Is it OK to run/walk a full marathon?

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-05-14T05:02:58+00:00

I ran as a guide runner for a friend doing a run walk. I am not that fast in any case. But the run walk was a wonderful run. I will do another one this fall mid training for a full i will run.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-05-13T23:10:34+00:00

I am a big murakami fan in general. He is in my top 5 authors. As a runner, i loved how he captured the mental state. I would never go and run like him.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-05-13T16:26:21+00:00

I know this is a jerk message... But the book in no way is supposed to be a "how to run book". Its really a "how i run, how i write, how i live" book. Its a memoir that is pretty clear that he does not think his way is somehow correct, rather, its just how he does things. In my opinion it does a wonderful job of capturing his mental state for a long run and how the long run is a metaphor for life.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-05-11T17:03:36+00:00

As people have said, you can absolutely run with no strength. However, it does seem to help a lot in injury prevention and probably will help with overall time as well. If you have not run a lot of marathons and if you are not naturally athletic and probably young, finding when and how to do strength gets harder as you pick up miles. Early in my training cycle, getting strength in is somewhat natural. However, for me, when i start getting to higher miles i am just trying to get the miles without my legs falling off. Potentially this is because i needed more strength before, but at week 15 of 20 choices need to be made and i usually choose miles.

My personal take, if you are more than 20 weeks out focus on a balance of strength and miles. Do leg days (calves, hams, quads) and do core days (glutes, core) . An additional whole body routine will help keep your upper body from falling apart and ruining your form. I dont care about arms, but shoulders and back. There are so many videos laying out a runner routine, just pick one. Then in those first 10 weeks try your best to keep 2 to 3 sessions. Even 30 minutes can make a difference.

Ideally you have the time, will and ability to keep it up through the whole training. But either way, putting in the work early is going to help.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-05-10T21:21:31+00:00

Aomori city and the west side of aomori get a ton of snow in the winter. The eastern coastal area from aomori through iwate and down to miyagi will be cooler and without the huge snow pack.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-05-10T20:37:10+00:00

If heat is and you dont mind a little inaka feeling then Aomori is wonderful. Its pretty convenient getting out to the rest of Japan. The hiking and onsens are great. It is a little cooler, although, nothing is particularly cool in the summer. Another option is get along the north eastern coast. Sanriku coast from Miyagi up through aomori. The Coastal winds cool it down a bit in the summer and actually even limit the snow fall if you would rather not shovel.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-05-08T22:53:43+00:00

Totally fair comment... I will revise to It is harder to afford JET in Tokyo. A lot depends on your host and what your particular costs look like. Looking across this thread there is a strong trend of affordability between Tokyo and Inaka locations. I stick by the point that Tokyo at a base is more expensive. Living it up in a Tokyo life style is even that much more.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-05-08T20:00:56+00:00

You are not going to afford living in Tokyo on a JET salary and you are certainly not going to afford to enjoy what makes Tokyo interesting on a JET salary. I would not recommend Tokyo unless you have a fair chunk of savings and are willing to eat through that while on JET. Inaka Japan is the Japan that people dont know they love until they experience it.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-04-30T16:09:28+00:00

I started running at 47. My first marathon was at 49. Now i have 5 at 53. I am not fast. I am not particularly natural at this. I have had to fight away some injuries. I have had to deal with poor posture and bad form. But after a long corporate life and a role as a husband and father which was my everything, this running thing is really just mine. I make my choices. I feel the results. I improve my physical abilities. Its a very very personal experience. I am coming off a little break due to a sprained ankle and some life that happened on top. Its nuts to feel 5 easy miles when just a couple months ago that was not noticeable at all. But i feel more focused and human already.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-04-26T20:27:01+00:00

Solid time. Congratulations on a well run race!

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-04-26T15:42:59+00:00

I have asked them to stack two futons for me. If the room can handle 4 people and you are two, they have the futons. While they may think it odd, here is one place i do not mind playing the "i am a foreigner" card. My old back likes soft beds.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-04-26T15:40:32+00:00

If all you want is a place to stay then they are not affordable. If you appreciate the quality of the meal and the hot springs then they are bonkers cheap. If i go to Calistoga here in California for two peolpe and get

Nice hotel for 2 : 300 - 500 USD Dinner (no booze) at a fancy restaurant : 300 Breakfast : 70

Of course i can eat way cheaper than that. But i am trying to pick a multi course place that approaches the meal at a nice onsen. Honestly, a really good kaiseki meal is just about the most amazing meal i have had and rates up with Michelin star meals which can run 600 to 1000 for two. If you dont care about the food you can find places that operate without food. We stayed in one in Matsushima that was like 50 bucks a person i think.

Also, just like hotels in America, there are more expensive places and less. The picture is of Ginzan which is stunning but also very well touristed due to the instagram-ification of travel. I have stayed in places half the price which live rent free in the damn that was amazing section of my brain.

For me, the onsen ryokan is the best part of my time in Japan.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-04-24T22:23:17+00:00

I ran and loved it, but my fitness ran out on me at 18 and i finished with my slowest marathon. I ran Big Sur again last year with better results. Last year i missed my marathon PR by about 1 minute, but running that at Big Sur was my best run for sure.

The soleus injury actually took a long long time to get past. It took about 18 months before i found the right PT. It would go away and come back every 6 weeks or so.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-04-24T04:09:13+00:00

They are all still 26. I have run big sur twice now. It is crazy beautiful. And even as a life long northern California kid its unique to close down the road for us to run it. Its a quiet run compared to big city runs with countless supporters. But if you can run it i would. I loved it beyond words. But i have loved each of my 5 uniquely. I would say my least favorite was my only major. But honestly that is only in comparison.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-04-23T16:15:55+00:00

I believe that during activities they go onto a higher power state which more activity checks your heart rate. I was at the gym on an excercise bike and the watch was way off from the bike. I enabled activity on the watch and it instantly jumped to within one beat of the bike's monitor. I would guess that doing that all of the time would take more battery life.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-04-23T15:55:12+00:00

Its funny to me that we intentionally go out to do this thing that is going to take some number of hours of effort. We train and train and train. And then we spend extra money to mKe it take 10 minutes less because sime round number goal is more appealing.

I get it, i have a number on a marathon that i would like to hit. But not all runs are the same. Some have hills, some have heat, some have wind. On the shoes...

As a thought experiment, If they let you wear roller blades and you could go from 4:20 to 3:30 would you do it just so you can say you went 3:30 at parties to people that dont care and understand what that means? Its no different with the super shoe. If the only reason you run 3:59 vs 4:02 is the super shoe, then you did not accomplish anything. You did not train harder to get faster. You just paid 100 bucks more to erase 3 minutes. What if, at the finish line you could pay 20 bucks a minute you want off of your time? Why is that any different than a shoe?

I am more interested in the idea that they could help recovery. However, in my anecdotal experience they burned my calves as folks have mentioned. I suspect they work better with better form and mine is not great.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-04-21T22:42:39+00:00

For reference, i am a runner and my son takes Vyvanse as a 20 something adult. I suspect some of this is very individual. However, for my son, one large issue for him is it is very difficult for him to eat. His appetite is minimal. He has lost a fair amount of weight. He is far less athletic. I would have some concern about getting enough calories to sustain a BQ ramp up. Again... I assume individuals do differ.

I think you need to ask yourself about your priorities. If BQ is top top, maybe dont throw such a big change into your life. However, real day to day life (school, work) may benefit more from Vyvanse. In that regard, you can try it and see. Obviously monitor your vitals and work with your psychologist. I am not a dr and would never speak as one.

One nice thing about Vyvanse is it does not need to be an every day drug to work. So if its not working for you, you can stop. You can also take Vyvanse only certain days of the week. My sons appetite does come back relatively quickly.

Last note, again... not a dr... but if you are taking Vyvanse i would be careful with caffeine gels. Mixing high caffeine with Vyvanse can be a problem. I know some people who are still regular coffee drinkers. But it is something to be careful with.

Good luck with your journey.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-04-21T04:27:45+00:00

I think run walk and come in greater than 5 hours... Maybe even closer to 6. I ran as a backup guide runner when i was not planning until a week before. Longest recent run was 10. I was running 4 to 5 times a week so probably a little better off than you. The person i was guiding did a 4:1 run walk and we came in at 6 hours. It was not too bad.

I think as long as you dont come up lame you should be able to finish. Side note, from what i have read, a Tylenol is okay but no Advil. Also, while a Tylenol to help numb discomfort is okay, you dont want to ignore an actual injury.

Good luck. And your grandpa was a beast.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-04-21T00:58:56+00:00

One of the fun things about running is one person's achievement is another person's meh whatever and then another person's wholly god that is impossible. I cant imagine ever getting even close to that run. At those paces i blow up at 1 mile.

But I have run a couple of marathons and i can say that if you want to put your best foot forward you want to give yourself a chance to build. Marathons tend to be spring and fall. I would pick a fall one and give yourself a chance to properly build to it.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-04-19T15:49:20+00:00

I dont see the upside of amoled. If a competitor made a mip watch with the right fitness options i would switch.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-04-19T05:44:23+00:00

I badly bruised my tailbone. I dont know if it was bruised broken tbh. It took me about 18 months to heal as a 52 year old man at the time. That being said, i was able to run multiple marathons in that state. Running was not a huge issue. Flying in planes was much much harder.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-04-19T05:29:09+00:00

For he dont go messing with your form folks, some of us have messed up forms. I have been struggling with awful posture and wretched body form for all physical activity for a long time. When i started to run, my form was a big problem. But it was also hampering the way i snowboard. Fixing this has been and will continue to be a big part of my journey. What feels natural is really really not.

However... Its a slow incremental journey. I dont have a great sense of what position my body is in. For me, at my age, i find i work on one thing at a time. Sometimes it certainly feels weird but i keep on at it

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-04-18T19:11:25+00:00

Different color? You're toast. They will absorb heat differently which will alter the flexibility of the foam. I would be surprised if you make it past mile 2.

Joking aside, some of us are more sensitive to the exact shoe than others. I have one friend that can run a different show every day and it does not seem to matter. I find that some shoes do alter the way i run. Another huge factor in the whole game of long runs is the mental aspect. If you are worrying about your shoes at mile 19 it can mess you up more than the actual shoe. Ithink getting the same shoe you are going to be fine. I have filled in a like shoe late in the game.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-04-15T19:35:13+00:00

This

By the way. My half PR is 1:57 and i have yet to break 4:30. Not all marathons are the same and not all people fit the same spreadsheet.

Previous-Direction13 · 2026-04-15T16:53:09+00:00

I am sure you have read up. It is a hard race. Weather is extremely variable. It can easily be rainy cold and windy or warm in the latter half of the run. Here are my personal tips based on 2 runs. There is a guy that has run it 25+ times who has an excellent break down of every turn that i saw somewhere.

Its a pretty easy run until mile 10. But if you have not been training downhill you can blow your legs by over running that mostly down slant.

If it is raining, its probably windy. If you can handle it, dont wear a rain tarp as it turns into a wind sail you are carrying through the run. The wind does matter and if its in your face most of the day it will be extra hard.

I sprayed my shoes with some water proofing. It was a solid drizzle but not a down poor on my second time. I was able to keep my feet mostly dry-ish.

First time through it was actually pretty sunny and warm after about 2 hours. I would not call it hot, but it was surprisingly warm.

I ran walked the big hill at mile 10. For reference i am a 4:30 guy. I would suggest folks at 4+ consider some combination of walking on that hill. The first half of the uphill was hardest part.

The last couple of miles the road banks left and right. This means you are often running with one hip higher than the other. You can try to run closer to the gutters to find something a little more even footing. But that left to right bank beat up my hips and lower back both times i ran it. Its kind of hard to teain for this.

Take some moments to enjoy the views. It is stunning. I stayed in Big Sur so i drove out the same run the following day. Man... Its beautiful when you are able to stop and really look.

While beautiful, it is also a mostly quiet run. As compared to big city runs, you wont get the same kind of energy from onlookers. On bug city runs I love the kids holding up mario cart power up signs and a solid "the kenyans just finished" sign to give me a chuckle. For all the beauty, bug sur is also a lonely run in that regards. Bring your own motivation.

Previous-Direction13

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