> > My reason for entering was a bet between two groups of people, one of which I happen to belong. However, the feeling I had after crossing the line, knowing that I did not surrender, I kept running all the way, that feeling lasted all week. That is to say, it lasted longer than my sore legs.
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> I'd love to know some more about this. How long did it take you to train to the point where you could run the whole thing, and how did you do it? And how fit were you before you started? The longest distance I've ever run in one go is 9 km in a fun run and I can't *imagine* what it must be like to run a full marathon.
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> Brunnen-"it must be worth it for that feeling afterwards"G

Oh, yeah, all those hours that are so quickly forgotten :-) We were five of us who were challenged in february, giving us four months to prepare. We had varying degrees of experience, ranging from "yeah, running sounds like fun" to "try to get out a couple of times per week", encompassing "go to the gym now and again". There is plenty of help to be found on the Net regarding training programs and such. I think at peak effort (two-four weeks before The Event), we were out every second day, running 10-20 km.
Except for the one who fell ill a couple of days before, we all completed in less than four hours, which was very satisfying (we won the challenge, he-heh).

I think that if you are able to run 10 km for two or three days in a row without dying (!), I'd say you are reasonably (physically) able to complete the 42.195 km in one go. Not to suggest that it's the same thing, but I think that would be a reasonable criterion.

jul"Aaaaaaahhhhh..."ian