Can “anyone” really do a marathon?

[AvonCallingBarksdale]

I can do 5K in 35 mins and am doing a 10K next month. Having watched the marathon today it just looks so amazing and I’d love to think I could do London. However, can anyone really do a marathon? I know you can walk for bits and it’s about the finish line not the finish time, but is it realistic to think that an overweight menopausal woman can go from 10K to 42K (with training??) I can’t imagine mentally being able to go out for 4+ hour training runs 😵‍💫

Btw when I had done a few half marathons I was also at the “I’ll never do a marathon” stage. But the desire to do it kind of crept up on me and wouldn’t go away. In the end it’s training like anything else.

I trained for a 5km swim a few years back. That's about the swimming equivalent of a half marathon (took me 2 hours).

I was an able swimmer but not particularly practised at the time. (I think I could swim a half a km or a km at the start of my training.)

I did 2 short swims and a long swim a week, and just added half a kilometre every week, got myself to 4.5km 2 weeks before the event and then tapered.

BUT I don't think I could have done a 10km swim.

I really enjoy swimming but my shoulders just haven't been able to cope with the number of rotations I was asking them to do. That swim itself was fine, but I carried on swimming 6-8km a week for about 4 years after before I hurt a shoulder and it's just never been the same since.

I'm not a runner but I guess I would be wary that the same risks would exist around training for a marathon.

I really think some of them will have damaged themselves, yes.

I run 30-35 miles a week on a regular basis. I am no athlete. I run very slow, about 10min mile over long distances of 7-10miles. I’m about 11min mile for 10+ mile distances.

I have a Garmin watch which monitors my heart rate and my runs. I like to keep to 140-155 but I end up at 155-170 because of the heat. I’m in Texas and it’s over 20c each day already. I prefer to run when it’s 0-15c with low humidity.

If you want to run a marathon I suggest first getting yourself comfortable with 10k and then the half marathon before you embark on the marathon journey. My other suggestion is to do very limited speed work if you have tight hamstrings. The hard starting and stopping injures me every single time.

I mix in yoga now with my running and I’m going to add proper strength training at some point. I just much prefer running.

Agree with @CroccyWoccy - subject to health conditions / disabilities, anyone can with training.

It is hard - not just the training but it takes over your life a little for the 16 weeks or whatever plan you follow. Its more than just the physical training - its eating / sleeping / maybe socialising less (or at least giving up / easing up on wine etc). It is a real commitment and lots of people get injured because they cut corners somehow or life just gets in the way!

But it is 100% worth while. The vast majority of people running London will be doing it for a charity which has touched them in some way, they've all trained hard, many running for the first time. The spirit / atmosphere is brilliant. People shouting your name, cheering you on, running those last couple of miles down the Embankment is just off the scale brilliant, its so emotional. It doesn't matter if you do it in 3 hours or 6, it's just doing it!! I've done it twice, both in my 40s. I know probably 20 or so people who have done it within my wider social circle and everyone has LOVED it. If you want to have a go OP, go for it. Be sensible with the training, start gradually and honestly you will be amazed at home much further/ longer you can go than you think you can !

Not to one-up the conversation, but, there are plenty of people these days doing ultras and even 100 milers. I listened to a podcast the other day where American Pam Reed completed the Badwater ultra (100 miles I think) and then did another ultra the next weekend. She’s 63. That’s extreme, but for me it brings home what the human body can do. I’ll never do 100 miles, but it shows it’s possible, and that makes 26 miles seem very doable. It also shows that whatever distance you feel you can do, there’s always someone doing less, and someone doing more. You’ve just got to pick where you think you are on that scale.

You can, but having the discipline to stick to the training plan is key.

I'd recommend signing up for an autumn half marathon, that way you'll have a good base already when you find out if you got in or not, rather than trying to cram in marathon training into 6 months from nothing.

You have to be prepared to put the time and effort in but yes, I do think anyone can with the right mindset. Every weekend you will have to commit to a long run and 3-4 times a week shorter runs. The sense of achievement when you cross that finish line is worth it. Sign up! I’d recommend Manchester marathon if you don’t get into London.

No, I don’t think I could do it. I used to run a lot, and I’m still fairly fit, when I was younger I would run 10k races fairly regularly but years of road running have knackered my knees and now I can only run on a treadmill and I can’t imagine I’d ever be able to ge to that distance, every time I try to increase my distance above 5k I injure myself.

I think most people could do a marathon with relatively little training tbh if we consider ‘’doing a marathon’ as completing 26 miles.

If they hadn’t trained it would take them much longer, they’d be at greater injury risk and they’d probably not enjoy it. But they could technically physically complete it. Much of the distance (if you take away speed) is in the mind.

If you can run now, aren’t wedded to a certain time and are prepared to do the beginner training programmes, absolutely go for it.

All good points! I suppose a couple of years ago I was happy if I could do 5km without walking (this was after a break from running, I did my first half marathon over 10 years ago) - I stuck with it and my shortest runs are currently 7 miles and my favourite distance is 10-11 miles!
Maybe I should give it a go.

Having never been a runner, I once trained for a 1/2 marathon at the grand old age of 39. I completed it in 2hrs 15, which I thought was a respectable result, especially as there were 40,000 runners. Could I have carried on and run a few more miles - probably, yes. Could I have turned around and run all the way back to the start line - hell no! I had absolutely no desire to run a full marathon. My running partner did try and persuade me to enter the London Marathon but I knew my limits (mentally as well as physically). She actually went on to do London and really struggled with it, so I'm glad I didn't do it.

It seems that the biggest hurdle as we get older is avoiding injury. If you can do that, and don't mind going slowly, then yes you can do a marathon.

The advice to build up slowly is good. I started running 10 years ago, did a few 10kms, a few half marathons and then ran a good for age time in Bournemouth marathon in 2018.

So four years of regular running slowly building up the distance worked for me.

As pp say, your mindset changes. I remember thinking 'wonder if I can run 10 miles?' and a couple of years later thinking of a 15 mile run as 'fairly short'.

My husband has run 3 marathons over recent years, and yes he has run all the way. He did his first London marathon in less than 4 hours. It did take up a lot of our life for 6 months during his training period but it was worth it to see the smile on his face when he completed it 🙂

I think anyone can train to do it but you shouldn’t underestimate how challenging it is.

i did one in October - prior to that I’d been running years and exercised 6 times a week. It was the toughest thing I’ve done and I ended up with a slipped disc and have barely been able to exercise since ! Even walking at one point was a challenge. I’ve since heard of a few people who’ve had similar injuries following a marathon. It takes such a toll.

I was also inspired watching them all today!

I’ve done four halves but yet to do the full distance
its more about determination than fitness and I think most people, prob not all, can do one if they really want to. I include myself in that, just not feeling sufficiently determined yet. I absolutely will one day.

best of luck with the 10k which is a great next step to take. Think about a ten miler or half marathon after.

fwiw I know several women who first did a marathon in their 40s. Some were new to running in their 40s too! Most are fairly slow, finishing in 5h or so. But kudos to all of them.

I think you're pretty amazing to be doing 10k. I'm sure it's just a case of training, practice and determination. You can always alternate between jogging and walking.

ps when I say determination I mean to do the necessary training.

I admire people for committing to and doing the training for a marathon. Anyone can do the training and get to standard. It takes discipline and dedication to do the training.

I’m so pleased I started this thread - really interesting reading all your thoughts. 😊

Yes I must say the relentlessness of pounding the pavement for 26 miles doesn’t massively appeal any more, especially now the days of PBs are behind me. I’d do it for London as it’s such a special marathon, but that’s about it.

It’s not just the challenge of going further that appeals with an ultra, it’s just a totally different experience.

Agree with this. Anyone who can run 10k can run a marathon, but it doesn't mean everyone should. I have a couple of friends who were very fit 10k-ish runners who reckon they took 2 years+ to recover from their marathons.

Everybody is different, but almost everyone (without disabilities, injuries etc) can do it if they train at a sensible pace.

DH is built for long distances, has done multiple ultras and regular marathons, thinks nothing of doing a half before work. It took him very little time to get to marathon distance and stay there.

I am not built for long distances. I can do a 5k in just shy of 30 mins on a good day, a 10 in about 1hr 5, and did a single half in 2:25. The extra distance took a loooong time to add on and I had to go really gently, adding on 10% in a long run every week, and even then failing a few long runs. Getting to marathon from a half would take me most of a year I think.

would I get round? Yes. Would it cause me harm if I trained sensibly? No. Am I going to, er, no. I don’t have that much time to spare!

I could have in my youth but arthritis means that I would not be able to now even if I trained.

I did one in my mid 40s (about 10 years ago). I went from non-runner to marathon in 18 months and crossed the finishing line in just over 3 hours 47 minutes.

There were a lot of physical factors involved: not being overweight at the start of the training, having been a "walker" my entire life and so having resilient joints and good "form" as a basis, training purposefully for the event (i.e. no junk miles), and plenty of cross training to save my joints and make me lighter on my feet.

Mentality was also a major factor: I found my 10km practice races to be sheer torture and one of my half marathons to be possibly the most painful event of my life (child birth included!), but distances over 30km sort of "clicked" with me. It was like being on a high: I could sustain a good pace but also disassociate myself from the pain, meaning that I didn't get overwhelmed by it, as in shorter distances. This made the running fun and, over time, I found that I would sometimes choose to run places simply as a mode of transport.

So I suppose I think that, disabilities and injuries aside, it is possible for anyone - but that some will have it easier than other, depending on whether that is "your" distance.

I'm actually just toying with trying to run another. But 10+ years later and with 15kg+ excess weight, it's hard to know if I even dare try 😂 and where exactly to start .