Full Marathon question?

So I've done three half marathons now, and will be doing one this summer with Team Challenge for CCFA.  At the last one, there was also a marathon going on at the same time.  So I was wondering how you do it, and I don't mean the running (or in my case, walk/jogging).  I know that can be trained for.  But how about the mental side?  I find in the half that miles 7-10 are more a test of mental endurance than physical.  At this point, I have no desire to do a full marathon, but I'm wondering if I ever do, how you mentally prepare to keep going for so long.  This third one was actually easier then than the other two, maybe because I was going so much faster.  But 26 miles seems like forever.  So how do you do it?  And how do you know when you're ready?

Thanks.
Jan

Practice, practice, practice...   Plenty of long runs on the weekend so that when you get over 20 miles you don't hit a wall.  And you need to just have fun with it and focus in on the people around you instead of the mileage.
Rob

I have not run a Full yet, but I have run 2 Halfs, and I walked a Full last September for charity.  I walked with a group, there were 1000s of walkers, and time almost flew by it seemed.  Walking with a group was helpful... lots to talk about, and meeting new people and talking to them helped.  It was an untimed event, so it was all about the charity and the people, each mile marker had a different child featured and we stopped and read each little bio....

Anyway, I walked this 3 months after running my first half, and spent most of the time in between doing more walking than running. 

My walking group had never done more than 10 miles before trying the full marathon, and yes, they were a little worse for the wear at the end.  There were tears and lots of rest those last few miles.  I was cheering them on and giving them advice on how to stretch the different muscles that were hurting them.  They had only been walking for a few months, I'd been running/walking for a year.  I ended up with 2 blisters that I didn't notice until I took my shoes off, and yes, I was tired, but I think I ran a 5K the next weekend and ran another Half a few weeks later.  

I don't know that I knew I was ready, I just knew I would do it.  Most of the people I've ever known who walk charity marathons have not trained.  They just go out and suffer for one day.  Those of us who train take most of the "suffering" out of the equation.  

So yeah, long answer to say "do it with a bunch of people and have fun".

I did a half in 2009 and the full in December. I personally think once you get past the 13 mile mark in your training, it's a whole new ball game. It was for me anyway. I started to have to really  focus more on nutrition, hydration, preventing injuries, and injury care. It required lots of discipline and at times I was consumed by the training. Don't get me wrong though....it was so rewarding!!! It was an experience of a lifetime! I highly recommend it!

You need to give yourself a reason to finish and keep moving forward. All the training is important but when it comes down to it, you have to have a reason to keep going. For my first, I just kept thinking about where I was a year earlier.

Thanks everyone. You're input really helps.
Jan