While not everyone thinks the idea of running 26.2 miles is a good one, many people love the peace they find on the road alone during the hours of training or the feeling of satisfaction they get when they cross the finish line.

Sports Specific:
Tips to Run a Marathon
By Christina Leon
Word Count 645

While not everyone thinks the idea of running 26.2 miles is a good one, many people love the peace they find on the road alone during the hours of training or the feeling of satisfaction they get when they cross the finish line. More and more people are entering, training and finishing these amazing events.  From Olympic athletes to stay at home moms, anyone can run a marathon, and finish!  All you need is a training plan and the will to see it through.

Interestingly, after studying the training styles of 93 U.S. elite marathoners and how they trained, no one method on how to train was rated as ideal or optimal.  Each had their own program and each was very successful. The study was published in the International Journal of Sport Physiology and Performance. Running coach and exercise physiology Ph.D. student Jason Karp asked marathoners how they trained and the one constant was they all ran a lot, from 40 to 125 weekly miles, and more than 70 percent of their marathon training was at a relaxed pace. Beyond that, Karp was forced to conclude, "Among U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifiers, there is no consensus as to how to prepare for the marathon."

There are however some consistencies in the principles of training that emerge when you look at the accumulated data and science of running a marathon:

Don’t Overdo It

Staying healthy is the most important piece of marathon training advice, and the most often ignored. It is of no value to you to train for months only to run yourself to exhaustion or stress fracture.  It is better to train slightly less than necessary and be pumped and energized than to train yourself so hard that you lose the fervor for what you are doing. The trick, of course, is finding the balance between the two.

Train Slowly and Smartly

Again the idea is to build and be smart and safe.  Increase your weekly running distances by 10% per week.  As a rule of thumb, you can add a mile to your long runs each week up to 10 miles then add 2 miles per run once you are running over ten miles at a time.  A good starting guide for adding mileage is: 20 – 22 – 24 – 20 – 26 – 28 – 30 – 20.  Notice there are drops as the weeks go by, this is because you need rest to avoid injury and overtraining.

Train for Distance

Sounds obvious considering the nature of your event but if you are not running or run/ walking for two, three, even four hours at a time, you will not be able to handle the stress of the event on race day. The newer and slower you are, the more you need to train for time – lots of time.
Run at your desired race day pace

Get accustomed to running at the speed you will run the marathon in.  This is repetition, repetition, repetition.  The more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Eat for Your Event

Carbohydrates have received a bum rap lately as the culprit to putting on the pounds but the truth is you need those carbs to refuel your body after long runs. Protein will rebuild the muscles so be sure to get adequate protein as well. Running increases iron loss through sweating and pounding. You don't have to be a meat-eater to run a strong marathon, but you do have to consume enough iron. Cooking in an iron skillet helps, as does consuming iron-rich foods with vitamin C, which increases the body's iron absorption.

Taper your Training as Race Day Nears

A new study from Ball State University showed a gain in Type IIa muscle fiber strength, the fast, aerobic muscles that can adapt to improve your performance, after a three-week taper.

By Christina Leon, Staff Writer