There are numerous challenges that test your body and your mind.
Running a marathon is perhaps the most famous one.
The distance is 42.
195 kilometers or 26.
22 miles.
The race was named in honor of the distance run by the Greek soldier Pheidippides who brought the message of the victory at the battle of Marathon to Athens.
The distance between the two spots is roughly the one that you have to run in a modern marathon.
As you can see the challenge is not to be underestimated.
Indeed, the soldier reportedly died after covering the distance.
This is more than unlikely at present, but you have to be absolutely physically fit in order to compete.
It is essential that you have a medical check before even starting the training.
You have to have a healthy heart and no injuries of any kind.
Running a marathon requires approximately 6 months of training.
However, if you are a beginner who only wants to finish the race 4 months will be sufficient for the training of your body as well as of your mind.
Generally, you are recommended to run for four times a week with one of these being the so called long distance run.
You can start with an as low mileage as you like and increase the distance gradually - by no more than 10% each week.
Eventually, you have to be able to complete one long run of about 20 miles and you have to have another 20 in total covered throughout the other three sessions.
There are a number of ways in which you can go about running a marathon race.
You can pick a strategy depending on your physical endurance and tactics.
You can choose to run through the entire race or alternate running with walking.
One of the most popular strategies especially for beginners is running between the water stops and walk through each are designated for the drinking of water.