Right , that makes sense . And I would never do it without proper training . I ' ve always told myself that just being able to say you ' ve done it is not enough of a justification for me . I ' d only do it for the experience itself , for knowing what it ' s like , for knowing whether I ' d hit the wall hard or be able to keep going , andor maybe for the benefits that come with the training that it would require I could do the training without running the actual marathon , but let ' s face it it ' s easier to do a highvolume program when you have to . But it ' s clear that the race itself does do damage to your body , so that ' s the argument against . I am planning to do the 91 thing in 2017 for the NYC marathon . If that works out , I can decide in 2018 whether to do it or not , with two more years of nonmarathonspecific training under my belt .