Here's my $0.02.
I'm 6'4" tall, run about 30 miles per week. Have run 7 marathons, fastest 3:24, slowest 3:50 after spending a week in the respiratory section of the hospital with my daughter 2 weeks before the marathon. I was sicker than a dog.
Running: make sure you don't do too much too soon. Get your base, then on the long run, just go an extra mile per week. I used to work my way up, then run 3, 23 mile runs 2 weeks before the marathon. Then taper (20, then 14) the two weeks before the marathon. You'll be conditioned to doing long runs, but well rested.
I grew tired of getting up at 2:30 AM to do my long run on Friday AM (so we could go ride dirt bikes on the weekend), so I quit running marathons. With traffic, our routine is to leave early Sat AM, ride all day, come home Sat PM late. Now i do longer runs on sunday.
My regime is still three, six-long mile runs per week, and one long run per week. In Minnesota, i drop off to 10 miles for my long run in the winter (i can't get water, and my water bottle freezes), then when I can get more water (when the park board installs handles on the pumps) and my water bottle stops freezing, i add mileage, going to 20 miles by june. After that, I'll do a 20 miler once per week, until the handles come off the pump.
Cycling. Running won't get you to lose weight like you can lose weight by cycling. If you're serious about weight loss, long medium to hard road rides will get you to drop weight. Cycling is actually more conducive to weight loss than running.
IF you wanna' run a great marathon, get a few 4-5 hour-long cycling efforts in the few weeks leading to your race. You'll train your body to burn fat, which is really helpful for that 26 mile effort.
Sugar. My wife is an awesome baker, but after the first of the year, i quit deserts. It's really hard at first, but after 2-3 weeks as i watched my weight drop, i didn't even want to look at it anymore. I've dropped 15 pounds since early January by just dropping deserts. The 195 to 180 pounds was easy, the next 10 will be difficult until i can free up time at work, finish my ignition, and get the road bike out of the basement. (I also bicycle commute 6 miles each way every day on my bicycle. It's good to get the metabolism going in the AM)
I snack on unsalted peanuts at work during the afternoon. Protein and a bit of fat in your blood will address those hunger pangs.
Hope that helps.
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