I’m in the process of completing Pfitz 18/55 right now with a goal marathon time of 3:25. Last year I did Pfitz 12/55 with a sub 3:35 outcome (my second marathon).

In the spring, after a couple of chill months post marathon, I’m thinking about doing Pfitz 12/47 in training for a half marathon with hopes of a big PR - 1:35 goal time (current PR is a poorly paced 1:40).

My question is, have folks done this and seen improvements in speed? I know there would be a drop in mileage, but I’m curious if you can still get “faster” at the half marathon distance following this plan as opposed to increasing mileage.

I do winter sports, so it’s difficult to fit in higher mileage training in the spring. Just looking to temper expectations and goals based on what others have experienced!

For background, I started running as an over 40 male in June of 2024. I ran my first half in May of 2025 in 2:15 and then May 2026 in 1:51:40

I ran a pretty good adherence to Pete Phitzinger 18:55 marathon program starting mid June for in October 18 full

My peak week was 50.5 miles, and I strung together quite a few weeks, averaging 45 miles per week. I only did one 20 miler three weeks out, although I did 18 miles three separate times

I had what I thought could potentially be a bone stress injury following the 20 mile run. I was cleared with no restrictions as an inflamed ankle joint to keep a long story short. However, due to missing almost a full week of training and still sometimes feeling the ankle enough to make me think the fall was a bad idea. I just did the house instead

I think this puts a feather in the cap of the idea that training for a marathon and just doing more miles significantly improves your half marathon time, even though I did not do as much threshold as I would have for half training, and even though my pace work, which I did not do a ton of because of the hot summer weather, was done at marathon pace goal of about nine minutes a mile

I took over six minutes off of my half marathon time from early May to mid October training for the full

I am 43 male 6’ (1.82m) 190 lbs (86kg)

TLDR - Old man stubbornly ran with an injury (absolutely no sympathy required, feel free to pile on). Don't run through imjuries kids. I did it, so you don't have to.

ABOUT -

M65 - started running in 2021 following a heart attack at 57. This was my ninth FM - third time at Abingdon. No previous running, but played football (soccer) in my teens until I broke my leg - that was nearly 50 years ago. I pivotted to a hedonistic lifestyle of partying, drink, drugs, cigs until my 50s - which probably explains the heart attack.

PBs - 3.23 FM, 1.34 HM, 20.55 5k - all set in 2025.

Earlier this year ran 3.24 FM and two HMs at 1.35.

Was trying to go sub 3.20 - third time lucky, and all that jazz.

TRAINING -

Last three marathons were 3.23, 3.24 & 3.24 after following Pfitz 18/55 on the last two - which didn't bear fruit.

At my age, speedwork is almost a no-go - my fast-twitch muscles, unlike me, retired many years ago. But the previous two blocks I did a weekly parkrun and one session of hill repeats (cheat code).

At the beginning of the year I struggled with lower back & hip issues which saw me lose four weeks of running, but didn't completely derail my last full - indoor bike was a godsend. I basically looked like Abe Simpson bent over.

However, the injuries were niggly, so I had to drop faster sessions completely. I did up the mileage though, and averaged 48mpw with a peak of 65 this block. My PT helped manage my issues. Didn't drink for six months and finally ended my on-off relationship with vapes (yes, I know)

I had a back injury (bloody gardening) about six weeks out, but I used it as the last deload week and it was fine within a week.

I didn't do too much MP on my long runs this time - going back to my PB block where I alternated long runs at 1min & then 30s seconds slower than MP. These were fantastically easy and allowed me to get more mileage in. Two weeks out I ran HM distance at MP which was really easy at a very low HR for me.

Then last Monday it all went wrong.

Previous day ran 10 miles with one week to go with no issues. Woke up the next day and couldn't get out of bed. My back had completely seized up, and didn't really move until Thursday. Should have bailed at that point.

RACE DAY - Didn't bail. Instead, got up at 4.30am, ate breakfast, got in the car and drove 1.5 hours to the event. By the time I got there, my back had seized up again. SHOULD HAVE BAILED.

Parked up, slid out of the car, walked the mile to the start, took a couple of paracetomol, warmed up and thought 'it's not that bad, give it a go'.

Beautiful sunny, brisk day, and the adreneline got to me. That was the highlight of the day.

Set off, settled into a pace and decided the target was gone but I'd still be fine. After 5 miles I realised I was over-compensating and was running with a completely different gait - I was using my glutes medius & minimus to hold my back in place.

Got to 10 miles when the first spasms started. Knowing the course has two long loops in the middle, I thought I'd make the decision to bail at 15 miles, knowing that if I needed to walk back it was the shortest distance. But I didn't. Stupid boy.

Major spasms at 16 & 17 brought me to a halt, ironically, on the steps of an undertakers, and I had to lie down. I also realised I had a massive blister on the bottom of my heel, but I just used the moleskin plaster from my other foot.

Sat there for two minutes and thought f**k it, I'll run/walk the last 10 miles. According to the guy who posted the other day about not walking on a marathon, I should have been swept off the course. Nah, crack on lad.

I managed to get round, but ended up at 3.45 which was 25 minutes off my target. I realise that's still a GFA time.

The last 10 miles I basically said, that's me done for marathons. But the help offered by numerous other runners on the day who stopped to check on me, the stewards & volunteers, makes you realise what a fantastic community we have (for the most part anyway).

Drove home and couldn't get out of the car.

So, time to recover, PT this week, a HM in six weeks (provisionally) and then a full next spring. I've not had any DOMS for the first time and my back is fine (almost).

As an older runner, I'm not sure if I've peaked or plateued, but every day I read somebody else's story on here and it makes me want to run. JUST DON'T TRY TO RUN THROUGH INJURIES.

EDIT - Garmin race predictor is mocking me today - gone down to 3.15

I came to running later in life, starting with c25k in 2021, and have gradually increased mileage (1600 miles 2023, 1700 miles 2024, 1900 miles 2025 and 1800 miles so far this year). I've had 2 attempts at a marathon, using the JD 2Q programme. The first, in Spring 2025, went wrong due to a heatwave and my poor tolerance for warm weather when running. This summer the situation was reversed, training and adapting to unusually warm weather (for the UK) and running the race in cooler temperatures on Sunday of last week.

I tried to control as many factors as I could, to the extent that I created my own training app. I ran 50+ mile weeks for 18 weeks, peaking at 61 miles. Easy pace is very easy and other paces were set according to my VDOT, which increased twice during the block inline with JD's recommendation.

Frustratingly, this time, my quads were the issue, almost locking up from around mile 20. This resulted in me missing my goal of sub 4 by 19 minutes.

I'm conscious I'm fighting the gradual decline in fitness due to age with the training that I am doing but I know, aerobically, I was more than able to go sub 4 and seek the advice of this group on areas to focus on. All race predictions I checked suggested sub 3:50 was possible.

My next marathon is likely around a year away (I've a couple of half's booked in the spring and don't want to risk running in a heatwave again). My thinking is to work on the glutes (as weakness there might explain the stress on the quads) as well as quads and a general S&C programme to improve my strength.

The programme I was following peaked at 17 miles for a long run (although I did 20 miles at easy pace). I wondered about having regular circa 20 mile long runs on my schedule. I feel my body needs to adapt to the longer distance, and don't see that happening if most of my long runs are 13 - 17 miles.

Grateful for any thoughts of areas to focus on.

First marathon last Saturday (Garmin KC): 4:24:00, 10:05/mi. 42M, 6'6", 205. Looking for honest feedback on what to target next year and how to train for it. Honestly this was a blast and I had more fun than I was expecting. The experience felt very rewarding and satisfying, I always wondered if I could run one of these.

BACKGROUND (before I decided to do this)

• One run a week, usually 4–6 miles, occasionally 8
• Lifetime longest run was 10 miles — high school cross country, 25 years ago
• Not sedentary though: lifting 3x/week for years, BJJ, basketball, ~200 miles of backcountry hiking over the summer (Wonderland Trail @ Rainier NP and 90ish miles at Glacier NP). Also completed a 220-mile one-day bike ride (STP), a 2-day 190-ish mile (RSVP), and the Enumclaw sprint triathlon, but those were years ago.
• V02 max: 49

THE BUILD — yes, I know this was too short

Decided to run it four weeks out. Three runs a week.

Long runs: 8 → 13 → 19.2 → 10 (taper). Roughly 90 miles total for the whole block.

I understand this breaks every progression guideline. Posting partly to find out how lucky I got.

RACE DAY

Conditions: 38°F at the start, ~50°F at the finish. 1,589 ft of ascent — the course climbs almost continuously from about 2:30 to 3:40 elapsed.

Pacing plan: ran to heart rate, not pace.

• Miles 1–13: hold 148–153
• Miles 13–20: let it drift to 157–160
• Mile 23: kick

Executed the first two. Didn't actually start the kick until mile 25. Averaged 152 for the race. There was a 4:20 pace group I ran near but didn't join.

Fueling: 14 gels, one every 25 min. Plain early, caffeinated after mile 15. Plan was always water, never Powerade — but aid stations didn't line up with my intervals, so in practice I took the gel on schedule and got water as soon as I could after. Tested the protocol twice in training. Zero GI issues.

SPLITS (HR from a chest strap, not wrist optical)

MILE    PACE   AVG HR   MAX HR
   1    9:28      140      147
   2    9:29      142      148
   3    9:36      146      155
   4    9:33      145      156
   5    9:17      139      150
   6   10:47      148      157
   7    9:25      144      158
   8    9:21      146      157
   9    9:19      147      157
  10   10:07      152      162
  11   10:06      148      156
  12    9:38      144      152
  13    9:14      151      169
  14    9:50      157      163
  15   10:21      154      158
  16    9:45      153      160
  17   10:17      156      164
  18   10:41      154      163
  19   11:35      152      159
  20   10:31      154      159
  21   10:46      157      163
  22   10:18      158      165
  23   10:26      159      163
  24   10:26      158      164
  25    9:33      164      171
  26    9:29      167      172
0.53    8:58      173      189

Watch read 26.53 miles.

Terrain notes: mile 6 was the steepest climb of the race (156 ft of ascent). Mile 13 was a long descent. Mile 19 is the one I can't blame on terrain — only 64 ft of ascent, less than mile 15's 117 ft, yet it's my slowest mile.

Stopped time: comparing elapsed vs moving time per lap, only two miles have any — mile 6 (41 sec) and mile 19 (29 sec). Those are the bathroom stops. Moving pace was 10:06 and 11:06 respectively.

RUNNING DYNAMICS — this is what convinced me it was my legs

• Cadence held steady at 150–155 spm nearly the whole race
• Stride length went 1.09–1.13m (miles 1–13) down to 0.96–1.02m (miles 17–21) — about 12% shorter
• Running power fell from 412–439W early to 341–368W across miles 19–24
• Ground contact time rose from ~301–315ms to ~329–331ms

All of the pace loss came from shorter strides, not slower turnover. Mile 19 is my lowest cadence (144), shortest stride (0.96m) and lowest power (341W) of the day. Then miles 25–26 brought stride back to 1.09–1.14m and power to 391–464W.

The numbers:

• First half 1:57, second half 2:27 — 27 minute positive split
• Avg HR 152, max 189. Garmin puts LTHR at 172 @ 8:07/mi
• Avg cadence 153 spm
• Ran every step except ~5 seconds walking one aid station
• 872/1793 overall, 710/1304 men
• Nauseous at the finish but didn't yak, pretty lightheaded but didn't fall down. Apparently you're not supposed to bend over a railing and stop immediately after finishing, or eat a gel at mile 25, lol.

My read: aerobic fitness was fine, legs weren't. Miles 13 → 24, HR climbs 151 → 159 while pace falls 9:14 → 10:26. Working harder, going slower.

WHAT I'M AIMING FOR

One marathon a year, probably a different city each time.

The real problem is integration. I lift three times a week and do BJJ and basketball, and I'd like to keep all of it in some form. Fine dropping BJJ to once a week during a build — I just don't want to shelve everything for three months, and I don't know what the realistic tradeoffs are.

QUESTIONS

1. Is sub-4:00 realistic off a proper 12–16 week build, or am I underestimating it?

2. Given a threshold pace around 8:07, what should marathon goal pace actually be?

3. How do you actually fit a marathon build around lifting and a contact sport? What weekly mileage does sub-4 really need, how many running days, and what gets cut first when the week doesn't fit? Looking for a realistic weekly template, not a generic plan.

4. At 6'6"/205, should I manage mileage differently than a smaller runner?

5. Was running to heart rate the wrong call?

a) 27 minutes is a big positive split. My HR was genuinely low early — 139–147 through mile 9 — so by HR I wasn't going out hard. But I've seen the argument that for an undertrained runner the binding constraint is eccentric muscle damage, which scales with pace and impact, not heart rate — meaning HR was measuring the system that wasn't limiting me. Does that hold up?

b) Would I have done better running to pace with the 4:20 group instead of to HR? First marathon, so I had no reference performance to set a pace target from.

6. How much did missing the mile-23 kick cost me? Miles 23 and 24 were both 10:26 at HR 158–159, then I went at 25 and ran 9:33/9:29 at HR 164/167 — 6 to 9 bpm above where I'd been sitting for ten miles. Worth a minute or two, or is a mile-23 surge unrealistic at this fitness level anyway?

7. Does this base-maintenance plan make sense? Target race is October 2027, so a 12-week build starts mid-July. Between now and then: recover through early November, then two runs a week — one 8–10 miler and one shorter run.

I appreciate any and all feedback, and grateful you spent time reading any portion of the above text wall.

I ran Amsterdam in 4:52, a 21 minute PB! The course was great, nice and flat, with great crowds and support along the way. This is only my second marathon, and the first was really difficult and felt like hard work. For this one I got into a nice comfy rhythm early on and just stayed there. I’m a slow runner, so the time isn’t anything amazing, but I’m so happy with my splits. Cruised round the course like the Terminator.

Can zone 2 cross training supplement zone 2 running? Like is riding a stationary bike for 60 mins at a low pace a quality sub for zone 2 running? Or does it really need to be about the low pace running specifically?

Hi alll, running my first marathon in a little over a month, I’m loosely following the Hal higdon novice 2 plan. I was supposed to run 18 miles this past weekend but woke up Saturday with the flu 😩 this is my second time getting sick this training block (my other time was 6 weeks ago and happened right after I came back from a Europe vacation)

I ran 16 miles 2.5 weeks ago, ran 10 the weekend after that since I had been building the previous 4 weeks, and planned to do 18 a few days ago but obviously didn’t. Hoping to do 18 this coming weekend and 20 the following and then will have a few week taper for the race Nov 22.

I’m not really worried about time my goal is just under 5 hours and no walking (I’ve ran multiple halves and my pr is 2:05).

Just coming here for some encouragement that the race will be ok and that I shouldn’t just drop out completely! I think this training is really taking a toll on my immune system. Any tips to not get sick again right before the race?

I am 20F and have been thinking of running a marathon next year (October - November 2027) , since I have no prior experience in long distance running.My everyday activity is pretty much walking around 5km-7km ,from work and back ,but nothing else , and I go hiking on the weekends . Athletically I have only experienced in short distance running (100 meters , 200 meters) , since I was a sprinter in high school . My issues with this plan is that because my body is built for short distances, I might have trouble running 42 km . It's an experience I have on my bucket list ,but I don't know if the pros outweigh the cons of doing it .

Was due to do my 2nd marathon this year this week in Dublin.

Started feeling meh on Friday, and awful on Sunday/Monday when I did a positive COVID test. Feeling a lot better today, but still guessing id be less than 50/50 for Sunday's race. I have 5 sleeps to go though!

At this point, Id be delighted to run at all, even just at easy pace and enjoy the atmosphere etc. I had been planning to have a crack at my 2.56 PB.

Anybody have any experiences positive or negative with COvId during taper?

Finished the 10 miler this weekend in about 1 hour 25 mins (longest race to date). Felt rougher than expected at the end, but my prep was off in the week leading up to the race (travelling with work and not being able to fuel property).

Considering signing up for a marathon in April/May next year. Do you think that's enough time to be able to get up to a 26.2 mile run? What training plans would you recommend?

Wanted to get some insight from some more experienced runners. I'd like to get my mileage up without too heavy risk of injury. Eventual goal is an all out marathon race in fall 2027.

Currently I am running low to mid 30 mile weeks. I did a 40+ mile week just to test legs a bit.

I was shooting for Delaware Marathon in late April. Plan was to do 2 months of base building to get to 50 miles a week. Then hop into week 5 of beginners hanson plan.

I realized another option could be to just base build for the rest of the year and get to 60 even 70 mile weeks. And do some random 5/10k/half marathons along the way.

Hansons would give me one more marathon under my belt with all that structured speed/strength/tempo work.

Base building would give me a true mileage base and let me take my time getting there.

I am running my first marathon in a little over 7 weeks. I know many people say not to have a time goal for your first one, and although I see the wisdom in this, I have been training for a 3:59:59 marathon time. I have been training with the assumption that I will try to keep as close to a 9:09/mile pace for the race. I know that race predictions are not totally reliable, but currently my Garmin is telling me that I can run a 3:30:38 and Runalyze is telling me I can run a 3:23:13. These give me some confidence that I can hopefully hit my sub 4, but they are tempting me to go for something faster. My current PBs are 5k:22:39, 10K 46:32, Half: 1:46:45. None of these were races and have just been made during training so there was no taper and I wouldn't say I was going "all out." My fastest 20 miler was at an average pace of 10:14 but I was going at a "comfortable" pace. For those who are more experienced, I was wondering what my race strategy should be. I would hate to go out too fast and sabotage my sub 4 attempt, but I would also hate to feel like I left some pace on the table. I am fully expecting to get humbled at the full race distance, but I have done a number of 20 milers already so I am hoping that it won't be too destroyed. I currently run between 70-80 mpw. My easy runs are about 10:20 pace and my speed work I do at 8:20-8:40 pace. Thanks!

I’ve been dealing with fhl tendonitis on and off for the last couple of weeks of my training. I did 28km as my longest run and attempted to do 32km and had to stop at 27. Then I rested for 10 days and that seemed to heal my foot completely (I’m talking like no pain whatsoever) so I did an 8km test run which went well the next day my foot was feeling ok and for some reason I decided to do some stretching/massage and physio exercises and that ended up aggravating it. It was burning all night and the next day I have some nagging soreness when walking. Im not gonna make the call yet but I think I’m just slowly coming to the realization that this race is over for me before it even started. This injury has overtaken my life a little bit and I think I’m just burnt out from training and worrying about it. I don’t think that this marathon will be an enjoyable experience anymore.

Wondering if anyone has any positive thoughts, I barely slept last night and stayed up mostly crying out of anger and frustration at myself. This is a second race I had to drop out of this year in the very last moment due to an injury and it hurts both physically and mentally.

Hi all!

I just completed my first marathon last Sunday and I wanted to share with all you my results.

Background

M33 - 63kg

Before 2024 I never did any sports and I started to take my health much more seriously.
I started in 2024 with some light running and then I switched to road cycling.
From 89kg down to 62kg.

I started running seriously at the beginning of 2025 and I did 3 half marathons and diverse races
since (10 miles, 10k, etc...).

1st half - May 25: 1h52
2nd half - Oct 25: 1h32
3rd half - Mar 26: 1h26

Last 10k - Jun 26: 38m
Last 10 miles - Sep 26: 1h03

The Race

The wall killed me 🤣, my legs became concrete basically at km 30. I had the feeling that aerobically I could push much more, but my legs were about to burst.

It was windy and slippery but at least not warm.

It was lesson in humility, I thought that I could do it sub 3h10 or even sub 3h05 but of course that was not the case!

Overall, pretty happy with the result!

Total: 42.80 km GPS, 3:11:08 elapsed, avg HR 163.

First marathon. 36M.

Did a solid 16 week block for Sydney.

Got influenza A the week of the race and pulled out.

Bridged to New York instead.

For Sydney, I knew I wanted to go for 3:45 even though it was 50/50 I’d get it.

Confidence is a bit shot this time and considering going for 4:00 instead and soaking up the experience.

I know predictions aren’t everything but my Garmin predictions are not as good as they were for Sydney despite feeling similar. That has thrown me a bit.

Legs were not the greatest going into the run but decided halfway through that 16 was the number to hit for this long run. Legs got tired and started to feel sore around 6 miles in. Tried an energy gel for the first time and I can’t believe how much like magic those things are. I think I need to slow down the pace a little to work the aerobic system more.

Training for a sub 60 hyrox in November and hopefully a sub 3 marathon in April.

Current mileage until this past week was about 20-25 miles a week.

Saw a post recently about someone not too happy with their times compared to others on the thread. I think deep down no one is truly “happy” with their times. Even the top runners are looking at the people above them and comparing. What matters is you’re running and you’re getting better, sometimes it’s physically… sometimes it’s mentally.

Race information:

Name: TCS Amsterdam Marathon

Date, October 18, 2026

Distance: 42.2K

Time: 2:54:37

Previous PBs: 10K 38:00, HM 1:22:28 (1 month out from TCS), M 2:59:40 (Paris, 2026)

Splits

Half 1 1:28:10, Half 2 1:26:27

Background: played football at very amateur level for large parts of my life, gained waited, started running May 2024. First 1/2 marathon in May 2025, first Marathon October 2025.

This is my third marathon where I was looking to solidify myself (34, M) into a sub-3 runner and look to moove into BQ, Good for age territory (I am based in London and running London is my long-ish term goal).

Training: I listened to some advice on this and r/AdvancedRunning and got myself "Marathon Excellence for Everyone" by John J Davis, stepping up from my Paris Pfitz build.

I followed the "Gale Plan". Now I believe the book is very good, but not for everyone:

• I peaked at 118K, averaged about 95K/week for the bulk of this 18-week block
• I have never been this marathon-specific late in the block, with sessions including runs at or very close to MP, the toughest being 36K with 34K at 94% MP.
• I had nine rest days throughout the block. Hence, I think Gale plan is not for everyone.
• The author doesn't believe in taper. Including the marathon, race week was around 100K!
• I did not hit ALL the paces all the time. Depending on weather conditions, how I felt, how much fatigue I was carrying. My MP ended up being 1s faster than the practiced one, and on a less windy day could have been even faster.

Report

This was my third marathon, and the second (2:59) was much better than the first (3:11) when the wheels fell off a bit in the end.

For Amsterdam, I took some learning from my previous endeavours and I went on race week with full awareness I had done everything to deserve a fat PB and a Sub 2:55.

As the author advises, starting with some caution can be useful - finding what pace was going to be workable for me in the first 10K, monitoring my HR to be under a certain threshold, I started the race a couple of seconds per K slower than target, and it did feel relatively easy despite the congestions at the start and an unexpected shower to usher us out of the Olympisch Stadium.

I cruised along the first 15K barely speeding up and feeling quite good, conscious I had more in my legs than what I was giving as we entered the windy Amstel. I am 6 ft 2 so lots of runners were sheltering behind me and I struggled a bit to shield myself from the wind (which possibly cost me my stretch). Sometimes, you almost get clipped by the runners behind you as they try to get an advantage by covering themselves and run way too close to you.

We turned back on the canal, heading back into the city and my heart rate was super controlled, but the wind was chilling. I split halfway in 1:28:10, a bit slower than planned, and there and then I decided I had to possibly push a bit more. I did not rely on GPS, removed auto-lap and pressed lap every K (I think some of the markers were wildly wrong) to ensure I had a real picture of my time.

I started to press and sped, itching to get out of the river with a strong 4:05 min/km, 25K split, possibly bit faster than I should have, but the heart was in check, and I felt controlled until we got back into the sheltered city. At that point, I split 2:04:38 in my 30K which was in range with my target.

All the awareness from the grueling long runs in the marathon-specific weekend runs armed me with enough confidence, together with the support, that I could keep this pace, potentially even push even a bit faster, which I did when we headed back into a buzzing Vondelpark. I dropped another 4:05 5K between 35 and 40 despite the only minor "bridge" at Km 37 and I felt like I had it in the bag.

I tried to push for a Sub 2:54, but the legs weren't prepared, so I accepted a good negative split and a very well-managed race, not to mention a 5-min PB 6 months after were all I could get in Amsterdam as I entered the Olympisch Stadium for one of the most beautiful marathon finishes, where I got overcome by emotions.

Debrief

• Metaspeed Sky Tokyo: very good, some foot pain and definitely felt the carbon plate late in the race but speedy and control.
• Carb loading: split over 3 instead of 2 days, highly recommend
• Very happy with the training plan, I will progress onto the higher-volume Gale as I train for my next race (Milan Marathon)
• Possibly need to implement some more strength training, and lose a couple more Kgs to speed up even more.

TL:DR transitioned from Pfitz to John Davis for a 5-min PB in Amsterdam Marathon, achieving the goal I gave myself and going close to reaching a stretch goal on a challenging weather day.

A few notes on my first marathon, Abingdon Marathon (S.England, UK) raced on 18th October - hope this might be useful for anyone of masters age (about me: M57, 66-64kg) contemplating whether they can run a marathon!

I gave myself a New Year target to run a marathon in the year, and came into 2026 with a sketchy background of running. Mostly Parkuns in 2025, mixed up with infrequent longer runs up to half-marathon pace. I foolishly thought, with that background I could compete in a Spring Marathon with 16 weeks of training so followed a typical training plan that peaked at ~30km in April. But hell, that broke me .. and I thought there was no way I was ready for a full Marathon. Saw that Abingdon (a local Autumn marathon) was available and reserved a space for October 18th, an Autumn target made more sense.

So, after a further couple of months of base training, I picked up a new Marathon training Plan from June'26 which gave me a new plan over 20 weeks to prepare. I used Gemini AI - entered my details, target pace, background, ParkRun on Saturday, Long Run on Sunday, and a couple of runs during the working week - and it came up with a nice plan tailored to my week and target paces. Typically, I would keep my ParkRun as my tempo run (25min target), two runs in the week (Tuesd/Thurs) and a longer run on Sunday.

As things turned out, training wasn't perfect. I hit a few injuries (Calf strains), family holidays in September (meaning I missed my target Sunday long runs), and then thought I had a catastrophic injury on September 27th when I had a Grade 1 Hamstring Tear just 10km into my final long slow run. That injury gave me 3 weeks to recover, but entering taper thought it was just about possible.

Over the last 3 weeks I focused on strength training on my hamstring, and was able to return to a few short runs in the week leading to the race, but no more than 5km at target pace (5:40/km). Up until the race I had no idea whether I would be able to run 5km or 42km, or anywhere in between.

Fortunately, Abingdon Marathon is a flat race so risk of hamstring strain is reduced a bit. Weather was pretty close to ideal with temperatures around 12C, although Northerly wind picked up with wind in range of 10-16mph leading to a headwind in final few miles. The route weaved in and out of a few towns in a largely rural location, with part that contained a loop that you ran round twice. Marshalling was superb, crowds were cheering on using your name on your bib .. which really gave a nice boost and made it feel quite personal

I set my Polar watch with race pace of distance of 42.5km (allowing for distance errors) and target time of 3:59:00 to give myself a minute margin under a 4hour target. Bone-conduction earphones are a must, disqualification is threatened if ear-buds are used as parts of the route are open to traffic and marshals need to be heard to give instruction. In truth, the traffic was never a problem - the occasional cars that were passed where all considerate and the runners came first. Spotify Muse radio channel was my go to music list, which I only used when the crowd thinned out on occasions, most of the time it was nice to hear the crowd cheering you on.

For energy, I planned to use Decathlon +3hr Energy Gels that have 2:1 glucose/fructose (30g carb, 180mg salt) every 4km, so 10 gels carried in running belt with my phone. I also made up a sports drink (250ml, Active Root, 40g carbs, 567mg salt) in a soft hand-carried water bottle. I ended up taking 9 gels, one left unused, I think I missed a gel around 36km mark, in total that's about 340g of carbs and more than enough salt.

Water stations were every ~3miles and a managed to take a few gulps of water at each, and a couple of water stations provided Active Root isotonic drinks which I used to refill my 250ml. I tried to take my gels before each water station.

The start was in cracking weather. An earlier rain shower had passed, morning temperature was fresh, probably around 10C, and heart-rate was low after race started, just 124bpm in the first km, and took 5 km to reach 150 which is where I expected to be for most of the race. Those first comfortable 5km's gave me a 2 minute cushion ahead of my target time.

I checked in on myself regularly .. how was I feeling, could I keep up the pace, hamstring check, heartbeat .. and at half-marathon I was feeling quite strong.

When I hit 30km I feared the wall, but other than increasing fatigue it didn't really hit me and I mentally convinced myself it was just another 10km to go, just 2 park-runs at an easy pace.

I kept the focus on small distance targets, next water-stations, fueling, and avoiding over-stretching that hamstring. Heart rate increased to mid 150's by 10km, to low/mid 160's from about 30km. With about 5km to go, I felt my 2 min cushion was enough to ensure I could complete within 4 hours so slowed a little to ensure I didn't injure my hamstring, but was fairly confident I was going to complete. By this time, I was overtaking others who were walking or holding their own hamstrings and tried to give support where I could. The finish is a lap of running circuit at Tilsley Park in Abingdon leading to the finishing line opposite a grandstand.

My Polar Flow tracking had landed on a Training Index of 51 before the race, with a predicted time of 3:57:00. From the beginning of Feb to race date in Oct I did 141 runs, a total distance of 1540km (also cycled about 1300km from a daily easy work commute of about 13km day). For the last couple of months I'd also been using Runalyse which I wish I'd discovered earlier, and that had estimated I could also do a 3:57:00 based on my training up to the end of August and before my lack of training and injury in September kicked in which led to it predicting a slower outcome of around 4:10:00 due to the lack of long runs and distance training.

Finished with official time of 3:56:27 - pretty much spot on with Polar and Runalyse predictions, feeling quite emotional with myself at the end.

btw, I had not run any half-marathons at race pace in training, the longest segment at race pace (5:40/km) was around 10km. I'd done plenty of half-marathon distances but none faster than about 2:10:00 yet during the race my first HM split was 1:55:52.

I started running 15 weeks ago with the aim of completing a half marathon and I am really happy with how it went! The course was very hilly so it did kill my pace in some parts, but overall I'm really happy with how it went and can't wait to book another one for next year 😁

Phew. I (M33, 66 kg) ran my sixth marathon in Amsterdam on Sunday and broke three hours for the first time. Until fairly recently, that goal felt completely out of reach. It still hasn’t quite sunk in.

My previous marathon times: 4:15:56 → 3:58:55 → 4:00:19 → 3:35:00 → 3:21:43. Now there’s a 2:57:53.

The road back

Along the way, there were around 18 months of injury breaks and interrupted training. Last year it was the usual overuse injury. I finally got back into things towards the end of the year and ran a new 10K PB on New Year’s Eve.

Then, at my next 10K race in January, I rolled my ankle awkwardly and tore a muscle in my calf. Another break. It wasn’t until March that I could properly get going again.

At that point, I really wouldn’t have expected a sub-3 marathon this year.

Training

This year, I approached training a little differently: more quality than quantity. At the end of last year, I had physiological testing done to establish my training zones. Over the last 16 weeks, I ran around 1,200 km, with just one week above 100 km.

The regular fixtures were a Thursday track workout and a Sunday long run. Most long runs were structured, with one or more blocks at marathon pace.

Looking back, my best session was a half marathon as part of a long run: 5 km warm-up, the first 16 km of the half at marathon pace, the final 5 km or so progressing to an average of around 3:55 min/km, then a 5 km cooldown. Along the way, I ran a new half marathon PB of 1:27:43. That gave me a lot of confidence for Amsterdam.

But not everything went smoothly. My longest run was 36 km: 20 km easy, 10 km at marathon pace, 2 km at half marathon pace and 4 km cooldown. I couldn’t finish that one as planned because I couldn’t hold the pace towards the end. Whether that was down to the weather, fueling or just having an off day, I don’t know. It definitely wasn’t a session that left me thinking sub-3 was in the bag. 😅

Fueling

This was the first year I really paid deliberate attention to it. I was already eating more carbs than usual during race week, then tracked everything properly on Friday: around 670 g of carbs at 66 kg body weight.

Saturday was white toast with jam, Maurten Drink Mix, gummy sweets and pizza for dinner. On Sunday at 6 a.m., breakfast was three slices of white toast with jam and a Maurten Drink Mix 320.

The start: plan straight out the window

The race plan was simple: line up with the sub-3 pacers, follow them, avoid going out too fast and absolutely don’t risk the goal by getting carried away.

The Olympic Stadium was very cosy to begin with. According to the start list, there were almost 16,000 runners in our starting area, spread across half a lap of the track. Roughly the same number started outside the stadium. Our group was quite close to the front, right behind the elites. Definitely an experience.

Then the start got chaotic and crowded. I was more or less pushed along and suddenly found myself ahead of the pacers. Ran out of the stadium, looked around: gone. Never found them again either. 😂

So that nice plan was immediately out the window, and I had to run my own race after all. Having track mode enabled on my Garmin in the stadium also meant my GPS data for the first kilometre was useless. So I just ran by feel.

Fortunately, that felt pretty good. I settled into roughly 4:12 min/km and found my rhythm. Three seconds per kilometre faster than planned, but the rhythm just felt right.

Up to 30 km: cruising

Surprisingly little happened up to 30 km. It rained on and off, and there was wind too. The roads were very wet, with some large, deep puddles. Despite that, the running itself felt incredibly good.

I passed halfway in 1:28:31. My legs felt good, the pace felt right. The thought that sub-3 might actually happen was always in the back of my mind. But in a marathon, you know there’s still plenty that can happen.

Then the rain had soaked my bib so much that it came loose at around 30 km. 😱 I actually stopped briefly and tried to reattach it. No chance. So I grabbed it, carried it in my hand and kept going.

Sounds like a minor thing, but it completely threw me off in that moment.

The final kilometres

The last 5 km were really tough. My hamstrings started complaining, and I had a very clear feeling that if I tried to speed up, they would cramp.

At the same time, I thought I was slowing down significantly. People around me were picking up the pace, and it felt like I was constantly being overtaken. That’s when I started doubting whether I would actually make it.

Looking at the official splits afterwards was quite surprising:

• 5 km: 21:19 | 4:15 min/km
• 10 km: 42:09 | 4:12 min/km
• 15 km: 1:03:07 | 4:12 min/km
• 20 km: 1:23:55 | 4:11 min/km
• Half marathon: 1:28:31 | 4:11 min/km
• 25 km: 1:44:44 | 4:11 min/km
• 26.1 km: 1:49:23 | 4:11 min/km
• 30 km: 2:05:38 | 4:11 min/km
• 31.1 km: 2:10:26 | 4:11 min/km
• 35 km: 2:27:01 | 4:12 min/km
• 36.1 km: 2:31:53 | 4:12 min/km
• 40 km: 2:48:28 | 4:12 min/km
• Finish: 2:57:53 | 4:12 min/km

It definitely felt different.

The moment

I didn’t fully believe it until the final kilometre. That was when I realised I could slow down considerably and still make it.

And then, running into the stadium.

I’ve never felt anything like that in any of my previous races. After the injuries, the weeks of training and all the doubts, you run in there knowing that the goal that seemed so unrealistic for so long is actually becoming reality.

Crossing the finish line was a complete emotional overload. 🥹

2:57:53. Almost 24 minutes off my previous PB.

I still don’t quite know what to do with that feeling.

One thing that’s definitely back is a huge respect for the marathon distance. Somehow, I’d pushed aside just how hard those final kilometres get. Even with good preparation and a pace that feels controlled for so long.

But I suppose that final stretch is exactly what makes crossing the finish line so special.

One last note on shoes: I raced in the New Balance SC Elite. I didn’t wear carbon-plated shoes during training, mostly running in the Hoka Bondi 9, HOKA Clifton Pro and New Balance FreshFoam 880.

I’ve been running for YEARS, I’m pretty consistent, been following a 20-week training plan and hoping to finally break 4 hours this weekend. Ran a 1:49 HM PB a few weeks ago that took a huge amount of effort.

Reading posts about 1:30 half / 3hr marathon being “attainable for anyone with reasonable fitness” and that the rest of us are “just making excuses” makes me feel as if there’s something fundamentally wrong with me, and that I’m just embarrassing myself here by even trying

Edit: thank you to everyone commenting some sense into me. Usually I’m relatively happy doing my own thing but some of the comments on that influencers post just really got to me. I think the taper tantrums are messing with my head 😂 definitely need to spend more time offline this week

Asked a few questions in here over the course of my training, thanks to anyone who shared tips along the way. Very proud!