Forums >Running 101>Would you count training runners longer than 26.2 miles as "marathons"?
I have some friends who I let know I don't like the term "quarter marathon," mostly because I find it pandering. They now, when talking about their runs, measure them in the number of quarter marathons they have completed. ...I have bad friends.
I have some friends who I let know I don't like the term "quarter marathon," mostly because I find it pandering.
They now, when talking about their runs, measure them in the number of quarter marathons they have completed.
...I have bad friends.
Must be bike tri guys :P
Know thyself.
I count my marathons as 8 x 5k with zero recovery, then a 2000m sprint at the end.
Runners run
ultramarathon/triathlete
I disagree. I count my runs of 26.2 as marathons. Anything longer I call an ultra. To that extent, I usually say I've done around 50 marathons. Many were races, but some were just solo runs and I tell people that too. In 2012 I decided to run a marathon each month while my wife was pregnant before the twins were born. I quickly realized I could not logistically race one each month (travel was too expensive, plus she was on bed rest for a few months toward the end and we couldn't travel anyway), so I mapped out courses on my own and did one each month. Sometimes I'd have a friend join for part of all. Most times I was solo. No one I've ever talked to has raised eyebrows with me calling that 12 marathons in 12 months in 2012.
If you only consider counting if it's a race, than most people who complete 26.2 aren't doing a marathon. Go watch one, how many of those people are racing? Most are just going the distance. I'm sure they count that as a marathon. If I say I'll race you to the end of the block, we agree, I sprint and you jog/walk, are we racing? No, not really, but we still went to the end of the block.
On the flip side, I raced an official marathon last Jan. I "won" my AG but there was no ceremony, it didn't give out medals or awards or t-shirts but it was an organized race.
The first "marathon" wasn't a race.
A marathon is a distance. 5k is a distance.
If I ran 3.1 miles in training and not in a race, and someone said "How far did you run?" I'd say "I ran 5k." It's a distance, just like a marathon.
If you have a psychological problem with it, you could just say you've done X number of marathons and X of them races, X were solo.
HTFU? Why not!
USATF Coach
Empire Tri Club CoachGatorade Endurance Team
Q: How many legs does a donkey have, if you call the tail a leg?
A: Four. Calling the tail a leg doesn't make it one.
I disagree. I count my runs of 26.2 as marathons. Anything longer I call an ultra. To that extent, I usually say I've done around 50 marathons. Many were races, but some were just solo runs and I tell people that too. In 2012 I decided to run a marathon each month while my wife was pregnant before the twins were born. I quickly realized I could not logistically race one each month (travel was too expensive, plus she was on bed rest for a few months toward the end and we couldn't travel anyway), so I mapped out courses on my own and did one each month. Sometimes I'd have a friend join for part of all. Most times I was solo. No one I've ever talked to has raised eyebrows with me calling that 12 marathons in 12 months in 2012. If you only consider counting if it's a race, than most people who complete 26.2 aren't doing a marathon. Go watch one, how many of those people are racing? Most are just going the distance. I'm sure they count that as a marathon. If I say I'll race you to the end of the block, we agree, I sprint and you jog/walk, are we racing? No, not really, but we still went to the end of the block. On the flip side, I raced an official marathon last Jan. I "won" my AG but there was no ceremony, it didn't give out medals or awards or t-shirts but it was an organized race. The first "marathon" wasn't a race. A marathon is a distance. 5k is a distance. If I ran 3.1 miles in training and not in a race, and someone said "How far did you run?" I'd say "I ran 5k." It's a distance, just like a marathon. If you have a psychological problem with it, you could just say you've done X number of marathons and X of them races, X were solo.
What ever car you wind up getting, you've basically proven beyond a doubt that it will be "cool enough" for you. So that's one less thing for you to worry about.
You answered your own question.
If you only consider counting if it's a race, than most people who complete 26.2 aren't doing a marathon. Go watch one, how many of those people are racing?
Why do you hate slow runners?
And we run because we like itThrough the broad bright land
You are half right.
A kilometer is a recognized unit of measurement thus 5 kilometers is in fact a distance.
A marathon is not a recognized unit measurement. It is a footrace.
We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.
Why the person attack dude? Got a poopy diaper?
Kalsarikännit
So if you run 26.2 miles over three days can you say you ran a marathon but it just took you a really long time?
What if you run 131 miles in a 24 hour? Does it impress people more if you tell them that you ran one ultra or 5 marathons?
I want to do it because I want to do it. -Amelia Earhart
Interval Junkie --Nobby
I disagree. I count my runs of 26.2 as marathons. Anything longer I call an ultra. To that extent, I usually say I've done around 50 marathons.
So, if someone asks you how many 5Ks you ran last year, you divide your total yearly mileage and tell them, "Something like six-hundred forty-five." ?
I think talking to you would be rather confusing.
2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do
Got a poopy diaper?
Yes, again. (Sigh.)
More philsophical than psychological.
Tessa
Wasn't there a kerfuffle among the maniacs a while back when someone claimed s/he should get the title of "most marathons in the year" because of the number of >26.2 training runs completed, and the club instituted a rule that a marathon had to be organized (start & finish time, publicized) and have at least 10 entrants to be considered a marathon?
I personally don't count training runs longer than 26.2 as "marathons". I consider them bloody long training runs. And official marathons are easier in some ways, albeit less convenient and usually costlier -- most official races have at least a few aid stations that don't have "Seven-Eleven" on the sign out front.
mar·a·thon
noun
a long-distance running race, strictly one of 26 miles and 385 yards (42.195 km).
race1
1. a competition between runners, horses, vehicles, boats, etc., to see which is the fastest in covering a set course.
Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)
Current PR's: Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)
Yes; 613 for me so far this year. WHERE ARE MY MEDALS???
Also waiting for the belt buckles from all those 100-milers.
Dave