A Quick Guide to Beginners Marathon Training

The way an experienced runner will approach training will be very different to a beginners marathon training schedule. Beginners have no experience of running and very poor basic fitness levels, whilst an experienced runner has already built a foundation of fitness.

This can be both good and bad in that progress will be much faster, but bad in that improper technique may have been thoroughly learned. Where a beginner benefits is that they can learn the grass roots basics first and then progress from there in a safe and progressive way.

Before you even step one foot on to the tarmac, there a few points you need to be considered before starting any beginners marathon training schedule: -

#1 Give Your Body an Overhaul

Before starting any form of activity or exercise it is strongly advised to get a check up from your doctor. There may be some underlying health issues that you weren’t aware of that can affect your ability to run. Any niggling injuries or long term joint problems also need to be rectified.

#2 Invest In Your Interest

The very minimum requirements you need are at least one good pair of running shoes, ideally selected for you by staff who have access to gait analysis software, usually found at the better running stores.

For you to fully understand the way your body should respond to training and more importantly how that training should be structured as well as learning how to spot the signs of overtraining and fuelling your body to achieve the best results it is going to be essential that you learn all you can about the subject.

One last point is that you are more than likely going to run in all weather conditions and temperatures and so are going to need the right types clothing. Things such as waterproofs, thermal underwear and running socks are all items that will improve your experience and make running far more comfortable.

#3 Build A Solid Foundation Of Fitness

At the start you will more than likely be extremely eager to train, but you should be wary of doing this. Instead start off slowly and increase distances and speeds as you become more capable and less challenged. I suggest that you leave at least 24 – 48 hours in between particularly challenging runs to begin with, but listen to your body and take longer to recover if you need it.

If you can’t run at all to begin with, you will need to lower you expectations a little and plan for a longer training time to get to the point where you can run your first marathon. Instead of running, you should aim to power walk up until you are able to jog from there you can progress a little faster. Running 3 times a week should be enough to start seeing improvements.

Having a goal of running a marathon is a wonderful target to aim at but please make sure that your beginners marathon training schedule is more than simply a chart with a list of days, miles or times. There is far more to marathon training than this.