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How to Prepare for a Marathon
by Violet Mardeza
http://www.firstrunning.com

Pretty much anyone who really wants to run a marathon can
run a marathon. The key to marathon success, whether a top
athlete or someone who would be thrilled just to finish,
is preparation, and this will be different for everyone.

Up until recently, the marathon was thought to be
impossible for all but a few superhuman athletes. After
all, the very first marathon runner - the ancient Greek
messenger who ran from Marathon to Athens to warn of an
attacking army - dropped dead as soon as he had delivered
his message!

Today, however, many people compete in marathons. The
New York City marathon is one of the most popular events.
It started in 1970 with a mere 55 runners, but today
there are almost thirty thousand participants yearly. A
similar number of runners get involved in the other major
marathons in London, Tokyo, and Chicago.

It is not easy though - it takes hard work and dedication.
Some people, when they decide to train for a marathon
already consider themselves fit. They might play some
regular sports or eat and live healthy. Other people will
happily admit to being out of shape and set a marathon as a
goal to get themselves fit.

Those who are fit already may be in for a shock - running
for anywhere between three and seven hours is unlike any
exercise you have tried before. You may be able to play
ball one on one for an hour without any problems, but you
may find it a tough job to run for an hour. If you really
are fit, you should probably expect to train seriously for
six months before your first marathon.

If you're already in pretty good shape, six months is
probably all you need. But if you're a little rusty and
out of shape, you're looking at more like a couple years
of training. To keep yourself motivated over such a long
timeframe, give yourself target goals along the way. For
instance, one goal could be running six miles at a go,
then running ten miles at once, and so on.

And no matter whether you're already very fit or if you
haven't worked out in ages, consult your doctor before
embarking on your extreme new program. You probably should
not expect any training suggestions from your doctor,
but you can ask for more general advice: are you ready to
start working out, is it safe for you to train to
intensively, etc.

Aside from that, everything is in the preparation. The
Internet is a great source for training schedules, as are
running magazines. They can be inspirational too. Schedules
are organized by how fast you hope to run the marathon -
from Get Me Round (At Any Speed) right up to the sub three
hour schedules for serious runners. Find a schedule that
meets your needs and make yourself a timetable. Stick to
your timetable strictly - stop only for injury or a really
unavoidable problem. Do not miss training days because it
is a little cold - buy a jacket instead.

The only time you should drop from training is the two
weeks right before the main event. Give your body a rest
and allow it to recover so you're in optimal shape for
the big run. This rest period should be part of your
schedule.

On the day of the marathon, do not get carried away. It is
easy to set off way too fast and really struggle after half
way. Getting used to being in races is one reason why you
should do that six or ten miler I mentioned earlier. Watch
your pace carefully, keep drinking water and the occasional
energy drink... You will be fine, just like millions of
other normal folk who have met the ultimate running
challenge!

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