Are marathons worth the effort?

Every year the Dublin City marathon is run I head out to the 21mile mark which is a real tuning point (top of fosters avenue at the back of UCD) as it’s a long slow uphill and the rest of the race is flat after this point. I bring bag fulls of bananas and jellies to hand out and proceed to scream words like – “come on”, “keep pushing”, “looking strong” etc until I run out of food. 

I know the runners really appreciate the support as I have run marathons so I ‘m well aware of how those few words and a slap on the back can really keep you pushing along.

This year I debated about going as I think long distance running is really a very poor way for one to look and feel their best. It’s 26miles of slow torture and the 3-4 months leading up to the race are no fun either. That kind of distance running is going to be hell on someone with mobility issues (improve your flexibility now) and as the old phrase goes – there are two types of runners, the injured runner and the runner that is about to be injured.

When clients come to me wanting to drop fat and get fit I always ask them how much time per week they have to spend on their goal. Most will say 2-4hrs per week so taking that into account how much time do I suggest they spend running? Well I would suggest the vast majority need les than 20% of their training time spent running/cycling/swimming/skipping etc and for some with massive mobility issues none at all as the risk of injury is just to high.

Here is a video I took of the race and you will notice that the runners are all very skinny and moving at a great pace (sub-3hr runners so elite guys).

Many people would describe these runners as ‘fit’ but I would take a broader view of fitness that would encompas – mobility, strength, speed, skill etc and not just an ability to run for ages in a straight line. I have had lots of clients come to me telling me they are ‘fairly’ fit just because they can run at a comfortable pace for 30-40mins but this in my opinion does not make them ‘fit’, they just have a decent aerobic capacity. These same people are found lying on the floor of the gym 10mins after a simple metcon with kettlebell swings and squats!

The guys in the video are all lean because you will NEVER find any overweight male or female runner running sub 3.30hr marathons. However, many people take up running because they see these slim runners making running look so easy and link running with being skinny. It’s really the reverse – they are skinny therefore they run better and not I am fat so if I run lots and don’t worry about my diet I will get skinny.

People run marathons for lots of other reasons other than to drop some weight and get ‘fit’ e.g. to run in the memory of a dead loved one, for a charity they care about, because it’s there as one of those things to do on their bucket list. I know I ran a 3.11hr marathon in New York because it was a challenge but I can tell you I feel and look better doing less running than doing lots of running.  

This is a topic I have touched on before here and my thoughts remain the same. Use running or even walking as one part of your whole program and not the entire focus of your training. I will be out in support again next year as I admire the effort shown. I would just love to see more people running better times (average times are not getting any better than 20yrs ago) when they sort out any tightness they have/mobility issues, run little less and weight train and stretch way more.

Would I prefer to see more people doing any of my 10mins workouts than spending 40mins running at a steady pace? Yes absolutely but I find as I found yesterday when I ran a 11.5km run (55mins) there is still something special when you go out running (if you run well) for 30mins+ where there are moments I find of complete clarity, my body feels light and free and everything looks easy. I think more people could experience this feeling when they do all of the components of training I emphasise and not just one.

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