How to Prepare for a Marathon (Novice)

Co-authored by Francisco Gomez and Jessica Gibson

Running a marathon starts months before race day. Training, eating right, and getting the right gear in advance will set you up for success, but where do you start? Don't worry—we've put together the ultimate guide to training for your first marathon to walk you through everything you need to know before you step up to the starting line.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Following a Training Schedule

1
Come up with a training schedule 16-24 weeks ahead of the marathon. Keep your current abilities in mind when making a schedule of practice runs. If you're considering running a marathon, you should already be able to run for at least 30 minutes without stopping. Your schedule should include what types of training exercises you want to do, how many miles you want to do in a single run, and recovery exercises.^{[1]
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- Give yourself plenty of time to accomplish your goals. Don't expect instant results, especially when it comes to endurance training. You should set aside at least 16 to 24 weeks to train for a marathon.^{[2]
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  Expert Source
  
  Francisco Gomez
  Fitness Coach
  Expert Interview. 24 October 2019.}
2
Do 1 long run per week. When you start training, your long run should be about 10 to 11 miles (16 to 18 km). Every week, try to schedule extra miles. By the 16th or 17th week of training, you should be able to run about 22 miles (35 km) for the long run. Long runs are important for preparing your musculoskeletal system for the actual marathon.^{[3]
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- Try to run at a pretty slow pace during your long run. You should be able to comfortably hold a conversation when you run.
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3
Alternate long runs with short or medium runs. Short runs (around 3 to 4 miles (4.8 to 6.4 km)) can improve your cardiovascular function. Medium runs (starting around 7 to 8 miles (11 to 13 km)) should be a little faster paced than short runs. These runs help you build confidence that you can run for an extended time. Short and medium runs are good runs for the treadmill so you can control your pace. You shouldn't walk or be able to converse during a medium run.^{[4]
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- Aim to do 1 or 2 short runs and 1 medium run a week. Start out running about 6 miles (9.7 km) per hour and 0.1 miles (0.16 km) per hour to your speed every minute after 10 minutes. By about thirty minutes you should be going about eight miles per hour.
4
Do low-impact exercises on days you're not running. Running too much can actually hurt your ability to perform in the marathon. You should spend some of your training days doing low-impact workouts that help you maintain your endurance and build upper body strength. If you don't currently cross train, start with just 1 day of low-impact exercising a week. Then, bump that up to 2 or 3 days of low-impact exercising a week alternating with running days. Consider doing the following activities:^{[5]
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- Yoga
- Pilates
- Weightlifting
5
Take training seriously. Treat your long runs as practice runs for the real marathon. If you have to miss a day or two of training, adjust your schedule so that you're only missing cross training or easy runs. When you do intense training runs, remember to have about a liter of water on hand and some gel nutrition packets. To avoid overdoing it, you can walk for part of a long run.^{[6]
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- Your longest pre-event run should be about one week before the event to allow your body plenty of recovery and fuel storage

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Recovering From Your Workouts

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Ice down your legs. You should ice down your shins, knees and any sore parts of your legs after each run or whenever you feel muscle soreness. The ice will reduce any swelling or bruising in your legs that could lead to a severe injury later on. Apply an ice pack or immerse your legs in an ice bath for about 6 to 12 minutes. Take a warm shower about 30 minutes after using the ice.^{[7]
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- To make an ice bath, pour a few bags of ice into your bathtub or a container big enough to submerge your legs. Then add some cold water.
2
Take recovery days. If you workout every day, you'll exhaust your body and damage your joints. You should take two days a week to relax and let yourself heal. Don't do any type of strenuous exercise on your recovery days. Allowing your body to rest gives your muscles a chance to rebuild and get stronger after you break them down during your workouts.^{[8]
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- Try not to even think about your training on your recovery days. Your mind also needs time to recover so you don't get burned out.
3
Stretch your muscles. Do stretches every day to decrease your chances of getting hurt. Stretch after runs and make sure to stretch muscles throughout your body, not just your legs. Avoid stretching before runs.^{[9]
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Trustworthy Source
PubMed Central
Journal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health
Go to source} Do static stretches only after runs by extending your arms or legs and holding the muscles so you feel the stretch. Hold them for 30 seconds and gently release. Avoid bouncing stretches that could pull or damage your muscles.^{[10]
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- While you run, your body will build up a lot of lactic acid that will cause your muscles to be extremely sore and could lead to injury. Stretching after your runs may help to decrease the buildup of lactic acid in your body and fortify it against injury.
- Using a foam roller on your muscles can help to stretch them out effectively.
4
Pay attention to your body. You should never try to push yourself too hard if you feel that you may be risking injury. If at any time during your workout you feel that something isn't right, you cramp up, or feel your legs go weak, stop immediately and take a break or walk. At the beginning of your training, your body may not be able to handle all the impact on your joints.^{[11]
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- Focus on increasing your stride speed, not your stride length.

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Getting the Right Nutrition

1
Eat a diet high in carbohydrates. While you're training, 60 to 65% of your diet should come from mainly complex carbohydrates. Eat foods like potatoes, beans, yams, wheat bread, pasta and apples. While you're running, eat carbohydrate gels every 30 to 45 minutes. Carbohydrates help your body produce energy for running so they're an important part of a marathon runner's diet.
- Your normal diet should consist of about two thousand to two thousand five hundred calories. During training, you should add an extra one hundred calories for each mile you run.
- Monitor your body weight to ensure that you are getting adequate nutrition.
- Most runners add 100 calories for every mile that they run. For example, if you run 11 miles, then you would need to add 1,100 calories.
2
Eat protein. While you're training, 15 to 20 percent of your calories should come from protein. Multiply your weight in pounds by 0.6 to determine how many grams of protein you need. Include chicken, eggs, fish, peanut butter, legumes, dairy, and lean beef in your diet. You can also get a protein supplement from a health food store if you have trouble meeting your daily requirements from your diet alone.^{[12]
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- Your body needs protein to repair your muscles after they tear during your workout. Make sure your body gets enough protein to rebuild your muscles every time you break them down.
3
Get plenty of calcium. Perhaps the most important part of preparing for a marathon is making sure your body can withstand the intense punishment it can inflict on your bones. Make sure you're eating lots of calcium-rich foods like broccoli, collard greens, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, and salmon.^{[13]
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- You can also take a calcium supplement if you're prone to fractures. Take 2,000 mg of calcium a day.
4
Drink water. While you're training, stay properly hydrated. Drink at least 8 fluid ounces (240 mL) glasses of water. While you're running (a long run or the marathon), plan to drink 8 fluid ounces (240 mL) every 20 minutes that you run. Avoid drinking too much water or you could get hyponatremia. Excess water could dilute your blood causing your cells to swell.^{[15]
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- A good way to judge if you're hydrated is by testing the color of your urine. It should be bright yellow to clear in color. If it's dark or cloudy, you should drink more water.

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Getting the Right Gear

1
Wear high-quality shoes that fit. Buy your shoes from a store that specializes in running footwear.^{[17]
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Expert Source

Francisco Gomez
Fitness Coach
Expert Interview. 24 October 2019.} A professional shoe store will measure the width and the arch of your foot and guide you to the shoe that best suits you. Wearing normal tennis shoes during long runs could injure your foot. Wear shoes you've trained in several times when you actually run the marathon. You don't want to break in new shoes while running a challenging race.^{[18]
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- Try not to wear high heels too often while you're training for a marathon. High heels put extra strain on your legs and can lead to injury.
2
Buy running socks. While you're at the running store, pick up a pair of double layered socks. Double layered socks will prevent your heels and toes from getting blistered during the marathon. Normal socks don't offer enough protection and can leave your feet blistered and in pain. The discomfort could be so bad that it causes you to cut your workout short.
- Compression socks are often used by marathon runners to reduce muscle soreness, but more research is needed.^{[19]
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3
Get a heart rate monitor. People who run marathons can sustain their heart rate at 60 to 65 percent of their maximum heart rate for long periods of time. You want your heart rate to be 50 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate to get the most out of your workout. Your ideal maximum heart rate should be about 220 minus your age. For example, if you're 20, your maximum heart rate should be about 200 beats per minute. While you work out, it should be from 100 to 170 beats per minute.^{[20]
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American Heart Association
Leading nonprofit that funds medical research and public education
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- Give yourself time to get your heart rate into a proper zone if you're not used to intense running.
- If your rate gets to over 90 percent of your maximum heart rate, take a break and cool down for a bit.
4
Find a comfortable running belt. The actual marathon will have tables set up at points in the race where you can grab cups of water. But, you'll need a way to hydrate yourself during your training runs. Use a running belt to carry a few bottles of water with you while you run. The belt should be snug but not too restricting. Or, you can stagger bottles of water along your training path if you don't want to run with water.^{[21]
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- Remember that if you choose to wear a belt in your training, you'll feel lighter at the actual marathon. Account for the change in weight and try to run the marathon at the same pace that you practiced running.

Expert Q&A

Question

How do I train for a marathon with no experience?

Francisco Gomez
Competitive Runner
Francisco Gomez is the Head Coach at the FIT Potato Gym, a training gym established in 2001 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Francisco is a former competitive runner who helps endurance athletes train for major marathons like the Boston Marathon. Francisco specializes in Injury Rehab, Flexibility, Marathon Training, and Senior Fitness. He has a B.S. in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology & Running.

Francisco Gomez

Competitive Runner

Expert Answer

Try running with friends or joining a team. Running with other people can make it more fun and help you stay motivated.
Question

Is it okay to use a phone as a heart rate monitor during a run?

Michele Dolan
Certified Fitness Trainer
Michele Dolan is a BCRPA certified Personal Trainer in British Columbia. She has been a personal trainer and fitness instructor since 2002.

Michele Dolan

Certified Fitness Trainer

Expert Answer

It is fine to check your heart rate on your phone's heart rate monitor when training. The only problem is that phone heart rate monitors require you to stand still. Your heart rate might drop a little so the reading on your phone might be lower that what your heart rate actually got up to. Ask the race organizers about whether you are allowed to use a phone at race time.
Question

What the best exercise that I can do?

Michele Dolan
Certified Fitness Trainer
Michele Dolan is a BCRPA certified Personal Trainer in British Columbia. She has been a personal trainer and fitness instructor since 2002.

Michele Dolan

Certified Fitness Trainer

Expert Answer

There are some really good exercises for leg and core strengthening and they are great for all runners. They are: the plank, supermans, lunges and squats. Pushups and pull ups are great for maintaining upper body strength.

Warnings

Watch out for chafing. Women should wear sports bras for support and to keep loose shirt material from scratching against them. Men should wear bandages on their nipples to protect them during long runs.

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The last few miles of the marathon are the hardest. At the end of your training, you may be able to run 20 miles (32 km) without a problem. Prepare yourself mentally for the last few miles so you're not shocked by how difficult they are on race day.

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