Running a marathon

[lil123]

HI has anyone ran a marathon?
I am planning to work my running and fitness level up to this eventually and could do with some tips of best way to approach this x

[andy-hughes]

My wife's sister and her husband have both run the London Marathon in highly repsectable times.

The trick is to take your time working up to the distance. It's not a race - literally - so you need to spend up to twelve months building your stamina, which is what you will need.

Try and team up with someone for training for safety and moral purposes, and make sure you don;t rush things.

Good luck.

[Velvetee]

My friend and work colleague did the London Marathon in 2007 and she found a running partner and they ran outside, building up their distance gradually.

They spent at least 6 months building up to the Marathon training. So They began with 3 miles, then 6, 9, 12 and so on. The 3-4 days before the event, they didn't run at all, just did some cardio, low impact in the gym.

I'm sure you know this, but don't wear running shoes that haven't been well broken in. If you're a woman, then vaseline on the nipples and a good sports bra is a must.

[campbellking]

Yes, have done New York and London. Best thing to do is to go to runners world website, who have loads of advice and info about races. Build up gradually, do a 5k race, then a 10k, and do a half marathon somewhere along the line.
If you train on your own that's fine (I do most of my running on my own), but lots of people find a lot of help and support from their local running club. Ruuning clubs have programmes for people of all abilities.
Good luk to you.