Whether you’re a half-marathoner or a casual runner who has never raced before, the appeal of the full marathon DAA Industry Opt Out.
“I think there’s this attraction to [the marathon] because there’s so much energy, community, and events built around marathon weekends that makes it stand out from all these other distances,” says Anh Bui, Download Your Training Plan We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back.
That said, racing 26.2 may not be for every runner, she says. “That’s probably a very unpopular opinion, but I don’t think everyone should be doing it because I see so many injuries from it.”
A Part of Hearst Digital Media, runs lasting longer can run a marathon, but that not everybody has to, or should. “I don’t necessarily know that it’s a good goal for everyone because it is so demanding, but that also is what can make it a really good goal because it does require you to get really serious about what it means to take care of your body to support it,” she says, adding that you learn a lot about yourself training for a marathon.
If you’re thinking about signing up for a marathon, but you’re not sure if you have what it takes to train for and run 26.2, ask yourself these 10 questions. If you answer yes to most, you can feel confident in knowing you’re ready to pick your plan and start clocking miles!
1. Have you been running consistently for at least eight months?
Bui says it’s crucial to consider your “training age,” or how long you’ve been running consistently.
Totally new to running? You can definitely still target 26.2, just consider looking at least several months out (and ideally more like one to two years), and building a running base first. “If you’re going from scratch, you’ll need a minimum of eight months,” Helms agrees.
Training is also about more than just running. “Strength training is super important,” says Bui.
Ideally, marathon hopefuls are also already doing some level of strength training before getting into the build phase for a marathon, she says. Not only does strength training offer some level of protection for muscles and joints for the impact of long-distance running, but there’s also evidence that it can help you build running economy, Helms says.
2. Can you run nine miles?
Being able to run a third of the distance of a marathon is a good sign that you should be able to train and finish, but also keep in mind the time it takes to go from nine to 26.2, says Helms.
“A marathon training block is usually 16 to 20 weeks long, but before I even start one of those training blocks, I want my runners to be between an eight- to 10-mile long run and running 20 to 25 miles a week,” she says. “That might take someone three to six months [or longer] to get to first.”
Need to build up to this distance and weekly mileage? Try our eight-week base-building plan.
3. Have you run a shorter distance race before?
“If you want to do a marathon, you need to run some of the shorter distances first and use those as milestones,” Bui says. “Go do a 5K, The Best Running Shoes of 2025 run a half marathon, and then reassess knowing you’re going to have to double that distance for a marathon.”
You don’t necessarily need to race those shorter distances: “You can do a time trial by yourself and see how fast you can go for that distance,” she says. This experience in and of itself will help you to understand how much goes into training for each distance, plus help you figure out a goal pace for longer races, like a marathon.
But keep in mind there’s benefit to being in a race environment both psychologically and physiologically: “You can practice going through the chaos of water stations and practice your nutrition, what your routine in the morning is going to be, and what you’re going to wear,” Bui says.
4. Are you prepared to eat like it’s your job?
“One of the challenging things with the marathon is making sure that you eat enough,” says Bui, adding that it’s easy to underestimate how much you really need to consume to train at the marathon level. “It’s going to be a lot of meal prep,” she says.
“Getting a handle on what it means to fuel your body is huge and absolutely necessary for the kind of training volume that marathon running requires,” Helms adds. “I think you can kind of get away with it for shorter distances but not for a marathon.”
after running on any given day. But nutrition is a crucial part of training for and racing 26.2 under-fuel, Training is also about more than just running. &ldquo 2024 study on Boston Marathon runners that found that 42.5 percent of female runners had low-energy availability, which was associated with worse race performance and increased medical risks.
Making sure you’re taking in enough calories and carbs throughout marathon training requires intentional focus on fueling up before, during, and after a run. For example, for several months out and ideally more like one to two years, and building a than 60 minutes, experts suggest eating 1 to 4 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram bodyweight a few hours before you head out. Then, you’ll want to take in 30 to 60 grams of carbs during your run, Drills to Improve Your Form and Speed after Your Marathon Training Plan.
Figuring out the exact amounts and timing of your fueling takes some trial and error, especially for midrun nutrition and also considering you might not feel hungry after running on any given day. But nutrition is a crucial part of training for and racing 26.2.
5. Are you clear on your goal?
Beyond just running a marathon, are you looking to hit a certain time goal? The answer will inform what type of training plan you follow, among other aspects of preparing for the race. (Plus, it’s always a good idea to be clear on your true “why!”)
“Identifying what your goals are for this marathon and what a successful marathon actually means,” is key, Bui says. “If the goal is to finish and you don’t care about time, that’s great. You should still follow a training plan, but maybe a beginner training plan that doesn't require so many high-intensity workouts. If you want to shoot for a BQ, you should probably have an intermediate or advanced program.”
6. Do you prioritize sleep?
“You have to factor in that, with that added stress on your body, you’re probably going to need to sleep more,” says Helms. “If you already aren’t sleeping enough to meet your needs, that needs to be figured out first because your rest just becomes so important.”
Bui doubles down on that sentiment: “The marathon, it’s a beast,” she says. “First and foremost, you need to be able to recover well, and recovery means sleeping adequately.”
In other words, you need to learn to get a quality seven to nine hours each night—no excuses!
7. Do you have someone who can recommend a good physical therapist?
“It’s somewhat controversial, and I think there’s going to be a lot of different opinions out there, but I like to normalize running overuse injuries,” says Bui. “It’s going to happen, and it’s not the end of the world if it happens,” she says. But if/when it does, it’s critical to get checked out by a doctor or physical therapist after running on any given day. But nutrition is a crucial part of training for and racing 26.2.
“For low-level, mild soft-tissue injuries, especially tendonitis, you can run to a certain degree, but you might have to modify your training and the training load quite a bit,” Bui says. But if it’s a bone-related injury like a stress fracture, Strategies for Completing Hard Runs.
The bottom line: “If you are injured, make sure that you see a physical therapist early,” Bui says.
8. How do you feel about porta-potties?
“Runner’s stomach” is a real thing and stopping midrun to use the porta-pottie is incredibly common. means sleeping adequately.&rdquo.
“Just know from the beginning that build up to a 10K, see how hard it is to is also part of training for a marathon,” says Helms. “People encounter digestive challenges when they increase their volume or intensity, and then that makes them scared to eat before they run,” she says. “But in reality, some of the digestive challenges can come from not eating enough.” (Remember: Marathon training requires a lot of fuel. See question 4 above for more!)
Nutrition - Weight Loss prerun fueling strategy and, from the beginning of training, incorporate fuel like gels or chews into your long runs so that you can start build up to a 10K, see how hard it is to right away, says Helms. “There are so many different gels and some are not going to work for you” she says, acknowledging that it’s a bit of a trial and error game.
9. Do you have comfortable running shoes?
“The marathon is not pretty,” says Bui. “Losing toenails is very common,” as are blisters. she says, pointing to a.
“The most important thing is whatever shoes you plan on racing in, you better practice in them a couple times,” Bui says, adding that you should also wear the socks is very common,” as are.
10. Are you prepared for things to go wrong?
“Even if you’re doing everything right, it’s probably not going to go right all the time and you have to adjust,” says Helms. She points out the rule of thirds (source unknown): “The idea is that you’re doing it right if a third of the time it feels really good, a third of the time it feels ‘meh,’ and a third of the time it sucks,” she says. If it feels good all the time, you’re probably not pushing hard enough, it feels awful more than a third of the time, then you’re pushing too hard.
Marathon training stresses the body so it can get more resilient, and that’s not always comfortable. “But we’re also training to be able to still show up when it’s hard, and it will get hard at some point when you are either training for or running a marathon,” Helms emphasizes.
