[Esel Mann]

I did the Chicago marathon recently. No training. I have run, most my life, but took the past year off due to job obligations. So it was somewhat cold turkey for me with the marathon. I finished with no issues.

From the post I have to presume that you like I was simply content with finishing and not trying for any sort of time that could be considered competitive. I considered it to be something fun to do.

The body is a machine. Put fuel into it regularly and keep under your cardiovascular limit and one foot in front of the other and you should have no problem finishing a marathon. Enjoy!!!

In ultra-distance running the mantra is "how slow can you run". For marathoners with little or no training this is key to achieve finishing the run.

From another angle, consider this. Hiking. Folks go hiking up in the mountains for hours with no problem. What I'm trying to bring up is consider thinking in terms of time spent doing strenuous exercise not distance. Hiking up in the mountains usually is a strenuous 8+ hour event. Marathon running takes anywhere from 4-6 hours for the non-competitive. If you can hike you can run a marathon.

Good luck and enjoy!!!