I am running the London Marathon for the Gets Kids Going Charity ,if anyone else out there is running London this year thought it might be good idea to have a thread so that we can , give each other moral support and to chat about how our training is going , Tips etc

Hi Katherine,i am running for Breast Cancer Care.This will be my first Marathon.Ran a few 10k events + 1 half mara.Must say the training for the full distance seems quite a task.Am on week 2 at present,going out 4 times a week.This afternoons session was a battle against the elements,wind/rain and cold.Just keep chipping away at the distance,and eventually we will get there :) My main struggle is trying to get pacing right,ie easy,trying also to run in HR zones.So many elements involved,nutrition/hydration and kit.Main event before April will be the Silverstone Half,a few of us on Good Run Wall have entered.My main aim for April is to finish,in one piece. :)

Hi Phil

You have a good base for the Marathon as you have done halves and 10k, I never worry about pace ,I just do the runs . I kept worry about the miles . but have found that working on a training plan that is done on time rather than miles, you can always change it a bit later . I adapt all my training plans to suit how I feel . I am cheating at the moment and running indoors on treadmill with the incline set to 2 , I get soaked riding  a scooter to work everyday ,

and infact my first Marathon was done with all my training being done on treadmill with just one long run done outdoors I do not like the cold.

I am here if you just want to moan ,groan or brag about a good run . having support is  helps us all along to the finish line.

I am also doing London Marathon this year, first time for London but I have ran a few marathons and a couple of Ultras, not fast but I get round.  Nice to have somewhere to share

Hi Bobi

Well my first marathon which was Brighton , was a challange my daughter did the London Marathon , and I had not done any running for years , but when I started running again and mentioned that I was thinking of doing a race , she said oh your to old and you wont beat my time because of the age difference, Well having been very competative years earlier that was a Challange I could not resist .

I did a half first after just a couple of month running and beat her half by 45 minutes . so the next challange was the Marathon .

Brighton has a bit of a hill ,so it is not flat like London . I beat her finish time by Hour. age I do not believe is a big factor , but training is.

infact of I looked at the Elite list and there is a guy running who is over 50 . so keep going .and good luck

Razkatz

Good luck Katherine and everyone else.

The difference I found between Brighton and London is that - while Brighton is still busy - after about a mile you can usually find some space and hit your stride. In London, because of the amount of people running, I found I couldn't do that until about mile 5, which meant I was weaving for 5 miles and I then started upping the pace and trying to make up time - very foolish of me.

I was inexperienced at the time (London was my first) and I hope I'd know better now - but just be aware that there's a lot of congestion to begin with which can make you do daft things!