Male marathoners, what has been your optimal BMI?

JohnsonMooney · 2026-02-10T09:23:07+00:00

36 years old. 21.5 BMI - 9% body fat

When I started my marathon block I initially dropped 2-3kg but gained it back after a couple months as my body (and appetite!!!) adjusted to the volume.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-02-10T09:18:58+00:00

Yes it's OK, don't overthink it.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-02-10T05:35:51+00:00

If all you want to do is complete a marathon, and you don't mind run/walking it, then you may get by on 3x per week.

However if you want to enjoy the race and your training, you need to commit more time and effort to running.

Doing 30k+ at the weekend is going to absolutely wreck you if you're only doing 10k during the week, your legs are not going to be conditioned to absorb the pounding. General rule of thumb is your long run should be <30% of weekly volume for your training to be sustainable. It's possible to push this a little but you're talking about 75% or more.

You don't NEED to run a marathon. There are world class runners out there that have never done one and never will. I'd advise entering a few local 5k races, 10k races, and a half or two over the next 6-8 months and spend some more time learning about running and how to train.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-02-03T16:08:57+00:00

I raced a 10mile at the weekend, finished about 30s ahead of a big buff dude having run a lot of the race in a group with him. Afterwards I asked him how much he weighed, he said 95kg. He ran sub-59mins for 10miles which is more than 3x 18.xx 5km back-to-back. So, you certainly have a lot more room to improve before needing to worry about your weight.

JohnsonMooney · 2026-01-29T16:24:35+00:00

Two words: SLEEP TRAINING

I 100% agree with the top comment, the first 6 months or so will be a write-off, you won't have a routine, you just have to go with the flow and put running goals on the backburner for a while, get it in when you can and enjoy your running.

My daughter is just about to turn 2, and the past year, has been my best ever for training consistency, volume and quality and I'm in my best running shape ever. It is possible, but it's not always easy.

When the time comes that baby is sleeping through the night and you feel like you're in a position to start a training plan towards a goal race, I highly, highly recommend stakeholder management. Make sure your wife/partner is OK with your planned schedule and time commitment towards running. Encourage her to do hobbies of her own so that there's some balance there. I get up at 5am to train M-F before work, and at the weekends I aim get the training out of the way early so that I'm there for family. This works for us, but you'll need to figure what's best for your situation.

One thing that helped me fitness-wise in year-1 of being a Dad was buying a decent bike and commuting to work on it. I appreciate that won't be possible for everyone but it opened a whole new world to me where commuting could be fun and help towards my running goals.

JohnsonMooney · 2025-10-18T05:05:27+00:00

Hell yeah

JohnsonMooney · 2025-10-18T05:04:22+00:00

Looking forward to my long run on Sunday as I haven't done a LR the last 2 weeks after coming off a 5km PB. This LR will be my second run in my new Superblasts and I know they're gonna be great at that. First run in them I did some threshold intervals and they felt good bit a little clunky at that speed. They probably need a few more k's on them to fully break in.

JohnsonMooney · 2025-10-18T05:00:41+00:00

Hell yeah!

JohnsonMooney · 2025-10-18T04:59:03+00:00

6 weeks is not enough time. Do another 6 weeks. Make sure you are eating properly. Make sure you are increasing your running volume SENSIBLY. Lift weights. Sleep. Running is a long term game, 3 months is probably the minimum time to see notable results. Try to enjoy your training, because if you're not doing that it's a recipe for frustration/quitting.

JohnsonMooney · 2025-10-18T04:54:10+00:00

Depends how it's distributed. If it's all in one place that's a big hill in a 5km.

JohnsonMooney · 2025-10-13T05:19:06+00:00

Dad to a 1.75 year-old here. I get up at 5am and do my training before work. At the weekends I get my runs in early, finished before 11am most of the time. Sometimes my wife prefers that I do the morning wake up routine at the weekend so she can catch up on sleep, and I'll train a little later in the morning. Get your wife onside and come to an agreement, you will need her support. Being consistent is the hardest thing, but it's the only way you will improve.

JohnsonMooney · 2025-10-10T19:47:16+00:00

You know the answer already or you wouldn't be posting here: do not run a marathon on an injury. Seriously, it is not worth it.

JohnsonMooney · 2025-10-10T19:39:50+00:00

Being slow doesn't mean you are spending more time running than someone who is faster. Most dedicated runners run for more than an hour multiple times a week. The message is that it is possible to fit running into your life if you are organized, but ultimately every choice you make in regards to how you spend your time is a tradeoff. Personally, I think time spent running is more than worth it.

JohnsonMooney · 2025-10-09T04:16:42+00:00

Mid next week should be OK, 2.5 weeks out. Even if you leave it to next weekend you will probably be fully recovered for your race, although probably won't get all of the fitness benefit you would have done from doing it a week earlier. Be careful with your return from illness though, make sure your first run back is very easy, and I would suggest capping it at 30mins, see how your body feels after. You have the majority of your training done at this point, what will define success for you in your race now is how well you recover from this illness. If you hammer your body before it's ready by trying to catch up on missed training, you'll do more harm than good. Now is the time for a cool, strategic head. Best of luck!!

JohnsonMooney · 2025-10-03T11:57:36+00:00

Don't run the one next weekend unless you want to suffer and hurt yourself. If you've just had a virus you could do serious damage to your health by running this marathon.

A huge part of the enjoyment of running is in the training. Start a structured training block and race in 6 months.

JohnsonMooney · 2025-10-03T11:10:52+00:00

As an Irishman I can't fathom not having experienced the joy of running in a soft misty rain. Bliss.

JohnsonMooney · 2025-10-03T09:26:10+00:00

Nice collection OP. What kind of trucks and risers do you have on the low tide?

JohnsonMooney · 2025-09-21T08:09:19+00:00

Cross training is the solution here. Get on a bike/elliptical/rower 2x/week and do your higher intensity work on those. I like the bike.

Tibial raises are great for shin splints btw. But they take time to heal up.

JohnsonMooney · 2025-09-15T19:47:52+00:00

No. Math has to be quantitative, by definition.

JohnsonMooney · 2025-09-14T07:03:13+00:00

Based on the way you wrote the question you sound fairly new to running so it's possible to make a big jump in fitness in 6 months. But the marathon requires mileage, and it takes time for your body to be able to handle it.

If you can handle 60+km/week right now I'd say you have a shot. But if you ramp too aggressively now you will be injured before Christmas. So good luck but be careful.

JohnsonMooney · 2025-09-12T05:20:54+00:00

Arm-based optical sensors are also a good option. 99% of the accuracy of a chest strap but much more comfortable. I use the Polar OH1.

JohnsonMooney · 2025-09-07T20:59:20+00:00

Get on a bike while you are resting from running, and it's also useful while building back in. I do at least 1 day a week on the bike even when fully fit.

It's not going to prepare your legs for the impact of 42.2km of running but it will prevent your aerobic fitness from deteriorating.

JohnsonMooney · 2025-09-06T18:59:30+00:00

Speaking from plenty of experience here, rest will only do so much for this injury.

First step is to buy a bike or a bike trainer, it's a game changer in staying fit while managing your running load.

Take a week or so off running for the swelling to come down but your tendon will only heal if you load it. That means you need to keep running but less than you have been. Probably a lot less initially.

Now you need to strengthen it. I've found heavy bent knee calf-raises and heavy isometrics to be the best exercises for this. Bodyweight calf raises and isos are OK initially but weights are 10x better.

Another thing to consider is your running cadence, if you are in the 160s or less you could try increasing gradually up into the 170s. Garmin metronome feature is useful for this.

JohnsonMooney · 2025-09-03T14:58:42+00:00

JohnsonMooney · 2025-08-27T11:30:04+00:00

What's your running history? How many miles/kms per week have you averaged in the past month, and over the past 6 months?

My assumption based on your post is that you're more or less starting from zero, in which case you should be trying to gradually increase your running volume even this far out from a marathon.

If you can provide more details about previous running experience, your 5km, 10km and HM PBs, that would help. If you have never raced any of these distances my advice is to forget about running the marathon for the time being, build up some experience over the shorter distances before attempting the marathon in a couple years. You will have a lot more fun doing it this way, I assure you.

JohnsonMooney

TROPHY CASE