at what goal pace should you start warming up for the marathon?

I don't warm up at all for marathons. Just a bit of walking to get to the start line. Marathon pace is pretty low intensity, so it doesn't feel like a shock or anything to get right into it, though I also start slow, running the first mile about 10 seconds/mile slower than MP. My PR is 2:51 if that makes any difference. I make sure that I wake up early and drink some coffee and eat a small snack to clear out my system. I'm not sure that a short run would help with that. Maybe.

I doubt a short run would hurt, but it would honestly play on my mind if I did one, given the distance of the race. I don't think like that at all for a half, where I'll run as much as a 4 miles warm up.

When you walk out the door for an easy run, can you jump into 7:00 miles right from the start? If you can, you might not need any warmup. I can't, though. I shuffle along at 8:30-50 pace for a mile or two.

But I still wouldn't do a 2-mile warm-up for a marathon. What worked well for me recently was jogging a half mile slowly, doing something else for a while, jogging another half mile a bit faster, waiting around some more, and then doing a couple MP strides. Then fill in the rest of the time before the race with nervous pacing, hitting the bathroom, and walking over to the starting line.

2 miles seems like a terrible idea for premarathon prep. Id do some skipping, leg swings, high knees, etc. Keep it short and light. Just enough that you arent stiff. Do this like 2 hours before the race and then again like 20 minutes before the race.

I've never raced a marathon, but I don't see anything wrong with jogging two miles or so before a marathon.

The OP asked about goal pace.

I think if you're over 3:30 or so, just start off slowly.

At 3 hour projected, maybe warm up a half-mile or so.

Below that, 1 to 2 miles might be needed.

On the GI issue, foam rolling for a couple of minutes early in the morning always helps me clear things out before a race.

10-15 min running drills: High knees, A skips, B skips, C Skips, cycling ( high knees but cycling the legs while doing it), butt kicks.

15-20 min warm up run.

I do that for all of my races , regardless of the distance.

Makes racing so much easier.

Scorpion_runner wrote:

10-15 min running drills: High knees, A skips, B skips, C Skips, cycling ( high knees but cycling the legs while doing it), butt kicks.

15-20 min warm up run.

I do that for all of my races , regardless of the distance.

Makes racing so much easier.

I've run 2:15 and 2:18. Both of those I only jogged super slow for 10 minutes before the start.

I feel like an extra half hour of warm-up before running a marathon would just throw off my nutrition plan and make me bonk early.