marathon

Do you run the whole time or take walking breaks?

Re: marathon

You can if you want, I definitely see people taking walk breaks.

However I do not. The only times I stopped in my last marathon were towards to end to grab water and it was fast, like 10 seconds, drink my water and go on. Also I got a charlie horse in my calf at mile 23 and and had to stretch it for like 20 seconds. But overall I did not stop...I was in tons of pain but it hurt to walk just as much as it hurt to run so I decided to just keep running!

Re: marathon

Re: marathon

wow you girls are amazing!!! I have trouble getting through 4 miles

Re: marathon

i just did the NYC this sunday-it was my 5th marathon and i did take walk breaks at the water stations. if you just want to complete it i don't think walk breaks are a bad idea. they preserve your legs a bit for the end too. if you have a time goal you'll be less likely to take walk breaks. some traning plans (like jeff galloways marathon training plan incorporates them) and you can still complete it in a repectable time. (although i think ANY time is respectable when it comes to the marathon!)

Re: marathon

I have only run one marathon, so I can't really say if walk breaks improved my time or not, but I will say that in a half marathon, I have walked through the water stops and my best times were when I did the walk breaks. So I don't feel that walk breaks are only to help you finish, I believe that they actually help you race faster.

The idea is that you need to take your first walk break BEFORE you get tired; if you wait until your legs are tired, they will not help you. It is a personal preference, but I do see more and more people doing them. I also think they help you recover faster and stopping to walk helps you hydrate better. Even after years of running, I still haven't mastered the art of drinking and running. I feel that I never get enough and that can cause issues if it's really hot out.

Good luck!!

Message edited 11/11/2010 6:58:28 AM.