The 2025 Publix Atlanta Marathon Weekend has brought runners, walkers and joggers to Atlanta for some of the city’s most important races. For those on the sidelines, it might serve as inspiration to start planning a marathon or half marathon run themselves.
If you’re considering joining “Running City UAS,” here are some training tips from experts to help you get off the sidelines and across the finish line:
Finding the right shoes
According to Ironman world champion Sebastian Kienle, it’s important to find running shoes perfect for your comfort.
“The most important thing is that the running shoes fit perfectly and don’t cause blisters or numbness,” Kienle told RedBull.
Finding the perfect pair of shoes is only the first step. Runners then need to stock up.
“Once you have found a pair of running shoes that fits you perfectly, it makes sense to order a second or third pair of the same shoe and then alternate them during training,” he advised.
How long should you train?
Credit: Joy King
Credit: Joy King
Nick Hancock, running coach and founder of Maximum Mileage Coaching, explained to GQ that the amount of time a runner needs to prepare for a marathon depends on their current abilities. For a half marathon, the average runner should give themselves at least 12 weeks to train. Training for a full marathon can take even longer.
“The further out you can start, within reason, the longer you’ll have to go through that base phase and get some nice, easy miles under your belt,” Hancock said. “And you need those easy miles.”
People running under 10 miles a week will want to spend a few weeks working their way up to that goal. From there, training should include three to four runs a week, including one long run and at least a couple shorter ones.
Recovery is key
According to physical therapist Noah Abrahams, D.P.T., recovery is key.
“One of the things that most people fail to do is take into account how much trauma goes through the body training for a marathon race,” Abrahams told Nike.
The physical therapist suggested runners take extra time for recovery work, like dry needling and head-to-toe stretch sessions for muscle pain relief. Abrahams recommended working these specific areas: pectoral muscles, the subscapularis (just below the base of the neck), psoas back muscle, piriformis buttock muscle and the quadratus lumborum.
How far should you run in training?
During training, runners must use long runs to get their bodies comfortable with the sensation of running on tired legs. That’s according to Asics Mammoth Track Club coach Andrew Kastor, who spoke with Runners World about the best ways to train.
Runners should slowly work their way up to running an 18 to 20 mile session, which should only be done a couple times during training.
“Number one: they develop confidence,” Kastor said, speaking on the benefits of the occasional long run. “And number two: they train your body to recognise what it’s like to run on fatigued legs – because when you get about 20 miles into a marathon, your legs are like stubs.”
Running coach and 50k World Champion Carla Molinaro also spoke with the running news outlet and offered some more insight into how long someone should ever run during training.
“You don’t need to do the full distance but you do need to have some of those longer runs in there,” Molinaro added. “If you’re aiming for a three hour marathon your longest run is probably going to be two and a half hours. If you’re going for a four hour then your longest run will probably be three hours. You don’t need to go much further than that. Especially if you’re just starting.”
Don’t forget the glutes
Running is only part of the training. For proper performance, runners will need to build muscle too. Strength training expert Caroline Idiens spoke to GQ about what muscle groups are most important for marathons.
“Power is given from the glutes: the gluteus maximus moves our hips and thighs, the gluteus medius is responsible for keeping us upright, and the gluteus minimus supports the body when balancing on one leg – as we do with each running stride,” she told GQ.
Two exercises great for building glute muscles are squats and lunges.
“A common fault among runners is not bringing the knee high enough,” she said. “This is associated with low sitting hips and poor performing and undertrained glutes. Neglecting this muscle group encourages muscles lower down the leg to overcompensate, often resulting in injury around the knee and hips, including IT band injuries which are common in runners.”
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