Should I do this? Ask the Marathon

While it’s admittedly not a crowded field, the funniest book ever written about running a sub-3 marathon - bar none - is 26.2 Miles to Happiness by Paul Tonkinson. It was my companion during my first sub-3 attempt back in 2022 (and helped get me to the finish in 2:57), and it’s one of the rare running books that’s genuinely laugh-out-loud funny.

From visits to health farms in Austria to awkward dinners with indulgent friends who can’t quite make sense of his newfound abstinence, there’s much that stays with me. Everyone should read it.

But one thing sticks with me more than anything - a deceptively simple approach to decision-making that Tonkinson began using as marathon day drew close:

“It’s only at moments like this you see clearly how much temptation is laden into everyday life; we live in a society built for solace, surrounded by substances designed to soothe, not nourish. That spring the Marathon led me through the decision-making process, becoming my go-to reference point. What a relief!! I had a framework that allowed me to opt for the right choices.

In the supermarket: shall I have cheap sugary biscuits or more expensive proteinaceous nuts? Ask the Marathon.

Driving past Oddbins: Do I nip in for a cheeky bottle or content myself with water? Ask the Marathon.

On a weekend: Do I go to the party on Saturday night or get an early night for tomorrow’s run? Ask the Marathon.

The Marathon held me in its arms, the Marathon wanted the best for me... It had fed me into a value system that was utterly real.”

I’ve quoted him at length not just because it’s funny, but because he makes two important points.

Firstly, “asking the marathon” is a surprisingly helpful way of sense-checking your decisions. I’ve used that phrase - out loud - many times since. Should I meet friends in a bar in Valencia the Friday before the marathon? Should I race a 10K the week before, or even parkrun the day before? Should I do an 800m race the night before one of my key long runs? Ask the marathon. It’s a useful mental device - and worth adding to your decision-making toolbox.

But more broadly, the marathon makes healthy choices real.

We’re often hectored by public health officials about diet, alcohol, weight, blood pressure - things that might hurt us decades from now. But marathoners experience a far more tangible, short-term version. You really do feel the effects of those three pints the next day. Too much cake, and you’ll feel heavier and slower on your tempo run. The marathon puts you in tune with your body like little else - and it rewards you, tangibly, when you get things right.

This isn’t about becoming a puritan. It’s also not about outsourcing responsibility to some external godlike figure. It’s about voluntarily using a lens - the lens of the marathon - to guide your choices. And if that sounds a bit obsessive? Well, maybe it does take a bit of healthy obsession to actually be healthy these days. Sub-3 runners, in particular, tend to be that way. Myself included.

And then, of course, you reach the taper - and the wheels start to come off...