Online Running Log

The biggest determinant will be your training pace, which looks to be fine for general mileage as it stands, as long as you do stamina workouts.  You'll definitely need to get your long runs over 16 miles early in the fall.  The more comfortable you are with 20+ mile long runs, the easier the marathon will come to you.  Work on pacing on your long runs too; since you'll be coming off a cross country season, your legs might be likely to want to run too fast from the gun and that's a recipe for disaster.

I agree with CoffeY. You're going to be a senior, focus on a good cross season. Stay active and start running marathons in your mid 20s, so when you approach your peak (if training well, what, isn't that around age 28?) you'll be ready to stomp losers in the pack. 

(I'm no expert, however.) 

I have DEFINITELY heard of some people really screwing over their cross seasons by trying to run marathons in their high school years. They over-work in the off-season, run the marathon, break their body down, and ended up getting injured in one way or another. 

I say go for it. You're going to learn a lot through your training and the race itself. When you hit the wall you will learn a lot about your body. Just be smart about things, ya know? Eat right during training, keep tabs on your running form, and be aware of any injuries that might become exacerbated through long distance running. Good luck!

Ayedubbs wrote:

yeah because no one has ever run a sub 3 hr marathon w/o doing a 20 mile long run...

^ [insert sarcastic tone to above]

Throughout all of the "first marathon" threads on this site one of the things they have in common is that the runner wants to talk about "workouts" other than the long run. Before I failed my first marathon I did one twenty mile run even though every experienced marathon runner I talked to said to focus on getting my long run to 20 miles first. I focused on 16 mile tempo runs, because one guy said that would get the job done. After I failed my first marathon all of the experienced marathon people I know where like, I told you to focus on your long run. I keep in mind that most runners are not exceptional, and for the ones that are I don't treat them any different. I sure as hell wouldn't tell an exceptional runner to do the bare minimum to achieve their goals, because the average runners would have to witness this and it's f***ing insulting.

I'll say this, if this guy runs below three hours without more than a sixteen mile long run I'll leave the site. For real.

CoffeY wrote:

Why do you want to run a marathon? Unless it's for a noble cause, I highly suggest you DO NOT run a marathon. It will most likely ruin what looks like a promising cross country season. 



Serisously, No!

you sir, are way too responsible and have way too much respect for the process.

 Nehmen off Sie Ihren verdammten Hanswurst Schuhe! Glaubst du, ich aussehe RoyalMitKase?



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I have to agree with BrewPat and Coffey.  When I was your age, I ran a marathon, and it burned me out of running for the next 10 years.  Now I'm not suggesting it's going to happen to you, but there's just no sense in someone your age doing this.

long runs, long runs, long runs. i just did a full in christchurch, new zealand. sure, i wasn't going for any sort of time or anything, but with only 1 16 mile training run done the weekend before, i hit mile 23 and kinda blew up. like i said, i was doing it for fun, just to do something i'd never done before while i wasn't in season (6 months abroad, so i had no track this past spring), but it would've been a lot more enjoyable had i had some effective training (read: long runs) under my belt.



that said, if you're trying to do this full marathon after an xc season, pshh. seriously, i'm all for testing the limits as to what you can and cannot do (and i believe a lot of that is determined by mentality), but in this case, it's just such a beating to take at such a young age that i'm worried it'll be a one-and-done fun experience for you. you really do have so much more time in the future; why not use training for a marathon as motivation to train after your competitive career (i.e. high school or college or whenever you stop competing on a legitimate team) when you're also older, stronger, more durable, and with less to lose? something to think on. buttttttt...don't let all the detractors here stop you if it's something you REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY want to do.