I made tons of mistakes while training for my first marathon. Run your best marathon with these marathon training tips for beginners.

My first marathon preparation was far from ideal, but I did pick up Four Hours to the Four Hour Marathon,” and dutifully run several times a week. After a few weeks, I began to dream- big- especially considering I only had sixteen weeks total to train.

I did long runs and tempo runs, and all kinds of runs. I made the four classic running mistakes as well as the fatal flaw—setting a big time goal for your first marathon.

Using the McMillan running calculator I strategized about the best possible time goal I could achieve and went for that.

If you’re a seasoned runner you’ll recognize many of my mistakes already. I should have allowed more time for marathon preparation and avoided a stringent time goal for my first marathon. I also should have trained with heart rate and payed attention to it during the race!

See: Run training plan tips

Marathon Race Day

Finally, the day arrived. It was humid and windy and rainy, a non-record-setting marathon day in an objective sense. Yet I was undeterred. I had an ambitious “A” goal I was embarrassed to say aloud. I had mentioned it to my dad, and race morning, he gently suggested revising my goal based on the conditions.

But I was having none of it. It was my time or bust, even if it permanently injured me.

I started with a pace group, but didn’t wear the bib on race morning. I imagined other athletes looking me up and down like “yeah right, she thinks she can run that fast?”

What if I slowed substantially, and my pace group finished twenty minutes ahead of me? “Aww good job,” the spectators would say with pity in their eyes, as I shuffled to a finish, my bib proclaiming exactly how far I had fallen. So instead I lurked on the fringe of the pace group, one foot in, one foot out.

The pacer started fast, chatting along the way. We were banking time–not generally a good strategy. Our pacer dutifully picked up gels for us when there was a stop. He had yelling conversations with other pacer friends as they headed the other way.

After a while, the wind picked up, and it started raining. One by one, our little crew started dropping off. By this time, we were a few minutes ahead of our stated race pace goal. It was warm, and, did I mention our pacer was pacing too fast? And boy did he talk a lot. My calf muscle, which had given me trouble in training, started hurting more and more. It felt like it was literally ripping. I ignored it and figured I’d deal with the fallout later.

When we passed a group going the other way, our pacer had a moment of panic. “We took a wrong turn!” he screamed, taking the whole group on an immediate 180-degree turn. A mutiny was brewing. Some of the group refused to turn, and others were too exhausted to do anything other than follow blindly (like me).

After a couple of minutes our pacer realized we had been going the right way the first time. So we all turned around again. Now there were only eight of so of us left, and we were five minutes behind pace.

He tried to “catch us up,” but the damage was already done. We were totally wiped, and I’m pretty sure no one actually finished up with the pacer. I did not end up reaching my time goal that day, but I did end up tearing my calf, an injury that plagued me for years. And, I ended up learning a couple of important lessons race day lessons:

Marathon Training Tips for Beginners

• Run your own race. Whether it’s a marathon or a 5K, someone running the same time goal is unlikely to pace the exact same way. Maybe they’re a better hill runner or maybe they’re more efficient on the downhill portion of the run.
• Always know the course. Easy to say, but hard for us directionally challenged folks to do. Still, it is  technically the athlete’s responsibility to know the course.
• Don’t stick your safety pin through a disposable timing chip. After all that effort my first marathon didn’t even “count.” They eventually gave me credit online, but for a long time I was shown as a big fat DNF!
• Have an A, B, and C goal. That day I learned the importance–crucial–of adjusting your goal to the conditions.

How to run a marathon for beginners

Need a beginner 5k training plan to get started? Be sure to grab a copy. Just click below and tell me where to send it.

Beginner Marathon Training FAQs

As you embark on your own marathon training, you’ll undoubtedly have your own questions about marathon training for first-timers.

What does race pace mean?

Race pace literally means the speed at which you attempt to run your race. For your first marathon, most coaches would advise you to loosely plan an A, B, and C goal without getting overly tied up in the time.

Your first marathon is special and only happens once!

Did you learn any other powerful lessons during your first (or most recent) race? Let me know in the comments!

How do you train for a marathon?

Use a quality training plan, hire a coach, or pick up a marathon training book.

How long does it take to go from couch to marathon

If you’re already running regularly, give yourself four to six months to train. If you’re really going from the couch, start with a simple 5k plan. After you’re running 3 – 5 times a week for a few months you may be ready to tackle a marathon training cycle.

See: start running from scratch

Can you run a marathon without training?

Technically, one could, or at least they could try, but IMO its not a worthwhile pursuit. It would not be enjoyable nor would you perform well.

Here are some other beginner running FAQS that I’ve covered in more details in other posts:

What running gear do I need?

How to make running a habit

How to get faster at running

I hope these ideas enable to tackle your beginner marathon training and avoid some of my beginner marathon mistakes. Which marathon are you signed up for? Let me know in the comments!

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The roadmap to your first finish line:

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