I'm running the Amsterdam Marathon this Sunday. I tried my best to keep to my training schedule but for a couple of reasons I had to slightly tinker with my training and so only managed a longest run so far of 18, rather than 20-22 as I had planned. I did that five weeks ago, but felt pretty much fine all the way round - my pace hardly slowed in the last couple of minutes although psychologically it felt I was.

I just wondered if anyone had any tips on how best to make sure I get myself round the full 26, particularly those last eight miles.

I did the Great North Run two weeks ago, and was a little bit taken over by the excitement of the event and hence went off far too quickly. Since Amsterdam is flat, I won't suffer from the tiredness I got at the top of the climb in the GNR, and I plan to try and stick to 8mins per mile, and get as near to my target time of 3hr 30mins as possible. But to be frank if I manage anything below 4hrs I'll be pleased.

ive never ran that far so no tips apart from keep going... but good luck!!

sorry I am not use either but you sound like you will do great, best of luck and look out for Trinity (fellow forumite) she is running it too.

If you know you set off too quickly at GNR do your very best to try and avoid that at the marathon.

Let us know how you get on

__________________
A loser is not the one who runs last in the race. It's the one who sits and watches and who has never tried to run.
Bird in Boots Oh what have I done FLM09

I've only done one, but the big big lesson I learnt from it was going off too fast is a killer, I did and ended up crashing in the last 6 miles.

If you've done reasonable mileage in the buildup (30 miles + for several weeks) then I would advise you to aim for a time of 2 x your 1/2m pb + 20 mins. This should prevent you from crashing late on.

If you've done less mileage then I would even be tempted to change the target to 1/2m x 2 + 30 minutes. If you've done more you could target 1/2m x 2 + 15 minutes. Some people will recommend 2 x 1/2m + 10 minutes, but this is only feasible in my opinion off very high mileage (at least 60+ miles a week).

What was you half time in the GNR?

Whatever you decide, you are in for a great experience! You'll be able to call yourself a marathon runner which is something to be very proud of!

Never experienced one, but I've often heard the saying "The half-way point in a marathon is 20miles"... so making sure you run well within yourself at the start is a must.

Best of luck for Sunday (I'll be doing a mere 13.1 miles ) Best of luck to Trin as well

__________________
Runners Forum Winter Social @ Castle Combe - Been, Gone, a complete success
www.richardsimkiss.co.uk - 'Lady Godiva Half Marathon' Race Report Added 27/10/08

Thanks Rich

peanut... I'm over in Amsterdam for the marathon too, I'll be wearing black shorts, blue Hogweed Trotters vest with a black Tshirt underneath it, if you see me say hi

If this is your first marathon I'd really suggest that you don't place any importance on finish time. Your first marathon is a huge learning experience, and you don't yet know how your body is going to deal with running that far.

So you want to keep the target as wide open as possible.

It's not just about the physical in a marathon, your head plays a huge part, especially in the last 6 to 8 miles, so you don't want the added stress of a target pace/time.

Start off by running very easy for at least the first 5 miles. Break the race down into chunks of miles ie 5 mile chunks.

The work really starts at about 18 to 20 so you have to keep some in reserve for that.

Whatever you do it will be a PB anyway...so just enjoy your first marathon experience, coz you'll never get another first marathon

Good luck

__________________
100k on a Crosstrainer.. for the bears
https://www.bmycharity.com/V2/100kcrosstrainerchallenge

Thanks for all the tips.

Trinity, I've tried to break my training into little chunks so I'm definitely going to aim for each five miles. But I think the biggest piece of advice I'll take there is to not set any target time. My main worry going in is that I haven't met the top end of my training, so I want to save as much as possible for the last eight miles. My main challenge will be keeping down my pace for the first 5 miles - I always go off too fast, whether it be training or races.

Also, in response to LazyJones, my time for the Great North Run was 1hr36. I was hoping to get towards 1hr30 but the night before I set out a plan which got a time of 1hr36. Let's say I didn't stick to the splits but I still matched the time. So 3hr30 would actually match that but I guess no target time is the best bet.

Anyway good luck to you too Trinity and anyone else doing it.

Well I managed it in 3:49:43. The first half I did in 1:47 and then my times started to slow a little bit. But once I got through 18 miles it was very hard. Still I somehow managed to keep on running right to the end despite my legs and feet telling me to stop.

Well done, peanut

Just finishing a marathon is an enormously impressive achievement in my book, and 3:49 is a very respectable time.

__________________
I feel good... da da da da da da

Great effort peanut.

What`s next.

Well done peanut!! Sub 4 is a great time!!

__________________
100k on a Crosstrainer.. for the bears
https://www.bmycharity.com/V2/100kcrosstrainerchallenge

Blimey - good effort mate.

Not sure. My first reaction was I'm not going to do a marathon again, but will do a few halves / 10ks. But I'm not going to say "never" and two days afterwards, I feel more positive about doing another one.

I couldn't have asked for better running conditions for my first marathon. As you'd expect, the course was as flat as you will ever find unless you run however many laps of the track you need (!) and the weather was nigh on perfect for running. But on the other side, my training was far from ideal and I suffered a number of setbacks. I didn't even know if I'd start until a few days before the race because of a knee problem.

Still, I'm delighted with my efforts.

You should be delighted, Peanut, that was a cracking result.

Hi Peanut,

Congratulations! A really good debut! Those Marathon's are tough buggers arn't they - nice time and to run the whole thing is something to be proud of.