Ideally, you want to run for at least six months, if not an entire year, before you start training for your first marathon. Instead of rushing from no running directly into the marathon, you want to take a slower approach. If you try to build mileage too quickly during that timeframe, you are very likely to get injured. It takes several months for a new runner to adapt to the impact of running.

Running places a considerable amount of stress on your body, including your musculoskeletal system. If you can do that, you’ll be ready on race day. Stick to the plan as closely as you can, increase your miles slowly, and take your recovery seriously. You can use the marathon training plan in the Runkeeper app to help you train appropriately. Plus, a rapid build can make marathon training feel more challenging and tiring than it should be. Mileage ramps up very quickly in these plans, which increases your risk of injury. However, this approach is neither safe nor always enjoyable. Theoretically, you could go from couch to marathon.

It may seem like every runner you know has run a marathon (although that is not true at all!) Naturally, you may be interested in attempting 26.2 miles–but how do you know if you are ready to run a marathon? You have been running for at least six months (ideally a year) According to RunRepeat, over 1.1 million people finished a marathon in 2019. Marathons are one of the more popular running races in both the U.S.

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