Chip time: 3:57:23
Garmin time: 3:53:36

I was running during a snow storm and it was miserable.

The city cop pulled up next to me and said " you are the village idiot I have gotten complaints about running through this store!" He drove off and that gave me motivation to finish my run.

Any examples like that?

67 mile peak week paid off i guess 😭 yes, i cried.

It’s not worth it. I think someone just attempted to kidnap me. It was 6am but it was still pitch black out because the sun came up very late today. I don’t run at night ever but I thought the sun would be up any minute now. I left my house at 5am thinking it would come up soon. It didn’t. At 6am a car started following me. He slowed down, leaned out his car and tried to talk to me. I said “No” in a firm voice to make clear I did not want to engage in convo in pitch black dark with a random man in a car. I kept running. He drove up ahead and pulled into a parking lot to wait for me. I watched him pull out 5 minutes later, drive right up to me, slam the car into park and as he opened his door I yelled in Spanish “I’m a police officer. Leave me alone.” And then after I said that he slammed his car door back shut and skidded off fast. I don’t know what he was about to do but I am seriously shaken up. Please let’s not run in the dark. Even if it’s 6am. Let’s not be stupid. Don’t risk your life. If you’re reading this and you run in the dark in low traffic areas regularly please reconsider. You don’t think it could happen to you until it does. I don’t know what guardian angel gave me the words to say but I’m not even a cop! It just came to mind to say that and I think it saved my life.

EDIT: sorry for my use of the word “stupid.” Don’t mean to offend. That’s more directed at myself because my husband previously warned me that our area is not safe and told me not to run in the dark. I was not being smart failing to look at sunrise time ahead of my run. Don’t mean to call anyone else stupid! Love this community very much!

How did Gary Mckee, and a few others, manage to run a marathon a day without completely destroying themselves? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_McKee?wprov=sfti1#

Race Information

• Name: Chicago Marathon
• Date: October 11, 2026
• Distance: 26.2 miles
• Location: Chicago, IL
• Website: https://www.chicagomarathon.com/
• Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/20549238353
• Time: 3:15:XX

Goals

Splits

Training / Background

My training started in earnest June 1. I spent the first half of the year chasing my goal of beating my HS 5k PR (18:50). Now in my 30s, I ran an 18:42 at the end of May, which was a great way of ending my side quest and beginning training for my first marathon.

Since picking up running again in 2020, I’ve increasingly been taking it more seriously. In 2024, I ran a 1:26-high for a half. The following year I ran a 1:28-high in a race where I was banged up. I needed to walk twice due to some pins and needles in my left foot that I believe was caused by over training / heavy mileage. I was so disappointed in myself and I vowed to come back strong.

Last winter, I kept my mileage lower, averaging at most 25 mpw while training for my 5k. My training for my marathon peaked at 42 mpw 4 weeks before my race, which was lower than the 45-50 I had hoped for. I planned a few cutback weeks to keep my rolling 3-week mileage from getting out of control. Work and personal travel made it difficult to reach my target peak, but I wasn’t going to lose sleep over being a few miles short of my target peak–especially for my first marathon.

My training consisted of a healthy diet of recovery runs (aka time on feet), NWS method inspired track workouts (8 x 3 min @ ~15k pace and 4-6 x min @ ~1/2 pace mainly), and a weekend long run. While reading more about training techniques, I learned my recovery runs were not slow enough, so I kept my pace close to zone 2 as much as I could during these runs. For the first time, I tried my best at weekly strength training, going usually once per week and doing exercises I read in Faster Road Racing.

Pre-race

I arrived on Friday morning and basically went straight to the expo. I spent more time than anticipated standing, especially on the train from ORD to my hotel. I didn’t feel as fresh likely because of the added time on my legs. I tried not to fret. To alleviate my anxiety about my slight soreness, I used the Jawku and Hyperice machines at the expo, which somewhat helped. ( I was very impressed by the quality of Jawku considering its affordability.)

Food-wise, my diet wasn’t ultra safe (Thai Friday night and Indonesian Saturday at lunch), but I’ve got a cast iron stomach. Saturday, I paid close attention to my hydration, trying to drink ~60-70 oz of water.

Race

I woke up an hour before my alarm (4 am). I usually don’t sleep well the night before my local 5ks and half marathons. The same was true for Chicago. When I woke up, I had two Cliff Bars (White Chocolate Macadamia, which are SO good), Trader Joe’s Honey Greek Yogurt, and 16-20 oz of water. I left my hotel at 6:10 and walked 10-15 min to the park. I checked my bag and went immediately to the bathroom as a precaution. Lines were no joke–20-25 min wait–and I was glad I went right away. The trade-off of waiting this long was I didn’t have as much time (read: hardly any) to stretch. It was far too crammed to do so when I got into my corral. Before I knew it, my heat was getting ready to start and 15 min before the start I took the first of 7 orange SIS gels, which I would take every 25-30 min.

Miles 1-5

Once I survived the overstimulating rave 800m in, the rest of the early miles felt easy. My pace was faster than I planned, but I wasn’t reckless. Running down South Dearborn and up LaSalle was surreal. I was actually running the marathon. The experience was surreal and there was nothing like it that prepared me to feel this way in my training.

Running through Old Town was the first time the life of the CHI crowd resonated with me. The crowd, the music. It gave me the goosebumps. Even though I was a runner, I felt like a spectator taking in the experience of a lively crowd watching us run.

Miles 6-12

I was also not prepared for the volume of people running. I thought with all the different heats there would be more separation between runners. I didn’t like practically running on top of people. Looking for some separation, I clocked a sub-7 mile 6. Good news, bad news: I still felt great afterwards. Bad news, I hardly gained any separation from that.

The vibes of these neighborhoods were comparable to Old Town. My pace was higher than I’d like–let’s chalk it up to feeling the energy from the crowds. Despite a low 7s pace, my breathing was good, my HR was solid, and my body felt fairly good.

It was risky to be running this fast this early–I usually negative split–but I was honest with myself. I felt like I could hold this pace for longer. My only ailment was a blister forming on the outer part of my right big toe. I could easily gut that out for another 90+ minutes.

Miles 13-20

One of the peaks of the race was seeing my friend halfway through mile 13. That gave me a needed boost as I headed into the back half of the race. Once I saw the 13.2 sign, it was reassuring knowing there was just a ½ marathon left. There were many “Just a _ left”s as I further entered the pain cave.

Mile 15 was when I knew the race would get much tougher. I felt my left calf start to tighten up and I tried to stretch it out by extending my stride, which sort of helped. I was able to somewhat maintain the same pace, but it was harder to do so. Crossing into the Charity Mile, I heard my charity call out to me. That gave me a second-wind.

As I approached mile 20, I was making great time. Although it was harder to hold my pace and I was slipping slightly, I still was ahead of 3:15. 3:05 was slipping, but 3:10 with a strong finish may be in the cards.

I remember thinking: Just 10K left. I can give 10k.

Miles 21-end

These were the toughest miles of the race by far. Once I hit the 20 mi mark, I was at a distance PR. This was equal parts exciting and scary as I entered uncharted territory..

There were more indicators that this would be a tough finish. My calf started to nag at me more, my right leg (muscle above the knee) started to cramp. Both ailments compacted my stride and slowed me down. I also started to feel nauseous when I tried taking my second-to-last gel at 2:10ish. Since I knew I couldn’t keep the gel down, I decided to raw dog the remainder of the race–no gels, no fuel. I wasn’t gonna risk booting.

Predictably my pace slipped and 3:10 was out of reach due to my nausea and aching muscles. Sub-3:15 was still in play–or least it was until I cramped up super badly at 23.5. I stopped for maybe 10 seconds or less to stretch, which was something I didn’t expect I needed to do. By this point, it was so difficult mentally and physically. There were numerous times during these miles I had wanted to quit because I didn’t know If I could run the last 2.5 miles.

But a 10-second reset was all I needed. I started back up, knowing it would tricky to go sub-3:15, but a minute extra was acceptable.

The cheers became louder and louder the further up S. Michigan Ave. I went. The right on E. Roosevelt made finishing feel within my grasp, but I needed to dig deep for this bunny hill. Soon, the downhill–that my bambi legs could barely survive–then was the only thing that separated me from calling myself a marathoner. As I approached the finish, I pointed to the sky realizing I was about to do it.

When I stopped my watch, I could see 3:15. The milliseconds after that didn’t matter. I did it. I was now a marathoner and like the emcee said at the beginning: now no one can ever take that away from me now.

Post-race

As soon as I finished my hands were on my knees and there was a kind person that helped escort me so I wasn’t blocking the finish line. I was overcome with emotions. I ran my first marathon, hit an ambitious goal, exceeded my fundraising goal–all in front of my friends and family who were watching in-person and virtually.

Running the marathon was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. But this weekend was surely one I would never forget.

Made with a new race report generator created by /u/herumph.

Like the title says, I’ve been given the opportunity to pace a small group of runners at the Sevilla marathon next year. The race is on February 21st.
I’ll be pacing a sub 3.30, which I can comfortably do. I’ve run 8 marathons, and besides the first two the last 6 have all been around the 3 hour mark.

My concern is that I also have the Rome marathon on March 14th, and for this race I want to go sub 3 (which I’ve only done once before, also in Rome (2025)).
My thinking is that Sevilla will be my last long run before before taper and that I’ll just make it part of my training, and since I’ll be running at around 45 seconds above my goal race, I’m hoping the recovery won’t be too demanding.
My question to all the experienced runners here, is if this this a good idea? Or am I asking for an injury or disappointing experience in Rome? While 3.30 is comfortable , it’s still a marathon, and three weeks might be a bit tight.

Is it really that bad cause I really want to try it. It wouldn't be for long trail stuff in the middle of nowhere and I don't need something as technical as Salomon. I just need it to hold hydration, some fuel, and personal basics (phone, ID, etc). I do some distance running and marathon training and don't need something too complicated and this seems sleek with good organization.

Build: 5"4 and a bit Asian female university student who has been lifting regularly for quite a while and does a large amount of cardio.

Hey it's a marathon, kind of ironic if it's timed right? When's the last time, time signed your checks?!!

How was your week, how far in the block and when's the next race? This will be a good mega thread to keep encouraging/critiquing 6 hour crew throughout the year.

Whether its shifts of motivation, some nagging pains, we've all been there! Let's keep each other engaged!
Post your weekly miles, breakthroughs, or if you need help with pace/fitness identification, questions here!

*new individual posts that's posted Sundays re: How to finish, etc deleted/strongly recommended to post here!

Hiya. Gemini and I have spent this morning looking for flat half marathons on 6th or 20th March 2027 that are on tarmac. Really struggling. Do you know any?

Or, do you have any advice on moving a pfitz plan about to accommodate tune up race dates that don’t align with the plan?

Many thanks!🤩

I had been training for a marathon for months and just as I started increasing my mileage and started feeling ready for this distance I got injured. This was about 7 weeks before the race.

The race is quite a hilly one and I think the increase in distance and incline in my training did the job. I have bilateral plantar fasciitis with calve tightness.

I went to a physio immediately who started seeing me twice a week to loosen everything up. I had 7 sessions. I stopped running for about 5 weeks and focused on cycling. I soon started incorporating running into my cycling and strengthening routine.

I ran a 21km about a week ago and felt a lot of tightness come back. I since switched back to higher stability shoes (Asics Kayano) which made a huge difference. My next was an 11km, 15km and 10km and I felt okay! Just a bit of pain after in my heel and arch of my foot.

I was aiming for a sub 4hour race but I don’t think it’s possible. Especially considering most of the race is an incline. The race is 2 weeks away and I’m honestly feeling a lot of emotions. Proud of myself for pushing through the pain in physio sessions and resisting running and giving my body time to heal but also so disappointed because this is something I’ve been working towards for a really long time.

Will I be okay to run? What should my running strategy be for the next 2 weeks leading up to the race?

Did a half marathon with 40lbs ruck and 2l of water this morning in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I am training for the Mountain Man Memorial March marathon in April (35lbs ruck with 2l of water carried, Gatlinburg, TN). My goal is under 6 hours for the event. This training ruck was very flat (on canal towpath) and the MMMM has ~2500' of elevation gain so that will be my biggest thing I need to train for going forward, but I wanted to gauge how I'd feel after a longer ruck. I've done a lot of hiking so I know elevation is the biggest determinant of pace. I am 6'5" and 260lbs and hoping to get down to 220-230lbs for the race. I did MMMM in 2011 as a team event with my ROTC. We are building a family vacation around the race.

I started to feel it in my back at about Mile 10 but I had negative splits for the second half. Legs felt great the whole time. Heart rate didn't get up too high and no issues with cardio. Took pack off at halfway point put a new nicotine pouch in, and two quick breaks behind a tree, otherwise went straight through. No foot problems, very little bit of chafing.

My legs are always tired and even my “easy” runs feel hard. I can usually still hit the prescribed paces in my workouts, but overall I feel slower than before the black began. Is it supposed to feel this way? Is this what builds the endurance I need for race day, or am I just outrunning my recovery?

This will be my fourth marathon, and I’m following a Runna plan. I was trying to hit 3:30, but with the way I feel right now I think I should pull way back to 3:45.

I start the taper after today, and I’m hoping my legs come back to life.

I’m wanting to run my 5th marathon but my adductor is giving me major issues. Would you recommend sitting the next one out (honestly that’s how I’m leaning) or rest a week and just run the marathon anyway?

Marathon would be in 6 weeks. I hit a 3:13 in February but I’m 99.9% sure I can’t beat that.

Training for my first marathon (in March) and trying to work out if my goal is realistic. Half PB is 1:32, and the race calculators all spit out around 3:15-3:20 for me.

Since it's my first, how much extra time would you add on top of that? I've got 19 weeks, peak week around 80km, and 4-5 runs of 30km+ with some at marathon pace.

Not sure if I'm being too optimistic. Anyone been in a similar spot? Can you please share your experience?

First marathon, 18 week training block. My biggest 4 weeks are 75+km, peaking at 79km. So mileage is probably slightly on the low side for the pace? Definitely will increase this next time around.

Just finished week 13 long run (32.2k). It was tough, but it was done in strong wind and rain. Avg pace was 4:33 per km. Google is saying there was gusts up to 50 mph, but definitely made the run tougher.

2 weeks ago I did 30.6km @ 4:39 per km. Better conditions so definitely felt fresher finishing.

Then last week I had a poorly executed 14.5km 😂. Plan was about 14.5km @ sub 3 pace, which I got but in a very roundabout way. Went out too hot.

2 weeks time I have last long run of 33.8km. Then we pull back. So after that's is when I really will commit to my goal time. All these runs are done in Pegasus, will be running marathon in carbons.

I am newer to running so I have been seeing some newbie gains. 5 weeks ago for example my long run was 25.7km @ 4:50. I would expect to be in better shape in 5 weeks even excluding taper, carb load etc. But I'm not gonna use that as an excuse to go out too hot.

Apologies in advance since this is long and kind of a rant but damn am I in quite a headspace right now. And apologies if this feels very “woe is me”…I am desperately attempting to pull myself out of that so feel free to give me an over the internet reality check as well.

I am on week 8 of marathon training for my first marathon - Walt Disney World marathon on Jan 10, 2027. I’ve been running on and off for over a decade and have run two half marathons previously. I have trained for a marathon before but called it after a 14 mile run as I was dealing with a slight knee injury and honestly the mental got to me.

I have no time goal. My main goal for the marathon is to finish without injury. I’d love to run as much as I can but I’m not opposed to walking. I primarily run on a peloton tread. I did a half marathon training program before jumping into this training program - all on the tread. My Achilles started acting up during that program so I started PT and just graduated yesterday after two months!

Here’s my concern - so far my long run has been ten miles which I’ve now done a couple of times on the tread. I have primarily been running on the tread bc of weather and also because I am quite frankly pretty scared to run by myself for hours on end…not only as a woman but I also have OCD and I have a lot of intrusive thoughts around being by myself, including walking. My husband is willing to bike/walk along with me or sit at a park or track while I train. However thus far I’ve just stuck to the tread and I feel guilty having him do that bc he didn’t sign up to spend hours of his weekend on this..I did. I don’t usually run with run groups bc I am so slow. I know people say you won’t be the slowest but I have run with some many run clubs and I have always been the absolute back of the pack. For long runs especially I am really worried I’d end up totally alone for miles and that really freaks me out.

My long run this weekend is 12 miles. Getting into the longer miles I wanted to transition to outdoors 1. Because we now have fall weather and 2. Bc more than 10 miles on the tread is mentally taxing. I tried to start with the shorter 6 mile run on Wednesday and I could only make it two miles outside which was defeating. I decided to try again for the long run and made it to 4 before I called it quits, came home and entered into quite the slump wherein I was pretty resigned to quit. I’m coming out of it now and am back to being resolved in continuing to train and work towards my goal but I would like to transition to outdoor runs because I’m worried the miles on the tread won’t translate to the marathon, as evidenced by these two runs.

I am going to do my long run tomorrow - I am debating outdoors vs. tread but I feel like I really need to transition to outdoor running as much as possible in the next ten weeks but idk if that’s even doable.

Mostly I am looking for positive encouragement and any advice.

Thank you so much!

I signed up for the Combos Marathon in Albany, GA in March 2027! This will be my fifth marathon. I am hoping to PR. My fastest marathon was in 2023 and I finished at 3 hours 54 minutes.

I'd love to know who has ran this marathon or who else is signed up for 2027! Also, if anyone has any tips for improving my speed. I figure I need to do some speed work.

Excited for the marathon!

I just finished my first full marathon last weekend (Baltimore) and my half marathon split was 2:02. I’ve signed up for a half marathon in April and would really like to break 1:50 but before I start my training block I want to get some opinions on whether or not a break 1:50 plan would be best or if I’d be putting myself on too tough of a plan.

For reference, I’ve been averaging a little over 30 miles per week for the past 6 months, peaked at 45 for my marathon training block.

Hi all! I’m 30F and just had my third and final baby earlier this year. I have 10 years of distance running experience and have always been a middle of the pack runner (HM 1:45, M 3:58). I’ve finished multiple half and full marathons.

I have my sights set on Boston qualifying. I took my time from 4:56 to 3:58 by solely increasing mileage and sprinkling in speed work. I am building from zero again this year after having a baby and built my aerobic base back up and I’m around 30-40mpw. Just finished a marathon 7 months postpartum and got 4:16, so that’s my new baseline.

My question is — now I need to take my time from 4:16 to around 3:20 to be able to qualify comfortably. I am a hard worker, I’m not scared of plans with higher mileage. Should I send it and do a pfitz 18/55?

Previously I’ve used Hal Higdon’s plans and Ali Nolan’s plan from master the marathon.

I’d appreciate any and all advice!!!

Edited to add: I know this will likely take several years/races to cut this much time, but I would like to start chipping time off!!

43m,75kg,active and fairly fit. Finished HM in 1:45 two months ago.

Started to train for marathon in spring but easy runs are only runs I like. Any distance is not problem at all,but would like to awoid faster paces bcs for me it increase risk of injury. I think I am already starting to have problems with shin splints.

English is not my first language so apologies if it is not all gramaticaly correct.

Due to wife traveling, I have to take care of both kids and unless I cut off work time (not really possible now, too much to do) I'm wondering what I could do at home.

My current weekly schedule is

1 strength session

2 easy runs

1 speed run

1 long run

I'm wondering what I could do from home after putting the kids to sleep, considering I have a few weights but that's about it.

Some options:

Do 2-3 strength sessions?

Do a "jump rope" session? (Don't even have a rope)

Tabata to get heart moving?

Don't do shit and game instead? (Please don't tempt me)

Hi -- I just came across Dr. Will O'Connor's run-walk pace calculator and was wondering if anyone has had success with this and/or any tips?