Marathon Makeover

Okay, so this is probably 1 – 2 stars for the online program, and possibly 4 – 5 for the real, in-​person training that are in various locations in the country. But I signed up for the online program, which was a mistake and a waste of money. So they get two stars from me.
I got an email a week-​sometimes (annoyingly) the day of-​saying, okay, walk/​run X miles today for the long workout, and there was a chart on their website saying do X amount of workout on all these other days. They sent regularly sent out short videos on workouts/​marathon issues. And I was assigned a trainer who was supposed to answer my questions. But I didn’t have any questions when I first started really, and soon enough I fell back into my slothful ways, $ 125+ poorer. She seemed nice, though.
They gear it toward coach potatoes. And, you know, if you’re meeting people and going for workouts with a whole group who has this goal– I think it could be fabulous. But if you’re on the online program, you need to take a long hard look at how motivating a couple of emails a week will be. Bottom line, you can find all of this information on the web-​maybe not a 40-​week marathon program, but a 24-​week one, and combine that with an 8 or 16 week 5K or 10K training program at the start and voila, you have a program.
I really wish I could say it worked for me, but I have a feeling a lot of people-​like me-​drop the online program shortly after they start. There wasn’t really enough of a social aspect (they did have online forums but not terribly active) or accountability to it to keep it going after the new-​year-​resolution-​excitement bump wore off.
I would love to see the dropout rate of the online program. I am not the only one.
If there was an in-​person training for this in my area, I would sign up for it in a heartbeat, even though it’s a lot more expensive. But I have to advise against the on-​line training program. Seriously. Save your money. It’s probably just as motivating to find and create a program and research info on how to complete a marathon on your own. Information is cheap these days, but the online program here is not.
Before you sign up for the online program, take a long, hard look in the mirror. Ask yourself: How long have your other New Year’s Resolutions lasted? Is getting one or two emails a week and having a person available to ask questions to going to make a major difference? Can you use google and/​or read books on marathon training? Do you like wasting money? Wouldn’t you rather send that money to an incredibly helpful Unilocal reviewer?
I assume they have had people-​former coach potatoes– succeed and complete a marathon on their online program. But I don’t think they are the norm. As is so often said in weight-​loss ads, «results not typical.»