Running Your FIRST MARATHON? Don't make these BEGINNER mistakes...

In this video, I’m going to share some of my favourite marathon training tips to help you prepare for your best marathon. Whether you’re training for your first full marathon, or you’re trying to set a new personal best time over the 26.2 mile distance, these coaching tips will help you avoid many the marathon training errors frequently made by other runners.

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1 - How long should your long marathon training runs be?

For many runners, the most intimidating part of a marathon training plan is the weekly long run. Ideally, you should come into a marathon training plan with the ability to comfortably run 8-10 miles at an easy pace. Over the course of the programme, your long runs will build in distance to around 18-20 miles.

You do not need to run the full marathon distance in training. In fact, doing so puts you more at risk of injury. The confidence boost you will gain in running 26 miles before your marathon will be pointless if you get injured in doing so.

There’s a point of diminishing return when it comes to the long runs. Slower runners may prefer to run to time, rather than distance. If you’re training for your first marathon, try capping your long runs at 18 miles OR 3.5 hours, whichever mark you reach first!

Believe it or not, weekly mileage is more important than the distance you run in a single long run. The aim of marathon training is to build running fitness cumulatively. Increasing your training volume gradually week by week will give you the endurance you need to run the marathon distance, even if you are fairly conservative about the length of your long runs. I’ve helped so many injury-prone runners prepare for marathons successfully using this philosophy!

2 - Learn to pace yourself

Don’t fall into the trap of running your long runs too fast. Learn what your different training paces should feel like! You can use a recent 10k race, 10 miler or half marathon finish time to estimate your marathon finish time.

You should be aiming to run your easy runs easy and your hard runs hard… rather than every run being similarly paced. This takes practice!

3 - Plan for easier “adaptation” weeks

Whatever marathon training plan you’re following, you cannot simply push harder and run longer each week than the week before. Your aim is to peak on marathon race day, however, you should also plan for your training to peak and ease-off in phases during your training plan.

Make sure your marathon training plan includes easier training weeks, otherwise known as “adaptation weeks”. These are weeks where the training load is reduced to give your body an opportunity to recover from the preceding weeks of hard training before you push yourself again the following week.

Adaptation weeks reduce the risk of injury and overtraining during a marathon training block. After all, the aim should be to arrive at the start line injury-free and ready to run strong.

4 - Don’t neglect your strength and mobility exercises (injury prevention)

When it comes to injury prevention for runners, there is plenty you can do to help yourself. Be sure to include regular strength and mobility exercises alongside the mileage you’re running.

5 - Practice target marathon pace (tempo blocks and fast finish long runs)

Your long marathon training runs should be mostly done at an easier pace than your target marathon pace. That said, you need to make sure you get comfortable with training at your target marathon pace.

In the second half of my marathon training blocks, I like to start adding target marathon paced blocks into my long runs, building towards “fast finish” long runs as the training plan nears your marathon taper weeks.

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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - How to Train for Your First Marathon - Intro
0:30 - How long should your longest marathon training run be?
5:28 - Setting Your Marathon Training Paces
8:02 - How to Train for a Marathon without Getting Injured
10:40 - Strength Training for Marathon Runners
12:36 - How to Pace Your First Marathon

[JamesDunne]

*Are YOU training for your first marathon?*
If so, let me know which marathon you'll be running, in the comments below...
*Also, what's your biggest concern about the training, or race day itself?*
Let me know and I can make a video about it :)

[Trailrunner]

Great video. I did my first maraton (alone and just on Garmin) this week. Slow pace of course. It was in nature, many hills. About the training: actually instead of increasing some long runs to above 30 km, I just ran 20 K longruns, but did do them every week, instead of doing longer runs with longer time between and longer recovery. And I had pretty low weekly mileage, 40-50 km per week, but was consistent, every week. There's big difference between how people handle volume. I myself have started to believe more in moderation, listening to the body and instead being consistent and injury free, than pushing it too much. But then again I am a beginner hobby runner, a big guy who's pretty slow.

[onewonders]

I am doing the San Jose Spartan trail marathon September 18th 2021, which is my 26th birthday. 26 miles for my 26th. I have never attempted long distance running before, and I am definitely feeling the weight of the challenge. But I know that I have it in me, and I'm tired of not pushing myself past my comfort zone. I watched this twice already, and will be watching it again, the information is really helpful and takes the edge off of the massive amount of intimidation I am feeling.

[IOERROR]

Great video. I will be running my first marathon this year even though I have training for 3 of them.
The first one my wife (we run as a team) hurt her leg after a 16 mile run (not running related).
The second one we made it to 18 miles and were on our taper when my wife was diagnosed with Thyroid cancer (she beat it and is doing great).
The third we made it to 13 miles and Covid hit and cancelled the race.

This time we are doing a 20 week training (we have 20 weeks before the Pittsburgh marathon on May 2nd). I figured the extra weeks would help us prep for the race. From when I understand it's got some rolling hills but nothing too bad.

I use your plan and another to build a plan for us. The wife is in healthcare so it needed to be flexible with her schedule.

Anyways, thanks for the video and plan. Lets hope the 4th time is a charm. There is nothing worst than being on your taper weeks only to not be able to run the race.

[ChrisBrown-dyts]

Just did my first Marathon this morning, wasn’t an event just wanted to do it. longest training run I did was 10mile, kept the pace steady @7:30/mile slowed a little at mile 23, 3hr19. Total time.enjoyed it .

[jakethesnake]

Great that you appreciate that "runners need to run", it's very difficult as you say to fit a strength/mobility session into an already busy schedule.
15min here and there might just be achievable! 👍

[DanHoggarth]

Thanks for this video. All useful. I have my first marathon coming up in 11 days in Strathearn, Scotland. I'll be turning 60 just after. Your tips align pretty well with the training I've done, but I'm still a bit nervous as well as excited. Cheers

[stalovasiliou]

Thank you for all your great advice! I’m m running my first marathon in April 2024. I have done quite a lot of 10km races and a couple of half marathons and I really want to step up to a marathon!

[alejandrohiguera]

Just signed up for my first marathon -
Honolulu Marathon.

[mudstaa]

Just signed up for Lisbon Marathon 2023. Furthest previous run was Cardiff half a few years ago, so I'll be starting from scratch. This all seems like great advice!

[kepter]

Never tried running over 8km run before my first Marathon. Been used to daily 5-8km runs. My brother in law challenged me to take part in a Marathon. Finished in 3:42.57. And felt just like an average jog. Just find your comfy running speed and you can basicly run infinitely at that speed. Giving that you keep yourself hydrated. It's not rocket science. Listen to your body and do what it tells you.

[reynold_tv]

Thank you for the great advice. There is always new things you can learn. I'm running my first official marathon race in London in 3 weeks. I ran over the marathon distance 3 times (27, 28 and 30 miles) last year by myself at a relaxed/easy pace, purely just to see how far I could push myself physically and mentally. Following a marathon plan has helped me stay grounded and disciplined. I'm now in the tapering phase, and I am grateful for the interval workouts and long runs I have done over the past 13 weeks.

[jenniferstevenson]

I’ve never ran a 5k, but, I signed up for the Space Coast Marathon 11-2021, im going to start training tomorrow ✌️

[lucaspano]

Great video James! My last marathon was in 1996. I hope I manage to run another one when I'm 50...

[femmeclassique]

Aspen Valley Marathon, first timer, oct 16th 2021, so far sounds like I’ve been doing the right things, phew! Trickiest and most helpful part was figuring out what to drink and eat and when. I think it’s pretty dialed in. I’m excited! Tapering feels weird! I just want to run! One thing that has severely lacked for me, is strength training, so I’ll be sure to ramp that up — aft3qe the race as I want to try to do some longer ultras as well.

[chiefsonic]

I've done several half marathon races past few years. Next week will be my first full marathon at Detroit. Did a 16 week program and it was going great till mid September dealing with a plantar fasciitis pain. I took time off running and did some cycling to heal. I'm about 90 percent healed. I'm a little nervous for my first full race but if I can just finish, I'm happy. Love watching your videos. Happy running.

[LiljasLove]

Thanks for all the information and your training plan. I downloaded it and am getting ready to start training for my first marathon in Berlin. I checked out a few of your videos and am confident that I won't get injured following your schedule, so thanks a lot!

[rebeccasprowell]

Great advice and tips! I will be running my first ever marathon this year in October. I’m doing the Yorkshire marathon. I have 5 half marathons under my belt so going for the full one this year 😁🤞

[aquarecif]

My first marathon was the Paris marathon in 2021. I ran it to celebrate me turning 60 years old. My running experience was short (only 8 to 9 months since starting running). Since then, I ran 2 marathons, one in Burgundy (marathon des vins de la Côte Chalonnaise) where many people taste and drink wine during it (I didn't), and my third was last Saturday, le marathon du Médoc near Bordeaux in Pauillac, an incredible weekend of partying after the race. I have imrpoved tremendously in running that is I can run a marathon at a steady pace with variaionts of ony 10 to 20 seconds per km. My next goal is to increase speed and run even more regularly the 42.195 km or 26.2 miles. Thanks for your great video, congrats on putting all this together, your tips are very useful and I liked the video a lot!

[mattw]

I'm doing the Loch Ness marathon in October this year, my first ever! I also am doing the Bath Half in September. Going to follow this plan closely, because I have ruined myself in the past by trying to ramp things up without any clue of what I was doing!