Marathon

Calvin27

Eats Squid
Flame suit on

Shit talking went a bit far at Christmas and now me and some mates have verbally agreed to attempt a marathon. We are all unfit middle aged fat bastards myself included. Never run anything with distance before in my life. Max was 6km and even then that was a one off. I think I did maybe 5 runs last year.

Anyway thought it would be a good challenge - something different. I'm ok on the bike, can do kind of long rides 6-8 hours with a bit of grit. The goal is to just finish, but I rekon to actually call it a marathon and not a crawl, sub 5 hours including breaks is what I'm aiming for.

And before you say it, yes I understand this will be a painful affair and I probably won't enjoy it even after i finish it. I will 100% go back to biycles after and maybe just run once per week to mix it up. Maybe I will reward myself with a new bike of something lol.

Any tips and tricks from folks who have crossed over? What were your experiences? Did anyone shit themselves (heard it's a remote possibility)?
 

creaky

XMAS Plumper
I’ve never even tried to run 20k, but could if necessary. Been doing a bit of running for the last 3 years starting around 40yo.

I enjoy a trail run and will do other short runs around home, generally 5 (with the dog) to 10k, as a bit of alternative exercise. Pottering along super slow over longer distances doesn’t hold much appeal to me, especially on the pavement.

Marathon distance is a whole other ball game.

How long are you giving yourself to work up to that distance? The body may have some middle aged man complaints if you rush it.

I would think doing a month of 5ks, two or three months of 10-15ks and then mixing in the odd longer one after that point would be the way to go.

You’ll need some decent recovery and stretching times between the longer runs I imagine.

I’m certainly no expert on running.

Good luck and don’t push it too hard too early!
 

SlowManiac

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I used to run ultra marathons (typically 100km or 100 miles).
My tips would be start slowly with a 2 short 5km runs during the week and a longer one one the weekend.
Build this up till you are doing 2-3 12-15km weekly short runs and a longer 20km run.

Now training for the marathon can begin...
The process is similar but the key is to do at least a few weekend runs over 30km around 4 weeks out from your chosen event. Around the 30km mark your body runs out of easily available sources of energy and things become... interesting...

I also did almost all my training exclusively off road. Some people don't like it but I much prefer trail running.

Running is actually awesome, I find it super relaxing
 

Freediver

I can go full Karen
An uncle of mine was well into his 30s when his doctor told him he in bad shape and he needed to start exercising so he did, it took about 3 years and he managed to do just under 3 hours in the Melbourne Marathon which is what you want to be doing if you call yourself a marathon runner. Pre covid he traveled the world doing it and was getting paid by Brookes to lead running groups.
Some of the good tips that apply to anybody that he gave me are:

Go to a shop that sells sports shoes and get somebody who knows what they are doing to find the pair that fits.

Listen to your body. If you feel like you can do more, do it. If any joints complain, rest.

You can't stretch too much.

Rest days don't mean Playstation and pies stay active and watch what you eat. Even a couple of extra kgs is a burden over 42 km.

Too many sports drinks and yes, you will shit yourself.
 
Top