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Comment by jefflinwood | Hacker News Reader

I think the best thing you can do is run with a group, especially if you can find one training for the same marathon.

It'll keep you a lot more motivated than running by yourself, and it's a lot more fun. Plus if you're a techie, it's a good way to get outside and meet people.

FWIW, the 2013 Chicago Marathon and the 2013 NYC marathon are pretty close together for a first-time marathoner. I would suggest just doing one or the other.

If you get really into marathons, there's a very interesting subculture of people who do them all the time - for instance, the Marathon Maniacs - http://www.marathonmaniacs.com/

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I think the percentage of marathoners who qualify as a "marathon maniac" is quite small. To become a member of Marathon Maniacs at even the lowest level you have to document running (a) 2 marathons within 16 day timeframe or (b) 3 marathons within 90 day timeframe. (http://marathonmaniacs.com/criteria.html ) This is certainly doable, but I think percentage of marathoners who have done this is small. Such short intervals between marathons are not generally a good idea for people who aim for getting best possible times -- too stressful for body -- more for people who just like to participate in the events.

Best subculture I've found for actually getting training help and discussion is in the 'Marathoners' subforum at Runners World message boards: http://forums.runnersworld.com/forums/runner-communities/mar...

Running with a group while training for the marathon could be the best approach. Before I started training for my first marathon I had never run more than 3 or 4 miles. Just being in a group forces you to show up for the those long runs on weekends. Plus, I have met some amazing people and made great friends during the training. I trained with this group back then: http://sf.team-asha.org/ (a charity that funds education in India)

Since my first marathon I have trained alone for a number of them. But, I have consistently trained well and timed well when I trained with a group.

In terms of what organizations to choose: if you are looking for charity based training groups there are a tonne.

If anyone is in Chicago and planning to train I would recommend checking out CARA(Chicago Area Runner's association). They have an excellent marathon training program.

I had a great experience joining Team in Training for my first marathon. It's a great group of people with diverse athletic abilities, so it was easy to find someone at my pace.

The catch (if you want to call it that) is that it's a fundraising group for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society so you're obligated to raise some money (or make a sizable donation yourself).

The entire experience changed my life forever.

I second the doing it as part of a group advice. And similarly pick just one marathon and train for that. You'll want a couple months recovery after your first marathon before trying another.

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