I've been offered a last minute London Marathon place, am I mad to take it?

[Skade]

The hospital charity where I work have just emailed me to say they have a last minute London Marathon place available due to injury, and do I want it? I had till midday to respond so have said yes

Currently I run around 25-40km a week, broken up into 2-3 5km runs and 1-2 10-15km runs depending how I'm feeling. I did a half marathon in just under 3 hours in May which went okay, but haven't tried it since.

Marathon is 3rd October so I have 43 days to train, is this doable? And does anyone know of any good training plans? Hoping people with marathon experience can help here! Thanks all

I am training for the virtual London on the same date and to give you an idea, I have got up to 15 miles on my long run, I am going to do 18 next week then 20 a fortnight after that and then taper from the two weeks to go point.

Have you run a marathon before? I would be tempted as the atmosphere at The London Marathon is amazing but I'm not sure 6 weeks is enough time (although do know someone who has also just accepted a place).

A positive is that you only have about 5 weeks of training! Do you think you would be able to get a 18 mile run in before tapering?

Good luck!

No, never run a marathon before, I only took up running at the age of 47 during lockdown and discovered I loved it

I need to start thinking in miles instead of kms, I get completely confused!

I think I should be able to get an 18 mile run in before tapering, I'm resting today and tomorrow now then going to do a long run on Sunday. Looking at the London marathon training plan, I'm on week 10 and it's saying run for 2hrs 15 or 12 miles this weekend, which seems doable to me? Am assuming it's a good training plan as it's the official one!

I just feel wracked with nerves already though! I only ever run on my own for my own wellbeing and have never actually run with other people so am worried it will be overwhelming. The other part of me thinks what an amazing thing to do before I turn 50!

It depends, if you're happy for it to take 6-7 hours of run walking- absolutely. It's an incredible experience. If you want to run it all, not long enough to train!

If a half marathon took you nearly 3 hours then you're probably looking at 7hours or so for a marathon. That's a long time to be on your feet with little training. I walked a virtual marathon charity event in just over 7hours earlier this year and that included time to stop and cross roads and queue for public toilets so it's definitely doable within their cut off times.
If you're a slower runner then you really need to base your training plan around miles not times as time of your feet is the critical bit if it's going to take you quite a long time. You also need to work out your fuelling and hydration tactic and if your trainers have a lot of miles in them I'd invest in a new pair in the next couple of weeks.
If you've never run with other people then expect it to be very overwhelming! I've done big city races and London nearly finished me off! It was just too much - epic sized start area (felt like i'd done a half before I even got to the start line), ridiculous loo queues, crammed in like sardines in the start pens, shoulder to shoulder running for the first half (although that might be better if you're further back in the pack, i think the middle is worse for this), water bottles being thrown over your head.....

Thank you both, I'm happy to walk a bit/do a bit of jeffing! I have done walking ultra challenges before (50 miles of the 62 mile London to Brighton in 2018 but didn't finish, and in 2019 and this year i did the 31 mile Jurassic Coast Challenge) so am used to being on my feet for long periods of time, I just have never run that kind of distance.

@emmathedilemma I'd estimated around 7 hours in total to get it done. I walked the 31 mile jurassic coast one (which has brutal cliffs) in 8hr 45 so I think I'm being realistic, I'm not the fastest runner usually, averaging about 4.6 miles an hour.

I need to go and research fuelling and hydration, in fact I need to go and research pretty much everything! Thank you for setting the scene for me, if I know what to expect it hopefully won't be TOO bad!

I think you can do it. I think it's unlikely you'll enjoy it, which is a shame. I've seen too many runners progress to marathon distance too soon and then never run again because the love for it is all broken

Many training plans (I think inc the official London ones) have this week as a 'cut back' week, so that 12 miles is based on having done 16 last week and probably 16-18 next week.

General wisdom is not to increase your long runs by more than 10%, but I'd be tempted to go a bit more than 12 if you can - maybe 14. Then 16-17, then 18-19. That's probably as much as you can get in. Ideally you'd have a 20 miler under your belt, but I don't think you've got time to sensibly get up to that distance.

Part of me thinks you're bonkers, and part of me is a bit jealous! I have a place for next year, but they just moved next year to October. My charity did ask me if I wanted to run this year, but I don't have time to get the long runs in and I don't want to 'wing it'.

Well I've been out this morning and done 13 miles in 2hrs 37mins which I'm pretty happy with! Only stopped to walk for approx 10 minutes of that at various stages. Absolutely shattered now though!

I did the London marathon with only a few months of training aged 26 and totally knackered my knees! If you feel your joints can take it, then go for it, but my advice would be to pull out if you have any knee injuries. It’s not worth it!

I know it's passed your cut off time but do it! You can run a half, so plan on run walking a significant part and have some longer run periods in between. London is apparently an amazing atmosphere, definitely a massive achievement to be able to say you've done. Good luck!

@shivermetimbers77 my knees and joints are thankfully okay! I had an issue earlier this year with shin splints in one leg but that has gone now luckily (although it may return with a vengeance after a marathon!).

@BabyRace that's my plan I think - just need to work out the right run/walk combination! And I would love to do the London marathon before I turn 50, one to cross off the bucket list

i've run it twice. you will need to prepare well with nutrition

run/walk will get you through, and the crowd. the crowds are amazing

all the charity tops with pictures of loved ones will have you crying, and all the fun costumes and general carnival atmosphere (at the back and mid sections) will have you laughing....prepare for lots of emotion!!

take headphones if you listen to music....you will need a break! acknowledging the cheering crowd and general high fiving and interactions with fellow runners can drain you so head down, music on, no eye contact can help to re-focus and conserve a bit of energy!

focus on reaching the milestones....cutty sark, friends and family, half way just over tower bridge (bbc camera,dont forget to wave it will be in official photos for you to buy)

recommend facebook group runmummyrun,they will help with everything

check out where your charity cheer points are so you are on correct side of the road! they will give you a massive boost

oh, and look on you tube for the karaoke man....he sings karaoke all the way round, the crowd come alive for him. I ran along behind him for a few miles and enjoyed it so much.....you will be running and singing along, he runs for breast cancer charity. does it every year!

I did a marathon a few years ago, I’m a professional sportsman and was much fitter at the time, I trained for three months.

Running that marathon was awful, after about 14 miles I absolutely hated it, to the point of hoping I would just collapse or maybe die. Unless you love running or you’re clincally insane I’d say don’t do it.

the fit, professional types take it too seriously so do find it awful and many people make the mistake of going out too fast

if you are struggling at the 14 mile mark then somethings wrong.

i ran in 2015 and 2018....2018 was the hottest on record, i knew by mile 3 it would be a case of running/walking and just taking it as it comes. so many people were in despair because they "time" wouldn't be what they wanted. it was a case of counselling runners to readjust and continue....ridiculous

you dont run london marathon to attain a personal best,unless you are an elite, its too crowded

I wasn’t struggling physically, I just really really hated it, my photo at the end is fantastic, I don’t think I could look more annoyed if I tried.

mile 14 is just after tower bridges felt a bit flat there too. thats where the crowds thin and you move out across towards canary wharf.

My SIL, who is generally quite fit (2 Ironman events under his belt) has only just started his “formal” training for London; his first training run, last week, was 15-16km so you’re on a par with him!
He is a bit younger than you tbf but it sounds as if you’re starting from pretty much the same place.

@Skade - how are you getting on?

All set and ready to go?

I’m good thank you! Yep, all set and on my way to London as I write

Training’s gone well, last long run was 20 miles a few weeks ago where I discovered the magical powers of jelly beans, they’re like rocket fuel! I finished that run feeling tired and achey, but I could have gone on so that’s a good sign.

My nerves are shredded though and I just want to get started now! Thanks for thinking of me 🧡

Good luck!

Amazing. Good luck!

Best of luck.