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 😵‍💫

Also OP you may just not be a runner and it's OK!
I'm not - I prefer climbing, hiking, Aerial arts, pole dance I just don't like the ground.
There are also other types like fell running if you're interested.

I’ve done dozens of them - mostly fairly slow, but a PB of just under 4 hours.
If I can do it anyone can (overweight menopausal woman speaking). It’s all about training, resting and not taking yourself too seriously.

If you want a half with incredible support enter the London Landmarks Half ballot. It's getting harder to get in as it's so popular but it's the best half I've ever done for support and atmosphere.

As regards anyone doing a marathon, yes with training and preparation but beware it takes over your life. I did couch to 5k 8 years ago, went from 5k to 10k, then a half, then more half's. Now I'm training for a 50k Ultra! I've built in strength and conditioning at the gym and my training plan has me running back to back on both weekend days. It's time consuming but I want to feel prepared when I hit that start line so I enjoy it and get to the finish line in decent shape!

Cardiff half marathon is also amazing for support (it's sold out for this year though). LLM has decent crowds, but I wasn't that keen on it as a route/event.

In general any big city half will have decent crowds. Or enter a local half, and then you're much more likely to have people you know out on the course supporting.

No, I don't think "anyone" can, at all!
And it's alright.

@AvonCallingBarksdale I am not a runner, was a sprinter in school but never liked distance. And of course school was a long long time ago for me ( 60 this year)

However I walk, I can walk all day long and there are loads of Charity hikes about. I did the Mighty Hikes 1/2 marathon at the causeway coastal route for Mcmillan two years ago, severely overweight, totally no training and the day after I got a clear result after having covid :) Thought it was going to kill me at one point but I finished .

Im really hoping I can get to do the full marathon this year

The hiking ones are great, you get all the support from the public along route, not as much as the London Marathon obviously and you get great support from the Mighty Hikes team and its just a fantastic day out. You get your medal and glass of fizz and photographs are taken of you all throughout the course for you to print out. I was buzzing for weeks after that

I do parkrun when I dont have to work and I walk that as well. 5k in 44 mins - not too shabby , and when I cant make parkrun I do "not parkrun " at least twice a week during the winter and now the good weather is coming, I will get 10ks in at the weekends

Ive tried running but its just not for me anymore

In your opinion.

Meanwhile in the real world as mentioned in my post I've trained for and successfully completed a half marathon. My knowing that I don't have a marathon in me is based on how my body responded to both the training and event itself. That's a fact, not an opinion.

I know that my body cannot handle the training required for a marathon and I know that attempting a marathon without ever having gone further than 13 miles would be fucking ridiculous as a middle aged woman 3 stone overweight and don't even fucking start on losing weight - not even the doctors know what to do with me.

That being said, I have huge admiration for those who tackle these feats of physical and mental endurance. But they are not me, and they don't have to live with the limitations and pain my body has.

@LittleLegsKeepGoing

Yes, in my opinion. As I live in the real world, just like you, it's as valid as yours. Thanks for your views.

Best of luck to you. As I think you’ve already figured out, when you do your 10k you may feel like you can’t possibly run any further. I would recommend getting comfy with running 10k before moving up distances. This took me quite a long time. But these days if I “just” run 5k it almost doesnt feel far enough to be worthwhile. Obviously it is though.

No, you need the physical and mental resilience. I have neither, although I am a regular runner of shorter distances (as my username suggests!) There's no way I could put myself through it, and I think I would pick up injury after injury.

But it's difficult to know how it will go until you start to train. Everyone should do strength training as part of their plan to try to avoid injury.

I wouldn't write off the idea that you won't get that kind of mental health benefit from running longer. I used to be more like you - mostly running 5-10k and finding it a bit of a slog. I went from that to deciding to run a marathon and I distinctly remember the first time I got the "runner's high", I think it was when the distances were going north of about 8-9 miles and I felt really zen and happy.

But there are loads of "right ways" to run. You don't have to run the longest, or the fastest. I'm coming back to running after a few years with long-covid and I really never thought I'd run again. I have to do things a bit differently now, partly because rebuilding my base fitness is quite a long journey, and because I've been left with some possibly permanent cardiovascular side effects which I need to manage. But I hugely appreciate being able to do something that I get so much enjoyment from and I now prioritise what feels right on the day over doing things by the book.

Probably, but why would you?

Running for prolongued periods on concrete/tarmac is damaging to the soft tissues and joints. Marathons can damage the heart unless you're already very well trained.

I just don't see the point. Personally of course.

I think people liked to be seen doing it.

Otherwise why not just walk up Snowdon if you want a personal challenge? Better views!

Most people I know with persistant sporting injuries picked them up doing something other than running (football being a leading culprit) - but I never seem to hear other people saying those sports are bad for you in the way people go on about running.

The only activity that has given me long term damage has been running.

The other activities I've done and sports I've played have injured me but only short term.

I read something in Runner’s World recently (think it was RW) that said research showed running doesn’t damage your joints. Me being overweight makes me more prone to injury IMVHO.

Fair enough. It's just something to consider.

If you get a good training plan together and strengthen the muscles around any joints where you might be sensitive there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to run a marathon.

Was chatting about this with my physio last week actually (I have inflammatory arthritis).
She said it's a myth it damages your joints. I've since ramped my running up again 🙃

I did it not even able to run 5K when I started training. Amazing experience.

I am forever grateful to my friend who insisted on taking me shopping for trainers though. Most I'd ever spent on a pair of trainers and I didn't get a single blister or injury. So go to a proper running shop and get some good well fitting trainers. (And a running belt)

This drives me mad, catdiology and orthopaedic wards are not full of marathon runners who have knackered their knees and hearts, they are full of overweight individuals who take very little exercise. It is far more dangerous to do nothing than to run 5 X a week.

Cardiology obviously

I did London last year and it was one of the most amazing things I have ever done - very comparable in intensity and emotion to giving birth 😁. I've just signed up for marathon #2 for next spring with a 2 year gap.

I jeffed the whole race which I think took a lot of strain off limbs. I ended up doing 10 mins running 2 mins walking for 26 miles and finished in 5 hours 15. It might be nice to go faster but actually I had an amazing day, donated loads of money to cancer research in memory of my friend and recovered quickly without injury.

Try and few nice halves first and see how they go. One of the really interesting things I found mentally while training is that there are ups and downs even a bad run will have really good patches or you'll see something which cheers you up or you stop to have a stretch and it all gets easier - you don't get it so much below 5 miles but it can keep you going.

Running without varying your terrain, pace & intensity, and without accompanying weights / similar exercises will invariably cause damage in some form or another.

Running can be very addictive & I know many runners who get niggles / minor injuries that they ignore, and end up with a lot of issues.

But if you are balancing running with other exercise, building muscle, varying where you run, combining speed / distance runs, and regularly changing runners, running is an excellent exercise you can do for as long as you want.

Anyone can. Absolutely.

Not everyone wants to - that's ok!

But that's the joy of something like a marathon. Apart from the elite runners or very fit, most people will run at a slower pace than they normally do.

For my first marathon, I ran just over 9 min miles which was slow (for me then, in my 20s, less so now, in my 40s!) and just relaxed, enjoying the community experience of it, until c21 miles when I did struggle.

Training is crucial but if you train right, anyone can do it, if you are not pushing for a certain time.
That's the beauty of it, because many other sports aren't accessible - I can't compete in an All-Ireland football match or 6 Nations rugby game.

@Neurodiversitydoctor

I think people liked to be seen doing it

Otherwise why not just walk up Snowdon if you want a personal challenge

Because people aren't all the same.

And you seem to think that running is more damaging to human health than not running, which is simply wrong. I hope you're not what your name would suggest!

I think (and I'm not putting OP in this category) that lots of people have London marathon on a bucket list and it looks great and really exciting on tv (because it is great and really exciting! 🤣) ...but they aren't that interested in the actual running or training to get to that point. Several people I know have entered the ballot, not got in, been disappointed and then not run a single mile in between entering the ballot again the next year!
There are several big city marathons (Manchester, Brighton, Edinburgh etc) that are easier to get into if you want to run a marathon. And thousands of parkruns or races at any distance if you want to try running without committing to a marathon!