History

• The actual marathon came about when a Greek soldier by the name of Pheidippides ran from Marathon, Greece to Athens around 490 B.C. As soon as he pulled off this incredible feat and after exclaiming "victory," he collapsed and died. From that point on it has been the signature event of the Olympic Games, started in 1896 in Athens, Greece.
  
  

Size

• The actual distance of a marathon is 26.2 miles. On average it takes just over 4 hours for a male to run it and about 5 hours for a female. It takes about 2,800 calories to run a marathon. So in essence, if the body has 5 lbs. of stored fat, it is capable of running over 6 marathons. This number is arrived upon by the fact that there are 3,500 calories worth of energy in 1 lb. of fat.
  
  

Types

• There are actually a multitude of different marathons in existence. In addition to the full-length running version, there are half marathons, walking marathons, dancing marathons and even kissing marathons. As evidenced by the unique versions listed, they are not all sport-related.
  
  

Features

• Standard marathon training takes time, persistence and consistency. It is based on a weekly running plan. This consists of varying tempo days with easy days and gradually increasing the total weekly mileage until race day, where it normally exceeds 35 miles. The week of the race, the training should go through a tapering-down effect, with the 2 days prior to the race taken off completely for rest.
  
  

Considerations

• There are some important things to take into consideration when training for a marathon. The first thing is to do weight training at least twice a week. This will keep the muscles and connective tissue strong through the intense and vigorous pounding that the body goes through. A good routine should consist of a full body circuit workout targeting all the major muscle groups. Performing 2 sets of 12 to 15 reps is usually optimal.
  
  Another thing to consider is flexibility. Having good flexibility will reduce the chances of pulled muscles and joint injuries. Flexibility exercises can be performed every day of the week before and after every workout, regardless if it is running or weight training.
  
  When training for a marathon, it is important to have the proper nutrition. The body's main fuel source is carbohydrates. For this reason, carbs should make up aprox. 60 percent to 70 percent of the diet. Plenty of hydration is important as well. Water and sports drinks are of utmost importance. When choosing sports drinks, make sure to get ones that are 6 percent to 8 percent carbohydrate solution per serving. This is optimal for glycogen replenishment. Glycogen is the stored form of carbohydrates. The rule of thumb is that water is good to use up until 60 minutes of exercise. After that, sports drinks are the way to go.
  
  

Expert Insight

• Before training for a marathon, find out far ahead of time what kind of snacks, meals and beverages are going to be served or available at the race. When this information has been obtained, it is a good idea to train with the same stuff. The body can then adapt, and there will be no big shock to the system come race day. For example, if the body gets used to eating apples and peanuts during training but bananas and soynuts are served at the race, this could cause gastrointestinal problems. That's the worst thing that could happen during a race.