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?

Jeez you need to watch the Netflix movie 'Britney Runs a Marathon'

I was a teary puddle by the end.

Just be supportive, she may well pull it off and change her life in the process.

@Kirstenkl
Justontherightsideofnormal Why doesn't your husband just run a sub 2:45 marathon. He'd get an automatic championship place negating the need to deal with the indignities for vying for a ballot place with lesser mortals.“

This x1000 👏🏻

I'm going with the more upbeat positivity rather than the judgemental clap-trap that some posters are so fond of. I'm also assuming that OP's friend has a functioning brain and will do what is best for herself.

As someone else said, its easy for you to sit behind your phone or computer telling someone else to go do a marathon. You don't have to deal with the injuries. The person running it does.

I'm all for a sensible time frame for something like this. As I said, next year would be better and easier on her body. 4 months? That's going to wreck her. She will have to start running now which it doesn't sound like she has yet.

Couch to 5k is done over 9 weeks. That's been recommended by health professionals. That's 3miles. In just over 2 months. And she thinks she can manage almost 9 times that amount in an extra two months? I found a website that said couch to marathon as long as you're already healthy could take as little as 24 weeks. That's half a year. And she isn't healthy, she is over weight and hasn't exercised properly in years.

I don't think she actually fully understands how long it will be. This is going to do permanent damage to her body. Her joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments etc. Rushing this isn't a good thing. It's a stupid thing.

Preparing for it properly, over a slower time, easily doable. Rushing this is going to do nothing but cause irreversible problems. It is however her body and she can wreck it if she likes. I think going for next year would be much more sensible.

ChristmasSweet totally agree with you.

@ChristmasSweet I agree totally, as I said upthread I’ve been running in running clubs since my early teens, but I stopped when I was pregnant and didn’t get back to it for a few years when I was early thirties, I jumped straight into a park run and tore a muscle in my leg less than a mile in, a year on and it’s still causing me trouble and I’m not sure I’ll be able to run again.

Considering I’d previously been fit and used to running long distances, and I knew what I was doing it really came as a shock to get injured but I was told at the hospital it’s just an age thing.

I actually think it’s really irresponsible of the charities and the organisers to encourage people without experience or fitness to take on such a strain on their bodies.

I ran a marathon and never got further than 5 miles in my training. You’ll be amazed how much the crowd helps

OP hasn't said whether or not her friend is going to actually do the marathon, just that she has secured a place. She's also said that she's going to support her.

There's been some brilliant advice on training for this on the thread peppered with the usual non-advice just putting down.
I think it's a fair assumption that she is presently planning to do a marathon, given she applied for a place, got the place, and told her friends she'd got the place.

I'm going with the more upbeat positivity rather than the judgemental clap-trap that some posters are so fond of. I'm also assuming that OP's friend has a functioning brain and will do what is best for herself.

Functioning brains can only make decisions off the information they have or are given. If she's fed 'upbeat positivity', she may only realise that her plan is overly-ambitious after she's tried to work through the first injury. Which might be irreversible damage.

Now, perhaps right now, she's googling running advice and learning about all the ways you can screw a joint for life through hasty over-training, but perhaps she hasn't yet, and won't do until the OP tactfully tells her to do a bit of research.

We all like to think we've got functioning brains, but does having a brain alone allow you to diagnose or prevent medical complaints? Or do you need a bit of education to go with the brain?

I do a reasonable amount of sport, and it is my observation that novice adults don't fully comprehend how easy it is to damage yourself as an adult through sheer over-enthusiasm until they've done it at least once. If they're lucky, it's something that heals.

Babybel90 I actually think it’s really irresponsible of the charities and the organisers to encourage people without experience or fitness to take on such a strain on their bodies.

I agree. I think one of the huge problems is that adults take on these challenges, thinking it's going to be like when they were fit kids, when they just bounced back from everything.

Sadly, it's not. With every year of my life, I find I need to be a little bit more careful about warming up before I do anything vigorous. I miss the days when I could go from a standing start, on a freezing December and run full-pelt for 100m and not strain a muscle, but those days are gone.

I could strain a hip muscle slightly during private practice in the morning, and it would be fine in time for the sports club training session in the evening. Again, those days are gone. If I strain a muscle, it takes days to heal.

I really hope your leg injury fully heals.

I ran a marathon and never got further than 5 miles in my training

When you say you "ran" a marathon, how much of it did you run? After only 5 miles in training?!

@Runningonempty84
Ran every mile.

In fairness to the charities encouraging anyone to do it, this is, for many, their biggest fundraiser of the year. Charity representatives at the expo that I’ve spoken to before say this is where their biggest income arrives each year. They need people. My only other defence for them is that they offer places mostly before the ballot which is in October. I had my places by September for my charity. Some offer sooner. Sure, they probably allocate most after the ballot because that’s when more people ask.

To be frank sensible people, if they had applied for a charity place, would start doing little runs and such while waiting to start building up momentum.

And no, it’s not as simple to say “don’t get the ballot just go for a charity place” - I totally understand why people don’t want to do that. The first time, people were more generous in sponsorship with me, but I also did small fundraisers like raffles, a cake sale and a betting system for my finishing time (buy a minute for a pound whoever was closest got a tenner or something like that)
Second time I had to dig deeper and put on a quiz night. But I was lucky - church said I could use the hall for free, friends said they would cater so food costs were minimal. I had to send a hundred emails and go around shops galore to get free raffle prizes (which I did and it raised a few hundred) it took a lot of work! It’s not an easy alternative.

I would only run again on the ballot do that the financial pressure isn’t there. I would also get her to check whatever she has signed when taking up her charity space.

Has she made a start OP?

perhaps right now, she's googling running advice

The first hit will probably be this thread..

I suffered what looks to be a permanent injury five years ago when I ran too fast and long too soon.

At the time I had a high level of fitness, in a different sport. I thought that meant I could run long distances straightaway.

Now I can’t run. I also can’t do my original sport. I have pain most days and sleep in a leg cast most nights.

To those who are so sure positivity will get anyone round 26.2- you aren’t being supportive, you are being dangerous.

The irony is that entitled people like @Runningonempty84 put people off running, as if it’s their domain and no one else’s.

Longinesprime For better or worse, nah. It'll be official, inspiring sites that rabbit on about "just do it" and energy gels.

@overnightangel whereas its people like you who encourage stupid things like this and then just go 'oh no that sucks' when someone gets injured.

If you actually think this is a smart idea, you should read into human physiology more. This will only end in one way: agony.

ChristmasSweet, you can posture all you like, you won't be involved in any decisions that others make. I wouldn't be getting fitness advice from this board, I'd get it from my trainer or look up accredited sites. You can speculate all you like that OP's SIL isn't doing this but you don't know anymore than anybody else does what she has/hasn't done other than what OP has posted.

The 'experts' on this site sometimes... I cringe.

Cringe, that's a good word. I've done a lot of cringing at people being breezy about poor plans on this thread!

@LyingWitchInTheWardrobe that's why I said it's her body and she can wreck it if she likes.

Cringe is a good word...

YANBU, it will certainly be a struggle. However, Runner's World used to do something called "The Penguin Plan" where you train just to get round with a combination of running and walking, and she could probably do that but it will take a good deal of time, determination and hard work. Marathon training is all about getting over the sheer boredom of running for that long as well.

Before I trained for a marathon in 3/4 months, I could run 5/6 miles comfortably, and that's the normal level to start from with that kind of time to train in.

Have to add as well, I was 26 years old when I did the marathon and also at the low end of BMI at the time.

If I was doing one now at 44, I think I'd personally want to get a couple of half marathons under my belt in the 12 months before attempting to train for a marathon. Also I'd want to be normal BMI first otherwise it would be too much strain on my body.

My place was from the ballot, so there was no pressure to raise a certain amount of money, but I raised £500 for charity anyway with sponsorship from friends, and work doing matched giving.

Anyway, all you can do is offer her some sensible advice and it's up to her.

I think that’s wonderful and you should all support her massively. Talk about having a goal!

irony is that entitled people like @Runningonempty84 put people off running

What? Have you even read my previous posts? Like, for example, where I said charity runners have just as much right to be there as anyone else, and that's why these events are so special?

Perhaps you're confusing me with someone else. I'm all for newbie runners taking part, but proper training is essential if you don't want to pick up serious injury. Marathons are hard!

Anyone without medical issues etc can walk a marathon in six hours or so. She will struggle massively but could do it.

Ronnie

Is that's the case, why is the typical,time for the MoonWalk over 9 hours?

I note taht those posters who say they run themselves who are most cautious about couch to marathon in 14 weeks

And if she has had the charity place since October (most are allocated around the time of the main ballot), is there any particular reason why she has not used that extra time to begin her training? Judging by the optimistic posters on this thread, she could be running half marathons (or more) already, leaving only the last doubling of distance to go.