Can I run a marathon?

[theluckiest]

Been a runner on and off for over 10 years. Done a few half marathons.

Trained well over the first lockdown and then just hit a mental wall & stopped for a few months. Am now slowly getting back into it aiming for 3 or 4 regular runs per week.

During tonight's run, the thought popped into my head about doing a marathon. Trouble is, I'm 2 stone overweight (working on that) and now mid 40s. Am I just asking for failure and dodgy knees?

Would it be possible to train for a marathon? How long do you reckon I should train for?

I don’t think being 2 stone overweight and in your 40’s is a blocker. I’d get back to 10-13 miles and then decide if you want to commit 4 months of sundays to doing your long runs!

Your age and weight is no issue to running a marathon, but what I would want to do in your position is get comfortable running more quickly over shorter distances before going for a full 26.2.
I would also really recommend strength training before you embark on a marathon training plan, so your glutes etc can take the strain rather than your knees/hips/ITB.

In terms of speed, I would also really recommend being able to run a half in two hours or less before going for a full.
Reason being that if you're a steadier runner, a marathon may take you up to six hours or so, which has a much greater impact on the body than being out for closer to 4 hours. Add to that the long, long, training runs and you can see why slower runners seem to pick up more injuries in training than quicker ones.

I'm not saying slower runners couldn't or shouldn't do a full marathon, but the reality is that it's at least three times harder than a half. As the cliche goes, the race doesn't really begin til 20 miles. I didn't appreciate that until I did it myself!

Yes of course you can!!

But you'll need to build up to it really carefully.

What distance can you comfortably run now? 5k?

I'd allow 6 months for each doubling - and that gives you plenty of time to tackle the weight in parallel.

So aim to be able to run 10k comfortably by spring, and enter a couple of events (if you can get to London, I recommend the CRUK Winter Run, in Jan/Feb, which is very much mixed ability, and a lovely (and basically flat) course through all sorts of London landmarks.

Then look to keep building your endurance - add no more that 5-10% per week, and cross train as well (Pilates, strength and conditioning, weights etc). And start a published Half marathon training plan (12 or 16 weeks) in the summer with the aim of doing a couple of races in the autumn/winter.

If this is going well, you could look to do a marathon in 2023 - the season is spring and autumn. Do you have a particular event in mind?

Great advice everyone, thanks. There's no rush so slow & steady buildup to an event would be good.

Just to answer a few q's...yesterday I ran a comfortable 8km & really enjoyed it. So comfortable in fact, that's why I started thinking about a marathon!!

I am slow though. Last half time was 2hrs 20 so yes, picking up pace would be good to work on.

I also get achey hips too so will start strength training.

I always said I'd never do one. Now my kids are older, longer Sunday training runs are more doable. Never say never I guess!!

Any online training plans that anyone could recommend? Or books?

For a half marathon, try these

www.cancerresearchuk.org/get-involved/find-an-event/training-for-an-event/half-marathon-training

They're geared more to time on your feet than mileage.

There's a Runners World book about running halfs and marathons and I think it's a pretty good guide. They also do a book called 'How to make yourself poop and 999 other tips all runners should know'

And I quite like 'How to Run a Marathon' by Vassos Alexander - mainly a motivational read rather than a how-to manual.

The classic 'how to run' book is The Runner's Handbook by Bob Glover.

And the uber-technical, almost impenetrable bible is Daniel's Running Formula by Jack Daniels

OTOH, The Science of Running by Chris Napier is brilliantly informative, but warning, contains lots of diagrams showing musculature -essentially flayed bodies.

I’d disagree you need to get under a 2 hr half beforehand. Perfectly possible to run a slow marathon and not get injured! Training time maybe 4 months or so, given you’re already running decent distances? Just build up gradually and I’d highly recommend doing the odd low-mileage week to let your body recover, rather than continually going further every week.

Cross training is good if you can fit it in - like cycling or swimming - to get fitness up without putting too much strain on the body.

I'm a fully signed up member of the slow runners club, and I am running one in two weeks. Very overweight and 49. Honestly, I am so slow its effectively Ultra training for me. My tips

• slow it right down until you could run all day (when I ran the longer distances at my 'normal' pace I felt really ill afterwards for days, now I can do 20 miles and barely feel stiff the next day)
• fuel and hydrate well
• dedicate the time
• rest if you are fatigued
• sort out your form and strengthen any weak areas
• I built my long run distances every fortnight, but only did a modest run the week in between, so Sunday distance went something like 6, 8, 6, 10, 6, 12, 8, 15, 8, 18, 6, 20 (miles)
• my midweek training is nothing special but I get a few runs in
• chafing is an issue, get runglide or vaseline everything, get seam free underwear