How Much Cardio Should I Do To Train For A Marathon?

A marathon is widely recognised as one of the most challenging physical events that the everyday person will compete in. It is a 26 mile running event that is popular with both professionals and beginners alike. Despite the intense physical requirements of the marathon it is often one of the first events that a runner will compete in, probably due to their popularity and because they are regularly held in many locations across the world.

When people come to me for advice about training for a marathon there is one key piece of knowledge that I give them, ‘don’t rush into it and take your time over the training.’ My general estimate is that it takes about 4 and half months to train for a marathon and no less.

Some Tips For Marathon Training

A program that I would advise, begins with many short runs per week and one particularly long run, these are all manageable by the beginner as long as their fitness is not in a particularly poor state. If you are concerned about health then it is worth seeking out the advice of an expert as training in 4 and a half months is going to be more difficult, if not impossible for you. My estimate is for people who have an average level of fitness and are not very overweight.

In the first week I advise people to run a maximum of 6 miles at one time as this is something that will not exhaust the body too much but will start an intense conditioning process. As the date of the marathon comes closer the length of the long run which you will do every week increases. Many people find that one of the most interesting things about training for a marathon is that you will never actually run the full distance before the day of the marathon; the longest amount I advise people to run is 20 miles which they do around three weeks before the actual date of the marathon.

The three weeks before I advise people to cut back on the amount they are trained so that the body can rest for the immense physical exertion they are going to go through on the day itself. If you want to find specific information about training programs which will cover exactly the amount you should be running then there is plenty of information available online. As with all sorts of exercise it is important to remember that diet plays an important part of success and you must seek out nutritional information to make sure that you are meeting your body’s requirements, there is plenty more information about this online and you can also speak to someone at your gym.

In conclusion it is important to remember that running a marathon is an immense physical challenge but it is not something that is beyond your reach. Plenty of amateurs every year complete marathons after just a few months of training and if it is something you set your heart on you will be able to do.

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