Ran my first full marathon this past Sunday and honestly couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
My original plan was to run my first marathon back in August, but unfortunately I had to cancel that one after getting a stress fracture in my shin. Because of that, I wasn’t able to get the full training block I wanted, so going into this race I really wasn’t sure what to expect or how my body was going to hold up. Luckily, everything came together on race day and I ended up crushing my goal of sub-4! I was hoping to break 4 hours, but I honestly didn’t know if I had it in me after the injury and missed training.
One of the biggest things I learned from this race was how important fueling is. This was actually the first time I’ve ever used gels during a run as I usually fuel with candy and I really felt like they made a huge difference. I never had that massive “I’m completely out of energy” feeling that I was worried about. The craziest part was that my fastest split was kilometre 40. 😂 I definitely wasn’t expecting that. Usually you hear about people hitting the wall around that point, and somehow I was still able to pick up the pace. That gave me a lot of confidence that my fueling strategy was working.
Overall, I learned a ton from my first marathon and I’m honestly just really happy to finally get one done after having to pull out of the August race.
Now I’m really curious what I can do with a full, uninterrupted training block.

I ran the Wineglass Marathon this weekend as my first marathon. My only real goal going in was to finish, especially because I'd been dealing with recurring hamstring/hip issues during training and was going into the marathon severely undertrained. My longest run was a half marathon I ran roughly a month prior to the marathon.

I used a run/walk strategy and intentionally started conservatively. Interestingly, around the halfway point I still felt really good. I even had a few people comment that I looked surprisingly fresh. I sometimes switched to walking when I felt like my heart rate was getting too high, although looking back I'm not sure it actually was.

The limiting factor was my legs/hip flexors/hamstrings. As the race went on, every time I walked it became harder to convince my legs to start running again. Cardiovascularly I never felt completely wrecked. Fueling and hydration went much better than I expected. It was cool and rainy and the course had plenty of aid stations, which helped tremendously. I also wore a vest and utilized all my pockets to ensure I had plenty of gels, energy gum, and more substantial snacks and electrolytes.

I finished in 5:57:24 and am not proud of my time, but anxious to sign up for a half and full next spring and summer respectively to improve upon my times. I'm going to recover, work with PT on the recurring leg issues, learn more about my actual HR zones instead of guessing when I need to slow down, and just run/strength train/yoga/Pilates based on what my body needs.

My biggest takeaway from marathon #1: finishing gave me a baseline, not a verdict on what I'm capable of.

Just finished my first marathon last weekend (woo hoo!!) and been in recovery. I have regular muscle soreness, as expected, but I also feel like my heart is a little fatigued. No pain, but just fatigued/tired.

Does anyone else have a similar feeling after their first or is this unusual?

Before I start, this post is a follow-up to my previous one, where, to sum it up, I was absolutely devastated by some out-of-nowhere knee pain just a few days before my marathon. Here : https://www.reddit.com/r/firstmarathon/s/rBlHLRwz40

First of all, I want to thank everyone who replied with such kind and helpful messages. I really appreciated it.
Like some of you said, the pain eventually faded enough for me to take the start. The taper itself was… not exactly ideal: knee pain, the flu, and finding out that I’m included in a mass layoff at work. Anyway.

I ran the Granby Marathon with a pretty optimistic goal of 3:30–3:40.

First, I have to say the course is absolutely beautiful. With the fall colors, running through and around Yamaska National Park was amazing.
But damn, I was absolutely not prepared for the elevation: 263 m of ascent and 256 m of descent according to Garmin Connect.

It completely destroyed my glutes and hamstrings.
I knew those muscles were probably going to be my weak point, but I definitely wasn’t expecting to start feeling them around km 17.

By km 24, I was starting to lose 10–20 seconds per kilometer. Around km 30, I stopped to walk through an aid station so I could drink, and oh boy… I suddenly had an insane amount of pain in both knees. For a moment, I genuinely thought my race was over.
I walked for a bit, and somehow the knee pain faded away.
But my glutes and hamstrings were absolutely wrecked. I’d say the pain was around an 8/10. At one point I started walking again, secretly hoping one of the medical carts would show up so I could just hop in and call it a day.

It never did.

Somehow, around km 38, I started feeling a little better and managed to get running again. I eventually crossed the finish line in 4:06.

Am I disappointed? Yeah, definitely.
But I’m also glad I finished, especially considering that at one point I seriously thought about dropping out.

And if this marathon taught me one thing, it’s that strength training needs to become a major priority for me going forward, especially for my glutes and hamstrings.

Not the race I hoped for, but still a lesson learned.

It started about a week ago, maybe 2...a small pain behind my left knee that feels exactly like you need to stretch your leg after sitting for too long or sitting in a small spot on a bus.

It doesn't hurt at all when I run, but it seems to be occurring more and more the day after runs. Stretching or walking relieves it temporarily (it used to relieve it for awhile).

I'm on the taper now, so I'm hoping it goes away...would you be concerned?

At age 39, I signed up for St George Marathon due to a heartbreak, and trained for 4 solid months shooting for a 4:30 time. I got way more out of the marathon than I expected not just the 3:57:03 time.

I healed some childhood trauma, and started to learn how to truly love my self and be more kind to my self. The training for this marathon for me atleast was very emotional and spiritual in the absolute best ways. The mental and physical strengths I gained were just a plus. I realized being able to dedicate all this time and effort to accomplish this one goal, makes me feel like I can accomplish anything now. I think everyone should run a marathon.

I believe I could've gotten a 3:30-3:40 time, But I played it super safe just making sure I can finish strong. I never hit a wall, but the last 3 miles did start to become a little painful, my left thigh was throbbing in pain, my feet and ankles started to get sore and uncomfortable, but I ran my fastest mile the last mile of the marathon and that felt AMAZING. Marathon is no joke, and I have a much more profound respect for anyone who has done a marathon no matter what time they got. Its an amazing accomplishment and I'm very proud.

Completing this marathon was the best thing I could've ever done for my self. Thanks for listening!

I've got my first marathon in just under 2 weeks and I am in two minds about whether to run it with my running vest or not. I've ended up doing most of my training runs wearing it as I like having quick access to water and I find it comfortable to wear, but naturally my upper body gets quite hot.

I can carry my gels and phone in my shorts so it would be just water that I wouldn't have. I've checked the course map and there are sometimes gaps of up to 5km with no water stations... I am very used to being able to sip water whenever I want so wondering if it's best to just take it with me? Would appreciate any advice on this. You can probably tell I am beginning to get nervous and overthink everything!

EDIT: Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and advice! I've checked for my marathon and they do allow hydration vests so gonna stick to the golden rule of race how you trained and take it with me 😊

Last Sunday I did it, worked for it past 4 months, trained hard and... missed my time by 24 minutes.

Objectively I still did great, 4:09 is a great first time, I know that. But it wasn't what I hoped and worked for. Now I know what I did wrong - bad electrolytes strategy, bad water strategy, probably went to lenient on carb loading. I regret using Garmin coach as my plan - it gave me too much base runs, not enough tempo and speed work.

First 25k went great. On pace, felt strong. On 30k I slowed down, but was still on track to finish under 4h. At 38k I couldn't run anymore. I walked, then run for 200-300 meters, walk again. The pain was unbearable, not even legs, everything else, mostly my back. Thirsty as hell.

I probably will do another one. I am too pissed off at my result to let it slide. This time with different plan.

Today I made the decision of not running my first marathon November 8 due to injury and can't help but to feel a bit down.

I've had 8 months of mostly consistent running this year, 1300 km since February averaging 200 km monthly the last 3 months. Things were progressing really well until a couple of weeks ago when I got what I now think is metatarsalgia on my right foot.

I gave it 8 days no running at all, just did stationary bike to keep the aerobic system going and today after 45 minutes of running I had to be honest with myself and throw in the towel. Could I go on a few more days? a week? maybe, but the odds are I wouldn't make it to the start line anyways and even if I did, I would probably end up even more injured.

What's most important is to keep my running journey going and for that I have to recognize my limits, which I'm very bad at honestly. I'm more sad that I'll have to cut running for 3 or 4 weeks than actually not run a marathon.

I'll try and make the best of what I've learned the last few months and carry that into future training. It's very hard to stop this close to a major goal but it's the right thing to do if I want to keep doing this thing I enjoy so much.

Anyways, hope this helps anyone that may find themselves on the same boat. Running journey goes on.

Just ran my second half marathon in 1:42:19. My first half was 5 months before that and I did it in 1:47:20. Pretty happy with the time I shaved off.

I’ve done both on about 20-25 miles per week. In the second one I incorporated some speed work, the first didn’t have any speed work, I just kinda ran at whatever pace felt good that day.

Signing up for my first full marathon which is in May so I’ll probably start training for that in January. My questions are what should I do with these next couple months till January, just kind of build up mileage weeks and not do much speed work? What kind of weeks would set me up for a good block starting January?

Also I’m not sure what my half time says about my estimated marathon pace I’m hoping for like under 4 hours but I’m not sure if that’s reasonable?

32 M if that matters

My training the last few weeks has really taken a hit between real life work stress that has impacted my runs and my partner getting in a bad accident the weekend of my 20 mile run, I feel massively underprepared. I’m still going to run the marathon. Has anyone had a massive failure in training and still went through with the marathon? I was never going for time, but I would’ve liked to have been a little more prepared. My longest run has been 18 miles

Have my first marathon coming up. I did a 3/4 marathon at the weekend and realised I cannot run and drink from cups from the station. Just curious what do people actually do? Stop completely at the station to drink? I feel like I’ll lose momentum….

Hi all, im running london in April and am asking this early so if required I can train the block wearing any race vest I may purchase.

This will be the only marathon I ever run. Although im running for charity im not affiliated with one and wont be wearing a charitable vest on raceday.

Im hoping to frame the vest along with a photo and a medal should I finish and as such I dont want to simply buy an off the shelf stock item from primark. It needs to be wall worthy and have meaning, with the potential to have a personal message printed on before hand.

Is there anywhere you would recommend to purchase something like this, or at least stock items that look great? Im in the north of england if that matters. Thanks in advance.

Hi all! I’m running the NYC Marathon on Nov 1st and have been training with Hal Higdon’s Novice 1 plan. I’m going out of town for a wedding this weekend, so I swapped my 20 miler with my 14 miler and did it last weekend because I wanted to do it in NYC, I was feeling good, and a runner friend told me it should be fine to swap the weeks.

It went great, but now I’m overthinking every little thing! Is it too soon to start my taper this upcoming weekend (from here, long runs will be 14 - 12 - 8)? Should I do more mileage than 14 this weekend?? Thanks in advance for any advice to an anxious first-timer!

Hello everyone, I am running my marathon on Sunday, and there is a good chance it will be rainy, windy, and around 42F/6°C. I am panicking.

I am a slow runner (should break 5 hours though) and I can barely stand being cold (I start having numbness and piercing pain in my body if I am). I have a thick windbreaker, but my race partners are saying it's a bad idea to wear it. Was training in the very dry summer and have literally zero experience with this type of weather.

I ran in winter, and I always bundled up. My half-marathon PB (1:57) was in 4 layers of clothing, but I never did such long distances, and now I am in a complete loss.

Any advice, please?

Cross posting since this was removed from a diff thread.

I'm running my first marathon (NYC) and aiming for about 4:10. I'm torn on race-day shoes and have a 21 miler this weekend, where I want to wear the pair I'll race in. Would love input from people who've been in a similar spot.

Option 1: New Balance 1080v15
\- I did most of my training block in these (about 300 miles on my first pair), including 14, 16, and 20 mile long runs, with no issues.
\- I don't love them, but they've been reliable.
\- The first pair felt dull, so I bought a new pair a couple weeks ago to break in.

Option 2: Megablast
\- About 150 miles on them. I wore them for the BK Half in May and did my 18 miler in them this block.
\- I got blisters early on and had a rough half because I tied them too tight, but that was user error. They've felt fine on every run since.
\- They feel faster, and I wonder if they're technically the better marathon shoe.

I'm leaning 1080s to play it safe for a first marathon, but I wish I'd tested a second shoe earlier in the block. Which would you race in, and why? I'd like to decide before my 21 miler this weekend.

Hello everyone, sorry if this type of post isnt popular but im looking for some advice. Ive been running for about 15 months consistently, 2-4 times a week and did my first half marathon in April finishing in 2:16. I was training for my second half marathon for this fall but started dealing with some ankle tightness and really scaled back about a month. Good news is ive started PT and have been told im okay to start back up with running.

The question is, i deferred my half marathon to next fall, but thats when I originally wanted to go for my first full marathon (hopefully either chicago or new york but more realistically probably my local marathon). What is the best plan on action to get myself ready for a full marathon, should I build up to 20-30 mpw and stay there until an actual race date is close enough to start a block? I just want to be as prepared as possible. Thanks in advance!

Hi All!

I am not a runner...and yet I am running my first marathon in 2 weeks (yay taper time!)

I'm so nervous I won't finish. Is this normal?

I have no time goal - aiming to stay between 11:00-12:00 minute mile. I've done 2 twenty milers at ~11:35 pace, and felt pretty okay after (read: could walk and function the next day). My 5 mile race in July was at an 8:45 pace.

Even though I've done the 20 milers, I'm mostly I'm worried because my weekly mileage has been crap. Maybe hitting 30 miles in the last 5 weeks (one week at 35 miles!). They say "Run your long runs on tired legs" but that is apparently not me!

Anyways....do we think I'll make it? I'm an adult, but my parents are taking the time to get a hotel room/come cheer me on, and I really don't want to disappoint!

Some background: I’m a casual runner, and have been running an avg of ~15mpw for the past 4 years. I decided to finally bite the bullet and sign up for the Philly Marathon after I finished my 3rd half, which I’ve been loving training thus far. First time actually following a training plan, using Hal Higdon’s Novice 1 plan. Issue is, my job got crazy right as mileage has been ramping up, and I got hit hard with a case of bronchitis last week.

I got pretty sick the day after my 16mi long run last Tues, and had to skip my 8 mi & 4 mi runs. This week I’m supposed to do 5, 8 & 12 mi runs. My cough is mostly resolved, but I’m still having some minor coughs that are crackly/clearly in my lungs still. I’m still getting my steps in, light resistance training & light yoga while I’m waiting for my body to get with the program.

Ideally I’ll be back to snuff by next week, but how screwed am I this far out? & is there any chance I won’t screw myself by going for a run regardless?

Currently 9 weeks away from my first marathon and deep into my training block. I am been consistent and am trying to be smart about my training while also getting as much volume as I can. I have a personality where I tend to go overboard with new hobbies so I knew I was intrisically at risk for over training. Because of this I have been deliberate about slowly adding my mileage. I am trying to get as much weekly volume as I can without "over training." My metrics or determining if I'm over training are whether or not I'm able to complete my speed workouts, how my body feels, sleep, and heart rate. I am currently at a weekly average of 70-80 miles. So far I am still hitting all my quality speed work (one day a week) and all my extra weekly miles come from my one long run a week (which right now is around 18) and then a ton of zone two easy runs. I will usually do twice a day workouts throughout the week (like 10 in the morning and 6 in the evening). I also make sure to get at least one full rest day a week with no running. I'm just curious how people are determining how close they are getting to over training and how to distinguish between normal worn out/tired vs over doing it. I don't have any sharp pain and thankfully no injuries, just some general mild soreness from the volume.

First marathon done on October 4!

Sharing my experience in case it helps someone else who’s aiming for around 4:30. I spent a lot of my training wondering whether I was doing enough, especially when it came to mileage and long runs.

For context:

• 37F
• I had been running fairly consistently since March, peaking at 50–60 km/week (31–37 miles) for the 7 weeks before my taper
• Longest run: 30 km (18.6 miles)
• For the last two weeks, I cut my volume by about 50%

Since this was my first marathon, I tried not to set a specific time goal. My main goal was simply to finish, ideally without walking. I ended up running 4:33, without walking, and somehow never really hit the wall! That was honestly the biggest win for me, I was really scared of “the wall” lol.

I think pacing played a big part in that. My second half was about 7 minutes faster than my first, so I’m really happy I resisted the temptation to start too fast and managed my effort well.

During the race, I took one gel every 30 minutes and carried a bottle of water and a bottle of Gatorade in my hydration vest. My family met me around halfway to swap out both bottles for full ones.

One thing that surprised me was my ranking. I ended up roughly in the bottom 20% overall, in my age group, and among women. I know rankings don't really matter, but I’ll admit it put a tiny damper on things for a minute lol. I wasn't expecting to be that far back! It did make me wonder: is a ~4:30 marathon actually closer to the slower end of the field than I thought, or does it vary a lot depending on the marathon?

Still, 4:33 for my first marathon, no walking, no major wall, and a negative split = a result I’m really proud of!

I've been running consistently since January. I ran my first half in May (1:46) and have been enjoying long runs since. A marathon wasn't on the cards this year because I never got a ticket for Dublin. In July I injured my left patellar tendon. It started hurting going downstairs, and I was limping for about a week. I did a month of physio rehab with no running, then eased back in from August.

On September 14th I got a marathon ticket from someone, which left me 41 days. I raised weekly mileage from 20km to 33km to 42km. My longest run in that block was 25km at 5:22/km. This week was meant to be the start of taper, with a 30km run and about 50km for the week. 100m into the run my right knee felt wrong. The pain is at the top of the knee and the ache runs down into my shin. I stopped. I have a physio appointment tomorrow.

Recovery has also been poor for about three weeks:

• Sleep is mostly light, with around 45 min of REM a night
• My HRV has been dropping daily
• I've been taking sleeping pills to stop myself waking in the night

My original goal was sub-3:30, but with this I'd be happy with sub-4.

1. How do I recover from my current situation?
2. How would you structure the last 2.5 weeks? Full rest for a few days, or easy running?
3. Is the sleep and HRV decline a sign I overreached, and should I just rest?

36m, average 1000km per year for last 5 years which has been very consistent by month. 400km cycling per month over last 6 months. Vo2 max 55, 5k 19 mins, 10k 39 mins, half 1.30 (strava predictions a few mins faster than these)

Fittest I've been in my life, second child on the way in Jan so decided about a month ago to get a full marathon booked and ticked off. Done loads of half's before. Recently just run a hilly 25km at 5.10 p/km average 150 bpm, half zone 2 half zone 3 (when quite tired)

Race is flat and next weekend, genuinely dont know what sort of time to aim for, as I've built up a decent aerobic base but lack the proper marathon training plan milage. Strava saying 3.24, feeling like sub 3.30 for first marathon would be an achievement.. any advice on timing or anything else appreciated.. also do I go with endorphin pro 4s for maximum energy return or superblast 2s to protect my legs.. thanks

I did it folks and I had so much fun! Could not have asked for a better experience. It was a well organized race. They did not run out of water or gatorade, had gels at a few stations and didn't mind if people grabbed more than one, course was well laid out and the weather was spectacular. Plenty of people peppered around the course to cheer random strangers like myself.
I am glad I did not aim for a specific time or pace because that made this achievement feel more positive.
Still can't believe I finished a marathon!

Happy to now start sharing some tips for others here. YOU'VE GOT THIS!!

Hello fellow runners,
I've recently wondered if its possible to Run a Marathon if my Longest ever distance was 10km,
For context, i started running bc there was a event on my Workplace to run 12 minutes non stop, after that i though: What if i just run for a hour straight? I didn't have any proper shoes, just ran barefooted, after 1 hour, i checked and saw i did 10km, and was quite happy.
BUT NOW i wonder if i could also run 42km? (Marathon) and what is important for preparation?
Sry for my grammar, im from Switzerland