i am a first time jogger and just started a training schedule. i am up to 4 miles looking for 5 on saturday. i have seen several training tips and schedules that say you should walk part of the run (ie 1 min walk every 10 min run) and that i should walk through aid stations during the marathon. should i walk during my long runs or is it ok to just skip the walking? my first intention and goal was to continuously run the entire marathon, is that an out of reach goal for a first timer or is it not too uncommon for a first timer to run the whole time?

When I trained for my first marathon in 2005, I did not walk during training, and ran the entire marathon. I was running with a guy at one point who was walking through the water stations, but I just wasn't comfortable doing that. I like you, wanted to run the whole thing. I personally find that if I walk during a race, it becomes too easy for me to walk more often, even if I really do not need to. If you train properly, you should be fine to run the whole thing. Good luck.

that's what i thought during training if i say to myself it is ok to walk i would probably walk more than i want to and during the marathon i would use it as a crutch instead of powering through. thanks for the reply