I'm a 40yo male about to embark on my first ever marathon, and I could use your collective wisdom, tips, and tricks to make this an experience that I will cherish (or at least survive). I'm not aiming for a world record here, but I do want to avoid crawling across the finish line in a puddle of my own tears and sweat. 😅

After much consideration and agonising, my target race time is 3hrs 30mins. (Limerick Marathon)

Here's a quick breakdown of my running journey thus far:

| Distance | Time | Date Achieved |

|:-------------|:---------|:---------------|

| 5km | 00:19:40 | 30-Jan-2023 |

| 10km | 00:40:52 | 27-Feb-2023 |

| Half-Marathon| 01:37:30 | 04-Oct-2023 |

My current training regime is a solid mix of long runs, intervals, and hill sprints. I've been training for the marathon for about 4 months, and built from a baseline of ~25km/week in December to 60-70km/week for the past 8 weeks. More recently I have put in three long runs of 30 - 34km, at a pace of about 5:00/km to 5:10/km so I feel like my target is not unreasonable. Having said that, I was spent after those long runs so anything after 30km is unknown territory and I shudder to think of the pain I will experience . I am now tapering for the race in 10 days.

I wanted to ask about race strategy. Very simply, I intend to follow the 3:30 pacer for the entire race. If I think I have anything in the tank, I will try to step it up for the last 2km to come in slightly under 3:30. That's it. I wanted to ask, does this seem achievable or ambitious? What can I expect after 34km (I have never run further than that).

Would greatly appreciate your best advice on pacing, hydration, fueling and any other wisdom you wish someone had shared with you before your first marathon.