Have never been a runner but used to be a hiker and climber. (climbed to Base camp on Mt. Everest)

For sure it not only helped with my weight, but a side benefit for me was that I stopped craving sweets.

I don't think I've ever seen a fat runner in a marathon....

 

I think the answer is "it depends". Are you aiming to finish a marathon or to run one? How much weight are you wanting to lose, and what kind of condition would that put you in?

I have friends that do marathons just to finish, and they still have weight loss goals that have more or less stalled out. They are in better shape than a lot of people, but they haven't lost the same amount of weight that someone who was training to run the same distance would have.

You will definitely be in better shape though!

Kayleigh

 

It's always great to have a goal. So if you are training for a marathon as a "goal," what are you plans afterwards?

 

I was an avid runner for many years and during marathon training I had to eat a lot more just to keep the weight on! Running burns up loads of calories, way more than walking. The most important bit of advice I can give though is make SURE you get good running shoes that are rright for YOUR feet. You usually can't buy shoes like that at Foot Locker; they sell "fashion shoes" there, not real running shoes. Try www.roadrunnersports.com; they have an online tool to see what kind of shoe you need according to your foot shape, weight etc. Replace your shoes every 400 miles. Also, dont' start out trying to do too much at once. Runners World online has a marathon training planner that is free.
Have fun!

 

you will lose weight by TRAINING for marathons.

frequent marathon runners lose WATER WEIGHT and a bit of muscle during a race--their fat is already gone by TRAINING, they eat a lot of calories to have energy to run the race.

Even if you were to go run a marathon with no training and attempt to use it as a way to lose fat, you WON"T lose fat, if you don't energize yourself with calories(as in you are restricting calories to diet), you will BONK and crash and be a DNF. Most likely with no training, you wouldn't have enough energy and stamina to work long enough to begin burning fat.

Aren't you the one who said you can burn fat without burning calories?