Tips for first time marathoners

How to run your first marathon

Running a marathon is a huge feat for anybody - but running your FIRST marathon is momentous. Tackling 42.2km for the first time is incredibly special, not only are you doing something that only 1% of the population has done, you’re also showing yourself that you are strong, resilient and an absolute baddie of a runner.

To get to a marathon finish line takes plenty of guts, and even more hard work. But what people don't talk about enough is the risks involved when setting big lofty goals, like a marathon. Sometimes, we can do all the preparation in the world, all of the training, the mental prep, and things can still not go to plan.

But as your first marathon, it is important to get it somewhat right so that you can build your confidence in the distance, and walk away not just ‘ticking that off the bucket list’ but with the desire to come back and do it all again.

So how do we approach our first marathon attempt to gain that confidence?

1. Remove the pressure - aim for the finish line

In your first marathon, you have nothing to prove. Your only goal should be to finish. Therefore, have a goal pace (more on the below), but try to eliminate any pressure of a specific finishing time and just focus on getting to the end. This way you can ideally enjoy (some of) the race, celebrate the milestone and be proud of yourself no matter what.

1. Be conservative

Following on from removing the pressure, it is smart to go out with a conservative pace, one that you are 100% confident that you can hold for the entire race. It is known that the marathon doesn’t really start till 30km in, so if at 30km you’re feeling good, you could then begin to push the pace and increase it over the last 12km.

1. Find someone to run with

Having a race day partner can help you in many ways. Firstly, having someone by your side can be extremely motivating. It is likely that you will go through peaks and troughs throughout the race, so having someone who is maybe up when you are down, means you can lean on them when you need it and vice versa. Your race day partner can also keep you accountable to your race plan and make sure that you don’t get too excited and go out too hard early on.

1. Be flexible and reactive

With entering the unknown of the marathon distance, it can be hard to predict what is going to happen. Therefore you need to have an open mind and be ready to change your race plan along the way. If you miss a water station, or get stuck behind a group, or simply don’t feel as good as you’d hoped, you need to be able to pivot the plan and focus on just getting to that finish line in the smartest way possible. Have a plan, but be flexible with it.

1. Stick to your nutrition plan

As a newbie marathoner it can be easy to get caught up in the energy of the day and the race day vibes so you either forget to take on your gels and water, or you convince yourself that you feel good and don’t need them. Even if you feel great, do not sway from your nutrition plan - which should be a gel and water every 5-6km or every 30 mins (whichever comes first). Even if you don’t feel like you need it at that moment, your future marathon self (the 30-40km self) will be thankful you preloaded that energy.

Too often we move through life and achieve great things without even stopping to enjoy the journey. Ultimately, try to be as present as possible throughout the race. Your first marathon only ever happens once, so soak up the energy, look around and just be damn proud that you’re out there doing the thing.