I (36 F) completed my first marathon on Sunday at the Melbourne Marathon. Over the 11 months leading up to it I complete the Daniel’s red plan, Daniel’s blue plan and (attempted) Pfitz 18/55.

During the red plan I did a 51:04 10km (2min PB). 17 weeks out from the mara I did a 1:54 Half Mara (4min PB) followed by a 1:49 Half Mara 10 weeks later. I was hoping to have a crack at a sub-4 for the full after this effort.

I didn’t listen to my body and got back into training to quickly after the 1:49 effort. Ended up with a hip injury followed by lower back issues two weeks later. Running volume drastically decreased and was just happy to get to the start line feeling fresh.

Ran a 4:23 very comfortably - my last two kms were my fastest. I think I could have managed a 4:15 but being my first I was worried about going out too hard and hitting a wall later.

Many lessons learnt but so happy with the result and very excited to start the process for the next one!

Edit: spelling

Hi all I’m running nyc in a couple weeks and I’m feeling very underprepared. I skipped a couple of my long runs and my longest was 19 miles. I tried to do a 20 mi run this last weekend and had to cut it at 10 because it was pouring the whole time and I was miserable.

I probably did like 75% of my easy runs and like 25% of my tempo/track workouts. And now it’s time to taper so I’m kinda fucked. Please tell me it will be okay 😟 or is it actually dangerous to try if I did not train like I was supposed to? I’m not tryna run fast or anything, just finish and maybe under 5 hrs. I run a 2 hr HM a couple of months ago.

Hi everyone, wanted to see if others here are also training for their first marathon in Seattle! How’s the training going? And for those who have run the Seattle marathon before, any insights/advice? 😄

Current weekly mileage: 20 miles.
Not much strength training.

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

I ran my first marathon last week and completely bonked at around km 26.
I came down with some kind of flu or COVID about three weeks before the marathon, which left me feeling unwell for almost 2.5 weeks. I didn’t do any training during that time, but I felt pretty fresh during the last three days before the race, so I decided to give it a try. The first 25 km felt great. I even had a few conversations with other runners during the race.

Fueling:
I took a 25 g carb gel every 5 km, some 200 mg salt capsules every 40 minutes, and drank electrolyte drinks at the aid stations every 5 km.

However, I completely bonked around km 26. My legs suddenly felt incredibly heavy, and my calves and hamstrings started cramping up. I couldn’t maintain my pace anymore because of the cramps and heavy legs.

What do you guys think could have caused this?

Was it too soon to race after being sick for almost three weeks? Was it the lack of training during the final weeks? Or was my fueling strategy somehow off?

Training:
My 16 week training program was based on a Pfitzinger training plan. I peaked at 86 km per week, and my longest run was 37 km. I also ran most of my long runs at marathon pace (5:27/km).

I’m still really happy that I finished my first marathon, but I want to do better next time and break the 4-hour mark!

here are my splits:

https://i.imgur.com/O5d8WHe.png

For the context, I'm a 54 year old runner that just started running 2 years ago without any prior activities. Start was hard as for anyone but progress is steady.

Last April, I ran a half-marathon in 1h58 and after that I decided to sign up for my first marathon that will be in 2 weeks.

I didn't follow any plan as I like to run in accordance with my daily condition but I did my homework running every month between 200 km and 340 km at my peak last month (85 - 90 - 85 km for my peak weeks).

I mixed easy, threshold and long runs during my preparation with 4 long runs over 30 km (30, 32, 33, 35 km) and the rest of my weekly long runs over 20 km.

During those long runs, I did train at a pace of 6:00 to 6:10 min/km because my initial goal is to finish in 4h20, and it really felt "easy" (at least very manageable). All my long runs are at conversational pace as I do them with friends and we love to chat a lot while running.

Last week, I ran a half-marathon and it went really well. I finished in 1h46 with a very even pace of around 5:00 min/km during the whole race and even a faster last split at the end. (Race was really flat so it was like a tempo training).

According to that, I have the feeling that I can push a little harder and aim for a better time than 4h20. Maybe even a sub-4 seems possible but I have never trained for that pace (neither did I for my half-marathon that was not a target race) and it's too late to do it now.

So my question is, should I stick to my initial plan which seems very doable now, or can I aim higher and risk to blow up because of the lack of that race specific training ?

Hello all!

I managed to get a place in the Paris Marathon (big yay!!! 🥳) and I’m so excited! It’ll be my first marathon, so I’m looking for a bit of advice on where to start with training.

I already run a decent amount, averaging around 25–50km per week depending on how I’m feeling that week haha, but I’m very aware I’ll need to gradually increase my mileage in preparation.

I’ve run three half marathons before (and running my 4th half marathon race next week), but I’ve never actually followed a proper training plan, so this is all a bit new to me! My first half marathon I got 1:59:13 which I was so gassed about (and I didn’t take a break which genuinely shocked me, don’t know what came over me that day)

My usual pace is around 5:15–5:45/km, although I do sometimes take little breaks on longer runs. That’s something I’m working on by incorporating more slower, easy runs to build up my aerobic base and endurance.

I was wondering if anyone had any training plans they’d recommend, or even some good resources to point me in the right direction? I’ve tried Googling plans, but honestly, the sheer number of options is a bit overwhelming, and I’m not entirely sure what I should be looking for as a first-time marathoner.

I’d absolutely love to run a sub-4-hour marathon, but I’m also realistic about the fact that it might not happen on my first attempt, and that’s completely fine!

More than anything, I just want to cross the line and I’m really grateful I got in.

Any advice, recommendations or general first-marathon wisdom would be so appreciated!
Thank you so much in advance! ☺️

(56F) I’ve taken a few days to sort out my thoughts regarding finishing the Chicago Marathon this past Sunday. It was both amazing, and mentally challenging, for me. I kept to my goal, sub 6 hours, for the 1st 12 miles. But things started to fall apart then, and I switched to a party pace (stopping a few times for things like meeting Coach Bennett who trained me through the NRC app and taking a beat with my family whenever I saw them on the course)—Completing the distance at 6 hours 35 minutes 8 seconds, not making the official cut-off. I have different feelings about not making the cut-off. The vibe of the Chicago Marathon is incredible. The crowd support/volunteers were amazing and so fun. It really carried me the second half when I needed it. At mile 3, my watch went rogue. The time reset to 4am. The pace time never came back. I had to stop relying on it for any feedback. I then latched onto a pace group but by mile 12, I was feeling disoriented. I’m guessing that was from the heat. I made the choice then to stop chasing the time and run like I ran during the training block. I think that was the right choice, but it cost me that five minutes. I had my fueling down (1/2 a Maurten 160 every 20 minutes). I stopped at every water refill station the course supplied and made sure I was hydrated. Drank Gatorade the course supplied too. Took salt chews every hour. I have Achilles tendinitis which flared up at mile 22 but I knew how to manage that from training and adjusted my pace accordingly. All in all, it was a positive experience. I think my mental game needed to be a little stronger. When things started unraveling, I wanted to quit. I had the reasoning all set for when I saw my support group at mile 13. I spent a couple miles coming up with excuses. But after I saw them, I just kept going. Deliriously (haha). But kept going. This is when the crowd support really picked up and carried me through. I think I could have benefited from more running during my training block. I ran 3 days a week, due to my responsibilities at home, it’s all I could fit in. Maybe I need to get a treadmill in order to build on that. (I really prefer running outside.) I want to try Chicago again. I’ve already put my name into the lottery. I’ll never forget this experience. It was truly a life-altering day. When they say you run that last few miles with your heart, they’re not kidding. I don’t normally run races. I like to run to clear my head. But I have a 5k, 10k, 1/2, and now, a marathon medal. The marathon medal doesn’t feel official (even though I completed the distance). Can you tell I’m type A? Haha I think I’ll be back. I learned the lessons of the first marathon. It was the perfect day for that. ❤️

Hi is anyone else running the NYC marathon in a few but sick af with the flu? Looking for some advice / want to see if anyone else is dealing with this as well.

My training was going so well, but got derailed by this flu and didn't get to run at all during peak week. Still fighting this flu off and I'm going on 2 full weeks now.

Side note this is not my first marathon it's my second... my first was earlier this year which I ran a 4:00:01... so my goal this time around was sub-4hrs. Not sure if I need to adjust my goal since I've come down with this flu.

First marathon Prague, May 2027 — plan critique welcome

**Background:** Started running consistently to train for a half in April 2026 (1:53, ~8:38/mi, sprinted the finish). Ran ~1x/week since. Most recent: 10 mi at 8:56/mi, felt fine. I lift 3–5x/week and bike a little. My HR runs high (155–165 easy, 170–182 moderate, max ~199 — high even in half-marathon shape, though I'm coming off a light summer of not running much).

**Plan (29 weeks):** Base 15→26 mpw → Build 26→36 (tempos/intervals) → Peak 35→41 (MP work, 20-milers) → 3-week taper. Tue quality / Thu+Fri easy / Sat long / Sun rest, cutback every 4th week. Tune-up half Mar 21: sub-1:52 means I chase sub-9:00/mi, otherwise 9:15–9:30.

**Goal:** confident in sub-10:00/mi (4:22); wondering if sub-9:00 (3:56) is realistic.

**Questions:**

1. Sub-9 pipe dream for a first marathon off a 1:53 half?
2. How do you schedule leg day around quality runs and long runs when lifting 3–5x/week?
3. High-HR runners: ignore zones completely, or use the data differently?
4. Anything you'd change about the structure?

Thank you

Hi all, I’m running my first marathon next week. Training block went great. Hit my 32km and still had some left in me. Started tapering last week and ever since my slower easy runs now at lower millage my HR is up maybe 5/10 beats. I have a polar HR arm device that I’ve reset and updated and still the same. Is this a normal thing during taper?

I 24M ran XC my freshman year of high school which was 10 years ago (believe it or not). I have played ice hockey and lacrosse my whole life and have been weightlifting regularly since I started college. Cardio had been an afterthought until recently where I walk up an incline tread for 40-45 minutes 1-2x per week. I play in a men’s hockey league once a week too. I also was a heavy vaper until Feb 2025 and I haven’t picked up a vape or a cigarette since. I do still smoke pot before bed (I treat it like a beer or glass of wine after my day is done) but am 100% willing to give this up in pursuit of this goal.

Now that you have an idea of my fitness here was what I was thinking: I want to make it a goal to myself to run a full marathon (or half if i’m in over my head) in 2027. Not to dox myself too hard but my local marathon is in early november. there are half marathons spread throughout the year within a reasonable distance. I was thinking starting a run/walk program (think couch to 5k) at the start to ease my knees in and then slowly build up the distance. I run a turkey trot as part of a family tradition so I have a 5k built in at a good time (if I start now). Does this seem feasible or am I in over my head?

I’m supposed to run a half marathon next weekend 10/25. I ran 11 miles on Sunday, took Monday off and have been sick since. I feel almost 100% today. If you were me, what would the rest of your training days look like. I had not planned on tapering. I’ve run 2 half’s before and always ran a half on my own the weekend before. I’m just scared I’ll sh*t the bed if I don’t run one more long run before the race. Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you!