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First Marathon Considerations

Marathons are difficult events.

You hopefully spend a number of months training specifically for the day as well as any number of months to years as a runner before that.

During training, you execute long runs, practice nutrition, and nail down your gear choices. Let us not make the day any more of a challenge than it needs to by selecting a logistically challenging event!

  1. Location / Distance from You
    1. This may be the most important. It’sĀ so nice to be able to sleep in your own bed and drive to the start of a race. If you have a first marathon within 1-2 hours of driving from you, that may be a superb choice.
  2. Crowd Support
    1. Does the event’s route take it out of town or is it spending much of its time through residentialĀ areas or through downtown? Having people cheering you on is always a great motivator.
  3. Fellow Runners
    1. Regardless of your running speed, 26.2 miles is a long way. Signing up for a marathon with 50, 100, or 300 people could have you running much of the distance all by yourself. Events with 10,000+ people may be a bit crowded but you may enjoy the company.
  4. Looped, Out and Back, Point to Point?
    1. What type of course will mentally work best for you? Do you think you’ll enjoy seeing your family three times during a looped race? Would you prefer an out and back or single large loop? Maybe a point to point with a different start & finish location.