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This year, 98 year old Fauja Singh, who decided to take up running at the age of 89 after a five decade gap, completed his first full marathon, becoming the oldest ever marathon runner and says he aims to run until he dies. He ran as part of a religious running team ‘Sikhs in the city’ with which he has raised huge amounts of money for charity. Organisers of the New York City marathon have offered him $100,000 if he can complete their marathon aged 100.

If Fauja can do it, you can too. The idea of running 26.2 miles in one go might not seem appealing but each year millions of people of all ages and abilities take part in marathons all over the world. The key is in the training and motivation; if you have never been one for exercise, you will need more than a few months jogging to prepare. At least 12 months in advance to give yourself enough time to ease yourself into training and lose any unnecessary weight. Drink less alcohol and stop smoking completely, if you can’t give up smoking then you have already lost the battle.

Consult your doctor and make sure you don’t have any underlying medical conditions that could hinder training or competing. Take a look at your diet, ditch any fast food or unhealthy snacks, your training will mean nothing if you eat a take away pizza every day and this is one of the hardest mental tasks of training. Swap an unhealthy diet for healthier options in the right portions. There is no harm in getting involved in some light exercise while doing this, obviously the more the better but the idea is to ease your body into the process.

Once you have worked out a god diet you can plan out your training, if you are completely out of shape you will need to turn excess fat into muscle and get your body used to regular exercise. You may find that a heavy gym session or lengthy jog will take a couple of days to recover from, this will change but you have to be determined. Your main focus should be on running and jogging as this is what you’re aiming for but any other cardio activity is beneficiary, if you want to build muscle that is up to you but that’s a whole other fitness regime and will take up a lot of time and cause you to gain weight.

Over a couple of months begin to exercise regularly, three times a week or so. In between your exercise days go for a light jog, nothing strenuous but enough so your body speeds up its recovery rate. Exercise 6 days a week but only train hard on three of those days, have a complete rest day on the weekends but feel free to engage in some light exercise like a casual swim or bike ride.

With about 6 months to go, begin to focus on your running. This is vital as it is not just about your endurance but also the way your muscles work, strengthening your joints and getting your feet used to it. Run 5 days a week, no excuses change your rest day to a Monday as you will need the weekends for your lengthier runs. On average run 5 miles per day and 10 miles at the weekend. Give up alcohol completely but that doesn’t mean you have to give up being social, when people ask you why you’re not drinking they will be impressed with your answer. Vary your distance and route to keep it interesting as you don’t want to get bored of it all. If you have ever watched a marathon on TV you will notice that almost every single person in the crowd presses their watch when the gun fires, they are timing themselves to beat their personal best, this is a big part of marathon running as it will give you the motivation to succeed. Invest in a stopwatch and begin to time yourself, note down these times against the distanc
es you run and aim to beat your times each week, map out a chart as a visual reference is very motivational.

In the final three months leading up to the marathon increase the intensity of your training, run an average of 8 miles per day Tuesday to Saturday and between 10 and 20 miles at the weekend with inclinations each week. On any particular Sunday, run a half marathon at race pace, this will give you an idea of how you will feel at the event. In the last three weeks before the race run an average of 6 miles including Sunday and take two rest days, in your final week run 3 – 4 miles on three of the days, taking three rest days but not the day before.

If you are going to buy new clothes for the race make sure you use them before to make sure they are comfortable, then wash them! Many people find their nipples rub, if yours do use plasters or Vaseline. Have your race trainers at least three months before the event but if something happens to them and you need new ones buy the exact same pair to avoid discomfort. Sip water regularly from the moment you wake up to fully hydrate, don’t eat for the last two hours before the race. Don’t drive to the race as parking will be limited and traffic will be heavy and these are stresses you can do without. Arrange to meet friends/family away from the finishing line to avoid congestion and stand a chance of spotting them. Finally, don’t forget to set your alarm clock on the day.

Ensure you have the correct footwear and clothing as it is not ideal to just run it in a pair of Puma King boots and a Manchester United Football Shirts.