Running The Marathon!Need Help!:)?

Question

i am 16 years old will turn 17 next month.i plan to do a marathon in march of 09'

i wanted to know what will be a good training plan for me.am i too young to train as an adult does?

5'7" 150lbs.

i am a runner...not quite advanced but i do run a lot.

as of now i run 4.5 miles 5x a week.38min...if that matters

Answer 1

I would run as much as you can.  Workout.  Do exercises like crunches and what not.  Basically just stay as fit as possible.  And try to gain as much as you can through training.  Exercises like that should increase your endurance.  

Answer 2

Since you have a good base I think you could be ready by March 09.  Your are young and 26 miles is a tough distance.  It will be important that you train smart and consistently.  Coolrunning and Runnersworld both have resources on line.  There are also good books that are filled with running tips and training programs.

Basically, your goal will be to gradually increase your weekly mileage so that three weeks out from the marathon you can comfortably do 20 miles.

This is a big commitment.  For the next several months you must watch what you eat, get plenty of sleep, and devoted hours of training (your long runs will take up to four hours to complete).

Don't commit to the race if you can't commit to the training.

But if you do you will have that incredible feeling of accomplishing something only a small fraction of the population can do.

Good luck!