Abstract

It is important to stress that the findings of the present study were based on the experiences of first-time marathoners and so may only apply to this group of people. Investigations are in progress to examine the training patterns of experienced runners. Three observations can be made: 1. First-time marathoners do not need to run exceptional mileages during training, and do not suffer dramatic slow down in the latter stages because of their moderate training. 2. There is no practical relationship between average weekly training mileage and race time for novices at least. 3. First-time marathoners are able to predict their race time better near the day of the race, compared with when they first begin training. Verf.-Referat