Marathon Running: Starting Out

If you are thinking about completing a ½ or full marathon...welcome to the elite club of runners. Even as popular as these races are becoming the numbers thrown out are between 0.1% and 2% of the world's population that ever complete a full marathon with a ½ marathon being around 1%.

Don't let these numbers scare you off though. If you are healthy and can commit to the training you can complete a distance event.

Training program: The key is to find a training program that fits your particular running needs and stick with it. Higdon and Galloway have really good plans for all levels. Once you get your training schedule put it on your calendar and organize the rest of your non-running tasks around training.

Finding a local running group that is training for the same race or one close to the same date is a great way to keep motivated and get constant help and advice from others.

Shoes: Once you have your plan down you will need shoes. This is a bit more complicated than going to your local sporting goods chain and buying the neatest looking running shoe on the shelf. Find a local running specialty store and have them get you properly fitted. They should watch you run/walk before they put you into a shoe and watch you again after each and every pair you try on. Your shoes are going to take you many many miles and you want them to fit properly. Having the right shoe is one of the most important aspects to running and will help eliminate some of the more common running injuries.

Clothing: Not as complicated as shoes but not as easy as throwing on sweat pants and a t-shirt either. Your running clothes, including socks, should be comfortable and made of technical wicking fabric that will pull moisture away from your body. This will help prevent blisters and chafing as well as help keep you cool and comfortable when running.

Other equipment: There are a ton of items for runners and it can be hard to weed through what you will need and what you can do without. I recommend a fuel belt at least for long training runs, an anti-chafing aid and a good GPS running watch that displays your distance, time, pace and heart-rate.

Now that you have your plan, shoes, clothes, equipment and hopefully a nice running group...get out there and train and become part of the elite few to finish a ½ or full marathon!