What is Caveat Runner?

Even if you’re all fired up to run a marathon for all the right reasons, you have to tread carefully. You’re going to be doing training runs that are substantially longer than anything you’ve ever done. If you don’t become an expert at listening to your body’s response to the training, you might not even make it to the starting line. It’s not uncommon for runners to have to postpone or give up their marathon hopes because the training necessary to do one is too much for their current level of fitness. I think you should be a regular runner for at least a year before starting to train for a marathon. You need that amount of time for basic strength building to get your muscles, tendons, bones, and ligaments used to the stress of running. You also need to be in a good training routine, having figured out how best to make your running work with the rest of your life.
Don’t even think about starting to train for a marathon if you’re injured. Doing the long runs that are necessary to finish a marathon is exactly the kind of repetitive stress that will make your injury even worse. But if you want to run a marathon for yourself, and if you’ve been running regularly for at least a year, and if you’re currently running injury-free, then let’s get going!