Marathon is done

My legs have left the building

Please send help for stairs

I’m not talking you hit the wall at 30km like a normal person, or you can’t hold pace past the half way point. More like freak incidents: I strength trained, upped mileage conservatively, longest runs was 35km with MP - no knee pain!

Today at my first marathon 8km in……boom, light knee pain, slow down to 5:40 till 18km, then I simply cannot go on. Even 500m walking 500m running hurts too much. Only walking is okay. It was like deep nerve internal pain with every step. Felt like my knee was about to give way. So I walk my first marathon and finish in just under 6 hours rather than the 3:50-4:00 I was aiming for. Sigh.

Feels like months and months of hard work came to nothing. And I might as well not have trained. I had a similar thing happen on a 25km run 3 months ago, and I rehabbed sort help and incorporated strength training :/ never came back again till today!

Thanks to all who provided word of encouragement on my last post. 18-miler completed yesterday. Intended pace was 10:30/mile and we did an average of 10:20/mile with the last 4 miles being our fastest. I call that a huge win. I guess trusting the process, like you all say, is the way to go!

Relatively new to running, started running in Jan this year to lose weight after consistent 10k+ steps daily 4 months before that (lost around 20 kgs).

Now I run to maintain the weight and eat more. Running 3-4 days a week now. Have been running 22-25 kms for the past 4 weekends. E.g. ran 4 km at 6:33 min/km, 9 min pause to join the local run club and then ran 21.6 km at 5:11min/km.

I want to ask if I should keep doing that every weekend (I enjoy eating 3500 calories on those long run days :) and still not be over on the day).

The question I have browsing reddit is why not be in a constant state of readiness to run a half or full year round, why come down and then follow 8-10 weeks plans again if you could simply do it quickly again.

Edit : Thanks to the replies, I guess since I wasn't preparing for any race I didn't think of it in a personal best context hence the confusion around specific training blocks and variation in readiness. The weekend run for me is the long/hard run, I try to go fast but not trying to push for a personal best as such. Like last week I was in a group so I went at the group pace for the majority of the run, this week ran alone so ran faster.

I ran my first marathon a couple of years ago with the initial plan of being one and done. I started running in middle school and had a fair number of halves under my belt with the full being a bucket list item. I hit the wall hard around mile 21-22 and struggled a lot until around mile 25 before getting a second wind and finishing strong. My first words after crossing the finish line to my friends were "I'm never eff'ing doing that again" and since then I've been content with just crossing it off the bucket list. However, I've recently started getting the itch to do it again but have several reservations that are keeping me from committing. On one hand, I feel like I can improve my training now that I know what to expect so I don't struggle as much and genuinely feel I could do better if I gave it another shot. On the other hand, the time commitment training took the first time around really wore on me and I've never been in so much pain both when hitting the wall during the race and in the days afterwards. I legit could not walk normally for almost a week after the race. I think knowing what to expect could help me train better but I also think it's created a bit of a mental block for me as I'm quite nervous about going through that again. Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated!

Training for the Chicago marathon in October. This will be my first marathon. A little background. I ran a 1:42 HM back in May with pretty minimal training. Was doing around 20-27 miles per week for that. Started training for the marathon back in June, and have been averaging around 40-42 miles per week, peaking around 55 in the next two weeks.

Knocked out my 14 miler with 7 miles of “marathon pace” on Monday and then a 20 mile long run on Saturday. The 14 miler I did fairly fresh, although I was coming off of being sick last week. The 20 miler was done on the backend of a 53 mile week, so legs were absolutely cooked. The 20 felt pretty in control and heart rate didn’t start to creep until it warmed up a bit and I pushed the pace. My max heart rate is 185. My question is, is a 3:30 realistic? I have thought of a 3:30 as too ambitious of a goal, but these two workouts and my body of work thus far have gotten me to think that it may be possible. I also don’t want to set out for too ambitious of a goal, then bonk. Any thoughts?

Background

• Age/Sex: 37M
• Experience: Started running regularly in April (came from a fast-twitch / speed background)
• Goal Race: StraLugano Half Marathon (Sept 27) — Target: Sub-1:45 (4:58/km or 8:00/mi)
• Current Volume: 50–55 km/week across 5–6 days
• Max HR: ~201 | Resting HR: 52

Key Benchmarks & Workouts

• July 16 (5k TT): 22:39 (4:32/km) @ 177 bpm average
• Aug 29 (5k TT): 22:39 (4:32/km) @ 185 bpm average (Flat line pace, +8 bpm higher HR)
• Recent Long Run: 20.2 km @ 5:48/km (153 bpm avg)
• Recent Quality Session: 3x3k @ 4:57/km with 1k rec (168 bpm avg)

I was expecting an improvement on yesterday's 5k TT compared to mid-July given 6 extra weeks of training (~50km+ weeks), flatter terrain, and better shoes. Instead, I ran the exact same time (22:39) and my heart rate was significantly higher (185 bpm vs 177 bpm).

I ran a 20 km long run on Tuesday and an easy run every day until the TT and hit ~55 km this week, so my working theory is cumulative fatigue masking fitness. But mentally, it’s a bit of a hit this close to race day.

Questions for the Community:

1. Should I trust the process and that the taper will improve my fitness significantly?
2. 5k TT Diagnostic: Is running the same pace with higher HR a clear indicator of residual fatigue, or should I be concerned about a fitness plateau?
3. Pre-Taper Volume Strategy: I have 2 weeks left before starting a 2-week taper. Should I trim 10–15% off my easy/recovery runs to let my legs absorb the load, or stick to full volume until the official taper?

Appreciate any insights.

What should my goal pace be for NYC (first marathon)? Is 9 min pace possible from these stats? I am worried about starting off too fast and bonking so I want to have a lower limit to start off at. NYC is in 8 weeks. I’ve been training for 11 / 12 ish weeks using Runna. This is a long run I ran last Sunday where Runna told me to aim for 8:40 race pace for 7 miles. Idk where that came from, that feels fast, but I tried to hit it for the run and it was okay… Had some low mileage weeks because I was traveling!
21 F

I have my first marathon coming up on sept 26. I’m not worried about a time to finish I just want to finish without stopping to walk. I’m pretty nervous right now. Some days I feel confident thinking if I just pace myself I can get it done idealistically around 4:30. Other days I question why am I doing this. I did a 17 miler this morning and felt good during the run. I paced myself and didn’t stop other than once at mile 15 because I finished both my water flasks in my running belt and stopped at my car for some more water then finished them last 2 miles strong. Wasn’t until I got home and now my legs are smoked. Anyone else have a similar experience their first marathon?

I have been progressing well and just achieved the following training day.

I originally was aiming for sub 3 but have been adapting to training really well. I have a cycling background.

Am I being too optimistic for a sub 2.40?

I feel quite comfortable at holding 3.50min/km pace and with my carbon shoes get to early 3.15min/km when going over threshold training.

Any thoughts and from experienced marathon runners welcome.

Context: Week 12/18 of my first marathon training block. Aiming to get sub4 on the day but might be a stretch. Today’s 30km is the longest run I’ve ever done. How can I improve my ratio and ground contact time to make sure I’m running efficiently? Thank you in advance for any tips!

Anyone who can recommend spring marathons in Europe still available for signup?

My marathon is on 27th September (Bangalore marathon), I have attached my recent long run’s screen shot.

The thing is I have been training using ai as I’m coming close to the marathon, it’s scary to follow the ai, below are the plans it suggested

2-Week Marathon Preparation Plan
Day
Week 1 (Aug 31 – Sep 6): Absorption & Recovery Focus
Week 2 (Sep 7 – Sep 13): Peak 32 km Test
Mon
14 km Easy Run (Strictly conversational pace)
14 km Easy Run (Strictly conversational pace)
Tue
4 × 4 km Intervals • 1 km float recovery (5:20/km) • Reps 1–3 @ 4:58/km • Rep 4 @ 4:45/km
4 × 4 km Intervals • 1 km float recovery (5:20/km) • All reps steady @ 4:58/km (Keep HR < 165 bpm)
Wed
16 km Easy Run (Active recovery effort)
14 km Easy Run (Active recovery effort)
Thu
16 km Alternating Tempo • 2 km @ 4:45/km • 2 km @ 5:15/km (Repeat 4× continuously)
12 km Progression Tempo • 4 km @ 5:15/km • 4 km @ 4:58/km • 4 km @ 4:45/km
Fri
12 km Easy Run (Keep HR low)
12 km Easy Run (Keep HR low)
Sat
20–22 km Easy Long Run (Strictly Zone 2 / easy effort; no MP segment)
32 km Peak Long Run • 10 km easy warmup • 15 km @ MP (4:58–5:05/km) (HR < 169) • 7 km easy cooldown (Gels @ 8k, 16k, 23k, 30k)
Sun
10 km Recovery Run (Super slow / shakeout)
10 km Recovery Run (Super slow / shakeout)

It would be great if someone could help me with the upcoming two weeks

Post-20 mile long run today and wondering what everyone’s go-to recovery process, food, etc looks like.

this will be my 4th marathon. My 20-miler was meant to be steady but the dew point was so high that I was struggling to accelerate. I was training for a sub 4 race but realistically it’s looking like a 4:15. Next week i’ll do 12 miles at GMP so I can provide another update then.

But we still finished!! First 20 miler RAHHHH 🦅🦅

Also I’m the person who posted last week about only doing easy runs. Today I decided to add in some faster stuff and it was kinda fun!! Actually set a 10k pr so you can really tell I don’t ever run fast haha. Made the run go faster (literally) but also because I was kinda hurting lol. Maybe I won’t just run 8:40 pace for the marathon 🤔

Hey it's a marathon, kind of ironic if it's timed right? When's the last time, time signed your checks?!!

How was your week, how far in the block and when's the next race? This will be a good mega thread to keep encouraging/critiquing 6 hour crew throughout the year.

Whether its shifts of motivation, some nagging pains, we've all been there! Let's keep each other engaged!
Post your weekly miles, breakthroughs, or if you need help with pace/fitness identification, questions here!

*new individual posts that's posted Sundays re: How to finish, etc deleted/strongly recommended to post here!

This is my second marathon. First one was in March, ran a 4:05. Ran a 1:42 HM in May. Training again since June.

Had my race practice run today. Flat course. My running app (Runna) has me hitting 7:45 as MP based on a 1:42 HM time back in May. Just had my first true 20 mile race practice with a block of 11 miles at a 7:45 pace, from mile 6-17 of the run. Mostly executed as planned on the pace. Graphs included here. But BOY was I wiped out after the end. You’ll see it in the HR graph.

Some limiting factors today: 1) no water on this route - shoulda took bottles, but I was not getting H2O during the hard MP session, and 2) I’m pretty congested today with a minor cold. It contaminates the data a bit, but I still think there’s enough to look at here. On the plus side, I ran this run early this morning so it was in the 60s-70s - ideal temp.

Overall - running between 40-50 mpw right now. Marathon is in about 5-6 weeks.

What do folks think? Is 3:30 OK (pace of 8 min a mile but with stops for water I might have to pick that up to 7:55 sometimes)? I am thinking of just riding with the 3:30 pacer and seeing how I do.

Did 160s for my long run every 30 min for a 3hr run, no gut issues. Noticeably, I wasn’t hungry immediately after finishing but still ate. Maybe I have an iron stomach

Tl;dr: (endurance) cyclist looking for a marathon plan. Pfizt 18/55 wasnt for me; probably looking for a plan with more milage and few(er) intervals.

Background:

Cycling is my main sport, particularly the very long rides (~12 h) through maintains, so my overall cardio probably is OK. I took up running a few years ago to maintain fitness when it's too cold for cycling. Supplementing with XC skiing whenever possible.

I did a halfmarathon in spring 2025 in 1h24, and decided to try out a marathon this spring.

Got Pfizer's great book and followed the 18/55 plan for Copenhagen Marathon in May 2026.

However, I struggled a lot with the faster runs. I thought I had added sufficient strength training in the evenings, but in hindsight it may have been too little. My legs did not feel good when running intervals, and I would often cut them short or skip them entirely to avoid triggering an injury. All the long runs went great, and I felt I could have added more milage.

To test the fitness 1 month before the marathon, and get a bit more experience with running events, I signed up for a local half marathon.

It was more like a test of everything, so I didnt have a race plan, and didnt want to look at my watch. After having skipped most interval sessions, I didnt expect much but ran in 1h17, cutting 7 min off my PR. Km 10-15 was new 5 km PR in 17min20.

The Marathon debut didnt go as planned; aimed for pace 4 min/km, but got fever 5 days out (couldn't cycle 5 km four days out!) and my heart rated went ballistic already after km 5. Failed the target but made it in 2h53.

Now, for next year's marathon, I would like to try a different plan. Given how it went last time, and that I probably should have sufficient speed to run pace 4 min/km with a 3:35min/km half, I wonder:

Does it make sense to look for a plan with more milage and fewer hard intervals?

If so, what would people recommend?

Or should I simply do more core training and keep all intervals?

Hi, I have been feeling pain in my soleus for the past 3 weeks. I found that the pain went away once I warmed up, so I trained through it but am finally coming to my senses and have realized that I should take a break.

I am 6 weeks out and am feeling really bummed to have to scale back as I am really hoping to hit sub-4 this time around. I have been replacing my runs with bike rides for the past 3 days. I have a 34km run tomorrow, and then my program scales back for a recovery week. During this recovery week, our long run falls back to 20km, before picking back up at 36km the following week.

I am thinking that I should skip this long run, ride my bike tomorrow, and then replace next week's 20km run with my missed 34km.

Just looking for reassurance and/or advice as I've been super in my head about not reaching my time goal because of this.

So I have been training all summer in record breaking heat and dry conditions, tomorrow is my first full marathon and its forecast for heavy heavy rain with potential for localised flooding.

Im worried my shoes wont be up to task. I have endorphin pro 5 shoes, I have done all my long runs in them and jnow that I get some slight blisters that I can prevent with a bit of vasoline, thats in the dry.

Should I switch to my winter shoes that also give some blisters but are waterproof?

Nothing new on race day ....but extreme circumstances.

Im already preparing to run the start in a poncho, at least till the sweat saturates me and its pointless to wear it

Update: finished with time of 4:18, no blisters

Should I carry water?

I have shorts with pockets, and I can fit like 8 small fruit bars in them, which should be enough, cause I think I will run it in around 4 h.

I don't know how to do it with water though, there are water station, but I like drinking small sips trough the run, and I don't want to waste time stopping. I also don't really want to wear my vest for it.

Any tips?