best Marathon TIPS I wish I knew as a beginner

In this inspiring video, I share my personal journey and the valuable lessons I've learned from running over ten marathons. From the physical and mental challenges of long-distance running to the importance of perseverance and self-belief.

This is a journey of what I learnt racing all different kinds of marathons, and perhaps what training helped or didn't, and what to avoid on race day.

60 lectures and 10 hours of tips
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[igloozoo]

Your transparency as a professional athlete is so awesome cause it is still very relatable to us hobby joggers in our 40s and 50s solely trying to break our HS PRs :)

[cory]

Great advice! Thanks Stephen! Going for my 3rd Marathon Jan 2024. Targeting Sub 4hr. 1st was 4:58. 2nd 4:15. Started running end of 2020 at 41 yrs old. Loving the journey.

[flowerfaeri]

Brilliant advice. When I did the Comrades Ultra in 2017, I completed the course within 30 seconds of my goal time. I think it was the most perfect race I've ever ran. Having never done an ultra, I trusted my training even though I thought I wasn't getting enough miles in, but started on race day feeling fresh and not overtrained. I had a brain fart about 70km in and thought I was finished at the final checkpoint. I ran off the course and if not for the crowd, would have stopped. I adopted the following mantra: Focus, fuel, finish and it worked. Still use it when the brain gets foggy.

[TheWelshRunner]

Fantastic video. One of my favourites. Great to hear you reliving some of your past races and some excellent lessons learnt from each.

[Ultrarunnerdad]

Try To Enjoy THAT is my best take away from this. Sometimes all the hard work we put in can just build up and stress us out!

[rjohanssonguitar]

I didn’t really know who you were until this video. Now I’m a huge fan. Thank you for this. This already put me in the right headspace for trying to run my first marathon. Subscribed

[jaskoGie]

Stephen thank you so much for all the videos, your wisdom and experience is incredible. I recently got back to running after 5 year break and your approach is inspiring. Keep doing You! :)

[patrickwalsh]

Absolutely fantastic, Stephen; sage and often truly moving advice. Distance runners are a cut above; your reflections and lessons learned show that level of self-awareness. I wish you all the best. See you out on the road, brother.

[hcgmmdz]

Hello Stephen, I want to say thank you for your video tips: “Best Marathon TIPS i wish i knew as a beginner” ❤️🙏🏻

I just completed Valencia marathon today (03/Dec/2023) with a 92s PB of the time 2:50.18s according to my watch!

I like you mentioned when touch going. “Focus mile by mile” 💪🏻
It happened from mile 18th to the finish-line

Once again thank you buddy ❤️

[JohnHuxleySavage]

Absolutely love this. Super humbling and honest breakdowns of each race and genuinely so inspiring with fantastic tips too.

[jean]

Your honesty and frankness are so inspiring!!!

[sektormortal]

You said something that i needed to hear. I will run the OC on May 7th. It will be my very first. I was feeling stressed, worried, concerned... But you said... "Enjoy the event". Take a deep breath and enjoy the moment. I will do just that. Thank you.

[lurk]

Thanks for the helpful tips🤙 I'm looking to run my first marathon before the end of the year😮 🏃🏾‍♂️

[sxyward]

Less than 48hrs before my next marathon. Will be following your words re enjoying

[mikewendlberger]

Your story is so inspiring. One caveat- you didn’t let anyone down, not your country nor anyone else. You did the best you could on “that” day - period…. Keep it up. Love your videos

[jorgmuhlhans]

This is a brilliant video and it does not matter at all where you're at in terms of pace or race time, applies to everyone. I was really happy to have an experienced marathoner as a coach that told me a lot of those things before racing. In my first fuelling training ever I almost threw up and had to find the right products and timing. Of course you can't avoid everything, I pushed to hard and fell back, I over- and undertrained, expected to much, got frustrated, all that... But as an amateur it's good to see even pros struggle with the same things and are "just human" too. Gives me way more confidence that I can overcome all that too.

[francoisboyer]

Thank you, you are very Inspiring. At 50 years old, I am preparing for my sixth marathon in May (Ottawa, Canada) I have been inactive since 2013. But your videos help me train my body (ans my brain) well. Good luck to you!

[lumtrebor]

Nice one Stephen, great advice! I’m targeting Dublin 2024 as my first marathon and have been using your videos as motivation. Hopefully I can put this advice into action

[FilmMyRun]

From one Stephen to another, some really good tips here. Keep learning and keep on giving us the benefits of that wisdom. Good stuff.

[whatjamieruns]

Such a great video! I’m running Manchester marathon tomorrow and will remember these tips for sure. I will definitely try to enjoy tomorrow first and foremost 100%