Is it safe to run a marathon on no training?

You should build up your mileage gradually to prepare for running 26.2 miles

Speaking directly to the camera, smiles on their faces, the Wade twins cheerfully announce – to their 754.9K TikTok followers they’re ‘running the London Marathon today with absolutely zero training’.

They film themselves running the marathon, showing the sights over Tower Bridge, ticking off the miles and announcing ‘we’ve done it, no training’... ‘you don't need to train for a marathon, baby’ as they cross the line in 3.30.

Robert (Rob) Rausch, one-half of the Cheeky Boyos – American influencers who have 11.2 million followers on TikTok – also attempted to run a marathon without any training. The route of choice? Running 105 laps around a track. And it looks like a struggle. ‘I’ve never had cramp like this in my life,’ says Rob, who finishes in just under six hours (which is perhaps a more realistic time to finish a marathon with no training). The video has 3.3 million views.

The Wade twins and the Cheeky Boyos are part of a growing community of social influencers posting online about running long distances without training. In fact, the term ‘​​marathon no training’ has a whopping 811.3M views on TikTok.

While some TikTokers, like Chris Howett – who ran a sub-3 marathon with no training (disclaimer: in the comments, he says that by no training, he used to run a lot, but over the past six months, he's only been socially running 15-20 miles a week) – acknowledge that this isn't something you should try at home, the risks (and potential injuries) associated with running a marathon on zero training tends to be treated as a secondary topic.

Some viewers do comment with their concerns: ‘What? I feel like this is really misleading and plays down the achievements of marathon runners. You cannot just do a marathon with no fitness,’ says one TikTok user. But others seemed genuinely impressed.

When we reached out to the Cheeky Boyos for comment they described how Rob's grandfather was an avid marathon runner, and the inspiration came from him. ‘[Rob] believed that by embarking on this journey unprepared, he would truly capture the essence of his grandfather's love for adventure and the thrill of the unknown,’ they say. ‘Instead of physical training, Rob focused on mental preparation, cultivating a strong mindset and a deep reservoir of determination.’

The whole thing feels somewhat like those kids at school who got top marks in an exam and claimed they ‘didn't do any revision’. Now we’ve got people running marathons with 'no training'.

But that claim is a little ambiguous – and indeed misleading – as when you delve a little deeper, it's clear that these influencers are indeed training regularly – just not in a running-specific capacity.

Like the Cheeky Boyoss, the Wade Twins left a comment beneath their London Marathon marathon video with the following caveat: 'We DO NOT recommend you run a marathon with no training. We have a great base level of general fitness. Next year we add running training in our plans.'

When we contacted the Wade Twins for comment, they reiterated the fact they had a good base of fitness going into the event. 'We have good fitness levels prior to this. We regularly strength train five times per week and we are on our feet for at least 15,000/20,000 steps a day which we think is underrated with marathon training. This put us in good stead but the longest run we had done was 10K prior to this and we had completed a half marathon about seven weeks before that early august. It really got tough at the 30km mark where we both began to realise that training would have been great for the last quarter.'

When we asked them for their motivation behind their attempt, they told us: 'We got offered a place relatively last minute so we just thought, oh why not. We believe every challenge or endurance race is mind over feelings and with each step you are getting closer to your goal.'

To make it super clear, Runner's World does not endorse tackling your first 26.2 without building up some mileage first. And running coaches are of the same opinion.

Elite runner, athletics and running coach and Level 3 personal trainer Helen Gaunt says that while the mind might feel ready to go from zero to hero, the body is not conditioned to run for 26.2 miles without gradually building towards the distance. ‘The sheer length of the marathon puts the body under incredible strain and to do so without training and a robust strength and conditioning programme significantly raises the risk of injury,’ she says. ‘Not only does it push your fitness to its limits – stressing the organs, especially the heart and lungs, but it seeks down weaknesses in your muscles and biomechanics, either exposing them on race day or commonly rearing their ugly head when you pick up training afterwards.’

Runna co-founder and head coach Ben Parker agrees: ‘Running is a very high injury-risk sport due to the impact, unlike other endurance sports like cycling and swimming. As a result, running for a significant length of time, like a marathon, means that we’re putting a really big strain on the body which can lead to long-term damage if we haven't built up gradually to adapt and prepare for this load of running.’

So how much training should you really do when prepping for your first marathon? ‘Ideally, a sensible build time towards a marathon would be a 16-week training programme,’ says Gaunt. ‘It's possible to manage adequately off 12 weeks, but the longer lead time allows a month's preparation time to get some easy long runs in, whatever point you’re starting at. It also allows a bit of wiggle room if you do get struck with illness, fatigue or niggles along the way which is entirely to be expected. The 16-week programme would take you through building easy mileage, introducing speed endurance, targeted marathon pace blocks, then sharpening up plus the taper.’

Gaunt says you should really be hitting 40-50 mile training weeks at the top end of your programme. ‘This would ideally be split across 4-5 runs a week, but aerobic or cross-training (eg cycling) can be factored in if the body is not responding well to the volume. This all helps to build your cardiovascular profile. At the elite end of the scale, Olympic standard marathons are achieved off 50 miles by some, and upwards of 100 by others. Remember it's ultimately about what works best for the individual and not always about quantity.’

Of course, if you’re aerobically fit, muscular and strong from other fitness or sporting activities, you can get away with doing less, Parker points out, ‘however, the cross over from other sports isn't always linear. Playing ball sports is often very stop-start and multi-directional, and other sports like rowing or cycling involve no impact. For someone with a good existing level of fitness, they should still be looking to build up over ideally 12 weeks to build those running-specific adaptations and to mean they can minimise their risk of injury while also seeking out the best performance possible on the day too.’

‘With running, you get out what you put in,’ adds Gaunt. ‘It's not easy to trick the system… especially with marathon endurance. If your level of fitness is strong already, you can get on that start line feeling fairly confident as a strong cardiovascular system and muscular strength will get you a fair way. But it depends on what sport that fitness is from – if your body is unused to running for several hours, the latter stages of the marathon will be testing. Ultimately, some long runs working up to race day are important if you want to run strong and limit the risk of the body breaking down through lack of that race-specific preparation.’ Of course, those who do decide to run a marathon with zero training are often touted as 'inspirational' and 'amazing' – ‘after all it's such a classic bucket list goal, and when it's run for charitable cause the story is all the more evocative and empowering to others,’ says Gaunt.

‘But running a marathon with no training is a risky business – as a coach I would always urge people to seek out some guidance first on training, strength and conditioning, nutrition and marathon recovery. All aboard the adrenaline train maybe, but the body can crumble and there's often a lack of awareness of possible implications on short or long-term health – strains, shin splints, stress fractures… suddenly it's serious. All the adrenaline and race day endorphins can't mask the real damage you could do by pushing the body to its upper limits.’

Parker seconds this: ‘Whilst it's great to see these influencers bring more awareness to running, it's crucially important that you train properly to avoid injury – we wouldn't recommend anyone tries a marathon without being aware of the high injury risks when not building up gradually over an extended period of time and following a personalised structured plan.’

So while it's great to test yourself, Gaunt asks: ‘Would you get in a car and take a driving test without a few lessons first? My reservations would not be so much about the risk of failing but the obvious risk of a bump or worse, a crash along the way.’

The bottom line? Choosing to not train for a marathon will almost always end in unnecessary amounts of suffering, fatigue and prolonged recovery. So remember to read the small print, as it were, when consuming 'marathon no training' content on social media.

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