By Katie Rosenbrock
TheActiveTimes.com

Whether it's your first or your fiftieth, choosing a marathon takes a lot of careful deliberation. You have to consider everything from the location and the weather to the course terrain and participant volume.

If any of these elements don't suit your needs as a runner, it could make or break your race. While all of these aspects need to be carefully considered, Jason Fitzgerald a 2:39 marathoner and the founder of Strength Running, argues that weather is the number one factor that you should focus on when choosing a race.

"You can control how you run a tough course by slowing down or taking walk breaks, but even those strategies don't work well when you're overheated in a hot and humid marathon," he said.

Sandra LaFlamme agrees. LaFlamme has completed a handful of marathons and blogs about running at OrganicRunnerMom.com. “When choosing a first marathon I would definitely choose a race depending on the time of year."

In fact, for your best bet, she specifically recommends running a marathon that takes place in the fall. Why? Well, below LaFlamme offers three smart reasons to support her argument.

3 Reasons to Run a Fall Marathon

1. "First of all training for a fall marathon is considerably more enjoyable than training for a spring marathon because the weather during your training will typically mimic the weather that you will encounter on race day."

2. "You will also enjoy your long training runs more if you do not have to wear eight layers, or run the risk of frostbite or even worse, having to ditch your outdoor long run for a dreaded treadmill 20-miler. Yikes!"

3. "Fall is a gorgeous time to run and finding adequate daylight for training tends not to be as much of an issue."

More From The Active Times:
-- 10 Best Marathons to Run in America
-- 7 Myths of Marathon Training
-- How to Choose Your First Marathon
-- 10 Marathon Training Secrets Every Runner Needs to Know