How soon is too soon to start training for the next marathon if you ran one two weeks ago?

I ran a marathon two weeks ago and want to start training for one this fall.





I caught a cold a week after running the marathon and am running for the first time today.





The marathon I would run is in October and it is late June now.|||It would help to know if this was your first, and how long you've been running, etc.





Your immune system was probably suppressed following the marathon -- that's why you caught cold. So take it easy and watch your diet, etc.





It's normally advised to take one recovery day per mile raced -- so if you ran a marathon, that means for roughly the next month, you should treat your runs as recovery runs, not serious training. Your body is going to be rebuilding, and some light running that gets the circulation going can help, but you'll also be more injury prone and need to watch it.





But other than that, every one is different. Some people do great getting out immediately after a marathon, and others really truly need that month to rebuild. There's nothing wrong if you want to get out training 2 weeks after your event, but do keep an eye on things the next couple weeks before you start stepping it up again to "normal."|||You should really leave it for 4 weeks or so before you begin serious training, but you can do short easy runs now to help your recovery.





It's important to fully recover before you do anything strenuous, but you should be able to do some easy runs to stop yourself from seizing up. Try to do some stretching, and if you don't feel like a run, go for a swim or a cycle to get your heart rate up for a while.





I used to go for a one or two mile jog the day after a marathon, and build up very gradually over the following 3 or 4 weeks before getting into proper training.


The one time that I didn't run for a week after a marathon it took me longer to get back into my training routine, but I did have a particularly bad run in that race.





Having said that, everyone is different, and you need to find out what works for you, one runner I coached used to rest for a week after each marathon, and she was an international runner competing in events such as the European Games, and the World Marathon Cup.