Stress fractures are one of the most common running injuries. And every runner who gets a stress fracture has to, at least in same capacity, reduce their activity to heal. Sometimes the runner has to stop running for a brief period of time. Sometime you can just run less, modify the way that you run, or come up with some creative strategies to keep running.

 You never get a second chance to do your first marathon, so you certainly need to do everything possible to stay fit and not lose all that effort you put into training. You also need to make sure that your injury is not just healed enough that you can start running, but then get sidelined a few weeks before the race. Obviously that would be heartbreaking.