Newish Replacement- Marathon?

October 6, 2025 JC

Hello fellow running enthusiasts,

I’m new to this group. My THR (anterior) was in February 2025. I started some light walk/running in July. I am signed up for the Tokyo Marathon in March 2026. I am going to see how things go in terms of training, with a run/walk plan.

I am 65 years old. Prior to surgery I was a longtime endurance athlete. I started running at 20 and ran consistently major injury free for about 45 straight years. This included between 50-60 marathons (including 18 consecutive Bostons, until 2022), countless 5ks etc. My speed was consistent through the years and then, rather suddenly, my hip was done in late 2024.

My surgeon said the ONLY activity on the “no” list is running (in fact he took it a step further and told me to stay away from websites that encourage me). I probed this admonishment a bit. For example, I asked if I could walk/hike without limitation. He said yes. So then I asked what the difference between hiking 20 miles and running a 10K might be to the hip. He said it was the momentary gliding and striking motion or running that concerned him. I then asked if there was any medical evidence supporting the claim that running will wear out the latest hip materials, and he said no. He implied it was common sense.(I do understand how difficult a longitudinal study would be in this context).

My doc’s advice felt a bit conservative and conventional. On the other hand, I certainly do not want to do anything that will have significant impact on the hip’s longevity either. I do think the fact that I was a competitive runner before, helps my ability to run post-hip surgery.

In any event, I plan to train with a run/walk program. Eg. 90 seconds running and 30 walking (I’m trying different formulas). Time or Boston qualifying is not a goal for me, clearly— and I’m completely fine with that. I will be happy to do be out there doling what I love. I plan to only run twice a week, and if my body does not feel right I will abandon the marathon idea.

Any advice out there? Do you think run/walking a marathon 13 months post-op is per se careless? Seems like there are all of you with positive experiences and plenty of orthopedists who feel more confident than mine about the stability of the new materials in the face of regular running.

Thanks!

This topic has 9 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 5 months, 2 weeks ago by JC.

Viewing 8 reply threads

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- October 6, 2025 at 6:39 pm #21185
  JC
  Participant
  Hello fellow running enthusiasts, I’m new to this group. My THR (anterior) was in February 2025. I started some light walk/running in July. I am signe
  [See the full post at: Newish Replacement- Marathon?]
- October 8, 2025 at 4:23 am #21188
  OB
  Participant
  Surgeons and THR patients have different opinions about running after THR. My hip surgeon said I could go ahead and run, as long as I didn’t train for marathons. I have done about 100 of them so really don’t have a desire to continue with that distance. I turned 70 last week and run three days per week from 6 miles to 10 miles using a run/walk method. I cycle three days a week doing either 40 mile gravel rides or 90 indoor spins on my tri bike. For strength I swim or row four to five times per week.
  I asked my long time running buddies, now in their late 60s early 70s, what they do. With the exception of John who has run all the grandmas and twin cities marathons, they too are running three to four times per week and adding cycling or elliptical in on the days they aren’t running. These guys are fast and still winning their age groups at national levels.
  During the run portions of my run/walks I try to focus on running faster with a better stride keeping the tendons/muscles around my bilateral THRs flexible. I notice as we age we lose that flexibility and our strides shorten. I think it is important that instead of running the same pace all the time, to throw in different paces to challenge that. Always at the end of my run/walks I throw in 30 second pickups.
- October 20, 2025 at 6:09 am #21194
  GaryB
  Participant
  Hi JC.
  There was a previous poster on this website who was soliciting participants for a UK based study on THR recipient runners. The author promised to share the study results with this forum, and I believe it is to be published shortly. I hope to resume running when my healing is further along, but I look forward to having reassurance with data backup. Good luck with your journey! Cheers, Gary
  - October 21, 2025 at 2:59 pm #21196
    JC
    Participant
    Really helpful post. Thank you. I would be curious medically why your doctor thinks run/walking on your hip for 8-10 miles is acceptable but not marathon training, which is only incrementally more for a few months— e.g. a few longer marathon training run/walks (18-20 miles) and a marathon!
- November 2, 2025 at 3:48 am #21197
  OB
  Participant
  Hi JC – Run/walking 8 to 10 miles three times per week isn’t what I would consider marathon training. My marathon training was typically 80 to 100 miles per week with a mid week of 15 to 17 and a long weekend run of 20 to 25 miles.
  I think my doctor was more concerned with the cumulative miles on my new hips if I went back to focusing on marathon racing.
- November 9, 2025 at 4:44 am #21200
  WedgeC
  Participant
  Hello JC and great question and widely evaluated and debated. The reality is it is new territory and take happiness from the fact we are on the cutting edge.
  The technology improvements in our hip prosthetics is fantastic, and the surgeons and physicians knowledge is extensive, but here is what I have come to know… I don’t think anyone really knows…
  I believe to take the best you can from many different, trusted medical sources, people that are on this wonderful forum, and then start applying it cautiously to your situation and use how your body feels and experience as a guide.
  I read a lot of very conservative and cautious approaches on this list and there is nothing wrong with that… I had a right, anterior, THR approach 10 weeks and two days ago and have gradually built back to running 25 miles per week and covered 14.5 miles yesterday at an average pace of 10:15 per mile elevation gain of about 1600 feet of elevation gain with no pain. Keep experimenting!!
- November 9, 2025 at 9:06 am #21201
  JC
  Participant
  Thanks Wedge. Impressive quick comeback wow! Your conclusion is exactly where I am landing. I am meeting for the first time post- op with my surgeon this week, at my request. I am not trying to get him to “yes” but I would like to understand and explore risk, from his perspective. I am up to 8 miles at 3 minute running and 1 minute walking twice a week only. With Tokyo in March, I need to decide if I can take the next training leap or not. Don’t want to do anything acutely stupid, but if the concern is only one of contributing incrementally to long-term wear and tear, it is likely a go for me. If you or anyone else has any questions I might pose to my surgeon this week, let me know !
- November 9, 2025 at 11:44 am #21202
  WedgeC
  Participant
  And JC, I will also add that I had my other side, my left THR via posterior method done just under five years ago. I was a little slower with the recovery there, a bit more cautious mindset, but also believe that the posterior approach requires “a little more” Recovery… I was jogging very lightly at seven weeks and ran a “moderately hard” trail 5K at 90 days in just under 24 minutes. To date on my left side, I have no issues.
  I will tell you in the United States that the medical system is designed to cover themselves for liability, to the extent that they say “no” unless it is an absolutely obvious yes.
  I will also say that you can look at the medical system in the United States during I’m following Covid and really get a true understanding of how much is “unknown“ or “uncertain“… And I am not trying to interject politics or start a debate there; in my previous post, I meant what I said, there are just things you can’t be 100% certain on; there is tremendous complexity in the human system, and then the interventions human make to improve these systems. Objective results individually are probably our best guides… for me, I’ll run the risk of perhaps damaging my prosthetics in my mid 50s and over the next 20 years to accomplish things I want. For me it’s worth it than to die with less damaged prosthetics and those complications than have walked my dog, get my few steps most days, and watch others cross finish lines of marathons, ultras, triathlons, and stand on podiums and mountain peaks!
  To each their own and to the great George Sheehan, we are all “an experiment of one”
- March 4, 2026 at 10:10 pm #21260
  JC
  Participant
  This is the author of this list, JC. Good news. Just completed the Tokyo Marathon. Was absolutely pain free. I am 13 mos post op. My training was very conservative. For 4 mos prior, I ran twice a week only. I did one 5 miler and one long run increased weekly up to 20 miles (on off days, I did other cardio) On the long run, I ran 3 minutes and walked 1 minute. I did this same pattern in the race. All good! My surgeon actually gave me his blessing to run this race and asked for pics. Good lick all!
- March 4, 2026 at 10:41 pm #21261
  JC
  Participant
  This is the author of this list, JC. Good news. Just completed the Tokyo Marathon. Was absolutely pain free. I am 13 mos post op. My training was very conservative. For 4 mos prior, I ran twice a week only. I did one 5 miler and one long run increased weekly up to 20 miles (on off days, I did other cardio) On the long run, I ran 3 minutes and walked 1 minute. I did this same pattern in the race. All good! My surgeon actually gave me his blessing to run this race and asked for pics. Good luck all!
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