marathon-run w/ sis or solo??

I would agree with Tricias statement on this.  Training for a full marathon would be too much for me to not go out and do better then  2mins per mile slower then what you'd typically would run.

Good luck though!

Sounds like the real dilemma is what do you want out of your FIRST marathon? 

She asked you to do it with her.  Ask her what this means to her.  It could mean both of you train, both of you run, and both of you get to wear the race t-shirt afterwards even if you run 3:45 and she runs 5:00.  It could mean she'd like you running with her the whole 26.2 miles. 

At the same time, voice your concerns, clearly and straightforward (spoken like a guy).  Listen carefully to her answers because my experience is that women rarely say what they really mean (welcome to *my* world).  If she really wants you to run 26.2 with her and finish holding hands and you're OK with that being your first marathon, great!  You have a solution.  If you really want to race your first and she's OK coming in an hour behind you, great!  You have a solution.  If you really want to race your first marathon and she really wants you to run and finish with her, you might still have a solution.  Find a December marathon to race and then pace her in January or put it off for a year and race your first on your own.  If you do the December marathon, make sure your accomplishment doesn't overshadow the joint effort. 

I have the same feeling as the other posts, if you had done several marathons and they were no big deal, then run with her the whole way if she wants. Since its your first also, be sure she understands, and train together as much as you can and run with your own pace groups at the event.

Otherwise you would hate going slow and she would hate that she was holding you back. That's not fun for anyone.

Years from now....when you are old and grey and you think about the cool things you've done in your life, what will mean more to you:

1.  You ran your first marathon and finished an hour ahead of your sister.

2.  You and you sister ran your first marathons together.

Your sister asked you "if you wanted to do the marathon with her".  Do it with her.  There will be pleny of marathons in the future where you can PR but to run your first marathon with your sister is priceless.

~Mike

I like this.  I think you have to decide what you want out of it.  I am in a little bit of a similar situation, although my sister is not 2:00/mile slower than I am.  We are running Disney together and it's funny because when I started running, she was way faster than me but now I am faster.  But I want to do it with her so we can enjoy the misery of our first marathon together.  I'm making her dress up as a Disney character with me, too. 

But again - it's up to you.  It's a lot of training and if you need to be comfortable with whatever decision you make. 

Since she signed up first, and asked you to join her, I would run with her.  Although I would struggle with having the slower race times on the books. Maybe you can sign up under another name?  

If it was the other way around (you already signed up) I would say "I have plans for this race, but we should find a race to do together".

I struggle with this with a girlfriend who I race 'with" a lot.  We are very similar in pace, but have different styles and end up splitting up.  But I struggle for a few miles trying to run "her" race.  For an upcoming event we're doing together I already told her that I look forward to training runs on the course, hanging with her at the start, cheering for each other at the finish, and enjoying the post-race together.  But I need to do my own thing when the gun goes off.

Run with your sister.  Do not pass up the chance to celebrate this accomplishment with her. 

If you want to do a faster marathon, do one by yourself before or after the PF Changs race.  There are plenty of marathons all over the US that you could do for "your" race.

my brother, who is MUCH faster than me, ran my (and his) first half marathon step for step with me. i LOVED it. and i'm pretty sure he did to.

my boyfriend, who is MUCH faster than me, ran my first marathon step for step with me. i LOVED it, and i'm pretty sure he did to.

myself and my best friends brother ran step for step with my best friend for her first half marathon a couple weeks ago in virginia beach at the rock and roll half. it was both of their firsts. he is noticably faster than her, but he was there for her.

all three are memories i will cherish forever. i appreciate my bro/bf so much for their support leading up to, during and after.

as previous posters said...you have to decide what's important for you in the long run. a PR in your first marathon or supporting your sister during both of your firsts? neither is better than the other, it's what you want.

Run with her. It's a gift for both of you.

I ran my sister's first marathon with her. Or at least as much as she could run it. She was struggling with ITB syndrome, and eventually dropped out, but up until that point, I ran and walked every step with her.

My friend and I had trained together for several years, but never had the opportunity to run a marathon together. We both signed up for Marine Corps Marathon and Richmond, which are 2 apart. So, Marine Corps was really a training run, and we ran every step together. It's my second favorite race picture of all time (http://kvtri.blogspot.com/2005/11/it-was-only-training-run.html).

My husband has been at every single marathon I have run (except 2), supporting me, carrying my junk, putting up with me. He finally decided to do one of his own, and even though I had at first thought I would be his sherpa for a change, he wanted me to run with him. So, we did Disney together (http://kvtri.blogspot.com/2006/01/hes-marathon-man.html) and that's my very favorite race picture of all time.

I would not trade any one of those experiences for a faster time.