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 😵‍💫

@Gulbekian such a good point re the mentality. Even if I could do it physically it’s the mental aspect for me. Sometimes on the 10K training runs I’m thinking “can I stop yet, am I done yet?” Which possibly doesn’t bode well!

Sometimes on the 10K training runs I’m thinking “can I stop yet, am I done yet?” Which possibly doesn’t bode well

It doesn't bode well if you quit. But if you run through that, then you can do a marathon, because that's all you have to do: keep going even when your body tells you you're too tired.

Do you stop? Bet you don't.

Totally agree with this.

i’ve only trained for a half and that’s one very long run at the weekend for months…..then the rest of the day feeling wiped out and not able to do much! Hard if you have kids. Supportive partner is a must.

sadly its simply not the case that ‘anyone’ who can do 10k or a half ‘could’ train for and complete a full marathon, without injury. Especially in older age groups.

It's definitely possible with the right training and time commitment. The harder part with London is actually getting a place 😂

I do think people get wrapped up in the kudos of a marathon. Doing a well trained for half marathon to me is more impressive than rocking up badly trained and walking/injuring yourself on full marathon just to have ticked a box.

saying that, I trained for a half in my mid 20’s and loved it and wish I’d done a full marathon then as I get closer to 40 and face starting from 5k again!

Partly that could be about the speed you’re running. I generally find parkrun more gruelling than a long training run because I’m trying to hold a less comfortable pace. Particularly for a beginner, long runs should be comfortably slow - that doesn’t mean you don’t get to the end of a long run feeling fresh as a daisy by any means, but it’s a very different beast.

When I was a slightly more serious about running it was the speed work that I dreaded, whereas the long slow runs were generally pretty fun!

@Watchkeys no, I don’t stop 😊

100% if I could, anybody can seriously

I am sure any healthy person could do it, with enough prep....but I dont think 'anybody' can do it.
Personally Im over 50 with an arthritic hip and dodgy knees....Id probably cripple myself if I tried it!!LOL😂
(I can run short distances though and Im C25King my way up to that).

A cautious yes. I did anyway 😂

There are plans that will get you to a marathon in 16-20 weeks from very little base. Clearly people take that approach and suceed, but the injury risk is relatively high from constantly pushing at boundaries. The post-marathon burn-out is quite high from that approach too.

My training of 9 years from C25k was a tad on the slow side 😂 I wanted to be comfortable with HMs first, and had got to the stage where I do 3 per year. Then I picked up an over-use injury and I blame race congestion of Covid and the spring/ autumn races bunching up. I thought I was doing brilliantly, even smashing pbs, but just over did it and ended up deferring the marathon place rather than having the strong base I'd hoped for. A few months later and back to C25k. However other than one niggle, I did have years of stamina, strength and experience of long runs under my belt which is different to C25k from scratch.

I jeffed my long runs and marathon and kept the pace right down. I'd aimed to do it anyway, and the gentle approach worked and I emerged injury free with a light recovery. I enjoyed the challenge of training and the finale of race day. The hardest part was the 4+ hour 20 mile run in relentless mist and drizzle, alone and aching having shifted the run forwards to the least-worst forecast. I kept the rest of my running load down with parkrun (run-all) and a couple of gentle short runs to feel as the rest of the running, and yoga/ weights/ swimming for general health and fitness.

My advice to a new or light runner would be to take the year at least. Get comfortable with 5k, 10k, HM first. Do a training block for each, then dial back and recover. Build that base up.

Psychologically all my marathon training was was a 14, 16, 18 and 20 mile run beyond my normal range because I was used to being halfway there. Cross train. Value general strength and flexibility. Respect the distance and ease off on the speed. Jeff (planed, short run/ walk intervals) if needed; there's no rule that you have to run the lot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rar%C3%A1muri "With widely dispersed settlements, these people developed a tradition of long-distance running up to 200 miles (320 km) in one session, over a period of two days through their homeland of rough canyon country, for inter-village communication, transportation, and hunting."

Maybe, I used to do my long run on a Sunday morning before 9 so sometimes starting at 7, then take DS to football, come back and cook a roast dinner. I didn't find it wiped me out.

I hope so, I'm an overweight 49 year old menopausal woman and my current 5k time is about 38 minutes. My husband has signed me up for Brighton next year and I'm terrified!

I would never class myself as a "runner" but I'm 42 now and kids a bit older so looking ahead I either see it as I get off my (size 16) arse and get fit, or look forward to a retirement of ill health and medical issues.

I've now run 3 half marathons in the last 18months, each one getting a bit quicker. My weight isn't down too much, but OMG I feel more energetic and alive in my day to day life.

You'll never know unless you try.

(Keep entering London to no avail, fingers crossed 2025 will be it!)

I did a handful of half marathons in my 20s and 30s when I was quite fit but even then, I never thought I'd be able to do a full marathon.

When I started running I had no interest in entering any races, let alone a marathon, but have done all sorts of distances now including 2 marathons. Both took 16 weeks of training. The training took the fun out of running, knowing I had to run as it was part of a training plan.
I have entered the London marathon ballot again and it is the only one I would consider training again for I think... although Manchester does tempt me a bit too. I think anyone, with the right plan and enough time could train for and run a marathon. It is certainly an incredible experience (as is walking downstairs the next day 😂)

@AvonCallingBarksdale If you can get hold of it, there's a book called "The Non-Runners' Marathon Trainer" by Whitsett et al. that you might find useful. It's based on a US college course in which all the participants - many of whom were complete beginners - were required to run a marathon in order to pass the course. It's not tremendously well put together or written but it contains some great (first hand) accounts of the different mental strategies that the individual participants developed in order to get themselves through. I found it very helpful.

I know I don't have a marathon in me, so on that basis I'd say that it's not possible for anyone to run a marathon. Some people just aren't designed for the endurance both mental and physical that it takes.

For me, training for a half marathon (and subsequently completing it) was absolutely brutal. It's not just a couple of weeks of preparation, it's a few months. No matter the weather you need to stick to the training plan - absolutely sucks the joy out of running.

At one point I was running at 4am in 28 degree heat because it was the coolest part of the day and that summer was relentlessly hot (autumn half marathon). Friends of mine have done the London marathon so that means winter training in all sorts of really wet and windy weather, mostly in the dark...and then get a climate shock when they ran London in blazing sunshine.

I'm beyond proud of myself for completing a half marathon. My BMI won't go lower than 35 so I'm very much a middle aged, overweight plodder - I don't resemble what a runner should look like, even if you squint with beer goggles!

But to do double that distance and time? No way. I'd be looking at a minimum of 6 hours on my feet after months of building up to that time and distance. It would probably finish off my love of running to do something like that.

I would say see how you feel after 10ks/half marathons
One thing to remember is that a lot of training is often quite miserable weather, if you're doing a spring marathon. Going out for 5k when it's raining and blowing a gale is one thing, knowing you need to do eg 18 miles is quite different. I haven't missed that at all this year!

I've done 9 marathons (5 x at London) and definitely agree its as much mental as physical. One of my worst marathon times was when I had done the best training and was physically fit (and much younger!) but just losing the will at 16 miles, doing lots of walking and then met a club mate at 20 miles and finished it together.

The last 3 halfs I've done haven't been my fastest but felt mentally strong all the way and enjoyed them a lot more.

@LittleLegsKeepGoing

I know I don't have a marathon in me

That's a decision, not a lack of ability. You can't know you can't do something until you try. Unless it's something that defies physics, like flying.

You definitely could if you are already running.

The barrier for many would be the sheer amount of hours it takes to train. And the training is so boring and sometimes miserable. I remember running 15 miles one Sunday and giving up, DH had to come and pick me up. I was supposed to do 17 that day but it was raining so hard, I was utterly soaked through to the bone and so cold. I also did things like intervals on the treadmill and running ten miles before work midweek. I was doing 4-5 sessions a week. With a half marathon you could get away with a couple of runs in the week and a long run on a Sunday. Some probably do that for a marathon but most run on four or five days a week. I was 26 then and child free and still found it hard to fit in around work. Now at 48 I'd find it far too time consuming.

The actual London Marathon is absolutely brilliant event to be part of, I can honestly say I actually really enjoyed (most of) it on the day. It's not very often you get the chance to be part of a mass participation event with elite athletes and have a huge crowd cheering you on. But there are several half marathons with big crowds and great support, such as the Great North Run.

If you are trying to lose weight though don't rely on it as a weight loss tool. I've never lost weight from running whether I was the right weight or overweight.

I agree with your first statement and they seem very commercialised now. Although it's about personal growth and individual journeys, Every third person seems to be training for one, and more annoyingly asking me for donations. A few acquaintances got very annoyed at me for not being impressed! But then again they didn't congratulate me on my other sporting achievements so I saw no reason to give them any marathon kudos. LOL.

Marathons are also more 'inclusive' now because well the more participants, the more money raised for charity. It's not in anybody's interest to gatekeep beyond crowd control levels.

Anyway I think it you can start training and keep up the discipline you have a good chance OP. As PP said it's about discipline and mental strength as much as it is about physical ability.

I know quite a few people who didn't make it to the marathon but have built healthier habits for life, and now do other sports they enjoy. It can be very motivating especially if you weren't sporty to begin with.

This is fascinating reading all these replies. When DH, who I consider to be a “real runner”, goes out for a long run it’s his time away. It’s amazing for his mental health and he just kind of loses himself in the training. Because I’m more of a “is it over yet” runner I’ve always thought I wouldn’t be able to do the training. But I love the feeling after the run or during a group run like parkrun However, reading this thread has told me there’s all types of different runners - just because I’m not a DH type doesn’t mean I couldn’t train for a half at least.
I’m going to do my 10K race, see how that is then put in for some more 10Ks and find a half.
Thanks for the book recommendations 😊

Blimey, I sound like I’ve been on quite the “journey” in this thread 😅. Thank you!