Any marathon runners on here?

[Runningonempty84]

I've got another marathon coming up soon and have got The Fear during the taper.
I'm desperate to run GFA and have been training hard all year for it. Anyone got any top tips or stories to share that might help put me in a more positive frame of mind?!

Good luck! What marathon? Sadly no tips other than the book, The Happy Runner, is absolutely fabulous if you can get over the 'you are awesome' touchy-feely thing... Loads about focusing on enjoying the process and not the results. What age category are you in? I'm 50 next year and very excited by the prospect of more attainable targets. If I can sort my foot out...

I'm still in women's open category, so the targets are pretty tough. 3:45 or bust!

Thanks for the tip, I'll check the book out.

On the Marathon Talk podcast they say 'Trust the process'! So you've done the hard work, you have the experience of your previous marathons, believe in yourself and go for it! Make sure you have the little detail s dialled in, like your nutrition. And have a think about how you might respond on the day to any unplanned events, like the weather changing. And of course, number 1 is don't go out too fast! Research has shown that if your first 5k is your fastest is can add up to 20-50 minutes onto your finish time! So keep it steady and very good luck! Which marathon are you doing?

Not going out too fast is the tough one. Plan is to stick at 8:30 pace til 20 miles and then go for broke...but you never know what might happen on the day. It's the New Forest marathon next Sunday.

The very best of luck to you, will keep my fingers crossed for kind weather & a good day!

Good luck! Do let us know how you get on!

If you're going for GFA then you know your stuff and are capable (unlike my 6hr marathon, curse you dodgy hamstring!). Trust in your training plan.

You probably already do it but I find positive visualisation really helpful and spend a lot of time in the few weeks beforehand imagining myself achieving what I'm aiming for in the greatest detail possible.

As regards not going out too fast, are there going to be pacemakers? I always find them useful at the start of a race.

👋🏻 Me! Im no where near GFA, so cant advise you on how to run it.
But I’ve done 2 (the same one) and back again this year for a 3rd. And last! The early morning long runs are horrible and I’ve promised my husband it will stop!

How did it go OP?

I did it!! Paced it well, finished with a massive PB, in the top 20 women, and in GFA.
My legs know about it today though....!!

...and thanks for asking 😀

Woo-hoo! Well done, what a brilliant result! Fantastic!

Thanks! Next stop, sub 3:30

Many congratulations!

Were you born in '84, Running? If so, I'd say sub-3:30 is definitely achievable. I ran my fastest times at quite a bit older than that (am now, ahem, 50+ though so starting to notice age creeping in ...)

Wow well done! That's great, I'm envious.

I've done a couple of road marathons and one trail ultra, got another one in November which is more of a time trial (how far you can run in a certain time thing).

I've found I've got a lot quicker over shorter distances this year, got a big half pb a couple of weeks ago and a parkrun pb today. I'm now wondering if I can do sub 4:30 on a road marathon

Oooh, what was your half PB, @AskMeHow? Anything sub 2hrs, and surely 4h 30 on a road half is doable.

And yes, I was born in 84, @MacavityTheDentistsCat - so hopefully I've got a few years of fast running in me yet. The biggest barrier to decent marathon running, IME, is fitting the long runs in around work and kids. Getting up at 5am for 3 hours running isn't that much fun!

@Runningonempty84 it's 2:09, but I was phoning it in until mile ten so I'm pretty confident I can get closer to two hours. I usually pace my races really well, I was on for 4:45 at Manchester in April until I couldn't hold off for the loo any longer at mile 15 and lost ten minutes. The second half was still faster though. I've really enjoyed my running this year. I've lost a bit of weight and I think that's made a massive difference.

Ooo well done! I've entered my first marathon in April next year 😊 I want to run a GFA time too!

Yeah, losing weight definitely helps, @AskMeHow. For me, giving up booze helped too, even though I didn't drink much in the first place.

And good call, @Chesneyhawkes1! Which one are you doing? I'm doing Manchester in April to try and bag that sub 3:30. What do you currently run a half in?

I'm doing Boston in Lincs.

Currently training for the Silverstone half. I'm going for 1.30 ish. Only started training for it in June after many years of not running 😬

Had a practice one round where I live at the end of August and that was 1.38 and I've got faster since, so fingers crossed! Will do the same run again early October to see where I am.

Think I'm a vet now though as 41 😂

Oooh, at least Boston will be flat, right? I'm quite looking forward to my 40th and becoming a vet. GFA gets more do-able, and vets prizes come into play!!

A 1:30 half is speeeeeedy!! Nice work - hope you do it!

I'm super impressed by all your fast times!

I ran 2:03 for a half in the days when I was much younger and thinner. I just want to beat myself from 20 years ago (fuck I'm old!).

Yes I chose Boston as it's meant to be lovely and flat 😂 thought for my first one it's ideal.