What should not be done?

1. Hoping for a chance

A marathon is not a run around the house, it requires a serious attitude. Do not think that you can do it without preparation – frivolity can be costly.

“If a person wants to run a marathon without preparation, this is his choice. The question is the price he pays for it. If the body is not prepared for such a load – both the body and the cardiovascular system – there is a huge risk of chronic injuries, severe inflammation of the ligaments, Achilles, and tendons. It is highly likely that after such a marathon or half marathon, you will have to heal injuries for 6-8 months, spend a lot of money, have limited motor activity, or be completely immobilized. It is unpleasant”.

2. hurry

Of course, I want to quickly become faster than the wind and more enduring than an eagle. But the goal must be approached step by step.

“The most common beginner mistake is the desire to get results in a short time. He looks at his friends who have been practicing for a long time and thinks: now I will start doing the same thing and quickly achieve the same results. This impatience results in injuries. That’s 95% of all the mistakes newbies make.”

3. Run a marathon at a young age

“The whole family to the marathon” is, of course, a beautiful slogan and useful for family rallying. But only on the condition that the children run this “marathon” symbolically – a maximum of a kilometer or two.

“Theoretically, young people under 16 years of age should be banned from engaging in cyclic sports altogether. Parents at an early age send their children to go in for some hard sport, and then, at the age of 16-18, the guys burn out, they have no desire to ever do it. The body and mind can’t take it. In amateur sports, you can start running after the age of 16, and then for short distances, not 21 km and not a half marathon.

4. Go to the start sick

A slight runny nose is still okay, but if you have a fever in the evening before the competition or a chronic injury bothers you, alas. You will have to stay at home, even if you have been preparing for the race for a whole year.

“You don’t have to go jogging with a severe virus. You don’t have to go out for a run with an injury. Now there is such a trend in Moscow: many runners go jogging under painkillers. It’s a terrible thing. You can smear yourself with cream and take pills to get rid of the pain of a long-lasting injury and run, but then consider that you just cut off your leg. Because you will be treating this injury for the next year and a half.”

5. Smoking and alcohol abuse

This is contraindicated, and not only for running.

6. Get too addicted to gadgets

Running is becoming fashionable and “overgrown” with various fashionable things like heart rate monitors, special watches, etc. But their absence does not at all prevent you from becoming a good runner.

“Wearing gadgets has become mainstream, if you don’t have a gadget, you are not a runner. But it’s more of a status symbol than a necessity. Instead, there is one superrule. If you’re running and you can keep up a conversation, that’s great, it’s running at a low heart rate, in this mode you have to run long distances. If you’re running and can sing a song, then you’re running too slow. And if you’re breathing hard and can’t talk, then you’re running too fast. That’s all control.”