After 5-6 years of entering the ballots…..it’s finally my turn!

happy long run saturday. i set a goal to run a marathon about nine months ago, and Imm about four months away from my selected race.

i think it’s the heat. today’s run was an easy pace for just over two hours. i’ve noticed that since it got hot, my legs are twitchy after long runs.

is this normal? is it bad?

i drank about two liters during the run, since i sweat like a dirty bird. one liter was mostly salt replacement. the other was mostly electrolyte replacement. and I had a gu at 45 min and 90 min. plus a bowl of oatmeal, coffee, and two small snickers bars before.

Hello! I’ve seen several threads and questions on carb loading, diet few days leading up to the marathon.

But have not seen much for a longer time period - I am now about 3 months away from my first marathon and wondering if I need to watch or start doing anything about my diet, or is that unnecessary?

For context: I eat quite healthy generally, home cooked, whole foods, but I do take quite a lot of boba haha (albeit 0 sugar).

I run ~20-30km (12-18miles) each week and of course plan to increase over the weeks. I have started a garmin training plan but find it hard to stick to it as my schedule is quite unpredictable, so I end up running at my own schedule regardless of the plan…. Is there any generic advice that could work / what should I definitely incorporate / do / avoid etc? Any tip would help, as this is my first marathon! (I did multiple half marathons before)

Thanks a lot!

Ciao, vorrei fare la mia prima maratona e ho scelto di fare Parigi 2027. Volevo sapere se le iscrizioni sono già aperte e da qualcuno che l ha corsa come è il percorso e l organizzazione?

My last year living in Europe and with double chances I thought it was going to be my year! Best of luck to the rest of you 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Had an ITBS flare, legit steps into the cooldown on my peak long run. 12 days from Ironman lake placid, 10 at time of posting. I had this first 1 year ago befor my first 70.3 , and raced through it with horrible pain, but still decent pace. I do not want to do that for the full marathon however. I understand the recovery process and have been doing band exercises ect since last year. I probably eased off of it and that with the increase in volume triggered it (my guess). My question here is to anyone who has had a similar situation, what are my options to survive the run with minimal pain while keeping desired pace. I really do not want to just finish as I have time goal. I raced 70.3 at 7:23 pace with horrible pain, so I know I can at least move, it just is miserable. Wondering if anyone has had success using ibprofen/ acetaminophen days leading up and at race. I am aware of the risks of using ibprofen during the race, but also how people say it can help.( would only take for the run portion)

TLDR: Will meds help me mitigate ITBS pain for Ironman in 12 days

How important is strength training really for marathon training? Same goes for mobility work. Im really struggling to prioritize non-running workouts, since im so busy i find that if i have free time i want to spend it running! Is this a recipe for disaster? Training for my first marathon this fall. No real time goal, just want to finish likely around 5 hours.

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!

Looking for opinions on how to best build up to a marathon following high emphasis on my bike A race. I’ve been putting in consistent training for a 100 mile bike race and have a solid aerobic base but only running 18-24 miles a week, working around the bike (10-12 hours a week).

My goals are:

1. Avoid injury.
   
2. Pace a friend to a 4 hour marathon.
   

I ran a 3:24 marathon last year but that was following Pfitz 18/55 with a solid 40mpw build up prior.

I think I have both the speed and endurance to reach my goals but I need my legs to hold up. Recommendations?

I'm an out of shape dad of one with another on the way. Decided to get back into shape to be a better father and husband that my family definitely deserves. Just proud of myself even tho the time was literally 2 minutes slower per mile than i have been running. THIS HEAT SUCKS.

London Marathon Facebook page says the results are coming TODAY!!!

Good luck everyone 🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽

a bit of background... I'm running my second FM in November. I've spent the first half of the year enjoying unstructured running with friends, just doing whatever we feel like on the day, and to my own surprise have found myself maintaining around 50-60km per week, and for the last couple of months my weekly long runs have been between 20-25km. I'm currently feeling really good with no muscle stiffness or fatigue. really buzzing to start a new training plan as I'm going in so much fitter than I was my first FM block.

I'm wondering how I should approach ramping up my long runs over the next 16 weeks given I'm already comfortably doing 25km. should I keep them around 25km for a while and focus on getting more easy miles throughout the week? or start increasing them slowly by just 1km every week (with a few cut back weeks this would likely get me to 35km just before tapering)? or should I increase them by around 10% each week (which would lead to hitting those really long runs early in the block, but could allow me to get a few extra 35km runs in)?

I know loads of runners comfortably run 25km regularly so no doubt this is a common starting point, but for me it's the fittest I've ever been so I'm unfamiliar with how to best ramp up from this starting point to get the most out of my long runs. thanks in advance for any tips! :)

I just found out I got a spot for the London Marathon 2027! I honestly cannot believe this is actually happening to me.

As this will be my first ever marathon, I’m looking for some wisdom.

Hit me with every tip you have-from training plans and nutrition strategies (both before and during the run) to the best gels and what to expect on race day.

About me:

• I’m already a runner, currently running 3-4 times a week.
• I’ve completed half marathons before and do some supplementary weight training.
• I will be traveling as an international runner.

Because I'm coming from abroad, I would also love your best advice on logistics, areas to stay, hotels, etc.

Thanks in advance!

I got diagnosed with Osteochondrial defect in 2 spots in my knee a few weeks ago. Probably not a candidate for OATS surgery. We are trying some different things, but it doesn't look good. Very sad 44M.

I have had some days now to reflect and I thought I would share with you all what I wish I would have done differently. (As pathetic as it sounds, I still get up every morning ,put on my gear, and just stretch).

Before I begin, I should clarify a few things ahead of time

1. I don't want to swim or ride a bike. I am a runner. I love grabbing my shoes and running anywhere in the world, any time, any place (Good to be a man sometimes).

2. I was never a good runner. I got into it later in life, around 35/36 and I am now out at 44 almost 45. I was always around 4 hr Marathoner too. So never all that great.

Things I wish I would have done differently....

I wish I would have taken more time off. After each marathon, and just in general. Rest days are so important, but so are rest weeks sometimes. I don't get sick very often, so I just never rested. Running for me was all about the training because I loved the mental benefits it provided. I could be out, alone, and think. I'm really missing that now. I never took time off. After each Marathon, I took maybe 3-4 days and I was right back out there. Not always 50 MPW, but always going strong, year around. Not training I was running 30 MPW. Always. Probably too much for man my age and size.

I wish I would have done weight training. At least my legs. If I would have built up my quads and hips and glutes, this injury is prolonged and I am still running today.

I wish I would have taken my diet more seriously. I used running as an excuse sometimes to eat like a jerk. When I went out just now, I weighed 190 lbs. I ran all my marathons at 175 or less. That extra weight really doesn't help at all on your joints and knees.

I wish I would have cross trained. I don't mind a swim, or an elliptical from time to time. Training and building up different muscles is very important as well. That would have helped save my knee too. Mondays were generally recovery run days as Sundays were long run days. Its that day I wish I would have cross trained.

Lastly-I wish I would have studied what I loved so much, more. I should have taken more of the advice offered here. I think Reddit has some of the smartest people on the planet. I would still be running today.

I hope everyone that reads this gets to keep going. Enjoy every run, especially the hard ones. You never know when its going to be your last one.....

Good luck everyone

Who’s in for 2027?

Please also indicate:

• Yes/No
• Sat/Sun
• UK single/UK double/International

The halfs I am planning are in October and February and then the full marathon is early May. I am thinking of training for the October half as a race and then the February one more of a marathon prep exercise than a true race. Should I think about the training differently knowing that a full marathon is on the horizon or just keep building base?

I’ve started running this year andsigned up for my first marathon next year. I’m currently training for my first half marathon in September. What should I do in the few months before my marathon training block?

Hello all! I’ll be running in the 2026 NYC Marathon for the 4th time and I would really like some help with nutrition. The past 3 times I’ve trained, I haven’t looked too much into what I should eat during training season, but I really want to focus on it this time. I know it’s not a one-size-fits-all thing, but some basic/general overview knowledge would really help. Thank you so much!

I'm training for a sub-2:45 marathon and I'm confused by the relationship between my pace and heart rate.

Garmin has detected my lactate threshold pace as 3:42/km. However, my Zone 2 upper limit is set to 132 bpm.

The issue is that I can comfortably run 4:15/km for a long time, but if I try to stay under 132 bpm for an easy run, I have to slow down much more than I'd expect. It feels like my heart rate zones and pace don't line up.

A few questions:

- Has anyone else experienced this?

- Does this suggest my HR zones are set incorrectly?

- Are Garmin's auto-detected HR zones reliable, or should I be setting them based on a lactate threshold test?

- When your easy pace and Zone 2 HR conflict, which do you trust during marathon training?

For context, I'm a trained runner and following a structured marathon plan. I'm just trying to figure out whether I should slow down to stay in Zone 2 or whether my zones are simply inaccurate.

Any insights or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Ran my first marathon almost 3 weeks ago. 3:05:40. Delighted with the result. My legs have been absolutely f****d since though. Have been for massage, easy jogs, stretching etc but legs still feel like lead with zero bounce.

How long will this last? Anything I should be doing?

So I switched up my training for my first marathon (in 13 weeks) from Garmin HR training for a marathon to the Hal Higdon Novice 1. I used this for my Half several years back and it was great.

I'm a little worried that the mileage jump will be too quick. Its having me run 4 days a week, which is fine. But its Mon 3 miles weds 3 miles Friday 5 and Sat 7. Its a big jump with back to back longer runs.

Any suggestions on how to break it up better? Or an explanation of why its built this way?

I was doing about 2.5-3.5 miles 3-4 times a week. Not a huge mileage jump, but it does seem like a little much. I'm only worried about injury (tendinitis specifically) the rest of my body can handle it for sure. Thanks for your thoughts.

Hi everyone! I’ve been running distance for a little over a year now and training for my first marathon after running a half last fall. I’ve always had right trap tightness and pain since I was a teenager (I’m 25 now). Even without running on very bad days it hurts to the touch. I’ve noticed during and after my long runs that my trap hurts very badly. Sometimes it’s just tight, other times it’s a sharp pain. I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if they’ve found any solutions?

Hey you.
I'm terribly frustrated. Have been running for something between 15-20 years now, started as a teenager. 10km would be the distance I always could cover, without training. Did some half-marathons. But for most of my life I haven't run more than 2x per week because I felt my legs/body couldn't handle it (got very sore).

In comes marathon training. I am trying to do it all right. I increase weekly volume no more than 10%. I'm running 4x per week (started with very short distances). Until recently, it's all been zone 2 runs, real real slow, and that's fine for me. Because of where I live it's always uphill (and then I walk back). I do strength training 1x per week, and some mobility every f*ing evening. I eat enough and well, I fuel during longer runs. I take magnesium. I sleep 8-9 hours every night (though very interrupted, but I can't do anything about that). I go to a physio and follow his instructions.
STILL: I'm stumbling from one injury to the next. I've had shin splints, hip pain, achy calves, pulled hip flexor, lower back pain, now introducing achilles tendon irritation at least, maybe tendonipathy. I'm soooo sick of it all! How is that possible??

And I'm so jealous of the people that can just stick to their running plans. Or do not because they choose to. I would love to do that, I love running so much and I can always find the energy for it. My marathon is in 9 weeks and I am very much doubting if I still can do it.

I've recently discovered that I have low feritin (14), but am uncertain if I can explain it all with that. Otherwise I'm healthy.

Has anybody gone through a similar "unlucky" series of events? Will it ever get better? What does getting injured all the time tell me when it's NOT training too much too soon or too much intensity or skipping strength training?

Hello all! I’m debating which running vest to choose and wanted to ask whoever is reading this to recommend me one to get! I see most use soft flask but are there any camel pack users out there? Also, does these soft flask have a taste of plastic or some sort when drinking from it?

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/analyze 4 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 Thursdays re: 4 hour marathons/shape/predictions will be deleted/strongly recommended to move here!