First marathon - what time.to aim for?

[xsquared]

I have done run many half marathons before but haven't yet attempted a marathon.

This year, I thought I'd make running a marathon one of my running goals and I'm about to register for the Manchester marathon in April.

No idea what sort of time to aim for though as I'd like to make a good go of it and not just finish. If you've gone from HM to a first marathon in the past, did you find your predicted time accurate?

I managed sub 1:44 for Great North Run, and used that in the Jack Daniels VDOT calculator which brings up 3:35:56 as the equivalent for a full marathon.

Any advice or tips welcome! Thank you.

You’ve done a decent half so assuming you can get the training in I don’t see why you couldn’t get close to your predicted time. People will slower half times usually find the step up to marathon a lot harder.

I'd aim for anything under 4 hours.

I've put 3:45 for my target time, which may be a bit ambitious but maybe starting in a faster wave would be more motivating than having to pass more people. I don't know bit it's exciting all the same!

Got a half coming up next Sunday, so training for the full marathon will start from week 3.

You might find your time improving a lot during training too and you’ll need to adjust your goal.

Ages ago I was training for a sub 4 hour marathon ( I was hoping for between 3:45 but realistically it was going to be more like a 3:59). My pace improved massively though. In 16 weeks I trained and did a 3:28 marathon . To put in in perspective , 3 months before my race I couldn’t run a sub 50 minute 10km but I ended up running an entire marathon at that pace .

Anyway that was 11 years ago . Im not that fast anymore haha!

Wow! That's amazing @EveryLittleWish . That's given me some hope amd motivation.

Never ran the distance of a marathon before but after months of weekly long runs with my fast running buddy, I've finally been persuaded!

Multiply your HM by 2 and add 10 minutes. It's always worked for me! But don't put too much pressure on yourself, anything under 4 hours is a good target for your first marathon.

I've heard of that before and if it is correct, then I should be hoping for a 3:37 minutes ish, which is quite close to the predicted time using VDOT.

I ran a just under 3:45 (can't remember the exact time) and a 1;43 half short after. 3;37 sounds ambitious to me, the only people i know who run those sort of marathon times are well under 1;40 for a half.

I'd be over the moon if I can get 3:37 which is still a little slower than the VDOT predicted time. Like I said, I'll aim for 3:45.

I have a half race coming up next weekend so, I'll reassess then. Still have a good 4 months of training ahead which will literally keep me in my toes!

My mistake, it sound be double your Hm and add 20 mins not 10mns 😳
It it double your time plus add 10mn for an estimation of a HM based on your 10km time.
My last marathon was 3h30 and the HM just before 1H35 so that's more realistic!

@samthebordercollie yes, double and add 20minutes has always the guide I've heard too. I think if you're a very fast runner then maybe add less than 20minutes, and a much slower runner would add more but for middle of the road it seems to be about right. That said, some people are relatively better over shorter / longer distances than others!

Ah, that should take me to 3:47.
Good job I put myself in the 3:45 - 3:55 wave then!

My first half marathon was 1.46. I increased mileage on my long run each week, but didn't know anything about speedwork or intervals. I did a full marathon 3 months later and I did in 3 hrs 40 (I would have been happy with anything under 4 hours so was over the moon)

If you get through all the training, including at least three 20+ mile runs and some long runs with good portions at marathon pace, then half marathon x2 plus 20 minutes will be about right.

Predicted marathon times are usually way off for a first marathon as it's such a step up from a half. Very few people are able to properly train for the distance first time round; go out too hard, and crash at 22/23 miles.

With a 1:44 half I would be aiming for sub 4 hours for a first marathon. I ran my first marathon in 3:50 and my half time was nearer 1:35. I'd mistakenly thought that running halves at 7:30ish pace meant a full at 8:30ish pace would be fairly straightforward. And I learned the hard way!

Anything sub 3:40 is extremely ambitious, but not impossible if you properly put in the training and make sure you get used to running properly long distances at 8 min mile pace - as well as practising your fuelling strategy and so on, to try and stop blowing up in the last 10k on the day.

My first marathon I squeaked in at 3:59.47. My half marathon times prior to that were in the 1:50ish ball park. Next marathon I increased the volume of training, hill climbs, interval training etc. Managed to knock 10 mins off, although my pace was not massively faster I felt a hell of a lot more comfortable and enjoyed it more.

I think 3.35 may be a little punchy, but it depends on how training goes. I think the McMillan running calculator is a more reliable estimator, and it predicts a 3.39-3.40 from your recent half time.

I want to add a few other tips too from when I did my sub 3:30. I was still new to running ( went from never running in my life to running a 3:28 in 14 months). Also, to make things confusing, I use kms for distance but miles for pace 😆! I also want to add that what works for me won’t work for everyone . You will know your body best !

It helps if you start your training already running 5 days a week with your longest run at 21kms . It’s a good base to work with . Increase your mileage slowly ( never more than 10%)

Run at least 6 runs at 32kms . I went up to 35kms .

Add in cut back weeks or even down weeks so you don’t get burnt out .

Speed work once a week . I’m not prone to injury so I went all out with this . I was with a running club and would run with the fast group . 11 kms at a 7:00/mile pace . In the beginning I couldn’t keep up but by the end of my training I could . I also did track work one other day of the week .

With that said , overall I ran slow roughly 80% of the time . Fast the other 20%.

As I got closer to my marathon I incorporated my marathon pace into my long runs . At first it was just the last couple kms and then I increased that to the last 10 kms . My last long run was 35kms and I did half at marathon pace .

I live in a hilly area so I trained on hills . My marathon was flat . That certainly helped me achieve my goal .

This isn’t for everyone but by peak training my schedule maxed out at 95kms including two half marathon medium long runs and a 35km long run .

A 3 week taper !!

if your marathon has pacers , join them !!

Thanks. I am taking all your comments on board and I'm keeping an open mind about what I can realistically achieve.

That's amazing @Fizbosshoes and @EveryLittleWish .

The longest I have run is 22 miles but that was with a snack and drink break after I'd completed a half marathon. The second part was definitely more sluggish than the first!