08/04/2025
Brighton marathon 5hr35m ✅
My first & (possibly) last marathon & what a humbling experience!
I set out to run a marathon with only 2 months of training & what can I say, I did it…but only just!
So what did I learn?
Marathons are no joke & require a structured dedicated prep of 4+ months minimum!
My prep consisted of 4 long runs, 15k/23k/28k/32k in combination with hyrox training.
Trying to mix the two ultimately left me underprepared for both.
Completing 2 hyroxes & a marathon within 8 weeks, whilst working 60+ hands on hours within the clinic is too much, however that’s the life of an amateur athlete I suppose!
Cutting corners with my prep led to me dropping all strength training, I felt I had a strong base to risk this but my hamstrings & hips flexors certainly were on the verge of tearing within the marathon.
I’ve massively dodged a bullet by not picking up a major injury within my prep & I would never ever recommend patients drop resistance training out of their training preps regardless of sport!
I tried to maximise my recovery time with the use of compression boots, regular massage, cold plunge which all help, however these shouldn’t be a substitute for a solid training program, good quality rest/sleep & nutrition.
Mentally the toughest thing I have ever done, when I signed up I welcomed the mental challenge & I certainly got that on the day.
My ego wanted sub 5hrs, but aside from the inadequate prep, sun burn & sunstroke, I am proud to have entered the 0.01% of the world’s population to complete a marathon!
