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[Posting on behalf of u/Percinho who is busy placing his preorder for Tara Dower’s upcoming book]

Race Information

• Name: Dublin Marathon
• Date: October 25, 2026
• Distance: 26.2 miles
• Location: Dublin, Ireland
• Website: https://irishlifedublinmarathon.ie
• Time: 3:57:56

Goals

Training

This is my Dublin Marathon story but begins a long time before – as often said, the marathon is the training. 2025 was amazing for me, every run went well including being an England Masters Representative at the Abingdon Marathon (3:26:13) and PBs at every distance from 1 mile up. Running seemed so easy; but from around December my body started to protest. The first thing to go wrong was an unusual injury called Flexor Hallucis Longus tendinitis, which went months without an accurate diagnosis, messing up my training for the London Marathon in April. I recovered just about in time to get in some decent runs and ran in 3:40:41. After that I hoped to be back on track; but a chest infection slowed me down, and then when I began to ramp up the miles in preparation for Dublin I pulled a hamstring, a classic case when during a last sprint at Parkrun my right leg collapsed; it did not hurt at the time, but the next day I could not run a step without agonizing pain.

I am not sure why all this happened but consider it to be a combination of much reduced core strength training along with long-term fatigue. It was also a mental thing; during 2025 I was fired up to achieve certain goals, run a marathon sub-3:30, qualify for London good for age, and so on. Once you plateau or start slowing down your goals have to change, perhaps in a good way if you run more for enjoyment and put less pressure on yourself.

Fixing the hamstring meant lots of core strength training, but running at something like full pace and distance did not happen until late September when I ran the Winchester Half. After that I managed one 20-mile training run at a slow pace (between 10 and 11 minutes per mile), another long run of 16 ½ miles at a similar pace, and otherwise just shorter runs to keep my legs moving.

Core strength training on the other hand – I have been obsessive since the hamstring problem with 4 or 5 sessions a week of a workout targeting various muscles.

Pre-race

Onto Dublin then, beginning with the Expo on the Friday before to collect the bib and a fine goody bag with a woolly hat and numerous free samples. I enjoyed the expo though there were many complaints about longs wait times both in an out of the car park – my advice would be to park elsewhere (we walked from the city centre).

Next day was the usual calm-before-the-storm Saturday including a tasty pasts-based carb load at lunchtime followed by only light feed for the rest of the day. The usual taper capers; I had a cricked neck from sleeping in an unfamiliar bed and a sniffle but nothing major. I researched how to treat a crick in the neck and saw the advice, “do not run or jog.” Never mind!

Race morning I headed out too early. Note to self: races before the start are miserable and one should arrive as late as possible, bearing in mind bag drop times and the like. It was a cold October morning; windy, not the lashing rain and storm once feared, but I was shivering despite my throwaway hoody and glad of my decision to wear woolly hat and gloves for the race itself. Despite copious amounts of hanging around, a last minute loo break meant that I was late into the start wave and could not get near the 3:50 pacers I had planned to start with. My idea had been to stay with them or even get a little ahead, but to allow myself to slip a bit if necessary and hope to finish under 4 hours.

Race

The start was congested which at least meant there was no need to make any pace decisions early on, there was little scope even for weaving. The first mile was at a comfortable 9:00 pace, then as the congestion eased I increased my pace a little. I remember thinking that reaching 5K seemed to take an age, but 10K arrived in no time; funny how time plays tricks during a marathon. I got the beginnings of a stich and insisted to myself that stiches always fade away for me, and fortunately this one did. We passed through Phoenix Park then out onto a road with some fine views of Castleknock, then back into Pheonix Park and out again to the halfway point in Crumlin Road, tough going with a strong headwind. The first half had passed in 1:56:26, on target for 4 hours but without much scope for slowing down.

Mentally I divide marathons into three sections: the first half, then 13 to 20 miles (which Pfitzinger and Douglas call the no-mans land of the marathon), then the final 6.2 miles. It was in this second section that I hit some serious fatigue, not surprising given the interrupted training. I felt I was slowing down but hardly checked my Garmin when it beeped each mile, especially since it was now well ahead of the actual mile posts: my recorded distance in the end was 26.45 miles, substantially more than a marathon. I began to think in terms of a 4:10 or 4:15 time and not to worry about it. That said, I wanted to run rather than walk and so pressed on, reminding myself that I was more than half-way to the finish.

This was my sixth marathon but every one has been an intense experience and one that is hard to describe, starting in earnest in the second part of the race. It is enjoyable in some ways, especially a race like Dublin with fantastic crowd support and lots of friendly faces, but also unrelenting as one tries to keep up the pace. My body was holding up pretty well; a few niggles from time to time and a moment which I thought might be the beginning of cramp in my right calf but which soon fixed itself.

The miles ticked by and I was pleased to see mile 20 and to enter that difficult last 10K, just two parkruns to go. Of course they are also the hardest miles, but I had reached the point of not caring too much about my time and just to keep running. I braced myself for the “Irish heartbreak hill,” a 3K climb starting on Roebuck Road between miles 20 and 21. In the event I hardly noticed it, a benefit of training in hilly Winchester.

After taking gels every five miles (and a Clif Blok just to vary it a bit) I had a trace of the nausea I had suffered before in New York, probably related to hydration, so I stopped at the last drink station, between mile 24 and 25, and drained a full cup.

At mile 26 I saw my wife, waved for the camera, and looked at my watch. To my surprise it said 3:56 and sub-4 was on after all. Perhaps if I had realised, I would not have dawdled so long at the drink station. Picked up the pace a little and came in at 3:57:56. I had slowed down in the second half, but not as much as I had thought.

Post-race

After receiving my medal and a nice long-sleeved finisher top I walked for what seemed like a long way to collect my things – the bag drop shuffle, surrounded by fast marathoners suddenly transformed into painful walkers. I was sore but in one piece; no hamstring issues, nothing that would not recover in a few days. It was still cold though, it seemed that the temperature had not risen much since the early morning despite some sunshine, and after emerging into the city we dived into the first available café for a snack and warm-up.

Dublin you were great; the crowd support was lovely, the medal and finisher top look really good, the pint of Guinness later very tasty, and thanks also to Sports Direct for a free medal engraving and photo the following day.

Splits

Made with a race report generator created by /u/herumph.

Welcome to the /r/Fitness Daily Simple Questions Thread - Our daily thread to ask about all things fitness. Post your questions here related to your diet and nutrition or your training routine and exercises. Anyone can post a question and the community as a whole is invited and encouraged to provide an answer.

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With over 4,225,000 subscribers, there are a lot of posts that come in everyday that are often repeats of questions previously asked or covered in the FAQ.

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Shoes are a big topic in this sub, so in an effort to condense and collect some of these posts, we're introducing Shoesday Tuesday! Similar to Wednesday's gear thread, but focusing on shoes.

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Happyyyyyy Monday runners!

How was the weekend? What's good this week? Who is excited for Halloween? Let the chit chat commence!

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Post your question - stupid or otherwise - here to get an answer. Anyone can post a question and the community as a whole is invited and encouraged to provide an answer. Many questions get submitted late each week that don't get a lot of action, so if your question didn't get answered before, feel free to post it again.

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So, what's rattling around in your brain this week, Fittit?

Keep jokes, trolling, and memes outside of the Moronic Monday thread. Please use the downvote / report button when necessary.

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Hey runners, it's another day and it is time to post your accomplishments you'd like to share - big or small.

Note: No need to preface YOUR accomplishments with something like, "this may not be an accomplishment to most of you...". Be proud of your achievement.

With over 4,225,000 subscribers, there are a lot of posts that come in everyday that are often repeats of questions previously asked or covered in the FAQ.

With that in mind, this post can be a place for any questions (especially those that may not deserve their own thread). Hopefully this is successful and helps to lower clutter and repeating posts here.

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The Li’l Race Report Thread is for writing a short report on a recent race or a run in a new place. If your race doesn’t really need its own thread but you still want to talk about it, then post it here! Both your good and bad races are welcome.

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So get to it, Runnit! In a paragraph or two, where’d you run and how’d it go?

I just finished my first full marathon and had a totally amazing experience and have signed up for 3 more full marathons (lol)

TL:DR; I just wanted to share my history of holding onto anecdotes from more advanced runners (as a beginner runner) that turned out to be in error…

I started training for some 5K races as a brand new runner in 2013. Enter a new hire at our work who “runs half marathons”. That was totally beyond my grasp and comprehension up to that point and i really looked up to this guy for his advanced running experience and ability. As i’m asking him about the half marathon he mentions“yeah, i tried a full marathon once and I WILL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN. It was such an aweful experience… blah, blah”

The weird thing is that i seemed to have hard coded this into my world view and decided i was absolutely Not Interested in the full. I repeated this countless times to other people all the way up until May 2026 when i discovered that my volume had naturally increased within range and i found myself in the company of runners who had normalized the full marathon distance and were running them regularly. Suddenly it was within reach and my attitude changed (magically) and i kinda wanted to give it a try now!

Now that i have demystified the experience for myself, I just wanted to say: be careful what bits of information you hold onto. While we are in a state of “experiential blindness” we collect little concepts, ideas, stories, etc. to fill in the gaps but they are just stubs until we experience certain things for ourselves. I revisited this exchange after finishing and look at it totally differently now. Why did he even tell me that? (i was running 5Ks at the time). Was he insecure after having a bad experience? How many other people did he plant his negative experience into? Have I done this to other people?

Whatever the case, the full marathon is now “My Race” and i’m so happy that i finally discovered that, for myself !!! Be careful what you admit and accept as “facts” and regard as important and valuable information. Also be careful when venting or spewing a negative experience that someone can’t relate to yet… (thanks for reading…)

Welcome to the Victory Sunday Thread

It is Sunday, 6:00 am here in the eastern half of Hyder, Alaska. It's time to ask yourself: What was the one, best thing you did on behalf of your fitness this week? What was your Fitness Victory?

We want to hear about it!

So let's hear your fitness Victory this week! Don't forget to upvote your favorite Victories!

Welcome to the /r/Fitness Daily Simple Questions Thread - Our daily thread to ask about all things fitness. Post your questions here related to your diet and nutrition or your training routine and exercises. Anyone can post a question and the community as a whole is invited and encouraged to provide an answer.

As always, be sure to read the wiki first. Like, all of it. Rule #0 still applies in this thread.

Also, there's a handy search function to your right, and if you didn't know, you can also use Google to search r/Fitness by using the limiter "site:reddit.com/r/fitness" after your search topic.

Also make sure to check out Examine.com for evidence based answers to nutrition and supplement questions.

If you are posting a routine critique request, make sure you follow the guidelines for including enough detail.

"Bulk or cut" type questions are not permitted on r/Fitness - Refer to the FAQ or post them in r/bulkorcut.

Questions that involve pain, injury, or any medical concern of any kind are not permitted on r/Fitness. Seek advice from an appropriate medical professional instead.

(Please note: This is not a place for general small talk, chit-chat, jokes, memes, "Dear Diary" type comments, shitposting, or non-fitness questions. It is for fitness questions only, and only those that are serious.)

Hey runners, it's another day and it is time to post your accomplishments you'd like to share - big or small.

Note: No need to preface YOUR accomplishments with something like, "this may not be an accomplishment to most of you...". Be proud of your achievement.

With over 4,225,000 subscribers, there are a lot of posts that come in everyday that are often repeats of questions previously asked or covered in the FAQ.

With that in mind, this post can be a place for any questions (especially those that may not deserve their own thread). Hopefully this is successful and helps to lower clutter and repeating posts here.

If you are new to the sub or to running, this Intro post is a good resource.

As always don't forget to check the FAQ.

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Post your training for this past week. Provide any context you find helpful like what you're training for and what your previous weeks have been like. Feel free to comment on other people's training.

(This is not the Achievement thread).

Race Info

Name: Spinx Runfest Greenville 5k

Data: October 24th, 2026

Distance: 5k

Finish Time: 22:12

Race Splits

My manual splits

1mi- 6:28

2mi - 7:16

3mi - 7:41

.1 to finish- 6:25

Cumulative time 22:12

Overall pace 7:06

Goal:

A - Sub 20:00* I was aware this was pretty unrealistic

B - pr: 21:38

C - podium 😂 I did meet this one.

Background

34f mom of 2yo twins. 5’10” 140-145lbs

Background

I did not run until college , trained
For a marathon by myself, did it (slowly, like 5hrs) and then ran off and on for a few years. About 6 years ago I got a garmin and started running much more consistently. I started training with the idea of getting to sub 20 one day. I had a goal race set and was training hard and felt really good when I found out I was pregnant and surprise, twins!

Pregnancy was rough AF and I could not run during pregnancy as I had severe SPD (pubic bone literally splitting apart)

But I got back into training pretty quickly after birth and built my base back up over the first year and a half.

I decided to start to train over the summer and aim for a fall 5k with whatever I could achieve by then.

Training

I use a garmin coach plan. 6 days a week. I did not do strength training with garmin, instead I picked out some 30 minute work outs in caliber to mix in.

The first few months went really well but there was a series of events in August that derailed my training a bit- one of my boys had adenoid surgery, then IMMEDIATELY the house was hit with hand foot and mouth, then we were having some family/parenting issues that we started going to counseling for, all while my husband was starting a new business. Long story short some runs just plain didn’t happen and the gym didn’t happen anymore at all.

A lot of that is better now but as I was coming into the fall my garmin prediction stayed stuck at 21:50 and did not change. I hit most of my training runs 70-90%. And i did it all with heart rate based training. I went off script a few times, once I was on a treadmill doing a threshold run and felt amazing and just went for it and did a 21:38 5k (my PR)

A few weeks out I started to get a niggle in my right foot. I got new shoes and it got way better, but it’s still slightly there.

The week leading up to the race I was healthy, ate well, slept well, and in pretty good condition except my period should be starting any moment and that’s always my hardest time to run for me. I woke up race day pretty crampy. I wore black shorts just in case.

Race

55-60of sunny/light clouds. A little windy after but didn’t feel wind during.

Marathon goes first, then half, then 10k, then kids fun run then 5k at 8am. So I got there hell of early at 6:30 and found parking about half a mile out on the street.

I pre-gamed in the car. I drank a Celsius (normal for me) had a nutrigrain bar and took a handful of nerds gummies with me for right before the race. I pumped up the heat and listened to music , put on my bib, did my hair and left the car at about 7:15.

Light jog to the baseball stadium that was the race start/finish. Bathroom and

My equipment for the race was: garmin and a unicorn hair bow. I set my garmin to show me: time passed, distance passed, current pace, average pace, and nothing else.

I did a warmup jog for 10ish minutes. Maybe a little less than that, but I had to pee again and the lines to the women’s restroom were long. I got out to the start line at 7:58. There was plenty of room at the start and I could easily pick my spot. I did not go front line, but about 20-30 people back.

Another woman was a similar age to me in pink and at about the same place in the pack. She moved behind me. I also spotted a woman (girl?) on the front line. At the end of the day I run my own race but moment to moment I find being competitive helps pull me through.

The race started and I left and immediately felt I was exactly where I needed to be. Everyone around me was going about the same pace, this was easy and I was going to be fine. I glanced at my watch and we were going at a 5min mile pace. Yikes! I slowed down a bit and settled in to 6:10. Pink lady was just behind me. I just focused on form and not going too fast. I tend to hunch forward so the faster I could lock into deep breathing and holding my core up the better.

I was really hoping to make it to the half way mark before feeling the pain but I was starting to have to fight a little and we weren’t at mile 1 yet. That kinda sucked. I hit mile 1 at 6:28 and knew then this wasn’t going to be the race. But I have the tendency to throw the whole thing out and just stop when things aren’t perfect so I switched my goal real fast and said I’m still the second woman here, let’s podium.

It was a down and back and in the stretch between turning around and mile 2 pink lady passed me. I was definitely much slower and I think the mental battle was winning a bit. The last mile is slightly uphill and it seemed so far away and every time I looked at my watch my pace seemed to have dropped a bit.

Mile 3 came and i stole a glance back to see another woman behind me but still a ways back. She had a long pony tail and that’s the only way I knew. At this point all the cross country high school boys were passing me.

Since pregnancy I throw up with rough efforts and I wasn’t nauseated yet so I realized I had more in me so I dug in and found the gear again.

Rounding the corner back to the stadium and going into the stadium the sun changed and I could see pony tail was directly behind me. I kicked in and told myself I wasn’t going to fucking let her pass me. I was back at 6:25 pace for the last .14 and maybe faster than that because I walked a few steps before stopping my watch.

Misc Race Stats

Race elevation: 79ft

Average HR: 163 (I don’t believe this one for a
Second. I wasn’t wearing my hr band, just the watch)

Max HR: 183bpm (maybe more realistic. 180s are when I usually feel nauseated)

Average Cadence: 174spm

Average Stride Length: 1.29m

Post-Race

I was a little sick but didn’t throw up. I was dizzy and I was surprised at how deep into my lungs I was breathing and I coughed a bit. It felt raspy /sensitive like I’d just gotten over pneumonia or something.

I didn’t partake in much of the tents and after race stuff. I actually walked right past the food trays (pre packed “protein snacks”) to find my family. Then I was freezing and once I found my family I took the kids over to a little playground while my husband ran off to get my sweatshirt from the car.

While 99.9% of this race was lovely and well
Organized I have to say I was sorely disappointed in the awards ceremony. They held it at 9am in an aisleway of the baseball stadium. The announcer for the finishers was WAY LOUDER than the announcer for the awards to he was totally drowned out. There was no announcement, no fanfare, nada. I was standing right next to where the awards were supposed to be waiting and suddenly I saw the girl I’d seen in front with a trophy. I walked up and couldn’t hear the loudspeaker until I was like 2 feet away from it. I talked to the guy with the awards, he shook my hand and gave me a (very pretty) trophy. I don’t need a huge todo for 3rd place woman but it did feel like such an afterthought. I dont know why they couldn’t have done it outside and at least done some little boxes to stand on or something. Geez the girl who won the thing was 15! Someone put her on a podium! And the men who won had some insane times (15:40!!!???)

Anyway we left and went to eggs up grill and I got crème brule French toast and that was incredible.

Lessons Learned

twin toddlers will fuck up your running goals 😂

garmin knows me well. It wasn’t lying. I need to strength train more and I can’t skip training runs and expect the same result

Being a woman can be very disheartening as I can train my ass off and my husband can not train at all and do a little jogging here and there and still beat me pushing the stroller but in races it’s really freaking nice being a woman and being able to fight for a podium even though I’m not a career athlete. It helps.

On that note it was really nice that my husband wasn’t racing this one. Being able to go alone and not manage the kids while getting ready was amazing

I need to race more often. Not like every week but there was so much I was discovering as I was doing it. Like how insanely fast I felt at the start and how that probably did me no favors later. Also the second mile I’m suspicious I had more in me but I’m not sure how to push past the psychological funk there.

I’m happy with my nutrition and fueling.

What’s next:

Garmin let’s go again! While getting breakfast I signed up for a small local 5k on January 2nd. 10 weeks out. I refreshed my plan to include strength training and I’m going to try the garmin suggested workouts. I’m not being quite so overly ambitious this round. Since my pr is 21:38 back in August I set my new goal for 21:00.

The next two weeks I’m going to take it pretty easy. Mostly because of the niggle in my foot. Start the strength training (it looks pretty friendly at first) and do 2-3 miles rruns then get back into the full plan after that.