Skip to content
Vera
4 things to practise

Sixteen weeks, and most people get hurt in week nine.

Base building, strength work, the long run, and a race plan that survives the start line.

First-time marathon blocks fail from doing too much, not too little.

Vera is not a coach or clinician. Persistent pain needs a physiotherapist, and fuelling for high training volumes is worth discussing with a sports dietitian.

What this actually involves

A first marathon is less about the race than about arriving at it uninjured and not undertrained. The two failure modes are opposite and equally common: adding mileage faster than tissue adapts, or quietly dropping everything that is not running until something gives. The block is long enough that motivation is not the issue by week ten — attention is. This is the sequence, including the parts that have nothing to do with running.

The sequence

Roughly in order, though nothing here blocks anything else — start with whichever is next for you.

  1. If starting from scratch
    Couch to 5K Check-InsSkip this if you already run regularly. If you do not, build the habit before the mileage — starting a marathon block from zero is how people get hurt in month one.Practise this ↗
  2. Before week 1
    Pick a plan and a race dateSixteen to twenty weeks is standard for a first marathon. Book the race so the date is fixed, then work backwards.You do this one. Vera isn’t involved.
  3. Throughout
    Strength Training for RunnersThe two gym sessions that get dropped first and correlate most closely with the niggle that ends your block.Practise this ↗
  4. Weeks 1–16
    Marathon Training Check-InsWeekly calls about the long run, mileage jumps, and anything niggling. The middle weeks are where a block quietly dies.Practise this ↗
  5. From week 6
    Practise fuelling on long runsTest gels, drinks, and timing during training, never on race day. Talk to a sports dietitian if you are unsure — under-fuelling a marathon block is common and genuinely risky.You do this one. Vera isn’t involved.
  6. Night before
    Race Day Nerves & PlanSay the pacing plan out loud. Almost everyone runs the first ten kilometres faster than they trained.Practise this ↗

Common questions

How long do I need to train?

Sixteen to twenty weeks is typical if you already run. From no running at all, build a base first — most injuries in first blocks come from compressing that stage.

How do I know if I am overdoing it?

Persistent niggles, disrupted sleep, and easy runs feeling hard. Any of them is worth raising with a physio or coach rather than pushing through.

Do I need to do strength work?

Most coaches say yes, and it is reliably the first thing runners drop. That is why it has its own check-in rather than living inside the running one.

Other goals

Train for HyroxRunning, stations, compromised running, and the race simulation nobody does enough of.Get Fit for a Big HikeTime on feet, loaded packs, descents, and the kit you have not tested.Build a Training Habit That SticksGetting past the eight-week cliff, whatever your starting point.

Not practising doesn’t save you anything.

The ticket, the evening, the weeks of applying — all of it is spent before anyone says a word. The practice is the only cheap part, and the only part that changes how the rest goes.

Start with step one

15 minutes free · no card needed