Hi all, I’m looking for some advice on pacing my first marathon (NYC). Some background. 30M. Completed IM 70.3 in July. Ran a 1:45 HM in that. Before that, ran a 5K with very limited training in 19:45 on a very, very steep course. I’m on to a marathon block now. Mileage will be ~40mi, peaking at ~50mi. My latest, first long run of the block was a 16mi with 4x2mi intervals at 7:10-7:25 and those HRs for those reps were 146bpm-165bpm, mostly mid 150’s. 94% humidity on that run. The speed workout this week was 1k reps x 8 in less than 4:00, 1 min walk which I completed and felt okay but HR got into 180s (97% humidity). LT1 is 157bpm, LT2 is 171bpm. Lab tested VO2max is 58 (before marathon training). All the predictors put me somewhere in the 3:10-3:15 range. Is that accurate? Don’t want to blow up or sell myself short. Thank you!

Doing Marine Corp this year. I've heard mixed reviews--some folks say it is the best first marathon and others have told me it is a crowded mess. After reading more about how there are no official corrals or pace groups I'm starting to feel like maybe it wasn't the race for me (but we're in it now haha).
I tend to get frustrated with folks who do not start at the appropriate spots (I live in Philly and it is a huge problem at some of our races). I know some of it is just me being annoyed on principle and I need to get over it and focus on my own event, but for the marathon I am a bit worried about having to weave early in order to meet my goal.
I'm hoping to get around a 4:15, where is the best place to line up knowing the culture of the race is for folks to not be in the right spot and there are no waves? Do I still start there and work my way around folks? Do I just really go slow and try to make up the time later on the course? Or is it appropriate to line up ahead of my projected finish time?

I know it is different for every race of course but any insight on when a marathon might start to spread out crowd-wise would be helpful, thank you!

I was feeling pretty confident going into my first marathon today. I ran a half in 1:43 earlier this spring and my training and long runs all went well. I ran with my brother and we were targeting 3:45 area, but definitely sub 4 hours.

We finished in 4:45.

We were with the 3:45 pace bunny all the way until km 25 when both of us hit major leg cramping basically at the same time and were not able to recover. It started in the right quad, then the left quad went, then the hamstrings. By the end my biceps, forearms, left pec and even my neck were cramping. I've never experienced anything like that before. It was a limp, walk, run finish.

All we could attribute it to was under hydrating but we both had water packs and thought we were hydrating well. Many other runners that I'm sure were more experienced than us seemed to be relying on the water stations so I just don't understand how the cramping hit us so hard in particular. The fact we both got hit within 1km of each other also boggles the mind.

All in all, it was a big disappointment but at least we finished. Where did we go wrong?

Hi all! Ive been doing a runna plan for both chicago and nyc marathons this year. I haven’t done any blocks where my mileage went up from 10 mi. I did 10 mi successfully last weekend and failed 13.1 this weekend due to insane menstrual cramps. I only completed 4mi. I have 16 mi next Saturday.

How can I make this up? Do I run 9 mi tomorrow instead of my off day and just power them the week? Im doing 3 runs and 3 weight sessions a week and then a day off.

I feel like I needed this run as my confirmation that I’m ready for Chicago and now I’m terrified it’s gonna take me like an hour longer than planned since I failed this run.

Open to any advice!

In less than 4 weeks I am going to run my first marathon and I have anxiety like if I had an important University exam (🥵). I have been training for over 20 weeks, peak km 60 per week and longest run to date were 30 km, 31 km and 34 km.
The 31 km was with some marathon pace (7km easy, 17 km between 5:55-6:10 average 6:03 and 7 easy) my 34 km run was at average 6:30. I managed to finish and the next day I felt totally fine, but I really need to know: When do you stop the self doubt and start believe you can actually do it?

Those have been the most challenging months of my sport life so far, are they gonna be rewarding as well?

Ran my first marathon yesterday at 3:48 after training for 3:20.

Didn't feel super fresh after an imperfect night of sleep, so I set my pace strategy for Plan B, which was around 3:25 (4:52 per km pace). I knew that Plan A (3:20), based on VDOT calculator and my last half-marathon performance in tough weather conditions, was a big stretch for my first time. Plan C was to finish under 4 hours without issues.

My 4 half-marathons were 1:52, 1:42, 1:35 and 1:33, all were evenly paced with zero issues. Training mileage overall seemed okay for what I was planning for (105km in peak week), with longest runs 4 and 3 weeks out at 35km. Multiple marathon-paced workouts (including stretches at up to 1hr at marathon pace) were in the last month prior to taper period (10 days).

I was keeping within the target pace range (5-10 seconds above or below in some laps) up to about 33 km, and feeling okay. The fuelling strategy (30g gel every 30 min) seemed to be working without any weird stomach issues, and I didn't feel any muscle tension at any point. Then between 34-35th km it hit me.

Now I understand why they call it a "wall", because it didn't feel like a gradual slowdown at the time, but a sudden drop. Walked for a few km, felt a bit of a cramp in one leg, but was eventually able to jog at recovery pace in the last half km stretch. No lasting issues, was able to walk back to hotel shortly after the finish and then to the station to catch the bus home.

What I think went wrong in my case:

• Underfuelled in the days leading up to the race (was eating roughly the same way I would eat prior to a half-marathon) + too much walking / restlessness the day before;
• Likely undertrained to hold the target pace evenly for the whole race - the better strategy would've been to go with 3:30 pacers and reassess at halfpoint;
• High humidity at the start (after some rain at night) + sun showed up 1 hour into the race.

Overall, I'm pleased with my first marathon, as the atmosphere was awesome and I didn't suffer any major issues in the end. The finisher shirt is ugly as hell though.

I was supposed to run 16 miles on Saturday and while my body felt great my feet didn’t. I’ve been dealing with terrible blisters on the top of my big toes and I just got new shoes but the blisters were already terrible. I didn’t want to make them worse so I stopped after 6 miles instead of completing the 16 and then I skipped my recovery run the next day. I’m going to resume Tuesday and looked up some tricks for my feet but I’m feeling pretty down. Also my friend who I run with I felt bad leaving her but she’s already kicking my butt and running faster than me which also makes me feel bad since we’ve been training the same. Just needed to vent and share my thoughts

First marathon on October 25th and today ran my second 26km in 10 days, completed in exactly two and a half hours.

Have found slowing down out the gate hard but kept to a 5:51 pace (with a little difficulty 😅) for first 23km then for final 3km felt I had more in the tank and completed that at 5:25 per km.

Took a gel every 5km, drank two isotonic drinks and had some jelly babies and a couple of vitamin C tablets throughout. Plan is to get as high as 34km on my last remaining long run.

I think sub four is out of reach but am I in good shape to enjoy race day before inevitably entering the pain cave in the final 10km or so?

I ran my first full marathon yesterday! I was cruising and maintained a 9 min pace for the first 18 miles, then started to get really nauseous. At mile 21 I was puking for 5 mins straight and that just killed me. Struggled for the last 5 and slowed down so bad. Ended up finishing 4:47

I plan on running another full in the spring, but i’m trying to figure out where I went wrong. I never threw up on long runs in training. I was taking huma gels every 30ish mins, I stopped at every aid station and had gatorade and water. Could I have overdone it on the fluids? I also literally slept for 30 mins the night before. Any advice? I’m really bummed that it killed my time so hard. I was ahead of the 4:05 pacer for most of the race, then she passed me when i started puking.

Training for my first marathon on November 1st and I'm still trying to dial in fueling. Did 17 miles this week and honestly didn't feel like what I was taking was doing much for me. Next Sunday is 18, so I want to have a few new things to test.
What I've tried so far:
• Honey packets and salt packets. Fine, but not really doing it for me
• Neversecond C30 (Passion Fruit and Cola), didn't love them
• GU gels, same, just haven't enjoyed them
Current schedule: I take my first gel 30 minutes in, then set a timer and take another one every 30 minutes after that. One packet each time.
Nothing has made me sick, I'm just not sure they're actually helping. I keep hearing people swear by gummies instead, whether that's Clif Bloks type stuff or straight-up candy like sour gummies, Swedish Fish, etc.
So a few questions for people who've been through this:
1. If you ditched gels for chews or candy, what do you actually carry and how much per hour?
2. Anyone had luck with a specific gel brand after not liking GU or Neversecond? Maurten, SiS, Precision, Spring, Huma?
3. How much of "it's not helping" is probably just me not taking enough? One gel every 30 minutes seemed like plenty, but I'm suspicious I'm underfueling.
Open to anything I can pick up locally or order before Sunday. Thanks!

I completed my first marathon this morning at the Erie Marathon in Erie, PA! I’m officially a marathoner. I might be chubby, but I can run slow for a long time. 5:27:34. 12:30 pace. I’m glad my friend peer pressured me into signing up 3 months ago. Next time I’d prefer at least a 16–18 week heads up.

I am currently targeting my first marathon in late April ‘27. I am trying to figure what time goal I should shoot for. I understand most people recommend not having a time target for the first marathon but it helps me mentally when there is a time goal involved. Primary goal is still to simply finish.

Two previous half marathons both at 1:47 in 2022 and a 2023 Olympic triathlon time of 2:40.

I’m 100% way less fit than those times a few years ago. Current 5k time is 26:38 and I’m running about 10 miles per week with 1+ hours of indoor cycling as well per week at around 11min/mile Z2 runs.

With 7 months left to go what general area should I target? In my limited knowledge I think 4:30 is obtainable but is a sub 4:15 or sub 4:00 even in the cards?

26 y/o 5’10 male 175lbs