Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Zackback]

I'm planning to do a marathon soon. What is a good time to shoot for?
How long does it take you to run it?

[BoholDiver]

I have yet to run a full course. Have you run a half course yet?

No matter your training, if you have never run a half course, I don't recommend jumping it and running a full course. Just talking about it, it sounds possible, but damn, 21 km is a long distance. 42 is really really long.

I have run a half at 1:46 and if I do it again, I suspect I will improve on that slightly. My goal is 1:30 within 2 years.

If/when I run a full course, I hope to just finish. I will then run another one in the future and try to improve on that. The thing with me, I have really excellent cardio stamina but my legs break down on me. I may have a gimpy running stance or something. Not sure why.

If you want a number, I'd say shoot for 4 hours. Don't be disheartened by a bad score on your first time. My first half marathon took me 2:07 because I got injured. Getting 1:46 next time was a huge improvement and motivated me to work that much harder.

[hogwonguy1979]

most of the experts say the only goal you should have for your first marathon is to finish, think you'll have a pr.

you should also be training for it for 18-26 weeks with a year of building up base mileage. longest run should be 4 weeks out at 20 miles

did my 3rd half yesterday at the adidas/mbc marathon, tied my pr at 2:27:27, i felt like i had another 5-6 miles in me at the finish so maybe i can do a full

[Zackback]

OK thanks for the information. I read on Dave's awhile ago that someone was trying to break 2 hours and 30 minutes and I thought that was very fast.
I found this site which looked informative about figuring out your time splits for kilometers and miles.

http://www.users.on.net/~klima/rkcalc_km.htm

[EddieH]

I ran mine in about 3:35, but I was injured. If you're a runner, shooting for 3 hrs is perfectly reasonable. If you're not, go for sub 4.

[Kaypea]

I completed my first one recently, rolled in at 4:50. I wasn't fast, but it was a fun, relaxing time. I didn't injure myself at all. I figure that if I trained and was trying, I could... do it a lot faster My goal this season is to do a half marathon in 1:50. My pr is 1:55. I did one last weekend at 2:01, so I'm getting there again.

[alice0216]

I just did the one in Seoul and the Koreans are really fun to run with. they really motivate those around them. I came in right at 5 hrs. and was happy to finish. They have shorter cut off times here than in the states, usually 5 hours. Seoul is very flat though, so wasn't a problem. There is also one through the DMZ in Sept. (Peace Marathon, they also have a half) which looks really great. Good luck!

[Caffeinated]

Faster than Oprah.

[alice0216]

wow- thanks. I really needed that.

[BoholDiver]

Injured and did 3:35? Full course? That is an excellent time, injured or not.

Sub 4 is a good start, Sub 3 is a more ambitious goal.