I'm looking to participate in a marathon in 2 months I've been running heavily for about a year starting on a treadmill working up to 10 miles in 1 hour and have now moved onto running along park trails for 75-120 minutes (depends on whether i get lost) about 5 days a week and I usually throw in some swims anywhere from 5000-7000 meters once or twice a week depending on the heat outside. I just want to run a marathon just to say I've done one, would it be healthy for me ? I run on cross country and track teams, swim almost all year round (I'm in the off season), and am looking to get 4 year ROTC scholarship, I just don't want to do anything to mess up my body. Oh and I should mention I don't feel like doing a half marathon If I run that far I might as well finish the thing

Most of the training programs I've see incorporate 3 short runs and 1 long each week. I'm just a beginner myself and am training for my first marathon, but based on that strategy if you continue to do 5 long runs each week you could be a risk for an over-use type injury. You might be better off scaling back some of your runs during the week while gradually increasing one long run. But again, I'm just a novice.

Hey S1202, I would say you are ready to train for a marathon, but if you wanted to enjoy it and get a good time, give yourself more than 2 moths to train.

You say your running for up to 1-2 hours 5 times a week, so say 7-8 hours.

If your running at 7.30 min mile pace that's a weekly milage of around 60 miles. Plenty for some good marathon training.

Start on a good structured marathon schedule, to increase your long runs up to just shy of marathon distance, increasing about 10% every week, dropping back every 4th week, to recover. Maybe get into a racing half in 2 months time and see you that goes

Your swimming 5k already, that takes me over a hour and a half, so your doing good crosstraining to time too.

You should get on your bike and maybe think about the iron man too or at least a half iron man.