I haven't done a marathon in years - I did 5 in total (Marine Corps in Washington D.C., Flying Pig in Cincinnati, Detroit, Disney and Ottawa) - the last one I did was in May of 2006 - that's over 6 years ago now! One thing I learned from them - speed doesn't matter! My best time was over 4 and a half hours - my worst time was over 6 hours (but I did a half marathon the day before!) Gradually the distances came down - I think the longest I could handle would be 10K, and I'd have to work up to that! Right now 3.5K is about all I can handle - but I have time to get to the 5k mark!
Rose, you were asking if I wear anything protective while I run - right now, no. The path I am on is not very busy so I'm fortunate in that I'm not really worried. And the ataxia hasn't progressed (yet) to the point where I should. In the future, it may be necessary - if that happens, I'll probably be getting on the treadmill in the basement more. Right now I'm able to be outside, so I'm trying to be. The treadmill can be so boring sometimes! Luckily we have a 40" TV on the wall in front of it so I can catch up on shows I miss, or watch a movie while I am there.
The run isn't until the first weekend in November - when I get through it I'll let people know how I did! I'll be on vacation for a bit - we're staying in NYC for a few days after the marathon to enjoy the city - but I'll be sure to post!