Why you Should Think Twice Before Running That Marathon

Almost to the day a year ago, on 19 November 2023, I took part in my first Marathon — the one that I so famously DNF’ed in and have spoken about in length before.

Reflecting on that experience now, it is so evidently clear how naive I was believing that it is possible to treat the Marathon for what it really is, a race! A race against yourself, against other runners, against real athletes who have put in years of dedication and commitment to compete and be the best in their discipline. Essentially, I have treated it like the event it truly represents – A competition.

But as with most competitive pursuits, little did I know — even though most of us learn this from a very young age — that to compete against others in their field and give yourself a decent chance at succeeding, you actually need to put the same level of effort into it (if not more).

Yet somehow, this basic knowledge seem to have escaped me. In hindsight, I realise, I have led myself into thinking that with my relatively healthy body and ‘average at best’ athletic background, I’d somehow just battle my way through to the finish line, completing my first Marathon in a time that was met with ridiculous unrealistic expectations.

Don’t get me wrong though. I take everything I do, extremely seriously. Most of the time too serious, and signing up for my first marathon was no different. That said, I put in a decent amount of work leading up to race day last year:

• At first, I committed to 3–4 days of running (Tracked by RunKeeper);

• Then, RunKeeper got an upgrade to a Garmin Half Marathon Training Plan, which I customised to accommodate a Full Marathon’s training load;

• My commitment to social drinking every weekend started to fade and was met with fresh optimism not to wake up with a hangover;

• Early morning rises started to become a more regular thing; and

• Protein smoothies, healthy complex carbohydrates took preference over chocolates and jellybeans

Or so I thought.

Looking back now, it’s clear people run Marathons for various reasons, but whatever the motivations, for the majority of people who decide to enter one on a whim, the effort I put in probably would’ve been enough of a commitment for them to finish the race in a pretty decent time.

However, my approach to everything I pursue, seems to be deeply fuelled by competition and reflecting back on this training strategy, it is clear to me and safe to say, that amount of work and dedication was not enough. A little ‘loosey-goosey’ if you had to ask me.

I didn’t finish that Marathon and obviously, there were things I needed to learn about myself and the race before attempting it again (and succeed).

And so I did.

At the beginning of 2024, I decided on my ‘power’ word for the year: Better

• Better commitment,

• Better strategies,

• better nutrition,

• better sleep,

• better student,

• better runner (*the list continues)

1. Why Having a Coach Might Be Your Best Decision Yet

Soon after my failed attempt, I hired a coach. It was the most logical thing to do since I clearly was way in over my head treating the Marathon like a real race. And bless her soul, because if it wasn’t for her, the running revelations would never have come.

Over the last year, she has become my sounding board, a voice of reason, and admittedly, my excuse-buster.

This journey wasn’t easy though. Trust me, wanting to quit becomes a recurring phenomenon as time goes by but having a coach to help you stay committed on tired days and when enthusiasm wears thin, certainly helps.

Above all, here are the things I learned and value most from having a coach and wish I kew sooner. She taught me that;

• Consistency trumps intensity, a lesson that’s still hard for my inner competitor to accept.

• With her guidance, I continue to learn to respect the process; to build up in stages rather than trying to leap to the top right away.

• Each session, whether it’s a recovery run, a long run, or a gruelling interval workout, has its purpose — a purpose I’m slowly beginning to understand.

2. Wearable Tech Won’t Always Save You: Lessons in Self-Reliance

My coach lives in the UK, but I don’t.

As someone who prefers solo-running but also understands the value of community and running with a club, this dynamic feels like a win-win for me. And of course, it comes with its own set of challenges, but nothing that technology in today’s world can’t fix. Until it can’t.

There’s no denying that wearables has been a game-changer in the running world with many runners today relying on wearable tech, and I’m no different.

With my coach and running club being so far away from me I can appreciate that GPS watches, heart rate monitors and tracking apps offer a promising method to quantify my running technique and training intensity, but I’m starting to learn that relying too much on them can create their own set of problems.

This was evident to me only two weeks ago. Right in the middle of my longest run of the training block, my watch unexpectedly died on me and before I even knew it, what started as a solid feel-good session, suddenly turned out to be a full-blown panic.

In that moment, all the progress I made and data to show for it felt invisible (technically, it was) and I couldn’t shake the idea that without the data, it’s like the run never happened. So I stopped dead, called my husband to come fetch me — seeing that I was half way on the other side of town — completely derailed by the thought of a workout without proof.

It sounds ridiculous, but this experiences has forced me to confront the reality that maybe I’m becoming too reliant on the tech. During my first race last year, I experience something similar, allowing the numbers to validate my effort instead of trusting my own body and mind to push through the discomfort.

3. The surprising value of waking Up an Hour Earlier

Today’s side-hustlers likes to glorify 5 AM mornings and make it sound so heroic, disciplined, even borderline monk-like. And as much as I’ve resisted this for years, scoffing at the notion that anyone could willingly sacrifice precious sleep, I’ve come to understand and appreciate its willpower.

That extra hour before the world wakes up makes it easier for me to squeeze in a run, but even more important, it helps me retrain my mind and form new habits.

It’s an act of discipline, pushing myself out of bed in the dark so I don’t have to bear running in the excruciating heat during the Cyprus summers; the kind of discipline I didn’t think I needed when I signed up for a Marathon the first time.

Above all, waking up earlier than the rest has made me realise — In a world where noise is the norm, the quiet makes you hear the chickens cluck.

I still dread getting up early most days. But the discipline has had compounding benefits and has woven itself into the commitment I have not only to complete my third marathon in a respectable time, but to get better at doing hard things.

4. Training Hard? Remember, what’s done is done

Typically, a training block lasts anything between 12–16 weeks, sometimes even 20, but rarely more than that.

My training block looked a little different. It was pretty much an off-season-training-block-peak-season blend of sorts, which basically means, I’ve been training for nearly a year without any upcoming races to work towards.

And when there are no short-term running goals to chase, the process and reason for running changes. The season (or lack thereof) becomes increasingly long, making it all the more easy to throw in the towel, to tell yourself you’ve had enough and make you question why you started in the first place.

In close, having a coach this year provided a crucial anchor. She helped me push through the tough days, the battles against my own limitations, to build resilience and to put in the hard work beyond the physical constraints, — the journey becoming grounded in consistent routine and discipline.

Now, the real test awaits. The hard work I put (or didn’t put) in, will reflect next week when I put my feet to the test for the third time.

This time, I go in with a deeper respect for the distance, a better understanding of what it means to race against myself, and the hard-earned wisdom of trusting my own body over any data on a screen.

So, (said with the best intentions here) think twice before you decide to enter a marathon.

Not just about the miles or the finish line, but about the commitment it takes, the way it shapes you, and the lessons that come from both victories and setbacks. Marathons, like any big goal and if treated like a race, demand our best — and then ask for more.