I finally did a marathon
Updated: Oct 13
My wife Rashna raced the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon in 2025. I marveled at her commitment as her training runs stretched into multiple hours. It was amazing watching her cross the finish line. I ran the half-marathon course at that same race and thought that if I ever wanted to try a marathon, that would be the course to do it on. Our mutual friend Janne—she wouldn't mind me calling her a running fanatic—nudged me on by saying I had real potential to run a fast marathon if I trained right.
At some point in the winter of 2026, I realized that I wanted to try marathon racing. But the goal of just finishing a marathon didn't really excite me. Instead, I committed to trying to run a competitive race: my "big hairy audacious goal" was to finish in less than 3 hours. An important sub-goal was making it to the starting line without major injury. As a new long-distance runner, I knew that this would mean some compromises in terms of running volume—I wouldn't necessarily be able to do the sort of mileage that most sub-3 hour runners do. I would also need to figure out how to safely build strength and speed.
Training plan
I am nothing if not a meticulous planner, so I first turned to Hal Higdon's website for ideas for a plan. Hal's site has a library of free running plans for multiple distances and experience levels (I had already used one of his half marathon plans in 2025). I chose his "Intermediate 1" marathon training plan as a starting point. I began some structured running in February with the goal of training for several shorter races in the spring (Prospect Mountain Road Race, Aloha 5k, and the Race to the Lakes). The idea was to build a good fitness base and ramp up my mileage enough so that I could start Hal's 18 week plan in June with a 24 mile week and 8 mile long run.
When I started the actual plan in June, I sought the council of T3 Coaching founder (and Glens Falls teacher colleague) Kevin Crossman. He generously made some crucial suggestions that helped me shape the Hal Higdon plan to fit my goals. There is no substitute for expert advice like this and check-ins with Kevin throughout the process were motivating and extremely useful.
I must also admit to a fair amount of AI use during my training. Uploading full workout files and my training plan to AI made it easy to ask training questions and ask for advice. I wouldn't say that I always fully trusted the results, but it was certainly a data point for me and became a routine since it was a resource that was always at my fingertips. The results were sometimes a little too full of affirmation, but often led me to secondary sources where I found useful information.
Strength work and injury prevention
I sustained a minor but instructive injury to my glute med running in December. As uncomfortable as this was, it was actually a blessing because it taught me how far I had to go in terms of strength and durability. At Rashna's recommendation, I scheduled several physical therapy sessions at Adirondack Total Care with Lisa Grabbe. Lisa diagnosed my injury and designed a plan for helping me prevent it in the future. She also assisted me in building a routine for building durability and injury-resilience. As the number of exercises piled up, I began to realize that the marathon undertaking would have a whole separate strength-building component that I hadn't anticipated. I eventually built a weekly schedule for my PT work that I stuck with for over 20 weeks.
Shoes (and other accessories)
I have never been too thoughtful about footwear—in the past I have worn shoes until the tread was completely gone. Rashna taught me that running on worn-out shoes could open me up to foot and joint issues, as the cushioning and structure of running shoes degrade over time. I began tracking the milage on my shoes using Strava and replaced my shoes when their milage got into the 300+ mile range.
I also learned that rotating through different shoes during training has been shown to result in a 39% reduction in injuries! This is because when a runner uses a variety of shoes, the body is forced to use slightly different muscles during training, thus building strength and resiliency. The foam in the soles of modern shoes also take over 24 hours to fully regain their cushion after a long run. Although I was initially annoyed at having to buy yet another pair of shoes, I think that this strategy really benefited me as I had no foot problems at all during my training.
Finally, I invested in a "super shoe" for race day, in my case the Brooks Hyperion Elite 5. Modern race shoes incorporate a new wave of shoe technologies, including incredibly responsive foam and lightweight materials. I used these shoes sparingly, breaking them in during marathon pace runs and races only.
In terms of technology, I used my Garmin Instinct Solar 3 for all my runs. This is more of a hiking watch than a running watch, but it does have the latest satellite tech, incredible battery life, and plenty of functionality for runners. I set up an alarm every 20 minutes to remind me to take in carbohydrates, which worked really well for me. Below are my race day data screens.
I also used the Amazfit Helio Strap throughout my training. This is fitness tracker designed to be worn all of the time. The idea is that it gives insights into sleep, recovery, and fatigue over time. It was interesting to see my vital signs fluctuate in response to training. Unlike similar options, the Helio Strap has no subscription attached, so it was a relatively low-cost experiment. I can't say that the data led me to make any major changes to my training, although it was sort of neat.
Geneva Half-Marathon
Many marathon runners do a half-marathon race as part of their plan. I chose to do the Geneva Half Marathon with some friends in August. This was a great chance to work on race strategy, race in my super shoes, and dial in race day fueling.
The course was much hillier than my marathon course would be, so my time left me feeling a bit humbled. But this was a good time with friends and sated my competitive drive for a few weeks.
Setbacks and challenges
I was lucky in that I experienced few major setbacks in my training. A strained lower abdominal muscle, exacerbated by a nagging cough, was a minor frustration during the months of April and May. But this eventually resolved itself during the summer months.
Continuing training while traveling for two weeks in the summer initially seemed like it would be problematic, but as it turned out, I was able to mostly stick to my plan with just a few tweaks. Completing long runs during the hot month of August was tough at times, but it took just one under-hydrated long run for me to make some necessary adjustments.
A tension I felt early in my plan was resisting the urge to do more volume/speed work. I am glad I trusted the plan, since this is probably a major reason why I didn't get myself into more trouble with injuries.
The race
Preparing for race day meant making plans for pacing as well as logistics. Fortunately, this is one of the major purposes of long runs in marathon training plans and I had already practiced my fueling and hydration plans. I used products from Precision Hydration, which I was very familiar with from cycling training and racing. I would be targeting 80 - 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour using their gels and would take in 30 grams with 100 milligrams of caffeine prior to the start as well as another 100 milligrams of caffeine at the halfway point. I prefer not to rely on aid stations, so I also brought along about 700 mililiters of water in a vest bladder as well as about 500 mililiters of water with electrolyte in a soft bottle on the front of my vest.
My plan was to start out at slower than marathon pace, giving my body a few miles to settle in and conserving resources for later. After mile 4, I would be targeting 6:50 splits. At mile 13, I would do a mental check-in and decide if a change in plan was needed. If all systems were go, I would proceed with 6:50 splits until mile 20. At that point, I would push as hard as I reasonably could to the finish. This plan had very little margin for error, as a 6:52 split is needed for a sub-3 hour finish.
Excitement was really starting to build as I completed my final couple of key workouts in September. I also felt some pressure and anxiety. My longest runs had been 20 miles and the most marathon pace work I had done in one session was 10 miles (at the end of one of my 20 mile runs). This was by design—all marathon training is a balance between spurring on adaptation with training while avoiding overuse injuries—but the gap between what I had done in training versus what the race would require seemed very large. I had to trust that the training had done its work and that my well-rested and fueled body would be able to perform. At the starting line, I felt that my sub-3 hour goal was possible, but I also accepted that an in-race recalibration could well be necessary if my body was signaling that maintaining such a pace would lead to a catastrophic meltdown.
The lead-up to race day went smoothly. I was terrified of getting sick and sadly had to avoid my sick niece and nephew. I also skipped an apple-picking outing the day before my race, opting instead to mostly stay off my feet. I did a three-day carbohydrate load, targeting 500 grams of carbs three days out and 600 grams the two days before race day. I got surprisingly good sleep in the nights leading up to the race. Rashna made race morning easier by accompanying me to the start and taking my excess clothes. She also soothed my nerves as we waited in a distressingly long porta-potty line.
Race day weather was close to perfect with cloudy and cool conditions. I followed my plan and, despite wavering a bit at the halfway point, ended up targeting my goal pace throughout. Rashna cheered me on at various points throughout the course. Putting on a smile for her helped boost my morale and her friendly face also gave me helpful checkpoints as the miles ticked by.
In the final 5 miles, I felt aerobically strong, but my legs were at their limit. My glutes and hamstrings in particular felt like they were on the verge of cramping completely. Instead of executing a gradual acceleration as I had planned, I fought to maintain 6:50 - 6:52 splits. As I entered the final two miles, I realized I still had a shot at reaching my goal. I managed to push the pace into the high 6:30s. As I rounded the final bend, I could see the race timer over the finish and realized that I would be able to squeak under the 3-hour mark. My finishing time was 2:59:32.
At the finish, I was unable to stand without Rashna's help and could barely walk to the car. I went home and didn't move for most of the afternoon. I then slept for almost nine and a half hours.
I believe that this was the most completely taxing competitive event I have ever done. Erg tests and rowing races may have been more painful in the moment, but they didn't take such a toll on my body. Bike races were exhausting, but did not have close to the same musculoskeletal impact. In terms of how my body felt the day after, the closest analog might be a 20 mile winter hike with overnight gear and 6,000 feet of elevation. But the intensity of the marathon effort really puts it into a category of its own. I'm really amazed that our human bodies can absorb such an effort with the right preparation.
Lessons
A few things I learned in no particular order:
For a long term goal like this one, advice and guidance is essential (thank you Rashna, Lisa, Kevin, and... my chatbot).
Fueling matters. Carbohydrate intake is reshaping endurance sports at the professional level. It takes some gut training, but I really believe proper fueling is why I never hit the dreaded "wall."
Cadence matters. A faster cadence puts less wear and tear on your body. I increased my average cadence by about 10 spm throughout my plan. Ideally, I would increase it by another 10 spm if were to continue to do long runs. I did learn, however, that it's dangerous to try to increase cadence too quickly. I believe that this is how I strained a lower adnominal muscle in the spring.
Strength training plays a surprising role in marathon training. I never realized how much time I would be spending in the gym doing exercises like Copenhagen planks, Romanian deadlifts, and glute bridges. However, I am convinced that this work was the only reason my legs did not completely collapse in the final 5 miles of the race.
The support of other runners in the community was extremely helpful to me. Running with Glens Falls Run Club folks each week was motivating and has become a highlight of my week. Running with them all winter gave me a nice base on which to build up to the marathon plan. Racing and training with various friends throughout the plan really added to the experience and made it much more worthwhile for me!
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