Five reasons to try a marathon

For many runners, the marathon is high on their race bucket list. There are a lot of runners out there, however, who couldn’t care less about the marathon. If you’re one of those people, it’s totally fine to stick to half-marathons and 10Ks, but it’s worth trying the full marathon distance at least once. 

New mental challenges 

No matter the race, you’re going to experience a mental battle at some point. Unlike a 5K, which is over relatively quickly, in the marathon, you can hit the wall with more than an hour left of running, which means you’ll have a lot of time on the race course trying to convince yourself to keep pushing. This is when the race shifts from a physical battle to a mental one, and while it’ll be tough, it will also be incredibly rewarding to grind through those dark moments. 

Confidence boost 

Even if you don’t do another marathon, knowing you conquered such a massive race will definitely boost your confidence. Shorter races will still be hard, but when things get tough in those runs, you’ll be able to draw on your experience in the marathon and remind yourself that you’ve gone much farther and pushed through more exhaustion before. 

Trying new things 

It’s easy to stay inside your comfort zone, but it’s incredibly valuable to venture outside it from time to time. Doing a marathon is scary, there’s no doubt about it, but you’ll grow as a runner if you take that leap and give it a try. Also, you might love it. If you never try a marathon, though, you’ll never find out if it’s the distance for you. 

You can do it 

If you’ve run other races, you can complete a marathon. It’s definitely a commitment–you’ll need to train properly and prepare well for the race (plan on devoting about four months to your “build”), but, as any marathoner will tell you, it’s be worth it for the fitness and endurance you’ll be creating, and for the sense of accomplishment that comes with completing a marathon. 

The marathon is ‘the’ race 

Rightly or wrongly, the marathon is considered the ultimate running event. Everyone knows about this race, and, when the topic of running comes up, runners and non-runners alike are always going to ask you if you’ve done a marathon. We don’t agree that the marathon is the most important event out there, but you might as well do at least one so you can answer yes when people inevitably ask you that question. 

posted Saturday May 6th
by Running Magazine