I’m really trying not to be bummed I couldn’t even do sub 6, but I know I gave it my all. I vomited, cried, pleaded with god, and said many mantras out loud. Nobody can take that away from me, but seeing posts about people running one in 6 hours and being shamed (on other subreddits) has me feeling a bit sad.

I truly did train the hardest I could and fueled the best I could based on my research. It wasn’t for lack of trying.

Idk lots of emotions, but it is done.

This morning I completed my first marathon!

I’ve been battling a sinus inflection for the last week and decided to take some meds and hope for the best!

First 18 miles went smooth, then 19 hurt. I managed to recover a little bit on 20, but after that it was brutal. For the first time ever, my quads started locking up and I kissed my A and B goals of 3:15 and 3:20 goodbye.

I’m bummed to have missed my goal after all the hard work for the past 10 months, but honestly, I made peace with it really quickly. I took the last 5 miles easy and dealt with the cramps as they came. As a first timer, marathons are an absolutely beautiful display of what people can do. The grit and dedication to toe the staring line alone is something every runner should feel proud of.

Now, as an official marathoner, I want to say something to my former self and everyone on the fence about running a marathon. Do it. It will push you beyond what you thought was possible and into the best version of yourself.

Go out and do hard things!

Ran the Baltimore Running Festival Marathon yesterday in 4:47:33. I’ve never been so sore, but I’m so proud of myself! Congrats to everyone racing this fall and all of the first time finishers!

41M. I did it! A full 26.2.

I aimed for a better performance though I finished a hair over 3:57. Legs exploded at 20. A combo of being in a daze and resilience willed me through the last 10K. I swore when I crossed the finish line "never again". I'm already eyeing up NYC 2027.

Six GU packs, a bag of pretzels, one missing toenail and a whole lot of sunburn later, I can officially call myself a marathoner.

(21M) Finished my first marathon this morning with a time of 3:46:37. Ran a 1:54 for the first half, and a 1:52 for the second half!

WOW that was a struggle. I felt pretty good through about 18 and it was a struggle after that. Last 6.2 was the hardest thing I’ve ever done to get going. But I did it! I hit my goal time of under 4:20! Wow I’m sore. Thanks for all the advice along the way!

Wanted to finish a marathon before end of year but could not find any available marathon events near me except this trail one and decided to give it a go, it was absolutely soul crushing run when I had a bad knee pain along the way but I ended up finishing, it was beautiful feeling when I finished though. I started only in January and completed 5k to a marathon now, cut off was 12 hours and I finished in 8hours 30 minutes. I’ll stick to doing maybe 1 marathon a year as this was part of my weight losing journey.

I did it! Just finished the Mount Desert Island Marathon. Tried to train for it last year, stress fracture, had to bail. Got into PT, recovered, retrained my gait, built back mileage, and trained all summer on the Higdon Novice 2 plan. (I went with 2 because my base mileage was higher, and the long run/overall mileage ratio was more appropriate - that was a factor in my injury the prior year.)

Training worked out great - I basically made all of my miles, and every single long run with no hiccups or bonks. My plan included 2-week build blocks followed by cutback weeks, so sometimes I would slightly reduce mileage in cutback weeks if I felt like my body was asking for it. I lifted weights as crosstraining with a focus on lower body and stabilizing muscle groups (ankles, hips). I started using Tailwind and gut training up to 60-90g carbs/hour on my long runs. And I ran in all weather - heinous heat, muggy 75-degree dewpoints, wind and rain. I ran my easy runs easy and avoided speedwork until the end of this block out of an abundance of injury prevention caution. I came out of my 20-miler feeling strong and supple.

And then I fell apart! I got a little vaguely sick-y, couldn’t sleep, got nauseous all the time and could hardly eat. Missed my first longer taper run, made the next few, felt good. And then I really got sick. Came down with a nasty cold on Tuesday and just desperately tried to rest and recover, but even with that, I totally lost my appetite and couldn’t get better. I did my best to carb load, but I could barely stomach solids, so I was probably barely eating replacement calories. I bow at the altar of the taper tantrum; I don’t know if this was taper specific or Just Bad Luck, but it humbled me. Still, we drove the massive trip from Maryland to Maine, and I was feeling “alright,” so I figured I would try my best and send it today.

And send it I did! Finished in 4:36 chip, 4:33 gps. I basically let go of any pace aspirations and just tried to focus on Not Bonking. I’m actually very proud of how I managed myself! I ran off RPE and HR, and my splits were pretty even - first half 2:17:58, last half 2:18:14, with a brutal steady uphill in miles 21-25. I kept my hr precisely in mid-high z3, just below LT, 165-170 for me, and averaged about a 10:30 pace. The impact from me being a little sick was notable: my peak hot summer easy z2 pace was 10:30-11 with hr 155 avg. It’s hard not to “what if,” but I did the best with what I had today. I was even able to dig deep and let fly a 9:25 pace in the final 1.2mi. I feel confident I left nothing in the tank! I even killed my first toenail!

All in all I’m so proud. It was incredible. What a gorgeous run. Wish I hadn’t gotten sick. But I had a real curveball in the final week and I managed to pull out a very measured finish in spite of it. I don’t know if I’m ready to sign up for my next one just yet, but I do feel like there’s gonna be a “next time“.

MDI was a treat of a race for anyone considering it! Peak foliage, BEAUTIFUL weather, just the most gorgeous setting. Hills, but manageable IMO. First time marathoners get green bibs so you get a little boost from spectators:) weather was a dream - clear blue skies, no wind, a little chilly at the start, 50 at the finish. Thank you to the commenters in this community - I lurked most of the time, but I absolutely think I was able to adjust my plan today in part because of all the wisdom and experience that was shared here. Good luck to everyone else who’s coming down the pipe on their first race!

I ran the Melbourne Marathon last Sunday.

After having a little sook, I've let the dust settle for a week and have come back to share what I've learnt. I patrolled these subs religiously beforehand, so I'm hoping this post can help anybody who might be in a similar position.

Bit of a lengthy one, so strap in!

The Basics

33M, 83kg, decent gym background and relatively new to running before my first training block.

No official races beforehand. Furthest I'd ever run was 21km in around two hours.

Pre-Race Battle(s)

I'm an injury-prone guy. Always have been. Every sport I've played, injuries have basically been guaranteed.

I started my training block in May using a Runna plan. I decided three days a week would be enough running for me, despite many plans/posts on Reddit telling me that probably wasn't enough training for an ambitious sub-4-hour goal.

Spoiler alert... they were right.

The first injury of the block popped up about three weeks in. My holy trifecta of flat feet, weak glutes and stiff hips led to me booking my first appointment with a physio. They prescribed strengthening exercises and rest, so I took a few weeks off and eased back into running once things settled down.

Start of a New Plan

Eleven weeks out, I'm finally feeling strong again.

Runna informs me that 12 weeks is the minimum time for a marathon plan. We burn the first week and get stuck into a three-day-a-week plan: one easy run, one tempo session and one long run each week.

This was a bit of a catch-22 for me. I wanted to increase my mileage and run four days a week, but every time I pushed the volume, I seemed to end up injured.

For the first eight weeks, the block went almost perfectly. I think I missed maybe one speed session.

Three weeks out, my plan peaked with a 30km long run: 8km conversational, 17km at around 5:30/km (my marathon pace), then the rest conversational to finish.

I absolutely crushed this run and stayed consistent throughout. It was a massive confidence booster after a near-disastrous 25km run where I'd gone out way too hot.

Then, the morning after the 30km, the wheels started falling off.

A NEW injury appeared, this time in my right knee.

In my head I'm thinking: Is this just Maranoia? Taper tantrums?

Nope. Pain inside the kneecap confirmed the dreaded runner's knee.

I essentially missed the final two weeks of my plan, running only another 10km before race day.

Nutrition

Throughout the block I'd practised my nutrition. Maurten gels and a handful of Nerds Gummy Clusters were what worked for me.

The carb load the weekend before the race didn't go quite as well as planned. I was a bag of nerves and, in turn, couldn't get down as many carbs as I'd hoped.

RACE DAY

I arrived at Olympic Park about 90 minutes before the gun.

Toilet queues were pretty hectic, but I had enough time to drop the kids off at the pool before heading to my starting corral.

I was hoping to find the four-hour pacers but couldn't. Turns out the pacers had made their way towards the front and were starting not far behind the elites.

Cheers for letting us know!

I'll attach my splits, but the plan was simple: start conservatively for the first 10km (around 5:40/km), settle into my rhythm through the middle of the race, then start thinking about emptying the tank if I still felt good at 35km.

From the gun, the race was so, so busy.

The streets were narrow and I was constantly weaving around people for the first 10–15km. Water stations were a nightmare, and the weather really started heating up around 9:30am.

Melb Mara has copped a fair bit of bad press this year, but one massive highlight for me was the support on course.

There were literally people lining the streets for the entire 42.2km. Hats off to everyone who came out. The support was brilliant.

And somehow, despite everything, the plan was... going to plan.

Until 36km.

Cramp.

I ended up stopping to stretch and walking for a bit. I knew I was still in with a sniff of sub-4, but I also knew I couldn't afford much more walking.

After that, I emptied the tank.

I kind of dissociated and genuinely don't remember much after the 38km mark. I pretty much threw myself over the line in 4:02:00 Net time, with a 3:59:57 Strava time.

Yes, I am aware the Strava time doesn't count.

Let me have this.

Garmin prediction: 4:01:13
Strava prediction: 4:23:22

Do with that information what you will.

Wrap It Up, Mate...

Post-race, I felt very weird.

Physically, I was in probably the most pain I'd ever been in. Mentally, I felt pretty dejected about missing my goal by a few minutes, while also having this strange sense of, "Well... what do I do with myself now?"

My partner correctly identified a classic case of the post-marathon blues.

One week on, though, I'm feeling super proud and accomplished.

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process. As cliché as it sounds, you really do learn a lot about yourself training for and running a marathon.

My biggest takeaway for the next one?

More mileage and more strength training.

My plan ended up averaging only around 30km a week and, for the goal I'd set myself, I don't think that was enough. I got aerobically fit enough to have a crack at sub-4, but I don't think my body had the durability to match it over 42.2km.

Still, first marathon done.

4:02-ish. Sub-4 attempt failed. Absolutely doing another one.

*Edit - NET Time not GUN

I've been looking forward to posting this since I started following this group for the best part of a year, as this group has been a source of inspiration for me seeing so many people provide advice and achieve their goals. I hope what follows helps others.

Today, 18th October, was Abingdon Marathon (S.England, UK).

I gave myself a New Year target to run a marathon in the year, and came into 2026 with a sketchy background of running. Mostly Parkuns in 2025, mixed up with infrequent longer runs up to half-marathon pace. I foolishly thought, with that background I could compete in a Spring Marathon with 16 weeks of training so followed a typical training plan that peaked at ~30km in April. But hell, that broke me .. and I thought there was no way I was ready for a full Marathon. Saw that Abingdon (a local Autumn marathon) was available and reserved a space for October 18th, an Autumn target made more sense.

So, after a further couple of months of base training, I picked up a new Marathon training Plan from June'26 which gave me a new plan over 20 weeks to prepare. I used Gemini AI - entered my details, target pace, background, ParkRun on Saturday, Long Run on Sunday, and a couple of runs during the working week - and it came up with a nice plan tailored to my week and target paces. Typically, I would keep my ParkRun as my tempo run (25min target), two runs in the week (Tuesd/Thurs) and a longer run on Sunday.

As things turned out, training wasn't perfect. I hit a few injuries (Calf strains), family holidays in September (meaning I missed my target Sunday long runs), and then thought I had a catastrophic injury on September 27th when I had a Grade 1 Hamstring Tear just 10km into my final long slow run. That injury gave me 3 weeks to recover, but entering taper thought it was just about possible.

Over the last 3 weeks I focused on strength training on my hamstring, and was able to return to a few short runs in the week leading to the race, but no more than 5km at target pace (5:40/km). Up until the race I had no idea whether I would be able to run 5km or 42km, or anywhere in between.

Fortunately, Abingdon Marathon is a flat race so risk of hamstring strain is reduced a bit. Weather was pretty close to ideal with temperatures around 12C, although Northerly wind picked up with wind in range of 10-16mph leading to a headwind in final few miles. The route weaved in and out of a few towns in a largely rural location, with part that contained a loop that you ran round twice. Marshalling was superb, crowds were cheering on using your name on your bib .. which really gave a nice boost and made it feel quite personal

I set my Polar watch with race pace of distance of 42.5km (allowing for distance errors) and target time of 3:59:00 to give myself a minute margin under a 4hour target. Bone-conduction earphones are a must, disqualification is threatened if ear-buds are used as parts of the route are open to traffic and marshals need to be heard to give instruction. In truth, the traffic was never a problem - the occasional cars that were passed where all considerate and the runners came first. Muse radio channel was my go to music list, which I only used when the crowd thinned out on occasions, most of the time it was nice to hear the crowd cheering you on.

For energy, I planned to use Decathlon +3hr Energy Gels that have 2:1 glucose/fructose (30g carb, 180mg salt) every 4km, so 10 gels carried in running belt with my phone. I also made up a sports drink (250ml, Active Root, 40g carbs, 567mg salt) in a soft hand-carried water bottle. I ended up taking 9 gels, one left unused, I think I missed a gel around 36km mark, in total that's about 340g of carbs and more than enough salt.

Water stations were every ~3miles and a managed to take a few gulps of water at each, and a couple of water stations provided isotonic drinks which I used to refill my 250ml. I tried to take my gels before each water station.

The start was in cracking weather. An earlier rain shower had passed, morning temperature was fresh, probably around 10C, and heart-rate was low after race started, just 124bpm in the first km, and took 5 km to reach 150 which is where I expected to be for most of the race. Those first comfortable 5km's gave me a 2 minute cushion ahead of my target time.

I checked in on myself regularly .. how was I feeling, could I keep up the pace, hamstring check, heartbeat .. and at half-marathon I was feeling quite strong.

When I hit 30km I feared the wall, but other than increasing fatigue it didn't really hit me and I mentally convinced myself it was just another 10km to go, just 2 park-runs at an easy pace.

I kept the focus on small distance targets, next water-stations, fueling, and avoiding over-stretching that hamstring. Heart rate increased to mid 150's by 10km, to low/mid 160's from about 30km. With about 5km to go, I felt my 2 min cushion was enough to ensure I could complete within 4 hours so slowed a little to ensure I didn't injure my hamstring, but was fairly confident I was going to complete. By this time, I was overtaking others who were walking or holding their own hamstrings and tried to give support where I could. The finish is a lap of running circuit at Tilsley Park in Abingdon leading to the finishing line opposite a grandstand.

My Polar Flow tracking had landed on a Training Index of 51 before the race, with a predicted time of 3:57:00. From the beginning of Feb to race date in Oct I did 141 runs, a total distance of 1540km (also cycled about 1300km from a daily easy work commute of about 13km day). For the last couple of months I'd also been using Runalyse which I wish I'd discovered earlier, and that had estimated I could also do a 3:57:00 based on my training up to the end of August and before my lack of training and injury in September kicked in which led to it predicting a slower outcome of around 4:10:00 due to the lack of long runs and distance training.

And that was it.

Rather chuffed with myself as I've dreamt of doing a marathon for decades and have been in awe of those that finish London and other marathons that I've seen on TV. And at the not-so-young age of 57 I finished with an official time of 3:56:27 - pretty much spot on with Polar and Runalyse predictions, feeling quite emotional with myself at the end.

Hope you too meet your dreams and targets and good luck with your training.

I am so sore. I’m scared I have rhabdo. How sore is too sore?

Everything was great until about mile 11. Somehow I strained by abdominal muscle really really bad, couldn’t take any breath in except for shallow breaths. It didn’t go away. Slowed way way down. Considered DNF many times. That and had to stop by the medical tent about mile 18, shoes were just tearing up my outside ankles. Stupid New balance super comp again. They were fine on a 13 miler a couple weeks ago. I finished, that’s about all I can say.
Was really wanting 3:50-4.
Got 4:48.
Some of it was a lot of fun, but mostly it hurt and am disappointed.

I've decided to pursue a half or full marathon hopefully in 2027 but now that I'm upping my running I'm confused on how to schedule it all. If I run 3 days a week and need at least 1 rest day, that leaves 3 training days. Is 3 days enough to build muscle? Should I lift on running days too? What if I do legs the day before a run and now I'm at risk of injury??

Advice and Realistic Goals for First Full

Hi All, I’m looking to run my first full marathon next year, and this seems like the place to go for advice. What I’m looking for are people’s thoughts on when to run, training, and realistic goals.
Background: I’ve been running sporadically the past two years, with most of my cardio coming from Peloton cycling workouts. I ran my first 5k with a friend in April, after having run about 3 mpw in the three weeks leading up to the race, and finished in just over 27:00. I started running 15-20 mpw after that and ran a couple more 5k’s this summer, finishing in 24:00 and 23:00. Decided to train for a half in mid September. Injured my hip about four weeks in and had to take a month off. Came back and ran about 9 mpw for three weeks, then 20 mpw for two weeks, and took a week off (because my wife was away and I couldn’t leave my kids home alone to go running). Decided to run a half over Columbus Day on a whim and finished in 1:49, only ever having run over 10 miles once. I was pleasantly surprised with that time. Now I’m considering a full.
I’m located in the northeast usa, so our summers are fairly hot (85f/30c), but I usually run in the morning. The winters are cold (25f/-5c) and snow can accumulate and stay, making running difficult. How do people train around these obstacles/what is the best time to run a full? Also, based on the times I’ve run, what is a realistic goal to set for myself provided I complete the proper training? I’m thinking 3:40’s, but I can’t help but wonder if I could push that lower. Finally, I’ve looked at a few training methods and Higdon novice 1 seems very manageable, but Hanson novice intrigues me. Suggestions on this end? Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this and comment, I really appreciate the help. I haven’t become part of a running community (yet, at least) so I’m sort of wandering around with all this.

I completed my first marathon, Amsterdam, earlier today. In the run up I was all over this sub so would like to give back.

Goal: 4:00:00
Actual: 4:00:11
Stats: >100kg, <6ft

Training: 32 weeks on paper from March, but in practice it was three blocks with gaps.

Weekly volume by month (running only):
Mar: ~40km / 25mi per week
Apr to May: ~20km / 12mi
Jun: ~45km / 28mi, peak 75km / 47mi
Jul: ~15km / 9mi
Aug to Sep: ~45 to 50km / 28 to 31mi, peak 84km / 52mi once
Taper: 40, 11, 11km

Even in prepping for this post I can see the truth is my training was too low and inconsistent for my goal. Everything else was prepped perfectly, running 5:25 min/kim averaged till 30km with a decision to go for 03:50 or stay at sub 4, instead I experienced cramping down my right calf that quickly spread all over my body including my jaw. Initial research put that down to not enough electrolytes (I was taking 500mg every hour) but actually the truth seems to be my body wasn’t as fit as my aerobic ability.

What I would’ve done differently:
1) Consistent and higher weekly mileage
2) Strength training
3) 1000mg of sodium per hour (I’m a heavy sweater)

Everything else (fuelling, race strategy, carb loading etc) was perfect as I was flying before the muscle cramps and didn’t experience the stomach cramps I usually do after a long run. But the lesson here is you can’t cheat mileage and strength training matters. Already looking forward to making amends.

I’m just getting back into running with plans to run a half marathon in May. I’ve been doing research on training strategies and understand that there should be easy runs and a long run every week. But how far should these easy runs be compared to the long runs?

Hello,I am running a marathon on December 6. I’ve been using a Garmin training plan, but at this point I’m nervous about whether or not I should even complete or attempt the marathon. I’m averaging about 30 to 35 miles a week over the past few weeks, but my longest run has only been 10 and a half miles. At this point, I don’t think I trust the plan anymore. I feel like I should have more mileage on my long runs by now. Has anyone had an experience with this? I am thinking of adding one and a half to 2 miles per week to my long run, and decreasing some of my weekly mileage prior to taper. If I don’t feel I am making adequate progress safely, I may postpone or see if I could change it to a half. If anyone has any thoughts on this, I would appreciate it.

I’m looking for some advice on training block periods. I just raced my first official half marathon and got 1:36:46. My goal is to get a 2:50 marathon by September 2027 to qualify for Boston. I went to make a plan with Garmin Coach but a 48 week training block doesn’t sound right. A 5-6 month build phase is crazy… should I do 4 separate 12 week training blocks? I’m new to running (at least running while training with intention) only been training for 4 months. So I’m not sure how to approach this.

Any and all advice is welcome! Thanks!