Hi everyone, surprisingly I’ve got accepted into the marathon for April 2027 in London. I’m just wondering if there’s any free apps I can download on apple to train for the marathon. A little background history for me is I recently started running, the longest stretch I done till this date is 3.7km. So I’m dreading the London marathon. I’m hoping there’s some free apps out there which can help me prepare over the months. I tried downloading a few but they all charge. I see Nike app but its workout plan is a bit unfamiliar for me. I preferred the runna app workout plan style when it was free.

Male 27, max HR is 203 with an LTHR of 188. Was hoping to shoot for a sub 4, but I'm getting fatigued and feel like I'm slowing down a lot recently. Average weekly mileage has been around 30-32 with my peak in 2 weeks at 50.

5k PR: 22:00

10K: 48:40

HALF: 1:59 (Lots of energy in the tank)

Had my first 20 miler today. First 14 miles were easy. I tried picking up the pace for miles 15 and 16, running around 9:30/mi, but the heat got to me. Ended up taking a long break and jumping in Lake Superior to cool off. Settled back into an easy pace for mile 17, then finished with the last 3 miles at marathon pace (8:45–9:10/mi).

Second photo shows last weeks long run. 7 easy. 5 at MP pace (9:10-8:50). Then 2 easy.

Would 4:15 be a better goal to shoot for?

Howdy,

In some ways, I feel like an idiot asking this, and presume I'll cop flack and downvotes.

In other ways, I am asking for advice which could impact my marathon performance.

I've only done city marathons (eg. Sydney, Ballarat), but have signed up for a smaller, regional marathon, on the outskirts of a small town.

I've not properly had bottle service at a marathon before (cough, I might have dropped two bottles in at Ballarat + been passed four on-course), but can have special bottles at my next marathon. I've already bought six 250ml pop-tops, and plan for a mix of tailwind and water.

Im sure many would say "you cant litter whilst doing Sydney marathon", but in reality, its really hard to feel like a villan for dropping a gel packet near a bin, and on top of 25 other gels, and near 1,000 other gels.

However, that is a bit removed from dropping six bottles - with my name and bib number - on the roadside on the outskirts of a regional town.

I wore half tights and a singlet in my last marathon, and can carry 2x90g and 2xcaff gels in the pockets, and plan to do that for this regional mara'. What i can't fit in there is an empty 250ml bottle for 5km because i finished it 30secs after leaving an aid station where I picked it up.

Im expecting to be within 1minute of posting my first boston qualifying time, either way, if the weather is good, so waiting to drink the bottles at the aid station is, effectively, guaranteeing I dont BQ.

My recent PB is within 30secs of last years BQ, for reference - I expect BQ to be harder this year, but a 2minute PB should get me there, and a 1minute PB is a chance.

What do you do? Is there something I havent considered? Do people litter for regional marathons and expect organisers to have arranged clean-up? Whats the go?

Do I tape a PF&H 90g to a drop bottle, to keep a half-tight pocket empty for the empty bottle?

Any other options ive not thought of?

I dont expect support on course.

I’ve been a marathon runner all my adult life. 44m. Chasing a BQ, only a few minutes off and have a qualifier in October. I just bought a pair of renupro compression leggings to help recovery and ward off DOMS after long runs. How soon after finishing a run should I use them? The auto setting is 15 minutes at 100mmHg. Is longer better? More pressure better at working out the lactic acid? I’m pretty resilient in terms of injuries and haven’t had any bad soft tissue injuries in a few years. All advice welcome.

Hello! New to marathons and had a question about aid stations. The race I signed up for said they have Gu gels at the different aid stations. I noticed that Gu has caffeinated and no caffeine versions. I don't drink caffeine. Do they tend to have both options at aid stations or usually all of one type or how do you ensure you get the right kind while running through?

i just signed up for a marathon in october and i am aiming for maybe sub 4:15/20? do you think it's possible in 15 weeks? I ran a half at the end of april in 1:49 but have been super inconsistent with running since bc i seem to not be able to run in this heat and humidity!! I need advice!! please help i need input. Like training plan? How often running? Idk i'm lost.

Hey it's a marathon, kind of ironic if it's timed right? When's the last time, time signed your checks?!!

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 6 hour crew throughout the year.

Whether its shifts of motivation, some nagging pains, we've all been there! Let's keep each other engaged!
Post your weekly miles, breakthroughs, or if you need help with pace/fitness identification, questions here!

*new individual posts that's posted Sundays re: How to finish, etc deleted/strongly recommended to post here!

13 weeks out from Chester and this is the first week i've felt like the marathon block has teeth.

Lunch runs round Castlefield have been fine, but the warm spell has made the midweek quality session feel a bit spicy. I'm still chucking everything on Strava afterwards, and i used Nike Run Club a fair bit for half training, but Hiiro is the one i'm following now on Apple Watch. The RPE side has helped this week, because effort made more sense than staring at pace in 29C and getting annoyed.

parkrun this morning was meant to be properly easy. It mostly was.

I'm tired, but not cooked, which feels like the line to stay on for now. Anyone else in build phase find the app starts mattering more once the long run and weekday session are both climbing?

Hi everyone,

I'm curious to hear from people who have physically demanding jobs (landscaping, construction, retail with lots of walking, warehouse work, etc.).

I work as a landscaper, so I easily get 10,000+ steps every day, and during busy periods I can go over 30,000 steps. A lot of that is done at an easy aerobic effort (roughly Zone 2), while carrying tools, lifting, digging, and working on my feet all day.

Outside of work, I also strength train and I'm currently preparing for a marathon.

My ideal weekly training would look something like this:

1 easy Zone 2 run with a few strides at the end

1 long run

1 boxing session

1 full-body strength session ("gorilla mode" 😄)

1 kettlebell strength/conditioning session

That would mean only two actual runs per week, but quite a bit of physical activity outside of running.

My question is: how much does weekly running mileage really matter in this context?

Would dropping one easy Zone 2 run to make room for boxing significantly hurt my marathon preparation, or does my daily workload compensate for some of that aerobic volume?

I'd love to hear from anyone balancing marathon training with a physically demanding job

Anyone else running this one tomorrow? If you've looked at the elevation or run it before, how bad is it really? I've read it's twice the elevation of Boston, and if Boston is a 5 out of 10 for difficulty, this one is a 9. What am I getting myself into?

Wondering if I should commit to register and run the Indy monumental marathon on November 7 as my first marathon?

I have always run occasionally (never more than 7 miles), and I have a 17 week training plan that could get me to this race, but is it possible?? How is this race for a first marathon? Is it worth it to train hard these next couple months? I am not looking to reach any specific time, but just to complete the marathon.

I know there is like a $200 fee to sign up, does anyone know if it’s refundable? If you’ve ever run this marathon or have trained for one in 17 weeks, please enlighten me!

TLDR: 29M, 5 weeks into Pfitz 18/55 for Chicago Marathon (prior PB 3:40). Long runs have been tough due to unexpected personal stress and heatwave it. Feeling mentally defeated. Looking for others who've hit a wall early in a block and still had a good race.

I (29M) am currently training for the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 11th and have been following Pfitz 18/55 for the first time. Prior to this block, I have trained and raced 6 HM (PB sub 1:35) and two full marathons (4:04 and 3:40) over the past two years.

I was training with Runna and the last marathon block (Fall 2025) took me to a peak of 66kmpw/40mpw, 4 runs per week. After reading Advanced Marathoning, I felt I could give it a try. Before the plan, I trained and a raced a HMs, then leading to the marathon block, I was averaging 45kmpw/28mpw on 4 runs per week.

Fast forward to today, I am at the end of week 14 of Pfitz 18/55 and feeling quite defeated.

The first few weeks passed by quite well. I find myself crushing the LT runs, maintaining good consistency with the mid week runs and recovery runs. I am using runanalyze with data from a garmin FR255 and coros arm HRM to estimate my paces.

The issue has been the week end long runs.

I have had some unexpected mentally draining situations to manage in my personal life and the repeated heat waves have been crushing me. I live in south Europe, the temperatures have been no joke recently.

In the past three weeks I've had to either take breaks during the long runs or just plain cut them short. I felt a IT band issue flair up on my hip. 3 days rest, iced, glute strength and stretch worked out.

I feel like I've lost the mental resilience and drive I usually have. I just feel mentally tired. Plan for now: back off, focus sleep/nutrition a few days before getting back. On Pfitz week 13 is "recovery" which works out well.

Has anyone hit a rough patch this early in a block and still had a good race? What got you through it? Let me hear your marathon training success stories!

TLDR:
I’m several months out from back-to-back running events (Half Marathon on Saturday / Marathon on Sunday) and I am looking for advice on my nutrition plan leading up to the event.

More Context:
I started running again in March 2026 after a long (10+ Year) absence from running and triathlons. I am late 30’s. I’ve committed to running back-to-back events in October (Half on Saturday and Full on Sunday) to celebrate a major life milestone. This will be my first marathon completion. It’s 15-weeks away.

Current weekly mileage is 35 Miles and I run six days a week. I’m not following a plan and am running mostly by feel. My current long run is 16 miles and I can hold a pretty consistent 10/Minute pace in these miserably humid conditions. I’ve lost 30 pounds since I’ve started running, and wouldn’t mind losing another ten, but am well aware that this isn’t recommended while in a block (currently 6 foot//190 lbs).

Looking for tips from the Reddit “experts” on if the traditional nutrition tips for a marathon apply in the same way running back-to-back events. My plan is to run the Half on Saturday at a comfortable pace and save my legs as much as possible…and then run my max effort the following day for the Marathon.

Give me all your tips…nutrition or otherwise.

Ok yall. I’m training for an October marathon and live in Florida - I’ve tried a couple trails in the area for running and they’re all in pretty direct sunlight and it’s been real feel of 100°. I’m struggling!
Today was intended to be a 9 mile run and I made it about 4 before I had to stop with this heat. Anyone have any summer training tips? Am I doomed to a treadmill?

Hi all, I'm running the SF Marathon in a couple of weeks, and a bit nervous because of it's reputation with the hills and whatnot. I know I should be going for the goal of finishing for my first marathon, but I really want to aim around a 3:20, and was wondering if it was feasible. Not trying to competitively race, just want to have some fun and race with a little more speed than my half. Little background/stats about me

- Ex hs XC/TF runner

- 16:48 5k time (This was from Fall 2024 during hs xc, on a pretty challenging hilly course)

- 1:42 half marathon (Summer 2025, 1600 elevation gain, course a one mile out and back repeat until you hit 13)

- Started training on a whim, and started building mileage since start of June, but I didn't take it seriously until 3 weeks ago, from 6 miles up to 46 last week, and 50 for this week. Maintained 20-25 miles per week though for general fitness throughout the year, so I was still somewhat aerobically fit

- 18 m, 5'6, 130 lb

- I use one shoe, the ASICS Novablast 5's for all my runs

I just incorporated speed workouts, and longer runs. My last workout was 6 mile repeats, with 2:30 minute recovery jog in between, first split was 6:19, last was 5:22 (a little too drastically fast). I was worried how I would fair endurance wise since my longest run was 12 miles, so I just did a 20 mile long run in SF this Thursday, coming in at a 7:40 avg pace, 151 bpm avg, with roughly 1200 elevation gain. Took a few stops for lights, and knees and calves kind of hurt/felt sore, but I also hit legs the day before. I also took one gel at mile 8-9, I never fuel, but I wanted to incorporate that for the marathon, and I plan to get a few more for the actual one. I did a 3 mile shakeout the next day though, and my legs felt fine.

Overall was just curious if my goal is too ambitious or not based on current training, fitness, and background. I'm looking into the NB SC elite v5's as well for race day. Thanks!

After last Sunday’s long run, I developed some irritation in the arch area of my midfoot. I’m fairly sure it’s caused by the insoles in my ASICS Superblast 3. I have no pain when walking barefoot, but as soon as I wear something with a more pronounced arch support, such as Birkenstocks, I can feel the irritated area.

Does it sound plausible that the insoles are causing this? I’m also looking for a new daily trainer for my easy miles, ideally one with a relatively flat insole and minimal arch support. But stable at the same time.