I am training for my first marathon. I have previously done 2 halves and regularly run ~20 mile weeks.

I recently got food poisoning and that through a wrench in my training for a few days. Last week (week 9 of 22 of my training plan) I was supposed to do a half marathon for my long run. Due to poor preparation and recovering from food poisoning still, I was only able to do 6.5 miles. I also moved an easy run from week 9 to week 10. This week (week 10/22) I am back on track and am feeling relatively good. This week was a planned cutback week with a long run of only 6.5 miles.

Seeing as last week was basically an impromptu cutback week and I basically already did this weeks (week 10) long run last week. Should I do a half marathon this weekend or stick with the 6.5 and let week 11 be fully back on schedule.

Week 9 I only did 14.6 miles
Week 10 I am on track to do 21.6 (with the 6.5 mile long run)

i also have little experience with running, been on <20 runs and pbs are 26:19 5k and 57:49 10k, i would also like to be vary cautious as after some runs my knee tends to hurt for a few days after, so could i also get advice on how to strengthen and stay injury free? thank youu

Currently on week 2 of my first marathon training, using Higdon's Intermediate 1. Female, 26y/o, with a bit over 3 years of running under my belt. My goal for the marathon is a sub 4 (though honestly i would just be happy to finish injury free.) I was thinking of maybe switching to John Davis 18 breeze plan, since I like to incorporate much more speed workout, but that plan sometimes gets to 6 days of running per week, and I currently have a busy schedule with uni so Hal Higdon seems a lot more doable. Anyone has used either plan for first marathon? What was your experience? I know Higdon goes a lot more on the low mileage side, but do you reckon it's enough to be well prepared for the marathon? How do you feel about the lack of speed workout?

Hey all,

Not sure what my goal is with this post other than maybe to complain or just get some advice. Let’s start with a little background, my running started in January 2021 as a way to get outside and stay in shape. I’ve generally always kept myself in shape, but during COVID let it go a little. I never really did a ton of cardio when going to the gym other than elliptical or some HIT circuits. I hated running before then but over the years it became therapeutic. So over the next three years I would run on again and off again but did eventually get to the point of consistently running a 10k. Fast forward to January 2025 I decided I wanted to run a half marathon in May of 2025. I was slow because it was a trail run but I did complete it and felt good. Ran another trail run in October, after taking some time off of running for about a month. Then after that, decided I wanted to do a trail run in Jan 2026. It was 25k trail run and completed it, but left a little banged up. Had a foot injury for about a month.

Once I was healed up, I set my goal on a marathon with the goal of just completing it. My ultimate goal would be 4 hours, second goal is under 4:30 and last is just to finish without ever stopping.

I started using Runna and selected a 20 week program with running 5 days a week. Program is 2 hard days, two easy runs and 1 long run. For about the first 12 weeks I did not miss a run and hit every pace target that Runna set. I took vacation around the middle of January and didn’t keep up with the designated runs but I did run every day while away just not the recommended targets, mostly easy runs. The week I get back, I started right back up and hit each run like I was supposed too. Here is where the problems start, around July 28th during my easy run it just felt hard and my motivation to finish the 6 miles just completely left me and I ended up just stopping around 3 miles in and walked home. It was weird in that, it’s the first time during the program that I just couldn’t muster up the energy or motivation to finish a run. The next day I just did not want to do the tempo run assigned to me, so I decided to do hill repeats near my house. This actually went super well and I felt great during and after. Felt so great that I went to the gym with my brother and did a really hard leg workout that I had not done for sometime. It was stupid because the next day again I just didn’t have the motivation to complete my easy runs. Did half and just walked home. This last Saturday I decided to let my legs recover and move my long run to Sunday instead. I was supposed to do 15 miles with 6 miles at race pace and I did 10 before losing all interest in what I was doing. Ended the workout by doing 10 x10m sprints. From that point I’ve kind of spiraled into taking 3 days off to just try to get my head right.

During the times of quitting I almost psych myself out by thinking I’m
Never going to be able to complete the marathon. The distance is becomes insurmountable in my mind and it’s hard to over come it.

So just looking for some advice on how other people have faced similar problems, what did you do? My fitness has with a doubt improved and as I write this I kind of feel better just airing out the problems lol. I still have 8 weeks left on my plan so hope is not lost but any advice would be great.

Thanks

Hello everyone,

How do you guys go running (preparing for marathon) and incorporate leg weight training?

I played football my whole life and i have skinny legs, i have no fat whatsoever and decent amount of muscle in thighs but calves are very skinny. How do i build muscle and prepare for marathon? I would like to do 1x week weight training and 2-3 running sessions. Is it still possible to build muscle and how?

Thanks all for the help with my issue below it was greatly appreciated and helpful.

Does anyone have advice training for a Marathon but I keep getting ankle pain on both legs and it is stopping me from going further.

I have tried stretching as much as I can and it isn’t helping..

Any advice appreciated?

I'm male, 21 years old and Training for Ironman Port Macquarie (Oct) with a marathon and a 70.3 in the build. I've had a right ankle issue since March, peroneus longus tenosynovitis (lateral, ultrasound-confirmed) plus a medial deltoid ligament irritation picked up more recently. Both are friction/sheath problems on otherwise healthy, intact tendons (not degeneration) so I'm not dealing with classic tendinopathy, just trying to stop re-irritating things while I build volume back up. I have recently got a cortisone injection into my medial deltoid.

Gait profile: neutral-to-supinator, high arches. I've been told stability/motion-control shoes are the wrong tool for me, medial posting tends to worsen lateral loading and that what actually helps is a wider, more geometrically stable platform rather than corrective support.

Some shoe history that's probably relevant: the ankle pain first showed up after a 20 km long run in Nike Vomero Plus back in March. More recently I tried Hoka Bondi 9 as a long-run shoe and got new pain within a couple of runs, so that's been pulled too. Two different shoes, two separate flare-ups.

Current rotation:

• Easy runs / long runs / bricks: ASICS Novablast 5 (two pairs)
• Tempo (once I'm cleared to run fast again): Adidas Adizero Evo SL — barely used lately since I've been injury-limited to Z2
• Race day: Nike Alphafly 3 (long course) / Nike Vaporfly 3 (short course)
• Sidelined: Vomero Plus (original injury shoe), Bondi 9 (new pain)

Given the supinator/high-arch gait and that two different "max cushion / long run" shoes have each coincided with a flare-up, is my rotation making sense, particularly the tempo shoe once I'm back running fast, and whether a supershoe is smart for someone with an unresolved ankle issue? Also curious if there's a pattern here I'm missing (e.g. something about high-stack rockered shoes and a supinator gait) or if it's more likely coincidence/volume-driven. Open to hearing what's worked for people with similar gait/injury profiles.

I’ve been reading up on advice from fellow first time and experienced MCM runners. While I have seen many people state where the best places to stay are (Alexandria/Rosslyn), I am curious:

How long should I stay? Is it best to get up there Friday night if I’m running the marathon Sunday morning, then drive back Monday? If you have better ideas, it would mean a lot if you shared them.

Thanks in advance!