So, You Want To Run A Marathon In 2025?

Nine things that nobody tells you, from somebody who's been-there-run-that.

Published: April 3, 2025

The most clichéd of all fitness resolutions surely has to be to run a marathon. I can say this with kindness, because that was one of my resolutions at the start of 2023. I know intimately the very real fear, excitement and trepidation that comes with setting yourself a goal to run 42.2km. Call it a bucket list life achievement, or plain madness, but there’s something auspicious about even the idea of signing up for a marathon. Especially if it’s your first.

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Why? Well, obviously, there’s the physical toil involved in running such a distance. But ask any marathon finisher, and they’ll likely say it’s the mental determination that’s what makes a marathon such a feat. It’s a cliché because it is hard, it is impressive, and it is a bucket list achievement. After all, only 0.01 per cent of the world’s population will ever complete a marathon—a stat that many a finisher may feel compelled to casually drop into conversation.

I signed up for the New York Marathon in 2023 in part because I love running, in part because it looked like a really joyful experience (the spectator support is on another level), but also because I saw it as a way to turn the tables on my 40th birthday. People run marathons for all kinds of reasons—sane, inspiring, masochistic, and everything in between. Whatever your motivation might be, you should do so with your eyes wide open.

If you’ve put ‘run a marathon’ on your 2025 New Year's resolutions list, let me share the honest marathon training tips that no one tells you before you sign up.

No one cares about your marathon journey as much as you do

Sorry! But it’s true. Training for a marathon, especially as you creep closer to race day, can really take over your life. As a result, you may think that everyone’s as interested in your recovery stretching programme or your magnesium spray or bruised toes as you are. Unless they’re also a runner, I hate to say it but, they probably won’t be. So try to have a few other topics of conversation up your sleeve when someone ask how you’ve been or what you’ve been up to lately.

The training is harder than the race

I wish someone had told me this! I thought that race day could also very realistically also be the day I was going to perish, or end up hospitalised at the least. I was that genuinely scared that I couldn’t sleep the night before the race. But the adrenalin and the excitement from being at the start line, and the energy from the other runners and spectators, have a real impact on your performance. It’s actually the long training runs that you’ve already slogged out alone, in the dark, in the cold, and when you definitely the ones when didn’t feel like it, that are the hardest parts. Once you get to the start line, it’s all downhill (mentally at least).

You’ll sacrifice a lot…

I didn’t quite appreciate how many things I’d have to ‘let go’ until I got into week five or six of my training. You will, very likely, have to put some things on simmer—or just pause them altogether—if you want to give your marathon training a solid crack. It’s not just the time that the actual training runs take up, but also the recovery period you’ll need to allow yourself afterwards. Especially as you start hitting those 17km, 25km and 30km distances. If you’ve got a demanding job, or young kids at home, or a jam-packed social schedule (hi, me times three), you will likely have to do some timetable juggling. Something I failed at, rather spectacularly.

…but you’ll gain so much more

This sounds cheesy, but it’s true. Giving up getting an for after-work drink with colleagues, or getting up early before work to fit in a run, will make you feel so damn proud of yourself. I found that as a result, I was inadvertently sleeping like a log, I’d accidentally stopped drinking as much (because running with a hangover is a true horror) and was just generally feeling a lot more energetic, not to mention stronger in my body. Then there’s that whole holding-the-medal-after-finishing feeling. Priceless.

You’ll inspire others, inadvertently

I wouldn’t say this is a reason to sign up for a marathon, but it was a very flattering side effect. I had so many friends, colleagues, and even vague acquaintances from high school reach out to me to tell me that I’d inspired them to take up running, either for the first time or after a long hiatus. Blow me down and call me Tony Robbins!

You should run slower than you think

So many runners are self-conscious about their pace, which they shouldn’t be. The point is to run the race, not to win. But if you do want to increase your times, the secret lies in slowing down your training runs. Coach Bennett (he’s the voice you’re most likely to hear on Nike’s Run Club app, and IMHO a total Zaddy), talks about this all the time. And after a while, I started listening to that goofy ex-high school teacher-turned running coach. And damn, he was right.

Bennett suggests that the majority of your training runs should be well below your ‘race day’ or PB pace, as this lets your body avoid injury and build endurance. Also, slowing down means you’re less likely to burn out mentally, which when you’re training for a marathon is a very real thing. Add in some regular shorter speed sprints to your programme and you’ll bring those minutes-per-km down faster than you thought possible.

You don’t need to spend a lot of money

The great thing about running is that, bar a pair of decent running shoes, it costs nothing. Some may think they need to invest in a run coach, book a bunch of recovery sessions with a physio, get an at-home ice chest, buy the latest gear and travel to New York to fulfill their marathon dreams, but it’s really not true. I used the downloadable training program from the Nike Run Club app, which is free. Recovery-wise, I warmed up before every run, stretched religiously, and either jumped in the ocean or had a cold shower after every long run to reduce muscle soreness the next day. None of which costs a dime. So while there’s plenty of very schmick activewear out there to splurge on, you really don’t need it. Except for body lube. Don’t ask, just buy. Because chafing ain’t fun.

You don’t have to train perfectly

Despite what all the training programmes and running influencers might say, it really won’t kill you—or your finish time—if you skip the odd training run. Due to my kids being sick, or a big deadline at work, or just feeling tired, I skipped more training runs than I’d care to publicly admit. But as long as you’re averaging three runs a week, and one of those is slowly growing your distance each week, and you take a little time to stretch and recover properly, I think you’ll be fine on the big day. Bennett may disagree.

Running a marathon will give you Beyoncé-level confidence

Well, at least for those few days after the race. I have never felt so darn proud of myself than after completing the New York marathon. Mostly because it always seemed like something reserved for super sporty, athletically gifted people to attempt—and that definitely wasn’t something I identified with growing up.

For me, finishing that race wasn’t so much about the time on the clock when I crossed the finish line. The thing that gave me a more permanent feeling of self-confidence was the fact that I had committed—way back at the beginning of the year—to doing something really hard, and that I’d actually followed through with it. Despite wanting to quit (quite often), and not doing all of my training perfectly, and my toenails falling off (yes, really), and all the un-fun sacrifices I had to make.

That feeling of hard-won achievement is something that the fear of being clichéd should never hold you back from. Because trust me, it lasts.

This article was first seen on ELLE AU.