I was having breakfast with my SIL, downtown, yesterday. We were meeting to discuss our travel plans for Boston, next weekend. I had all my Boston marathon documentation out on the table when our young waiter arrived to take our orders. He must have seen the word marathon and asked me if I was going to run Montreal next September. I replied no, that I was going to Boston next week. "Boston? Oh, so you qualified?" "Yes." "Is it hard to run a marathon? I'm training for my first one in September." he said. My first answer, the one I always automatically give to anyone who asks me (and most people always do), was to reply "No. It's not hard." Actually, I said "If you train well, it's not hard." Part of my answer is wanting to be modest. I'm not going to say "Oh, it's sooo hard. But I'm such a badass that I do it anyway." But for the most part, I am being honest. Waking up early on race day and standing in the cold before the gun goes off is definitely not pleasant for me. Then at times, during the race, I have moments of insecurity that feel like mental torture. "Why the f*** am I doing this?". And yes, around mile 22, I feel discomfort in my left hip and I don't look so good anymore. But once the race is over, like seconds after crossing the finish line, I ALWAYS think "That was so much fun and not that hard after all!". Okay, admittedly, I don't race "LTH hard", so that's probably why.

What is really hard for me is the 18 or 20 grueling training weeks preceding the race. Many nights I would just prefer watching a movie, or read a book after supper, instead of going for a training run. Sometimes, as I am preparing for intervals, or a rather long tempo workout, I feel nervous, I am stressed. "Will I be able to hit the pace I want? Is tonight the night that I face the truth, which is that I have no business doing what I'm doing here?". The difficult part for me is as much mental as it is physical and it lasts weeks. The race is nothing compared to the training. No matter what the race result is, good or mediocre, once the race is done, I feel like a warrior for having survived the training. And that feeling is just priceless for me.

What is it like for you? What would your answer have been to the question "Is racing a marathon (or any other distance) difficult"?

Oh and don't mind my rambling. I'm tapering.

Well, I can't speak to full marathon training but up to the half distance I agree.  The training is much involved and summarizes on one day's effort.  The Jitters are normal.  The pain at the end is normal.  But it's what all the training is for so it all makes sense and feels right in the end.

This reminds me......I need to schedule myself a race!

I agree with you, Lily.  However, I don't think training is hard either.  Yes, is tough and sometimes you think why the fuck am I waking up at 5am to run?  But if you wake up and do your workouts it's not hard; it just takes dedication.  Racing to me a harder than the training, though.  You gave him a good answer.

I love running at any time, and racing even more.  Some training runs require focus to keep going to completion. Rarely are they "hard" to the point of total exhaustion for more than a hour or two after.  Some can create anxiety before, but as the training takes effect, that lessens, and usually once I've built up the miles, I'm looking forward to each run.

Racing all out requires great focus and usually a willingness to accept the pain and keep going.  A 5k is pain almost from the gun, a half from 7-8 miles in, when the negative voices are questioning whether I had hold pace.  If a marathon is feeling really hard before mile 18-20, I've gone out too fast and will surely pay the price.  But those last six miles are going to be increasingly difficult no matter what.  But as happylily said, within seconds of crossing the line after a good race"That was so much fun and not that hard after all!"   It's worth it.

But I do like the quote bluerun cited.

Training is hard.

 

Racing is the payoff for that work.

In itself not easy, but not hard compared to the weeks that preceded it.

Said like a man. Succinct and to the point. You said in 3 lines what took me 23.

I was told years ago by my running mentor/sister if you can run 3 miles, you can train to run a marathon. she was right. My wife wants to do one now, and I told her the transition from running 3 miles to getting up to 6 miles was the toughest for me.

Is running a marathon hard? its a trick question. to state an answer to not sound like a bad ass and to spare someone's feeling is also tricky.

yes its hard = I am disciplined and a bad ass.

no its not hard = you wimp you cant do it.

I am a rookie. 1 year under my belt. I think D said it best.

DEDICATION is what it takes

Yes, when done correctly.

In this community, most of you marathon runners put the time into training properly, have training plans, research things like fuel and hydration, have proper shoes and clothes, ect. I know a few people IRL or have heard stories of people who have not trained properly, don't know how to fuel....ect. and for them it was REALLY hard. They hit the wall, they cry, they walk, they crawl, they get injured, they get swept, they can't walk for days, they hate running after. So although I've never run one myself, I like the response that with dedication and proper training it is not hard, but one needs to have that!