The 6 Hour Marathon

This article is from 2009.

10 years later a 6 hour marathon is considered a good performance.

(Not by myself)

Marathons are becoming big events. People enjoy them for different reasons. I have no problem with that. The more the merrier. It just gives more attention to the sport and creates more events.

The 6 hour finishers help to make the 3 hour finishers feel fast. You could even do what Comrades does and award different medals for finishing times I suppose, but it won’t really make you a better person in any appreciable way.

The finishers who are scratching up against 2 hours don’t really seem to mind and I think if you spend long enough in the sport you’ll come to feel the same way.

What a horrible thing to say. Why do you personally care how long it takes others to run a marathon? As long as they run within the standards of the time parameters set by the marathon rules and regulations who cares. You at that point have already had your beer and left for the day. This is why people are afraid to join the running community. You have no idea what people’s goals are and are out of touch.

Good...the 6 hour butter huffers have no place in what should be a serious athletic event

You bumped a 4 year old thread. Do better.

Ik the thread is 4 years old but on social media I've seen a ton of people (usually out of shape women) identifying as 'slow runners', and making a big deal about how slow runners are just like every other runner. I don't really care how fast they run marathons in, but acting like running a 6 hour marathon is a running achievement is kind of a joke. I don't think stuff like that should be promoted.

Really strange mentality to me, I am not able to understand why someone would purposely identify as a 'slow runner' and make it their entire personality when you can just put in an average amount of work and run much faster.

I (23 year old male) ran my first marathon in October of 2022. I spent months training for it and building up mileage. I got into running five years prior after being picked on in school for being heavy and lost a ton of weight. Prior to running that race, I had run countless 5ks, 10ks, 15ks, 10 milers, and half marathons, so I went into the marathon with a goal of finishing and doing my best. I ran track in high school and 2 years of JUCO and hit several personal bests over the years that, while considered terrible by this sites standards, I was proud of.(5k 20:40 10k 43:58, Half 1:36:56)

My training went perfectly. Did multiple 16 milers, an 18 miler and a 20 miler. All without issue. I did my 20 miler in 3:37 (Slow by this subs standards but I didn't care, I wanted to finish.) and felt no fatigue or anything.

Race day arrived and I felt a bit off, tired and groggy but I attributed it training hard but still was ready to kill it. Stuck with the 4:40 pace group and felt okay until about mile 14

That's when it all came unraveled,

I pulled my groin, and barley could jog, then shortly after, I had a bout of IT band syndrome in my left knee and, later, found out, I had COVID-19 which attributed to my shortness of breath and fatigue.

I literally dragged myself to the finish because I could barley even walk. I did everything in my power to run and finish, but I was shot. I proceeded to do the ugliest walk/jog (mostly walk) for the final 12 miles. People dropping out in front of me and getting passed. Finished in 5:58, just barley ahead of the 6 hour pacer and course sweep. I finished with my family all around and the race directors cheering me on.

Letsrun.com might hate on me for this, but I don't care. I got hurt and instead of quitting on myself, I pushed through and did what no one thought I could. It was not the race I expected, but I did it. I am running another marathon next year and I know I will do better. To say 6 hour marathoners are not marathoners is not entirely true. Sure some may sign up with the intent to walk the whole thing, but I believe it is a case to case situation.

I take running very serious and it has given me confidence, helped me add years to my life, connected me with some of the best friends in the world, and I truly love it. My experience may be different, but I am a marathoner and I gave it everything i had and simply got hurt, I think a real runner in this context would push through and finish no matter the time, I believe that would count for something.

— some people here will hate on you for anything; it’s their idea of fun. No need to pay attention to it.

— I think this thread and others like it would probably agree with you about it being case by case. I doubt you’d find a high number of people disparaging those who take their training seriously, get to the times you have, and wind up being much slower than expected during a race in which they are injured.

— I would’ve encouraged you to DNF and tackle the marathon another day, but it’s your body. And you can be proud of persevering.

— on OP’s issue of “the marathon losing its mystique and prestige,” I suppose that would be a concern only for those who run races for the purpose of somebody else saying, “Wow, you ran a marathon!” I suppose that’s not a terrible thing, but I have my ways of determining my own goals and ways of enjoying my hobby. I don’t need to invest much in somebody else’s sense of “ mystique and prestige.”

In my head, there's different levels to it. (These standards are obviously done for men, just lowkey bump back one for women)

Anyone who is sub 2:20 is obviously elite.

Sub 2:40 is not professional, just average Joe who happens to be superhuman in free time

Sub 3 is an athletic person or runner who dedicated their time to it and put in the work. Extremely impressive but not superhuman.

Sub 3:30 can be one of two things

A former good HS runner half-assing it or a non-athletic dude who trained extremely hard

Sub 4 is very similar, but more non-athletic dudes

Sub 4:30 starts to become pedestrian.

Sub 5 is usually non-athletes who half assed it, or people on extreme weight loss journeys

Sub 5:30/Sub 6 is usually a nonathletic person with a lack of training

And when I see a time above 6, I (not always) usually think of it as someone who did not train.

I don't mind above 6 hour people calling themselves "marathon runners", but I think it's important that we recognize the difference between the work ethic of sub 3 hour runners and 6 hour runners.

Realistically, running 4:30 or lower is just not that hard. It's really not. So when people finish above 6, it's just showing that they didn't really put as much effort as necessary into their training.