How hard is it to run a marathon? Tell me your stories!

In My Humble Opinion
1

Thread title pretty much sums it up: how difficult is it to run 26.2 miles? What are your experiences?

In the process of losing weight over the past seven months, I have started running again, and rediscovered just how much I like road races. I’ve done a couple of long weekend runs of 11 - 13 miles, so I’m confident I can finish a half-marathon in October, and a 15K in January. But I’ve been wondering about tacking one of the big boys, just to see if I can.

On one hand, I watched a Discovery Channel documentary about a group of nine or so people - out of shape, and none of whom had ever run before - who were put through a year-long training program, then entered in the Boston Marathon. Every one of them finished the race.

On the other hand, I watched elite runners unable to complete the Olympic marathon, and the poor French racewalker who pooped himself and collapsed. Articles about him said that the digestive system can shut down during a long race, as blood is diverted to the legs; some runners can’t keep water or gel down, for that reason. Likewise, there are plenty of stories about “hitting the wall”, about lost toenails, bloody nipples, and barfed-up meals, about feeling like you can’t walk another foot on legs which have turned to concrete. One of the Olympic commentators said that at the 20 mile mark, the race is only half over. (And yes, I understand that these are world-class athletes, running at a pace that I could maintain for maybe a mile, at the most; on the other hand, they’re young men and women in peak condition, who run hundreds of kilometers a week. Whereas I am a middle-aged recreational jogger who runs about 20 - 25 miles a week. I’m not looking to set any records; I’d just want to finish ahead of the lag wagon.)

So, runners of the SDMB, please tell me your marathon stories!

Mods, I wasn’t sure where to put this, but IMHO seemed more appropriate than GQ or the Game Room; please move it if I was mistaken.

2

I’ve done about 20 half marathons, but never a full. I’ve had surgery on one knee and have arthritis in my right hip. I’m pretty stiff after a half. Some day I may get up my nerve and do a full.

I much prefer riding my bicycles. I’ve done over 100 century (100 miles) rides and even 4 double-centuries. I hurt much less after riding 100 miles than pounding the pavement for 13.1 miles.

3

The difference between what the elite runners at the Olympics are doing and the never-evers running their first marathon are completely different. You can ignore elite runners in killer heat pushing their hardest - that’s not what you’re going to be doing.

I ran my first and only road marathon about 3 years after taking up running and losing a lot of weight. The difference between running a half marathon and a full marathon is quite dramatic. The race really starts around mile 20 when the wheels tend to fall off, but you can train for it, and prepare for it, and do it if you have a mind too.

I had a lot of difficulty getting past 15-17 miles, I was being hampered by cramps in my calves. Once I got that worked out I had two good 18 milers and one good 21 miler before the big day. Putting in the miles of training really took a toll on my body. There were several overuse injuries that hampered my training (knee, IT Band, PF) but I did manage to work through them all and was ready to go at the starting line.

My race was the Boston Marathon so there were people cheering every mile of the course. That’s not the case for a lot of marathons so running alone is a little more, well, lonely. A training partner is great, but I did most of my long runs by myself. Nutrition and stretching/training properly was key to surviving the training. If you can make it to the starting line mostly healthy having done your training schedule you’ll finish the race. The hardest part is surviving the training.

4

I have never run a marathon but I’ve done a half and am currently training to run another half. The reason I never want to run farther is the time it takes to train. I will be spending two hours of my weekend running once I get closer to the race and I’m really wiped after those long runs and mostly worthless for hours afterwards. I can only imagine that I would lose my whole Saturday running and recovering from a 20 mile run (3.5 hours at my current pace).

Good luck.

5

With steady training to increase your mileage,there are a ton of programs to choose from, I think most healthy people can run a marathon. It is largely a mind game, too.
I’ve ran two, both in my 40s.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

6

As Telemark stated, (& no offense; after all, you’re a Slow Moving Vehicle!) you’re not an elite-Olympic athlete. Your race & theirs are worlds apart. For the most part, their full-time job is to train where you’re doing it around a job & family/housing responsibilities. If they’re having a bad race day they will frequently pull out & DNF rather than finish with a bad time. It’s sometimes better for a sponsored athlete to not have a result rather than a mediocre one.

As for you, there are lots training programs you can find online. Better yet, if you can afford it is to hire a coach. Someone who can interview you (can be via a questionnaire) set up a customized plan & then adjust it as necessary every so often based upon your feedback. There’s various types & price points, from a one-time delivery of a plan to daily weekly calls/emails & adjustments. Find out what you’re getting before committing based just on price. Another option is one of the charity based ones, like “Team in Training”, where in exchange for a minimum amount raised, you get coaching & team runs & camaraderie.

At the very least, look at some of the online training plans, figure out where you are now & how many weeks you’d need to get to your target race. Don’t cut that time short; bringing up your mileage too much is a great way to get an overuse injury & set you back.
The “wall” at 20 miles is where most humans run out of fuel. Most marathon training plans take you up to but not over this distance in training runs. Part of it can be a physical barrier (out of gas) & part of it can be a psychological one but if you can reverse it (at 20 miles in you only have a 10k to go; you ran a 10k 3/4 times in the last week, piece of cake, etc.) you’ll be a lot better off.

Another thing to think about in long runs, both training & racing is intake, especially if it’s a hot/humid day. I don’t take any water on a 5k run but a 10-miler will be water/Gatorade/Powerade & a gel/bar consumed. Never try anything new on race day. If you want to use gel brand X, try it in your training runs to make sure your stomach can handle it. Don’t wear the race shirt because that extra thread on inside gets quite annoying, etc.
Not everyone loses a toenail or gets bloody nipples, but if your body is prone to those things, there are cheap prevention tricks, from band-aids over your nipples, to body glide on your thighs or inner upper arms to Nu-skin (liquid band-aid) on your feet where you’d otherwise get blisters.

7

Forgot to mention nipples and toenails.

Take care of your feet! Make sure you trim your nails and keep an eye on any hotspots during training. What is annoying on a 10 mile run can be agonizing on a longer one.

I used band-aids for nipple protection at first, but then went to Nipguards for the longer runs. They worked great, and I had an extra set in my belt just in case.

Strongly agree with never try anything new on race day. I used exactly the same stuff on race day that I used on my 22 miler three weeks earlier. I used a modified version of the Hal Higdon marathon plan that my coach worked up.

http://halhigdon.com/training/51135/Marathon-Training-Guide/

8

How hard could it be?
How to run a marathon…
Step 1: Start Running
There is no step 2.

9

One very common rookie mistake (one that I made during my first marathon): I was feeling pretty good a few miles into the race, so I decided to pick up the pace just a little bit. After all, I did the same thing during my first half marathon the year before, and I did just fine. DO NOT DO THIS. You will hit the wall even before mile 20, and the last 10 miles or so will be excruciating. They say that for every minute you gain in the first half of your marathon, you will lose at least two or three minutes in the second half.

10

Going out too fast is very common, unfortunately. The first 2 miles of the Boston course are fairly significant downhill, so people generally go way above their target pace and pay for it later. My running partner quietly said after about .5 miles “Let’s slow it down, OK?” and I’m sure it saved me even more pain than I eventually had at the end.

11

And it’s easy to do as marathon pace is so low effort. Even a pace that’s too fast will feel easy through 15 miles or more. By then, it’s too late.

12

My first marathon was supposed to be a 10k road race, but two of us were misdirected onto the marathon route by a course marshall.

For shits and giggles, we finished the marathon course, but after having led first 10k at a strong 10k pace, quite a few people passed us after 10k. We ended up getting medals for being good sports about it.

13

I ran the Maryland marathon in October of 1989 at age 35. Before that I had been in a bunch of 5K and 10K road races and was probably running about 20 to 25 miles a week. The Baltimore Roadrunners Club distributed a “prepare for your first marathon” pamphlet at a race I ran in the spring of that year, and I decided to go for it.

I followed their regimen precisely, and by the end of September I was running 55 miles per week. I did two 20 mile training runs in the last couple of weeks, then tapered off quite a bit right before the race.

Based on everything up to that point, I thought finishing the race in under 4 hours was a reachable goal.

One really cool thing that happened was that my brother and three of my co-workers put together a marathon relay team for the purpose of having someone run alongside me the whole way. A 4th co-worker shuttled them around the course, and all of them [DEL]ran with[/DEL] accompanied me over the last 3 miles. It was really nice to have those guys with me along the way, especially all of us at the end.

About those last 3 miles. I got through the 20-mile point without feeling too bad, but by about mile 23 my legs were lifeless and painful. I guess I was out of fuel. I walked and trotted those last 3 miles, and finished in 4:09. My pace was just over 9 minutes per mile through 23 miles, and then almost 14 minutes per mile for the last 3. That last 40 minutes or so was the hardest physical thing I have ever done.

14

The first time I saw nipguards at the running store I was thinking, “those runners will buy anything”. Then I did a run after a light rain so my shirt was just a little bit damp. I no longer think that.

15

I ran my first (and only, so far) full marathon in 2010 (CIM in Sacramento) - in my 40s. They advertise the course as being generally downhill, but in reality there is some uphill and a lot of flat. I have also run about 20 half marathons and a number of 10K and 5K races. To me the half marathon is a better challenge and more fun - because after about 2 hours of anything - it starts to become work. That’s just me.

As stated, the training is the hard part, as is devoting the time. Be sure to talk it over with family members before you get started, because you will be spending a lot of time running and not doing other stuff - especially if you have a full-time job, too. I did not have any foot issues (blisters, toenails), but after about 45 minutes, the nips became irritated, and needed covering with “spot” band-aids to prevent a bloody mess and painful showers afterward. A friend of mine runs all the time without them and is just fine - I guess it is genetics and the shape of your nips. YMMV. There are a ton of resources out there regarding training programs, diets, hydration, gear, energy gels, etc. Just try stuff and find what works for you (there is no “wrong” answer).

My 20 mile training run was really my best achievement, and most satisfying moment. Took a Friday off from work, ran the whole thing in the rain. Felt great. Felt ready for the real thing after my taper.

I was having a good day on Marathon day - the conditions were good - cool and dry. I had friends along the way cheering me on. However, as mentioned, the last 5 or so miles became brutal. Ran out of gas, and the gels they handed out at “the wall” (mile 20) did not seem to work. The course goes across a short bridge over the river, and it has a slight incline - seemed like Mt Everest. Basically just ran a few blocks, then walked a block, then ran a few blocks, walk a block. But, I finished what I started, as I always do.

How hard was it? It was not easy, but I agree anyone who is willing to put in the time and discipline to train for it, can complete one as well. Will I do another? - never say never!

16

I am not a runner. One look at me would tell you that. But I did do a full marathon at the age of 46 while 40+ pounds overweight. Prior to that I had not even done a 5k.

I did not run the entire distance - I ran the first 15 miles or so when nature called and I had to make a quick pit stop. Thereafter I alternated running and fast-walking.

I trained for, I think, 18 weeks following a schedule. 4 runs a week, one short, one long, two medium distance. The longest run in training was 20 miles.

I remember striking up a conversation with an experienced runner at the start line. He asked me how many marathons I’ve done. I said this was my first of any sort of race. He literally rolled his eyes. Conversation over.

But I finished. Decent time, too, I thought (5:45). I highly recommend the experience.
mmm

17

Not all that “difficult”, tho it does require a considerable amount of hard work and dedication. If you are a steady recreational runner - maybe 3-5 miles 3x/week at 9-10 min pace, all you have to do is pick a plan and follow it for about 6 months.

IME, following the plan was the only real accomplishment. The marathon itself was just 4 hrs of hard work. Was expecting hallucinations, projectile vomiting… Nada. Just shuffling along trying to make my way thru the 20,000 or so assholes who started of way further up than they had any business. Trying to keep pace, while dodging thru a sea of slower people. Wanted to break 4 hrs. Ended up at 4:57 - after a 13 minute 1st mile.

W/in 1/2 year I had a meniscus scoped. IMO, the half is a far more sensible distance. When you get to the point where you are saying, “Only 6 miles today? Yippee - a light day!” That just takes a ton of time, and puts a ton of stress on your body. Add in the 20 mile weeks. Can pretty much eat up most of your weekend - and can impose on your family.

It is an experience, and an exercise to see if you can set a goal and stick with a demanding plan. And it is a hoot when you begin your taper, and your body is racing on all cylinders, burning all the fuel you can ingest.

Some peoples’ bodies clearly handle the demands better than others’. Me, I’m fine w/ having run 1. In fact, at 55, after surgeries to an ankle, both knees, and a foot, I’m pretty much limited to swimming and biking. WAY less impact.

18

I’ve experienced that. It’s all adrenaline and energy at the beginning of a race - everyone’s still bunched up and excited, and of course fresh and rarin’ to go. I make “Negative splits, negative splits” my mantra, until I’m a few miles in and running at a comfortable pace.

I expect the biggest challenge will be mental - running for a long distance is very lonely, and my long training runs are focussed on learning how to ignore the little voices that say “I’m hot I’m tired my legs hurt this sucks”, when I still have gas in the tank. I’m trying to get in the habit of focussing on the here and now when I’m running - thinking only of getting across that next stretch of pavement.

If I take the plunge, I’ll no doubt end up doing something similar to snowthnx and mmm: run/fast walk/run/fast walk. Like I said, the only thing I’ll be racing is the lag wagon.