Home treadmills for running - worth it?

[catonabin]

I am training for a marathon at the moment but struggling to fit all my running in as I'm often tied to the house (combo of young DC + DH away long hours).

Wondering whether a treadmill would work for me

I'd want something cheap/second hand as it's really only for a few months.

We don't really have anywhere decent to keep one - a folding one would be preferable but I don't know whether these are any good for running.

Is this a terrible idea? What do I need to know?

Yes get one, love mine, put it on slight incline for better training.

How much did you pay for yours? There's some pretty cheap ones on Amazon and the like which claim to be suitable for running but I'm dubious. I'm not going to want to be sprinting on it but needs to handle 10-12kph.

Following.
I see so many walking pad ads online that are supposed to be for jogging and running too, but when you look at the specs they seem to small to run comfortably.. Unless you have very short legs and short strides maybe...

Yes and others that seem to offer decent running speeds but dig past the (fake?) glowing reviews and people are reporting motors burning out within months.

I mean I presumably I don’t need anything as robust as they have in the gym that’s going non-stop 18hours a day, but I don’t want something that’s built from rubber bands.

Sorry can’t remember at all had it years, but friend got a reebok one off Facebay for nothing, another friend generic one from Facebay also free and both run on them.

I have a treadmill that’s foldable. I don’t use it for running though, just walking. I got it from Amazon about 2 years ago for about £150. I don’t usually use it daily, it depends on the weather as I like to get outside when it’s dry, but on average, in the winter, I probably use if for 5 days out of 7 for about an hour each day.

Where are you up to in your marathon training? As you might find that you struggle to do your long runs on treadmills due to the boredom factor. I certainly can't do the 3 hour plus runs on a treadmill, anyway. And then if you don't use it that might make the whole purchase a bit pointless?

If you do go for it, the folding ones are pointless for proper running. You need a decent one, which means something very large, quite noisy and also £££...

Mine is pro fitness, lasted years done many many miles and only needs minimal maintenance like oil

Oh god no I couldn’t do a long run on a treadmill but that’s ok - I can do them on the weekend when DH is around. Mostly it’s 30mins-1hour mid week runs that are the challenge to fit in. In an ideal world I’d have something I could do some faster runs on but if I could do gentle runs between 9-10kph it would still make a difference.

I have a Nordic track, it was about a grand but paid in installments.. this was about 6 years ago now and worth every penny, I use it 3 or 4 times a week at this time of year - generally between 3-6 miles. I also walk on it during some meetings when im there for information rather than to contribute. You can pick a decent one second hand cheaply but ive tried a couple of cheap brand new ones (couple of hundred quid) and found them really difficult to run on, clunky and loud. The ones without screens are usually cheaper so worth looking at decent quality but no screen.

I can run up to about 8 miles quite happily watching something on tv, but then I get bored. I found it really helpful in marathon training to either do a warm up 3 or 4 miles on the treadmill before heading out, really helped mentally that when I headed out the door I had 15 miles to do rather than 18, 19 miles etc. Good luck!!

Yes make sure you research them. I have a walking pad ( mainly for wfh) and it advertises you can run, but it only goes to 6kmph and the belt is quite short, so you can do a slow jog really.

I have a Horizon. It folds vertically and I really like it. I use it for 45-min runs mostly and interval training but also some hiking classes as it goes up to 10% incline.

Definitely get a proper treadmill if you’re a runner. There’s a lot of treadmills advertised that are basically just walking pads with a handle and not robust at all.

Mine cost £699 but I do use it at least 3 times a week.

I do have a walking pad. It has an incline (fixed) and goes up to 14 km per hour speed wise. I regularly do 10- 15 km runs on it which take me up to 90min to do. Two or three times per week. I like to watch tv whilst doing it. £150 of Amazon.
However, I am a shortie, and I don’t think it would particularly suit some one taller than maybe 5’ 6” or with a long stride.? Also I am unsure of longevity although mine is over a year old it’s beginning to creak a bit and I wouldn’t replace it with another walking pad. A second hand treadmill is on my wish list.

I'm having a look at what is around second hand as I don't want to spend good money on something I only want for a few months. In principle I'd like to have one long term but we don't have space - I can probably persuade DH to put up with one for a few months but I don't think it could be a permanent fixture.