When you’re brand new to running, the marathon can feel like a goal reserved only for high-level athletes and lifelong runners. But experts say 42.2km is not an unreachable goal for beginners. Gemma Ward, New York Road Runners’ training and products lead, told Runner’s World she sees plenty of runners in her programme go from “couch to marathon.”

…they can help you run your first race strong.

Attainable doesn’t mean automatic, though. Before you download a training plan or circle a race date, experts explain the one prerequisite true beginners need to have. Plus, they share how the early steps of marathon preparation can help you do more than simply survive a marathon – they can help you run your first race strong.

Before You Begin Training, You Need Time to Prepare
The one thing you need most before training for your first marathon isn’t a perfect pair of shoes, a complicated workout schedule, or even a target race pace (yet). It’s time.

Many beginner marathon plans don’t actually assume a runner starts from zero. Even when a plan is labelled for beginners, it often assumes you already have some baseline fitness, whether that’s running a few days a week casually, walking regularly, or staying active in some other way.

But if you don’t have a base, you need time to build one before getting into structured marathon training. Certified run coach Will Baldwin gives true beginner athletes an additional two months before the actual training begins, just to get used to running and moving. “We’re starting some of the loading, where we can be really slow and not concerned about mileage,” he told Runner’s World. “We’re just building up the tissues.”

Following those two months of routine-building work, Baldwin guides runners into a traditional 16- to 24-week marathon training plan. In total, new runners should set aside half a year before their race to prepare their bodies well.

Research shows that novice runners are more likely to develop injuries than experienced runners, so taking extra time to build strength and endurance before race training can help lower the risk of injury.

In other words, the marathon plan is not always the true starting line. For many beginners, the work starts well before the first scheduled workout, after you accomplish the two steps outlined below.

Step 1: Get Used to Moving Consistently
Before you train for a marathon, you have to get your body used to a routine. “You don’t go from zero to 100 without having to change something about your lifestyle,” Ward says.

Marathon training eventually asks you to get out the door three, four, or even five times per week. For someone who is not currently exercising regularly, that can affect their sleep, meal schedule, workday, family time, and social life.

So before you worry about the duration of your first long run, focus on consistency, whether that’s walking several days per week, trying run/walk intervals, or cross-training.

This phase also helps you learn what time of day you can train, where you like to run or walk, what your body feels like after you exercise, and how to distinguish between normal soreness and too much fatigue.

Step 2: Build an Aerobic Base
Once you have a routine in place, the next step is to establish an endurance base so you’re actually able to handle the load of a full marathon plan.

Base training teaches your heart, lungs, muscles, joints, bones, and connective tissue to tolerate low-intensity movement without leaving you wiped out. When the actual marathon training block comes along, you’ll feel challenged by the workouts, but your chances of burning out due to the duration or intensity of the runs dramatically decrease.

Ward says that if an athlete can walk, jog, or run continuously for 60 minutes at a time, they may be ready for a standard beginner marathon training programme.

This article first appeared on Runner’s World USA.

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