Running a marathon at 17

1985 I ran the Los Angeles Marathon. I had a bad day and ran 2:55 with walking. An 11 year old girl passed me and ran 2:45

I ran my first two marathons in 1982 and 1983 at ages 16 and 17 and I can tell you that you can run a marathon at this age. I would suggest running for a couple of years before doing it. Get racing experience at 5K to half marathon distances and ramp up your training.

it is most definitely possible but I would suggest to stick to shorter races since you are young and focus on working in your speed and endurance rather than throwing your body into such a taxing event. You have time so be patient. Especially, if you want to run well and run well for a while.

Piznut wrote:

"Hello, I'm a beginner in running and I really love that. I started about 8 months ago, the only workouts I do are slow 8-10 miles runs and sometimes I do 12 miles. At the end of my runs I'm going fast. Currently I'm running 5 or 6 days per week and doing about 35 or 40 miles.

I already ran 3 races : 10K, 7K and 8,5K with hills. I did 10K in 45' but I ran it in September so that was when I started running (1 month of practice). I won the 7K in my category with 26:45 and I finished 3rd on the hilly 8,5K with 34:00. My PR on a flat 10K is 38:50.

I will be 17 in a few months and I'm wondering if it was possible to run a marathon at this age."Thanks in advance for your responses."

I ran a 100 miler at age 17.

PR'd in every distance while training for it

MizCarrera wrote:

it is most definitely possible but I would suggest to stick to shorter races since you are young and focus on working in your speed and endurance rather than throwing your body into such a taxing event. You have time so be patient. Especially, if you want to run well and run well for a while.

I would agree with this. Marathon is a good event to leave until you are older but if you really wanna do it then have at it. I think you need to build your mileage to be satisfied with your time though. 26 miles is far different that 12

why aren't you racing your peers in HS?