For any keen runners, a marathon is something for the bucket list. In fact, it can be for anyone who’s looking to get into shape and really challenge themselves.
With hard work and dedication to training, anyone can get through that 26.2 miles, providing memories that you’ll look back on for a lifetime.
There are many reasons as to why you might want to run a marathon next year, especially as we enter the time of year where we start considering resolutions for the new year.
So, if it’s something that’s in the back of your mind, here are five reasons to bring it to the front and run a marathon in 2024…
You’ll get uber fit
Of course, first and foremost you’ll get super fit as a result. Even if you’re running 5k a day, stepping up to marathon training can have a real impact on your fitness, which will also have a beneficial impact on the rest of your shorter distance running.
Some weeks of training you’ll run as much as 40-miles, building endurance, muscle and making you leaner than you perhaps ever have been.
Recover from illness
Many people use the challenge of a marathon to overcome their battles. After struggling with illness, whether it be a physical or mental battle, a marathon can be a great way to get your body back into shape, but more importantly enhance confidence, self worth and reduce stress and anxiety.
You find many people who have gone through addiction treatment take up running as a coping mechanism, eventually seeing a marathon as a challenge that will keep them on track and provide them with that sense of achievement.
At Primrose Lodge, an alcohol detox clinic in Surrey, they find a lot of people look to run the London Marathon as they enter their first full year of recovery, almost as a celebration and often to raise money to support others going through the same experience.
Have something to work to
A big part of marathon training is that end goal. It takes many, many months to build your fitness up to a place where you’re ready to run, and having that end goal can be hugely important for some people.
We all need a goal in life to get us up in the morning. For some of us it’s our career, for others it’s family. However, it can also be individual challenges. With marathon training you have a set amount of time, where you will see progress through your times and distances, all culminating in crossing that finishing line for the first time.
Then from there you’ve got a time to beat, and the goal of beating your PB never leaves you.
You can make new friends
You really shouldn’t forget about the social element of running. For people who have just moved to a new area, perhaps far from their friends or family, joining a running club is a great way to meet a new, supportive network of people.
You’ll often find people in running clubs training for various marathons. Voila, you’ve all of a sudden got yourself a training buddy. Company on longer runs can be brilliant, while there’s nothing better than looking forward to a race day than with someone else to share the excitement with.
It’s the chance to book a trip to remember
You don’t just have to run your local marathon, if you’re doing one for the first time, why not make it a trip to remember and potentially the holiday of a lifetime.
There are some incredible marathons around the world, from pounding the streets of the likes of Paris, Berlin or New York, to doing something a little bit different like the Great Wall (of China!) Marathon or the Disney World Marathon. Who wouldn’t want Mickey cheering them on before a rollercoaster to celebrate?!
Of course, you may well have your very own reason, but with the new year coming round, put a marathon high in that list of resolutions for the year…