a couple things…

runners world magazine (also online at http://www.runnersworld.com) is a great resource, and has articles geared at total beginners to marathon (and ultra-marathon) pros…i use that as my main training resource.

it’s good to run the course a few times for practice, but mentally, it’s actually preferable to try lots of different routes (google map is great to find distances). since your speed will improve the more you train, you don;t want to have any pre-set pace “milestones” to slow you down when you race.

as well, from experience, the actual course isn’t very hilly until prospect point hill, so you probably want to do either some trail runs or routes over to north van to get practice on hills - crucial part of training (and so gross)…or, you could just jog to the propsect point hill and go up and down that sucker a few times

happy training!

Easy. I hate people. People suck and they smell funny. So I just treat as alone time for myself.

I try to take on a “Vagabond” mindset whenever I do something alone. I try to treat it like an adventure.

I’d say definitely - not for speed however, as it helps with endurance a lot. Back when I was doing the bootcamp thing, they made us finish our runs with sprints (sprint 100m, walk back, repeat half a dozen times) for this reason. It’ll kill you, but apparently it’s worth it.

Good on you with the running plan - good luck.

One question though - how do you keep motivated/from getting bored when running solo? I’d promised myself that I’d keep running after I enjoyed it so much at the sessions with other people, but as soon as I went out on my own I found the grind to be unbearable without someone to push myself with. It’s pretty much the same problem I have with the gym, and right now all the people I used to go snowboarding with are MIA so it’s been solo there too (but at least the novelty of being an Aussie in snow hasn’t worn off yet after all the years I’ve lived here) - boo!