Marathon training with races during the training

RoyalMoose11

I'm considering a marathon in October but am signed up for a half marathon three weeks before the marathon date. My training plan has me running that distance (maybe a mile or two more) that day already anyway so I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on having races during their training. THis of course comes with the mindset of not pushing too hard during the half marathon and getting hurt/sore from trying to kill my time or anything. I figure if 'm already doing the milage what's the difference between running in the neighborhood or running to get a medal

ThickMcRunFast

Then the half should be fine, but treat it as a training run (don't actually try to race it). The hard part of this is not getting caught up in the adrenaline of race day. It could be good practice; a final test for everything you want to use on your marathon race day.

Experienced marathon runners sometimes employ a plan that has several weeks of races on Saturdays, followed by long runs on Sundays (to get used to running long while tired), but I wouldn't recommend trying to PR your half if you are racing a full 3 weeks later.

sunshinenjjr

This is what I did when I did my marathon. A lot of marathon runners do this. It will give you an idea of what to expect when you do your marathon. I wouldn't push it though. Just treat it as another training run. And have fun.

RoyalMoose11

Agreed. No desire to set PR or anything like that. Really would do it for the environment, the fun, and use it as a training session and not push it too hard.