Women can ask advice or simply vent their frustrations while in a group situation. I hear conversations about work, relationships, children, travel, sports and the ever popular food as the distances get longer. Relationship talk tends to speed up the pace, but what to eat when you are done is the most common finishing topic. They see the marathon as a way to define themselves as athletes. Athletes need to take the time train, to feed themselves properly and to take care of themselves to be healthy.
Women can take care of themselves as athletes without feeling guilty.
While marathon training, you need to fuel your body adequately, add distance slowly, obtain the best shoes, stretch regularly, sleep enough and put training as both urgent and important in your priorities. Often I hear weight loss as another goal. If marathoning were a great weight loss program, all marathoners would be skinny. Watch a marathon from 2 hours to 8 hours and note that there are marathoners of all ages, weights and sizes. Some marathoners lose weight, some gain weight as they gain muscle mass and some stay the same.