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03:29 AM

Edit: Wtf when did you become assistant admin? :o

Practice, practice, practice.

Conditioning yourself for an actual run is really crucial and it takes about a month to build up the stamina to be a 'marathon' runner.

Some very key things I have learned over the years:

GOOD SHOES. This is the killer. Any sort of marathon training, or even recreational running, you need good shoes. Having the right footwear will make the difference between injuries (both short term and chronic) and success. Good shoes will also wear out in about 6 months so keep that in mind!

Hydration is huge - keeping hydrated the night before a practice or otherwise run (16 oz of water) and the morning of a run, (16 oz of water) is essential. That and keeping 6-8 oz of water in you every 20 minutes of running is also very important.

Beyond that, the four steps will help keep you in tip top running shape before actually committing to your run. Practicing these will get you in a good habit before attempting a marathon.

General warm up -
The general warm up should consist of a light physical activity. Both the intensity and duration of the general warm up (or how hard and how long), should be dictated by how fit you are. Generally you're aiming for 5-10 minutes.

The whole idea is to get your heart beating, this will allow more blood to flow and wake your muscles up. This gets them ready to actually stretch.
Static stretching -
Static stretching is your safe and basic stretch. Pretty much the risk of injury is nonexistent and the benefits are huge. Try to hit all the major muscle groups.
Sport specific warm up -
If you're doing a certain sport that puts more pressure on a certain part of the body, make sure you give extra love to that area.
Dynamic stretching -
Dynamic stretching involves a controlled, soft bounce or swinging motion to force a particular body part past its usual range of movement. You gradually will increase the movement, but never let it get out of control or you risk seriously injuring yourself.

There are a million other things that I can get into as well, but for now that's all I have time to write.

How to train for a marathon or half marathon

Will help you immensely in getting started!

More questions? Ask! Goodluck!