Can someone who runs marathons explain marathons?

I didn't do anything at any of these family events other than being there so none gave me any real satisfaction. They were things others in the family did and I imagine they got satisfaction from them.

There’s just something about doing several long runs up to 26 miles, training for months and delivering on race day that’s oddly satisfying. An odd addiction where you push huge miles per week just to drop 5 minutes in your race. Probably not worth it in the scheme of things but everyone needs some kind of hobby…

Runners who haven’t run a marathon have an inferiority complex. It’s because they always have to sheepishly answer “No” or lie when someone asks them if they’ve ever run one.

Centro even had a meme about how marathoners look down on non-marathon runners. This was after he ran his first marathon. So, even a gold medalist didn’t feel like a real runner until he ran a marathon.

Every runner should run a marathon and don’t even worry about the pace. Nobody cares. The important thing is being able to say that you ran one.

Do you think Jakob feels inferior to his older brother Kristoffer because he hasn't run a marathon yet?

I didn’t know his brother ran one but IMO, yes.

Whether right or wrong, the marathon distance has an aura around it unlike any other distance.

I’d bet Jacob eventually runs one.

Right. I'm sure El G was in mental anguish over retiring before having ever run a marathon as well. I suppose he wasn't a real runner either, thank you for the confirmation.

I’m talking about the perception. No one except running nerds has ever heard of EG.

if the average person non-runner finds out you’re a runner the first thing they ask you is whether or not you’ve run a marathon. It is what it is. Whether you’re butt hurt or not.

Translation: She wanted to be able to say she ran a marathon:

“Jenny Simpson concluded her legendary professional running career at the 2024 New York City Marathon, finishing 18th with a time of 2:31:54, a personal and emotional farewell to elite racing. Known for her incredible middle-distance success (1500m/mile), she embraced the marathon as a new challenge”

I love the long run. I don't the hype behind paying hundreds it of dollars + plus airfare, hotel, and food. I definitely don't like the ceremony of the Boston Marathon (posts about BQ, registration, acceptance, race day, and jacket). It's just one race. I've run a lot of marathons. Chicago and London and the entire pretty of races are awesome. Boston couldn't be that much better them!

I'd say if you are cashing in after 12 miles, you probably are not taking in enough calories and not running enough. It takes some training to get the body and mind ready to run a decent marathon. I do think some people are better suited to run marathons.

IMHO

Most of the marathon nerds posting here sound like this: "I am better then you because I run marathons and they are really really hard".

But the reality is, the majority of the best runners in the world don't run marathons - they run fast on a track.

Even Kipchoge could only find real success once he moved to the marathon - track was too hard.

I would have agreed with this once but money in the sport has moved to marathons and so have the best runners.

then why do you only do it if you get a t-shirt and finishing medal?

if you REALLY liked to run marathons, you would just go out the door and do it. Wouldn't even need to tell anyone.

I ran a marathon by accident once when I got lost. Once you get to a certain level of long runs, it's not a challenge at all. Maybe racing and Boston and all that is a way of pretending you still think it's hard to do.

Personally, I prefer the shorter distances as it allows me to race more. The marathon is too much training for not enough racing.

But as said, there is a prestige and an aura about it, unlike any other distance.

Without the marathon, nobody would know who Kipchoge is regardless of his accomplishments on the track.

The marathon is about 8 miles longer than most human bodies want to run at a hard or tempo pace. Ultra runners don't run as hard as competitive marathoners. Half marathons are a nice distance where you can push the entire way. The marathon offers you a challenge. Can you run hard after 18?

When you have one good one, it can allow you to feel like you conquered something.

At the participation level, the Half marathon is much more popular. For most people it takes as long to run as the length of a typical movie. So, it’s a good event, but it just doesn’t have the same prestige as the full.

The marathon is the perfect endurance running event. It doesn't take your whole day, fast people are a little over 2 hours, a lot of other people are 3 hours and change. That's similar duration to most major sporting events. It's a distance that when you're trained you can push a pretty good pace the whole time, but there's a lot of factors like pacing, fueling, running in a pack, tactics on when to let yourself pick up the pace. If you don't like long runs then you're more of a mid distance runner, 5k race is basically mid-distance. Which is why a 1500m olympic champ won the 5k world championships this year.

It starts as a challenge to oneself. Then it becomes a challenge to improve oneself. And then it just becomes a way of life. Train for four months then race, rest, repeat. Life was good.

The average Marathon time for men is over 4 hours; women, close to five.

The Half is perfect event at the participation level. The marathon for the mid packer is an ordeal.

That's due to all the people running a marathon that haven't actually trained for a marathon. The average marathon time for only looking at anyone who actually ran 30+ miles per week for a couple months is going to be under 4 hours. So ya, if you don't run very much and run close to 5 hours, then I understand why you don't like the marathon. And as a spectator, I understand why you wouldn't want to watch a 5 hour marathon. But if you're racing 3 hours or watching a WMM on TV the marathon is a great distance.