Marathon running is gaining popularity. Every year more runners, and non runners, are signing up to run this majestic distance. With the desire to be part of the amazing marathon experience and achieving something extraordinary that creates a memory for life. The more people achieve this challenge, the more attainable it seems to become. And the more people believe that running a marathon can be done with little to no training… And I contribute to that believe, by running my last marathon seemingly untrained.

The finish line

When you see runners finishing the marathon with tears in their eyes, it shows how incredible the experience can be. I understand that watching runners cross that finish line makes people want to experience the same intense emotions… (or maybe for some not at all). What we shouldn’t forget however is that it is not about that physical line on the ground. The finish line is a symbol for the end of a journey most runners work long and hard for. Without that work it would not have the same meaning, I’m sure.

Running a marathon

I remember, years ago, how scary the thought was of running the forty two and something kilometers of the marathon. Having done dozens of half marathon, with 1.36 as best time, I was still very much afraid of running a full marathon. I was doubting myself, not sure whether I could run such a distance. When more runners around me starting to sign up for the iconic distance I started to feel more comfortable I could do it too.

Training for my first marathon

I googled and downloaded a marathon training schedule and planned to get myself ready for my first marathon in September, the Berlin marathon. It was only February and so I had plenty of time to train for it. I thought it would be a good idea to increase my training volume right away so I would be ready to start my training schedule, which would start three months before the marathon. By increasing my training volume from about sixty to a hundred kilometers a week it was no surprise when I got injured and had to sit my first marathon out, standing and cheering my team mates on on the sideline.

It is all about balance

There is an important balance when it comes to preparing for any race. You need to train hard and push the limits but you also need to be and stay fit, especially on the day of the race. With experience you will find the balance that works for you. I now know I need one or sometimes even two weeks of rest, or lower intensity training, after an intense training block of usually four to five weeks.

I have run six official marathons since, a few trail runs of a similar distance and a multi-day ultra trail of one hundred and eighty kilometres through the desert.

Recovering from a marathon

After I ran the hundred and eighty kilometres in four days last December it was not only the race I needed to recover from. As my preparation time for this race was short, due to a scheduled ankle surgery in September, my training block had to be extra intense to get me ready on time. After the Coast to Coast ultra trail I felt very tired for quite some time.

I continued training a few weeks after the trail, but it felt like I was doing almost nothing compared to the ten to thirteen hour weeks of training I did before. I would run maybe two times a week no more than ten kilometres at the time and go to the gym for a HIIT training once or twice a week, but no specific strength work.

“Whether I would finish or drop out I would find out within the next four hours or so”

When work got busier, including nine travels in four months, and my body felt a bit achy, I only ran only about five kilometres on average a week without any additional strength training two months before the Paris Marathon, April 14. Training so little for two months before the marathon made me feel incredibly unprepared. I decided not to run.

Running Marathon Paris

When we were driving to Paris for the ASICS FrontRunner International meeting where most of the hundred and fifty runners would participate in the Paris marathon I was starting to feel a bit left out with my decision not to run. Maybe you could call it group pressure or FOMO (fear of missing out), but on the day of the marathon I found myself geared up and ready to run the Paris Marathon. This time without any expectations. The only thing I knew for certain is that I would start, and run at a relatively comfortable pace. Whether I would finish or drop out I would find out within the next four hours or so.

My priority was clear

I had a modelling job for Trek Bike in the week after the marathon so it was important not to get injured or push myself too hard. So hard that I wouldn’t be able to walk normal for a week. My priority was clear; as long as it felt good I would continue to run, in any other case I would stop. From the start my legs felt surprisingly good. My heart rate was lower than expected and my pace faster. Had I accidentally done the tapering right this time, I wonder. I ran together with a team mate. After about thirty kilometres into the race she started to struggle. As | was enjoying running together and I wasn’t racing for a time I decided to stick with her. We ran together, talked, laughed, cried all the way to that finish line. And after four hours and fifteen minutes we crossed that line hand in hand.

I never thought to be running a marathon with so little training, but what I have to consider is that I have always trained a lot and apparently have a decent fitness base. Even though the ultra trail in December was a few months earlier, the level of endurance I had built up for that race does not disappear that fast.

Creating memories

I think running a marathon is a great achievement and something you should be trained for. And that is also the magic of it. The harder you work for it, the greater the reward. Because, let’s be honest, as much as I loved the experience of this amazing marathon in Paris, it has not been my greatest achievement. Not because I’ve run longer distances or faster marathons, but merely because I had not worked as hard for it. There is something magical about achieving a goal you had to work for. It is not just about the finish line. It is the end of the journey we celebrate at that line. Those are the emotions you see and that is what makes it memorable. And isn’t that why we do anything; the experience and the memories?

What was your most memorable finish? Let me know in the comments.