MARATHONS - 2008

[Gross]

Anyone thinking of running a marathon in 2008 should consider the Vilnius Race on September 13th.... details here:

http://www.maratonas.lt/en/

[Wattok]

With a men's record sitting at 2hrs 21mins it sounds like a tough course.

[Kitch]

Or Marrakech on 27th January

[graeme]

Or anywhere.

Because when they know you're a runner, people will always ask about your marathon time. And once you're a vet woulda, coulda shoulda just doesn't cut it..

My biggest regret is not running a marathon at (what passed for) my "peak".

[Kitch]

I agree

I never did because I knew what it was probably going to do to my legs.
Now I have the opportunity to get wrecked and not to worry about the ensuing season.

look for winter marathons to allow you to prepare post O' season
then recover and switch to terrain pre O'season

[Adventure Racer]

I still don't regret not running a marathon (have run further than that off-road, but I guess that doesn't count) - does that mean I'm not yet past my best?

[ER]

Running down a traffic free Champs Elysee on an Easter Sunday morning - best way to see Paris. Plus the food put on by the marathon organisers along the way makes for a very pleasant outing.

[runnerbean]

(have run further than that off-road, but I guess that doesn't count)

I can confirm (having run my first - and last - marathon at the beginning of the month) that a road marathon and (for example) a mountain marathon are very different. For a start, mountain marathons are way more enjoyable! I assume it's a combination of speed/intensity and repetitive strain that means my calves and ITB suffered in the marathon like they've never done off-road.
I'm glad I've done one, but two weeks on with my legs back to normal, and despite missing my target time by a couple of minutes, I still have no desire to do another.

[Adventure Racer]

Wasn't actually talking about a mountain marathon as such, but the running stage of the Scottish Coast to Coast race back in '96/'97, which was 28 miles IIRC between Blair Atholl and Braemar, all along tracks - probably a lot closer to a road marathon than a mountain marathon. (of course that was after 100 miles on a bike the day before!)

[Gross]

AR... you are my hero!! How do you do it???