Ins and outs of walking marathon

[critterlady 3]

I saw a post about walking marathons and 1/2 marathons, and I am intrigued. I am not much for competition, but I wonder if I had a goal to complete a 1/2 marathon (walking, of course!!!) how good I'd feel about myself!

Any marathoners: how do you find out about them and how to train for them? I live in upstate SC and would probably have to travel but I could at least pretend I'm training for one!

Are there any websites?

Thanks!

sara

[greytz 4]

There are loads of websites for marathons. BillOh can probably hook you up best otherwise you can type in causes like breast cancer, etc and there are tons of walks and marathons for them. They usually ask you to put in your zip and give you the ones in your area. Also, most of them have what they call diva walks where there is a group that completes only half and usually walks it. It is the best feeling ever. I completed my first walk for breast cancer in October and it felt awesome to walk for a cause and do something I had been wanting to do for a long time. I didn't just sit on the sidelines this time and I completed the whole thing not just half. It was amazing.

[Jachut 487]

In any major fun run I've entered, there has always been loads of walkers too. You could enter almost any 5, 10K or half marathon race and walk it, as long as you walk at a reasonable clip. There's usually a time limit, but for many half's I've investigated, its often 3 or 4 hours, which is plenty of time to walk the distance.

Dont know about other runners, but when I do a distance like that, I'm so darn slow I can walk it in not much longer!

[kennethsch 0]

We walked the Columbus Marathon in 2004. We were told that the walkers had to finish in under 8 hours, so we trained for 9 months, and we were on pace to finish just under 8 hours. Well, we got there, the day of, and they told us that the walkers start 1 hour before the runners, and that the finish line closes at 7 hours for walkers, and that we were welcome to move to the sidewalk to finish if it took longer than that. We finished in 7 hours and 32 minutes, and they keep the finish line "open" and setup for us, I think primarily due to my parents sitting there at the finish line, saying wait, wait, our kids are just around the corner (they had driven to several points of the marathon course to cheer us on, and then waited at the finish line) So we have the "official" pictures with us crossing the line, under the timers, at 7:32:00. I am telling you, it was a very powerful feeling, so motivating, and very unexpected for me, also very emotional to finish something that big. Since 2004, I slowly added 100 lbs to my Weight Watcher success, but now I am banded and back down 60, and walking every day (5-6 days a week). I will walk another marathon, maybe in 2010, and maybe, just maybe I will run one someday if my knees allow it. I can't stress enough, the training, finding where your "wall" is, taking the energy gel with you, even on your long training walks, staying hydrated. and getting the right shoes, several pairs, and making sure they are well broken in before race day. (about 2-3 months of use is about perfect I am told)

Go for it!!!

[kennethsch 0]

Also, we got started on the idea of walking a marathon via a magazine called prevention.

Walking: Walk to Lose Weight and Get Healthy - Prevention.com

It had great ideas, and an article on how to train for that goal. I can't find the prevention article online, but here is another great site with schedules and ideas about getting started.

Marathon Walking Training Plans - The Walking Site