It seems a question with an obvious answer.
No – of course.
But marathon running and the training it requires puts massive pressure on almost all aspects of your life.
Time pressures of marathon training
Firstly, the time commitment is huge.
Training for a marathon will leave you less time for your friends, family and work colleagues.
It will leave you less time for other interests.
And it will leave you less time for all the various chores and responsibilities than make up daily life.
An athlete’s self-awareness
Secondly, many dedicated athletes have a tendency to become self absorbed. It’s entirely natural.
But while the state of your latest injury may be extremely interesting to you, it’s highly likely that it’s pretty boring to everyone else.
Athletes of all levels become highly attuned to what their body is telling them.
It’s just not always a great idea to pass that information on to your loved ones too often.
And the physical and mental commitment needed to train can sometimes make you less aware of other things going on around you – especially in your most important relationships.
Managing all this
So it’s probably a good idea to have a think about how far you let marathon training take over your life.
You may want to agree a few boundaries with your friends and family (or even your boss) so that:
- they understand what you are trying to achieve with your marathon running
- and they feel empowered to talk to you about it where they feel that you are neglecting other parts of your life without, perhaps realising it.
There are few things as dispiriting in marathon training than feeling that it has aroused the resentment of those you love.
