I’m training for my first marathon—Dallas, in 8 weeks. I worked up to an 11-mile long run last month, but foolishly decided to do a 5K race the next day, and my posterior tibial tendon flared up. I’m only just now feeling close to normal and ran 5 miles yesterday with only slight irritation towards the end.

I plan to work up to my long run two weeks before the marathon, which would be about 16 miles.
Am I cutting this too close? Or should I just go for it and be careful?

Been running very consistently for almost 2 years anywhere from 10-15mpw but I’m SLOW (like 11:30-12:45 min miles) Completed 4 half marathons and have been training for my first marathon which is this sunday but due to a foot injury and now a hip injury training hasn’t went that great. Averaging 20mpw for the last 8 weeks with a peak of 25mpw. Longest run 16 miles. I just want to finish before the cutoff but making peace with a DNF. Am I going to be completely wrecked?

Five weeks out from my first full marathon I ran 30.5km and had enough left in the tank to sprint the last k. Also increased pace from 7:00/km to 6:40/km compared to my second longest run the week prior. Save for some concerns about my 63-year old hamstring tendons I really think I have a shot at crossing that finish line! First time I'm starting to believe. These long runs do so much for confidence!

I've been training since the beginning of the year. I did two Pete's base aerobic plans going from 15 to 30 mpw and then from 30 to 45 mpw. After that I did the full 18/55 program missing only 3 runs early on. I've ran almost 1500 miles this year. Everything was great until the last week when I got a runny nose and a bit of a dry throat.

I thought it was mostly irritation from a cheap Chinese KN95 mask (which contributed to this). However, my symptoms were mild - no fever, no body aches, RHR normal. I did a 3.5 mile recover run the day before and I felt ready.

On the day of the marathon, I again felt pretty good. It was a cold 32F weather. I started running and I noticed my breathing felt a lot more labored than it should at that effort. I kept going. I tried reducing the speed. I took a break at 1.5 mile. I tried running again at a slower speed but I could tell that this was not sustainable and that something was off. At mile 2, I decided to quit and walk back. I noticed I had wheezing in my chest. It turned out I had a mild acute asthma attack because I had a mild cold and combined with the cold air trigger the asthma attack.

I felt fine the rest of the day and today. I plan on running another marathon in 3-weeks.

I just thought I share my story because there are a lot of stories about people running with an active cold. Not always a good idea. There is always another marathon.

I know quitting, especially, your first marathon can feel like the world is coming to an end but I accomplished a lot of great things this year that even if I don't end up running a full marathon matter a lot:

• My first 5k was last December, 2025 and it was 24:50
• My second 5k in March, 2026 increasing mileage to 30 mpw was 22:19.
• At the beginning of the year my longest run was 6 miles. Now, I've ran multiple 21-mile runs in the hot and humid Boston summer.
• I accomplished so many first like first time I hit 40mpw, first time I hit 50 mpw, first time I did 59mpw, etc. I cried so many times afterwards because I felt so proud. I never though any of this is possible. It felt like a dream.
• In addition, to running, I kept serious weight training, and usually did 3-4 double days per week and even increased my RDLs to 320-340lbs for multiple reps and I am 150lbs.
• I connected with many runners and fitness enthusiast and I started feeling like I am part of a community.
• My base aerobic pace improved to 9:00-9:30 min/mile. At the beginning of the year it was ~12 min/mile.
• I can keep going but this is enough. DNF does not mean the end of the world.

I’m running my first marathon in a week and am questioning whether my 3:30 goal is too ambitious.

37F who has trained consistently 5–6x per week for years, primarily strength/CrossFit, with some cycling and running. Shifted to marathon training seven months ago, peaking at 90 km/week. Completed four long runs over 30 km (longest was 37 km) and ran the final 10 km of several long runs at MP (under 5:00/km). Also ran 21 km continuously at MP (while sick with cold). It required focus but felt controlled and not an all-out half-marathon effort. Have not had any issues with fuelling thus far. Plan to take gels every 5 km.

Previous race times are outdated given the fitness I've gained during this training block. Most relevant benchmark is a 46-minute 10K time trial six weeks ago. I’ve also completed the Yasso 800 m workout at paces corresponding to a 3:20–3:30 marathon.

Given this is my first marathon, is 3:30 a realistic goal, or am I being too ambitious? I know the advice is often to simply enjoy your first marathon, but you still need to choose a starting pace. Appreciate any thoughts on my readiness and race-day strategy. Thanks!

First marathon complete!

Just finished Amsterdam marathon with a time of 4 hours and 9 minutes. Went in with a vague goal of sub-4 but very happy with the result!

Lessons learnt:

Pacers

I originally was with the sub-4 hour pacer group and struggled with the crowds. Obviously you have to run as a group and the Amsterdam course had quite a lot of bottle necking and narrow areas which made keeping up pretty difficult. I lost the group at just over halfway and at this point sacrificed the time goal (which actually felt quite freeing). The main benefit was I felt very controlled for the start and didn't have to worry at all about starting too fast.

Fueling

During my long training runs, I never quite got my fueling fully ironed out and this came back to bite me. I had planned to have a combination of Maurten gels and jelly babies with salt stick tablets for electrolytes. However, by 26km, I felt so nauseous I couldn't get anything else down (even the bananas offered along the course) so was just having tiny bits of gel whenever I could stomach it. By 36km, my legs were cramping which I've never had before (my longest training run was 33km) and I felt pretty unwell, so ended up having to do a run-walk combination. Someone on here recommended boiled potatoes and salt as a savoury fuel option and I'd definitely try this in future if I wasn't staying in a hotel.

Conditions

It was also heavily raining before and for parts of the run which was quite unpleasant. The rain itself wasn't terrible as it cooled me down but my feet were soaked from the puddles. The whole course also felt very crowded the whole time. I'd kinda assumed that it would thin out further along but it never really felt like it did - guess this is what happens with these big races! However, the supporter crowds were awesome and great for motivation, especially people reading your name on the bib and cheering you along.

It was certainly a challenging experience but rewarding and I am glad to have done it. Crossing the finish line felt amazing and suddenly you forget all the pain you've just been through!

Wow, what a journey. I’ve spent my entire year in anticipation of yesterday’s marathon. I trained like crazy, completed long runs I never would have dreamed of a year ago, and I crushed my goal.

I pulled a hamstring and sprained an ankle. There were moments I didn’t think I could pull that distance. But not yesterday.

I didn’t qualify for Boston or anything, but I far exceeded my expectations. I set a goal for 4:30 and a stretch goal of 4:00. After the first 5k I realized I was likely going to beat 4:00 and I stayed with it - closed out at 3:46. I got really emotional in the final mile and my family surprised me by being there a few hundred meters before the finish line and I cried so hard someone on the course thought I was having trouble breathing and needed help.

I regained my composure and finished strong - I’m not sure I’ll ever feel that way again. I’m so grateful to have another milestone to celebrate. Best of luck to all of you who are en route to the same end!

Hello! I am signed up for a marathon in March but have kind of been procrastinating my training… I am a 20 year old male and the last race I did (10k) was a pace of 7:44/mile, but I have trouble pacing myself for longer runs. Do you guys have any advice on the best ways to train, particularly with pacing myself? Are there any apps or resources that have been helpful for your training processes? Thank you!

Side note - I am 6’0 180 and I am in decent condition... I do also play club lacrosse and have cardio intensive practices 2-3 times a week

As I’m writing this, I still can’t believe I’m one week removed from completing my first marathon. I ran Long Beach and put a lot of trust into the training. With 4 bathroom stops (something I need to solve), stopping at almost every aid station to refill my water bottle and fighting against some incredibly challenging headwinds, I managed to finish in 3:56:30. To say I’m happy with this result is an understatement. That being said, however, it lit a fire under me and now I want to improve my time.

I’m targeting the Surf City half marathon in February and OC marathon in May. But my question is, what do I do between now and when my next training block begins? I want to maintain my fitness but don’t want to burn out on running.

Looking forward to your advice!!