First Marathon. Tips or advice?

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by Arsenal14

So, today's Calgary Marathon was my first (4:23!) and I've got to ask: what would possess somebody to do more than one race? I understand doing one. You are proving you can do it and you don't know any better. But to sign up to do it again? Do these people have a bad memory, enjoy pain or somehow find this to be "fun"?

Or maybe I'm just very, very sore right now and a few days from now everything will be better...

My first was the Calgary Maclin Marathon and I resolved never to do it again. I trained poorly. Once I was over the hurt I decided to give it another go. I trained better and ran three more, cutting my PR to a very respectable time. I quit after that and won't run another.

[Arsenal14]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

My first was the Calgary Maclin Marathon and I resolved never to do it again. I trained poorly. Once I was over the hurt I decided to give it another go. I trained better and ran three more, cutting my PR to a very respectable time. I quit after that and won't run another.

For what it's worth, it's now been four months since I ran and I'd no longer completely rule out running another. At this point the pain is a distant memory, I almost have a full set of toenails and I still have my finishers medal. Funny how that works. I'm not sure I'd run Calgary again just because training through the winter kind of sucks, but something in fall might appeal to me.

[worth]

Why nearly every sport except long-distance running is fundamentally absurd.

http://www.slate.com/articles/sports...han_cats_.html