I ran the Disney World Marathon in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Was signed-up, trained-up and ready for 2006, but got bronchitis, so there went that….
Anyway, you might want to enter a few local 5K (3.1 mi) and 10K (6.2 mi) races to get the feel of it all, then increase your training distances until you are ready for a half-marathon. After that, if you want to go for the full 26.2 mile race, take 6 months to train-up so that your body can handle over 20 miles at least once a week by one month before your race. Shorter distances (10 – 15 miles) on other days of the week will be fine, and enough to keep your body clued-in as to what is going on.
NOTE: In training, you do not have to run your weekly 20-plus miles in one effort. Run 11 or 12 miles in the morning, go home and rest, then run that same distance in the afternoon. Your body will still achieve the same physical benefit as long as the 22 – 24 training miles are completed in the same day.
Your split-run mileages don’t necessarily have to add up to 26.2 miles. On Race Day, your body will be ready.
And invest in good quality, correctly-fitting running shoes !!
Go get it….
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