Walking a Marathon a Month Over 40 (and Through Menopause)

It can be a goal to build towards, depending on your starting point. Spread across 30 days, 26.2 miles is about 0.87 miles a day. That takes roughly 18 minutes at the NHS's brisk pace of 3 mph, which may be faster than feels comfortable now. The scheme's rules about rest days remain unconfirmed. Our daily-minimum guide explains the reports.

You're not behind. In England, 11.8 million adults, nearly a quarter of the adult population, are currently classed as inactive, meaning less than 30 minutes of moderate activity a week, according to Sport England's Active Lives survey. Whatever your starting point, plenty of people are starting from the same place.

Here's a reassurance worth sitting with. A large meta-analysis of walking speed studies found that comfortable walking speeds for healthy adults typically run about 2.5 to 3.2 mph, even into your 40s, 50s and beyond (Bohannon & Williams Andrews, 2011). Those are study averages, not a pace you need to match. Start at a speed that feels comfortable for you.

It can help, honestly framed. The NHS's menopause guidance names walking as a weight-bearing exercise, where your feet and legs support your weight. It recommends walking alongside resistance exercises for bone health during and after menopause. The Royal Osteoporosis Society lists walking among its examples of impact exercise for bones, alongside stair climbing and dancing.

A review pooled studies of walking in women during and after menopause (Ma, Wu & He, 2013). It found a benefit for hip bone density in studies lasting six months to two years. Bone density is a measure of how much mineral your bones contain. The studies did not find a clear benefit at the spine.

Walking can be one part of caring for your bones. Both the NHS and the Royal Osteoporosis Society advise adding strength work. Our gentle guide to strength training in perimenopause explains where to begin.

The NHS's menopause guidance recommends regular exercise for managing mood changes and anxiety during menopause, alongside rest and other approaches. The same guidance also lists exercise among things that can help manage hot flushes.

A large review in JAMA Psychiatry compared how much activity people did with their risk of depression (Pearce et al., 2022). Adults doing half the advised level of activity had a lower risk than adults doing none. Those doing the full level had an even lower risk.

The review links activity with lower risk across groups of people. It does not mean that a set walking target will give you a specific result.

Week one isn't about hitting 0.87 miles a day. It's about showing up on more days than not, at a pace that doesn't put you off trying again tomorrow.

Workings: minutes ÷ 60 × an easy 2.5 mph = miles. Comfortable walking paces for healthy adults typically run about 2.5 to 3.2 mph (Bohannon & Williams Andrews, 2011), so 2.5 mph here is deliberately gentle.

This week is an example you can adapt, not a minimum. It's nowhere near the 0.87 miles a day the full month works out to, and that's the point. Once these five short walks feel ordinary rather than effortful, our beginner's guide's four-week plan takes over from week two, building steadily up to the full monthly distance.