5 Reasons You Shouldn't Run a Marathon
I recently read an article titled “8 reasons you shouldn’t run a marathon” and the TOP REASON (in my opinion) wasn’t even listed. Actually, 4 of my reasons (outlined below) were not included.
*If you want to read that article, it’s here.
#1 Reason not to run a marathon:
You don’t want to.
While marathoning is a very popular goal for runners, there’s no reason to run the distance if you don’t want to. Marathoning isn’t for everyone. Don’t run a marathon (even once!) unless you want to.
#2 You’re Injured
If you have an injury (even minor) do not start training for a marathon. Focus on getting 100% healthy first to give yourself the best chance of handling the volume of training required to prepare for the distance.
If you’ve been training for a marathon and become injured and can’t get healthy before race day, do not run the marathon. Any injury (even minor) will definitely get worse over the course of 26.2 miles. Even if you’ve done a lot of training for the marathon, no amount of race day magic will prevent an injury from deteriorating during such a long race. Unfortunately you will lose your registration fees, but you’ll save yourself the time and money it would take to rehab your injury after the event.
Don’t push through an injury on race day. It isn’t safe, you may have to drop out (DNF) and if you don’t the injury will be even worse afterward. A DNF has its own downsides because the experience has a negative effect on race day mentality and expectations in the future.
#3 You’re Busy
Marathon training is a big time and energy commitment. If you are a very busy person (either with work, family, hobbies, or any combination), adding a marathon to the mix is a bad idea. Not only does the actual running take up a lot of time, but you will have to sleep more to recover and avoid illness and injury. Handling the training for a marathon and staying healthy also requires eating enough, regularly, consistently and promptly after sessions. Snacks on the go won’t cut it.
If you already find it difficult to get enough sleep or manage stress, do not run a marathon.
While running can be an excellent way to help reduce stress and carve time out for yourself, you don’t need to run several times a week and spend 3 hours every weekend to get this benefit. In fact, the amount of training required for marathon prep will add a whole different kind of stress to your body and life.
#4 You’re Injury Prone
If you’ve struggled with a variety of injuries in the past, running a marathon may be a bad idea. Of course, if the marathon is your dream, then go for it (assuming you are healthy at the onset of training). Do your best to train smart and take care of your body (enough FOOD and SLEEP).
But if you aren’t passionate about the marathon but really love your lifestyle of running, it may not be worth it to take on the risk of so much mileage.
Some runners use programs with very low mileage in the hopes of staying healthy during a marathon build, but unfortunately these runners end up not being very prepared on race day. Low mileage and marathoning aren’t a good match.
#5 You Love Sprinting, or you Hate Long Runs
The marathon experience is so much more than race day. You have to commit to training for the distance specifically for 3-4months.
In addition to the standard “weekend long run” a robust marathon program will also include mid-week runs of 10+ miles and will include absolutely no sprinting. A good training program will include some faster running intervals but even on these the intensity should not be near max effort. High intensity training requires lots of recovery which isn’t conducive to marathon training. For the marathon, we need to run a lot and be ready to run again the following day, for weeks on end.
If the training program doesn’t sound enjoyable, or if it cuts out what you love most about running, do not run a marathon. Continue to run and train in a way that you enjoy day to day so you can thrive in your lifestyle.