I’ve signed up for a marathon, am I insane?!

[MoiraRoseIsMyQueen]

Help! I think I’m having a (slightly early) midlife crisis, and I’ve signed up for a marathon in May next year. I cannot emphasise enough that I am not a runner 😂 I’m fairly slim and petite (read: very short), but I’m super unfit cardio-wise. I’m on run 2 of the C25k programme, can anyone with experience talk to me sensibly - can I do a marathon next year? Is it even feasible?!

It's doable but it will very likely put you off running for life. Marathon training is pretty brutal even if you've been running for a while.

If you want to dip your toe into long distance running then I'd start with half marathon and see how you get on from there.

I think you’ll be fine. I’d only run 10k a couple of times before I signed up for a marathon aged 36. I was doing gym classes though and was fairly fit. I used the Hal Hidgon novice training program, found a group of marathon novices on a forum and had an absolute blast on the day.

Just start running consistently between now and next February, our mentor said 20 miles comfortably a week but I wasn’t even doing near that.

Yes you can! And it’s definitely feasible.

I started running in 2016 using the C25K plan, I was 4 stone overweight and had never run a day in my life. Did my first marathon in 2017, still running now so it can’t have been that horrific 😁

Ease into it for the rest of the year, build up your running base slowly and enjoy it. Start training in January, follow one of the readily available online beginner plans and you’ll be fine!

Also, this is NOT a brag because I don’t find being consistent easy… but I’ve done 7 marathons and 2 ultras since then so it really didn’t put me off and I didn’t find training particularly brutal.

I ran my first marathon this spring... one year earlier I was on week2 of C25k. I'd had to defer the marathon place due to injury and take a break from running for a couple of months. I even had to build up to C25k in the first place starting with 3 minutes running after warming up with a regular walk.

Break it down into stages. 5k. 10k. HM and 26.2.

I got comfortable with HM in the autumn. That meant that the training block after new year was building 14 to 20 mi which was much less intimidating. I used a 2 week training cycle of long run and a mid-length run to allow for recovery time.

There's a lot of 6m/ 26wk training plans, so have a look. Go for one that factors in strength training. Get comfortable building up to the level your plan starts at. Possibly beyond if there's time, then you can roll back with some recovery. Life will happen and get in the way so build in some flexibility around forseeable gaps and random ones like getting colds. A good plan should also have lighter recovery weeks every 4 weeks or so at any level to reduce the injury risk.

I went for a Jeffing (run/walk) approach. That kept me much fresher with little sacrifice on time.

It's hard work and a major commitment, but it is rewarding!

Hi MoiraRoseIsMyQueen,

A marathon next year is not out of the question; I would only ask ‘Why a marathon?’ If the aim is to get fit and healthy, there are lots of ways to do this that have a lower injury risk and just as much aerobic benefit. And you can have just as much, if not more, fun.

It sounds like your aim is to get into a habit of moving more and building up aerobic fitness. Typically, as mentioned in other channels, you do this in the following order: frequency, then duration, then intensity.

I’d build up the frequency by walking at a pace that is harder than your casual walk, but you can still speak full sentences. Get into a weekly (preferably daily) routine and slowly add time (duration). Once you’re doing this regularly, you can start to add some intensity. It doesn’t need to be running, it could be hiking up hills or walking with a weighted backpack.

At this point, you could start to do some longer-distance challenge walks. These are great fun, physically challenging and typically lower risk of injury from long-distance running.

Over months, your connective tissue will get stronger, and you may wish to start running or increasing aerobic volume via cycling.

C25K isn’t my personal favourite btw - technically, they rapidly get many people to go above their aerobic threshold (the point where talking full sentences becomes hard) very early on. For some, this is unpleasant and people start to drop out. I’d prefer to see a much slower ramp in fitness through brisk walking, hiking and cycling before moving over to running.

Overall, I'd approach the problem as how can I begin to love exercising and build it into a habit for the long-term.