How much harder is a full marathon compared to a half?

I just began training for my first Marathon (Marine Corp) in October. Have only been a "runner" for a year, so I may be going into this blindly, but I am determined and focused, so we will see.

You'll do fine! The first one is so exciting! Just don't expect to feel as good as you do after a half marathon!

This was my first one. Well supported. Lots of spectators. Many good aspects to this one.

If you are trained for the distance and race it you can finish a half feeling tired but still good. After the full you feel like somebody beat you with a bat and dumped you on the side of the road.

Exactly!!!!

The HM and the full are two completely different animals, from both a physiological and a psychological perspective.

The human body, when properly fueled, can store enough glycogen to run about 20 miles. So, you simply have enough stored fuel to run a HM and you don't for a full. So, with the full marathon, you not only are contending with fatigue, but fuel issues. So, if you happen to go out too fast and start to get tired at the end because you don't have the fitness to sustain your pace, you also have to deal with the lack of fuel for your muscles. This creates the classic bonk, where you just can't go any longer.

Psychologically, it differs because in most novice and intermediate training plans, your longest run prior to the race will be 20 miles. So, at a 9 minute mile pace, you will still have nearly another hour to run longer than you ever have when you hit the 20 mile mark in the race. Also, it's very difficult to convince yourself that a specific pace is what is right for you. You will have done so much training that you feel fantastic for the first 10 to 15 miles. You start to think "I'm running at x:xx pace right now like I planned to, but I feel great so I'm going to go 15 seconds per mile faster". Then, you hit 20 and those additional 15 seconds per mile catch up to you and you hit the wall. Had you kept your intended pace, as determined by your training and build up races, you probably would have been fine.

If you want to do it, just make sure that you continue to run consistently and that you have the buy-in from any family members. The last 8 to 12 weeks of marathon training will consume you. You will nap on long run days and be pretty useless around the house. It's a big commitment, but it's extremely rewarding.

It seems like doing a full takes the fun out of it. It's more serious. Halfs are kind of easy. I think the full is 26.2 for a reason. That is a very difficult length. It wasn't an accident that they picked that distance. It's very difficult, from what I hear. If it was 20, anyone vcould do it. It's the extra 6.2 that makes it a different thing entirely.

Depends upon what you consider fun. I thoroughly enjoyed the training required for my first marathon. It was hard, yet very rewarding. I did wait until I had been running for about 6 years before I decided to do it, so having that base established was a really big help.

As for the race being 26.2 miles, here is an interesting tidbit that I read in Running Times. The Olympic distance for the marathon was 25 miles prior to 1908 in London. For that Olympiad, the race was increased to 26.2 miles so that the finish line would be in front of the Royal's box in the stadium. So, it is that distance for a reason, just maybe not entirely because of the difficulty.

Ha, ha. That's awesome. I love trivia like that.

I was considering trying a full when that poor woman died in the London 2012 marathon. Now I'm too scared.