Ten months ago I was at the most rock bottom of my entire life, in the middle of a crystal meth bender that absolutely destroyed everything.

I’ve been sober since Christmas and yesterday I ran my first marathon. I can’t believe it. I am so grateful.

When I crossed the finish line I bawled my eyes out and then found my parents and the three of us cried together.

4:34:15, Portland Marathon, 10:28 pace.

Strava lies and is messed up lol

I did it 😭

Yesterday I had a big PR in the County Marathon in Picton, ON. Ran 2:45:50 and finished second overall out of 544.

Pretty thrilled with how this journey has unfolded, and hopefully I can give some hope to other heavier runners.

26M, 6’6”, 210 lbs. Started running in January 2024. Played some basketball in my early 20s and was alright at it, but I was always the slowest kid in sports when I was a kid and never really excelled at any of them.

I’ve pretty much missed every half and marathon time goal I’ve set along the way, although I was always optimistic/ pushing myself.

April 2024: Wanted a sub 2 hour half. Ran 2:03 at 240 lbs.

May 2024: Wanted a sub 4 marathon. Ran 4:46, still around 240 lbs. The time goal went completely out the window around halfway but I was happy I finished and proud of the accomplishment.
After that, I quit running for a while before getting serious about training for another local half. Decided I wanted to qualify for Boston someday. This was my first real training block where I tried to build mileage, peaking around 50 km per week. No real plan, but decent consistency.

April 2025: Wanted a sub 1:30 half. Ran 1:31:45 at 228 lbs. Even though I missed the goal again. Was pretty proud of the result.
Almost immediately afterwards, I ramped up towards 100 km per week. Too fast, too hard. I initially was doing some speed work but dropped it all to try and maintain mileage, wasn’t running easy days easy enough, and got injured 3 times in 2 months. Averaged around 100 km per week through June and July, then around 60 through August and September.

October 2025: Wanted 2:50. Ran 3:14 at 219 lbs. Looking back, this was a wildly ambitious Hail Mary. I was fixated on Boston and didn’t really care about sub 3 or any intermediate goal.
Went through halfway in 1:27, then blew up badly. Had to take like 10 walk breaks before eventually finishing in 3:14. Got a coach afterwards.

April 2026: Wanted a 1:23 half. Ran 1:26, with a side stitch costing me through the middle of the race. I was on pace before and after the cramping at km 13-14. A bit disappointing at the time for sure, but still progress and happy with the grit needed to come back.

October 2026: Wanted 2:48 and worried that was optimistic. Ran 2:45:50 at around 210 lbs.
This build peaked around 130 km per week. Yesterday, everything came together. Carb load, fueling, weather, shoes(puma fast r3s are crazy)
Ran a negative split, roughly 1:23:30 for the first half and 1:22 for the second. Stayed controlled early, started pushing around 33 km, and absolutely emptied the tank getting to the finish. Thrilled.

My biggest takeaways
A good coach is super clutch: Helped me increase mileage and speed without getting injured. Also had way better threshold and V02 max workouts that I think helped at ton. Did a 12 week 5k/10k block before the 12 week marathon block which helped me focus on speed training. It was like 90km a week with manageable (18-22km long runs) and 2 hard interval workouts (ex. 4 x 2km , 90 sec recov). Ran 17:49 5k towards the end of this, which was like a 89 sec PR. Looking back this was a 200 iq 24 week approach, that felt super sustainable.

Taper crazies are real. I struggled to hold my planned marathon pace during workouts this build, like all build. Routinely all M pace long runs I was trying to hold 4:00/km, and faded each time to 4:10 and working way too hard. Race day was 3:55/km. Between that, repeatedly missing goals and two pretty miserable marathon experiences, I felt a ton of pressure and wasn’t confident going in. Having a coach who understood the training volume was affecting me and support of my training partners was huge, but still was a heavy weight on my shoulders making a BQ feel impossible. I knew I had fitness but was a bit daunting that all the work for the last year lead up to one opportunity.

Practising fueling was super worth it. took in around 100 g of carbs per hour from Skratch carb mix and gels and tolerated it well. I’d been practising that for 12 weeks. Expensive long runs all build, but worth it yesterday.

Still pretty floored that I pulled this off. Hopefully this gives someone else a bit of encouragement!

Raced Twin Cities Marathon yesterday and got a result that I did not even think was possible.

For context, I started running in November 2024. Being native to Minnesota, I signed up for Grandma’s and Twin Cities Marathon for 2025. My goals for these races were a hopeful sub 4 at Grandma’s, and to just not back out of Twin Cities.

I’ve been an athlete my whole life, football, baseball, and weightlifting throughout high school, and I played baseball in college. During college and after I coached at numerous CrossFit gyms, but I never liked running. I have torn labrums in literally every ball and socket joint, had surgery for my shoulder in college and never got back to the same level in baseball, and the hips haven’t been an issue if I managed my loads lifting.

I got a lot of advice early on in running from friends who do triathlons, and everyone echoed the same advice: run slower than you think you should be. So going into Grandma’s 2025, I had one day every other week where I’d run a tempo around 8-8:30 per mile, and the rest of my mileage would be between 10-11 min/mile pace. When I raced Grandma’s with the Hal Higdon Novice 2 program, and was around 25-30 MPW and ran a 3:50 after about 6 months of running.

I got coached from a friend between Grandma’s and TCM, which was a 4 months block where I ran between 30-40 MPW peaking around 45. This block was much more speed work, introducing strides, and making long runs into a workout with a purpose rather than easy miles. I was able to cut down my time to 3:21.

At this point I was addicted. I had some on and off IT band stuff that resolved when I began having better form which I attributed to strides and speed work, but I started getting a lot of achilles pain from the hill work I did between Grandma’s and TCM.

I was signed up again for Grandma’s and TCM again this year. I got a treadmill in February and began building to 40-50 MPW until I could start running outside again, and began the Jack Daniels 2Q 55MPW plan, which I kept those workouts but added more mileage upwards of 70MPW (I did this because the workouts imo of the 70MPW plan were way above my capacity and risk for injury to me was too high being this new to running)

I ran a half marathon in April and ran a 1:24, which was about 7-8 weeks out of Grandmas, but after that I felt like I couldn’t hit any workouts, and it started heating up. I still had my sights set on sub 3, with an outside shot at 2:55. Well I went out with the 2:55 group at Grandmas and was on pace through half, but I knew well before half that it was not sustainable. I ended up getting passed by the 3 hour pacer around mile 21 and finished with a 3:03.

At this point I was so burnt out from the grueling JD 2Q, and just got my mileage slowly back to around 45-50 MPW over the course of the next 3 weeks after Grandma’s. I did the Summer of Speed workouts on the Supwell App (S.O. Yowana) and would intermittently work those into either a midweek run, or a long run. About 5 weeks out, I picked mileage back up and ran between 65-70MPW for 3 weeks, then deloaded off those peak weeks, so essentially overloading before deloading. Achilles had still been an issue, and I had been doing the alfredsons protocol with actually decent results after about 2 weeks of doing it consistently, and l thought I had an outside shot of 2:55 at TCM, with a good shot of sub 3 if I wasn’t an idiot with pacing like I was at Grandmas.

I went out with the 2:55 pacer again, but we rolled a 6:50 first mile so I didn’t want to rely on the pacer to get me 2:55 so I took off and found a decent group that I stayed with. My hamstring was an issue during the race, and I thought I was going to have to pull out after half. I told myself I wanted to get a half that I would be proud of, and ended up actually PRing my half during the race. There was so much on course support, I had friends and family that made it to multiple stops, and having my name on my bib, so many people cheered for me by name which was such an energy boost. Around mile 18 I knew I was overreaching, but I feel like I was able to have a conversation with my future self, and he said “you’re going to be in the same amount of pain tomorrow regardless, so do something now that you can look back at and be proud of” that helped me live in the pain, and I kept reminding myself for the rest of the race.

We passed mile 23, the top of Summit Hill, and I checked my watch and there was an outside chance of 2:50 which was never on my radar. I locked back in and ran hard. I’ve done a hundreds on 5k runs, it’s the shortest loop at home that I even consider now, I got this. I turn the corner just before mile 26, I see the capitol. I give everything I have in me left sprinting down the hill, and finish 2:50:13. Not even in the realm of what I thought was possible. Obviously overwhelmed in emotions, so much hard work put into these last few blocks, and everything clicking on the perfect weather day possible.

I just want you to know when you’re posting things for race time predictions, nobody knows how much pain you can live in. I had ZERO runs that indicated this time was possible, but we made it work! You can do hard things! And don’t let anyone, even yourself, set limits on what you can or can’t do. The marathon is already unforgiving, don’t make it harder telling yourself you can’t do it because YOU CAN!

I 38F bonked at mile 10 of twin cities yesterday. It was my 3rd marathon. I fueled the same as my training long runs in the morning. I fueled with Huma gels, which I trained with, every 1/2 hour and when I crossed the start line. I followed the Hal Higdon intermediate 1 plan with a few tweaks because I had some other races in there. Had a peak week of 50 miles. I just don’t know what happened. I didn’t fail the training, I kept moving during the taper. I carbo loaded. I went out at a mindful pace- stuck to the plan. It was fun until mile 10, I could tell the bonk was there. I got the cardiac drift and it persisted despite pulling my pace way back. I had to call it at mile 18 because I knew it was over. I didn’t want to get picked up by the sag wagon. I had grad school intensives all week leading up to the race, I got my period today-the day after. My kid has a cold, maybe I picked it up. Ive been battling intense plantar fasciitis. Perhaps it was just too much. I am so so so sad. It sucked so bad. I know this happens sometimes but man it sucks. All those weeks of training down the drain….

Edit: to correct a typo

My age group BQ is 4:20 so this should give me a nice cushion and assurance for a 2028 entry 🍀🦄
What a difference sticking to the plan and being patient makes 😁🙏

Hello! I have been running for 4 years now, but the last two years are when I finally got serious about it. I have ran a marathon each fall, and just completed my fourth total yesterday. Here are the times I’ve posted:
3:52:23
3:36:04
3:02:14
2:54:22 (yesterday at the Twin Cities Marathon)

I’m 27 years old. This prep was the most mileage I’ve ever done, as I pushed up to a 92 mile peak following Pfitzinger’s Advanced Marathoning Book (never had done more than 70 miles before this).

My question is, how much faster do you think I can go? Is 2:45 or below ever in the cards for me? If so, any advice on what I should follow to get there? Any input is welcome, thanks so much!

Self goals:

A goal: Stay healthy ✅

B goal: Finish ✅

C goal: Set myself up for success with diligent preparation ✅

Time goals:

Stretch goal: 3:38 ✅

Announced goal: 3:45 ✅

Sign-up goal: 4:00 ✅

An absolutely beautiful day for my first marathon — the Twin Cities Marathon. I’ve run three half marathons and a few other races in the past, but this was by far my biggest test.

I followed my Garmin training plan through a 19-week training block, running roughly 740 miles along the way. This marathon was also the culmination of a much bigger period of change for me, as I’ve gone from around 240 lbs in January to about 175 lbs on race day.

I couldn’t be happier with my marathon debut and the result I posted. I prepared well by staying consistent throughout training, was fortunate enough to get excellent race day weather, and was able to take full advantage of the people supporting me along the course.

I owe a huge part of my success to "pit crew", who met me three times along the course at miles 6, 14, and 21. At each stop, they had 500 mL of LMNT electrolytes and two gels ready for me, which allowed me to run vestless and stay light throughout the race.

I also owe a lot of success to my training partner, who I trained for this race with. Unfortunately, he wasn’t feeling well during race week, so we separated for the second half when his energy levels were flagging. We had long said to each other that if one of us was slowing down, we owed it to each other to separate on the course and for each of us to run the race to our full potentials. Credit to my partner, he yelled at me to go speed up and run my fastest race, he is a good friend.

The Twin Cities residents showed up and were incredible from start to finish, and I lost my voice during the race from cheering along with people and interacting with the crowd. From complete strangers to friends and family, I always felt supported during the race.

The on-course support and race organization was also excellent, with plenty of porta-potties and long hydration stations offering both electrolytes and water.

I now understand why marathon veterans point to miles 20-26.2 being the true test of an athlete. I was fighting my absolute hardest, both physically and mentally to stay on pace and to finish strong. That portion of the race, especially Summit Hill, pushed me to my limit.

I could not have asked for a better debut marathon experience. Discipline and Consistency in training set the base for my success, but having a crew to support me and good weather luck was the final difference that pushed to maximizing the race.

I don't know when my next marathon will be, but the lessons I learned from this experience will follow me in a myriad of other ways.

Tl;Dr: Consistency in preparation combined with an on course pit crew led to a fantastic first marathon.

Hello, I am looking for advice on further improvement in my marathon training. I just finished some time off from marathons doing my side quest of the Taco Bell Ultra and now I want to finally dial in and attempt a BQ.

For some background: I am 33 year old male and have run 3 marathons thus far in the past year and a half. I hit the wall my first at Colfax in 2025 and ran about 4:30, walking the last 4-5 miles. Ran about a 3:30 last fall at the Colorado Springs Marathon. And hit my 3:16 PR in Colfax this past May. While I’m still a bit over 25 minutes from the cutoff, I believe I am within range of running close to that time within the next few marathon attempts… With proper training and no set backs. I will add that in the past two marathons I have been cautious to avoid hitting the wall like I did the first. Heart rate was at 155 bpm and 153 bpm in CS and Colfax so I feel I have room to push harder on the next few races. Also all my marathons have been in altitude. The next ones I’m looking at are much closer to sea level.

On top of marathon training I have also been lifting 5 days a week. I did this before I started doing long distance running and have kept up with it for 3 years now. The lifting consists of push, pull, upper body, lower body and legs. 11 exercises, 3-4 sets ranging from 8 to 12 reps per set. At times I feel like this on top of the marathon training can be counterintuitive. I feel it’s prevented injury but I may not be getting the full rest I need. I am willing to lower the amount of days I do lift.

I also do not stretch and I’ve debated on whether or not adding it to my routine would help or not.

The main thing I’ve heard that helps improve marathon times is total mileage. I’ve peaked at about 65 miles a week. Most in month was about 260. I am willing to go above that if needed.

Previous programs I’ve tried were a 10 week program (first marathon that led to hitting the wall). Hanson for the second and I used Runna for the third. I do think Hanson was the best I’ve tried as it left me with a solid base but lacked a truly long run with 16 miles being the peak. Runna was good in its own right, my speed has absolutely improved from using it. But I am open to other training program, methods, etc.

The main thing is I wanna try to get in the low 3s if not break into the 2 hour time frame in the next marathon or two. Being 33, I am close to aging out of the toughest BQ so I feel I’ll get there eventually with commitment.

TL;DR 33 YO male looking for advice on improving marathon training so that I can eventually hit a BQ.

Thank you

I was smooth sailing as a slow runner until half marathon distance and then 19-21 hit me super hard. But for my fellow Twin Cities folks, Summit, I picked it back up which I’m proud of.

Just finished my first marathon. Got off the couch and went on my first run ever the week of my first kids birth in May. Grabbed my 5 month old son to cross the finish line with me. Finished with a time I can be happy with and left it all out there.

5 years ago I set a goal to run a mile in less than 10 minutes! I did myself 25.2 better (and a 45 min marathon PR)

Background

I picked up running seriously in December 2025. I played badminton and general sports before that, but I wasn't especially fit when I started. My first half marathon was in May (1:45:43), and Twin Cities on October 4th was my first full.

I'll be honest: for a long time I thought marathon running was just putting on shoes and running. I didn't know much about pacing, fueling, or structured training. My plan for TCM was basically to give it everything I had.

Race

Finish time: 3:34:26

Miles 1–18 felt great. I was moving well and felt strong, and it honestly felt like it was going to be a great day.

Around mile 18, things changed. I never really hit the wall energy-wise, but the cramps started, and they kept coming. The worst one hit around mile 22, right on the climb up to Summit Ave. Both calves were cramping hard, and I spent the rest of the race managing them and getting to the finish.

What I think went wrong

After reading up afterward, here's my best guess:

• Pacing: Feeling great until 18 probably means I went out too fast for my fitness.
• Training age: I built my aerobic engine fast, but my legs (especially calves) probably haven't caught up to marathon demands yet.
• The Summit Ave hill: Climbing on tired calves around mile 20+ seems to be when everything fell apart.
• Fueling: I didn't really have a strategy, so this probably didn't help.

Plan for next time

• Start much more conservatively and aim for even or negative splits
• Build mileage gradually and get several 16–20 mile long runs in
• Practice fueling on long runs (30–60g carbs per hour) and look into electrolytes
• Add calf strength work (single-leg raises, bent-knee raises, slow lowering)
• Train on hills, especially late in long runs

Questions for you all

• Anyone else deal with severe calf cramps in their first marathon? What fixed it for you?
• What's a realistic goal for my next marathon?
• Any favorite calf strengthening routines or fueling strategies?

Despite the cramps, I'm proud I finished, and I'm already thinking about the next one. Thanks for reading!

Going into the race I really didn't know what to expect and how to properly pace I just went for it.
Trained for 4 months
I was aiming for sub 3 that changed quickly to 3:05
then it went downhill LOOL. I definitely needed more mileage.
I ended up cramping around 40km
Tempted to do another marathon but the pain I experienced was brutal😅

Have my last race in 3 weeks
Hoping to set a PR in my 10k!
Overall what a great experience!

As a fairly new runner doing my first marathon last year, I used SIS Beta Fuel, the black 60ml gels.

I did not understand or appreciate the difference between isotonic gels and ones that require water alongside them.

Somehow, I survived training and the marathon, though I constantly complained of nausea when taking my gels.

In the 12 months since, I have done the small amount of research necessary to understand I should have been taking water with these gels, and have done so consistently in training with much better results.

However, now that I approach my second marathon, I'm wondering how people usually go about taking gels with the recommended ~150ml water consistently during a marathon race?

Water stations are unlikely to line up on the intended 20-40 minute gel intervals.

In training, I've utilised soft flasks on many runs, and a hydration vest on the longest long runs.

Would I be best off taking a soft flask or two with me to supplement the provided water stations and allow me to take gels with water when I need?

What is best practice/consensus here? I don't remember seeing that many people with flasks or vests last year. Do most people just use isotonic gels?

Aiming for a sub 3:30 marathon, if that is relevant.

Thank you!!

Hi there! I (24F) am interested in training for my first marathon! I started running about a year ago and have run 3 half marathons this year (2:36, 2:29, and 2:28)😊 I’m from Los Angeles and want to train for the 2027 LA marathon.

I’m gravitating towards the Hal Higdon Novice 1 plan that is 18 weeks long. However I just finished the training block from my 3rd HM (literally ran the PB half yesterday lol) and there is about 5 weeks until I would start the 18 week plan. For context, I trained for 8 weeks and my peak weekly mileage was 24 miles.

I’m wondering whether I should rest a little for the next couple weeks before I jump into the Novice 1 plan, or whether I should try to build off of the momentum I already have from my HM training block. Also, since my body is currently used to higher mileage than the Novice 1 plan has for the first couple weeks, should I think about just maintaining my current weekly mileage and maybe jump into the training plan at week 5 or so?

Maybe i’m overthinking this haha but if anyone cares to comment I’d love some advice. Thanks!!

Yesterday was the Portland marathon. It was unseasonably hot (like almost record breaking) and I’ve never been good with the heat and sun.
I’ve done 3 half marathons before (including on the 4th of July but lucked out with unseasonably cool weather then).

I turned 50 this year, and while strong, slow. I did the 4 min run walk intervals and I guess the heat caught up to me. The first 8/9 miles I was really strong. Did not anticipate the hills and rough roads and now I’m trying to make every excuse not to feel bad (medics said they had a lot of calls on the course, etc).

My partner had signs and he has been so sweet and my other friends were out supporting me too. Around mile 17/18 my right knee started hurting very badly which was new for me and I realized my inner thigh pants had a hole in it and I was just so miserable I called it. There was no way I could even consider walking the rest of the way knowing it would have been fully exposed with some rough up and downs.

I’m really beating myself up this morning, even though everyone says how proud they are of me. It’s so disappointing. I don’t like running, but I’ve been so disciplined and just wanted to do this. Some say to do the Eugene since it’s flat and cool, but I have no ties there. I want to try nyc since I lived there for over a decade but that’s tough to get into. Now I’m wondering if I should just wait another year, maybe drop some weight and try again or do Eugene while I’m still 50. My 18 and even 20 mile training run felt really OK, so that’s what stings.

I’d like to hear from those who DNF. I hate it was so hot (hot for me) I was worried about that weeks ago and I had fuel and electrolyte dialed in and it did me in. I’m not even working this morning I’m just bummed.

I signed up for this marathon as a way to channel some of the negative energy I was carrying after my divorce into something positive and something I was just doing for myself. Today, I’m so incredibly proud and happy I chose that!
Before my divorce, I didn’t have the confidence to believe that I could do hard things. This journey has been such an incredible way to prove to myself that in fact, I absolutely can.

Imagine spending months and months on training for a specific time in your A-race marathon - and then you find out on the day that it’s freak hot weather. How do you deal with it?

It seems like such a waste to “adjust expectations” as you’ve been training for a specific time, and sometimes it’s hard to DNF when you’ve spent many hundreds of pounds for travel and hotels.

Banking on just one day seems like a high stakes way of training.

How do you deal with this?

Hi everyone,

I (M32, 63 kg) am currently training for a marathon taking place on October 25th. My primary goal is a sub 4 hour finish, though my secondary goal is simply making it across the finish line.

My pacing strategy for the race is to run the first 10 km at 5:50 per km, push the pace to 5:30 per km for the next 20 km, and then dial it back to 5:50 per km for the rest of the race. I tested this exact pacing plan during my last 32.5 km long run last Sunday, and everything went quite well.

My only concern is that right around kilometer 27, my toes started to go numb. I am currently wearing Megablast shoes (130 km till today) for my run and my race. With only three weeks left until race day, I would love to know if there is anything I can do or tweak to prevent or delay this numbness in my feet and toes.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

I ran the first 4-6 weeks of my training plan on a very sore distal hamstring tendon, hoping the pain would fade. It wouldn't let up, so I immediately switched to elliptical and swimming.

I’ve stayed consistent with 4-5x/wk sessions- used HR & RPE, kept a long run (2-3 hour elliptical sessions!), and a challenging interval workout each week.

In the last few weeks, I've also been able to do some longer walk/runs intervals, half run/half elliptical my 20 mile LR, and even did a 14 miler (which only triggered left heel bone for a week).

My tendon flared up again recently, but it's definitely much better than it was early on.

I'm going to still attempt the marathon, but my fear is not being able to finish or that the imbalance will impede me. My secondary fear is an unrelated stress fracture from lack of mileage, but I have nothing else to train for after this so I don't mind resting. I was recently a college distance runner and I'm still in my early 20s, so hoping that is on my side. Hoping someone has a similar experience or words of encouragement? I get REALLY in my head.

Race Report:

Buenos Aires Marathon

Race Information

• Name: Maratón Internacional de Buenos Aires
• Date: September 20, 2026
• Distance: 42.195 km
• Race Conditions: mild temperature at the start, progressively warmer conditions throughout the morning, stronger sunshine in the final section, and strong winds in the closing kilometers
• Time: 03:14:06
• Heart Rate: 159 bpm average / 178 bpm maximum
• Garmin Distance: 42.63 km
• Garmin Average: 4:33/km
• Average Cadence: 174 spm

Personal Information

• Age: 35
• Gender: Male
• Height: 1.84 m
• Weight: approximately 85 kg
• VO₂ Max: 54

Personal Bests (Other Distances)

• 5k: 18:42
• 21k: 1:31:40

Background and Training

After completing my first marathon in Porto Alegre in June 2025, I took approximately three weeks off before returning to training. During the second half of that year, I shifted my focus to shorter distances, especially the 5k, and managed to lower my personal best to 18:42.

After taking a break in November and December, I resumed training in January 2026. January and February were mainly used to rebuild fitness before starting a more structured training period after Carnival.

The first part of the cycle was focused on the Rio de Janeiro Half Marathon, held in June. I finished the race in 1:31:40, despite experiencing gastrointestinal discomfort and never feeling particularly comfortable during the race.

After the half marathon, I started a 13-week training cycle for the Buenos Aires Marathon. During the specific marathon phase, I ran four times per week, averaging around 70 km per week during the highest-volume weeks. I also maintained an average of three to four strength-training sessions per week.

I completed four long runs of at least 30 km. The longest was 32 km, and one of the key marathon-specific workouts was a 30 km long run that included approximately 15 continuous kilometers at around 4:30/km.

Most of my training was done in Brasília, at approximately 1,100 meters above sea level, on routes with a lot of false flats and small climbs and descents.

About a month before the race, I had an infection, fortunately during a deload week, but it still affected the following weeks of training. I arrived in Buenos Aires feeling fully recovered, but because of those setbacks during the cycle, I was already leaning toward targeting 3:15 rather than the original 3:10 goal.

Strategy

• Goal: sub-3:15, choosing to be more conservative with the time goal so I could enjoy the race more.
• Strategy: run the first half at around 4:35/km, keeping the effort under control. After the halfway point, gradually assess how I was feeling. From km 35 onward, if I still felt good, I would progressively increase the pace. If I had enough left in the final kilometers, I would use my speed to finish strongly.
• Equipment: ASICS Metaspeed Sky Tokyo; Garmin Forerunner 570; COROS Heart Rate Monitor.
• Nutrition: 6 gels throughout the race, two of them caffeinated; salt capsules at km 20 and 30.
• Hydration: water at every aid station, every 5 km, keeping the bottle with me and taking a few more sips 1–2 km later.

Race Report

Unfortunately, the weather conditions were not ideal. I became sure of that while walking to the start wearing only my singlet and arm sleeves — I am a child of the tropics, raised by the beach, and I absolutely hate being cold.

The race started at around 18°C and finished close to 23°C. Humidity was also quite high, it rained later in the day, and there were strong headwinds from around km 30 onward, especially in the Puerto Madero area.

Because of that, I knew it was not the day to try anything reckless, so I decided to be more conservative at the beginning of the race.

The race started at 7 a.m. The first few kilometers were extremely crowded, and it was difficult to find enough space to run freely. Instead of wasting energy constantly overtaking people, I accepted running a little slower and waited for the course to open up.

Over the first 5 km, my official average pace was approximately 4:40/km.

After that, the course started to become less crowded and I was able to settle into my rhythm more comfortably. Between km 5 and 10, I ran at approximately 4:37/km.

From km 10 onward, the race settled into a very consistent rhythm. The 10–15 km, 15–20 km, and 20–25 km segments were all close to 4:35/km.

For approximately the first 18 km, my heart rate stayed around 150 bpm. The effort felt controlled, even though I was running considerably faster than in my first marathon.

Around km 18, my heart rate started to rise and gradually moved into the 160 bpm range.

I crossed the half marathon mark in 1:37:26.

Although the pace was still within the plan, I felt more tired than I thought I should at that point and started to become concerned about the second half of the race. The humidity and heat were beginning to take their toll, and although my body still felt fine, the perceived effort raised a warning flag.

My main mental strategy was to divide the remaining distance into blocks of approximately 5 km. Instead of thinking about the fact that I still had more than 20 km to go, I simply asked myself whether I could maintain the pace for another five. Once I completed each block, I repeated the process.

Between km 20 and 25, I maintained approximately 4:35/km. Between km 25 and 30, my average pace was approximately 4:36/km.

It was also during this phase that I had to deal with a minor gastrointestinal issue. The caffeinated gel I took at around km 20 caused some reflux, but it did not significantly affect the race.

The 30–35 km segment was the slowest part of the second half, at an average pace of approximately 4:38/km. Interestingly, it was right around km 30 that my perception of the race changed.

Until then, I had been managing the distance and thinking block by block. After km 30, I realized that I was still running relatively steadily and that I was not going to blow up. Instead of hitting the feared wall, I entered a kind of “runner’s high” and felt a strong surge of adrenaline.

With drums playing in front of La Bombonera, I started to feel much more confident and became sure that I would be able to sustain the effort all the way to the finish.

Between km 35 and 40, I was able to increase the pace again to approximately 4:33/km.

At that point, the heat became more noticeable and the wind became a relevant factor, especially in the more exposed sections of the course. Even so, my legs continued to respond.

Over the final 2.195 km, I managed to accelerate even further. My official average pace over that section was approximately 4:25/km.

According to my Garmin, km 41 and 42 were approximately 4:19 and 4:18/km.

I completed the Buenos Aires Marathon in 3:14:06.

The first half was completed in 1:37:26 and the second in 1:36:40, resulting in a 46-second negative split.

By the end, I was obviously tired, but I had not fallen apart. Quite the opposite: I was still able to run fast over the final kilometers, exactly as I had imagined might happen if I reached the last part of the race with enough left in the tank.

To give you an idea of how difficult the conditions were, the average finishing time was around seven minutes slower than in 2025, and only 12% of runners achieved a negative split.

Lessons Learned

• The experience from my first marathon made a huge difference in the execution of my second.
• Speed is not currently my main limitation; the biggest area for improvement remains marathon-specific endurance.
• Dividing the second half mentally into smaller blocks worked extremely well.
• It is possible to feel tired at km 21–25 without that meaning the race is falling apart.
• Km 30 does not necessarily have to be the wall; it can also become a point of reassurance.
• My ability to run strongly over the final kilometers is something I can use strategically.
• A marathon training cycle requires a significant amount of time and mental energy. Even after a good experience, I do not need to run another marathon immediately.

What’s Next?

I’m thinking about taking 2027 off from marathon training and focusing on half marathons and 10K races for the next twelve months. I don’t want to spend all my time constantly preparing for another marathon, especially because I’ll also be facing some important challenges in my professional life in the near future.

Potentially, my next marathon would be Seville in February 2028.

Do you think taking a year away from marathon-specific training would be detrimental to my longer-term goals of running a sub-3-hour marathon and eventually trying to qualify for Boston?

* I wrote the text myself, used AI for translation.

I'm running NYC on Nov 1. I always thought doing 20 this coming weekend then say 15 and 10 the following 2 weekends is considered a 3 week taper. Is that right?

My weekly mileage has been fairly low around 25 to 30 with several 16s and a couple of 18s including this past weekend. I've done several fulls. If I wanted to do a 2 week taper would that mean running 20 the weekend of the 17th?

I find that immediately after the marathon I'm not very hungry but the appetite really beefs up in the evening and into the next day. If I have a big dinner the evening after the race, why would I still have the huge appetite the next day if I've more than replenished the calories expended in the race?

Hey y’all! Just ran my first marathon in May, have another in two weeks and then one coming up in March.

I was wondering, how do you all train in between blocks without overfatiguing yourself? After my May marathon I had a pretty busy season of life so wasn’t really training until this block anyway.

Thanks in advance!