Considering running a marathon with my brothers for charity. I'm heavy and always been more of a sprinter. Bad knees and ankles.

For those that have run one, how was it? How was the journey, training for it etc?

Reps til out

What is your height and weight? They will beat the crap out of you and people get injured all the time srs. They're brutal

A full marathon?

Heavy, bad knees & ankles are not what you want if you're going to run a marathon.

I've found that while physical fitness is a huge part of running a marathon, mentality and mindset are very important too.

I've got a buddy that was big into them a few years back....used to do "destination" marathons....would travel to the place for the weekend, do the marathon, check out the town, then go home. Love the dude, but he wasn't built for running....6'2 220, all upper body......had a slight pain in his knee always, but powered through it......went to the doc one day and found out he had like 10% of his ACL in there lol.....has had 2 surgeries since. Doc told him "stop running....if you want to play in the yard with your kids when your 40.....STOP RUNNING"

Have run 3 full and about 13 half-marathons and been a distance running coach for fifteen years. Here's what I tell people who are thinking about it:

Training is long if you don't want to get hurt. Like if you're a couch potato give yourself at least a year, if not two. Doing a half marathon isn't that tough, a full is a whole different animal. Lots of factors in play like previous injuries, weight, running ability, etc. If you have run for training before it won't be as hard. But it's no joke, you're out there jogging for 4-5 hours and it requires mental toughness and even things like proper nutrition.

Like lifting, it's progressive overload. There's lots of good programs available for free online, but the biggest thing is build the mileage slowly. If your goal is just to finish you can definitely do it, it just might be a really long day.

Run 3-4 times a week with one long run and then just miles, miles, miles - unless you're trying to achieve a time don't worry about pace and take it slow and steady. Keep up with things like stretching and massage as well even if you aren't feeling it. Being strong helps. Biking can also help with the endurance side if you want to ride a bike once a week and it saves the pounding.

I'm sure others will chime in.

6'2 pushing 240 at the moment

Repping all above, will come back tmrw and continue reppingI'd like to run for a specific time. What would be a good time to set? How hard is a sub 3h? I hear it's pretty elite.

I have great genetics in general, and would be training most of the time on a wood chip track.

Man you are going to destroy your joints dude

For beginners even sub 4 hours is good. Sub 3 hours is Boston Marathon qualifying times and at your weight there's no way you'll come close. You're running 26 miles, so even 10 minute miles for the entire distance is 4:20.

And if you're going to train on that surface it's good for joints, but make sure you run sometimes (ideally the long runs) on asphalt because that's what the race will be on.

you will drop weight training between 1-4 hours
slow and steady with new shoes fitted from a running store.
don't do too much too soon.
play music to pace yourself.
enjoy the process

I don't recommend it man based on your size.

I am cutting and had a really hard time running when I was ~203 lbs 6 weeks ago. I'd bike, walk, run on the treadmill, hike instead.

Now that I'm in the 180s I am able to run on the street.

Just do it.

Mankind conquered running when he rode the first horse

Ran one about 3 weeks ago.

If your training style involves high reps, cardio based activity, then you can get away with running once a week for training like I did. I ran once a week for about 6 months; increasing the distance up to marathon distance.

I’ve ran over 20 half marathons and find them incredibly easy. I’d recommend training for halves, once they get ‘easy’ then you’re ready for the full. Allow yourself a year to get to this point.

Don’t listen to people talking about your size or whatever. I don’t look like a ‘runner’. You can do it. Be smart about training, invest in good shoes (nike Pegasus r goats), rest and stay disciplined

. I ran the the marathon in 4 hours and 1 min. I found the first 30k pretty easy but the last 12 went right up in terms of difficulty.

The marathon tests mental and physical resilience - it’s a true test of you’re will. Go for it opie! You can do it!