of time for sure. (And for good measure, I'm out coaching runners three nights a week too. As my mother would have said, "There are wiser eating grass").

I suppose for me anyhow, it's the challenge and the discipline of the distances that I like. I'm never going to make a podium, so I run to enjoy it and to finish. What other sport can you undertake for a cheap medal, a bottle of water, a T-shirt, and a banana 😛😛

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon in reply to Teresa1632]

Love this!

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to Teresa1632]

Good luck for your marathon Teresa1612, what a wonderful achievement on running 10 Half marathons last year and to those two ladies who have run 300 and 500 marathons respectively.

[misswobble Marathon in reply to Teresa1632]

way to go Teresa 💪😀🏃‍♀️👍

I love your mum’s saying 😁

God willing I’ll be marathoning again this year. I’ve still not nailed an ultra but it’s something I’m shooting for . I wanted to have a crack at it a few weeks back but I knew I wasn’t up to it fitness wise. One day …..🙏

I’ll be 67 at my next marathon but I’m still making plans 😀🏃‍♀️

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon]

Hi Al. Yes, it’s a bit of a dramatic black and white title isn’t it? It’s certainly likely to put off somebody on the fence, who takes social media as gospel.

I make my own mind up about things and barely use social media (I don’t count HU!), and if I decide I want to train for a marathon, I will. It would only be for London if I got a place, and only the one time. HMs are the limit of my current ability, but I need to push myself sometimes because I’m too happy not pushing (does that make sense?!)

I think running any distance with the appropriate training is better than being a couch potato.

[AlMorr Half Marathon]

You did mention CC that you might apply for a place in the London Marathon in the future, you enjoy HM and 10Ks best as well as parkruns, I agree with you that appropriate training is better than being a couch potato, I hope Flossie had a wonderful birthday on Monday.

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to AlMorr]

Yes I keep applying for the ballot, unsuccessfully, but I’ll keep doing so Al! Maybe one day …… 🤞

Flossie had a wonderful birthday thanks. Lots of cuddles and treats! 🥰

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Flossie rules woof 🐶 ❤️✔️

[Kalessin Half Marathon]

Coming late to this one, one comment I would add is that the terminology doesn’t do itself any favours. Somehow, a half marathon sounds like half an achievement. I have successfully completed a half marathon today, I know that I am so slow that training for a full marathon would take every minute of my life for months, but I still have a faint niggling feeling that a “half“ marathon isn’t really enough.

[AlMorr Half Marathon in reply to Kalessin]

Congratulations on completing a half marathon today, I don't think anyone running a HM would consider their run isn't really enough, as you say training for the 26.2 mile run does take every minute of your life, if you feel that way ten miles would be sufficient, once again a big congratulations for your HM today ✔️✔️✔️👍

[misswobble Marathon in reply to Kalessin]

it’s like an itch to be scratched 😀

I felt like that, and the thought kept niggling away at me that I might be able to nail it. I did, but then ran another one to make sure it wasn’t a fluke 😂

I’ll be running my 8th this November. I hope 😀🙏