From Couch to Marathon in Five Months
How to build from nothing to running your first race in four steps
In 490 BC, the Greeks clinched a miraculous victory on a sprawling flax field called Marathon. Their opponent, an unending hoard of Persian foot soldiers, were bent on stamping out the world’s first democracy.
When most counted them out, the Greeks stunned the invading Persians in a battle that proved the war with Persia could be won. With no time to waste, the Greeks sent a courier called Pheidippides to relay news of the victory to Athens.
According to legend, upon arriving in Athens Pheidippides yelled “νικῶμεν” or “We won” and then collapsed to the ground, dead. It is for this triumph, the Battle of Marathon, that our modern 26.2-mile race gets its name.
From these legendary ancient origins to the present day, the word marathon has assumed a symbolic role. It symbolizes the spirit of endurance, the heights of human achievement, and victory in the face of scant odds.
Though today’s marathon races do not typically result in the runner's death, but finishing a 26.2-mile marathon is still a major, and rare, lifetime achievement.
In the United States, only around 0.05% of the population have ever completed a full marathon, making marathoners a comparatively elite group of runners.
But do not let these slim statistics dissuade you from running a marathon; training for a marathon race is a sublime journey that you will carry with you for the rest of your life.
Training will be hard. There will be days when you want to quit. If it were easy, everyone would do it — and finishing wouldn't mean anything.
So, how can you start training to run your first marathon?
Step 1: Know Thyself
If you’ve never run a marathon and want to learn how to start training, step one is to assess your running fitness level.
Have you run half marathons? 10k or 5k races?
Was the last time you ran at all in high school gym class?
When I started running in October 2023, I was seriously out of shape. The last time I did anything remotely athletic was elementary school flag football.
I knew that if I was to achieve my grandiose goal with my sophomoric physical abilities, I’d need to remember the wisdom of the Stoic philosopher Zeno of Citium, who said that “well-being is realized by small steps, but is no small thing in itself.”
I began with my first small step.
When I began training, I was only able to run for brief spurts of about 30–60 seconds at a time. Over time and consistency, however, the amount of time grew. First 30 seconds, then 60, then three minutes, and so on.
Step 2: Set Attainable Goals
Step two is to set medium-term goals. I set the goal of running my first complete 5k race. Once I accomplished that it was on to 10k races and then faster 5k and 10k times.
This trajectory culminated on Christmas Day 2023 when I ran my first half marathon while visiting my nonna (Italian for grandma) for the holidays.
Remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint (pun very much intended).
Follow steps one and two: examine yourself honestly and move up only when you find firm footing on the last step you climbed.
Step 3: Friends and Family
Step three is to find a support group.
Running a marathon is hard. Running a marathon alone is harder.
For me, running with the support of my family, friends, and my girlfriend helped a great deal.
On race day, they lifted my spirits, kept the situation light, and provided me with anything I needed along the route, and that was just the support on race day itself.
They supported me with gear, encouragement, and love in the months leading up to the race. I could not have done it without them, and so I strongly recommend that when you do run your race, you should not go at it alone.
Build a support group; they don’t have to be runners themselves, but they should be the kind of people who love and support you, and whom you love and support in kind.
If you are fortunate enough to find friends to run with, fully utilize that resource. Accountability partners are a great way to ensure you do not skip out on your training runs.
If you are unable to find a support group, running a marathon is still an option, and you will likely meet people as you progress. However, having support is a massive help for most.
Step 4: Nutrition and Sleep
The fourth and final step is to watch what you eat and how much you sleep.
Your diet and sleep will disproportionately contribute to recovery, a very important and often overlooked aspect of training.
First, let's examine diet’s link to athletic ability.
According to The Sleep Foundation,
“The right combination of fluids, carbohydrates, and protein eaten at the right time can improve athletic performance and decrease fatigue.”
It makes intuitive sense that getting the proper nutrient levels will properly fuel your runs. Like putting gasoline in a car, it is important to make sure that your body has the proper tools to efficiently run.
This means complex carbohydrates like bananas before long runs to serve as fuel. It means enough protein to build the muscles you use to propel yourself forward. It means healthy fats found in nuts and oils, and enough fruits and veggies to keep your overall health stable.
Second, a look at sleep deprivation.
Few would openly doubt nutrition’s effect on athletic performance, but according to a National Institutes of Health study, athletes have lower-than-average sleep quality and duration.
The Sleep Foundation’s research demonstrates the deleterious effects of sleep deprivation on athletes,
“Sleep allows muscle tissue time to recover between workouts. Sufficient sleep is also important in having the energy to exercise. Not getting enough sleep can lead to being less physically active during the day and reduced muscle strength during workouts.”
Miles are not merely logged on the track or the trail, they are logged in the kitchen and the covers.
Runners cannot afford to ignore these data, failing to incorporate proper sleep and nutrition will hamper your ability to perform on race day and beyond.
νικῶμεν!
On April 7, I completed the Knoxville Marathon. My finish time was better than expected, though still slow, that did not matter. I finished the race and achieved my goal.
Running my first marathon represented the peak of a health journey that started at 260 pounds and took two years. It took setting a consistent bedtime, running in the rain and cold, abstaining from foods that I craved, and daily discipline, but in the end, I achieved my goal.
That is something that no one can ever take away from me. I am a marathoner, and you can be too.
That was the shape my journey took. Yours may be shorter or longer, easier or harder — but it is your journey.
So what are you waiting for? Get out there and get started!
Keep pushing forward, persevere like the Greeks at Marathon, and soon you’ll find yourself achieving things you never thought possible.
Good luck!
“No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” — Socrates
Thanks for reading my story! For more about how novice athletes can make progress in their sport, check out this article about how to improve your 5k time.
