Which kind of marathon should I do ?

dna_leri

I have never done a marathon before and I am wondering which kind I should do:

a) Mini-marathon - or is that for women only?
b) Maxi-marathon - I hear there is one in Killarney this year and it is the newest thing
c) Kilo-marathon - or is it called a metric-marathon, like this one, its about time we moved away from the imperial influences
d) Ultra-marathon - this one seems a bit hard, though it seems they can be any distance really
e) or just a plain ole ornery one like they do in Dublin - seems a bit boring

What do you all recommend ?

Are there any other kinds that I have missed ?

TFBubendorfer

dna_leri wrote: »

I have never done a marathon before and I am wondering which kind I should do:

a) Mini-marathon - or is that for women only?
b) Maxi-marathon - I hear there is one in Killarney this year and it is the newest thing
c) Kilo-marathon - or is it called a metric-marathon, like this one, its about time we moved away from the imperial influences
d) Ultra-marathon - this one seems a bit hard, though it seems they can be any distance really
e) or just a plain ole ornery one like they do in Dublin - seems a bit boring

What do you all recommend ?

Are there any other kinds that I have missed ?

a, b and c don't count, which leaves only d or e as choices.

Do both

Mr Slow

dna_leri wrote: »

I have never done a marathon before and I am wondering which kind I should do:

a) Mini-marathon - or is that for women only?
b) Maxi-marathon - I hear there is one in Killarney this year and it is the newest thing
c) Kilo-marathon - or is it called a metric-marathon, like this one, its about time we moved away from the imperial influences
d) Ultra-marathon - this one seems a bit hard, though it seems they can be any distance really
e) or just a plain ole ornery one like they do in Dublin - seems a bit boring

What do you all recommend ?

Are there any other kinds that I have missed ?

Try running a plain 'ole ornery one' and see how bored you are at mile 23.

robinph

Do a 26mile 385 yard long one.

Anything else doesn't apply.

Oisin11178

A is a 10k, b is 15 miles, c is 16.2 miles, e is 26.2 miles and d is anything over 26.2 miles. If you are serious do them in that order. As mr slow said good luck with the boredom late in your first marathon when your whole body is screaming in pain.

menoscemo

There is only one kind of Marathon. 26.2miles or 42.2km.

a) b) and c) are not marathons but are races of varying distances with made-up names to attract punters.

d) is an ultra marathon.

Hope this helps clear that up.

nerraw1111

Well if you want to say you've ran a marathon, there is only marathon you can do, i.e. the real one.

Mr Slow

This is a wind up and we've all risen to it!

huskerdu

To try to get an intelligent answer, we will need a little more information

What running / training do you currently do ?
What is the longest run you have done ?
When do you want to run a race ?

There are lots of beginners training plans here www.halhigdon.com.

Choose one that matches your current fitness level and get working.

Good luck,

Oisin11178

mrslow wrote: »

This is a wind up and we've all risen to it!

Yeah thought it was a troll but try to give people the benifit of the doubt.

user1842

menoscemo wrote: »

There is only one kind of Marathon. 26.2miles or 42.2km.

Its the last 2.2km of the 42.2km that's the killer

shels4ever

menoscemo wrote: »

There is only one kind of Marathon. 26.2miles or 42.2km.

a) b) and c) are not marathons but are races of varying distances with made-up names to attract punters.

d) is an ultra marathon.

Hope this helps clear that up.

I think D is also a made up name... just another race with an adjective to describe it in relation to the marathon...

menoscemo

shels4ever wrote: »

I think D is also a made up name... just another race with an adjective to describe it in relation to the marathon...

You're right. They should just be called Ultra's.

robinph

menoscemo wrote: »

You're right. They should just be called Ultra's.

...or running further than is sensible...or getting lost and running in circles...or ?

TFBubendorfer

dmclean1842 wrote: »

Its the last 2.2km of the 42.2km that's the killer

It's the last 2.2 km of ANY race distance that's the killer.

dna_leri

Oisin11178 wrote: »

Yeah thought it was a troll but try to give people the benifit of the doubt.

Not trolling, that would be against the charter, it was irony.

I thought the mini-marathon was pushing abusing the term a bit but when I heard about the maxi-marathon and then the kilo-marathon, that's really taking the p1ss.

I also heard that the Ballycotton 10miler is being rebranded as the Ballycotton midi-marathon - is this true?

Gringo78

There's also the McMillan Marathon. You can run any race distance, the shorter the better. Then plug the figures into McMillan Calculator and you get back a marathon time. By this method you can set quite a good marathon time with much less risk of injury compared to the conventional method.

huskerdu

Gringo78 wrote: »

There's also the McMillan Marathon. You can run any race distance, the shorter the better. Then plug the figures into McMillan Calculator and you get back a marathon time. By this method you can set quite a good marathon time with much less risk of injury compared to the conventional method.

Great idea. Why didn't I think of that. I have already done a 1.55 half marathon, I can sit on my arse for the next 14 weeks, instead of training to achieve this.

Oisin11178

dna_leri wrote: »

Not trolling, that would be against the charter, it was irony.

I thought the mini-marathon was pushing abusing the term a bit but when I heard about the maxi-marathon and then the kilo-marathon, that's really taking the p1ss.

I also heard that the Ballycotton 10miler is being rebranded as the Ballycotton midi-marathon - is this true?

As i said i always give people the benifit of the doubt. Although you knew the answer to the question you were asking alreadw and as you said you find its taking the piss. I agree with this opinion by the way. Half marathon is fine as its obvious the distance is ran over. Also no1 has mentioned 3/4 marathon which i dont mind either. As was said before its a marketing tool to attract new runners.

hot to trot

dmclean1842 wrote: »

Its the last 2.2km of the 42.2km that's the killer

nah, its the first 2.2 thats the killer. If you do it slow enough the end will be fine but if you go out tooo fast ...then the final 2.2 get you in the end :rolleyes:;)