How To Run A Marathon - Avoid These 3 Common Mistakes

If you’ve decided that running a marathon is something you would like to do and you have already committed some time to training, improving your fitness levels and your endurance so you have the physical ability to actually run a marathon, then learning exactly how to run a marathon will be the last part of the puzzle to put in to place. You should by now have built up your weekly mileage to a point where longer distances aren’t a challenge any more and if you’ve managed to avoid getting injured or picking up any niggles along the way, then the only remaining obstacle in achieving your goal is to go and run a marathon. As simple as that sounds, you need to avoid these 3 mistakes first time marathon runners often make: - Mistake #1 Setting Off Too Fast With the adrenalin pumping and the excitement of many weeks preparation boiling down to this one day, many people get carried away with the mood and start off the race at a pace that is much too fast to maintain. This early burst of speed will come back to haunt you during the latter stages of the race because it really takes it out of your legs and zaps your energy stores, leaving you wondering what happened to your energy levels. Mistake #2 Competitive Running Trying to keep up with someone else in the race, especially someone you’ve never met before, but have taken a dislike to being overtaken by is a big mistake. You have no idea what level of fitness other runners have and not everyone who is fit actually looks fit. Any bursts of speed or extra effort above what you have conditioned your body to do during training will always take its toll on you at some stage in the race. Mistake #3 Not Drinking Enough Not making use of the water stations along the course is another mistake, they are put there at regular intervals for a very good reason. When you become dehydrated your endurance and stamina will start to suffer. The best way to approach this is to take small sips of water or a carbohydrate drink regularly throughout the whole race especially towards the final stages. Beware of drinking too much in one go because this can lead to feelings of nausea and stomach cramps. If you want to learn how to run a marathon and how much training you need to do in order to accomplish this goal, then you need to fully understand what running a marathon is all about. Do some reading and some research in to how your body adapts to endurance training. Without this knowledge you run the very real risk of serious long term injury, let alone ever being able to run a marathon.