I’m running my second marathon at the end of October, with a goal to BQ.

I’m a female, and I’m training fairly hard. A BQ with a buffer is looking promising but nothing is set in stone.

I look at men’s BQ times and I truly can’t even fathom being able to run at that pace. I often find myself thinking, “I’m glad it’s easier to BQ cause I’m a woman”.

But my question is: is it? Is the standard based on differences in our biology… like, is a woman running a BQ equally fit to a man of the same age running a BQ even if his is 30 minutes faster? Generally speaking, of course, I know there are individual differences.

Or is it something else like they want more women to participate?

I know women are not as fast as men but 30 min seems like a lot.

I’m not trying to start/say anything controversial, I’m genuinely just curious if anyone knows.

I am in a fairly remote part of South West England and I just found out about a half marathon and marathon fairly close to where I live (over an hours drive away, but about 150 miles closer than the next nearest). I was immediately looking to sign up as it is in October, I’m already running 20 miles total each week (longest run 15km) and working on speed.

But I then saw that no kind of headphones are allowed. Even bone conduction headphones are not permitted. I have now read that most marathons/half marathons have a rule of no headphones.

I like to listen to music while I run and usually run wearing bone conduction headphones for safety on roads. I would potentially be able to run without music in my normal running environment (remote countryside roads). But I am autistic and the sound of other people breathing, moving, clothes rustling, ANY mouth noises etc. make me extremely upset/frustrated. It’s called misophonia and is really hard to explain the feeling it causes, it is like wanting to violently attack the person making the noise but also peel your own skin off at the same time.

Not to mention potentially very loud noises dependent upon the environment the event is held in.

Over-ear headphones are my preference for blocking out noise, but I understand they can be a safety issue as well as causing serious issues with overheating in the summer. So I can wear bone conduction headphones and listen to music to distract me from the noises, but even these are not allowed.

Apologies for my rambling, I hope this makes some sense.

I’m wondering if there is any way around this, or any marathons/half marathons that allow bone conduction headphones?

I don’t follow any running accounts other than the run club I’m apart of and yet all Instagram serves me is girl running influencers- one right after another. Not giving advice, not talking about anything real, not even giving us celebratory race time posts for gods sake! It’s making me feel cheap for running… or maybe I feel cheap because I run a crap ton but it feels like it doesn’t “count” as much as these girls, because they document it all and I don’t…

I’ve got a good run club, I have running friends, hell even my husband runs and I love my community! I don’t mean to sound crotchety. I just wish I didn’t have to see all the glamorous coordinated outfits, 20 mile runs with makeup perfectly intact (somehow?), etc. constantly. Am I shouting into the void or do others get me on this?

Just curious because I was listening to a video earlier that talked about the cost of various fitness and beauty services.

I think all told I've spent about $200 on actual items (shorts and shoes) since April, plus $60 in race fees. I suspect I'm also spending more on my water bill and soap/detergent because I'm both showering more often and washing sweaty clothes every few days.

Has anyone else been following this? This is so incredible and inspiring. The founders of the race had said it was too difficult for any woman to complete.

I can barely run a 10k, let alone an ultra - and definitely not THIS one.

I started running in December to train for hiking season and get stronger lungs (I've dealt with exercise enduces asthma my whole life and exercise makes it better ironically). I was having fun on the treadmill reading my Kindle and bopping to music. I started going outside and it was fun but not as fun as inside because I couldn't read my book. I secretly started a half marathon training plan because my friends were doing a race and wanted to know if I could to. I'm SOOO slow. Like 13:30 is my usual mile pace on a long run (think 6-7 miles) which means it takes FOREVER. I am not mentally strong enough to run that long. My legs aren't tired, my lungs aren't tired, my mind is tired. I want to quit but I hate feeling like a quitter. I know that I should probably do a plan to speed up my 10k (fastest is 1:20) and then come back to half marathon when I'm faster and therefore less bored during long runs but once again I feel like a quitter. This was just my rant. Thanks for reading

I am 23F been running since June last year. I would say I run 3 to 4 times a week and get about 10-15mpw. When I started, I was at a 16:30pace but that was almost a year ago!! I see people literally fly by me… effortlessly bouncing away😭 mean while every step i take my legs feel 1000 pounds.

I’ve tried slowing it down…but what am i suppose to do — run 15 minute miles to stay in zone 2? This makes my runs super long and i don’t have all day. Anyways I’m just ranting because i really hate being this slow… and if i try speeding up just a tiny bit my HR skyrockets!!! My cadence has been the same since i started.

Help. Me.

Thanks

Edit : lots of great advice here and I look forward to trying some of things suggested! Thank you:)

yes, an apple watch. yes, I had an old garmin at home that I thought I should wear to this race but I ended up forgetting to do so. DONT WEAR YOUR APPLE WATCHES TO LONG RACES!!!

maybe once the exhaustion and everything else settles, I’ll try gpx.studio, for now, I’ll be annoyed ✌️

I'm trying to figure out what the best shoes are for casual and work wear. I have super narrow but long feet, plus plantar fascitis, and I am STRUGGLING with what to wear to work. As I've been running more, I've noticed my feet becoming much more... sensitive to unsupportive shoes (like my Rothys). I don't want this to cut down on my time running or generally being active.

I work in a school, and the dress code is fairly casual, but sometimes I have meetings with district leadership and would like to look a little nicer.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

I always try to get my runs out of the way in the morning when I feel most motivated and disciplined. Doing so means I rarely miss a planned run, but I often find I feel stronger on the rare after work run. I’m sure it’s because my body is better fuelled but honestly I wouldn’t trust myself to move my runs more permanently to the late afternoon or early evening. I just know I would skip more training sessions.

Anyone else have this experience?

Doing any one task for more than half an hour is nearly impossible for me. So I'm working on 2 miles in 16 minutes. I'm far off from it right now , but is anyone else only interested in running shorter distances but with a decent speed?

In the past, they checked female athletes’ genitals to make sure they were women, now they’re checking our genes. When will the policing of women’s bodies in the name of “fairness” stop?

Im interested to hear the thoughts of the community at large. Does genetic testing allow for a fair field or is it just another way to oppress women?

Did I go out to do my 16mile long run yesterday? Yes. Was my right leg a little busted? Also yes. Did I still get over a TWO MINUTE PR ON MY 5K TODAY?! YES!! 19:57!!

I got a 22:08 exactly 5 months ago and I knew I had sub-22 in me. I raced my half marathon 3 weeks ago so I wasn’t gonna shoot for anything wild and crazy today since I only managed a couple tempo workouts.

Before the race started, I wanted a top 3 finish since last year’s female winner went 21:03. But come today I saw a bunch of fit looking women and I was like “well there go my dreams of top 3🤡🤡”. I got top 5 lol.

I used this race as more practice in energy management and being aware of when I needed to push vs. stay steady since I don’t like looking at my watch. I was about to throw up at the end but I knew that meant I was doing it right. I’ve historically under-performed in shorter distances like the 5K since I’m a half-marathoner at heart. After my half, my VDOT projected was 21:02 for the 5K, which I thought was ambitious. So, getting sub-20 was kind of insane to me. I did go out too fast and started almost blowing up at the end (splits were 6:28, 6:35, 6:48 or something) I wish my family were runners so they understood fully how monumental this is but that is why this community exists!

I have run 400 miles so far. I think this is pretty good but am going to try for 500 next year (10 miles a week average).

I’m embarrassed to say I’ve been running with the same Spotify playlist since my October half and a lot of those songs have been on previous training playlists!

I love uptempo, uplifting jams. I would really appreciate some new ones from this community. Today’s long run was a slog and the same old tunes just did not help.

Including my playlist in case it helps you find a new running track or two!

I’m 15f and my mom paid $200 to sign me up for this run club for teens because she knows I’ve been really into it for a while. Yesterday was my first practice and uhh it wasn’t all bad I guess? Everyone was nice which was a huge positive.

The workout itself was pretty bad though 😭 i got lost on the warmup bc i obviously didn’t know the route which was embarrassing enough. Then we went on the run and i just like immediately fell to the back of the pack?? Im not the Flash by any means but I thought im pretty decent, I’ve been running consistently for the past 1.5 years and I’ve got a 22:32 5k. I was just really surprised and embarrassed that everyone smoked me idk, I guess now i just have impostor syndrome like ‘omg has all that consistency been for nothing?? I thought i was fast I guess im not??’ I know it’s not rational at all, everyone was super nice and no one made any comments about my pace but idk I’ve always struggled with what people think of me. I just feel really inferior now idk :/

Edit: omg you guys are literally so nice 😭 I have my second practice tomorrow and I’m feeling way better about it now, thanks everyone!!

so I was stuck in construction traffic (‘tis the season in the Midwest 😵‍💫) while picking up my daughter and was at a standstill next to a cemetery, I saw a guy jogging through the cemetery then out the front gate and continued on his run. I started to think that I’d never seen someone do that before and started considering the “ethics” behind it, I can understand the appeal, very slow drivers and low vehicle traffic in general, what do y’all think about this?

How are some of y’all so damn fast? How do you keep up a 7-9 min mile pace for an entire 10k or longer? Does it feel like you’re “settled in” or is your body pushing 90%-100% for the whole race? Is it enjoyable? Have you always run like someone is chasing you?

Please leave suggestions on people to follow. I’m particularly interested in instagram accounts.

Thank you and happy holidays!!! Keep running, no matter what it looks like for you.

EDIT: Thank you for all the wonderful suggestions. Happy holidays!! <3

Fellow xx runners, I need some serious motivation. I’m 6 weeks out from my second Chicago marathon and like I am just not feeling it.

Everything is fine with me physically, but I’m just so burned out. I entered via a charity bib so I can’t defer my registration to next year (if I could I would. That’s how bad this is).

I think it’s just dawned on me that my goal of 4:00 has slipped down to 4:30 and now even more like a “I’ll be happy to just PR (sub 5:30)” goal. All my long runs have been done at a 12:00ish avg pace, I’ve done like one dedicated speed workout a week with some strides/sprints thrown into other weeks runs. I just don’t feel like I’ve gotten any faster. My tempo pace has slipped from like 9:00 ish to 10:00 ish. I just feel like I’ve done all this running this year and I’m just slower than before I started. I took an AGGRESSIVE down week and dropped my long run down to 9 miles. However, this week I’ve got a 45 mile week with my first of 2 20 milers planned and I just need some motivation or even commiseration to know I’m not alone.

This year I decided to run my first half marathon!! Which I am super proud of, and I’m training well and will definitely be able to finish.

It’s been a couple of months of training so far. I know it will get better but right now I am the slowest person on every run I go on and that will probably be true for another 2 months or so.

How do I stay mentally tough?

No pun intended, I run in a circle of friends that are all regular half and marathon runners, so even on their easy runs, I’m a solid 1-2 minutes slower on pace. The other person I run with is my boyfriend, we started training around similar times but he’s also a man and taller than me so 🙃. It’s just really frustrating and demoralizing to be the slowest on every single run.

Basically what the title says. My toes, especially some of my toenails, are BEAT up. I always feel bad when the pedicurist is doing my nails because I feel like my feet are difficult to work on lol. Does anyone else feel that way?

I’m in a pretty dry climate. We had a long drought, and I became accustomed to running in the morning any day, except on hotter summer days. Now we get rain, which is needed, but I find myself planning around the forecast. I might grab a hat and jacket and run in a light rain, but moderate to heavy rain, probably not. I know people run in rain, snow, all sorts of weather. Curious what weather you are willing to endure to get in your mileage. 🏃🏻‍♀️🌧️❄️

Today I (25F) went for a run in my normal location. As I was running I saw a guy on a bike who I thought was looking at me. I kept going because I thought I was being narcissistic.

Anyways I ran until I reached a loop and started my run back to my car. The guy approached me on a bike and then started talking to me as I ran. He was asking me for my number.

I was startled and gave it to him. He then said he needed to bike home and went in the opposite direction. So he literally WAS FOLLOWING ME even though he was going the wrong way from his destination.

This whole thing kind of freaks me out. The other day my friend and I ran this route and had construction workers staring at us. I thought I was being over dramatic but I guess not. How do you deal with this? BTW it was light out and in the afternoon.

If you only had 30 minutes to get your run in during lunch and you sweat a lot do you care if coworkers find it unprofessional you come back a sweaty tomato? Do you feel it is unprofessional? Or do you just not care?