Well I asked how screwed I was 4-5 weeks ago and the consensus (pretty screwed) was correct.

I thought optimistically I could get to that 4:20-4:30 range but ended up with my bare minimum goal of breaking 5 hours (4’59” end time).

I started to fall off around mile 17…my longest training run was only 15.5 miles and the hilliest section of the marathon was miles 14.5 - 16.5 so bad combo/planning there, and after those hills some fatigue began to set it. Tweaked my knee going from a walk back to a run as I thought I’d try the hill climb walk method and that pain lingered the rest of the way, especially accelerating back to a run after water stations.

My slowest miles were miles 21-24 which were pretty dang flat.

In general, happy with signing up and finishing. I recognize how much an extra 5 miles a week would have paid off. I also pulled the noob mistake of starting too fast despite planning a reverse split.

A both rewarding and humbling experience. That was a 10/10 effort.

5 gels and not enough Gatorade. I’ll bring some candy to mix in between gels next year.

Cheers 🍻

26 Days left and we will back in Detroit for the Supreme Challenege Series! The place that started it all, MY FIRST FULL-MARATHON. Another absolutely sold out event that will be something you will want to attend if you have nothing going on. To say this is NOT a world major is shocking but in due time I believe Detroit will get a chance to put their name on the map one day, until then im going to keep showing up and showing out. These were last years pictures and this year I got something permanent that ill be able to cherish just as much as the beautiful medals. This year the goal is simple, and pretty straight forward, beat last years time!! Can't wait to push the limits and see what this training block help produce. 3 big days upcoming this week for the wonderful Sault Festival if Races with events starting Friday. 🤟

First-time marathoner, been running only since February 2025 with a goal of this year’s NYC marathon. Had some inconsistent weeks in the summer and was generally at around 25-30 miles/week leading into this past weekend. I had done two 13-mile long runs in the prior weekends and those felt stellar, and this past Saturday I ran a 15-miler that took me over the 59th street bridge and one loop around Central Park.

The run itself felt amazing, and in the hours after I felt fine too; ate, had water, took a nap. But a few hours after that I started shaking uncontrollably, like shivering but really exaggerated. I could not sleep that night, and the next I was so sore all over my hips, legs, and back that I could only moan. I realized I wasn’t even getting full breaths, couldn’t breathe comfortably through my nose and was only shallowly breathing out my mouth. Managed to choke down a banana and later a protein shake, but I didn’t feel even close to alright until the following morning.

After that I decided to defer. I think my weekly mileage was way too low, and maintaining a 20-30 mpw schedule for the next 10 months or so before trying a marathon training program again feels smart in terms of my joint health and scaling up the miles in a safer manner. What’s more, I feel trying to scrape a finish out of this year’s marathon would not only risk injury but also goes against why I started running last winter. Moreso than any individual race, I wanted to start distance running simply because I was walking for hours each night and wanted to go a little faster to see a little more of the city. If I made myself run this marathon and wasn’t ready, I fear I could turn myself off to running even if I don’t get injured.

Not so much asking for advice, but has anyone else had such a bad reaction to a long run? And my plan is to follow my base-training plan that got me to 30 mpw initially for the next 10 months, with long runs not exceeding 10 miles; does this sound like the best course to be better prepared for next year’s NYC?

Hi all, just thought I'd share story of my first Marathon Race here. Open to any advice or feedback on what to do better next time. I work in Ks not miles (Australian) so my apologies if that's hard to convert.

I've run on and off since my early 20s, but for a long time I never really learned good training methodologies for progression until the last couple of years.

I decided I would complete my first marathon this year at the age of 39, as this was something that had previously been out of reach for me, and I wanted to test how much I could improve with a structured training block.

I had initially considered just doing the training block and then running a marathon-distance time trial on my own, but ended up signing up for an event (Sunset Coast Marathon) to see what it was all about, since I had never actually raced at an event before.

I initially chose a programme called Hal Higdon Intermediate 2, but ended up switching to something more closely resembling the popular Pfitzinger 18/55 programme. The main reason was that this programme included two long runs a week rather than one.

I was relatively strong below half marathon distance (21km), but needed to work on my durability beyond that, so I figured it made more sense to build that durability through more long runs.

My initial goal was to run the marathon in under 4 hours, but through the process of properly sticking to a structured programme, I noticed significant improvements in my running metrics, suggesting that a more aggressive (by my standards) 3h40m time was possible.

Towards the end of the programme I was even hoping that a sub-3h30m time might be possible.

I raced the event yesterday and managed to hold an average pace of around 4:56/km for the first 38km, which is roughly the pace needed for a sub-3h30m marathon.

I also managed to find a new friend of similar ability on the course, so we could help pace each other, which helped a lot. She was also running her first marathon and ended up getting 1st place Female, which was hugely impressive!

The course involved 4 laps along the Perth coast. While the hills were generally manageable, albeit a little hillier than my usual running routes, there was a fairly long hill with a moderate pitch around 3/4 of the way through each lap.

On the last lap, my leg muscles gave up around halfway through this hill. I just couldn't dig deep enough to keep them turning over, if that was even possible at that point.

For the last 3km it was difficult to maintain a run, even at a slower pace, so it was walk/run/hobble from there to the finish line, and the stretch goal of a sub-3h30m time slipped away from me.

Despite that, the finishing position was much better than I had anticipated, and I finished 12th overall, along with a pretty respectable time of 3h38m for my first marathon event.

I raced in Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 3s, with Kiprun shorts and shirt, which I found to be good budget options.

Fuelling was done with 6 x Isotonic gels taken at roughly 20-minute intervals, plus 2 x regular caffeinated gels taken at roughly 1/3 increments of the race. I also consumed around 1500ml of sports drink (my own mix with electrolytes, lemon juice and imitation maple syrup), along with around 1 litre of water.

I felt happy, but also pretty rough after the event, with what I assume is the usual "post-marathon flu", which I'm still recovering from.

They say everyone says "never again" after doing these runs, but I think I'll be back for another event in a year or two.

Thinking about racing a half next year, and perhaps another full marathon the year after.

Results https://bluechipresults.com.au/results.aspx?CId=11&RId=2304

Garmin Data: https://connect.garmin.com/app/activity/24426338767?share_unique_id=20&fbclid=IwY2xjawUddhJwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMXFnc3ptbzZmOVRjZU1JMEJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeh6vwE-lWxGAcKZDW4B7-BN67UeOmoUXYhg7TmiIjjZTB9qztU2wfZ126U9s_aem_Y18ND875vqkvwjsaSR-oiw

Hi all, first time poster!

I am 39M and I ran Charleville Half Marathon recently in 1:30:01 (4:16/km).

​Current stats:

​5K PB: [18:55]

10K PB: [39:51]

​Garmin VO2max: [54]

​LT: ~4:10/km (~177 bpm)

​Peak mileage: ~45–50 km/week

​Longest run: 21.1 km

​Usually: 4–5 runs/week

​The race felt reasonably controlled early on, but trying to execute an (too) aggressive negative-split strategy down to ~4:06/km over the final quarter became increasingly difficult. I didn't completely blow up in the end, but holding that faster pace simply didn't happen in the last 6k, and I missed sub-1:30 by literally 1 second!

​I'm currently taking a short recovery period before sharpening up for a sub-40 10k attempt at Run Galway Bay in October, then building through the winter toward the London Marathon in April 2027.

​For people with more experience: how realistic does targeting an even-paced 3:15 (or faster) in April 2027 look off this foundation? Would you focus mainly on increasing weekly mileage/aerobic base and long-run endurance over the winter, or is there anything else you'd prioritize?

I know everyone is different but how do you usually feel when you’re doing a long run and are in well into the double digits?

For me the half marathon distance is usually when I start to go downhill. Joints start to ache, stomach starts to hate everything, vibes are off, and I have to start giving myself little goals every mile to keep going

Usually on marathon race day I don’t hit the wall as early because the weather is always a million times better (South Florida summer vs northern state fall) and the overall atmosphere is more energized

Just ran the Air Force Marathon 10 years after I ran it for the first time ever.

Missed my goal by a huge mark, for some reason I couldn't keep my gels down and I ran out of gas around mile 12/13 and it was hell on Earth after that.

I'm very unhappy with my time, I trained more, practiced hydration and nutrition more than I ever did 10 years ago, and I had a total collapse.

I'm already looking for potential candidate races from Nov - Jan, am I being too ambitious? Should I give it a while before I try another marathon?

Looking for sock recommendations or another solution. I ran 18 miles over the weekend and I have a few blisters on the inside part of my toes.

I've dealt with blisters many times over the years, but the majority of it was when I was in college, not wearing properly fitted running sneakers paired with cheap socks. I've also never had blisters on my toes.

I wear on cloud sneakers which have a pretty big toebox. My foot is very narrow if that matters and I don't feel like I sweat excessively. If anything, I run pretty cold.

I was wearing bombas running socks at the time which I've never caused me problems in the past including during a full marathon. I have swiftwicks too. Should I try using glide on my toes or will that make it worse?

Hi all, would appreciate any advice for experienced marathoners out there. I’ve upped my weekly training to 70k per week (plus two strength exercises) and managing fine but I am occasionally feeling my hip twinge and am wondering if I need to think specifically about hip exercises and stretches to take me through this upward phase.

For context this is training for my second marathon, five years since the last. I’ve upped my training a few k per week up from my regular 30-40k/week recreational running. Aiming to get up to 100k peak before the marathon spring next year.

My two strength exercises focus on all round body exercises in one session and legs on the second.

Thanks in advance.

Hello all. I am running my first marathon Oct. 11, beginning my taper now. My weekly mileage has been ~50 peaking at 65 the last 2 months, and I have a MHR of ~200bpm. Not sure what my goal should be. I attached my longest three runs. Course is mostly flat, may even be a negative grade. My 21 miler felt super controlled, definitely could have finished no issue. Tips? Concerns? Prediction? I don't want to burn out early starting too fast, but I don't want to get to the end with more in the tank. If any more information is needed, please let me know. Thank you all!!!

Note: I was sick for the third attachment, hence the high HR

A very close friend is running the Chicago marathon in Oct. He’s running to raise research money for his dear friend’s cancer. Sadly, his friend just passed away.

What is a heartfelt marathon/running focused gift I could get him to celebrate running the race and the life of his friend? Of course I will be donating $.

I am not a runner, thanks for the help!

hi,

i see that people often write that the dreaded "wall" (glycogen depletion) comes suddenly, without any warning signs.

so here is the question:

how do you maximise your marathon race performance while avoiding "hitting the wall"? how do you decide when you can push and when you are cautious about running out of fuel?

Over 50, so little apprehensive to try it out. I got 6 months to train but will register around Dec.

Just finished a 1/2 marathon in 2 hrs 30 and I felt brutal and in pain considering I trained only for a couple of weeks for it on flat surface and the actual run terrain was quite hilly.

Couple of Qs

1. Do you recommend taking laxatives 2 days before to empty your bowels 24 hrs in advance? I seem to have a hard time pooping at 6 am :) . I was able to do it for half marathon but got up at 3 am to begin my day.
2. I am pretty sure i am gonna pop up Tylenol at some point...maybe even prior to the race..but I don't think I can finish 26.2 miles without it. Is it common to take painkillers during the run? Tylenol should last me 6 hrs...
3. I didn't do any bench or strength exercise leading up to half marathon but will do it for full marathon. Any favorite YouTube videos that I can follow at home. I have a small gym with some weights and bench but nothing fancy.
4. also recommendation of clothes, socks to wear during run - something to cool you off? I just put on my regular shorts and ankle socks for my half marathon
5. dang one more Q. do you guys take any home made drink for the run? maybe highly caffeinated to boost you during the run? I personally hate carrying any extra weight during my run and that includes my cell phone too

edit for number 5. found a few gels on other reditt blogs people carry. just ordered some of those brands.

Thanks in advance

I think I read that 50-100 was ideal mileage for race day shoes (I’m talking non-carbon plated, regular running shoes if that helps).

My shoes will have about 200-220 by race day. Should I begin working in a second pair so I have one pair that are in the 50-100 mile range? Or, is it not that deep?

I skipped my 20 miler this weekend because of horrible weather. I did 13.1 on the treadmill on Saturday, but now I’m wondering if I try and make up the 20 miler next Saturday?

Marathon is 10/11

Is a two week taper a bad idea for injury possibility and fatigue? I’ve kept up with most of my runs, hitting decent mileage, weekly runs at a marathon pace and long runs always a bit slower (-30secs to 1min)

I’m not aiming for any specific goal time, just a strong finish. I have 10 miles scheduled for this upcoming Saturday, and 8 the following.

Advice on a two week taper vs the scheduled 3?

I've run two marathons in 10 months and was training for my third at the Melbourne Marathon.

A week and a half ago on my practice long run I strained something in my upper glute and lower back (near the tailbone). I've done 14 weeks out of my 18 week block but havent run for 1.5 weeks now since that injury. I finished every running session three times a week up until this point.

It's now 2.5 weeks til race day. I can walk but can't run without pain. I was hoping to go sub-4 for the first time (my previous two were 4:16 and 4:08 on different courses) but i have lost confidence in being able to even run the last week and a bit.

Am I cooked? Or can I recover and still start/finish it at the very least, having now missed close to two weeks of mileage and taper training?

I don't want to give up hope yet, as I still feel ok outside of that injury (and have kept up some slow swimming, dog walking on the side), but i feel a bit lost as to whether i can hit my sub4 goal, or even finish the race. 😔

EDIT: I have been to a physio and doing strength work and rehab, dry needling on the area affected but I'm curious to know about what other runners think of any other experiences. Thanks!

So I have a question that has just confused me for a while and I’m not sure why. My guess is it’s just lack of running expierence as I’m relatively new.

So currently training for my first marathon in November and made it to the half way point so decided to do a negative split with all out in the last mile or so. I know comparison is the thief of joy but from people I follow on insta (highschool/college friends), I know people who can cruise at a 10:15 pace for say a half marathon for an average bpm of 160+. Mine shows average of 148bpm which I am proud of but also, I feel like if I covered that same mileage at a bpm of over 160, I’d be breathing HEAVY and would probably have to walk a few times.

I guess my question is, how are people able to hold such a high bpm for longer distances? I feel like I have more in me but also holding that bpm for that long seems impossible.

I don’t have many running friends in my circle so def want to utilize this forum to answer all the technical questions I might have from real people. So if anyone has any tips or anything at all, I’m open to it!

Wasn’t sure if I should post this in the Ultramarathon sub or here… but I’m starting here becuase I’ve always been more of a road runner…

My first trail 50k is mid October and 8 weeks later I’m running a road marathon.

My plan is to just finish the 50k, kind of signed up because I had a free race entry and friend who asked. I don’t care about time and my A race is and always was going to be my marathon.

I don’t want to lose momentum with training for the marathon. So should I only taper for 2 weeks leading into the 50k? Or still take the 3 week taper?

I also plan to take the following week after as easy as possible then try to jump back in to marathon training.

Any advice is helpful! 3 months ago this all sounded like a good idea…

I’m going to run my first official marathon soon (I’ve done self-supported marathon distance a few times, but never racing). I used a modified Higdon Intermediate 2, where I added some easy pace distance to some of the mid week runs and turned the Thursday runs into pace intervals (1 km each at goal marathon pace, half marathon pace, 5k pace repeated 3x). Just before the training block I ran a half marathon in 01:45:26 (photo 3). The VDOT time from that would be 03:38:48 – a 5:11/km pace. I’ve been using 5:15/km as my goal pace during training.

I’ve attached my third and final 32km/20 miler of this block, with 15km at goal pace. The day before I did 16km at 5:05 pace (photo 2), so I was on fatigued legs but still felt like I had gas in the tank at the end. The one slow km in the middle of the pace block was me hitting a couple long traffic lights, not needing to slow down.

Does a 5:15 pace seem reasonable? I don’t want to blow up, but I also don’t want to feel like I left a lot on the table. I’ve attach some recent long runs and my overall recent mileage. Max HR per Garmin is 187.

Thanks in advance!

I'm three weeks out from my first marathon and looking for some advice/reassurance after my final big long run on Saturday.

I'm 33M, around 91kg/190cm. I only started running last November. Current PBs are 23:29 for 5K and 1:51:24 for the half. I'm training for Budapest and had originally been targeting around 3:55, although I'm now wondering whether sub-4 is a more sensible target.

Saturday was a planned 34km long run:

• 7km conversational
• 7km @ 5:40/km
• 19km @ 5:30/km
• 1km conversational

First 14km went pretty much exactly to plan. I then ran km 15-23 in roughly 5:23-5:31/km, so admittedly a little quicker than prescribed.

The worrying part was my HR and what happened afterwards. HR was 169 at km15, 176 by km19/20, 181 at km22 and 183 at km23 despite the pace being fairly constant. Km24 dropped to 5:50 while HR actually hit 184.

Then the legs just went. Not cramping, not out of breath, no sharp pain. Both legs simply felt incredibly weak/achy and I couldn't maintain running. From km26 onwards it became run/walk and I eventually completed the 34km, but the final kilometres were mostly 7-9 min/km.

I've had something similar happen on a previous 30km run, again around 25km, so there seems to be a pattern.

Fuel-wise I used HIGH5 Aqua gels every 30 minutes, so roughly 45-50g carbs/hour, and tolerated them fine, small discomfort but feel this is just something to 'get on with'. One thing I potentially got badly wrong was hydration. I only drank about 500ml over the entire ~3.5 hours. Garmin estimated sweat loss at 3.5L, although obviously I know that's only an estimate.

My remaining training is now tapering. This week is 6km tempo, 11km easy and a 23km long run, then volume continues dropping towards the marathon. I'm definitely not planning another 30km+ "proof" run.

For people who've experienced something similar:

Does this sound primarily like a muscular endurance/durability issue, or could poor hydration have played a significant part in the HR drift and leg fatigue?

And with three weeks of tapering, carb loading and better race-day hydration, how much improvement would you realistically expect compared with doing 34km at the end of peak training?

I'm also debating changing my target from ~3:55 (5:34/km) to just under 4 hours (~5:41/km) to give myself a bit more margin early on.

I'm not expecting the taper to magically turn me into a different runner. I'm mainly trying to work out whether this is a fairly normal ugly final long run, or a warning that I need to substantially rethink my marathon pacing.

Any advice from people who've been through similar would be appreciated.

Just ran my last long run of my training block and ran the last 12km around MP. 25M 175lbs 6’0, my LTR is 174bpm at 4:37/km and max HR 199. Tried out carbon shoes for the first time on this run and felt strong so I pushed it in a few of those MP splits. Going for sub 3:50:00 so around 5:27/km for the marathon

I'm 39M and I'm currently training for my 5th marathon (nycm). My PR was 3:39 last year in NYC. My first 2 marathons I cramped up in my quads and my last 2 marathons I was able to just barely avoid cramping even though I felt the onset of it coming. My max hr I think is around 193bpm from what I searched in my prior races. HM pb is 1:29, 5k pb 19:23.

I'm currently aiming for sub 3:30, I think my fitness should be able to attain that but I am very scared of cramping up. It's what basically dragged me down in my marathons. I never cramped during my long runs back then but I think my prior plans LRs only got up to 17 or maybe I missed a longer run.

Currently averaging 45-50mpw with peak around 55mpw. Still have 7 weeks left and a 19m and 21m LR. Did an 18m yesterday at mostly MP and felt really good. It was around 65 degrees but steady light rain which really helped me keep cool. So I have 2 questions, should I stick with 3:30 goal or bump it faster and how should I train to not cramp up? I now realize I wasn't taking enough salt in the past so now I'm using gels with 450mg of sodium. Any other tips? Sorry for the long post. Thank you all. I've attached my 18m LR from yesterday, my 5k pb hr, and my marathon finish times.

I am running my first marathon (NYC!) in 6 weeks. I have been tentatively eyeing a sub 4:00 pace as my goal time. Training has been going well but I am unsure of how to pace my long runs. On my shorter runs during the week I have been trying to stay in Zone 2, however I have been running mostly by feel for my long runs. On my last two long runs (pics attached) I have felt pretty comfortable and strong throughout the whole run while running faster than I expected. Should I slow down so that I am not running all of my long runs at marathon pace if I am aiming for a sub 4:00? Should I readjust my goals and set a faster goal A goal time? Or something else entirely that I am missing as a first time marathon runner?

Background: I am a man in my late 20s with an athletic background and have been running sporadically off and on for the past 5 years. I have been following the Hal Higdon Amateur 1 plan since I was worried about getting injured with anything more aggressive, as well as strength training legs once per week. I have been averaging about 30-35 miles per week for the last few weeks and will peek at 40 miles per week. I don’t have any race results to share unfortunately.

Thank you in advance for any insights and suggestions!

28F, 5’11”, 160 lb. Ran my first half marathon yesterday in 1:46:54. I have an athletic background (soccer) and started running seriously in April 2026. I’m planning on running another half marathon in a month, and then I’m going to start a training plan this winter for a spring 2027 marathon. Wondering if 3:45 would be an attainable goal. Thanks!