A friend of mine has entered me into a marathon in 9 weeks time. I haven't run for years. Is 9 weeks long enough to get to a level where i'll be able to walk the day after? I am reasonably fit.

If you aim to walk/jog round in 4 hours+, then maybe you'll get round without too much agony. I wouldn't shoot for anything more ambitious than that though. And walking the day week after is always going to be a b1tch.

Google "run/walk strategy".

Yep, I reckon, take it steady though, might not be much walking the next day, but i reckon you'd finish at least.

I reckon a good few thousand do less training than that, if that

your muscles might be strong enough, but the tendons and ligaments that running needs and cycling doesn't might not be used to all that impact. this is what i've found. i ran a marathon 6 years ago for which i trained for several months, and then kinda gave up afterwards, and then this year i've tried to get back into it. cos i'm quite fit i find i don't get out of breath and in terms of muscular strength/endurance i can manage 10 miles without much trouble, but my joints and particularly my achilles tendon feel very weak. i'm going to ease into it gently now – first rule of training which i ignored

if you're going to try it, be careful as an injury could cost you the summer's cycling

I guess it depends on how much of a natural runner you are. Base fitness is important and if, as you say, you're reasonably fit it'll give you a positive attitude going into the event. You don't need to run the full distance in training, so if you think you can run x miles max, build on that – but don't try to overdo it if you're running out of time otherwise you'll injure yourself. Read up on how to avoid injury – I do certain stretches but what works for me may not work for you. Further to your comment above, I usually find it's the second day after the event that I can't walk… Good luck!

im with pete, but in response to your question then you'll make it round

I reckon so http://running.about.com/b/2009/09/16/comedian-eddie-izzard-completes-43-marathons-in-52-days.htm

i'd have said no, but as monkeychild points out, Eddie showed us what can be done…

i'd be inclined to say no if you are starting from scratch. you might be fit, but your body / muscles won't be used to the impact and in my experience that takes a long time to get used to /adapt. i've been running on a regular basis for 11months now, and i wouldn't like to train for a marathon even with 11months of mileage behind me. i did a half marathon a few weeks back which was fine, but the longer runs tired me out/took it out of my legs. if you do a run/walk strategy, you should be okay. most books/running mags say you should be running for a year before doing a marathon to make sure you don't get injured, and suggest a 16 week training programme

i've bought some skins compression tights, best bit of kit i've bought – no more doms after running so might be a good investment if you want to to do the marathon.

yeah its definietly doable. use your bike to get used to running when you're tired without having to do long runs which could cause injury. 2 hour hard rides, then run for a while. as well as doing short faster runs. main thing is to start – tomorrow!

i trained for a 100km run in 5 weeks, having never even ran a half marathon before, so all things are possible

Oh, and question how long you have been running in the same pair of daps. I use a pair for training and doing a marathon distance then they're not used for another event, usually because the support or cushioning has gone. But again, that's just something that has worked for me, based on experience.

Do you want to injure yourself?

(C_G mistress of overuse injuries and ex-runner)