Today is the NYC Marathon. You better believe I tried to enter that race via an online contest but alas, I’m at home in GA. When I entered the Team Ultra giveaway for a shot at a bib, it didn’t occur to me that I may not have enough of a base to try to train for a marathon yet. How long should one be running consistently before they’re physically and mentally ready for 26.2 miles?
Since I have marathoning on my mind, I entered the 2018 Chicago Marathon lottery as an “unqualified” runner. This year has shown me that if I have a peak race, I can stick to a plan! Winners will be notified on December 12 so if I don’t win a bib, I’ll figure out when I can plan to run a marathon next year. I’ve been consistently running for MONTHS now and love the thought that months will be turning into years. I love big goals. Chicago, NYC, Boston, I’ll be coming for you one day.
MARATHON READY CHECKLIST
- How long have you been running? From what I’ve read, running for at least 1 year seems to be the magic number. Can you start training for 26.2 miles if you’ve been running consistently for a few months? Maybe.
- What is your weekly mileage right now? It looks like running 20+ miles a week is a great base to have before starting a marathon training plan.
- Do you have time to train for a marathon? It will take months to prep and each long runs will build up to hours. Training will need to be a priority so you can run healthy.
- Have you ran a 10K? A half marathon? Check and check. With each race comes valuable training lessons and race experiences.
- Are you injury free?
- Do you have the support? I discuss my race plans with my husband. When I trained for my half marathon, he had to get up early to take care of the kiddo so I could run for 2+ hours. He also had to be at the race to support me, so we had to check his work schedule.
- $$$ (gear, shoes, gels, entry fee, travel)
How long were you a runner before you entered a marathon?
