First marathon I ever did was by myself on a long trail. I just wanted to see if I could do it in a reasonable time. I felt it would be embarrassing to enter a real event and take over 4 hours. LOL. Oprah Winfrey did a 4.5 hour marathon. No way, did I want to be only 30 minutes faster than her. The fear of shame is a good thing. It keeps your standards high.