Running a marathon with 1000s of other runners is an amazing experience. But running a race or two before then will not only help build your confidence to run with a large group of people, but also help you fine tune your race day preparation and give you that all important feedback on how well you are progressing.
Every year more and more races are added to the racing calendar and the long-established events become more and more popular. There has never been so much choice – you could race every weekend if you wanted to!
There is no comprehensive source of all UK races, though these websites between them cover pretty much everything:
Runner’s World events
Race Results
UK Results
Many races fill up weeks and even months in advance so sign up as soon as you can.
It sounds bonkers, but it’s true. When you finish running a marathon you height is lower than when you started. Every step you take is the equivalent of 2-3 times your bodyweight and its estimated that because of this you end the race up to 2cm shorter than when you started. And the more tired you get, the more you feel that force of gravity because as fatigue sets in, you become less efficient and your feet spend more time on the ground. The more time you spend on the ground, the more time your feet, knees and hips absorb the force.
This is the reason why my cousin Joel has said to me he will never run a marathon.
Mind you, he is only 5 feet 2 inches anyway!
Ever wondered why the marathon distance has the additional 385 yards tacked on the end of the 26 miles? Well for that extra bit of running we have our very own Royal Family to thank. The current marathon distance was set for the 1908 London Olympics, so that the course could start at Windsor Castle and end in front of the Royal Box. Typical! However, it was not until 1921, however, was that distance adopted as the “official” Marathon distance by the IAAF.
The London marathon is famous for being not only the world’s greatest marathon, but also for the thousands of runners who every year decide that running 26.2 miles in ordinary running kit is just all too easy and not a big enough challenge. So many of them don rhino suits, dress up as large bananas, carry buckets to collect sponsorship on the way, or dress up in a deep sea diving suit and take a week to complete the course as someone did a couple of years ago! One of these weird and wonderful approaches to running the marathon even has its own world record. Meet Xu Zhenjun of China – a marathon runner who likes run marathons, backwards. Yes, that’s backwards. And even more amazing is that Xu’s world record holder for running the marathon backwards is an astonishing 3.43!!
http://www.recordholders.org/en/list/backwards-running.html
Not recommended for your long runs.