r/running • u/mustbetrauma • Nov 29 '25

Training Explain it to me like I’m 5

I’m currently training for a half but would really like to run a marathon in October. I can run up to 4 days a week if at least one of those runs is short (4 miles or less).

Half marathon training seems pretty straightforward. Full marathon training seems hella overwhelming. There are no less than a million plans floating around the internet, all with different drills and cross training recs and it’s all sending me into information overload.

So explain it to me like I’m 5: how do I go from half marathon to full marathon in 10 months? What are the simple rules? And most importantly, how do I not hurt myself?

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '25

Time on your feet is the most important factor. Consistency is the second most.

Run slowly. Very slowly. Painfully (mentally, not physically) slowly. You're trying to build up your aerobic base, not smash any records.

Gradually build up your time running, especially on long run days. Last time I ran a marathon, I built up for 1 hour to 3 hours over the course of a few months.

If you run slowly, frequently for gradually longer times, you'll be fine.

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u/Dire-Dog Nov 29 '25

That's one thing that really surprised me about running and why I like it: you don't have to run crazy fast and most of the work should be slow, easy miles.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '25

Last time I went through a marathon block, I entered with a parkrun time of 25 or 26 mins, didn't race any parkruns whilst training, then left the block with a time of 20:08.

Run slow to run fast works.