There is no easy way to train for a Marathon, and talent alone is never a substitute for hard work and sacrifice. Marathon runners have to be dedicated and willing to spend many hours on their own, running long distances, to develop the endurance that is fundamental.

 
Energy Stores and Race Pace
 
The Marathon is a race where correct pacing is essential. Marathon runners rely on the carbohydrate that they eat to provide them with muscle glycogen, which is their mains source of fuel. Unfortunately, simply eating a high-carbohydrate diet won’t allow the body to store all of the glycogen that it needs to complete the 26.2-mile (42km) distance, so Marathon runners complement their energy from glycogen with less efficient energy from their fat stores.
 
They do this by running slowly during the early stages of the race to ensure that they have enough muscle glycogen to get them to the finish line. If runners set off too quickly, the relatively inefficient metabolism of fat means that it is unable to provide the energy athletes need, so they burn their limited carbohydrate stores right from the start. Consequently, by the time the 18-20 mile (29-32km) distance is reached, all of the body’s glycogen reserves have been used up and fatigue sets in very quickly. This is often referred to as ‘hitting the wall’, and is common when Marathon runners have failed to judge their pace correctly and covered the early miles too quickly.
 
Running more slowly in the early stages enables energy to be obtained from a combination of both carbohydrate and fat, and gives the runner a much better chance of running efficiently to the finish.
 
Training
 
Training for a Marathon is inevitably based on the development of endurance, and there is no substitute for a steady build-up in weekly mileage to gain the aerobic fitness that is essential for completion of the distance. Depending on running background, beginners need to start their training five to six months before the race, gradually increasing their weekly mileage and the length of the ‘long run’. This ‘long run’ is a vital component of a training regime, and as the term suggests is the longest run of the week, usually performed at the weekend. It is also advisable to include some competitive races during the build-up to a Marathon, such as a Half Marathon or longer events over distances between 16 and 20 miles (28 and 32km).
 
Elite Marathon runners use the winter months to build up their endurance, with a combination of high weekly mileages that include faster high-intensity sessions to develop speed endurance. They often train on two occasions a day, frequently resulting in a total running distance of over 100 miles (160km) per week.

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