Tips for First Time Marathoners

This time of year we see lots of injuries from people running “too far, too fast”.  Running can be a little hard on the body if you don’t slowly “ramp up” your runs. 

Always follow a program; I like Hal Higdon’s running guide for marathoners:

However, if you can not keep up with the suggested guidelines, please keep these “do’s and dont’s” in mind:

- Don’t increase weekly mileage by more than 10%
- Don’t increase long runs by more than 1-2 miles per week
- Don’t run more than 3-4 days per week
- Take @ least 1 complete rest day
- Do 1-2 days of cross training (biking, yoga, swimming)
- Your long run should be no longer than ½ of total weekly mileage (before the long run)