London Marathon Ballot: Your First 14 Days (From a Sports Therapist and Run Coach)

YOU'RE IN!! Congratulations, you are going to run the London Marathon 😍

Take a second to let that sink in. Most people who entered that ballot didn't get what you just got. You will remember that day for the REST of your life. How exciting is that!

But here's what I need you to know first, as someone who has coached marathon runners for 12 years and spent 10 years as a Sports Therapist treating the ones who got it wrong: the marathon doesn't injure people in April. It injures them in the first six weeks.

Every September my treatment tables fill up with July ballot winners. And it's never because they were lazy, it's the complete opposite! They were SO excited they did too much, too fast, too soon. The celebratory 10 miler. The shiny new plan built for someone else's body. The "I'd better see where my fitness is at" time trial.

You have roughly 40 weeks. That is LOADS. It's more than enough time to go from never run before to the finish line on The Mall, and I've coached that exact journey so many times. The only way to waste 40 weeks is to spend the first six of them earning an injury. So here's exactly what to do instead.

Week One (Days 1 to 7): Set up, don't start up

Day 1. Celebrate!! Book nothing. Tell everyone. Screenshot the email. But please don't buy a training plan, a watch or carbon plated shoes today. Excitement is honestly the most injury prone state a runner can be in 😅

Day 2. Do NOT run 10 miles to "see where you're at." This is the single most common mistake I treat. That run tells you nothing useful and it loads tissues that just aren't ready yet. Your current fitness is whatever it is, and the plan starts from there. Wherever "there" is, it's fine, I promise.

Day 3. Get your feet sorted. Proper running shop, gait check, one pair of everyday cushioned trainers. Race shoes come much, much later. Fit beats brand and comfort beats reviews, every single time.

Day 4. Audit your calendar, not your fitness. Holidays, busy work periods, family stuff, that wedding in September. Training that fits your real life survives. Training that ignores it doesn't make it to Christmas.

Day 5. Write down your why. Somewhere you'll actually see it. You won't need it this week. You'll need it on a wet Tuesday in February! And "because I said I would" absolutely counts 💚

Day 6. Choose your support. Running club, a training buddy, a coach, or all three. Nobody trains well for 40 weeks alone. Having someone in your corner is the difference maker.

Day 7. Your first run! 20 to 30 minutes, fully conversational. If you can't chat, slow down. If you need walking breaks, take them. Walk run is a training method, NOT a failure. And that's the whole week done. Easy right? 😍

Week Two (Days 8 to 14): Three runs, five rules

Week two is three easy runs of 20 to 35 minutes with rest days between them. Nothing more, whatever your running history! Here are the five rules that keep you off my treatment table.

1. Every run conversational. And here's the actual number. If you can chat, you're building your aerobic engine. If you're gasping, you're building a niggle. Want a number instead of a feeling? 180 minus your age = your target heart rate for easy runs. So if you're 35, keep it around 145bpm. It will feel embarrassingly slow. GOOD. That zone is where your aerobic base gets built, and your aerobic base is what carries you 26.2 miles.

   
   

2. Rest days ARE training. The adaptation happens in recovery, not during the run. Back to back run days come months from now, and they're earned gradually.

   
   

3. Never increase everything at once. Distance OR frequency OR intensity. One dial per week, nice and gently. Most early injuries come from turning all three at the same time.

   
   

4. Soreness is information, not a badge. Mild muscle soreness that settles within 48 hours? Totally normal. Anything sharp, one sided, or that changes how you walk? Stop and get it looked at.

   
   

5. Boring now wins in April. Two weeks of holding back feels like you're "not really training." You ARE. You're building the base that every big week in February will stand on.

Already a runner? These rules still apply! Your engine is fitter than your tendons. The 5K three times a week body is not yet the 40 mile week body, and the bridge between them is patience, not enthusiasm 😅

The 60 minute fueling rule (pin this for later)

Your runs are short right now so this one's for the months ahead, but it's the rule that saves marathons. Any run over 60 minutes needs fueling. How much? Your body weight in kilograms = your carbs in grams per hour. So a 60kg runner needs 60g per hour (capped at 90g, that's the ceiling your gut can absorb whatever your size). Most people who "hit the wall" don't lack fitness. They under fuelled for MONTHS of training and never taught their gut to take fuel on board. Practise early, because race day is not the day to experiment!

Niggle or injury? Know the difference early

Most running injuries whisper before they shout. Catch them at the whisper and you lose three days. Ignore them and you lose three months. My rules of thumb:

General muscle ache on both sides that settles in 24 to 48 hours is normal training soreness. Carry on, easy movement actually helps.

Tightness that eases as you warm up but comes back after is an early niggle. Pull this week's load back a bit and don't keep pushing through it.

Pain on one side that's there at the START of a run is a developing issue. Take two full rest days, and if it's still there when you go back, get it assessed.

Sharp, localised pain, especially in the shin, foot or hip, could be a bone stress response. Stop running and get assessed THIS week, not next month.

Pain that changes how you walk is an injury, full stop. No hero miles. Assessment before any more running please!

The shin one matters most. "Shin splints" is where new marathoners most often go wrong, because what feels like shin splints can actually be one of three different injuries, and two of them get significantly worse if you run through them. If your shins hurt in these first weeks, that is exactly the moment expert eyes pay for themselves.

A last word from me

Most people say they'll only ever do one marathon. Which is EXACTLY why it's worth doing properly, because you will remember this day forever whatever happens. The difference between surviving it and owning it isn't talent. It's the next 40 weeks, built around your body and your life.

That's what I do. I have been a UKA & England Athletics qualified Run Coach for 12 years and a Sports Therapist for 10 years, and my coaching brings together evidence based run coaching, sports therapy and injury prevention principles, and practical programming that fits around real life. Complete beginners through to Good For Age and sub 3 chasers, and I'm equally proud of both 💚

Want your 40 weeks mapped out properly? DM me "LONDON" on Instagram @tapcoachmeg and I'll reply personally with what I'd do next. A real answer from a real human, not an automated one! Or find out more about 1:1 coaching at www.tapclinics.co.uk/online-coaching