First time marathon runner tips

Hi,

I will be running the London Marathon in April this year. It is my first time running in any race and I have one 10k booked in February too. I would say I am of average fitness but I am only starting my actual marathon training today. I am doing this purely to raise money for charity so it is something I would like to do, especially as I have already had some sponsorship come in. I am hoping for a time of around 5-5 1/2 hours, although I would be glad to just finish!

Am I being unrealistic and setting myself up for failure or injury? If not, what are some tips you could give me. I have downloaded a training plan which seems achievable to me but any extra advice (or warnings!!) would be really appreciated!

Comments

  • General advice- don't overdo the training in the first 6 weeks, or you'll end up injured. Make sure you get some long runs in, but don't worry if you struggle to do the much- talked about 5x 20 milers- for someone at your intended pace, a long slow run of 20 miles ( which needs to be done SLOWER than race pace, or it will wreck you) will take a number of hours- it is probably better to do the long slow runs by time, rather than length- runs of 3.5 hours or so are probably as long as you should go, or you'll not recover, and will either find it impossible to do any other training, or injure yourself, or be so knackered by the time of the actual event that you can't do yourself justice.

    I am a 4- 4.5 hour marathoner, and, having done a dozen or so, I haven't ever done more than 1 or 2 20 milers, I think most plans are written for much faster runners, so perhaps a plan by time, rather than distance, is the thing to look for.

    At the sort of paces you are describing. a planned run/ walk approach might work well- look at that as an option too.

  • Hi ARF, 

    I have a place in this year's London Marathon. Having been turned down in the ballot, I entered a competition with Virgin Money Giving and have won a place. I have started training using a run-walk plan from Jenny Hadfield. 

    My main aim is to arrive at the start uninjured and just to get round and enjoy the whole experience, while also raising money for 2 charities. I put my estimated time as 5hrs 50mins and would be really pleased to achieve this as it's my first marathon (and 1st event since the Great South Run back in 2006). 

    Perhaps we could post our progress on here and encourage each other.

  • T RexT Rex ✭✭✭

    The London marathon was the first race I did of any length and I started training for it on 20 December the previous year as a complete novice to running.  You don't say if you are new to running itself, as well as racing, but even if you are, getting to the finish is well achievable.

    The important aspect of training is fitting long runs in.  I would suggest one a fortnight.  Work back from race day so that you have reached 20 by two weeks before, 18 four weeks before, and 16 six weeks before.  There isn't time to build up faster than this and you certainly shouldn't go over 20.  Leave that until the day.

    Doing the race for charity will be a good motivation not to pull out.

    Most marathon runners use energy drink of some sort.  Find out what is provided in London and practice with it to see if you can tolerate it.  If you haven't used any in training don't start using it on the day!

    A very common error by newcomers in training is to treat every run as a time trial, "Let's see if I can knock 15 seconds off my 4-mile route", etc.  Avoid this.  I would only treat your 10K as a maximum effort run.  Taking it steady in training should mean you avoid injury.

    All the best.

     

  • ARF123 wrote (see)

    Hi,

    I will be running the London Marathon in April this year. It is my first time running in any race and I have one 10k booked in February too. I would say I am of average fitness but I am only starting my actual marathon training today. I am doing this purely to raise money for charity so it is something I would like to do, especially as I have already had some sponsorship come in. I am hoping for a time of around 5-5 1/2 hours, although I would be glad to just finish!

    Am I being unrealistic and setting myself up for failure or injury? If not, what are some tips you could give me. I have downloaded a training plan which seems achievable to me but any extra advice (or warnings!!) would be really appreciated!

    respect the distance and train for it. it can be terribly long and painful otherwise even if you are planning a walk and run effort. furthermore it is far more interesting to set a goal and hit it.

     

     

  • I'm doing my first marathon too this year, I have done 4 half marathons, but didn't do one last year due to injury/illness. I started on a training plan just before xmas and it is hard work.I'm hoping I can get around 4 hours and I agree that it is very difficult to get into the mindset of not treating each run as a time trial, maybe not pushing hard to see if you can knock time off your best, but hoping to go a bit further at a slightly faster pace, even on the slow runs. The plan that I am following I'm not following religiously, I'm not a fair weather runner but sometimes in winter it isn't always possible to get out there and run, but I am trying to stick to the routine of fartlek, shorter faster runs (5km for example), and long slow runs. It sounds to me like you just want to get round as best you can. For me I'd like a time around 4-4.5 hours. Anything better than this is a bonus, but you never know how it will go on the day, i've had good days and bad days on race day. I do believe though if you do the preparation and put in the miles then it will come together on race day, unless you are unlucky with illness or injury, which is always a possibility.

    In my experience of the races I have run you will run faster on race day than you have in training, but this is a double edged sword. On the start line with the adrenaline pumping and feeling great it is easy to go off too fast. I've been guilty of this in half marathons and you can just about get away with it over 21km, in a marathon I think this could lead to disaster and even the possibility of not even finishing. I would offer the advise that the training is not just physical, but mental. Of course you need to train your muscles and heart to be able to get you round at the pace you want to, but if you aren't mentally strong and trained your mind to push through when the going gets tough then it is going to be a hard day. When the time gets tough use the crowd. There will be many people cheering the runners on and it is very useful having someone, even a stranger, cheering you on or giving you  high five when you are feeling like you can't do it, to pick you up and push on with new effort. I don't believe anyone can enjoy their first marathon even if it goes to plan and you hit all your targets. There will be times when you question why you even signed up to do this crazy distance and wonder whether you can even make it round, the famed "hitting the wall" moment. I've had similar moments in half marathons, but a lot closer to the end than i imagine it will be in a marathon. If you trust in the training that you've done, remind yourself why you are doing it, whether it be for a charity you chose because of a friend or family member, or just to prove something to yourself or your partner, then you will be ok and that moment crossing the line is always an amazing moment and makes the whole thing worthwhile.

    I've found this link that seems to have some great advice. I've done most of these in other races so have a look, it might help.

    http://www.runnersworld.com/run-nonstop/tips-for-your-first-race

    Good luck and just believe in yourself. I'm sure you will be fine and will have a great day.

  • Rossi71Rossi71 ✭✭✭
    VLM will be my second marathon after Edinburgh a few years back. I'm in the same boat with the mindset of not trying to do every run as a time trial. I'm learning to start to forget about that and just get the miles in. I've got a running routine each week which is helping me massively. I do my long runs on a Saturday so gives me something to aim for each week
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