Which marathon event is right for me?

Question

I want to register for a local marathon in March. They offer a full marathon, a 1/2 marathon, and a 5K. How far are each of those, in miles?

I want to start training now since I have no running experience. Which event would be good for me, since I'm starting training so early? And do you know of a good progressive training program, or a website that would have one? THANKS!

Answer 1

You definitely should do the half marathon before you attempt a full marathon; plan to do the half in march and a full next fall.  In the meantime, you need plenty of interim goals.  Plan to run a 5k race in about two months, and then a 10k race in 4 months, and run as many races as you can before you do the half.   Here is a terrific guide to the best running websites; they will tell you everything you need to know.

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/guides.ht...

Answer 2

A full marathon is 26.2 miles

half marathon is 13.1 miles

a 5K is 3.1 miles

You should be able to do the 1/2 marathon and try the whole thing the next year.

Answer 3

I think the best one to join is the AVON walk/ run marathon for breast cancer. Look online for a good date and loctation right for you. I am planning on running this marathon earlie next year.

A full marathon = 26.2 miles long

A half marathon = 13.1 miles

A 5K =3.1 miles

If i were you i would start practicing now just running a few miles everyday. Maybe you should check out a gym near you to get a good workout for whickever distance you choose.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

The full marathon is 26.2 miles. Though 7 months off, you shouldn't be targeting that that rapidly. It's commonly advised to wait at least a year from when you begin until you think about starting to train for one.

The half is 13.1 miles. If you regularly train properly, you could build to the half within your time frame.

The 5k is 3.1 miles. If you're starting from reasonable health right now, you really shouldn't have an issue running a 5k in 7 months. If you need some time to lose weight, change eating habits, do several months of walking first, etc., you still might not be ready to fully run it though.

You should probably figure out what the latest is you need to register for the events, and start your training and see how it's going in a few months. It would be good if you can focus on the details of your training in the early stages without panicking over an upcoming race. Though I think you could vaguely target the half and have it in mind, if you're not ready for it by the time the races come around, it would be good if you can do the 5k instead. But again, I'd worry about the training and easing into things first, and it's the hundreds or thousands of miles of training that you put in that are going to matter more than the few miles of a race in the big picture. It's important to get the training right regardless of whether you do a race or not.

I think runnersworld.com (tied to the Runner's World magazine) is one of the better resources out there for beginning runners, and I'd suggest you browse the website (and their forums) for resources.

I know some people like the motivation of registering for a race far in advance, and though some do sell out, it's usually good to wait a bit if you can to make sure nothing is going to interfere with the race--most have a no refund policy, and not many allow transfers of entry. Depending on how training is going, you may well want to even enter another 5k (or 10k) before next March, and seeing how that goes can help you decide what you want to do in March.