My son was 19, walked a lot as he didn’t drive, didn’t run and for some reason I’ve forgotten signed up for a marathon for charity.
He forgot or didn’t bother to train, running much shorter distances, maybe 2-3 times in preparation. On the morning of the marathon, the hotel he was staying in had late breakfasts at weekends which meant he didn’t get anything to eat before leaving for the start. He made it in around 5 hours on a hot day, we were waiting for him at the finish and thought we would have to get medical attention for him when we saw the state of him. So doing a marathon without preparation is possible, but doing it well is a different matter.
I’m not much better. I had barely cycled more than 40 miles then planned a coast to coast following the great highland fault line. Around 190 miles in two days. On a road bike, carrying clothes, shoes and kit in a backpack. Annoyingly neither day was over 100 miles, so I couldn’t claim my first century. I bonked at one point, was cycling in my lowest gear through treacle, on the flat. Luckily I found a coffee shop and had several cakes and two coffees. My shoulders were bruised and sore for days afterwards, but I made it.
In terms of equivalence, although I never run, I would say a 300 audax is a sufficient challenge for me to equal a marathon in my head. It needs thought, preparation, and has sufficient doubt about whether I will make it to give some gnawing anxiety. Some of my worst experiences on a bike were 300s, which raises the odds and adds some psychological barriers to overcome.
He forgot or didn’t bother to train, running much shorter distances, maybe 2-3 times in preparation. On the morning of the marathon, the hotel he was staying in had late breakfasts at weekends which meant he didn’t get anything to eat before leaving for the start. He made it in around 5 hours on a hot day, we were waiting for him at the finish and thought we would have to get medical attention for him when we saw the state of him. So doing a marathon without preparation is possible, but doing it well is a different matter.
I’m not much better. I had barely cycled more than 40 miles then planned a coast to coast following the great highland fault line. Around 190 miles in two days. On a road bike, carrying clothes, shoes and kit in a backpack. Annoyingly neither day was over 100 miles, so I couldn’t claim my first century. I bonked at one point, was cycling in my lowest gear through treacle, on the flat. Luckily I found a coffee shop and had several cakes and two coffees. My shoulders were bruised and sore for days afterwards, but I made it.
In terms of equivalence, although I never run, I would say a 300 audax is a sufficient challenge for me to equal a marathon in my head. It needs thought, preparation, and has sufficient doubt about whether I will make it to give some gnawing anxiety. Some of my worst experiences on a bike were 300s, which raises the odds and adds some psychological barriers to overcome.
