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!
- Location / Distance from You
- This may be the most important. It’s 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.
- Crowd Support
- Does the event’s route take it out of town or is it spending much of its time through residential areas or through downtown? Having people cheering you on is always a great motivator.
- Fellow Runners
- 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.
- Looped, Out and Back, Point to Point?
- 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.