Hey everyone!

I'm in a pretty tough situation right now and could really use some advice from experienced runners.

In just over two weeks, I'll be flying from Germany to the US to run my first-ever marathon – the NYC Marathon! 🗽🏃‍♂️

It's a huge personal dream of mine, and I've been looking forward to it for a very long time.

Unfortunately, my preparation has been far from ideal.

Earlier in my training, I was sidelined for about 5 weeks due to illness. Between that and a physically demanding job with long working hours, I haven't been able to complete nearly as many long runs as I had planned.

And now, with the marathon just around the corner, I'm recovering from another flu-like illness.

I'm honestly getting pretty nervous.

Part of me wants to get back out there as soon as possible and squeeze in some extra miles before race day. But another part of me knows that rushing back into training while recovering from an illness could make things much worse.

My biggest fear is having to cancel the marathon altogether after everything I've been working towards.

So I'd really appreciate your thoughts:

• How would you approach the final two weeks in my situation?
• Is there any low-intensity training or activity I can safely do while recovering?
• Would you try to fit in another longer run, or focus entirely on recovery and tapering?
• Has anyone been in a similar situation and still managed to finish their marathon?

At this point, I'm not chasing a specific finishing time. I just want to make it to the starting line healthy and hopefully cross that finish line.

I know I can't make up for months of missed training in two weeks. I'm just trying to figure out the smartest way forward without putting my health at risk.

Any advice or personal experiences would mean a lot!

Thanks, everyone! 🙏🏃‍♂️

Hi all, Last Sunday, I ran my first “proper” marathon in 2:58, following the P&D 18/70 plan.

Technically, this wasn't my first marathon, but my previous one was poorly prepared and wasn't an official race. I've kept running since then, but it wasn't until this year that I really started taking my training seriously.

After following the P&D plan and achieving a sub-3 marathon I want to see how much further I can improve. I don't have a specific marathon race in mind yet, but I'd like to run another one next year. In the meantime, I want to keep improving my overall performance rather than immediately jumping into another marathon specific training block.

I'm just not sure what the best approach would be for the next phase of my training.

Would it make sense to focus on shorter distances first like the 10K, and follow a dedicated training plan to improve my time? Or would it be better off maintaining my mileage and using selected training blocks from the P&D plan to focus on specific areas, such as lactate threshold and VO2max, without following the full marathon plan?

I’ve been training consistently for a marathon originally scheduled for late November, but recently got notification that it’s been moved to December. This has completely messed up my travel plans and, to be honest, really knocked my motivation.

I’ve been running 40–60km a week for months, completed a 30km race in September and a 34km run earlier this month in 2:59, finishing feeling pretty comfortable. Previous marathon times are 3:58 and 3:45, and I was hoping to push towards 3:35–3:45 this time.

I’ve now got the opportunity to run another marathon next week, but obviously haven’t tapered properly for it. To make matters worse, I’ve picked up a slight hamstring tweak.
Feeling pretty deflated by the whole thing and half tempted to pull the pin altogether until spring. Equally, I hate the thought of wasting months of consistent training.

Would you take your chances next week or call it a day and target a spring marathon?

Every Friday, please utilize this mega thread to share training/fitness and predictions. All pace predictions and past/current training weeks for 5 hour marathons will go neatly here!

How was your week, how far in the block and when's the next race? This will be a good mega thread to keep encouraging/critiquing 5 hour crew throughout the year.

Post your weekly miles, breakthroughs, or if you need help with pace/fitness identification, questions here!

*new individual posts that's posted Friday re: 5 hour marathons/shape/predictions will be deleted/strongly recommended to post here!

I work 7p-7a three nights a week as an RN and I'm trying to train for my first marathon in October. The problem is my body has no idea what time it is anymore. I'll finish a 12 hour shift, run at 8am after work, sleep until 4pm, then try to flip back to days on my days off for long runs with my group. My watch thinks I'm dying. My heart rate variability is all over the place. I tried fasted morning runs but nearly passed out at mile 8 because I'd eaten dinner at 2am like a gremlin.

The real kicker is my long run nutrition. I'm very nerdy about this stuff and I've been testing gels and chews but nothing sits right when my digestive system is running on night shift time. My soccer teammates think I'm insane for doing both. They're correct.

I found one weird trick that works: running immediately after my last night shift before I sleep, when my cortisol is already peaked. But everything else feels like a guessing game. Anyone else training on a rotating schedule? How do you handle the flip? Do you just accept that some weeks your body is confused meat and move on?

I've been looking at the Amazfit Balance 3 and Samsung Galaxy Watch and how they hold up during marathon training. For longer runs, I'd want pace, distance, and heart rate data that I can actually rely on, plus enough battery to get through a full week of training without charging every night.

The Amazfit's advertised battery life caught my attention, while Samsung has its running tools built into Samsung Health. I'm also curious about the recovery and sleep tracking on both, since those numbers can be interesting to look back on as weekly mileage increases.

One thing I'm unsure about is how much confidence to put in the data over longer distances. Do GPS and heart rate readings stay consistent on long runs, and have the recovery stats been useful alongside an actual training plan? I'd be interested in hearing what differences people have noticed after using either watch for a while.

Hi, has anyone had/have plantar fasciitis and was able to run. What did you do, what helps, how long were you in pain?

I have plantar fasciitis since February this year. I thought it will be gone in 4-6 weeks. But sadly it's still sore. I've been doing exercises and stretching but it doesn't work. I've shifted into cycling for now. But I would like to lace up my shoes again

36 F. 3:15:38 & likely another BQ for 2028

Marathon #2 in the books this past weekend in Chicago and almost a 7 minute PR from fall 2025 at Toronto Waterfront. Immediately cried at the finish. A relief to have 20 weeks of a slow progressive build pay off. IT WAS SO HARD on Sunday. The sun was relentless even in wave 1. I can't even imagine the experience of runners who started later than me. Kudos to them for battling through hotter weather and even sunnier skies.

Things I did this summer that worked for me as a very novice marathon runner:

-Running 50km+ every week of 2026 except the last week of my taper. I came down with a nasty cold that persisted past race day.

-Peak week 104km but with 8/20 training weeks @ 80k+

-No track workouts

-3 x 5k and a 3 x 6k @ MP as part of my last two long runs

-Four runs 30k or longer (max was 34k)

Moral of the story, I ran a lot more this training block and also started with a better base to start the year before I ramped up for Chicago. I continued to incorporate fast finishes and faster than MP into my long runs. I also did 2 double days a week so I could continue to do funruns with my local running group in the evenings after doing my solo runs in the morning before work. That helped a lot to break up all the solo running and still feel connected to my friends who weren't preparing for a big race.

Any tips for Boston in April? Living in Canada, I'm not expecting to be as fit for it throughout winter training and it's also a much more challenging course than Chicago, so I want to set a realistic goal.

To be honest, I'd prefer to enjoy the day and take in all the sights and sounds of a world major without a crushing time goal I'm not prepared for that takes me out of the joys of running Boston. Obviously I want faster times in the future but I'd rather execute a successful Boston Marathon by feeling prepared for the hills, regardless of the finishing time.

Last weekend I ran the Chicago marathon after training for 18 weeks with Runna. My peak mileage week was only 40 miles for the training block (most weeks in the low 30s). In the past, I’ve ran a 3:52 and 4:12 (both about 6 years ago) and was hoping to break 4 hours in Chicago, but ended up having to stop and stretch a million times between miles 20-26 bc my hip flexors were cramping terribly. Ultimately came in at 4:23. My question is…is January 11th too early to try again with another marathon? Was thinking of taking it easy for 2 weeks following Chicago, and then doing a 12 week training block with higher weekly mileage than last time. I would def be shooting for a sub 4, but would be happy with a 4:10. Is this a terrible idea? Open to any and all advice! TIA!

Has anyone used the Garmin pace pro plan strategy for running in a marathon? I’m weighing my options and trying to decide to use it or pace myself. I’ve not run a marathon in 7 years so there’s new technology I’m not up to speed on.

Hello, two part question:

My wife is running her first full in December in Honolulu as a life goal prior to turning 40. She mentioned off hand it’d be funny/morale booster if I was in costume at different points along the way. I’ve got a couple sign ideas but looking for more, with Halloween approaching I thought I could probably pick up some costumes pretty easily and surprise her. Looking for any funny suggestions. I’ve never been to Honolulu, are chickens as prevalent as Kauai?

Second, our VRBO is close to the finish line but I was thinking about an e-bike or something similar vs trying to drive around to different points. Anyone have any experience with this? It’s just her and I for this trip.

I had to DNF my 20 mile peak week long run for NYX Marathon last weekend after getting attacked by an angry nest of wasps. This week was supposed to be my taper. But I wanna do my last longer run on Saturday. My training included two 14 milers, two 16 milers and an 18 miler. How many would you recommend i do this weekend with the race coming up so close

Ran my first full in Victoria last weekend!

I posted about running a full marathon without long distance training (around 20km a week), but a good fitness base: https://www.reddit.com/r/Marathon_Training/comments/1ww4mfw/marathon_without_enough_training/

I finally reconsidered because I was worried I would get injured. I finally went for the half instead.

I started conservatively at around 5:15/km. Probably too slow, but I did not really have a recent benchmark to base my pace on. Well, except my Garmin prediction of 1h43, which I considered not realistic given the lack of longer runs. But it turned up being very close. Anyways, I felt fine for the first couple km, I would say I felt even better as the race went on, so I picked up the pace and settled into roughly 4:30/km around km 12. Unfortunately, I cramped up around km 17 - 18 and had to stop for a quick stretch, which cost me some time. Still, I managed to finish in 1h45min.

Overall, it was a lot of fun! Cardio-wise, I felt great throughout and honestly think I could have pushed harder. The cramp was the main thing holding me back. Most likely legs not used to longer distances at that pace.

Looking back, I probably could have started a bit faster, with a more constant pace and had a better result, but I'm happy with how it went. Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts on my original post!

Edit: added some additional info about my training

Hello, Is it first come first served?

I pre-registered, and received email today.

Registration period is 20 october to 3 november.

According to this information, all runners who register in this period, they will receive the personal link.

After receiving this link, just register as fast as possible?

I’d like to know the details. Thank you in advance.

I’m running a half marathon on November 1st. I have not done a complete half marathon block. I know that I can easily run it, but I’m wondering if I should race it due to limited amount of LT Training. There’s a different Half Marathon and 5k this Sunday, and I’m also wondering if I should use either as a tune up race to help predict time. I could also use the half as a fun way to get 13.1 in a last time, and I could run it at easy pace. Here’s some data about my recent training.

Background**
- Started running outdoors ~spring 2026; previous aerobic base from indoor cycling and jump rope
- PRs: 5K 21:44 (Sept, rolling course), 8 mi 1:08:12 (Aug, San Diego), 8K 41:25 (May)
- Never raced past 8 miles. Longest run ever 15.7 (June). 5k is the only race that I’ve raced hard.
- 6 days/week, jumped very late into Pfitzinger Faster Road Racing Half Schedule 2. Followed his 5k plan before that.
- Easy pace ~9:50–10:30. Most of this block was in US South summer heat/humidity
- Most recent LT: 4 mi continuous @ 7:44/7:37/7:37/7:44 (Oct 7)
- Workouts column excludes strides (done ~1-2x/week)

I just recently ran a half marathon this month and wanted to sign up for a full in the spring. It gives me plenty of time but where I live has heavy winter december-february. I use a Garmin vivoactive 6 but the indoor treadmill setting is so inaccurate regardless of calibration over and over. I want to buy a stryd pod or some sort of fitness tracker that can sync with my watch for indoor training so that my training plans are accurate with respect to the execution of the workouts. Is the price of a stryd pod worth it and would it be effective for accurately tracking indoor treadmill runs and workout? If not, what are people doing for winter training- do you ditch the built in workouts all together and just track your progress, pace, effort, execution without a watch app plan?

Had my second marathon last week and whilst I averaged 158 HR and a significant faster time, compared to last years average of 172, in terms of endurance it felt like an easy run and my and my brother could basically talk the whole time.

Still couldnt go faster because my body started to hurt relatively fast and that turned out to be the main limitation. At least, thats what I concluded.

I never bothered with strength training but it appears that if I want to take the next step and set for 3:30 (3:52 this year) next year, I am going to have to include it somehow.

So asking for help on strength training for those of you who do it and made it as efficient as possible because you dislike it as much as I do.

Edit, thanks all for all the responses! The general idea is that a kettlebell is a really good idea because you can do just about everything thats needed with just that, and adding more kms, both are doable.

Hi guys,

I do work in logistic, the last week and begin of this week were physical, and i today woke up with my low back almost fully blocked.

I feel it going down my right leg, so sciatic nerve directly or indirectly concerned.

I am actually in my peak week of marathon block, i should run 85km this week, but i know i have to rest first. (i keep some mibility and yoga tho)

My marathon is on the 8th of November and i have 3 weeks or taper going like this: 55km, 42km and 30km + race.

Should i move to next week at least my long run (31km with some tempo) and/or my long tempo run (3x6km at pace), or just following the plan, and don't run them at all ??

It's gonna be my 1st full marathon, and i'll try sub 3h30 (10km pr 39min, HM 1h40 (Last november), 900km ran since may 2026.

Please give me your advice !!!

Thanks

I ran Chicago this past Sunday and my body is feeling pretty good; just a little tired still.

When and how do you start exercising after a marathon? I won't be running another race until March or April, so I don't need feel the need to start running right away. I haven't worked out since the race out of caution but want to start working out again.

Training for my first. I am a heavy sweater and live in a pretty dang humid climate. The race is in January, so it will be cooler, but the humidity never really goes away much here, though it should be less.

I've never done any sort of official race, so I'm curious - can you really get enough water and electrolytes from the little cups at the aid stations? I think the race I'm doing has a lot of stations (maybe every 2 miles?). I'd hate to have to carry something extra, but I'd also rather be hydrated well.

When it's crazy hot out here during training, I've been doing like 3 of the 500 mL hydration things with water/electrolytes during a half and then still feel like I need a lot of water to "catch up".

This is the course: https://www.celebrationmarathon.com/uploads/1/4/0/3/14038217/generic_route_map.pdf

Race is the 25th, feeling fatigued/heavy with a tender maybe not sore but tender throat and small cough. Achiness normal? Or should i go to the doctor to try to speed up the recovery process.. Also how much should I be running? I have a little over a week to go so i think this week i was aiming for 50% of peak week mileage with a 10-11 mile long run.. but I am not sure if thats right. This is my first and im not following a plan. Runs have felt slow and gentle, seeing a PT for shin splints

Hey there!

Some background:

2 half marathons completed. (1:59:55, 1:54:19)
I ran about 12 miles a week before the plan.
I started the 16 week plan during the first week of august, and my race is in december. I’m about halfway done with my plan.

I hit strength at least once a week but I don’t have a proper strength routine set up.

I also cycle frequently, with about 30 miles a week, and I swim laps once every two weeks.

I have been running on treadmill since it’s so hot in Texas, but plan to transition to morning runs as it becomes colder,

I am currently training for a marathon using Hal Hidgon’s app, so I can’t really place a difficulty on it. If I had to say, It probably is between intermediate 1 and Novice 2.

Peak weeks have about 43 miles.

————————————

My main issue is that my knee pain has been becoming more and more of an issue as this plan progresses. I’ve noticed that with more rest, the PFPS (I think) subsides and I am able to run stronger and longer.

This brings me to my question. Since I have about another half of the plan left, I am debating cutting back a run day and either replacing it with a strength day or a rest day, effectively bringing me to 4 days of running a week and 3 rest.

I need opinions if this is a smart move, or if there’s something else I should be focusing on. I am already considering a PT, but since the pain goes away with rest I am deterred from spending money.

Hi I’ve picked up jump roping with some consistency over the summer and have also applied to run for the Chicago marathon next year. I just wanted to check in with this community to see if anybody has ever directly used jump roping as cross training for long distance running. I’m hoping it’s a good idea but kinda just checking to see if anybody has had any direct experience with this.

Random thought but felt like I’d check in with this group.

Thanks!