The non-runner's marathon trainer?

If your only goal is to get to the finish line of a marathon (and you are in reasonable health) then, sure, it should work.

I wouldn't recommend it.  But I'm sure there are some who would.

0 as in complete non-runner?

Is it doable?  Maybe depending on the person who will likely need to deal with some significant discomfort/pain on race day.

Is it recommended?  IMO, absolutely not!

For a non-runner, a 16 week couch to 5k plan with four runs a week would be appropriate.

Shane

Edited by gsmacleod 2009-08-27 11:45 AM

Haven't read the book, so I have no idea how sound or feasible the plan is.

I have, however, made the statement several times that probably 90% of the folks on here can go out and finish a marathon tomorrow, with no marathon-specific training. It's going to take more time to finish, it's going to hurt more, it's going to carry a higher risk of injury, and it's going to be well below your potential compared to if you properly trained.

Don't think that training for 16 weeks with four runs a day would be less "doable."

I think it starts out with 3 mile runs, so it's assuming somebody (probably young) in decent general physical condition already.

It's goal isn't to make somebody a runner.  It's goal is to show people that they can accomplish things that seem "impossible".  That is, it's not really a book about marathon training even though that's what it's about. 

Just another vote for doable, but not recommended.

When you're building up mileage that quickly, there is simply too much risk of injury.

What's the rush?  While not build up mileage more gradually, and do a race 8 months or a year from now? 

I took my friend from sofa to marathon.

She is thin and relatively healthy. Just hadn't been doing any form of structured exercise, but was a runner in High School (graduated about 15 years ago! so not sure how much that helped!), and was physically active as an adult.

We did it over 7 months. The actual training was 5.5 months, but before she started the training plan, I had her get up her miles to at least 3 miles.

AND... we did a walk/run.

In fact, I had her do as little running as possible. On race day we did a 10 minute walk and a 3 mintue run. We ended up with around a 13 minute mile for the whole race.

Even doing mostly walking... she still delt with injuries a long the way. Nothing that took her out completely, but she had some knee issues that made her take a few days off.

I've mentioned it in other threads but my sister went from couch to marathon in 3+ months and ran a 4:10 at Boston.  She was 31 at the time, the most exercise she'd gotten prior to the training was chasing her little three year old around, but she's a strong willed woman, had been very athletic in high school and college and remained active and in good shape--maybe not a 'runner', per se, but in shape. 

I agree with the others: it's doable...probably not recommended because of the increased injury risk but certainly doable. 
(full disclosure: I haven't run one myself, this years BM will be my first, but thought I'd add some personal perspective to the conversation)

I thought that you had to qualify for Boston?

I followed the plan in the non-runner's guide to marathons....it was my 'plan' for my very first marathon and it got me to the finish line. I really identified with the 'lessons' in the book and the stories from the students who were also considered "non runners" who wanted to complete a marathon.

That being said, I haven't followed this plan in any other races and probably won't follow it for any future races.

What I liked:
A lot of mental training and confidence building
Longest run was only 18 miles

What I didn't like:
No step-down weeks....each week was more and more and more running. As an 'older' athlete, I need more recovery than this plan affords

You could enter via a charity slot or if you live along the course BAA gives an entry without having to meet a qualifying time.

Not sure about that book or that plan. My wife has successfully used Marathoning for Mortals in the past though. Granted it was for half marathon training for her but I read the book at it was well written and well structered. The book actually recommends if someone has never been a runner/phyiscally active before that they take a complete year to build up a good base in order to train in a healthy and injury free manor when it comes to actual race training. It seemed a little extreme to me but the arguement did make sense.

Personally I would not recommend 0-marathon in that short of a time. Seems like it is asking for injury either in the race or in overtraining.

It took me a year to get to the point that I could "comfortably" run a 5K, where "comfortably" means I was not completely exhausted afterwards. Granted, that was only running 1-2x per week, but I also had some long stretches where I couldn't run at all because I had hurt myself.

Oddly, getting from a comfortable 5k to a comfortable 10k only took a couple of months.

What's the big hurry?  IMHO, going from couch to marathon is significantly less impressive than going from couch to regularly planned activity.  Big events are great motivators, but isn't the end goal to improve health and fitness?

Well said.

I feel into this trap a while back.  I signed up for a half-marathon as motivation to get back into shape. I'd been struggling to get back in shape and going trough a cycle of getting in shape then slacking off.   I figured the amount of training and the overall length of the training program would not only get me in shape but re-establish a regular workout routine.  In the end this never happened because the race became the ultimate goal and getting in shape was secondary.  As soon as the race was over I took some time off to recover and once I was done patting myself on the back for completing the race, my"recovery" had lasted much longer than expected I wasn't really running (or in shape) anymore.  Races and other events can be great motivations but you need to be careful that the event doesn't become your only reason for training.

I think a year is a good couch to Marathon timeframe.  I consider 16 weeks the time frame to amp up my running from regular tri training to marathon running (IM 8/1/09, mary planned for 1/17/10).  I certainly would not wish a 0 to mary in 16 weeks on anyone I liked. ...... 

I believe there are charity slots