Question:
I plan on doing a marathon next year. My 2 options are London in April
and Dublin in October.
From a schedule point of view April is a better target but I am a
complete novice, having only started running about 4 weeks ago. Do you
think this is a reasonable target or is it too close to start, i know a
lot would recommend having a baseline of 1 years running behind you
before starting a marathon training program.
What do you think?
BTW I do have some baseline fitness from going to the gym and I just
ran a 5mile road race in 46.38, not great I know but not bad for
someone who just started a month ago!
Answer:started running aged 54 and ran my first marathon 15 months later,
winning the O/55 category without any problems. I'd go for the October one
in Dublin. In the meantime do some 10K races to sharpen up and raise your
overall cruising speed. At weekends do some nice steady long runs,
gradually increasing the distance to 15 - 16 miles. Six weeks or so before
your marathon do a longer race (mine was usually the Dentdale Run, a 14
miler in the Yorkshire Dales) at round about your marathon pace, just to get
the feel of it. Most of all, don't be frightened of it. Believe you can do
it. Your body can most certainly do it. It's your mind you've got to
train.
