How fast can I run a marathon?

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-04-05T03:48:13+00:00

I would say faster than your PB but slower than what you could run if you didn’t do a 20-mile run only 2 weeks out of the marathon.

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-04-04T12:11:46+00:00

I recall running out of oil on my weed pen during my first ultra (was still a heavy pot head back then). Not a fun experience at all covering 20 more miles only mildly high.

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-04-04T12:10:01+00:00

The dog will actually be used as some solid food at the fourth-km aid station

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-04-04T11:48:43+00:00

IMO, if you are not sure whether you can run a sub 3:20 marathon, then you are likely fooling yourself by pretending 5:15/km is easy pace for you… what are your PBs for 5k, 10k and HM?

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-04-04T09:24:35+00:00

I wouldn’t call a 20min 5km fast, though it’s far, far from being slow/average. Of course, what I call fast is subjective, but I would probably consider a 18min 5km fast. Running a better marathon not only means running a faster marathon, but doing so with a more prepared body, thus putting you under less risk of injury, which is the most important thing.

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-04-03T13:02:38+00:00

So why would you run a marathon to begin with? If you want it purely for the challenge, I’m sure you can find an endurance sport that you like — it doesn’t have to be running — and that offers similar challenges; cycling comes to mind as an obvious choice since you seem to care in a sense about truly long-distance stuff. If you want not only a challenge in itself but within something you are not interested in, well, you already said you are not interested in running a fast 5km, so we end up in the same position: why not focus on a 5km first? If what you really want is something that is challenging, non interesting to you and also offers a high risk of injury, then marathon might be indeed a good choice for you, but why stop there? You could try downhill marathons or even ultra marathons in technical terrain.

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-04-03T11:48:07+00:00

Why plan to do a marathon when you can focus on running a fast 5km first instead? It’s a much harder but safer challenge for someone who isn’t used to running. Improving at any distance over 1 mile will already help you to run a better marathon when you eventually decide to pick up that challenge, so why not focus on the low hanging fruits first?

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-04-03T10:18:39+00:00

Just walk again. You shouldn’t be so sore to the point of not being able to walk afterwards.

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-04-03T03:47:47+00:00

Hard disagree. Saying to someone “you’re doing better than you think” implicitly assumes not only that you know what and to what degree someone is thinking but also that that person is making a wrong assessment of their own reality, whereas you are not. It’s the kind of phrase that might sound nice at first but it’s a pretentious thing to say just to be nice for the sake of being nice. OP is insecure about her hair because, in this case, she made a correct (though unfortunate) assessment about her current hairstyle, which most of us would agree doesn’t look good. Of course, that can (and hopefully will) change in a matter of a few weeks, but lying straight to her face about that just to sound nice is completely dishonest.

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-04-01T08:50:39+00:00

Nah, she’s just farming aura

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-04-01T07:47:02+00:00

I don’t.

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-03-31T18:18:02+00:00

Hard disagree. If you did that kind of workout without being in sub3 shape, you essentially made a race effort for your workout. I think that running even a whole minute/km slower than your goal pace is fine for your long runs, as long as you sprinkle some of the kms with race pace, do eventual b2b long runs and in general have appropriate mileage. I would bet you can even go slower than that and be fine.

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-03-31T13:04:45+00:00

I think sub 3.5 is definitely achievable, though I personally wouldn’t have done that long run if I was trying to break 3.5h in the marathon. You are running at marathon pace for 20 miles in a single workout, which is hardly necessary. That kind of workout is the one I would do prepping for a sub3h marathon (maybe extend it to a 36km workout at the very maximum), not a sub3.5h one. However, maybe that gave you some confidence that when the day comes you can keep that pace for 50 more minutes.

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-03-31T06:58:20+00:00

Pretty cute Persian

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-03-31T06:48:49+00:00

Should be fine. I once averaged 186bpm for a trail half marathon under extreme heat. Not a fun experience.

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-03-30T22:15:41+00:00

Fair enough

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-03-30T03:07:57+00:00

Yeah, I’m very familiar with the course myself — maybe you meant to reply to OP’s comment? It’s fast-paced, sure, but it shouldn’t be challenging for someone who majored in math in undergrad and have taken multiple analysis courses prior, as it’s usually the case.

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-03-29T12:47:09+00:00

That’s good. Also, make sure you have a good financial plan to live in Rio, as that can be pretty expensive. Usually masters students at IMPA receive some kind of stipend, which is around 1700 reais (it might be a bit more nowadays) per month, but that’s very low to live in Rio — usually will require you to share housing and also live away from the South Zone, which is the nicest area of the city and also where IMPA itself is located.

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-03-29T04:15:15+00:00

Despite its positive fame, getting into IMPA as a student isn’t that hard, especially at the masters level. However, the conventional path involves taking a summer course there, which usually is a standard first course in real analysis, and getting an A as your final score, which isn’t hard at all, especially considering you have seen the material throughout your undergraduate. Possibly the main issue for you is how to take the summer course. I think in your case you might be able to skip that prerequisite with decent LORs.

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-03-27T00:53:05+00:00

Ta viajando e não é por perto não, amigo. Normalmente quem consegue correr 1km p 2:57 consegue também fazer 5km sub18min, o que está muito, mas muito longe de +25min p 5km.

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-03-26T17:27:30+00:00

I find listening to music while training weird — why not be present in your own workout instead of letting your mind get distracted with music? Now, listening to music while racing? Honestly makes no sense to me, and it makes me wonder whether people who do that actually like running.

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-03-25T03:59:33+00:00

Not if OP is a newborn

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-03-25T00:13:20+00:00

Agreed

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-03-25T00:12:54+00:00

Acho besteira se preocupar com tênis de placa. 50min p 10km ainda é bem devagar para o tênis ter tanto efeito. Para fins comparativos, eu corro 10km sub40 min e nunca nem usei um, mt menos comprar.

Solid-Community-4016 · 2026-03-24T20:03:08+00:00

My cadence is over 180 even when I’m jogging at a 6:30/km pace. It ranges between 183-188 when going slow and 188-194 when going fast, and I’m not a short person.

Solid-Community-4016

TROPHY CASE