Seeking out new challenges after running a marathon

Sometimes, once you achieve a long-held goal, your motivation to continue with your training can evaporate. But hang on! Think about all the hard work that you’ve put in to get to where you are today. The long, long runs through the worst of winter. The lung-busting interval sessions that took you to your limits. The early morning sessions you went on when you could have stayed tucked up in bed. You’ve sacrificed a lot to get in shape, so to throw it all away would negate all your efforts. Instead of hanging up your trainers and reaching for your slippers, now is the time to refocus and set some new targets.

To help you get refocused, and capitalise on your hard-won fitness, read on and find out about:

• Events to whet your appetite
• Training session ideas 
• Inspirational tips

After the marathon - what now?
The first thing to take on board is that you are in great shape and probably fitter than you’ve ever been before. Marathon training has given you a fantastic endurance base, which is the ideal foundation to have before attempting to scale greater heights. And ‘greater heights’ doesn’t have to mean doing another marathon. Yes, you could consider aiming for another marathon, but even if that is your goal, your mind and body will benefit from a change of scene and pace before you decide to ramp up your distance again.

Events and distances
With a full marathon under your belt, no distance or event should hold any fear for you. The athletics calendar is full to bursting with a myriad of different events and distances – indeed, there are thousands more races than there are marathons. So why not consider one or more of the following options?

• Short distance.
  5k, 10k or perhaps even a track event. Most tracks hold open events through the summer months, where you can pay a very small fee and try your hand at one or more of the popular distances – from a 100m race through to a ‘blue riband’ 1500m distance or a mile race. Your basic endurance just needs some speed work added to it before you can potentially achieve a new personal best!
  
  
• Off-road.
  These events have surged in popularity over recent years, and include several types of racing – from classic fell races through to the newer trail races. Off-road running will give you a completely new focus away from pounding out endless miles on tarmac, and can really invigorate your running.
  
  
• Team-based events.
  Relays – often cross-country – are great for camaraderie, and the team ethos involved in these events can give your training a real kick and can really fire up your competitive instincts. Races can be anything from a couple of miles each leg, right through to very long distance challenges – and can even include competitions where the time of the last runner scores the team’s time, as an extra incentive to foster team spirit. Whatever event you choose, working as part of a team will add a whole new dimension to your running.
  
  
• Adventure races.
  Part running, part many other disciplines, adventure racing is rapidly increasing in popularity. Staged over a whole day (or sometimes several days), adventure races are team events that are ideally suited to anyone with a solid endurance base, because they are less about speed and more about teamwork over long distances. Races frequently involve several of the following disciplines: running; mountain biking; kayaking; navigation; horse riding; rock climbing; abseiling and rope-work; and mental challenges – as well as carrying all your gear! As an endurance runner you have the necessary fitness base for adventure racing, so all you need to do is link up with a team and practise some new skills – and prepare for a fantastic new experience!
  

• ‘Alternative’ events.
  A quick search through the athletics calendar reveals events such as ‘Race the train’, ‘The Grizzly’, ‘Man v. Horse’, etc, where you are pitted against a very different challenge to that of running on 26.2 miles of tarmac. If you’re looking for fun and challenging events, then one of these unusual options could be just the ticket to fire up your imagination and give your body and mind a different type of challenge.
  
  
• Multi-sport. If you’ve never had a try at triathlon (swim, bike and run), duathlon (run, bike, and run again) or similar event, you’ll find that the summer months are awash with multi-sport activities – ranging from novice pool competitions to full-blown long distance challenges. One of the greatest attractions for entering a multi-sport race is that, unlike your road running, you’ll be much more relaxed about the whole event because you have no or little previous experience. You can get a great deal of enjoyment out of just taking part rather than aiming for specific time targets.

Training
The first thing to note for your post-marathon training is that less is more. You’ve done the hard grind of long, long miles, and that endurance won’t desert you overnight. A medium distance run of ten plus miles once every couple of weeks will keep your stamina ticking over while you bring your training distances right down. What you’re looking to do is to get some speed back into your legs – so shorter, faster-paced sessions will be the icing on your endurance cake. Try some of the following training ideas to spice up your runs:

• Forest fartlek. Head for the woods for an hour and – after a warm-up – run non-stop, continually varying your pace from easy to almost flat out, over whatever distance you choose. You’ll enjoy the scenery, and so your hour will fly by.
  
  
• Get back on track. If you’re fortunate enough to have a running track in your area, pay it a visit. The options for sessions on the track are almost endless – from mile repeats with varying recoveries to alternate 200m sprints and jogs. If you’ve never tried it before, you might even find that you’ve got an aptitude for speed training.
  
  
• Head for the hills. Hill training is simply speed-work in disguise – with the added benefit of building leg strength. Either choose a hilly circuit and put in fast-paced bursts as you climb each hill, or find one challenging hill and run a series of efforts up the hill, jogging back down after each one for a recovery. Focus on good technique – including high knee lift and driving arms – to get the most out of your session.

The marathon is just the beginning…
Initially, the marathon can seem like the one and only event in the race calendar, but scratch the surface and you’ll find a whole new world of fun, challenging and worthwhile events just waiting for your participation. With your solid base of marathon fitness under your belt, you can genuinely try anything, from a short track race to a multi-day, multi-discipline ‘ultra event’. Don’t let that hard-won fitness go to waste – pick up the baton for something new; you’ll love the challenge!