To think there is no way my SIL will manage to run the marathon?

[edsheeransgingerbeard]

This will probably make me sound like a horrid unsupportive cow, which I'm not, honest!
We were all hugely surprised yesterday when SIL revealed that she has secured a charity London Marathon place. She currently does zero exercise, refuses to walk anything other than short distances as she finds it too much hard work, and is fairly unhealthy generally. She hasn't done any kind of running / jogging for over 20yrs (and never a marathon)
It is obviously fantastic that she wants to start training, and has a goal to aim for. But to go from zero to 26 miles in 4 months is madness, is it not?
I'm a huge lazy glutton right now. I have run a few half marathons over the last few years and I think I could probably get round a half marathon course by the end of April if I started training next week. But not a whole marathon.
AIBU to think that a very unfit person who does not exercise in any way at all can successfully train for a marathon in just over 4 months?

@Justontherightsideofnormal it boils your piss??? How dare you dictate how other people care to complete a marathon. Just because they are not super fit they shouldn’t have people like you beings disparaging towards them.

I presume her aim is to simply get round the course, not to finish in any sort of impressive time. In which case, so long as she trains, she should be fine (albeit in a lot of pain at the end).

DH started training for the 2019 London Marathon this time last year. He was out on runs before work 2/3 times a week, and a long run at the weekend, for four months, and he started with a good base level of fitness and stamina (could run a sub two hour half marathon with little to no training).

Good luck to her! I remember thinking that as impressed as I was with DH getting round in under 4 hours, which was his goal, I was probably more impressed by those people who dragged themselves round and kept going even when it took them twice as long. The mental strength needed to keep going is phenomenal.

I think people see the London Marathon and because there are so many ‘stories’ they think its easy . It wasn’t until I started running that I realised just how far even 1 mile was , let alone 26.

I was staggered to find out that good club runners often finish in 4 or 5 hours , I thought most people finished in 3.5 hrs max. You need to take her on a 26 mile drive around local roads so she can see just how far jt is ...then get her to do your local parkrun and extrapolate her time from there.

She’ll also need to get cracking and raise a whole load of money as charities can want up to £2k committment , and once you’ve signed up thats it.

She should be able to do “Coach to 5K” by mid March if she puts the effort in. Not sure about the other 23 miles though!

She doesn’t sound motivated enough. Whilst I think it is doable if you had 4 months training and trained hard I imagine she is going to lose time to injury. One bout of plantar fasciitis/ligamentous injury and she will be set back weeks and lose fitness.

Gosh, she's braver than me. I can now comfortably (slowly) run 10km but I'm looking at 6 months to train just for a half marathon as I don't want to pick up any injuries.

The risk of injury with no base fitness, of even walking, will be sky high, could you suggest she visit a sports physio specialist so she can get some training advice?

It's an admirable goal but it's a huge distance that shouldn't be taken lightly.

I wouldn't involve myself but YANBU. She would almost definitely injure herself if she increased her mileage that fast. She should have gone for a 10k first.

The NHS couch to 5k takes 9 weeks, you'd need another 9 to get to 10k so by April she'll be just under a quarter of the way there if she trains at a safe pace!

Yeah definitely get her to park run 5k is hard enough if your not used to running.
Even if you can walk the marathon and some do but it'll take at least 7 hours which is a long time .

Well said, Zoecarter. Your husband, Justontheright is in no way more worthy than anybody else. He can apply just like anybody else.

OP, good luck to your SIL. I wouldn't want to attempt it but hats off to her if she trains for it and manages to get it done without injuring herself. I'd be really proud of any family member who put themselves out there to do this.

If she's 50 and unfit I predict that she will tear a calf muscle in training and not make it to the race itself.

Tell her to go to her local parkrun tomorrow, that'll be a good test of her fitness or lack of.

How judgemental?!

I had done a couple of half marathons, pre kids, then managed to get a ballot place for London 5 or 6 years ago, early 40s.

I hadnt run for about 2 years. Printed out a 16 week plan (which started with 2-3 mile runs) and stuck to it religiously. 3 mid week runs and a longer run (which got gradually longer) every weekend. I did it in 4 hrs 30mins.

So yes, YABU. It can be done with dedication. Be supportive. Dont be the person mocking her for being unrealistic.

And outrage at not getting a place? Firstly its a charity place. Very easy to get provided you sign up to raise the required amount. And even if it was a ballot place, why does a supposedly fit person deserve a ballot place any more than the OPs SIL? Thats the WHOLE point of London, that its for the masses.

I did the NYC marathon (many many many years ago) and I trained for over 40 weeks!! I bought a book called The Non Runners Guide to the Marathon (or something like that) which broke it down into weekly stages. I definitely don’t think 4 months is anywhere near enough time. Remember Jade Goody who went for a curry the night before, didn’t work out too well for her.

I can just about manage 5k and intend to get to 10k by April this year. Whilst I would love to run a marathon, my goal is a half next year and then hopefully a full marathon in 2022. I am not a natural runner and find even 5k challenging!

My former boss ran London a couple of years ago. She was less fit than me and didn't start proper training until mid January. She finished in 6 hours something which I thought was very impressive given her (lack of) preparation.

Whilst I think your SIL is nuts and possibly underestimating how difficult it is, she may well have a natural ability and surprise you!

who knows but I know loads of people who won't walk the length of themselves but go the gym!

When I started running I was 50 and almost overweight and had a sedentary job. I started c25k mid January, did 5k by the end of March , and 10k by the end of April. That was running 3 times a week for a min of 45 minutes and up to 1.5 hrs. I joined a running club so was not only doing running but hill sessions / intervals etc

If you build up your mileage that quickly without a good base fitness you’ll be asking for trouble as her muscles, joints, tendons etc just won’t have built up the strength thats needed.

Could you offer to start C25k with her asap as a bit of a reality check for her ?

I think it's great that she wants to. I did one a couple of years ago and I think plenty of people thought about me in the same way that you think about her.

Please support her in training and fundraising rather than putting her down.

@Justontherightsideofnormal

🙄

I've run a few marathons and will be doing my next one in April (not London though; couldn't get a place. Grrr).

They are HARD. The training takes up huge amounts of time and energy. Getting out of bed at 5am on a dark, cold Sunday morning to fit in 20 miles before the day gets going requires a fair amount of dedication. And the races themselves hurt. A lot. You learn a lot about yourself after the 22-mile mark

That said, I reckon your SIL could get round the marathon in April, albeit walking most of it, if she doesn't get injured in training. Which she probably will, as any 16-week training plan will be far beyond her current fitness level. But I suspect she doesn't understand exactly how tough the ask is.

As pps have said, get her to Parkrun tomorrow and see how she gets on. And then ask her if she fancies doing eight more of them, immediately afterwards....

My husband (triathlete, competed various marathons and ironman 2x ) has tried to get into London 7 yrs running

The London Marathon is vastly oversubscribed ever year. My DH eventually got a charity place. His story appealed to the particular charity concerned. He still had to guarantee to raise £1800, and if he didn't we would have to make the sum up. So me and him did a lot of supermarket bag packing. So rather than letting it "boil your piss" maybe he should apply for a charity place to?

Has she given an indication of how she plans to train for it?

In my 30s I ran the London marathon. On Jan 1st I could run for 40 minutes and in April I ran the marathon without stopping in 5 hours. So it is possible to make very rapid improvements. I did cry with pain for most of the last mile, so not the most pleasant experience.

But to get from not being able to run at all to running for 40 minutes can take 8 weeks or so. So I reckon your sil has minimal chance of running it. She may, however, be able to walk it.

@CuteOrangeElephant I was the same. One of my over riding memories is the blisters popping whilst walking. It nearly made me sick & every time I stopped for a break it was so painful to get going again. I was pleased I did it though.

I hadn’t realised you had to complete the London marathon within 7 hours. That will be tough

I was like your SIL. I signed up after watching the London Marathon on TV. Colleagues at work had a good laugh and family thought I’d gone mad as I’d never done any running before. I admit I was naive!! I bought a marathon book for beginners and followed it religiously for 16 weeks. Result was a 5hr 4min marathon and 6 other marathons after with my best time being 4hrs 12 mins. So it can be done. Dedication, determination and a good dose of positivity. It was also my happiest race as even I had a hard time believing it was happening on the day.