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

Yes. Spread across 30 days, 26.2 miles works out to about 0.87 miles a day, roughly 18 minutes at an easy, brisk pace (NHS guidance on walking for health). Reports so far suggest there's no daily minimum, only the monthly total is expected to count, according to TechRadar, so a missed day or a quiet week doesn't put you out of the running.

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). That means your ordinary, unhurried walking pace is likely already close to the NHS's definition of "brisk". You don't need to train up to some faster gear. You're probably already there.

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.

Here's the honest version, not the headline version. A systematic review and meta-analysis (a study that pools results from many other studies) looked at walking interventions in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women (Ma, Wu & He, 2013). Bone mineral density at the hip increased when women kept walking for six months to two years. The same studies found no statistically significant effect at the spine. In other words, walking is a genuine start for bone health, not a complete programme on its own. Both the NHS and the Royal Osteoporosis Society recommend pairing it with strength and resistance work, which is exactly where our gentle guide to strength training in perimenopause picks up.

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.

There's solid evidence behind that recommendation. A large dose-response meta-analysis (a study comparing different amounts of exercise against the outcome) in JAMA Psychiatry looked at how much activity people did and their risk of depression (Pearce et al., 2022). Adults doing half the recommended level of activity had a lower risk of depression than adults doing none. Adults doing the full recommended level had an even lower risk.

A marathon a month works out to roughly 120 minutes a week. That sits close to the half-to-full range above, right in the zone this research links with substantially lower depression risk.

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 a floor to start from, not the marathon pace itself. 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.