Just ran my first half marathon in 1:28.55 after 3 months following a garmin plan, averaged around 60km per week up to a max of 95km per week. I don't think I left much on the table on race day and my time is a good representation of my current fitness.

I had run a 5k pb of 19:40 and a 10k pb of 40:40 midway through my training.

I would like guidance on plans to give me the best chance on the ambitious goal of running a full marathon in under 3 hours in November.

I realise I have a long way to go but I can fit in a lot more weekly mileage and am willing to dedicate the 6 months from now until then to the challenge.

Thanks

Just finished my first marathon, the Eugene Marathon, in 3:56:20, achieving my goal of running sub 4! I was wondering if anyone has any good tips on running a faster marathon? I used the Nike Run Club marathon training plan for this first marathon but I'm not really sure where to go from here. I had so much fun during the marathon that I've already signed up for another which will be on October 6th, but I'm really hoping to run it faster than my first. I'm 21F and am hoping to qualify for Boston in the next few years. Are there any other training plans to look into?

Running my first marathon in December— Tucson marathon. It’s net downhill. I’ve done a downhill half marathon and remember my knees just being miserable. How do I start to train for downhill running? How much should I emphasize the downhill part just increasing mileage part?

Was thinking intermediate 1? I’ve been running for a couple years but never in a race. Thank you!!

Howdy! I (29F) started my running journey back in September of 2023 and have done several 5k’s, 10k’s and I just completed my first half marathon last week. ( It wasn’t good, but I learned a lot from that experience)

Anyways… I’ve decided that I really want to run a full Marathon anytime past December. And like the title says I’m looking to get opinions on which marathon I should run for my first one. I live in San Antonio, but I’m not opposed to traveling to Austin, Houston, Dallas. If yall can give me your opinions on any marathons you’ve done in Texas and your experiences. If you’ve done multiple, could you add which ones were harder or easier? Thank y’all I really appreciate it!

Bonus points: Let me know which has been your favorite marathon to run anywhere in the country(US)? I could be influenced to run in another state.

Finished my very first marathon today - trained for 18 weeks with the Hanson's "Just Finish" marathon plan and finished just under 5 hours! Didn't hit the wall and felt pretty okay throughout!!!

I recently got a bib for the full marathon but am really getting cold feet after seeing a lot of negative reviews online. I was hoping I could get some insight from some fellow runners out there!!

Background: ran NYC Marathon 2x, PR of 4:04 but really want to break sub 4. My half time from the NYC half 2024 is a 1:40.

Bonus points if you can compare it to NYC as that’s the only marathon I’ve ran before 😅

Marathon training and muscle building plan

I’ve (21m ~170ibs) have started making this workout and marathon training plan for this summer and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations. I’m planning on working out in the morning before work and running in the afternoon when the sun starts to go down because of the summer heat. I’m looking to obviously run a lot to prepare for marathon but also want to overall get more defined and muscular in my whole body.

Monday:

Morning Workout (Back and Biceps) Deadlifts: 3 sets x 8-10 reps Bent-over rows: 3 sets x 10-12 reps Pull-ups or lat pull-downs: 3 sets x 8-10 reps Bicep curls: 3 sets x 10-12 reps Hammer curls: 3 sets x 10-12 reps

Afternoon Run: Easy run (30-45 minutes)

Tuesday:

Morning Workout (Legs and Shoulders) Squats: 3 sets x 8-10 reps Lunges: 3 sets x 10-12 reps per leg Leg press: 3 sets x 10-12 reps Shoulder press: 3 sets x 8-10 reps Lateral raises: 3 sets x 10-12 reps Front raises: 3 sets x 10-12 reps

Afternoon Run: Interval workout or tempo run (30-45 minutes)

Wednesday:

Morning Workout (Chest and Abs) Bench press: 3 sets x 8-10 reps Dumbbell flyes: 3 sets x 10-12 reps Push-ups: 3 sets to failure Russian twists: 3 sets x 15-20 reps Leg raises: 3 sets x 15-20 reps Planks: 3 sets x 30-60 seconds

Afternoon Run: Easy run (30-45 minutes)

Thursday:

Rest or Active Recovery Take a complete rest day or engage in light activity such as walking, yoga, or stretching.

Friday:

Morning Workout (Full Body) Compound exercises targeting major muscle groups for 3 sets x 8-10 reps each.

Afternoon Run: Hill repeats or speed work (30-45 minutes)

Saturday:

Morning: Yoga and Mobility Work Dedicate this session to yoga, stretching, and mobility work to improve flexibility and prevent injuries.

Afternoon Run: Long run (60-90 minutes)

Sunday:

Rest Day Take a complete rest day to allow for recovery and prepare for the week ahead.

Do any US retailers carry these in stores? I like the brand but don't want to keep dealing with shipping.

My first marathon was supposed to be today. Training took a big hit with an injury that took me out a month and had to take it easy coming back to avoid re-injury, so missed most of my mileage and most of my long runs. I came to terms with the marathon being unlikely, but in the last 6 weeks I was feeling pretty good. Did a half in training, then gave 18 miles at marathon pace (4 hr goal) a shot and that went pretty well although the last few miles were tough. I was still hopeful I could do the full distance so I tried 20 very easy pace miles less than 2 weeks ago and it couldn’t have gone worse. Just nauseous the whole time which was strange and frustrating.

So I switched to the half like a responsible adult. I’m sure I could’ve finished but my goal is 4 hours and I wasn’t confident in that, so that will have to come another day.

First half marathon last year was 1:59:25. The goal today was 1:55.

Finished at 1:46:37 and I honestly can’t believe I was able to do that. I think waiting on the marathon was the right move, and I’m really happy with my unexpected half PR.

Thanks to people in this sub for the guidance so far. Nutrition, training, gear, I even had a couple people correctly diagnose my injury when I wasn’t sure what it was. On to the next..

Wanted to run my first marathon before my 40th birthday and was targeting sub-4 hours. Success on both counts!

Been lurking on this subreddit for a while, soaking in the wisdom. Thanks!

2008-2013 I ran marathons often. 4-6 times a year. Usually around town with some 60+ year old iron men and women who were my pace. I did maybe one official marathon a year.

Mid August 2013 I was training for an ultra and had run 40 miles on a Saturday. I found out the next Tuesday I was pregnant with a baby we had been desperate to conceive. I put my running shoes down immediately. 6 years later I had another baby. During this time I was relatively active walking the dog and doing some weekend strolls but nothing intense.

I spent 2023 in the gym - lifting weights. Doing 30 mins on the elliptical here and there. Suddenly my then 9 year old needing a running body for his school running club 5k and I was back. In 2024 I started running twice a week. Throughout March I upped my mileage to about 18 miles a week but never running more than 3-4 miles.

Wow. My body hurt like it never did in my twenties and early thirties. Creaky and sore and just encompassing foot pain. Getting old is no joke.

In April I decided to go ahead and set my sights on a marathon and as of today I’ve ticked off an easy 10 miles. I could have done a half this morning. I’m heading into a warm summer so I’m thinking of a race in January or February and am excited to focus on this part of ME again now that my kids are more independent.

I think I’m going to do a Jeff Galloway Higdon Novice hybrid plan. If anyone has a similar hiatus to me and has insights to share, I’d love to hear. I’m loving the community and support here!

I expect to have a heightened appetite and gain a few pounds the more miles I log week over week.

But, on my long run days I become truly ravenous 🤣. Today I’ve eaten 4200 calories, 240 grams of protein, and 330 grams of carbs and could easily still eat.

Recently I’ve been eating around 2300 cals a day but on long run days it’s impossible to not be a black hole.

I’m a bigger guy, for context i weigh 185 and have about 14% body fat. My last race back in Feb I weighed 205 so I cut down to this weight to be leaner for the training block and hopefully still lighter on race day than my last half marathon.

Currently at 25 MPW, ramping up to 30-35 before my training block starts and strength training 4X a week. I know it’s not 100% accurate but Garmin says I average 980 actively burned calories a day.

My main question is do you just listen to your body and eat whatever / whenever it feels like it needs something or do you draw the line somewhere and not go over a certain amount of calories?

Hi all,

I’m (26f) and finally getting back into running after having health issues for around 5-6 years. I was obsessed with running in high school and it was hard when I had to stop.

Those health issues have resolved and I want to go for Boston! I’m signed up for a marathon in September. Been running about a month with no specific training workouts (ie speed, elevation, strength training) and I’m at about a 9:00 min/mi pace easy, able to talk easily. In high school I ran a half marathon for fun in an off season at a around a 7:45 min/mi at a comfortable pace, could talk easily. Farthest I’ve ever ran was 16 mi but I don’t know what my pace was, likely around an 8min/mi and I remember feeling great the whole time, but I was probably about 20 then.

Could I make Boston times by Aprilish? I want to go for a 7:26 min/mi.

Just finished the Vancouver marathon today! Finished in 3hrs 13mins. I'm 23F so that's a 17 mins buffer for Boston qualification!

I had 6 months of training but one of them had on and off injuries and I took 2 weeks off from running completely 2 months out from my race. My average weekly mileage was 53 miles and my peak week was 75 miles. I took a 2 week taper but in reality it was more like a 1-week taper, since I raced a half marathon (1h34mins) at the end of my first "tapering" week. As for the long runs, I only did one single 20 miler. However, I did a lot of back-to-back mid-long runs over the weekends (for example, 13 miler on Sat and 15 miler on Sun).

Pre-race: I flew to Van from NYC 2 days before the race. I'm a dental student and have exams on the Friday before and the Monday after the race, so I was trying my best not to feel the stress before the race. I took melantonin (there's a 3hr time zone difference) to makesure I could get enough sleep. I didn't run on Friday and did a 3km shake-out run yesterday. I ate a lot of complex carbs this entire week too. I studied the course map and elevation and remembered when to expect the major hills.
This morning, I got up at 4:30am and had some bread with brie cheese and an Orgain bar. Finished eating at 5am and had a cup of black coffee. Then I used the bathroom and headed out.

The race: I planned to not pass the 3h 20 pacer till the 30th km mark. However, I was feeling strong and fresh, had a low HR, and was nose breathing in the first few kms. I decided to pass the 3h20 pacer at around the 12th km mark. A lot people were passing me in the first half of the race but I went with my RPE and heart rate. I took water or electrolytes from all the stations and took my first SIS Beta gel at km 12. I was feeling pretty fresh when I hit the half marathon mark. From my study of the course, I knew that there's a bridge at around the 30th km mark, so I decided to just cruise along and conserve for the incline. At the 25-28 km (mostly flat and a bit decline), a lot of people were passing me again. I started self-doubting a bit and negative thoughts creeped up. I became aware of how my toe was rubbing against the shoes (I did get a large blister ahaha). I knew that I was focusing too much on the negatives and that there's still a long way to go, so I took my second and last gel, the SIS Beta Nootropics gel. Then the bridge hit. I focused on my form, breathing, and cadence and passed a lot of people on the bridge.

Then I arrived at the Stanley Park. The crowd support was great and I kept waving to all those kind supportive strangers. The huge morale boost again helped me to stay away from the negative thoughts and my toe. More and more people in front of me have started walking, yet I still felt comfortable with my pace. I sticked to my pace and concentrated on my running form and started passing a lot of folks who passed me earlier. I started counting down after seeing the 32km sign. Only 10.2k to go, and I've done so many 10ks! I started passing more and more people even though I was slowing down a bit too. I passed one guy who was walking in front of me and said "keep going! Almost there!". My pace was steady and I was still feeling decent. At around 38km, however, I could feel the fatigue (both mental and physical) kicking in, and I could feel the blister again. Only 4 kms to go, that's less than 20 minutes at this pace! A voice in my head told me to start walking, yet I knew that one of my bottom lines was to finish the marathon without walking. The last 20 minutes was truly a mental game for me. I arrived at Downtown Vancouver at around the 41th km and saw my family cheering near the finish line. This gave me a huge morale boost to finish strong. After turning a corner, I could saw the finish line down a few blocks! The spectators on the side were shouting my name (which was written on my Bib) and I couldn't wait to get out of those shoes LOL. I pushed on and arrived at the finish line with the time of 3h13mins!

Post race: lots of food with my family :) Now I'll take a nap and take my flight back to NYC later today. Fingers crossed for my exam on Monday!

https://preview.redd.it/zj7kcdrhtoyc1.png?width=1918&format=png&auto=webp&s=748b58bc94b6e3bad04bc26757226e5734537bd4

Here's my split; next time I'm going to aim for a negative split!

So today was my first marathon, was planning on a 10:30-11:30 average but a ton game up, including an ambulance trying to drop off someone named Mr. Peterson at my house at 12:30 am haha. I made the decision at 5am to run the race hoping i could average a 16min mile the course limit, all things considered I am pleased with my time & average. To be honest this was probably more fun than me just grinding through a run listening to music.

Grill me on time if you want but even with a back that kept me on the edge of tears before the race even started I had fun. I was able to run through mile 9

Head cold: ✔️ Pre race giant blister: ✔️ Pre race back injury (almost went to the ER at 2am): ✔️ First time using KT tape: ✔️ Ate next to nothing the day before because of the pain: ✔️ 2 hours of sleep: ✔️ Ambulance trying to drop a person off at my house at 2am: ✔️ Sprinted roughly a mile to the start of the race: ✔️ Arrived 10 seconds to start: ✔️ Headphones dying at mile 5: ✔️ Ran a one miler Friday: ✔️ Ran a 10K Saturday: ✔️ Ran a 5k Saturday: ✔️ Hot as hell race day: ✔️ First run with a fanny pack Helped someone through a tough time Made three friends High fived 11 kids Ate a cow tale candy Walked the last 100 yards with my kids who surprised me at the finish line

I will run my first marathon in 3 weeks time. I had a injury which set me back a few weeks in training, but I am going to the race nevertheless. I will run the race at a more conservative pace, cause I won't be able to get on the level I was before the injury. Let's do this!

I just finished running my first half marathon as training for my first marathon.

The marathon is in two weeks and I was following the Hal Hugdon: Novice 1 program until I started getting pain in my foot a couple months ago. After taking 3 weeks off I started ramping up the miles slowly to build myself back up.

My question is, with just 2 weeks until the marathon, should I go one more week of ramping up the miles or should I just start tapering down now? Maybe go for 15 miles next weekend and then reduce milage the week of the marathon. Is it worth it or would recover be more beneficial? I'm worried about my highest mileage is only 13 when the program peaked at 20 miles.

Congratulations to the runners in Copenhagen 😊🏆 I found someones hat in warpigs

Race Information

* **Name:** Georgina Spring Fling Marathon

* **Date:** May 5, 2024

* **Distance:** 42.2 kilometers (42.46 on Strava)

* **Location:** Georgina, Ontario

* **Website:** https://raceroster.com/events/2024/75437/georgina-spring-fling-2024

* **Time:** 3:32:XX

Goals

| Goal | Description | Completed? |

|------|-------------|------------|

| A | Sub 3:30 | *No* |

| B | Sub 3:35 | *Yes* |

| C | Never stop & stay in charge | *Yes* |

Splits

| Kilometer | Time |

|------|------|

| 1 | 5:22

| 2 | 5:04

| 3 | 4:59

| 4 | 4:58

| 5 | 4:58

| 6 | 4:59

| 7 | 4:59

| 8 | 5:02

| 9 | 4:59

| 10 | 4:59

| 11 | 4:52

| 12 | 4:50

| 13 | 4:53

| 14 | 4:52

| 15 | 4:53

| 16 | 4:52

| 17 | 4:57

| 18 | 4:54

| 19 | 4:54

| 20 | 4:50

| 21 | 4:50

| 22 | 4:43

| 23 | 4:58

| 24 | 4:57

| 25 | 4:56

| 26 | 5:01

| 27 | 4:56

| 28 | 4:57

| 29 | 4:58

| 30 | 4:58

| 31 | 5:02

| 32 | 5:07

| 33 | 4:59

| 34 | 5:02

| 35 | 5:07

| 36 | 5:15

| 37 | 5:17

| 38 | 5:20

| 39 | 5:21

| 40 | 5:20

| 41 | 5:09

| 42 | 5:09

| 0.46 | 5:00

Intro

Male, early forties, running for about two and a half years now. Built up steadily in training volume and distance and decided to train for a full marathon in the fall of 2023. I joined a club with a coach that focused on lots of mileage, speedwork, and long MRP / tempo sessions. I picked this marathon for my first as it was very close to home, very flat, and well organized (unlike the Toronto Marathon held the same day). Biggest downfall: it's a double out and back loop, so you have to cross the "finish" line twice. It does allow you to split the race into 10.5 km quarters though.

This was my first marathon and overall I am very satisfied. I did not achieve my A goal, but I ran a steady, controlled race, had no fitness or fuelling issues, avoided The Wall, and ran for 42,195 meters without stopping or breaking stride once. My training cycle went well given it was my first proper marathon training block, first with a coach, and I had to pull back on mileage for 2 weeks due to a family vacation in Italy. Would love to hear any perspectives / thoughts on how I can improve for the next race. I'm looking at a HM in the fall and then another full.

PRs, all set in the last six months, are 21:0X 5K, 43:1X 10K, 1:07:xx 15K, and 1:42 half. BPM is usually very controlled and during this race, like in my longest MRP sessions, it held like a metronome between 155 and 160 the entire race (I think my max is around 190?). I suspect I probably could have achieved my A goal if I pushed harder, but I just wasn't certain how far into the red zone I could go without blowing up.

Training

I had self-coached myself to 60km weekly mileage by last November with some (inconsistent) speedwork and long runs in the ~20 - 24 km range. Easy pace for me is around 5:30-5:45 per km, with various race paces in the 4:30 - 5:00 range and speedwork around 4:15 or so. After setting the goal of a marathon and signing up with my coach, he steadily increased by mileage to 80km a week by early February, building in proper tempo runs in the 6-8 km range and introducing MRP sessions into my long runs. I spent all of February around 80-85 km/week with my first 32km long run coming at the end of Jan. I had two week vacation in Europe planned for the first two weeks of March so had to pull back to around 60km a week - only had to convert one speedwork run into a regular session since Venice is not a great place to do speedwork in...LOL. Did my second twenty miler long run there too.

After returning I did a tune up 15K race to set a PR and confirm my fitness was improving...a strong negative split was very gratifying! Race report link is in my profile. Built back up the mileage and topped at around 95km two weeks before the run, including a 36km long run with 22 km MRP that went like clockwork, then a quick taper and was ready to go for May 5th. No issues with the muscles, although I developed an occasional twinge in the left piriformis after really intense sessions - a session with a lacrosse ball would always loosen it up, though. Those rubber lacrosse balls are worth their weight in gold.

Pre-Race

I went a little nuts carb loading with one of my favourite foods, Quaker brand instant oatmeal. I don’t think I’ll share how many packets I ate. Saturday I went with my family to get the bib and drive the course - it’s always a little eerie to comfortably view in the car the route you’re about to pound the pavement on, step by step.

My excitement woke me up early Sunday around 4am but that gave me enough time to clean up and “empty the tank”, do some general stretching and loosen things up (I’d had some twinges in my left hip so wanted to really work them out), then wake up the family and dog and get ready to go. I kept breakfast simple - a Maurten food bar and Maurten caf 320 drink mix - made sure we had everything, and drove up to the race course. I was a little depressed to see it was raining steadily, but fortunately it stopped by the time we got there. Temperature was 11C / 51 F and cloudy, so a little on the warm side. I got my kit together, got my bib on, paid a couple of visits to the restroom, took a group photo with the club, and then it was pretty much time to run. It was sinking in…I was really going to do it. I was really going to run a marathon. I think I just blanked out what that actually meant and lied to myself, this is “just another run.”  As we began to shuffle towards the start, my daughter ran up and told me she had fallen off a rock and needed to visit the first aid station td deal with a scrape - I think I went, “Huh” and just moved onto the start line. Not my best parenting moment but in my defense (and a phrase I’d use frequently that day) I WAS ABOUT TO RUN A MARATHON.

Race

Anyway, I crossed the start line, turned left onto the road we'd spend all the time on, and we were off. I started a little slow, found my race pace, and started to tick off the kilometers. The race is run along a lakeshore with relatively nice cottages lining the route. The breeze off the lake was not strong but enough to keep us cool.

Fuelling went great the entire race, I took Gatorade at every stop - ending up with a sticky film of gatorade, sweat, and sunscreen on my hands and face by the end - and a Maurten gel + chewable salt tablet every 6km or so. The last gel would not go down well but otherwise it went perfectly. By that point I sick of eating gels so I had to choke it down a little. Maurten is super expensive but I really haven't found any other brand that goes and stays down as easy.

I had a plan, discussed with my coach, to keep at 5:00/km for the first quarter, then speed up slightly to 4:55/km into halfway, then try to keep hitting that pace or a little faster for the second half. That would get me in just under 3:30.  Body-wise I figured if I was going into the halfway point still feeling pretty good, and didn’t have to start really digging deep until the home stretch, I would run a good race.  

Coming back to the “finish” area was a mix of emotions: it was fantastic to see everyone and I went a little nuts singing and trying to get people to cheer (and that’s where I registered my highest single BPM at 170 and fastest split, #22 at 4:40!). Apparently a few comments were made that it was sweet that I clearly had no idea what I was about to experience in the back half…those comments were accurate.  I think it’s when I left the starting park behind me that I felt what every single first time marathoner feels: this is one long f@#$king race.

As the km ticked up towards 28-30km, I could feel some fatigue beginning to set in and my focus began to change from precisely hitting my splits to “okay - let’s just work on continuing to run”.  The second turnaround was pretty sweet to see, and I remember thinking as I headed in the home stretch, “this is where the real work begins.” By this point I was running pretty much alone, so I took the opportunity to listen to some tunes, repeat my mantras, and really dig into WHY I was running - some of which will have to remain personal, but a lot of it was to prove to myself I was strong, I was an athlete, and I could tackle this iconic test of endurance.

I needed the pep talk, because if you see my splits, I was starting to slow. I slipped to a 5:00/km pace from about 31 to 35 km, and then dropped down to around 5:15-:5:20/km for 35 to 39km.  Obviously, that’s up to half a minute off my target pace. Looking back at the data, my BPM stayed rock solid - so my aerobic fitness was absolutely there, what was getting me was my legs were just not as strong as they could be. I checked into my body a few times and there were no signs of danger in any one muscle or joint, just a general sense of fatigue.

But - and this is where I am very proud of myself - I never saw “the wall”, I never cramped, never had a serious issue with any joints or muscles (although my hip did twinge a couple of times near the end) or my ability to keep going, I didn’t get an upset stomach, or anything else that can really derail a race. The way I put it later was that the marathon bent me in this section but it didn’t break me. I was starting to pass people who were walking, who were cramping, who were struggling a lot worse than I. I made sure to encourage them but also to say a silent prayer for my level of fitness that I wasn’t struggling that bad. 

By km 39 I knew I need to really dig deep to finish strong. I made my peace that 3:30 was now out of reach and decided to just finish and shoot for my B time. I was running with a couple of people by then and we took turns pushing each other forward. I was getting a second wind and as we hit the last 2.5km I knew it was time to empty the tank and push for the end. The last couple km I ran on pure willpower. As I came back to the park, my daughter, who had been waiting for me at the very end of the park, started waving as soon as she saw me, so I told her, get into the road and pace me to the end, I need your help! God bless her, she did it yelling encouragement all the way.  I turned the corner and stepped across the finish line - making sure to end the activity on my watch, since if I didn’t the marathon wouldn’t have counted.  I had not stopped or broken stride once and snagged my “B” goal of sub 3:35. More importantly, I achieved my goal of not letting this distance boss me around. I stayed in charge all 42,195 meters.

My daughter had ran up to me on the other side of the rope, so I asked the man with the medal to let her put it around my neck. And that’s when the emotions really hit me and I let out a few huge sobs. I had run a marathon. I was a marathon runner.

Post-race

Grabbed a bunch of Gatorade and some NA beer and realized I seem to have adopted the walking speed and style of a 95 year old. I was stiff and sore all over, but popped an advil, did some very slow stretching to unlock my muscles, while cheering on the other club marathoners (I finished first of the four running that day, but proud to say that all of us came in under 4 hours). Then it was home to the single best part of road running - having a couple of ice cold beers in a hot shower after a long race.

Thoughts

I'm a super self-critical person, but want to emphasize I was really happy with my performance and execution for my age and level of experience at distance running. Obviously, when the worst thing that happens to you in your debut marathon is slowing down by half a minute for 5km when you're 35km / 22 miles deep into it, and missing your A time goal by a couple of minutes, and then getting back towards goal pace for the last couple KM, that's a pretty good race.

I do think I need to be more consistent about my strength work and get more mileage in above 80km. My body seems to react really well to that level of training. I think - and my coach seems to agree - that I'm ready to build to 100km / 62 miles per week during the next training block over the summer. Fortunately, I have no overseas vacations planned before fall racing season, so I can avoid disruptions like this time around. As well, we have track nights every Thursday at a local college all summer, so I'm excited to really start getting some speedwork in.

I would love any comments, questions, or thoughts on this! I love marathon running. It has transformed my entire life, and I feel like I have a lot more to unlock in my running.

Made with a new [race report generator](http://sfdavis.com/racereports/) created by u/herumph.

I’m trying to go low/no added sugar (naturally occurring sugars in whole fruits and veggies are fine, and tiny amounts in condiments are fine - I’m not giving up Heinz ketchup). What are some good recovery drinks or hydration drinks that are low/no added sugar? Also not doing artificial sweeteners. Thanks! Signed up for my first marathon and wanting to train and fuel correctly.

Ran my first and last marathon today 😂 only kidding.

Thank you everyone for all the brilliant advice on this sub, learnt so much from all the posts here, and don’t think I would have been able to get through it without the advice.

What an amazing experience, the support of the spectators in Belfast was unreal, but the training was also rewarding.

Got a better time than I expected, 5hrs 15. True what is said about the last 8-6 miles - that’s when the pain really kicks in.

Next time i’ll do a bit more mileage and a bit of weight training, my back packed in a bit.

👊