ADVANCED MARATHONING

FOURTH EDITION

Pete Pfitzinger

Scott Douglas

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Pfitzinger, Pete, 1957- author. | Douglas, Scott, 1964- author.

Title: Advanced marathoning / Pete Pfitzinger, Scott Douglas.

Description: Fourth edition. | Champaign, IL : Human Kinetics, 2026. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2025003462 (print) | LCCN 2025003463 (ebook) | ISBN 9781718237476 (paperback) | ISBN 9781718237483 (epub) | ISBN 9781718237490 (pdf)

Subjects: LCSH: Marathon running--Training.

Classification: LCC GV1065.17.T73 P45 2026 (print) | LCC GV1065.17.T73 (ebook) | DDC 796.42/52--dc23/eng/20250212

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ISBN: 978-1-7182-3747-6 (print)

Copyright © 2026, 2020, 2009, 2001 by Peter D. Pfitzinger and Scott M. Douglas

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E9899

To all runners willing to work hard and intelligently.

—Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas

FOREWORD

I remember riding the lead vehicle at the New York City Marathon in 2017. I didn’t know what to expect viewing my first marathon—and so up close—but as I watched the lead women wind through New York City’s five boroughs, I began to realize how different this event was to anything else I’d experienced in our sport.

I remember watching Shalane Flanagan pull away from the field over the final few miles to win. I watched as she pumped her arms while taking her last steps through Central Park while waving to the crowd. I could see the elation as she crossed the line having just accomplished such an incredible feat.

Similarly, in Boston in 2018, I stood drenched in the freezing rain—a silly complaint as a spectator, I know!—when the crowd on Boylston erupted as Des Linden crossed the finish line, arms held up wide in celebration. Both times, I could feel the electricity in the air, see the excitement on everyone’s faces, and hear the chatter among the crowd.

But I noticed it wasn’t just the winners who displayed such strong emotions. If you want to be truly inspired, I highly recommend standing at a marathon finish line. The displays of pure joy, utter exhaustion, tears, celebration, and more can move you. The marathon has a way of testing physical, mental, and emotional limits unlike any other distance I’ve raced. That remains true no matter where you place, how fast you run, or whether you had the day you dreamed of or not. (To be honest, I’ve learned more from the days where my marathon felt like a massive flop!) It’s hard to hide the feelings elicited from such a task.

I’ve felt awe and respect for the marathon ever since witnessing it up close that first time. And I’ve recognized there will always be a bit of a mystery to it. Maybe that’s why I keep finding my way back to the marathon. As someone who loves to try to strip something apart and figure it out, I have (somewhat begrudgingly) accepted I’ll never know it all when it comes to this—not even close!

But the challenge is so fun. I’ve learned more about my body, its signals, and my ability to adapt to high demands, and I’ve seen my will to endure tested throughout the challenges the marathon presents. It has a way of keeping me on my toes, throwing in unexpected curveballs, all the while teaching me a bit about myself along the way. It is a journey that spans deeper than the 26.2 miles itself.

I learned quite quickly, and somewhat harshly, that the marathon is more than just running a bit farther—something I had originally assumed. The marathon is not only about building physical fitness but also about preparing my body to cover the distance itself, to go as long as I can before I start to break down. Mentally and emotionally, I find the marathon is, at times, both exciting and somewhat daunting. I often wake up the morning of a workout eager to push my body. Other days, I question my sanity, doubting and asking myself, “Am I doing enough?” or “Am I doing too much?”

We all benefit from the perspective of a knowledgeable outsider. Having my coach guide me has been instrumental in my progress. Advanced Marathoning can play that role for you—a proven, steady hand pointing you in the right direction toward meeting one of the most satisfying goals in running.

Preparation for the event consists of a series of steps that serve a purpose, but when compared to the distance itself, these steps feel so much less significant. Yet when you combine these steps, they somehow come together and allow your body to take on the ultimate challenge come race day. The gradual steps along the way serve a purpose: to prepare the body for the ultimate test of the marathon.

—Emily Sisson,

Two-time Olympian and U.S. record holder in the marathon

PREFACE

Guidelines for Advanced Marathoning

Welcome to the fourth edition of Advanced Marathoning. The positive reception to the first three editions—and the direct feedback about them that we’re pleased to continually receive—only strengthens our belief that there are tens of thousands of readers out there eager to know how to conquer one of running’s most challenging races.

The key to simply finishing a marathon isn’t a secret: Train long to go long. But what about when you want to race a marathon? Then things aren’t so simple.

Besides gaining enough baseline endurance to complete the distance, now your concerns turn to matters such as how fast to do your long runs, what types of interval sessions to do, how to plan your diet for maximum performance, how to schedule hard workouts to allow both progress and recovery, and so on. The best answers to these questions aren’t so obvious, and they require a solid base of knowledge. You’ll acquire that knowledge through this book.

If you’ve run a marathon and want to move beyond the basics, or if you’re an accomplished runner at shorter distances planning a marathon debut, it’s time to graduate to Advanced Marathoning. We hope you’ll agree that this fourth edition—with expanded, updated information in every chapter and more flexible training schedules—will become one of the most valuable resources in your running library.

ADVANCED MARATHONING

What do we mean by advanced marathoning? Simply this: that many runners aren’t content with saying, “I finished.” They want to run the marathon as they do shorter races—as fast as possible. That doesn’t mean they’re going to drop everything in their lives and do nothing but train, but it does mean they’re committed to doing their best, taking into consideration such factors as their age and real-world commitments. The runners for whom we wrote this book have goals such as setting a personal best, qualifying for Boston, or running faster than they did 10 years ago.

Competing in the marathon, as opposed to completing the distance without regard for time, requires thorough, intelligent preparation. Being dedicated to improving your marathon performance requires knowing such things as how to incorporate race-pace segments into your long runs, how far and how fast your hard sessions should be, what to eat so that you’re able to run as fast at mile 25 as at the start, and so on. Advanced marathoning has to be based on more than common sense and running folklore. Advanced Marathoning, therefore, is based on the application of sport science to marathon preparation and performance.

The training schedules in the second part of this book are based on a simple concept: Research in exercise physiology has revealed that the fastest marathoners have a few key attributes in common. These include an ability to store a large amount of glycogen (the stored form of carbohydrate) in their muscles, an ability to sustain submaximal speeds for prolonged periods, an ability to send large amounts of oxygen to muscles and have their muscles use that oxygen to produce energy, and excellent running economy (the ability to run faster than others using a given amount of oxygen). We know which of these attributes are most important for successful marathoning, and we know what types of training best improve these attributes. Marathon training, then, should be a matter of balancing these types of training with adequate recovery so your body’s ability to sustain a relatively fast pace for 26.2 miles (42.2 km) improves as your goal race approaches.

We could, of course, simply present the training schedules found in the latter part of this book and say, “Just do what we tell you. Trust us.” But we think that the more you understand why you’re running a given workout, the more motivated you’ll be to stick with your training and be better prepared to assess your progress toward your marathon goal. For that reason, before our training schedules are several chapters that explain the principles of successful marathon preparation. These chapters explain what is critical for marathon success and why. Digesting this information will help you be a better marathoner. Let’s look at the contents of the first part of this book.

YOUR GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING THE MARATHON

Chapter 1 is the longest chapter in this book. We don’t expect that everyone will sit down and read it all at once; in fact, you could start on the training schedule of your choice right now and not have to worry that you haven’t looked at chapter 1. Eventually, though, you’ll want to read this chapter carefully and understand its key concepts because it explains how we applied sport science in constructing the training schedules.

Chapter 1 gives an in-depth examination of the physiological attributes needed for success in the marathon. These include a high lactate threshold, an ability to store a large amount of glycogen in your muscles and liver, a well-developed ability to use fat as fuel, a relatively high maximal oxygen uptake, and good running economy. (Don’t worry if any of these concepts are unclear to you—you’ll fully understand them and their relation to marathoning after reading chapter 1.) We look at the traits your body must have to run a good marathon, and then we detail how to train to provide the greatest stimulus to improve these traits.

Understanding the concepts in chapter 1 is critical. Contrary to what some people think, training for a fast marathon doesn’t mean simply running as many miles as possible as quickly as possible. Regardless of how inspired you are to run your best marathon, you most likely have to prepare for it while not neglecting other important parts of your life, such as your job and family. Your training, then, should provide the biggest return for the time you put into it. After you read chapter 1, you’ll know why the targeted training the schedules call for is optimal for marathoning success.

Chapter 2 explains the crucial role that proper nutrition and hydration play in successful marathoning. What marathoners should eat and drink is the subject of much ill-informed discussion—perhaps almost as much discussion as there is about training. We’ve synthesized the latest research and best practices in our updated recommendations. After reading chapter 2, you’ll know what marathon training and racing require in terms of fuel and how your diet contributes to meeting your marathon goal. You’ll also understand how dehydration can affect your performance and the strategies you can use in training and on race day.

As we said previously, intelligent marathon preparation means more than accumulating repeated days of hard mileage. Most of the time, you’ll make more progress toward your goal by doing one of the key workouts described in chapter 1, allowing your body to absorb the benefits of that workout, and then doing another targeted session. In other words, you should allow your body to recover after an especially long or hard run. Chapter 3 shows how to maximize your recovery (including how far and how fast to run in the days following a long or hard session) and how to monitor your body’s signs to stay healthy enough to reap the benefits of your hard work.

If you follow one of the training schedules in this book, your training will contain all the running elements you’ll need for a fast marathon. But there are things you can do in your nonrunning hours that can help your overall improvement as a marathoner. In chapter 4, we detail the types of flexibility, core strength, resistance training, and aerobic cross-training activities that will contribute to making you the best marathoner. We also describe a few technique drills that will help improve your running form.

Chapter 5 is for masters marathoners (i.e., age 40 and over). Although the principles of preparing to race a marathon are the same for all runners, aging can affect how you implement those principles. We start with a look at why we tend to get slower with age and then show how to adapt training, nutrition, and recovery practices to best address age-related changes. Our recommendations might not get you a new lifetime personal best, but they will help you be a smarter, more successful masters marathoner.

What you do in the last few weeks before your marathon can have a profound effect on your finishing time. Because tapering your training before the marathon is both so important and so misunderstood, we’ve devoted a chapter to the topic of getting your final preparation right. In chapter 6, you’ll learn how—and why—to reduce your mileage as the marathon approaches and what workouts to do just before the race to reach the start line with the optimal blend of being rested and ready.

The final background chapter details what to do on race day. Chapter 7 discusses race strategy with section-by-section pacing advice and presents information on other crucial matters, such as what to eat on race day and how to drink on the run.

THE TRAINING SCHEDULES

Chapters 9 through 13 apply the principles detailed in chapters 1 through 7 to day-by-day training schedules leading to your marathon. They’re preceded by chapter 8, which gives in-depth direction on how to follow the training schedule of your choice. You’ll learn not only how fast to do each of the key types of workouts but also, based on reader feedback to earlier editions, how to alter the schedules as warranted by injury, illness, or other obstacles to following the schedules as written.

Chapters 9 through 12 are divided on the basis of weekly mileage. (The training schedules in these chapters, as well as in chapter 13, also describe each day’s workout in terms of kilometers. Choose whichever unit of measurement you’re more comfortable with.) Chapter 9 contains the schedules that call for the lowest weekly mileage; these peak at about 55 miles (89 km) per week. Chapter 10 contains schedules that call for about 55 to 70 miles (89-113 km) per week. Chapter 11’s schedules range from about 65 to 85 miles (105-137 km). Chapter 12 is for the real high-mileage folks—it starts with weeks at about 80 miles (129 km) and builds to a peak of at least 100 miles (161 km).

We say “about” and “at least” because the training schedules include ranges of weekly volume. These ranges are new to the fourth edition. We’ve added them in response to reader feedback and to reflect the reality that, on a given day, an extra mile here or two fewer kilometers there won’t derail your training. The overall idea is to provide fairly precise guidance on what to do each day in training but with some discretion on your part based on how you feel that day. The schedules in chapters 9 through 12 also reflect reader feedback and our own evolving thoughts on training. We’ve improved the flow of hard work and recovery so that there are fewer instances of three fairly demanding days within a four-day period. These adjustments also make it easier to complete the schedules within the context of a Monday-to-Friday workweek.

The weekly mileage you follow is up to you. Making that decision should be based on your running history, your tendency toward injury above a certain level of mileage, what else will be going on in your life in the months before your goal race, and so on. Regardless of which schedule you follow, it will contain the workouts that will lead to the biggest gains in marathon-specific fitness for that level of mileage.

Chapters 9 through 12 present you with another decision to make. Each chapter contains a 12-week and an 18-week schedule. Although we recommend that most readers follow the 18-week schedule, we realize that sometimes you don’t have the luxury of that much planning. The 12-week schedules are for these situations, and while they’re more compact than is optimal, they nonetheless contain the workouts needed to make significant progress in a relatively short time.

The schedules are designed to be easy to read in a landscape format. Horizontally, they show you how your mileage and training emphases change as your marathon approaches. This helps you understand your key training goals for a given period. Looking at the schedules vertically enhances that understanding because you can quickly grasp the key workouts in a given week. The schedules specify the purpose of each day’s workout. That way you can not only determine what you’re trying to achieve on a certain day of the week, but you can also look down to see your most important training goals for that week.

You’ll note that the schedules specify what to do every day of the many weeks leading up to your marathon. We realize, of course, that it’s the rare reader whose life will so perfectly coincide with such a detailed schedule. Again, looking at the schedules vertically and horizontally will prove helpful because you’ll know what types of training are most important for wherever you are on the schedule. You’ll know which workouts to emphasize if you need to juggle a few days around.

Chapter 13 is a bit different from the other training-schedule chapters, and it’s for marathoners who themselves are a bit different. Chapter 13 is for multiple-marathon runners who want to run two or more marathons within 12 weeks or less. Following such a schedule usually isn’t the way to run your fastest marathon, but it’s not our place to say categorically that you should never attempt such a feat. Chapter 13 acknowledges that some runners want to tackle this challenge, and it provides schedules that will maximize your chances of success in the second (or third, or fourth) marathon in a given time period. Using the principles behind the other schedules, chapter 13 provides schedules for your best possible marathon 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 weeks after another marathon.

Now that you know what’s in this book and how to use it, let’s get going on understanding the basics of successful marathoning.

PART I

Training Components

1

ELEMENTS OF TRAINING

[picture]

Description

The marathon demands respect. The physiological and psychological demands of the marathon are extreme, so you must be intelligent and thorough in your preparation.

The advice and training schedules in this book stem from the need for intelligent, thorough preparation and execution. As students of the sport and lifetime runners, we’ve integrated the hard-earned wisdom of the world’s top coaches and marathoners with the latest running science. We know that runners will do almost anything for a faster marathon time. What you’ll find in these pages are the whys and hows of the most important aspects of marathon training and racing, all presented with the recognition that marathoning is just one of the things to which you devote your time and energy.

While running a marathon isn’t easy, training for it should be relatively simple. Running a marathon requires specific physiological attributes. The task at hand is to run 26.2 miles (42.2 km) as fast as possible. The requirements for doing so in terms of fuel use, oxygen consumption, running biomechanics, and even psychological strengths are highly predictable. In this chapter, we look at the physiological demands of the marathon and how to train most effectively to meet those demands.

First, we look at the physiological demands, such as having a high lactate threshold and the ability to store large amounts of glycogen in your muscles and liver. Then we look at the types of training that are most effective for improving marathon performance and explain why they are the best. Next, we investigate how to structure your training so it progresses logically to your desired end point. Finally, we look at the importance of using shorter races as tune-ups for the marathon.

It’s important to read this chapter carefully. After doing so, you’ll see the logic underpinning effective marathon training and will better understand which types of training to emphasize and why. We’ve often heard from Advanced Marathoning readers that they felt much more invested in their training once they understood the purpose of each day’s run.

MARATHON PHYSIOLOGY

Successful marathoners have many factors in common. Most of these factors are determined by both genetics and training. Genetics determines the range within which you can improve; training determines where your current abilities fall within that range. In this section, we’ll consider the physiological variables necessary for marathon success.

Successful marathoners have the following physiological attributes.

High proportion of slow-twitch muscle fibers. This trait is primarily genetically determined and influences most of the other physiological characteristics listed here.

High lactate threshold. This is the ability to produce energy at a fast rate aerobically without accumulating high levels of lactate in your muscles and blood.

High glycogen storage and well-developed fat utilization. These traits enable you to store enough glycogen in your muscles and liver to run hard for 26.2 miles (42.2 km) while enabling your muscles to rely more on fat for fuel.

Excellent running economy. This is your muscles’ ability to use oxygen economically when running at marathon pace.

High maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O₂max). This is your body’s ability to transport large amounts of oxygen to your muscles and your muscles’ ability to extract and use oxygen to produce energy.

Quick recovery. This is the ability to recover from training quickly.

Remember, no one factor makes a successful marathoner. U.S. record holder and two-time Olympian Emily Sisson is a pure distance runner whose half marathon and marathon bests are far superior to her times at shorter distances. Contrast her with someone like Sifan Hassan, the 2024 Olympic champion and one of the fastest female marathoners in history. Even if she had never run a marathon, Hassan would be remembered as one of the greatest distance runners of her time thanks to a track career that includes Olympic and world medals at distances as short as 1,500 meters. It’s the combination of several physiological factors in conjunction with biomechanical variables and psychological strength that determines marathoning success. Let’s look more closely at each of the main physiological factors.

High Proportion of Slow-Twitch Muscle Fibers

Your hundreds of thousands of muscle fibers can be divided into three primary categories—slow-twitch, fast-twitch A, and fast-twitch X. The higher the percentage of slow-twitch fibers in your muscles, the greater your likelihood of marathon success. Slow-twitch muscle fibers are naturally adapted to endurance exercise. They resist fatigue and have a high aerobic capacity, a high mitochondrial and capillary density, and other characteristics that make them ideal for marathon running.

The proportion of slow-twitch fibers in your muscles is primarily genetically determined but increases moderately with training. With endurance training, your fast-twitch muscle fibers—especially the fast-twitch A fibers—gain more of the characteristics of slow-twitch fibers. These adaptations allow your fast-twitch fibers to become better at producing energy aerobically. In addition, there is evidence that the proportion of slow-twitch fibers may increase over years of endurance training.

A muscle biopsy is the most accurate method of determining your proportion of slow-twitch muscle fibers. In a biopsy, a small amount of tissue is cut out of your muscle and analyzed. Though it is interesting (and painful), this procedure is pointless—once you know your fiber-type distribution, that knowledge will not change how you prepare for the marathon.

High Lactate Threshold

A high lactate threshold (LT) may be the most important physiological variable for endurance athletes. Your running speed at your LT is your LT pace, which most directly determines your running performance limit in any event lasting more than 30 minutes. Your marathon race pace is limited by the buildup of hydrogen ions in your muscles and blood, which is associated with accumulation of lactate. A close relationship exists between your LT and marathon performance because LT reflects the highest rate at which your muscles can sustain aerobic energy production. Successful marathoners typically race at a speed very close to their LT pace.

The average runner’s LT occurs at about 75 to 80 percent of their V̇O₂max. Successful marathoners generally have LTs of over 80 percent of V̇O₂max; elite marathoners tend to have LTs of about 90 percent of V̇O₂max. This means that elite marathoners can use a larger proportion of their maximal aerobic capacity before lactate accumulates in their muscles and blood.

Lactate is produced by your muscles and is used by your muscles, heart, liver, and kidneys. The lactate concentration in your blood represents a balance between lactate production and consumption. Even at rest, you produce a small amount of lactate. If your blood lactate were measured right now, you would have a lactate concentration of about 1 millimole per liter. As you increase your effort from resting to walking to easy running, your rates of lactate production and consumption increase, and your blood lactate concentration stays relatively constant. When you run harder than your LT, however, your lactate concentration rises because the rate of lactate clearance can no longer keep up with lactate production.

When you accumulate a high level of lactate, the hydrogen ions associated with lactate inhibit the enzymes used to produce energy and may interfere with the uptake of calcium, thereby reducing the muscles’ ability to contract. In other words, you can’t produce energy as quickly, so you’re forced to slow. This explains why well-trained marathoners run the marathon at an intensity just below LT.

With the correct training, adaptations occur inside your muscle fibers that allow you to run at a higher intensity without building high levels of lactate and the associated hydrogen ions in your muscles and blood. The most important of these adaptations are increased number and size of mitochondria, increased aerobic enzyme activity, and increased capillarization in your muscle fibers. These adaptations all improve your ability to produce energy using oxygen.

Increased Number and Size of Mitochondria

Mitochondria are the only part of your muscle fibers in which energy can be produced aerobically. Think of them as aerobic energy factories in your muscle fibers. By fully utilizing your ability to produce energy without accumulating high levels of lactate, LT training increases the size of your mitochondria (i.e., makes bigger factories) and the number of mitochondria (i.e., makes more factories) in your muscle fibers. With more mitochondria, you can produce more energy aerobically and maintain a faster pace. This is a relevant adaptation for marathoners because more than 99 percent of the energy needed for running a marathon is produced aerobically.

Increased Aerobic Enzyme Activity

Enzymes in your mitochondria speed up aerobic energy production (i.e., increase the rate of production in your aerobic energy factories). LT training increases aerobic enzyme activity; this adaptation improves the efficiency of your mitochondria. The more aerobic enzyme activity in your mitochondria, the faster you are able to produce energy aerobically.

Increased Capillarization of Muscle Fibers

Oxygen is necessary to produce energy aerobically. Your heart pumps oxygen-rich blood to your muscles through a remarkable system of blood vessels. Capillaries are the smallest blood vessels, and typically several border each muscle fiber. With marathon training, you increase the number of capillaries per muscle fiber, which allows oxygen to be more efficiently delivered where it’s needed. Capillaries also deliver fuel to muscle fibers and remove waste products such as carbon dioxide. An efficient delivery and removal system provides a constant supply of oxygen and fuel and prevents waste products from accumulating in your muscles as quickly. By providing oxygen to individual muscle fibers, increased capillary density allows your rate of aerobic energy production to increase.

High Glycogen Storage and Well-Developed Fat Utilization

Glycogen is the form of carbohydrate stored in the body, and carbohydrates are the primary fuel used when racing a marathon. Two ways to ensure that glycogen stores last throughout the marathon are to train your body to store a large amount of glycogen and to train your body to conserve glycogen at marathon pace.

A large supply of glycogen in your muscles and liver at the start of the marathon enables you to work at a high rate throughout the race without becoming carbohydrate depleted. During the marathon, you use a combination of carbohydrates and fat for fuel. When you run low on glycogen, you rely more on fat, which forces you to slow because fat metabolism uses oxygen less efficiently. With the correct training, your muscles and liver adapt to store more glycogen. By purposefully running very low on glycogen toward the end of certain workouts, you can provide a stimulus for your body to adapt by storing more glycogen in the future. (See chapter 2 for more on the train-low/race-high approach.)

Because your body can store only a limited supply of glycogen, it’s an advantage to be able to use as much fat as possible at marathon race pace. Successful marathoners have developed their ability to use fat, which spares their glycogen stores and ensures that they make it to the finish line without becoming glycogen depleted. When you train your muscles to rely more on fat at marathon race pace, your glycogen stores last longer. In the marathon, that means “the wall” moves closer and closer to the finish line and eventually disappears, especially when you take in the right amount of carbohydrates during the race. (The concept of the wall is really a reflection of improper marathon preparation, pacing, and carbohydrate intake before and during the marathon.) Later in this chapter, we’ll look at how to train to improve glycogen storage and fat utilization. In chapter 2, we’ll examine how your diet affects these adaptations and your performance.

Excellent Running Economy

Your running economy determines how fast you can run using a given amount of oxygen. If you can run faster than another athlete while using the same amount of oxygen, you’re more economical.

Running economy can also be viewed as how much oxygen is required to run at a given speed. If you use less oxygen while running at the same speed as another runner, you’re more economical. If you know how much oxygen a runner uses at LT pace, as well as that athlete’s running economy, you can generally predict marathon performance fairly accurately.

Your running economy varies at different running speeds and gets worse with fatigue. Therefore, what matters for marathon performance is your running economy at marathon race pace and reducing the decline in economy as the race progresses.

Running economy varies widely among runners. While testing elite runners in a laboratory, Pete has found differences of more than 20 percent in running economy among athletes. Obviously, a large advantage exists in being able to use oxygen as economically as possible during the marathon.

For example, say two athletes with identical LT values of 54 mL/kg/min are racing at a pace of 6:00 per mile (per 1.6 km). Although it seems that they should be working equally hard, this often isn’t the case. If Stacey has an oxygen requirement of 51 mL/kg/min at that pace and Christine requires 57 mL/kg/min, Stacey will be comfortably below LT and should be able to maintain 6:00 pace. Christine will steadily accumulate lactate and hydrogen ions and will not be able to maintain that pace for long. Stacey has a faster pace at LT because she uses oxygen more economically to produce energy.

The primary determinants of running economy appear to be the ratio of slow-twitch to fast-twitch fibers in your muscles, the combined effect of your biomechanics, and your training history. The proportion of slow-twitch muscle fibers is important because they have more mitochondria and use oxygen more efficiently (Barnes and Kilding, 2015a). One reason that successful marathoners tend to be more economical than slower marathoners is because they generally have more slow-twitch muscle fibers. Experienced runners with more years of training and more lifetime miles also tend to have better running economy than novice runners, likely due to adaptations that gradually allow fast-twitch muscle fibers to have more of the characteristics of slow-twitch fibers, as well as more efficient muscle fiber recruitment.

Running economy is also related to the interaction of many biomechanical variables, but no single aspect of biomechanics has been shown to have a large impact on economy. One of the problems in trying to improve biomechanics is that it’s impossible to change one biomechanical variable without affecting others. Biomechanical factors that may improve running economy include optimizing both your stride length and your vertical motion relative to your stride length and improving the ability of your muscles and tendons to store energy when you land and return energy into your next stride.

High Maximal Oxygen Uptake (V̇O₂max)

Successful marathoners have high V̇O₂max values. This means they’re able to transport large amounts of oxygen to their muscles, and their muscles are able to extract and use a large amount of oxygen to produce energy aerobically.

As you would expect, runners generally have higher V̇O₂max values than sedentary people, and better runners generally have higher values than their slower counterparts. Although successful marathoners tend to have high V̇O₂max values, they typically aren’t as high as the V̇O₂max values found in elite 5,000-meter runners; this measure is relatively more associated with 5,000-meter performance. Women’s V̇O₂max values tend to be about 10 to 15 percent lower than those for men because women have higher essential body fat stores, lower hemoglobin levels, and lower cardiac output than men. (Cardiac output is the combination of maximal heart rate and the maximal amount of blood your heart can pump with each beat.)

The primary factors in increasing V̇O₂max appear to be related to improvements in the ability to transport oxygen to your muscles. This ability is related to four factors: your maximal heart rate, the maximal amount of blood your heart can pump with each beat, the hemoglobin content of your blood, and the proportion of your blood that is transported to your working muscles. We’ll discuss hemoglobin in chapter 2. Your body automatically regulates the proportion of your blood transported to working muscles. That leaves maximal heart rate and the maximal amount of blood your heart can pump with each beat.

Your maximal heart rate is determined genetically. In other words, it doesn’t increase with training. Successful marathoners don’t have particularly high maximal heart rates, so it isn’t a factor in determining success.

The maximal amount of blood your heart can pump with each beat is called stroke volume. If the left ventricle of your heart is large, it can hold a large amount of blood. Blood volume increases with training, resulting in more blood being available to fill the left ventricle. If your left ventricle is strong, it can contract fully so that not much blood is left at the end of each contraction. Filling the left ventricle with a large amount of blood and pumping a large proportion of that blood with each contraction result in a large stroke volume. Stroke volume increases with the correct types of training. In fact, increased stroke volume is the main training adaptation that increases V̇O₂max.

Quick Recovery

Successful marathoners are able to recover quickly from training. This allows them to handle a larger training volume and a higher frequency of hard training sessions than those who recover more slowly. The ability to recover quickly is related to genetics, the structure of your training plan, your age, lifestyle factors such as diet and sleep, and your training history. (The 30th 20-miler of your life will probably take less out of you than your first one.)

Runners vary in how many workouts they can tolerate in a given time. Recovery runs and easy aerobic cross-training are important elements of your training, but they must be handled carefully. If you do your recovery runs or cross-training too hard, you run the risk of overtraining and reducing the quality of your hard training sessions. This is a common mistake among distance runners, particularly marathoners—many runners don’t differentiate between everyday training runs (what we call “general aerobic runs” in the training schedules) and recovery runs. The purpose of your everyday training runs is to provide an additional training stimulus to improve your fitness; the purpose of your recovery runs is to help you recover from your last hard workout so you’re ready for your next hard workout.

Recovery runs and easy- to moderate-intensity cross-training improve blood flow through the muscles; this process improves the repair of damaged muscle cells, removes waste products, and brings nutrients to your muscles. These benefits are lost, however, if you do recovery runs so fast that you tire yourself out for your subsequent hard training sessions. By doing your recovery runs slowly, you use less of your glycogen stores, so more glycogen is available for your hard training sessions. Optimizing your diet to enhance recovery is discussed in chapter 2. Cross-training is discussed briefly in chapter 3 as a recovery aid and in depth in chapter 4. Other strategies to improve your recovery are discussed in depth in chapter 3.

PSYCHOLOGY AND ENDURANCE

Successful marathoners are mentally tough—they persevere and push themselves to come close to reaching their physiological potential. With experience and conscious effort, you can improve your mental toughness.

Several studies have shown that endurance athletes have higher pain tolerance than nonathletes despite having similar pain thresholds. In other words, the endurance athletes and nonathletes both felt pain at a similar level, but the endurance athletes had a greater tolerance to withstand that pain over time. From their regular experience of dealing with stress, the endurance athletes knew how to tolerate temporary discomfort to reach a goal. This trait is invaluable—during a difficult run, during a tough stretch of training when the urge to slack off for a few days is appealing, and, of course, on race day.

Having the right goal for your marathon—one that’s challenging (but reasonable) and personally meaningful—also helps build psychological strength. If your goal truly speaks to you, you’ll be able to summon it for motivation when, inevitably, the urge to slow, cut short, or quit arises. We’ll look at mental skills training in more depth in chapter 4.

HOW TO TRAIN TO IMPROVE THE KEY PHYSIOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES

Now that we’ve discussed the physiological requirements for successful marathoning, let’s look at the components of training that improve those variables and how to do each type of session most effectively in your marathon preparation. In this section, we’ll show you how to train to improve your LT, ability to store glycogen and utilize fat, running economy at marathon pace, and V̇O₂max. We’ll also consider a specialized training session. In chapters 2 and 3, we’ll look at strategies to enhance your recovery from this targeted training.

Improving Your Lactate Threshold

The most effective way to improve LT is to run at your current LT pace or a few seconds per mile faster, either as one continuous run (tempo run) or as a long interval session at your LT pace (cruise intervals or LT intervals). These workouts can be done on flat terrain, rolling hills, or uphill. It is useful to simulate the terrain you will encounter in your marathon during some of these sessions.

These workouts make you run hard enough so that lactate is just starting to accumulate in your muscles and blood. When you train at a lower intensity, a weaker stimulus is provided to improve your LT pace. When you train faster than your current LT pace, you accumulate lactate rapidly and cannot maintain that intensity for long. Higher intensities may also be less effective in training your muscles to work hard without accumulating lactate. The more time you spend close to your LT pace, the greater the stimulus for improvement.

LT training should be run close to a pace that you can currently race for 1 hour. This should be the intensity at which lactate is just starting to accumulate in your muscles and blood. You can do some of your tempo runs in low-key races of 4 miles (6 km) to 10K, but be careful not to get carried away and race all out. Remember that the optimal pace to improve LT is your current LT pace and not much faster.

A typical training session to improve LT consists of a 15- to 20-minute warm-up followed by a 20- to 40-minute tempo run and a 15-minute cool-down. The LT workouts in this book mainly fall within these parameters, although the 18-week schedules include one longer tempo run of 35 to 45 minutes. For LT intervals during marathon training, we recommend 2 or 3 repetitions at LT pace with a total duration similar to the prescribed tempo run. We’ll give more specific advice in chapter 8 about how to convert tempo runs into LT intervals.

WHAT ABOUT DOUBLE THRESHOLD DAYS?

You might have heard about elite runners doing double threshold workout days. These entail a morning and evening lactate threshold session in the same day, usually in the form of LT intervals. The idea is that you can accumulate more overall time at LT intensity than in a traditional threshold workout. Also, doing two hard sessions in one day can be intimidating enough that you won’t be tempted to run faster than the proper intensity. Some elites have two double threshold days each week during part of the year.

We don’t recommend double threshold days for Advanced Marathoning readers for a few reasons. First, double thresholds are most often done by runners focusing on shorter races. Continuous tempo runs provide a more appropriate stimulus for marathoners. Second, the elites doing double threshold days are likely to be more aerobically developed than most recreational marathoners and, therefore, more in need of unconventional training techniques. Third, double threshold days merit true easy days before and after, which can interrupt the steady accumulation of marathon-related training. Finally, there’s the simple matter of logistics. It’s challenging enough to fit “normal” marathon training around the other responsibilities in your life. Regularly doing two hard sessions in one day during the work week is more likely to harm than help your progress.

For runners competing in shorter races, tempo runs and LT intervals are both excellent ways to prepare. For marathoners, however, tempo runs are generally preferable to LT intervals. After all, the marathon is one long continuous run, and tempo runs simulate marathon conditions more closely. There’s both a physiological and a psychological component to the advantage of tempo runs. The extra mental toughness required to get through a tempo run when you may not be feeling great will come in handy during a marathon.

Improving Glycogen Storage and Fat Utilization

Your ability to store glycogen and use fat for fuel tends to improve with the same types of training. Pure endurance training stimulates these adaptations and increases the capillarization of your muscles. For marathoners, the primary type of training to stimulate these adaptations is runs of 90 minutes or longer. Your total training volume, however, also contributes. That’s one reason to include two-a-day workouts and relatively high weekly mileage for runners who can handle the workload in their training programs.

Long runs are vital to marathoners. For all marathoners, including the elite, the marathon distance is a formidable challenge. To prepare to race 26.2 miles (42.2 km) at a strong pace, train your body and mind to handle the distance by doing long runs at a steady pace. A long run also provides psychological benefits. By running long, you simulate what your legs and body will go through in the marathon. When your hamstrings tighten 23 miles (37 km) into the race, for example, it helps to have experienced a similar feeling in training—you’ll know you can shorten your stride a few inches, concentrate on maintaining your leg turnover, and keep going. More generally, you’ll have experienced overcoming the sometimes-overwhelming desire to do anything but continue to run. During your long runs, you encounter many of the experiences—good and bad—that await you in the marathon.

WHAT’S YOUR LACTATE THRESHOLD?

The most accurate way to find out your LT is to be tested at the track or in a sport physiology lab. During an LT test in a lab, you run for several minutes at progressively faster speeds until your lactate concentration increases markedly. The physiologist measures the lactate concentration in your blood after several minutes at each speed by pricking your finger and analyzing a couple drops of blood. A typical LT test consists of 6 increasingly hard runs of 4 to 5 minutes each, with 1 minute between runs to sample your blood. LT testing can also be conducted at a track on a calm day but requires excellent pace judgment. By graphing blood lactate concentration at various running speeds, physiologists can tell the pace and heart rate that coincide with LT. You can then use this information to maximize the effectiveness of your training.

The lower-tech method to estimate LT is to use your race times. Remember that LT training should be run at close to the pace that you can currently race for 1 hour. For a sub-2:30 marathoner, this is slightly faster than half marathon race pace, whereas for a 3:00 marathoner, LT pace is about 15K race pace. Another way to estimate LT pace for experienced runners is about 10 to 15 seconds per mile slower than 10K race pace. Successful marathoners generally race the marathon 2 to 3 percent slower than LT pace.

In terms of heart rate, LT typically occurs at 83 to 90 percent of maximal heart rate or 77 to 87 percent of heart rate reserve in well-trained runners. (Heart rate reserve is your maximal heart rate minus your resting heart rate.) Instructions on determining your maximal heart rate can be found later in this chapter.

No scientific evidence will tell you the best distance for your long runs as you train. However, a clear trade-off exists between running far enough to stimulate physiological adaptations and remaining uninjured. If you regularly do runs longer than 24 miles (39 km), you’ll become strong but slow because you won’t be able to maintain a high quality in your other hard workouts. You’ll also increase your risk of injury because muscles lose their ability to absorb impact forces when they are very fatigued.

Experience suggests that steadily building your long runs to 21 or 22 miles (34 or 35 km) will maximize your chances of reaching the marathon in top shape while remaining healthy. Experienced marathoners who are not highly injury prone should include one run of 24 miles (39 km) in their preparation.

Long runs shouldn’t be slow jogs during which you just accumulate time on your feet. The appropriate pace for a specific long run depends on the purpose of that run within your training program. The most beneficial intensity range for most of your long runs is 10 to 20 percent slower than your goal marathon race pace. (A few of your long runs should be done at your goal marathon pace. The rationale for these sessions is explained later in this chapter.) If you use a heart monitor, your long-run pace should be in the range of 75 to 83 percent of maximal heart rate or 66 to 77 percent of your heart rate reserve. This will ensure that you’re running with posture and muscle patterns similar to those used in your marathon pace. To prepare optimally for your marathon, try to find courses for your long runs that simulate the terrain you will encounter on race day. Practicing the uphill or downhill that you will encounter late in your race can be invaluable to your marathon preparation.

If you do long runs much slower than this, you risk being unprepared for the marathon. Slow long runs reinforce poor running style and do a poor job of simulating the demands of the marathon. If you run long runs too fast, of course, you risk leaving your marathon performance out on your training loops because you’ll be too tired for your other important training sessions. Using the suggested intensity range of 10 to 20 percent slower than marathon goal pace, table 1.1 suggests long-run paces for a wide range of marathoners.

Table 1.1 Sample Long-Run Paces

Marathon goal pace | Early part of long run (20% slower than goal pace) | Latter part of long run (10% slower than goal pace)
5:00 per mile (3:06 per km) | 6:00 per mile (3:44 per km) | 5:30 per mile (3:25 per km)
5:30 per mile (3:25 per km) | 6:36 per mile (4:06 per km) | 6:03 per mile (3:46 per km)
6:00 per mile (3:44 per km) | 7:12 per mile (4:28 per km) | 6:36 per mile (4:06 per km)
6:30 per mile (4:02 per km) | 7:48 per mile (4:51 per km) | 7:09 per mile (4:27 per km)
7:00 per mile (4:21 per km) | 8:24 per mile (5:13 per km) | 7:42 per mile (4:47 per km)
7:30 per mile (4:40 per km) | 9:00 per mile (5:36 per km) | 8:15 per mile (5:08 per km)
8:00 per mile (4:58 per km) | 9:36 per mile (5:58 per km) | 8:48 per mile (5:28 per km)
8:30 per mile (5:17 per km) | 10:12 per mile (6:20 per km) | 9:21 per mile (5:49 per km)

The first few miles of your long runs can be done slowly, but by 5 miles (8 km) into your long run, your pace should be no more than 20 percent slower than marathon race pace. Gradually increase your pace until you’re running approximately 10 percent slower than marathon race pace during the last 5 miles (8 km) of your long runs. In terms of heart rate, run the first few miles at the low end of the recommended intensity range and gradually increase your effort until you reach the high end of the range during the last 5 miles (8 km). This makes for an excellent workout and provides a strong stimulus for physiological adaptations. These workouts are difficult enough that you should schedule a recovery day the day before and 1 or 2 days after your long runs.

If you do long runs in this intensity range, a 22-mile (35 km) run will take approximately the same amount of time as your marathon. By running for the length of time you hope to run the marathon, you also provide psychological reinforcement that you can run at a steady pace for that amount of time.

When the training schedules call for a long run the day after a tune-up race, you should run at a more casual pace. After a Saturday race, your Sunday long run should be at a relaxed pace because you will be tired and have stiff muscles, which increases your likelihood of injury. Start these long runs like a recovery run. If your muscles loosen up as the run progresses, increase the training stimulus by increasing your pace to about 15 to 20 percent slower than marathon race pace.

The total volume of your training also improves your ability to store glycogen and use fat, and it reinforces some of the other positive training adaptations, such as increased capillarization. There is some benefit, therefore, to doing relatively high mileage. The best marathoners in the world train from 110 to 160 miles (177-258 km) per week.

More is only better to a point, however. You have a unique individual current mileage limit that is dictated by your biomechanics, past training, injury history, shoes, running surface, diet, and various other life stressors. (For starters, most of those people running 150 miles [241 km] a week don’t commute to a 50-hour-per-week job.) The challenge in pursuing marathoning excellence is to find the mileage range that you can handle without breaking down.

Also, although racing performance improves with increased mileage, the incremental improvement decreases. Increasing from 70 to 90 miles (113-145 km) per week, therefore, will not improve performance as much as increasing from 50 to 70 miles (80-113 km), but it may produce a benefit nonetheless.

Although you have an individual current mileage limit, this limit changes over time. The mileage that contributed to your shin splints five years ago will not necessarily cause problems for you again. You need to be a good detective and figure out the causes of your past injuries. Many runners say, “I tried high mileage once years ago, and I just got tired and hurt,” and they permanently return to what they consider to be their safe mileage range. They don’t consider that in the ensuing years their bodies may well have gained the ability—and their minds the wisdom—to handle higher mileage and to reap the concomitant benefits.

Improving Your Running Economy

An important determinant of marathon performance is running economy at marathon race pace. Because running economy gets worse with fatigue, the ability to reduce this decrement as the race progresses will improve your ability to maintain pace for the full distance. Improving your ability to hold your goal pace to the finish line is one of the primary goals of this book.

Although some evidence shows that economy improves with training, no one fully understands the secrets of improving running economy. Even less is known about how to train to maintain economy as you become more fatigued. Various studies have found running economy to improve with weightlifting, biofeedback, plyometric training, uphill training, speed work, reducing vertical motion, and long intervals.

In your early days as a runner, the most important factor for improving economy may be the number of years (and accumulated miles) that you have been running rather than the specific types of workouts that you do. The mechanism for improvement may be that, with training, your fast-twitch muscle fibers gain characteristics of the more economical slow-twitch fibers. Renowned running physiologist and coach Jack Daniels recommends resistance training, hill running, and fast intervals to improve running economy. These three types of training may reduce wasted motion and train the body to recruit the most effective combination of muscle fibers.

For marathoners, arguably the four most worthwhile ways to try to improve running economy while remaining uninjured are accumulating mileage over time, resistance training, hill training, and short repetitions (80-120 m) at a fast but relaxed pace.

Resistance training includes weightlifting and plyometrics (explosive training), both of which have been found to improve running economy in distance runners (Saunders et al. 2004; Barnes and Kilding 2015b). Resistance training can improve your core strength, which enables you to maintain good running form longer during the marathon. The right types of resistance training may improve the stiffness of your muscles and tendons and their springlike stretch-shortening cycle to return elastic energy. This simply means that your muscles get better at storing energy when you land and returning energy into your next stride. We’ll look at resistance training in depth in chapter 4.

Running uphill is harder than training on flat terrain because of the need to overcome the resistance of gravity. It is, therefore, another type of resistance training but highly specific to the mechanics of running. A comprehensive study conducted on hill training found that short hill repetitions of 10 to 12 seconds led to the greatest improvement in running economy (Barnes et al. 2013).

WHAT’S YOUR MAXIMAL HEART RATE AND HEART RATE RESERVE?

Throughout this book, we’ll prescribe specific intensities for various types of workouts to help you prepare most effectively for the marathon. Heart rate monitors are a useful tool you can use to check the intensity of your training. Comparing your heart rate at the same speed (running on a track or measured stretch of road or using GPS) provides an indication of your fitness over time. Monitoring the intensity of your training in terms of heart rate is simple and, with a few caveats, reliable.

Maximal Heart Rate

The intensity of your runs can be stated relative to your maximal heart rate or as a percentage of your heart rate reserve. Your maximal heart rate is, quite simply, the fastest that your heart will beat during maximal-effort running. There are many formulas for estimating maximal heart rate, and there is no general consensus on which is most accurate. The Tanaka formula (206 minus 0.7 times age) may be most accurate for endurance-trained men, but it tends to overestimate by several beats per minute for endurance-trained women (Shookster et al. 2020, Nikolaidis et al. 2018). Using this formula, a 43-year-old would have a predicted maximal heart rate of 176 [206 − (.7 × 43)]. The Gulati formula (206 minus 0.88 times age) has been developed specifically for women (Gulati et al. 2010). Using the Gulati formula, a 43-year-old woman would have a predicted maximal heart rate of 168, but this formula was developed across a broad range of fitness levels rather than an endurance-trained population.

Because of the variability between individuals, your actual maximal heart rate may be more than 10 beats per minute higher or lower (and could be as much as 20 beats per minute higher or lower) than your predicted maximal heart rate using any of these equations. Using an estimated maximal heart rate, therefore, can lead you to train too hard or not hard enough, so it’s better to do a performance test to determine your actual maximal heart rate.

You can find your maximal heart rate quite accurately by racing 1,500 meters or 3,000 meters while wearing a heart rate monitor and running as hard as you can through the finish line. You can also find your maximal heart rate by doing a very hard interval session designed to get your heart rate to maximum. It is important to warm up thoroughly (run easily for at least 15 minutes followed by at least 6 fast striders of 100 meters) and then run 4 high-intensity 2.5 minute repeats up a moderate hill, on a track, or on another surface where you can run hard safely. If you do these efforts uphill, jog back down right away after each one. On a track or other flat surface, jog for 90 seconds between each effort. If you run the first two repeats at about a 95 percent effort and run the last two efforts all out, your heart rate should be at or within two or three beats of maximum by the end of the last two repeats.

Even with the more individualized (and tiring) methods above, it can be difficult to determine your true maximal heart rate. Studies comparing the reliability of chest strap heart rate monitors to the heart rate function on smartwatches have consistently found that watch readings are less accurate than chest strap monitors. That’s because chest strap monitors use electrodes to measure the heart’s electrical activity, while watches estimate heart rate via LED light that detects changes in blood flow with each pulse at the wrist. Differences in skin tone and the movement of your arms when running fast can affect watch readings. Studies have found a difference of plus or minus 3 percent for watch readings compared to those from chest straps. For someone with a maximal heart rate of 180 measured by a chest strap monitor, a 3 percent difference in each direction equates to around 175 to 185. On the plus side, those aren’t such large variations that they would usually lead to training at the wrong intensity.

Heart Rate Reserve

Heart rate reserve is an even more accurate way of prescribing training intensities because it takes into account both your maximal heart rate and your resting heart rate. Your heart rate reserve is simply your maximal heart rate minus your resting heart rate, and it reflects how much your heart rate can increase to provide more oxygen to your muscles. By resting heart rate, we mean your heart rate when you first wake up in the morning (or recorded by a heart rate monitor overnight). As an example of calculating heart rate reserve, Scott’s current maximal heart rate is 188 and his resting heart rate is 38. His heart rate reserve, therefore, is 188 minus 38, which equals 150 beats per minute.

To calculate the proper heart rates for a workout using heart rate reserve, multiply your heart rate reserve by the appropriate percentage and then add your resting heart rate. For example, as a highly experienced runner, if Scott wanted to do an LT workout at 82 to 87 percent of his heart rate reserve, he would stay in the range of 161 [(heart rate reserve of 150 × 0.82) + resting heart rate of 38] to 169 [(150 × 0.87) + 38] beats per minute. This compares closely to using 86 to 90 percent of his maximal heart rate, which would put him in the range of 162 to 169 beats per minute.

The prescribed training intensities used in this chapter and chapter 8 are summarized in table 1.2. These intensity ranges are appropriate for most experienced marathon runners. Less-experienced runners should generally train at the lower end of the recommended ranges, while elite runners will generally train at the high end of the ranges.

Table 1.2 Heart Rate Intensities for Standard Marathon Training Workouts

| Maximal heart rate (%) | Heart rate reserve (%)
V̇O2max (5K pace) | 93-95 | 91-94
Lactate threshold | 83-90 | 77-87
Marathon pace | 81-88 | 74-84
Long/medium-long | 75-83 | 66-77
General aerobic | 72-81 | 62-74
Recovery | <75 | <66

The heart rate intensities we recommend are more specific than the general categories found in many other sources. That is because this book focuses your training efforts toward improving the attributes most related to marathon running success. We have used data from marathon runners to get the ranges to be applicable to the target audience for this book—namely, experienced marathoners and accomplished first-timers.

As an example, our recommendation to keep recovery runs below 75 percent of maximal heart rate (below 66 percent of heart rate reserve) is based on the heart rates of real marathoners during training. A variety of sources recommend keeping heart rate during recovery runs below 60 percent of maximum heart rate (often referred to as zone 1), but for most marathon runners this is uncomfortably slow, so we use a higher limit to reflect the reality of training. Keeping your heart rate below 60 percent may work for cycling, but it is typically painfully slow for running.

Similarly, our LT recommendation of 83 to 90 percent of maximal heart rate (77 to 87 percent of heart rate reserve) is based on the ranges of experienced marathoners. This is similar to zone 4 (80 to 90 percent of max heart rate), which is commonly used in other sources.

While not everyone fits precisely within the Advanced Marathoning heart rate zones, these ranges work well for most marathon runners most of the time.

Allowing for Heart Rate Drift

During an LT session or long run, your heart rate will tend to increase even if you hold an even pace. On a warm day, your heart rate increases even more as you become dehydrated, and your body sends more blood to your skin to aid in cooling. This phenomenon is discussed in greater detail in chapter 2. The implication for your LT sessions and long runs is that you should start these sessions at the low end of the specified intensity zone and allow your heart rate to increase to the high end of the zone during the workout.

On a low-humidity day with temperatures in the 70s (low 20s Celsius), increase your heart rate zones by up to six beats per minute to gain the same benefits as on a cooler day. On a high-humidity day in the 70s (low 20s Celsius) or a low-humidity day in the 80s (high 20s to 32 Celsius), increase your zones by up to 12 beats per minute. On a high-humidity day in the 80s or above (high 20s Celsius and above), adjust your training plan and just take it easy.

Running short repetitions quickly but with relaxed form—strides—may train your muscles to eliminate unnecessary movements and maintain well-coordinated control at fast speeds. Along with improved running form, you’ll gain power in your legs and trunk that may also contribute to improved running economy. Because these intervals are short and performed with sufficient rest between them, lactate levels remain low to moderate throughout the workout. As a result, they won’t interfere with your marathon-specific workouts.

INCREASING MILEAGE WHILE MINIMIZING THE RISK OF BREAKDOWN

As with most aspects of running, there are no guarantees, but the following guidelines will help you increase your mileage without getting injured or overtrained.

Bite off small chunks. Over a few years, you may be able to double or triple your mileage, but increasing mileage too much at once is almost certain to lead to injury or overtiredness. Unfortunately, there’s no scientific evidence indicating how great an increase over a given period is safe. A commonly used but unevaluated rule of thumb is to increase mileage by a maximum of 10 percent per week.

Increase in steps. When charting new territory, don’t increase your mileage week after week. That approach is very likely to lead to injury. Instead, increase your mileage one week, then stay at that level for a couple weeks before increasing again.

Avoid speed work while upping your mileage. Don’t increase your mileage during a phase of training that includes hard speed work. Fast intervals put your body under a great deal of stress. Increasing your mileage adds more stress. Save the majority of your mileage increases for base training, when you can avoid intervals.

Reduce your training intensity. When increasing your mileage, it helps to slightly reduce the overall intensity of your training. By backing off the intensity, you can increase your volume without increasing the strain of training. You can then return the intensity to its previous level before upping your mileage again.

Not all miles are created equal. When building your mileage, it’s particularly important to train on soft surfaces to reduce the accumulated jarring on your body and to wear running shoes in good repair that suit your needs.

Give yourself a break, part one. You should always monitor the state of your running shoes but especially when increasing your mileage. If you start to feel more frequent minor achiness after runs or if the shoes’ midsoles feel significantly less lively than when they were new, use them only for short runs, if at all. If the outsoles are so worn that you feel your gait compensating, retire the shoes.

Give yourself a break, part two. Don’t let mileage become a goal in itself. Aimlessly running high mileage can lead to chronic overtiredness, injury, and burnout. Your training should be focused on a target race such as a marathon. When you have run your target race, give your body a break before building your mileage for your next goal.

PETE’S PROGRESSION

My highest sustained mileage was before the 1984 Olympic trials marathon. With Alberto Salazar, Greg Meyer, Tony Sandoval, and Bill Rodgers in the race, making the Olympic team necessitated no compromises. My previous training had peaked at 125 miles (201 km) per week. At the time, I thought that was all my body could handle.

The trials were held in May. For 10 weeks starting in January, I averaged 143 miles (230 km) per week, with a high week of 152 (245 km) and a low week of 137 (221 km). Most of this was run at a fairly brisk pace (5:40-6:10 per mile [3:32-3:50 per km]), but I was in base training and didn’t need to do much speed work.

After I cut my mileage to 100 to 120 miles (161-193 km) per week for the last 2 months before the trials, my legs felt fresh and strong all the time. Having adapted to the higher volume, I was able to do high-quality intervals and tempo runs while still running well over 100 miles (161 km) per week. While that mileage looks daunting to me now, there’s little question that January’s and February’s high-mileage training contributed to the improvement that allowed me to win the 1984 trials.

Besides the physiological benefits, high-mileage training provided me with psychological benefits for the marathon. When I was coming up through the ranks, 2:10 marathoner Garry Bjorklund revealed to me that he was running 160 miles (258 km) per week. When I asked him if that much mileage was necessary, he said, “It’s not necessary before every marathon, but you need to do it at least once to know you can.”

—Pete Pfitzinger

A typical session of strides is 10 repetitions of 100 meters, during which you accelerate to full speed over the first 70 meters and then float for the last 30 meters. It’s critical to remain relaxed during these accelerations. Avoid clenching your fists, lifting your shoulders, tightening your neck muscles, and so on. Concentrate on running with good form, and focus on one aspect of good form (such as relaxed arms or complete hip extension) during each acceleration.

These sessions aren’t designed to improve your cardiovascular system, so allow adequate time to recover between accelerations. A typical rest is to jog and walk 100 to 200 meters between repetitions; this allows you to pretty much fully recover before you start the next stride. The most important considerations are to maintain good running form and to concentrate on accelerating powerfully during each repetition.

Another way to increase running economy is to invest in carbon-plated super shoes, which have been shown to reduce oxygen consumptions at a given pace by several percent (Joubert, Dominy and Burns, 2023) (see chapter 3 for more on super shoes).

Improving Your V̇O₂max

The most effective running intensity to improve V̇O₂max is 95 to 100 percent of current V̇O₂max (Daniels 2022; Midgley et al. 2007). Well-trained runners can run at V̇O₂max pace for about 8 minutes. Ninety-five to 100 percent of V̇O₂max coincides with current 3,000-meter to 5,000-meter race pace. During marathon preparation, we use intervals at 5,000-meter race pace to provide a strong stimulus to improve your V̇O₂max but with less recovery required than for intervals at 3,000-meter pace. This coincides with an intensity of approximately 93 to 95 percent of maximal heart rate or 91 to 94 percent of heart rate reserve. (Be sure to use an accurate assessment of your current 5K pace—namely, a race run under optimal conditions, not a hilly course on a hot day.) Running intervals at this pace or intensity is part of the optimal strategy to improve V̇O₂max.

The stimulus to improve V̇O₂max is provided by the amount of time you accumulate during a workout in the optimal intensity range. This fact has implications for how best to structure your V̇O₂max sessions. Consider two workouts that each include 6,000 meters of intervals—one of 15 × 400 meters and the other of 5 × 1,200 meters. When you run 400-meter repetitions, you’re in the optimal zone for perhaps 45 seconds per interval. If you do 15 repetitions, you would accumulate about 11 minutes at the optimal intensity. When you run longer intervals, you are in the optimal intensity zone much longer. During each 1,200-meter interval, you would be in the optimal intensity zone for 3 to 4 minutes and would accumulate 15 to 20 minutes in that zone during the workout. This would provide a stronger stimulus to improve your V̇O₂max.

The optimal duration for V̇O₂max intervals for marathoners is approximately 2 to 6 minutes. Intervals in this range are long enough that you accumulate a substantial amount of time at 93 to 95 percent of V̇O₂max during each interval but short enough that you can maintain the optimal intensity range throughout the workout. Intervals for marathoners should generally be between 600 and 1,600 meters.

The training schedules don’t include 2,000-meter repeats. Although repeats of this length can provide a powerful boost to V̇O₂max, for all but the elite they take more than 6 minutes to complete. That’s fine if you’re focusing on a 5K or 10K, where V̇O₂max is the primary determinant of success. As a marathoner, though, you want to be fresh for the week’s more important endurance workouts, so you don’t want your V̇O₂max workouts to require several recovery days.

The total volume of the intervals in a marathoner’s V̇O₂max session should be 5,000 to 10,000 meters, with most workouts in the range of 6,000 to 8,000 meters. Any combination of repetitions of 600 to 1,600 meters will provide an excellent workout. Longer intervals (e.g., 1,200 m or 1,600 m) make for a tougher workout, physically and psychologically, and shouldn’t be avoided. Your V̇O₂max workouts can be run on a track or any even surface where you can run fast with confidence. These sessions can also be done as uphill intervals, which are particularly useful if you will be racing a hilly marathon. For uphill workouts, you will run much slower than 5,000-meter race pace, but your heart rate and perceived effort should be the same as if you were running on a flat surface.

DON’T MAX OUT YOUR V̇ O2MAX WORKOUTS

Two related mistakes that marathoners sometimes make in training are running intervals too fast and too frequently. Let’s consider why you should avoid these errors.

Running Intervals Too Fast

A common mistake among marathoners is to do speed work too hard. The idea that running your intervals harder will make you run better is appealing, and it seems logical. It’s also incorrect. Running your intervals faster than the optimal zone will do two things—build up a high level of lactate and hydrogen ions in your muscles and shorten the duration of your workout. Both of these effects are counterproductive for marathoners.

The marathon is an aerobic event. More than 99 percent of the energy you use in the marathon is supplied by your aerobic system. During the marathon, you run slightly below your LT pace; therefore, you don’t accumulate much lactate in your muscles and blood. In fact, when lactate levels are measured at the end of a marathon, they are only slightly above resting levels.

There’s no reason, then, for marathoners to do training that builds up high levels of lactate, such as intervals run at 1,500-meter race pace or faster. Running intervals at this pace produces high levels of lactate and improves your ability to produce energy using the glycolytic system (what you probably think of as running anaerobically) and to buffer high levels of lactate. None of these adaptations is relevant to the marathon. Running intervals much faster than 3,000- to 5,000-meter race pace also produces a smaller stimulus to improve your V̇O2max.

Running V̇O2max Sessions Too Frequently

Another common mistake among marathoners is trying to include too many V̇O2max sessions in their marathon training programs. The most important adaptations for marathon success are a high level of endurance, a fast pace at LT, and the ability to store a large quantity of glycogen in the muscles and liver.

V̇O2max sessions are definitely a secondary consideration for a marathoner. Intervals require large amounts of physical and psychological energy, which can be better used doing more specific marathon training. V̇O2max sessions have their place in marathon preparation, but they should be included sparingly.

The optimal amount of rest between intervals is debatable. One school of thought is to minimize rest so your metabolic rate stays high during the entire workout. This strategy makes for very difficult workouts, which can be good, but you risk shortening your workouts. Another school of thought is to allow your heart rate to decrease to 70 percent of your maximal heart rate or 60 percent of your heart rate reserve during your recovery between intervals.

A lower-tech approach is to allow 50 to 90 percent of the length of time it takes to do the interval for your recovery. For example, if you’re running 1,000-meter repeats in 3:20, you would run slowly for 1:40 to 3 minutes between intervals. For uphill workouts, your recovery will be somewhat longer as you run back down the hill.

The V̇O₂max sessions in the training schedules feature repeats that strike a balance between being long enough to provide a powerful training stimulus and short enough to allow you to recover for your other important workouts of the week.

Integrated Training: Training at Marathon Race Pace

Your goal for the marathon is to be able to maintain your goal race pace for 26.2 miles (42.2 km). The physiological demands of this task require a high LT, an excellent capacity to store glycogen, a well-developed ability to burn fat, and so on. Each of the various types of training that we have discussed so far focuses on improving a specific aspect of your physiology for the marathon. Now we’ll discuss a type of training that integrates the various physiological attributes as specifically as possible for the marathon race.

Long runs at marathon race pace directly prepare you for the demands of the race. The principle of specificity of training states that the most effective way to prepare for an event is to simulate that event as closely as possible. The closest way to simulate a marathon, of course, is to run 26.2 miles (42.2 km) at marathon pace. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), long runs at marathon pace are very hard on the body. If you run too far at marathon pace, the required recovery time will negate the benefits of the effort. Similarly, if you do long runs at marathon pace too often, you will greatly increase your likelihood of self-destructing through injury or overtraining.

The training programs in this book include up to four runs in which you’ll run 8 to 14 miles (13-23 km) of a longer run at goal marathon race pace. These runs are the most specific marathon preparation you’ll do. The intention is to stress your body in a similar way to the marathon but to limit the duration so that your required recovery time is held to a few days. On these runs, use the initial miles to warm up, gradually increasing to marathon race pace, then finish the run with the prescribed number of miles at marathon race pace. In addition to the physiological and psychological benefits these runs impart, they’re an excellent opportunity to practice drinking and taking energy gels at race pace.

Where should you do your marathon-pace runs? Races of the appropriate distance are ideal—you’ll have a clear course, plenty of aid stations, and other runners to work with. As with doing tempo runs in races, though, be sure to limit yourself to the day’s goal and run them no faster than is called for.

Given the opportunity for no automobiles and frequent fluids, a track would seem to be an ideal locale for marathon-pace workouts, but bear in mind the reason for these runs. The purpose is to simulate marathon conditions as closely as possible. This means running on a road, not doing endless repeats of a 400-meter oval. Learn your goal marathon’s topography, and attempt to mimic it on your marathon-pace runs. Many runners do this when preparing for courses with obvious quirks, such as Boston, but the principle applies for all marathons. Pancake-flat courses such as Chicago also take their toll because your leg muscles are used exactly the same way from start to finish.

Wear your marathon shoes when doing at least one of these workouts. You want to have at least one run of 15 miles (24 km) or so in your race-day shoes to learn how they feel when you start to tire at marathon pace and whether they give you blisters.

STRUCTURING YOUR TRAINING PROGRAM: PERIODIZATION

Now that we’ve discussed the types of training that help improve marathon performance, the next step is to develop your overall training plan. You need to prepare so you’re at your best on marathon day. Systematically structuring your training to bring you to your desired end point is called periodization. The challenge in developing a periodized training plan is to decide how many hard sessions to do, which types of sessions to do, and when to do them.

A useful framework is provided by organizing training into progressively smaller chunks called macrocycles (several months), mesocycles (several weeks), and microcycles (one week). These concepts are used for preparing training programs in a wide variety of sports and have been used extensively in track and field. In this book, we will replace the scientific jargon of macrocycle with “complete marathon training plan,” mesocycle with “training block,” and microcycle with “training week.”

As a marathoner, your complete marathon training plan is simply the entire training period leading up to the marathon, typically 3 to 5 months, and your post-marathon recovery.

Your complete marathon training plan is divided into several training blocks, each of which has one or two specific training objectives. For a marathoner, a training block typically lasts from 4 to 6 weeks. For example, the first training block in marathon preparation will almost always have a primary emphasis on increasing the volume of training and the distance of your long runs for at least 4 weeks. As the race approaches, the priorities in your training shift. Each shift in priorities is reflected in a new training block. Each training week has a pattern of hard workouts and recovery.

Let’s consider runners whose annual training plans center around two marathons per year. They would train for the marathon for 12 to 18 weeks culminating in the race, followed by several weeks to recover, before starting focused training for the next target race.

Now let’s consider the training objectives in preparation for the marathon. The complete marathon training plan will generally be divided into five training blocks (table 1.3). The first training block will focus on increasing mileage and long runs to improve pure endurance. This will likely be the longest training block in the program. The second training block will focus on improving LT, with further improvement of pure endurance as a secondary objective. The third training block will focus on race preparation and will include tune-up races. The fourth training block will include a 3-week taper and the marathon. The fifth and final training block will consist of several weeks of well-earned recovery.

Table 1.3 Typical Complete Marathon Training Plan

Training block | Primary objective
1 | Increasing mileage and long runs to improve pure endurance
2 | Improving LT
3 | Race preparation
4 | Taper and the marathon
5 | Recovery

Each training week will typically consist of three hard training sessions. This is the maximum number of hard sessions that most distance runners can respond to positively. A few runners may be able to handle four hard sessions per week, and some runners can handle only two. Considering that there are at least five categories of hard training sessions that you can do, it takes intelligent planning to come up with the optimal training program. The training schedules in this book are structured around four training blocks during your marathon preparation and generally include three hard training sessions per week (with long runs counting as one of those hard sessions).

TUNE-UP RACES

Training provides a variety of stimuli that lead to adaptations that improve your marathon performance. Training also gives you the confidence that comes with setting and achieving challenging training goals. However, training doesn’t completely prepare you for the marathon. An additional component to successful marathoning can be gained only by racing.

Tune-up races are important benchmarks of your fitness and prepare you mentally for the rigors of racing the marathon. Because less is at stake, even the toughest workout isn’t as mentally demanding as a race. After all, in a race, when you’re competing against other runners, there’s a fine margin between relative success and relative failure. Similarly, in a race, you’re committed to finish (or you should be) whether you’re having a good day or a lousy day; in a workout, if things aren’t going well, you can always stop early with your pride relatively intact. The all-out aspect of racing requires a sustained mental focus that’s necessary to run a good marathon. When runners do no tune-up races before the marathon, they are more likely to be anxious leading up to the race.

TECHNOLOGY AND TRAINING

Goal-oriented marathoners who don’t wear a GPS watch are a vanishing breed. These tools are useful if you remember that they’re tools, not your overlord.

It’s great to have reasonably accurate data on how far and fast you’re running. That’s especially true on workouts like a long run ending with several miles at marathon race pace, or a tempo run over an otherwise unmeasured loop that perfectly mimics your marathon course. Where we urge caution is making that data determinative most of the time. For example, on your recovery days, it’s counterproductive to force yourself to hit a certain pace because you think anything slower isn’t beneficial. We’ll discuss this aspect of using data in greater detail in chapter 3.

Even when there are good reasons to care about hitting a certain pace for a certain distance, keep in mind that most runners’ GPS watches aren’t 100 percent accurate. Cloud cover, a winding course, and other factors can affect the devices’ measurements. Try not to get hung up over discrepancies of a few seconds a mile, which easily fall within most watches’ margin of error.

It’s also important to maintain perspective on sharing your run data online. If it helps your motivation and if you’ll get a boost from others’ support, by all means post a great long run or track workout. But remember that the marathon is your goal, not winning the online workout wars.

Tune-up races serve three purposes. First, they allow you to practice your prerace routine, including your diet and warm-up. Second, they provide feedback on your fitness, reducing an element of uncertainty about your marathon preparation. Third, they make you go through the nerves of racing, helping reduce anxiety in the last few days and hours before the marathon. When you’re at your limit in the marathon, feeling tired, wondering whether you can hang on even though there are still 10 miles (16 km) to go, it helps to have been through the demands of racing at shorter distances. Even though the ultimate test (the marathon) is crueler, the preparation gained from shorter races is priceless.

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By tune-up races, we mean all-out efforts, not races in which you give less than your best, such as races you use as the setting for a tempo run or marathon-pace run. Tune-up races can vary in length from 8K (5 miles) to a half marathon, depending on their training purpose. Races of 5K or shorter are less specific to marathon success, and races of 30K (19 miles) or longer require too much recovery.

Tune-up race distances can be divided into two categories. Races of 15K (9 miles) to a half marathon require at least 6 days for recovery, and you must place them strategically in your training program. These races provide the greatest physiological and psychological benefit. Therefore, prepare for these races with a mini-taper of 4 to 5 days. You can’t afford to taper any longer than 5 days because the tune-up race isn’t your primary goal, and you need to keep training for the marathon. A tune-up race of 15K to a half marathon really represents a training block of at least 11 days, consisting of 4 to 5 days of tapering, the race itself, and at least 6 days’ recovery before the next hard training session.

The second category of tune-up race distances is 8K (5 miles) to 12K (7 miles). These races take less out of you and require less tapering and fewer recovery days than races of 15K (9 miles) or longer. You can approach tune-up races of 8K to 12K in two ways. First, you can train through them and treat them as an all-out effort done while fatigued. This will provide an excellent training stimulus as well as a mental challenge that will help steel you for the marathon. Racing when tired, however, brings the danger of believing that your finishing time and place represent your current fitness level. If you typically race 10K (6 miles) in 32:00 but run 33:10 in a tune-up race, you could interpret the result as meaning you’re not in shape, and you might start to train harder or become discouraged. It’s important to put the result in the context of the situation.

The other way to approach a tune-up race of 8K (5 miles) to 12K (7 miles) is to do a mini-taper and give yourself a couple of recovery days. This is the appropriate approach if you’re using the race to assess your fitness level or as a confidence booster leading up to the marathon. Table 1.4 indicates how close to a tune-up race you can do a hard workout without going into the race fatigued. Although you won’t see the benefits of the workout in this week’s race, you should be recovered enough so the workout doesn’t detract from your race performance.

Table 1.4 Balancing Hard Workouts and Tune-Up Races

Type of workout | Minimum number of days before tune-up race
V̇O2max interval | 5
Tempo run | 4
Long run | 4

Tempo runs are the easiest to recover from because they don’t break down the body as much as other forms of hard training, but it is sensible to allow 4 days before a race. Long runs require at least 4 days of recovery to put in a good race effort, although replenishing glycogen stores generally requires only 48 hours. Interval workouts put the body under the most stress and require the longest time to recover.

Now you know what physiological traits are needed to run a good marathon and how to train to improve those traits. More so than with any other popular distance, success in the marathon depends not only on what you do to your body but also what you put into your body. Proper nutrition is critical when training for and running a marathon. We’ll examine this in the next chapter.

2

NUTRITION AND HYDRATION

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This chapter looks at two critical but often misunderstood factors in marathon preparation and racing—nutrition and hydration. Why are these matters critical? Because two of the factors that typically conspire to make you slow in the last few miles of the marathon are glycogen depletion and dehydration. By understanding the role of nutrition for marathon preparation and racing, you can develop strategies to optimize your marathon performance.

This chapter discusses the impact of hydration on performance and how to prevent excessive dehydration; the roles of carbohydrate and fat as the primary fuels for endurance exercise, and how to prevent glycogen depletion; the role of protein for endurance athletes; the need to maintain normal iron levels; and other nutritional considerations for racing the marathon. Implementing the advice in this chapter is an essential component of your marathon preparation.

THE ROLE OF HYDRATION

Staying well hydrated is vital to successful marathoning during training and racing. Becoming excessively dehydrated negatively affects running performance and slows your ability to recover for your next workout. Your blood and other fluids help remove waste products and bring nutrients to tissues for repair. Replacing lost fluids after running, therefore, will speed your recovery.

Let’s take a look at the physiology of dehydration. When you sweat, the following chain of events occurs:

Your blood volume decreases.

Less blood returns to your heart.

The amount of blood your heart pumps with each beat decreases.

As you continue to sweat, less oxygen-rich blood reaches your working muscles; therefore, you produce less energy aerobically and cannot maintain as fast a pace.

These effects are magnified on a hot day because one of your body’s major responses to hot weather is to increase cooling by sending more blood to the skin to remove heat from the body; this process means that even less blood returns to the heart to be pumped to the working muscles. The result is a higher heart rate for a given pace and an inability to maintain the same pace as on a cool day. Looked at in another way, dehydration reduces your body’s ability to maintain your core temperature because less blood is available to be sent to your skin, and your sweat rate decreases. Struggling to maintain a fast pace on a hot day becomes more dangerous as you become progressively more dehydrated, which can lead to heat exhaustion.

The main benefit of drinking during the marathon is to reduce dehydration to a moderate level so running performance is not compromised. Staying well hydrated is also important during training. The amount of dehydration that starts to affect running performance varies between individuals and depends on a variety of factors; nonetheless, the greater the level of dehydration, the greater the reduction in running performance. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends trying to prevent dehydration of more than 2 percent of body weight (Thomas, Erdman, and Burke 2016). Your body’s thirst mechanism will lead you to drink enough most of the time. During a heavy training load in hot conditions, however, it can be useful to have a plan to ensure your hydration level is normal before running, to take in fluids during running, and to rehydrate appropriately after running.

Marathoners training in hot conditions sometimes become moderately dehydrated for a few days without realizing it, which can reduce training performance and increase perceived exertion (i.e., running at a given pace feels harder). For example, if your training schedule calls for a tempo run on Tuesday and a medium-long run on Wednesday, and you are training in hot or hot and humid conditions, it can be helpful to emphasize rehydration after your tempo run to ensure you are normally hydrated for the start of Wednesday’s medium-long run. Similarly, anyone training twice per day, particularly in warm conditions, should put some thought into rehydrating prior to their second run of the day. Paying attention to your hydration level is also useful in the winter when the need to offset sweat loss isn’t as obvious.

Sweat rates vary considerably between runners and depend on environmental conditions, how intensely you are running, how acclimatized you are to the conditions, and your genetic predisposition to sweating. It’s not unusual to lose 3 to 4 pounds (1.4-1.8 kg) of water per hour when running on a warm day. At this rate, during a 2-hour run you would lose about 6 to 8 pounds (2.7-3.6 kg). For a 140-pound (64 kg) runner, this represents a loss in body weight of over 4 to almost 6 percent and a likely decrement in performance of several percent. The effect increases as the run progresses, so this runner wouldn’t be any slower the first few miles but would likely find that maintaining pace becomes harder and would slow progressively later in the run. Avoiding dehydration can be the difference between training hard enough to provide a strong stimulus for your body to improve and feeling like you are working harder but with less benefit.

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MARATHONING AND CAFFEINE

Most runners have caffeine on a daily basis in coffee, tea, energy drinks, cola, or chocolate. Caffeine is part of daily life. It can also have a performance-enhancing effect, at least for some people.

A variety of studies have found performance-enhancing benefits from caffeine ingestion, and several have found no benefit (Burke 2008; Southward, Rutherfurd-Markwick, and Ali 2018; Guest et al. 2021). Extrapolating from running time trial studies in the lab, the likely benefit of taking caffeine is in the range of 1 to 2 percent (perhaps 20-50 sec in a 10K or 1.5-4 minutes in a marathon).

The different findings may depend on the study designs used but may also be related to findings (Guest et al. 2018; Barreto et al. 2024) that an individual’s genotype for a gene that influences caffeine metabolism determines the effect of caffeine on their performance. Individuals who have the genotype that allows them to metabolize caffeine quickly typically get a performance-enhancing effect, while those with the intermediate genotype (moderate metabolizers) do not seem to receive a boost in performance. Those with the genotype associated with slow metabolism of caffeine typically perform worse after caffeine ingestion.

A few studies found a reduced or no performance-enhancing effect of caffeine for individuals who consume caffeine regularly (Bell and McLennan 2002; Burke 2008), which led to some athletes’ abstaining from caffeine for a week or two before competition to try to increase the performance-enhancing effect. Other studies, however, have found a performance-enhancing effect from caffeine even for habitual users, particularly if they consume more caffeine prior to competition than their typical daily intake (Gonçalves et al. 2017). In fact, if you’re used to having a cup of coffee each morning, abstaining from coffee could have a detrimental effect on your performance because of the withdrawal effects of caffeine deprivation.

The effect of caffeine that is most likely to boost performance for marathoners is stimulation of the central nervous system, which increases alertness and concentration. There is intriguing evidence that central nervous system stimulation reduces the perception of effort so that a given pace feels easier.

An appropriately conservative view is that runners should use caffeine with the intention of improving performance only if they are already training hard and intelligently, have an excellent diet, and are working to optimize other lifestyle factors that influence running performance. If you are doing everything else right and have the right genotype, a moderate dose of caffeine may allow you to gain a small improvement in performance. “The International Olympic Committee Consensus Statement: Dietary Supplements for High-Performance Athletes” (Maughan et al. 2018) reviewed the scientific literature and suggests a benefit to performance from 3 to 6 mg of caffeine per kilogram body weight consumed about an hour before exercise. A meta-analysis of caffeine studies found that 6 mg per kilogram of bodyweight provided no more benefit than 3 mg per kilogram bodyweight (Southward, Rutherfurd-Markwick, and Ali 2018), so a lower dose is a sensible approach. A variety of gels, sports drinks, and other products contain specific levels of caffeine that are more dependable than estimating how much is in your cup of coffee.

The potential side effects of caffeine include headaches, dizziness, anxiety, nervousness, gastrointestinal distress, and heart palpitations. Athletes vary widely in their sensitivity to and tolerance of caffeine, so you are an experiment of one. If you do not regularly consume caffeine, you will likely be more sensitive to the effects. You may also not have the genotype that has a positive performance response to caffeine intake. If you are considering using caffeine for your marathon, practice using it during a few of your longest training runs to see how your body responds.

How Much to Drink

For any marathoner training in warm conditions, preventing excessive dehydration that decreases performance is a priority. How much you need to drink to stay well hydrated during your marathon preparation depends on a number of factors, including the heat and humidity, your body size, how much you’re training, how acclimatized you are to the conditions, and how much you sweat. Because sweat rates vary greatly between individuals, it is useful to figure out whether you are a moderate or heavy sweater so you can better plan your personal hydration needs.

On top of your baseline fluid needs, you need to add your fluid losses from training and other activities. Weigh yourself before and after running and calculate how much weight you lost, then drink with the objective of bringing your weight back up to normal. Becoming fully hydrated typically requires drinking about one and a half times the amount of fluid weight you lost—the extra amount is required because some of what you drink will quickly wind up as urine. So, for example, if you lost 3 pounds (1.4 kg) during a training run, you would need to drink about 4.5 pounds (2 L) of fluid before your next run to be fully rehydrated. Sodium in your food and drinks provides the benefit of enabling your body to retain more of the fluid you take in.

Maintaining normal hydration levels from day to day requires some planning, particularly for those with normal jobs. Keeping a water bottle at your workstation is a must. You’ll maintain your hydration status most effectively if you discipline yourself to drink regularly throughout the day. Try to avoid waiting until shortly before training to replace your fluids—if you rush the process, you’ll go into your workout either bloated from too much fluid ingested too quickly or dehydrated from not having enough fluid. Once again, while not sweating profusely, your thirst mechanism is a good guide, but if you feel thirsty before the start of a run, your hydration level is likely somewhat low.

How much you should drink during your race is discussed in the “Marathon Race-Day Nutrition and Hydration” section later in this chapter.

What to Drink

During the many hours a day you’re not running, water should be your primary beverage. Few people need to sip sport or energy drinks throughout the day. Water and carbohydrate-replacement drinks that contain sodium are excellent for maintaining hydration during running. The advantage of replacement drinks with 6 to 8 percent carbohydrate is that they’re absorbed as quickly as water and also provide readily usable energy. The carbohydrate can help your performance during workouts lasting longer than 1 hour. The exact carbohydrate concentration that’s best for you will depend on your stomach’s tolerance and how warm it is during training and during your marathon. On a cool day, you may want to use a carbohydrate content of 8 percent, whereas on a warm day, when fluid is likely more critical than extra carbohydrate, you may want to use a drink with 6 percent carbs. Many sports drinks are now designed with more than one type of carbohydrate (typically glucose-fructose mixtures) to increase the rate that is absorbed in the intestines. Sports drinks should also contain at least 110 mg of sodium per 8 fluid ounces to enhance glucose and water absorption and improve fluid retention.

Many of the world’s top marathoners now use a carbohydrate hydrogel (CHO-hydrogel) drink and gels during races. The CHO-hydrogel drink comes in two concentrations, with the higher concentration providing 80 grams of carbs per half liter (16 percent carbohydrate), which allows runners to take in more carbs per hour. Drinks with more than 8 percent carbohydrate have traditionally been problematic for runners because their high concentration slows gastric emptying, leading to bloating and other gastrointestinal issues. According to the manufacturer, the CHO-hydrogel drink gets around that problem by turning into a hydrogel once it reaches the stomach, which is rapidly absorbed through the stomach lining. Elite marathoners often alternate taking in the CHO-hydrogel drink at some aid stations and gels at other aid stations, aiming for 50 to 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour.

Scientific evidence on CHO-hydrogel drinks is still emerging (McCubbin et al. 2020, Rowe et al. 2022, Sutehall et al. 2022) with some support for reduced gastrointestinal distress, faster use of the carbohydrates ingested, and improved performance. More studies are needed that simulate the intensity of marathon racing, in which faster gastric emptying and carbohydrate availability would provide a distinct performance advantage.

Top level marathoners are also using the CHO-hydrogel drinks during their higher-intensity long runs to enhance performance during those workouts and to ensure they tolerate the drinks well. As with anything new, curious runners should try out these drinks in training before using them on race day.

Attempting to do high-mileage or high-intensity training in hot weather is a physiological challenge that requires you to be flexible with your training schedule. By planning your training, you can minimize the impact of hot weather. Start each workout fully hydrated by making rehydration a priority after the previous day’s run. When possible, run at the time of day when the weather is the least taxing on your body. On a hot, humid day, slow your pace from the outset rather than waiting until your body forces you to slow.

MARATHONING AND ALCOHOL

Alcohol is part of many runners’ diets. Is that good or bad for your running performance?

Alcohol (ethyl alcohol) primarily affects your brain. One or two drinks temporarily lead to reduced tension and relief from stress. In the short term, they will also increase dehydration and slow down rehydration. Where should you strike the balance? The night before your marathon, reduced tension is a good thing, but as discussed earlier, it is wise to avoid any amount of dehydration as you toe the starting line. With this in mind, it’s best to limit yourself to one beer or one small glass of wine the night before the marathon. Take in enough extra fluid to make up for the dehydrating effect of the alcohol. Drink an extra ounce (30 mL) of water for each ounce of beer and an extra 3 ounces (89 mL) of water for each ounce of wine that you drink. The same guideline holds for the night before a long run.

After training or racing, wait until you’re reasonably well rehydrated to enjoy a post run potable. Imbibing while you’re still dehydrated from running will slow your recovery.

There is great variance in how much alcohol runners can tolerate. How much is too much? Be honest with yourself about whether drinking regularly detracts from your running, such as by lowering your sleep quality or making you groggy and dehydrated when you wake. And right before training or racing—well, let’s not go there.

CARBOHYDRATES AND THE MARATHONER

The main fuels for endurance exercise are carbohydrate and fat. Protein also provides a small amount of energy. Carbohydrate supplies the majority of your energy during the marathon, and fat supplies the bulk of the remainder. If you want to run 26.2 miles (42.2 km) at a good pace, you had better like carbohydrate foods because they’ll be a mainstay of your diet during most of your day-to-day training and especially in the final few days before the marathon.

Even if you’re a lean marathoner, your body has a large stockpile of energy in the form of fat. A 140-pound (64 kg) runner with a body fat level of 6 percent still carries around 8.4 pounds (3.8 kg) of fat. Each pound of fat supplies 3,500 calories of energy, so this individual has more than 29,000 calories stored as fat.

For the purposes of fast marathoning, what matters are your reserves of carbohydrate, not fat, and your carbohydrate stores are much more limited. If you do a good job of carbohydrate loading, you can store about 2,000 to 2,500 calories of glycogen (the body’s storage form of carbohydrate).

When you run, your body burns a mixture of carbohydrate and fat. The harder you run, the higher the proportion of carbohydrate you use; the slower you run, the higher the proportion of fat you use. During walking, more than half of the calories you burn are provided by the breakdown of fat. As your pace increases, you use proportionately less fat and more carbohydrate. An easy recovery run may be fueled by 60 percent carbohydrate and 40 percent fat. When you race the marathon, over 75 percent of the fuel you use is supplied by the breakdown of carbohydrate. For those doing a marathon at their normal easy-run pace, the proportion of carbohydrate used would be somewhat lower.

Carbohydrate is a more efficient energy source than fat. The breakdown of fat requires more oxygen per calorie released than does carbohydrate. Because fat metabolism doesn’t produce energy aerobically as efficiently as carbohydrate metabolism does, you can’t run as fast when burning just fat.

Your body uses several strategies to keep you from running out of carbohydrate stores. One of these strategies is to use relatively more fat as your carbohydrate stores become low. When your glycogen stores become critically low, you experience “hitting the wall” or “bonking.” A problem with glycogen depletion is that there aren’t warning signs that it’s going to occur until it’s too late. When you need to slow suddenly in a marathon, the culprit is probably glycogen depletion, not dehydration, which tends to affect you more gradually.

You can prevent carbohydrate depletion by glycogen loading. Glycogen loading (also known as carbohydrate loading) is the practice of manipulating your diet and training to increase your glycogen stores.

Marathoners can increase their glycogen stores for race day by tapering training and eating a high-carbohydrate diet for 3 days before the race as recommended in the training programs in chapters 9 through 13.

Rice, pasta, bread, sweet potatoes, pancakes, bagels, low-fiber cereals, potatoes, corn, and low-fiber fruits are excellent sources of carbohydrate. In the last 24 hours before the marathon, you can further increase your carb intake with fun foods such as baked goods, pretzels, crackers, and sports drinks. Expect to gain a couple of pounds and feel slightly bloated when you glycogen load because your body stores 2.6 grams of water for every gram of glycogen. The added weight shows that you have done a good job of glycogen loading, and the stored water may help prevent dehydration as the marathon progresses.

If you eat a normal runner’s diet, with about 60 percent of your calories from carbohydrates, you probably store about 1,500 to 2,000 calories of glycogen in your muscles. If you glycogen load, however, your muscles have the capacity to store about 2,000 to 2,500 calories of glycogen. Each mile (1.6 km) that you run burns about 90 to 140 calories, depending on your weight and metabolism, and over 75 percent of those calories are supplied by carbohydrate. If you do a great job of loading, you may have just about enough glycogen for the marathon, or more likely not quite enough.

Glycogen loading is also useful before your long runs so you have plenty of fuel to go the distance. Carbohydrate loading before your long runs will help ensure that those runs are high quality, which will increase your confidence for the marathon. For some of your long runs, however, it may be beneficial to allow your glycogen tank to run low to stimulate increased glycogen storage. This strategy, called train low/race high, is explained in the sidebar.

TRAIN LOW/RACE HIGH

In chapter 1, we discussed that one of the adaptations to endurance training is the ability to store more glycogen. This occurs because running low on glycogen provides a stimulus for increased activity of the glycogen synthase enzyme, which leads to increased glycogen storage. Evidence suggests that there may be other benefits to allowing your glycogen stores to run low during some of your training runs, including increased mitochondrial content, increased aerobic enzyme activity, increased gene expression, and increased ability to oxidize fat (Stellingwerff 2013; Bartlett et al. 2015; Impey et al. 2018).

Elite distance runners have used this “train low” approach for decades (without understanding the scientific rationale) by doing long runs in the morning with little or no carbohydrate intake and running twice per day with their glycogen stores partially depleted during the second workout of the day.

The most convenient way to train low is to do a long training run in the morning before breakfast (or after a very small breakfast) or at least 6 hours after a meal. It is not yet clear how much or how often depletion is needed to stimulate these adaptations, but as with any change to your training, try this approach cautiously so you have plenty of energy for most of your training. With glycogen depletion there is a risk of delayed recovery from training and immune system suppression.

Allowing your glycogen stores to run low (but not become entirely depleted) about twice per week may provide a useful balance between gaining the positive adaptations from training low without it becoming a drag on your enthusiasm for training. Start with a moderately long run without stocking up on carbs before or taking carbs during the run, and progressively increase the length or intensity of the run from week to week. If you feel a bit more fatigued than usual in the last couple miles of your run, you have probably gauged it about right. If you feel wiped out during the latter stages of your run and need a couple days’ recovery, you have overdone it and should start with a shorter, easier run or avoid this training strategy altogether.

How Much Carbohydrate Do You Need in Your Daily Training Diet?

Your daily carbohydrate requirement depends on your weight and how much you’re training. If you’re averaging an hour to an hour and a half of training per day, you need approximately 2.3 to 3.2 grams of carbohydrate per pound (5-7 g/kg) of your body weight per day. If you’re training for an hour and a half to two hours per day, you need approximately 3.2 to 3.9 grams of carbohydrate per pound (7-8.5 g/kg) of body weight per day. Training for 2 hours or more per day requires at least 3.6 grams of carbohydrate per pound (8 g/kg) of body weight per day.

As an example, say Gary is running 70 miles (113 km) per week and weighs 154 pounds (70 kg). For Gary, the 70 miles (113 kg) per week is an average daily training time of about 80 minutes. Gary’s daily carbohydrate requirement is 350 to 490 grams (70 × 5 to 70 × 7). Each gram of carbohydrate supplies 4.1 calories, so Gary’s calorie supply from carbohydrate should be about 1,400 to 2,000 per day.

SHOULD YOU GO GLUTEN-FREE?

For much of the modern marathon era, runners took a more-is-better approach to gluten, or at least to the foods where it’s most commonly found—pasta, bread, bagels, muffins, and the like. More recently, the pendulum has swung in the other direction. One survey (Lis et al. 2015) of predominantly competitive endurance athletes found that 40 percent avoid gluten, far greater than the portion of the population thought to be diagnostically sensitive to gluten. Anecdotally, you may have encountered many fellow runners who say they try to avoid gluten. As in most matters in running, the best approach for most people lies somewhere between the extremes.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. In North America and Europe, about 1 percent of the population has celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder in which eating gluten causes damage to and inflammation in the small intestine. Untreated celiac disease can lead to poor nutrient absorption and a cascade of symptoms (diarrhea, bloating, fatigue, osteoporosis) that can harm normal health, not to mention marathon training and performance. The best treatment for celiac disease is a strict gluten-free diet. High-level marathoning on such a diet is possible, as evidenced by the success of runners such as Stephanie Bruce, an American with a personal best of 2:27.

Things get a little trickier when the topic is gluten sensitivity or gluten intolerance. It’s estimated that about 5 to 6 percent of the population has some degree of sensitivity or intolerance. Some of the symptoms are similar to those of celiac disease (such as fatigue, headaches, and gastrointestinal issues), but there’s no reliable test for the condition. And it’s quite possible that many people’s symptoms aren’t caused by gluten per se (Lis et al. 2015). For example, bloating could stem from eating too much fiber, which glutenous foods such as whole-wheat bread are usually high in. Similarly, a challenging workout like a long tempo run will mean blood is diverted from your stomach, potentially leading to short-term trouble digesting glutenous foods. Eating the same foods long after the run might not cause symptoms.

If you’re not gluten sensitive, you might think there’s no harm in going gluten-free. But there’s unlikely to be a gain, either. In general, dietitians don’t recommend avoiding an entire class of food without good reason. If you think you might have gluten sensitivity or intolerance, start by keeping detailed records of your diet, symptoms, and running performance to see if you can identify trends. If you decide you might be in the small minority of the population with the condition, consult a sports dietitian.

Sara Hall

Fastest marathon: 2:20:32 (Marathon Project, 2020)

Marathon highlights: Second, 2020 London; U.S. masters record

Sara Hall has run in every U.S. Olympic Trials from 2004 through 2024, in events from the 1,500 meters to the marathon, and has won national titles in the mile, cross country, and marathon. Underlying this long, varied résumé is what she calls “love of the grind.” Hall loves to set challenging goals, she loves the training needed to take on those goals, and she loves the races in which she attempts to meet those goals.

One way that Hall has maintained that love, from high school star through masters record-setter, has been by pursuing her interests. She considers various goals and commits to one or more only if she feels an irresistible pull to chase it. When she lands on a goal, she shares it with her husband, two-time Olympic marathoner Ryan Hall, and others close to her. She also writes it down and posts it where she’ll see it daily, such as on a mirror or refrigerator.

Pursuing her top interests is why she’s been so successful at so many events. It’s also why she has occasionally made unconventional racing choices. In 2015, just 13 days after her marathon debut, she placed 20th overall and first American at the world cross country championship. In 2019, she won her third consecutive U.S. title at 10 miles one week after lowering her marathon best to 2:22 at Berlin. And in 2020, just two months after a career highlight of placing second at the London Marathon, she targeted Deena Kastor’s then-U.S. record of 2:19:36. Although Hall didn’t better Kastor’s mark, she netted a personal best of 2:20:32, which at the time made her the second fastest American in history.

Hall’s love of the grind is underlaid with self-belief—specifically, belief that she hasn’t yet reached her potential in a given event and should therefore keep at it. At one point, Hall’s race results were so underwhelming that her in-laws and even some teammates urged her to retire from professional running to better support Ryan, who at the time was the top U.S. marathoner. Although stung by that “advice,” Hall heeded her internal voice that her best running was still ahead of her. She kept that faith even after running 2:48—about 20 minutes slower than hoped for—in her first marathon. Subsequent marathons proved her right.

In addition to loving the training it takes to be a top marathoner, Hall is dedicated to helping her body handle that training, especially now that she’s in her 40s. She’s in her home gym most days, emphasizing core stability work and functional movements such as dead lifts. She fuels herself primarily with nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods, including soon after finishing training. But here, too, she follows her instincts, happily stopping for pizza after a run if that’s what feels right.

Payoffs for all of these practices include a former U.S. record in the half marathon and the U.S. masters marathon record. These are great stand-alone accomplishments, of course. But they could also be viewed as bonuses for what Hall would be doing anyway, in her runner’s version of, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”

High-Fat/Low-Carb Diets

Much has been written on high-fat/low-carb (HFLC) diets for endurance athletes. A typical HFLC diet calls for 60 to 75 percent of calories from fat, up to 20 percent of calories from protein, and no more than 20 percent of calories from carbohydrates. The more extreme versions are also called ketogenic, or keto, diets because these diets increase ketosis, which occurs when the body metabolizes fat at a high rate and converts fatty acids to ketones. Keto diets typically include 75 to 80 percent fat, 15 to 20 percent protein, and less than 5 percent carbohydrates (Burke 2021). A number of ultra endurance athletes have switched to a HFLC diet, and a growing number of studies are looking into the impact of these diets on the metabolism of fats and carbohydrates, weight loss, blood lipid levels, and performance.

Studies have found that a HFLC diet increases fat oxidation even if the athlete is only on the diet for a short time (Burke 2021). Longer-term studies have found an increased proportion of fat oxidation at moderately high exercise intensities (up to about 70 percent V̇O₂ max); in other words, subjects burned relatively more fat at 70 percent of V̇O₂ max while on a long-term HFLC diet (Volek et al. 2016). Theoretically, this adaptation could help when racing a marathon in that you wouldn’t burn as much glycogen at a given pace and could therefore reduce your risk of hitting the wall.

Subjects tend to lose several pounds on a HFLC diet (McSwiney et al. 2018), likely due to less storage of water with lower glycogen stores and ketosis, and some maintain a lower body weight over time. On the other hand, there is evidence that exercise economy (the equivalent of running economy) is decreased on the HFLC diet, meaning more oxygen is required to maintain a given speed (Impey et al. 2018), and the ability to oxidize carbohydrates for fuel may be impaired (Burke 2021). Given that experienced marathon runners typically race at about 75 to 84 percent of V̇O₂ max, reduced economy and reduced ability to burn carbs for fuel could limit performance for serious marathon runners.

Studies and anecdotal evidence have found that runners feel fatigued and endurance performance decreases in the first few weeks on a HFLC diet, but the fatigue decreases over time and training capacity gradually returns to its normal level (Zinn et al. 2017; Burke 2021). As would be expected, studies have found that high-intensity exercise performance decreases on a HFLC diet, so the ability to do interval workouts such as 1,200-meter repeats at 5K race pace would likely be impaired (Burke 2021). It is not clear whether training at the intensity required for lactate threshold workouts (e.g., tempo runs) can be conducted as effectively on a HFLC diet, but with long-term adaptation that may be the case.

Some athletes on HFLC diets have been using an extreme version of the “Train Low/Race High” approach, which was discussed earlier in this chapter, by taking in more carbohydrates for 24 to 48 hours before racing and taking in carbs during the race. This method may reduce the potential downsides of a strict HFLC diet but is complex and would likely require some trial and error to get the formula right.

Currently, there is not enough evidence to recommend that marathon runners, particularly those who are trying to maximize their performance, switch to a HFLC diet. To date, the majority of evidence supports the view discussed in this chapter that carbohydrates are the primary fuel source for marathon training and racing. In coming years, more evidence will emerge on this interesting topic, but for now it is premature to change from the conventional approach of providing enough carbohydrates to fuel your training.

Tips to Replenish Your Glycogen Stores

If you follow a typical runner’s high-carbohydrate diet, you probably have enough glycogen to get you through an 18- to 22-mile (29-35 km) run or a hard interval workout. After a long run or a long interval workout, therefore, your glycogen stores are moderately to highly depleted. It typically takes 24 to 48 hours to completely replenish your glycogen stores. So, when you do two long or hard workouts in a row, you risk going into the second workout with only partially filled glycogen stores, becoming depleted, and compromising your workout. The frequency with which you can train hard is determined by your recovery rate between workouts, and this will be increased by replenishing your glycogen stores quickly.

Here are strategies you can use to increase your rate of glycogen replenishment.

•  Don’t wait. Your body stores glycogen at a faster rate during the first two hours after exercise and at the fastest rate during the first 30 minutes after exercise, so have a carbohydrate drink with you when you finish your long runs or other glycogen-depleting workouts. Bring along some easy-to-digest carbohydrate foods as well. To speed glycogen resynthesis, take in half of a gram per pound of body weight (1.2 g/kg) in the first hour after the workout and another half gram per pound of body weight during the next hour, and have a meal within 3 hours of finishing training.

•  Increase your intake of carbohydrate. After a glycogen-depleting workout, increase your carbohydrate intake to at least 3.6 grams per pound of body weight (8 g/kg) during the next 24 hours.

•  Eat moderate- or high-glycemic index foods during the first few hours after the workout. The glycemic index of a food is determined by the effect it has on your blood glucose level. High-glycemic index foods cause a large increase in blood glucose levels, whereas low-glycemic index foods have a lesser effect. During the first few hours after a workout, your glycogen stores will be replenished more quickly if you consume moderate- or high-glycemic index foods, such as sports drinks, recovery bars, fruit bars, potatoes, rice cakes, bread, bagels, raisins, and crackers.

•  Consume some protein with your carbohydrates. A moderate amount of protein (e.g., 15-25 g) within 2 hours of training has been shown to stimulate protein synthesis for muscle repair, so it is beneficial to consume protein and carbs together after training.

Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook 6th edition is an excellent and extensive resource for more information on nutrition for endurance athletes.

THE ROLE OF PROTEIN FOR MARATHONERS

Conventional wisdom indicates that strength-trained athletes such as weightlifters need lots of extra protein to build muscle, but the protein needs of endurance athletes are the same as for sedentary folks. Over the past decade, however, studies have clearly shown that endurance athletes have elevated protein needs. As a marathoner, your body needs protein to repair damaged muscles, make red blood cells to deliver oxygen to your muscles, make mitochondria in your muscles to produce energy aerobically, maintain a strong immune system, and make enzymes and hormones that keep your body functioning normally.

Sedentary individuals need about 0.35 to 0.45 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day (0.8-1.0 g/kg per day). Endurance athletes have elevated protein needs because of their greater wear and tear on muscle tissue and red blood cells, need for more mitochondria, and so on. Several formulas are used for calculating the protein needs of endurance athletes. The American College of Sports Medicine’s guideline for protein intake for endurance athletes had previously been 0.55 to 0.64 grams of protein per pound of body weight (1.2-1.4 g/kg of body weight), but this range was recently broadened to 0.55 to 0.91 grams of protein per pound of body weight (1.2-2.0 g/kg of body weight) to take into account the specifics of the athlete’s training and the timing of protein intake (Thomas, Erdman, and Burke 2016).

Sports dietitian and former elite runner Suzanne Girard Eberle recommends 0.55 to 0.75 grams of protein per pound of body weight (1.2-1.7 g/kg of body weight) per day for endurance athletes (Eberle 2014). The protein requirements for moderately trained runners would tend to be toward the lower end of this range and toward the higher end for elite marathoners. Table 2.1 presents daily protein requirements for marathoners using this formula.

Table 2.1 Daily Protein Requirements for Marathoners

Weight (lb) | Weight (kg) | Protein required (g/day)
100 | 45 | 55-75
120 | 54 | 66-90
140 | 64 | 77-105
160 | 73 | 88-120
180 | 82 | 99-135
200 | 91 | 110-150

The timing of protein intake influences recovery. One study found that 30 grams of protein consumed after exercise had the highest rate of muscle protein synthesis (Churchward-Venne et al. 2020). The American College of Sports Medicine suggests 15 to 25 grams of protein (or 0.25-0.3 g/kg of body weight) consumed in the first 2 hours after exercise (Thomas, Erdman, and Burke 2016). You can easily get this much protein through foods such as hard-boiled eggs, milk, yogurt and other dairy products, peanut butter, tuna, deli meats, etc. Protein shakes and protein bars are other convenient options.

Although the protein intake of most Americans exceeds their requirements, this is not necessarily the case for marathoners, particularly those who restrict some aspect of their diets. For example, if you’re a vegetarian, it’s not difficult to meet your protein requirements, but it does require some knowledge and planning to ensure you eat a variety of foods to provide all of the essential amino acids.

Eating too much protein can also have negative consequences for your running performance. If you eat too much protein, you may not be consuming enough carbohydrate, so such a diet would reduce your energy levels. Your body would use the excess protein as energy by removing the amino groups and oxidizing the resulting carbon skeleton. This process requires the removal of waste products, which can stress the kidneys.

THE IMPORTANCE OF IRON

Iron is vital to running performance. Despite this importance, many runners don’t monitor their iron levels.

Iron is necessary for producing hemoglobin in your red blood cells. Oxygen attaches to hemoglobin to be transported in your blood to your muscles. If your hemoglobin level is low, less oxygen reaches your muscles, which means your muscles can’t produce as much energy aerobically. The result is that your V̇O₂max and lactate threshold are reduced, and you can’t maintain as fast a pace. In addition, iron is a key component of myoglobin (a protein that stores oxygen in your muscles) and many other substances in the body, such as enzymes in your muscle cells that affect aerobic energy production, so low iron levels may cause low energy levels by altering production of these other substances.

Typical marathoners need to ensure that they do not have a low red blood cell count or low iron stores. Low iron levels may be the most prevalent nutrition deficiency in Western marathoners, particularly for premenopausal female runners. With iron-deficiency anemia, your iron stores are gone and your hemoglobin level is reduced. With iron depletion, on the other hand, your iron stores are very low, and your hemoglobin is still in the normal range. Although anemia is more detrimental, both of these conditions can negatively affect your running performance.

Why Do Marathoners Tend to Have Lower Iron Levels?

Runners may have slightly lower hematocrit and hemoglobin levels than do sedentary folks due to increased blood volume. Runners may have relatively low iron stores due to low iron intake, foot-strike hemolysis, damage to red blood cells from muscle contraction, and iron loss through sweat, urine, and the gastrointestinal (GI) system. For marathoners, the iron losses tend to be higher than for those doing shorter races, primarily because of higher training volumes. Let’s look at each of these factors.

THE NO-MEAT MARATHONER

People follow a vegetarian or vegan diet for many reasons—primarily health, ethical, or environmental—but few do so primarily to improve their running. Is it possible to run your best marathon while not eating animals or, in the case of veganism, any animal products?

The short answer is yes, but you will need to pay more attention to your diet than you would otherwise.

That extra attention isn’t necessarily a negative. Of course, you could live on candy bars and potato chips and call yourself a vegetarian, but your running performance would eventually go downhill. Following a plant-based diet usually means greater awareness of the nutritional value of foods and striving to eat high-quality, nutrient-dense items. This is one reason that vegetarians and vegans tend to have better profiles in general health measures such as cholesterol and body mass index than the average person.

But what about marathoning? The few studies that have compared vegetarian athletes to omnivorous athletes have found the groups to be roughly similar on a variety of measures, including running performance. There is also no evidence that a well-planned vegetarian or vegan diet will lead to being deficient in protein (Craig and Mangels 2009).

As noted on page 48, the biggest potential challenge for marathoning vegetarians and vegans has to do with iron. Up to 10 percent of iron from plant sources is absorbed, compared to more than twice as much from meat sources. And that assumes you’re regularly eating large amounts of iron-rich plants, such as tofu, dried fruit, and dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale. The same problem of lesser bioavailability from plant sources occurs with some macronutrients that have a role in endurance performance, such as vitamin B12, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids. These concerns are reduced for lacto-ovo vegetarians who consume dairy products and eggs, lacto-vegetarians who consume dairy products but not eggs, and pescatarians who include fish in their diets. In addition to the dietary requirements discussed above, vegans can also be short on calcium, which plays a key role in bone health.

For these reasons, it is likely worth consulting a dietitian to ensure you are meeting your nutritional requirements if you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet.

•  Increased blood volume. Endurance athletes have more blood than do sedentary people. This adaptation allows the stroke volume of the heart to increase, which allows V̇O₂max to increase. This is a good thing. The iron in a runner’s red blood cells, therefore, is diluted in a greater volume of blood. If the runner’s red blood cell mass doesn’t increase as much as the blood volume, hemoglobin concentration will decrease and may incorrectly indicate a borderline iron deficiency.

•  Low iron intake. Many endurance athletes have low iron intakes. Low iron intake can be a problem for vegetarians and runners who eat red meat less than twice a week. The typical high-carbohydrate, low-fat, low-cholesterol runner’s diet often includes little or no red meat. Red meat contains heme iron, which is more easily absorbed than iron from plant sources (nonheme iron). Runners who don’t eat meat can obtain sufficient iron through dietary sources but only by carefully selecting their foods. Enette Larson-Meyer and Matt Ruscigno’s book Plant-Based Sports Nutrition (2020) is a good resource for more information on proper nutrition for athletes who limit or avoid meat. The No Meat Athlete Cookbook by Matt Frazier and Stepfanie Romine (2017) is a good recipe source. For more on marathoning while following a vegetarian or vegan diet, see the sidebar “The No-Meat Marathoner.”

•  Foot-strike hemolysis and damage from muscle contractions. Foot-strike hemolysis is the breakdown of red blood cells when the foot hits the ground. Foot-strike hemolysis is a factor for marathoners who run high mileage on asphalt or are heavier than most runners. In addition, evidence from athletes across a range of sports suggests that muscle contractions from heavy training loads can also damage red blood cells.

•  Iron loss through sweat and urine. A relatively small amount of iron is lost through sweat and urine, but for high-mileage runners training in hot, humid conditions, this iron loss may add up. For marathoners living in the South or training through the summer in preparation for a fall marathon, sweat may be a significant source of iron loss.

•  Iron loss through the GI system. Loss of iron through the GI tract (primarily the stomach or large intestine) is a problem for some marathoners. Low levels of GI bleeding occur in some runners, especially during prolonged or high-intensity training. The bleeding is fairly minor each time and generally not noticeable, but there may be a cumulative effect over years of running.

All the preceding factors in combination make it important for marathoners to monitor their iron intake and their iron levels. The highest risk occurs in premenopausal female runners, whose iron intake often doesn’t meet their needs.

How Do You Know if You Have Low Iron?

If you have low iron, first, you’ll be dragging. Your heart rate may be elevated, and your enthusiasm for running will have sunk. You may also feel cold much of the time and have generalized fatigue throughout the day. These symptoms tend to come on gradually, however, so you may not suspect that you have low iron levels until they’ve had a large impact on your training. You can confirm your suspicions only with a blood test. Ask your doctor to order a complete blood count (CBC)—which measures your hemoglobin level (the iron in your red blood cells), your hematocrit level (the percentage of red blood cells in your blood), and other blood values—a ferritin test (your body’s iron stores), and other iron studies.

Normal hemoglobin concentration ranges vary between countries and labs but are typically from 14 to 18 grams per deciliter (g/dL) of blood for men and 12 to 16 g/dL of blood for women; for an endurance athlete, the lower end of normal should be extended by about 0.5 g/dL because of their larger blood volume.

Normal serum ferritin levels vary between countries and labs, but typical ranges are 12 to 200 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) for women and 12 to 300 ng/mL for men.

A decrease in your ferritin level (iron stores) can be viewed as an early warning sign that you are not consuming or absorbing enough iron in your diet and that eventually your hemoglobin level and performance will decline too. Ferritin also reflects the iron stores the body can use to make enzymes for aerobic energy production; therefore, low ferritin levels can impact performance. The level of serum ferritin below which performance is affected seems to differ among individuals. Physiologists have found that training and racing performance is frequently impaired when serum ferritin levels fall below 20 ng/mL, whereas a serum ferritin level between 20 and 40 ng/mL may be low or normal depending on the runner’s individual physiology (Peeling et al. 2008; Eichner 2012; Burden et al. 2015). A sports doctor or sports dietitian can provide expert guidance if your iron levels are borderline or low.

How Much Iron Do You Need?

The U.S. recommended daily intake (RDI) for premenopausal women is 18 milligrams of iron a day, compared to 8 milligrams of iron a day for men and postmenopausal women. According to the American College of Sports Medicine’s 2016 “Position Stand on Nutrition and Athletic Performance,” iron requirements for women athletes may be up to 70 percent higher than for nonathletes, and distance runners and vegetarian athletes should be screened regularly and maintain iron intakes higher than the RDI (Thomas, Erdman, and Burke 2016). Iron requirements haven’t been established for high-mileage runners, so all that can be said with confidence is that marathoners need at least the RDI. As with any mineral, too much iron can be a health hazard. In fact, the typical American man is more likely to get an iron overload than be iron deficient.

How Can You Prevent Iron Depletion?

As with other running problems such as injuries, the best strategy is to avoid low iron in the first place. Good food sources of iron include liver, lean red meat, poultry dark meat, fish, oysters, egg yolk, dark green leafy vegetables, legumes, dried fruit, lentils, and whole-grain or enriched cereals and bread. Animal sources of iron contain heme iron, which has an absorption rate of about 25 to 40 percent, whereas plant sources contain nonheme iron, which has an absorption rate of up to 10 percent.

The following guidelines can help increase iron absorption to prevent iron deficiency and iron depletion.

Eat 3 ounces (85 g) of lean red meat or dark poultry at least 3 times per week.

Don’t drink coffee or tea with meals because they reduce iron absorption.

Eat or drink foods rich in vitamin C with meals to increase iron absorption.

Have meals containing both heme iron (from animal sources) and nonheme iron to increase absorption of the nonheme iron.

Eat iron-enriched bread and breakfast cereals.

Use cast-iron cookware (particularly for acidic foods such as spaghetti sauce).

Although these recommendations may seem like subtle changes in your diet, they can have a powerful effect on your iron levels. For example, you’ll absorb about three times as much iron from your cereal and toast if you switch from coffee to orange juice with breakfast.

SUPPLEMENTS AND OTHER POTENTIAL ERGOGENIC AIDS

There are myriad types of nutritional supplements, with more coming on the market each year. Unfortunately, many are backed by false or exaggerated claims, and the supplement industry is not well regulated in most countries, including the United States. In addition to wasting your money, taking supplements poses a risk of negative side effects. Let’s look briefly at several major categories of nutritional supplements.

Protein Supplements

As discussed earlier in this chapter, marathoners have higher protein requirements than sedentary people, but these moderately increased requirements are easily met by a well-balanced diet. Most runners don’t need to take protein supplements to meet their needs, but protein shakes and protein bars can be convenient options for consuming protein after a workout.

Vitamin and Mineral Supplements

Meeting your baseline need for vitamins and minerals is important for good health and positive adaptation to training. This is easily accomplished without supplements for runners who eat a healthy diet. Runners whose diets may be deficient in certain key vitamins and minerals, however, should consult with a doctor or an appropriately qualified sports dietitian. Vegetarians, for instance, often have a difficult time getting enough iron (as previously discussed), zinc, and vitamin B₁₂ from natural food sources, and they may also be low in omega-3 fatty acids. In that instance, appropriate nutritional supplements might prove beneficial to their running and overall health. More is not better, however, and excessive supplementation with minerals and fat-soluble vitamins can be toxic.

During the winter, the recommended 600 international units (IU) of vitamin D can be difficult to obtain through sunlight and diet alone. That’s especially true if you work a normal schedule and do almost all of your running in the dark for a few or more months per year. Insufficient vitamin D levels can suppress your immune system, thereby potentially leading to catching more colds and generally not recovering from your training as well. A doctor or dietitian may recommend a vitamin D supplement for marathoners in this situation.

You also need to be mindful of the ways isolated vitamins and minerals in supplements may interact with one another, which is another reason we strongly recommend taking the advice of a doctor or dietitian before consuming supplements. Trying to time your supplements so they don’t interfere with one another is a hassle you don’t need. It’s better to just avoid nutritional deficiencies by eating a well-rounded diet.

Other Nutritional Supplements

This category includes the hundreds of nutritional supplements on the market claiming to improve various aspects of athletic performance. Among these, most focus on strength and power performance, but an increasing array is marketed toward endurance athletes. Decades of experience has shown that spending your hard-earned cash on miracle cure supplements is a monumental waste. To run your best, stick with a healthy diet and lifestyle combined with intelligent training, and stay away from quick fixes claiming to enhance running performance.

According to the 2018 “IOC Consensus Statement: Dietary Supplements and the High-Performance Athlete,” which reviewed the evidence behind hundreds of types of supplements, two potential exceptions in this regard are caffeine and nitrate (Maughan et al. 2018). We’ve discussed caffeine elsewhere in this chapter. You may not have heard about nitrate, but you’ve probably heard about the performance-enhancing promise of beet juice. Well, beet juice is rich in nitrate. Beet juice is converted to nitrite by the saliva in your mouth, which then is converted to nitric oxide in your body. Nitric oxide is said to improve several aspects of endurance physiology, including blood flow to the working muscles. Some research has found that after drinking beet juice, athletes’ oxygen consumption is a little lower at a given workload. In other words, maintaining that pace is a little easier (Bailey et al. 2009; Jones 2014; Gao et al. 2021).

It’s not yet clear what the best amount of beet root juice is and for how long it should be taken, or whether the positive effect extends to the duration of marathon racing and high-level performers. Some runners with sensitive stomachs also experience digestive issues after taking beet root juice. Several studies have found that the fitter the subjects, the smaller the effect. As with almost all nutritional matters, be cautious and don’t look at beet juice as a quick fix.

MARATHON RACE-DAY NUTRITION AND HYDRATION

So you’ve followed the advice in this chapter by eating properly and staying well hydrated throughout your months of preparation. Guess what? Your work isn’t done yet. Your strategies for taking calories and fluids on race day can have a strong influence on your marathon performance.

Let’s assume you’ve done a good job of glycogen loading during the previous several days and you’re well hydrated. Before the race, you want to take in between 300 and 500 calories of mostly carbohydrate to top off your glycogen stores. It’s best to ingest these calories 3 to 4 hours before the race. This shouldn’t be a big deal for races with late starts, such as New York City or Boston, but for a race such as Chicago, which starts at 7:30 a.m., or Honolulu, which starts at 5:00 a.m. (!), you may have to get up a bit on the early side, eat something, and then try to doze a while longer. (Good luck with that on race morning!) You should also take in about a pint (0.5 L) of fluid to replace fluids lost overnight and ensure that you’re fully hydrated.

Even if you carefully carbohydrate load for several days leading up to the marathon, you don’t have much of a buffer against glycogen depletion. The solution is to take in additional calories during the race.

How much you need to drink during the marathon depends on your body size, the heat and humidity, and your sweat rate. The target is to replace the fluid you lose from sweating so you do not lose more than about 3 percent of your body weight during the marathon. As we will see later, that is a challenging target to achieve, particularly on a warm day. The maximum amount you should drink during running is the amount that can empty from your stomach or the amount required to avoid excessive dehydration from sweat loss, whichever is less. Drinking more than you have lost brings the risk of hyponatremia, which is discussed later in this chapter.

Research has shown that runners’ stomachs can typically empty only about 6 to 7 ounces (177-207 mL) of fluid every 15 minutes during running, representing about 24 to 28 ounces (710-828 mL) per hour. If you drink more than that, the extra fluid will just slosh around in your stomach and not provide any additional benefit. You may be able to handle more or less than the average, however, so experiment with how much liquid your stomach will tolerate.

During training, it’s relatively easy to stop and drink as much as you want whenever you feel like it. All that’s required is a bit of planning and perhaps a few containers strategically placed before your long run. During the marathon, however, it’s very difficult to drink 6 to 7 ounces (177-207 mL) of fluid at an aid station without stopping. Marathoners who run through the aid stations often take in only a few ounces of fluid.

For serious marathoners going for a personal best time, if you drink 4 ounces (118 mL) at 10 drink stops during your marathon, you will have done a typical job of hydrating. What does taking in 40 ounces (1.18 L) of fluid during the marathon mean in practice? If you run the marathon in 3 hours and are losing 3 pounds (1.4 kg) per hour, you will lose 9 pounds of fluid (4.1 kg) and take in 2.6 pounds (1.2 kg), for a net loss of 6.4 pounds (2.9 kg). If you weigh 150 pounds (68 kg), you will have lost 4.3 percent of your body weight; this will likely contribute to slowing moderately late in the race.

Drinking 40 ounces (1.183 L) of an 8 percent solution will supply 95 grams of carbohydrate. Each gram of carbohydrate contains 4.1 calories, so you’ll be taking in about 390 calories during the race.

A complementary method of taking in carbohydrate during the marathon or your long runs is to use energy gels. Depending on the brand you choose, each gel packet typically contains between 80 and 120 calories of carbohydrate. You should follow most gels with a couple of sips of fluid to wash them down, and you should take in approximately 4 to 6 ounces (118-177 mL) of water afterward to help absorb the gel. Some gels, however, are isotonic (check the label), so you do not need to take in fluid to help with absorption. The best time to take an energy gel that is not isotonic is shortly before an aid station.

As always, don’t wait until race day to try an energy gel because it takes practice to get the water intake right and to feel comfortable running after taking a gel. You should develop a plan for taking in sports drinks and gels during your marathon. The makeup of your personal plan will depend on how warm and humid your marathon is likely to be, how much carbohydrate you intend to take in during the race, what types of carbohydrate you are most comfortable taking while running, and what options are provided by the race. A typical plan for a sub-3-hour marathoner would be to drink 40 ounces (1,183 mL) of a sports drink with 8 percent carbohydrates, divided between 10 aid stations, and to take gels providing 100 calories of carbohydrates each at about 40 minutes, 80 minutes, and 2 hours into the marathon. This plan would supply 690 calories of carbohydrates. During the marathon, a 140-pound (64 kg) runner typically burns about 100 calories per mile. Of those 100 calories, about 80 are supplied by carbohydrate. This plan, therefore, supplies enough carbohydrate fuel to last an extra 8 miles (12-13 km) and substantially boosts your likelihood of reaching the finish line without running critically low on glycogen. Slower marathoners can further boost their carbohydrate intake by taking another gel after about 2 hours and 40 minutes (and after 3 hours and 20 minutes if you’re still going).

There is evidence that just rinsing your mouth with a carbohydrate drink can enhance performance (Burke and Maughan 2015). The mechanism seems to be that receptors in the mouth sense the carbohydrate and signal reward centers in the brain. You can use this strategy as a boost in the last 10 minutes of the marathon when it is too late for carbs to be absorbed in your intestines.

Avoiding Hyponatremia

If you run the marathon in more than 3 hours on a warm day and drink large amounts of plain water during the race, you are at risk of hyponatremia. This is a condition caused by unusually low sodium levels in your blood; a large proportion of your body fluid is replaced with water, thereby reducing your body’s sodium content. There is evidence that women have a moderately higher risk of developing hyponatremia than do men. The symptoms of hyponatremia include weakness, nausea, disorientation, bloating, dizziness, and in extreme cases, seizures and coma. Hyponatremia typically occurs only toward the end of ultramarathons or Ironman triathlons, but it can occur in the marathon on warm days, especially for 4-hour-plus marathoners who consume only water. The simple way to avoid hyponatremia during a hot-weather marathon is to consume fluids containing at least 250 milligrams of sodium per liter and to not drink more than you have lost as sweat.

How to Drink on the Run

The race nutrition plan described above assumes you’re regularly taking in a good amount of fluid, as opposed to most of it spilling down your front. Practice drinking while running at close to marathon race pace until you get good at it. It makes sense to slow a bit at the aid stations, but if you’re competitive, you won’t want to lose time to the runners around you. By practicing drinking on the run, you can greatly improve your proficiency at this skill.

If you’re an elite runner, you can usually arrange to have squeeze bottles at the aid stations along the course. This is optimal but obviously not readily available to everyone. Non-elites can help themselves by choosing marathons where friends or family members can meet them regularly along the way and give them bottles. A growing number of competitive marathoners also take advantage of small, flexible bottles that conform to your grip and can be carried for several miles without significantly affecting your arm carriage.

Still, the majority of marathoners must master the paper cup. A convenient way to practice drinking from cups is the round-and-round-the-track method—simply set up some cups at the local track and practice drinking every couple of laps. The advantage of the track is convenience. The disadvantage is that, if you’re running intervals, you’ll be breathing so hard that you’ll get to experience the dubious thrill of getting water up your nose. This approach works really well during a tempo run. If you do a 20- to 30-minute tempo run on the track and take a drink every two to three laps, you will quickly improve your drinking-while-running technique.

Race-Day Technique

If volunteers are handing out fluids during the race, try to make eye contact with one and point at the cup so that you don’t surprise them. (If the cups are on a table, eye contact with the cup generally won’t help.) If volunteers are offering both water and a sports drink, call out your preference as you approach the aid station so that the right volunteer hands you a cup.

Slow slightly and try to move your arm back while you grab the cup so that you don’t hit the cup with your full running speed. Squeeze the top of the cup closed so that all of the liquid doesn’t slosh out, and take a swig. This will help prevent fluid from going up your nose when you tip the cup up to drink. The trick is to breathe normally. Always take a couple of normal breaths between swigs. When you’re done drinking, accelerate back to race pace.

Unless you’re an elite marathoner, the best strategy on a warm and humid day is most likely to stop and drink at the aid stations. Marathons typically offer aid stations about every two miles, although some larger races have up to 20 stops. Let’s say that, from the start, you stop to drink every 2 miles. That’s 12 stops between the start and finish. If you spend 10 seconds drinking at each stop, you’ll add 2 minutes to your time. If you run through the stops while drinking, you’ll slow a little anyway, so stopping isn’t going to add much time, and stopping helps ensure that you take in enough fluid to fight off dehydration. On a warm day, an extra 2 minutes at the water stations can repay you with 10 to 20 minutes gained by the finish of the marathon.

What and when you eat and drink play an important role in how you adapt to training for a marathon. As we’ve seen, neglecting proper nutrition and hydration will mean not reaping the full benefits of your hard work. The same is true for not paying attention to easy days and other aspects of managing recovery from taxing training. Let’s look at what to do to maximize your chance of marathon success during the many hours each week when you’re not running long or hard.

3

BALANCING TRAINING AND RECOVERY

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Description

As we saw in chapter 1, every time you do a hard workout, you provide a stimulus for your body to improve in some way, such as your lactate threshold (LT), fat-burning ability, V̇O₂max, and so on. Any one workout, though, provides only a mild stimulus for improvement; it’s the sum of your workouts over time that determines the total stimulus to improve a specific component of your fitness. For example, if you do one tempo run in the few months before your marathon, you provide a mild stimulus for your LT to improve. If you do six tempo runs in 8 weeks, you provide a strong repetitive stimulus for your LT to improve.

The training stimulus, however, is only half of the formula for performance improvement. To improve, your body must recover from training and adapt to a higher level. By learning to manage your recovery, you’ll optimize your training. If you manage your recovery so that you can do hard workouts more frequently or so that the quality of your hard workouts consistently improves, you’ll provide a greater stimulus for your body to improve its capacities.

Recovery from training is important, both from day to day and over the course of your marathon-preparation program. Poor management of your recovery can lead to overtraining, which simply overwhelms your body’s ability to respond positively to training. In this chapter, we’ll review how to optimize your recovery for marathon success.

RECOVERY AND SUPERCOMPENSATION

One of the realities of running is that if you do a hard workout today, you won’t be a better marathoner tomorrow. In fact, tomorrow you’ll just be tired. Hard training causes immediate fatigue, tissue breakdown, dehydration, and glycogen depletion. Depending on the difficulty of the training session (and other factors discussed in this chapter), you’ll require from 3 to 10 days to completely recover from a serious workout.

At some point, however, the fatigue of each workout dissipates and you adapt to a higher level. To optimize your training, you need to find the correct balance between training and recovery. Training provides the stimulus for your body to adapt, but recovery is when you allow your body to adapt and improve. Well-designed training sessions provide a stimulus for your body to adapt to a higher level, which is called supercompensation.

Effectively managing your recovery means answering two questions:

After how many days do you reap the benefits of a workout?

How much time should you allow between hard workouts or between a hard workout and a race?

The training schedules in the second half of this book reflect the answers to those questions. The schedules aim to provide the ideal amount of stimulus and recovery so your fitness improves week by week as your marathon approaches. Let’s look at the answers to the above questions to understand why the schedules are structured as they are.

Turning Genes On and Off

The intensity, duration, and frequency (number of sessions per week) of your training all influence the stress of your training and the rate at which your body adapts. The adaptations in hormone levels, fat-burning ability, capillary density, and so on that result from endurance training occur because of repeated training bouts rather than as a result of one workout in isolation. It’s as though your body must be convinced that you’re really serious about training before it makes the physiological adaptations that let you reach a new level.

The process of adaptation begins with your genes. Training provides stimuli (e.g., glycogen depletion) that turn specific genes on or off. By altering the expression of genes, training changes the rates at which your body makes and breaks down specific proteins. For example, endurance training turns on genes for the production of mitochondrial protein. More endurance training leads to more mitochondria in your muscles so you can produce more energy aerobically. Your muscles and cardiovascular system adapt over days, weeks, and months to the cumulative effects of your repeated training.

Factors Affecting Recovery Rate

Runners vary greatly in how long it takes to recover from and adapt to a workout. Differences among runners in recovery time and rate of improvement are determined by genetics, age (you tend to recover more slowly with age), training history, sex (females tend to recover more slowly because of lower testosterone levels), and lifestyle factors. Your genetics determine your predisposition to adapt to endurance training; some of us are programmed to adapt more quickly than others. Lifestyle factors such as diet, quantity and quality of sleep, general health, and various life stressors (such as work, finances, and relationships) all influence how quickly you recover from and adapt to training. Because so much variation exists among runners in how many workouts they can tolerate in a given period, you shouldn’t copy your training partner’s running program. Only through experience will you learn how much training you can handle.

Over time you will learn how much training your body can positively adapt to in a given time. Successful marathon preparation requires that you go through this self-discovery process intelligently and systematically. Determining this balance is tricky because it can be hard to isolate variables. For example, if your job is now much more stressful than the last time you trained for a marathon, your current rate of recovery might be slower. Or, as we’ll see in detail in chapter 5, you’ll probably find you don’t recover as quickly as you used to if you’re a middle-aged runner training for your first marathon in a decade. You must find the correct balance of training stimulus and recovery for your specific circumstances over the long weeks that constitute marathon training.

Time Required for Recovery and Supercompensation

Unfortunately, the scientific literature doesn’t provide clear evidence of the amount of time required to realize the benefits of an individual training session. Personal experience and discussions with many runners and coaches indicate that 8 to 10 days is an adequate amount of time to recover from and reap the rewards of most hard training sessions. Given that any one workout provides only a small fitness benefit but that a workout can cause severe short-term fatigue, it’s wise to err on the side of caution and allow enough time to fully recover from training before a race. For the marathon race itself, complete recovery from training is critical for success. Marathon tapering generally requires a full 3 weeks (tapering is the subject of chapter 6).

Table 3.1 shows typical times to recover from three major types of workouts. The third column indicates typical amounts of time to recover from a workout of each type. For example, the table indicates that you should allow at least 4 days between tempo runs or between a tempo run and a tune-up race. You don’t, however, need to allow 4 days between a tempo run and a long run or interval workout. That’s because each type of workout uses different combinations of energy systems, so complete recovery from one type of workout isn’t necessary before you do another type of workout.

Table 3.1 Minimum Time Between Hard Workouts and Tune-Up Races

Type of workout | Sample workout | Days before tune-up race or next similar workout
Tempo run | 25-30 minutes at LT pace | 4
Long run | 17-20 miles (27-32 km) | 4
V̇O2max intervals | 6 × 1,000 m at 5K race pace | 5

Although you won’t see the benefits of this week’s workout in this weekend’s race, if you do the workout early enough in the week, you should recover sufficiently for it not to have a detrimental effect on your race performance. The timelines in table 3.1 take into account the fact that we often do a tune-up race when the fatigue of previous training is reduced rather than when supercompensation has occurred. You generally can’t afford the time required to be optimally rested for tune-up races. During marathon preparation, you should allow only enough rest and recovery to obtain optimal results for the marathon itself and possibly for one tune-up race to provide an accurate indication of your fitness.

Of the major types of workouts, tempo runs are the easiest to recover from because they don’t break down the body as much as the other forms of hard training. Tempo runs are neither fast nor long enough to cause substantial muscle damage or to totally deplete your muscles of glycogen.

Long runs seem to cause the most variability in recovery time among runners, although replenishing glycogen stores generally requires only 24 to 48 hours. Some runners are able to recover relatively quickly from long runs, whereas others are wiped out for a few days. The variability in recovery time depends on your training history, the genetic and lifestyle factors discussed earlier, the type of courses you train on (downhills cause more muscle damage and require greater recovery time), and the weather (the same long run in 85 degrees F [29 degrees C] will take longer to recover from than one in 50 degrees F [10 degrees C]).

Interval workouts put your muscles and cardiovascular system under the most stress and generally require the longest recovery time. Later in this chapter, we’ll discuss strategies you can use to speed your recovery.

Regardless of the type of workout involved, the pattern of workout and recovery is basic to effective training. Generally known as the hard/easy principle, this dictates the structure of your training over the weeks and months leading up to the marathon. Let’s investigate the rationale for following the hard/easy principle.

THE HARD/EASY PRINCIPLE

The hard/easy principle of training remains the best approach for improving marathon performance. But hard/easy training doesn’t necessarily mean never having back-to-back hard days. Instead, a better interpretation is that 1 or more hard days should be followed by 1 or more recovery days. A recovery day may consist of an easy run, a light cross-training session, or total rest. On page 63, we’ll look at three situations in which back-to-back hard training days are followed by back-to-back recovery days.

The overriding reason to follow the hard/easy principle is to provide the optimal balance of training stimulus and recovery so your fitness improves during the course of your marathon preparation. Three additional reasons to follow the hard/easy principle are to allow replenishment of glycogen stores, to prevent illness, and to minimize the effects of delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). We’ll look at each reason below.

Replenishing Glycogen Stores    As discussed in chapter 2, your body can store only a limited amount of glycogen, and it takes about 24 to 48 hours to completely replenish your glycogen stores. So, when you do two hard workouts in a row, you risk going into the second workout with partially filled glycogen stores, becoming depleted, and having a bad workout. Although glycogen depletion is potentially a problem on the second hard day, with a bit of planning, it’s not an insurmountable problem. Three hard days in a row, however, would very likely lead to glycogen depletion and a more prolonged recovery period. By following the hard/easy principle, you give your body time to build up your glycogen stores so you are prepared for the next hard workout.

Preventing Illness    Moderate training makes your immune system stronger. Various studies have found that people who get regular exercise have fewer colds than do sedentary folks. After high-intensity and prolonged exercise, however, the immune system is temporarily suppressed, creating an open window during which you’re at increased risk of infection. Although immune function varies greatly among individuals, studies indicate that the immune systems of healthy, well-trained runners are typically suppressed only after particularly hard training sessions. This could include marathon pace runs, big V̇O₂max workouts, tune-up races, and your longest endurance runs.

As with other aspects of training, the combination of running intensity and duration that leads to a dip in immune function is highly individualized and related to your overall health—and whether you have been stringing together too many hard training sessions in a row (discussed in the section “Understanding Overtraining” later in this chapter). Large and sudden increases in training intensity or volume can lower resistance to infection, a fact that reinforces the message in chapter 1 and the training schedules to make changes in training load incrementally and gradually.

Immune system suppression after high-intensity running has been found to last from as little as 3 hours up to about 72 hours. Interestingly, there is evidence that some components of immune system suppression are linked to carbohydrate depletion. This evidence suggests that taking in carbohydrate during the workout and restocking carbohydrate quickly may reduce immune suppression and help restore your immune function to full strength in less time. The clear implication is to not do another hard training session until your immune function recovers from the previous hard session or race.

If you have a healthy, well-balanced diet, you are probably getting all of the vitamins and minerals you need for a well-functioning immune system. Runners with diets that do not provide enough protein, iron, zinc, magnesium, or vitamins A, E, B₆, B₁₂, and folic acid, however, may have weakened immune systems. As discussed in chapter 2, the best way to get the vitamins and minerals you need is to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Avoid supplements with megadoses of vitamins and minerals, which can have a negative effect on your immune system.

Minimizing the Effects of DOMS    Contrary to many runners’ beliefs, high levels of lactate (lactic acid) in your muscles aren’t what make you sore for several days after a hard effort. Essentially, all the lactate you produce in a race or workout is eliminated from your body in less than an hour. DOMS is caused by microscopic muscle damage that occurs primarily from eccentric (lengthening) muscle contractions, such as when you run downhill. During downhill running, your quadriceps muscles contract eccentrically to resist the pull of gravity and keep your knees from buckling. The resulting muscle damage leads to inflammation, which causes soreness. It takes 1 to 2 days for this process of muscle damage, inflammation, and pain to reach a peak, and the effects can last for up to 5 days. While you’re experiencing DOMS, your muscles need time to repair. The damaged muscles are also weaker, so any workout done before the soreness goes away not only will be painful but also will likely not be intense enough to improve your marathon fitness.

The physiology of DOMS favors an approach of 2 hard days followed by 2 easy days because it takes 1 to 2 days for DOMS to kick in, then it takes another couple of days for the soreness to dissipate. By doing back-to-back hard days, you may sneak in your second workout before soreness and muscle weakness develop. You would then have at least 2 days to recover before the next hard effort.

When to Do Back-to-Back Hard Days

We’ve seen several reasons why you should follow the hard/easy principle in your training and that a hard day doesn’t always have to be followed by an easy day. A pattern of 2 hard days in a row followed by 2 (or more) recovery days may actually allow you to handle and recover from more high-quality training. Let’s look at three specific situations in which back-to-back hard days may be the best approach.

During weeks that you race, you need to train but also rest for the race. Renowned exercise physiologist and coach Jack Daniels, PhD, recommends back-to-back hard days during race weeks rather than alternating hard and easy days.

For example, say you’re following a strict hard/easy schedule and have a race on Saturday. If you did a long run on the previous Sunday, then you would run hard Tuesday and Thursday and easy on the other days. Doing a hard session on Thursday, however, doesn’t make sense because you would still be tired from that effort for Saturday’s race. If, however, you do a hard workout on Tuesday and a medium-long run on Wednesday, you would still get your harder sessions in but would have an extra day to recover for the race. Although this modification still doesn’t provide the optimal amount of time to recover for Saturday’s race, it’s an intelligent compromise that allows you to get your high-quality training while also racing reasonably well.

Another time when you might do 2 hard days in a row is if your weekly schedule is dictated by the Monday-to-Friday workweek. If you’re too busy or fatigued during the week to get in regular high-quality training, you’ll want to take advantage of the weekend and squeeze in 2 hard days. Hard days on Saturday and Sunday followed by recovery days on Monday and Tuesday provide a strong training stimulus and 2 full days to recover before the next hard effort on Wednesday.

This brings us to the time-honored tradition of racing on Saturday and doing your long run on Sunday. If you race 10K or less, you’ll dip into your carbohydrate stores but (assuming that, like most runners, you generally eat a lot of carbohydrate) will most likely not come close to fully depleting your glycogen stores. By eating your normal high-carbohydrate diet, you’ll be reasonably topped up with glycogen and ready to handle your long run on Sunday morning. You can also take a couple of gels to provide carbohydrates during your long run, which should be at a more relaxed pace.

Similar to the first example of back-to-back harder efforts, a V̇O₂max workout or tempo run in the middle of the week can be followed by a medium-long run the following day. The medium-long run is the least stressful of the various types of hard workouts and can also be done on the easier (or slightly shorter) side if you are really tired from the previous day’s effort.

In the training schedules in this book, several weeks prescribe a long run on Sunday, a recovery day on Monday, a long interval session on Tuesday, and a medium-long run on Wednesday. That is a tough 4-day combination, and many runners find it the most challenging aspect of these training schedules. The back-to-back hard days on Tuesday and Wednesday require that 2 of the next 3 days are easy. Not everyone successfully adapts to this sequence of workouts, and we discuss several ways to adjust the schedules in chapter 8, but paying attention to your recovery will provide the greatest likelihood of adapting positively and taking your marathon performance to the next level.

DRIVING TO RUN

There are several common training scenarios—meeting others to run, going to the track, indulging in a trail run—that involve driving before and after your run. If your drive is 10 or more minutes, incorporating these practices can help with your recovery from the run.

Stretch, then stretch again. Do your normal prerun stretching at home. When you get to your destination, do some dynamic movements, such as leg swings and knees to chest, to undo the stiffness that driving can induce. If you’re meeting others, arrive a few minutes early so you have time for these exercises.

And stretch some more. Before driving home, do some gentle static stretching for your hips, glutes, hamstrings, shoulders, and any other areas that tend to get tight when you drive. The cat-cow yoga pose is especially helpful at this time. If there’s room and you have time, bring a mat or at least a towel to stretch on, which should increase the odds you’ll spend a few minutes stretching.

Rehydrate and refuel. Bring a full water bottle and commit to finishing it before you get home. If your drive is longer than 30 minutes or you’ve done a long run or another glycogen-draining session, have some solid or liquid carbohydrates available.

Bring extra clothing. In colder weather, bring a dry shirt or more to change into before driving home. A fresh hat will also help you stay dry and warm while your immune system might be temporarily suppressed.

And then stretch one more time. When you get home, spend at least a few minutes on more static stretching. The cat-cow yoga pose will help loosen your pelvic region, which tends to feel locked up when you drive soon after running.

If Saturday’s race is longer than 15K (9 miles), you’ll likely be tired and sore, have depleted glycogen stores, and find yourself at less than your best for Sunday’s long run. In that situation, skip the long run on Sunday. You’ll be better off postponing your long run until you’ve recovered from the race.

So far, we’ve considered only the pattern of hard training and recovery within a week. Just as important is the pattern of hard efforts and recovery over the course of your marathon preparation. Week after week of hard training can eventually lead to staleness (or more technically “nonfunctional overreaching,” which is discussed later in this chapter) or overtraining. To adapt optimally, it’s best to have several hard training weeks followed by a recovery week. The training schedules in this book regularly incorporate recovery weeks.

There are several patterns you can follow. The correct pattern for you depends on how hard you’re training, your body’s ability to adapt to training, and the sum of other stressors in your life. The most commonly used pattern is 3 hard weeks followed by a recovery week. During the early buildup phase of marathon preparation, runners can often handle 4 or 5 weeks during which mileage is increasing followed by 1 recovery week. In other cases, 2 hard weeks followed by 1 recovery week is optimal. Again, through trial and error, you’ll find the pattern that’s best for you and adjust the training programs accordingly.

CONSECUTIVE HARD SESSIONS OF THE WRONG KIND

An old approach is to do several hard days in a row to get used to running on tired legs. Does this idea make sense?

As we’ve seen, the best way to prepare for marathon conditions is to do high-quality long runs and tempo runs. If you run a 22-miler (35 km) at 40 seconds per mile slower than goal marathon pace, starting relatively fresh, you’ll provide a more specific stimulus to improve your marathon performance than if you start the run fatigued and struggle to run 2 minutes per mile slower than goal marathon pace. At least once every 3 weeks, give yourself the chance to do your long run fresh. You’ll feel great on these runs, thereby leading not only to a better effort but also providing positive psychological reinforcement.

Doing an interval session or tempo run on tired legs makes no sense whatsoever. The objective of interval training (e.g., 6 × 1,000 m at 5K race pace) is to improve your maximal oxygen consumption. The objective of tempo runs (e.g., 5 miles at LT pace) is to improve your LT. If you run these workouts while tired, you’ll either do them more slowly than is optimal or you’ll have to cut back the volume of the workout (e.g., do fewer intervals or a shorter tempo run). In either case, you’ll provide less of a stimulus to improve than if you had started the workout relatively fresh.

The recovery weeks in these training schedules include about 80 percent as much training volume as the hard training weeks. For example, if your hard weeks consist of 60 miles (97 km), you would run about 48 miles (77 km) during your recovery week. The schedules also reduce the quantity and the intensity of the hard sessions during recovery weeks. For example, the distance of long runs is reduced as well as the pace per mile, and there are no hard V̇O₂max sessions scheduled during a recovery week. The total training load (taking into account volume and intensity) is reduced by about 30 percent.

RECOVERY DAYS (OR EASY DAYS)

So far in this chapter, we’ve discussed the necessity of incorporating recovery into your training schedule. Following the hard/easy principle, 1 or 2 hard days are always followed by 1 or more easy days. Easy training days are more appropriately called recovery days because their purpose is to allow you to recover for your next hard effort.

So what constitutes a recovery day? As with most aspects of running, the answer depends on your physiology and training history. Recovery days should be less difficult than hard sessions in the volume (distance) and intensity of training. In some cases, a recovery day should be a day of rest or a day of low-intensity cross-training.

The most common training mistake marathon runners make is training too hard on recovery days. If you train too hard on a scheduled recovery day, you’ll be tired for your next hard day, and that workout won’t go as well as planned. If you’re like most runners, you’ll be upset, and then you’ll run your next scheduled recovery day a bit harder. So begins a vicious cycle in which your recovery days are done too hard and the quality of your hard days declines, resulting in mediocre performances in training and racing. Just as it takes discipline to push through a tempo run when you feel bad, it takes discipline to train easily when you feel good on a planned recovery day.

The other mistake that marathoners often make is trying to squeeze in too much distance on recovery days. Early in your training program, when the marathon is still more than 8 weeks away, it probably doesn’t hurt to add a couple of extra miles to recovery days. When you’re into the last 8 weeks of training, however, you have more hard sessions with specific purposes and are training at full capacity. If you go into your hard days tired from too many slow miles on your recovery days, your overall progress will be compromised.

Your recovery days shouldn’t impose additional training stress on your muscles or your nervous system. You should try, therefore, to minimize the pounding on your legs on those days. Running on soft surfaces on your recovery days will reduce the cumulative impact your legs, hips, and back experience over the course of the week. When you consider that your recovery days occur when you’re the most tired and when your muscles are the most fatigued and least resilient, it makes sense to take it easy on your muscles on those days. This also implies avoiding hill running on your recovery days, not only because running uphill is likely to require more effort than is optimal for an easy day but also because downhill running tends to induce muscle damage, and you certainly don’t want to incur additional muscle damage on a recovery day.

Monitoring your heart rate is a good way to prevent yourself from training too hard on your recovery days. (See chapters 1 and 8 for information about training by heart rate.) If you keep your heart rate below about 75 percent of your maximal heart rate, or 66 percent of your heart rate reserve plus your resting heart rate, you’ll let your body recover to allow high-quality workouts on your hard training days.

For example, say your resting heart rate is 50 beats per minute and your maximal heart rate is 185 beats per minute. If you train by maximal heart rate, you would want to keep your heart rate below 139 (185 × 0.75) on your recovery days. Heart rate reserve is your maximal heart rate minus your resting pulse. In this example, then, your heart rate reserve is 135. Using this more precise calculation also indicates you would keep your heart rate below 139 (resting heart rate of 50 + [135 × 0.66]) on your recovery days.

The lower-tech way to determine your appropriate recovery training intensity is to run approximately 2 minutes per mile (75 sec/km) slower than your 10-mile (16 km) to half marathon race pace. For example, if you run the half marathon in 1:20, or just over 6 minutes per mile (3:45 per km), your recovery runs should be done at roughly an 8-minute-per-mile (5 min/km) pace.

That said, it’s important not to obsess about hitting a certain pace on your recovery days. Smartwatches are useful tools for much of marathon training, but they can be an impediment to running your recovery days at the right effort level. Many runners have an arbitrary pace that they think is too slow to count as real running for them. Rather than letting their bodies dictate the pace on their recovery days, they check their smartwatch throughout the run and make sure they’re running faster than their self-prescribed too-slow pace. Worrying about how your run will look on Strava, Instagram, or elsewhere online compounds the problem.

Doing so is a mistake. That too-slow pace is often some figure that has no meaning to the human body, such as 9 minutes per mile or 5 minutes 30 seconds per kilometer. Also, having a rigid too-slow pace ignores that there’s greater day-to-day variability in your recovery pace than there is in something like your 5K race pace or LT pace. Ensuring that you’re faster than your too-slow pace works against the purpose of the day’s training, which is to recover from your previous hard work so you’re ready to put out a good effort on the workouts that really advance your fitness, such as long runs, tempo runs, and intervals.

The better approach on recovery days is to run at an effort level that feels comfortable for the entirety of your run and only check your watch to make sure you’re not going too hard. American and European runners who have trained in Kenya marvel at the relaxed pace some of the world’s best marathoners hit on their recovery days. Aim to feel like you’re storing up energy rather than slowly leaking it. Running close to your normal cadence will make the run feel more normal. It’s likely that over the course you’ll get faster, but don’t force that to happen. Ideally, you’ll finish your recovery runs wishing you could tag on another few miles and feeling eager for the next day’s training.

In some situations, cross-training is the best type of exercise on recovery days. For marathoners who come out of Sunday long runs feeling beat-up, cross-training is the safest option for training on Monday. Elliptical training, arc training, cycling, deep-water running, and swimming are all great options. Your recovery is enhanced by the increased blood flow, but there’s no additional pounding on your legs, hips, and back. Cross-training is discussed in chapter 4.

RECOVERY CONSIDERATIONS IN THE REAL WORLD

If you follow the day-to-day lives of elite marathoners, you’ll soon notice how much importance they place on recovery in the hours between runs. Most of them don’t have jobs outside of running and can therefore be meticulous in these matters. In the likely scenario that you fit in your running around an unrelated job, here’s how to maximize your recovery while at work.

Hydration. Always have a water bottle at hand and commit to draining it a couple of times a day.

Calories. In an office, keep healthful foods with you so that you can graze throughout the day as opposed to getting so famished that you hit the vending machines in desperation. If you’re working from home, have similar snacks ready.

Posture, part 1. Make sure your computer screen is at eye level and not too far away so that you don’t sit with your head tilted and thrust forward all day.

Posture, part 2. Even if your computer is set up ideally, it’s still easy to sit with a slumped upper body when you’re at a desk all day. Sit with your head, shoulders, and hips aligned and with a slight curve in your lower back. Good posture at work translates into fewer biomechanical woes on the run. If you do some or all of your work from home, work from a dedicated office space, if possible, instead of slumped on a sofa.

Move. Get up and walk around at least once an hour to lessen the strain on your lower back and hamstrings. This should be easy to do if you work remotely. But if necessary, set a timer so that you don’t find yourself having spent the entire morning in a comfortable living room chair.

AVOIDING OVERTRAINING

Overtraining is a danger for any motivated marathoner. In striving to improve your performance, you progressively increase the volume and intensity of your training. At some point, you hit your individual training threshold. When you exceed that threshold, positive adaptation stops, negative adaptation occurs, and your performances in training and racing suffer.

Individual training thresholds vary greatly among runners. Many elite marathoners handle repeated 120-mile (193 km) weeks, whereas some runners struggle to maintain 40-mile (64 km) weeks. Similarly, some runners can handle more hard days of training in a week than others. Your individual training threshold also changes with time. The elites now running 120-mile weeks couldn’t always handle such big mileage, but they increased their mileage as their capacity to withstand the stress increased. A detailed training log will help you discern your limits and how they evolve throughout your running career. Software that monitors your training and recovery and enables tracking your development over time is discussed later in this chapter.

Understanding Overtraining

It’s important to clarify what overtraining is and isn’t. Fatigue for a few days after a hard training session isn’t overtraining. In fact, it’s a necessary step in the process of recovery and development. When training stress is applied in the appropriate dosage, you improve at the optimal rate. If your training stress is above the optimal level, you may still improve, but you’ll do so at a slower rate. True overtraining occurs only above a higher threshold (your individual training threshold) for a prolonged period and can lead to overtraining syndrome.

What’s much more common than overtraining syndrome is overreaching. Overreaching occurs when you repeatedly string together too many days of hard training. There are two categories of overreaching: first, short-term overreaching, in which a period of higher-intensity or higher-volume training leads to fatigue and a short-term decrease in performance, after which you bounce back after a week or so of recovery; and second, “nonfunctional” or extreme overreaching, in which more prolonged higher-intensity or higher-volume training leads to longer-lasting fatigue and decreased performance for several weeks or even months (Meeusen et al. 2013). Other factors, including a lack of sleep, psychological and emotional stress, restricted caloric intake or carbohydrate intake, low iron levels, dehydration, work stress, and environmental stress, can contribute to both types of overreaching as well as overtraining syndrome.

Repeated extreme overreaching eventually leads to overtraining syndrome. The simple explanation for overtraining syndrome is that the combination of training load and other life stressors is greater than the body’s ability to recover and adapt positively for a prolonged period of time. As would be expected, the combination of contributing factors and threshold for overtraining syndrome varies greatly among runners.

Nonfunctional overreaching and overtraining syndrome are caused by poor planning and not heeding your body’s feedback. Depending on the severity and duration of the imbalance, changes in the neuroendocrine system due to prolonged overtraining often require many months to return to normal levels.

Rather than just training too hard, overreaching and overtraining appear to be related to both the difficulty of training (the training load) and the monotony of training. Monotony of training is a lack of variation in the difficulty of training from day to day. Monotonous training typically consists of one moderately hard day after another, whereas varied training consists of a mix of hard days, easy days, and the occasional rest day.

The most effective training schedules find the right balance of several types of hard training and easier recovery days or rest days for optimal improvement without breaking down. Again, a good training log can help you here. Software-based training and recovery trackers provide a variety of metrics and analyses that can provide insight into how you are adapting to your training and allow you to easily compare your current marathon preparation to your training and recovery from previous marathons. If you improve your awareness of the training load and monotony that puts you over the edge, you can try to adjust these elements for optimal training and marathon performance.

Breaking Out of Overreaching and Overtraining Syndrome

If you have more than two weeks during which your energy levels are down and you feel like you are not progressing, it pays to consider whether you need to back off for a couple of weeks to get your training back on track. Given the typical runner’s mentality to train through adversity, this can be difficult to assess (even with some objective data). You are training hard and have various other stresses in your life, and you will invariably have times when you are more tired than usual.

In most cases, two to three easier weeks will allow your body to recover so you are once again adapting positively to training. Reducing training intensity—so that you’re doing only easy aerobic running—has the largest effect on recovering from extreme overreaching and overtraining syndrome. During marathon preparation, this would include temporarily skipping V̇O₂max training, lactate threshold training, and marathon-pace runs.

To enhance recovery, you should also reduce your training volume. The correct amount to reduce your training volume depends on your individual circumstances and how deeply entrenched in overtraining or overreaching you’ve become. As a rule of thumb, reducing your mileage by 40 percent should be enough to allow your body to recover. In addition, if you’ve been training twice a day, it will be necessary to reduce to 1 training session a day. Your body needs time to recover, and a second workout will slow your progress. It’s also helpful to have at least 1 day a week completely off from training.

Two to three weeks of training with reduced intensity and decreased mileage are not a disaster for your marathon preparation. After all, it’s rare to tick all of the boxes in the many weeks leading up to the marathon.

If you have regained your usual energy level by the third week, you can reintroduce V̇O₂max training and lactate threshold training. Do the workouts listed in the training program you’re following, but run those workouts a few seconds slower per mile than you otherwise would have. Similarly, you can increase your mileage back to close to the level prescribed in the training schedules, but hold back about 10 to 15 percent for the first transition week. During the second transition week just hold back a few percent from the full workload called for in the training schedules. Depending on how long you felt overtired, how long you backed off, and how many weeks are left before your marathon, you may need to adjust your marathon race goal, but you can make that decision closer to race day.

Other strategies to recover from overreaching and overtraining syndrome include ensuring adequate quality and quantity of sleep and consuming a high-quality diet. Key dietary factors include consuming enough calories to meet the energy demands of training (see discussion of RED-S below) and consuming enough carbohydrates to support training and immune function. If you have low energy levels and have responded poorly to training for several weeks for no obvious reason, then your training stress and other life stressors may have led to extreme overreaching or overtraining syndrome. If you haven’t already, the first step is to back off your training as discussed above. If you don’t see improvement after a few weeks, see a sports physician to check whether your symptoms are caused by an illness. The possibility always exists that excessive fatigue is caused by something other than running. Ask to have your red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and ferritin levels checked to see whether your iron levels are normal (as discussed in chapter 2). If you reach this point, it’s probably best to either significantly change your goal for the marathon you’ve been training for or give up that marathon entirely. What matters most is regaining your normal vigor and ability to adapt to training.

In some cases, a reduction in running performance is due to a prolonged imbalance between calories consumed and calories used. Termed relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S), energy intake is less than energy expenditure and eventually leads to impaired health and performance. When you have a caloric deficit for a prolonged period in combination with hard training, your body responds to protect you. In this situation, body weight may stay the same or only slightly decrease because your metabolic rate drops as your body attempts to adjust to fewer calories. In female athletes, an imbalance in energy availability can lead to the female athlete triad, which includes low energy availability, an absence of or infrequent menstrual periods, and low bone mineral density. These conditions are interrelated, and highly committed athletes in sports such as distance running, in which leanness may be associated with performance, are at risk. The triad usually starts with restricting dietary intake, sometimes including disordered eating, while running high mileage, leading to less estrogen production and irregular menstrual periods. This leads to reduced bone mineral density, an increased risk of stress fractures, and other injuries. Running performance declines as the triad progresses, but the risks to long-term health are more important. Breaking out of RED-S and the female athlete triad requires increased caloric and nutrient intake, reduced training, and other lifestyle changes, and it often involves the support of a sports physician, a sports nutritionist, and a psychologist (Mountjoy et al. 2023).

Conner Mantz & Clayton Young

Fastest marathon: 2:05:08 (Mantz, Boston, 2025); 2:07:04 (Young, Boston, 2025)

Marathon highlights: (Mantz) first in the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials; (Mantz) eighth in the 2024 Olympics; (Young) second in the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials; (Young) ninth in the 2024 Olympics

We’ve taken the unusual step of a joint profile for Conner Mantz and Clayton Young to emphasize the value of a good training partner.

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They began training together regularly in 2019, the year when Young went pro after winning the NCAA 10,000-meter title while at Brigham Young University. Young remained in Provo, Utah, to train under BYU coach Ed Eyestone, a two-time Olympic marathoner (and one of Pete’s 1988 Olympic teammates). While at BYU, where he won two NCAA cross country titles, Mantz mulled going pro. He initially stayed in Provo but thought that he would soon move and join the Oregon-based Bowerman Track Club or another group. Instead, a few months became several months, then several months became a year. After Mantz ran 2:08:16 at the 2022 Chicago Marathon in his debut, he thought, “Alright, this is working.”

One key to a good training partner relationship is having similar goals and outlooks. Mantz and Young have been on a similar schedule since Chicago in 2023, where both set personal bests, 13 seconds apart. Four months later, they finished first (Mantz) and second (Young) at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, one second apart. Six months after that, Mantz and Young placed eighth and ninth, respectively, in the Olympic Marathon.

Mantz and Young typically run together six days a week. They do their main run of the day in the morning. Depending on their schedules, the two, who live a few miles away from each other, sometimes also meet for their shorter afternoon run.

Why don’t they run together seven days a week? Mantz and Young are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the largest Mormon denomination. Both run their 100-plus-mile weeks while devoting Sundays to their faith. Being an outlier in that regard was one reason that Mantz decided not to join a more formal pro group. “I knew nobody else would be taking Sundays off,” he says, “and that added to the list of reasons to stay here.”

Mantz and Young also demonstrate that differing personalities can make for a great training relationship. Mantz, a notoriously hard trainer, says, “I’m all about, ‘Let’s run faster than we did at this point last build-up.’ I see it as I want to get better every day.” Young is more aware of each day in a buildup being just one piece of the puzzle. The two balance each other well.

“My best workouts are keeping up with Conner, but Conner’s worst workouts are staying with me,” Young says. “I can’t remember the last time I dropped him in a workout or a long run. That’s one of the beauties about working out with Conner—you really do get pushed to your limit. My workouts with Conner are usually far better than they would be by myself. I just have to make sure I don’t go too hard.”

Yet it’s Mantz who says, “I would be way worse on my own. If I’m not feeling good during a workout, I turn to Clayton and say, ‘You’re leading the next one.’ And he’s always like, ‘Alright, I’ll help out,’ even if he’s also having a bad day.”

If you have a training partner who likes to hammer every day, take a cue from Young’s approach.

“There are definitely workouts where Conner is totally trashing me the last interval,” Young says, “and I just have to say, ‘Okay, I did what Coach said and I’m faster now than a year ago. I just really need to compare myself with myself.’”

“Typically, Coach will give us some splits he thinks we should start at,” Young says about hard workouts. “But it’s not uncommon for Conner to go faster than those splits, and so I have to do these mental gymnastics of, ‘Do I go with Conner or do I do what Coach said?’ Conner and I are obviously really competitive, and you get a lot of confidence training with one of the best athletes in the marathon, so should I stick with what feels good and with what Coach said, or should I try to close this gap and run with Conner? Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.

“There are times I’m like, ‘Conner, why did you go that fast? I thought Coach said to do this,’” Young says. “I can get frustrated. But at the end of the day, it’s making me faster. As long as I recognize that balance and look at the big picture, having Conner with me as a training partner far outweighs the little frustrations that I have every now and then.”

For many of us, meeting our running partners doesn’t just help us get out the door. Doing so is often a dependable source of pleasure. That’s as true for Olympians as it for regular runners. “I just get excited sometimes thinking about the camaraderie and that I get to run with Clayton today,” Mantz says.

TECHNIQUES TO SPEED RECOVERY

In addition to finding the correct balance in your training and optimizing your diet, there are a variety of techniques you can use to enhance your body’s rate of recovery. Traditional aids to recovery from marathon training include cooling down after hard workouts, cold-water immersion, and massage therapy. Compression apparel may be helpful as well as various recovery tools such as foam rollers, massage guns, compression boots, and massage sticks. As discussed in chapter 2, appropriate post workout nutrition has well-documented recovery benefits.

Cooling Down

The purpose of cooling down after a hard run is to help return your body to preexercise conditions. This is the critical first step in managing your recovery from high-intensity training or racing. A thorough cool-down improves your recovery by increasing blood flow (which removes lactate and metabolic waste products from your muscles and blood more quickly), reducing adrenaline and noradrenaline levels (to help your metabolism return to resting levels more quickly), and reducing DOMS.

Your cool-down should start with easy running for 10 to 15 minutes. (If you’re too tired to run, then walk for an equivalent amount of time or try some easy cross-training.) The optimal clearance of lactate, adrenaline, and so on occurs if you start your cool-down run at about 60 to 75 percent of your maximum heart rate (i.e., nice and easy) and slow to a jog or walk for the last 5 minutes. After running, your muscles are warm and have very good blood flow, which increases their ability to stretch without injury, so this is the perfect time to gently stretch your muscles.

Cold-Water Immersion

Cold-water immersion shortly after a hard training session can reduce muscle soreness and perceived fatigue. Although some runners have gotten away from ice baths and other forms of cold-water immersion, we still advocate the practice. It’s true that studies have shown reduced training adaptations when strength training is followed by cold-water therapy (Poppendieck et al. 2021). But research hasn’t consistently found a similar result for endurance training.

To have a positive effect, you need to be in the cold water long enough to lower the temperature in your muscles. The most effective water temperature range is about 11-15 degrees Celsius (52-59 degrees Fahrenheit). This temperature range can be achieved in a bathtub filled with cold water with some ice added, or in a creek or the ocean in the spring or fall. After a hard workout, cool-down jog, stretching, and a carbohydrate drink, submerge yourself up to your waist and remember this enhances recovery. The water will feel very cold when you first get in, but try to stay in for 5 to 15 minutes.

MONITORING YOUR “RECOVER-ABILITY”

Monitoring your body provides valuable information on your adaptation to training, your risk of injury or illness, and your readiness for the next hard training session. The right data can help determine when you are overreaching so you can avoid overtraining and remain healthy. You can use this information to improve your recovery by modifying your training schedule to your individual limits. A variety of smartwatches, fitness trackers, and apps track your training (including your resting and training heart rate data) and monitor key factors that influence recovery from training, such as hours and quality of sleep. The software generally provides a variety of analytic tools, such as heart rate variability (HRV) to provide insights into how you are handling the stress of training and overall life stress. This makes it easy to track both your training and recovery factors and typically provides warning signs when several factors are heading in the wrong direction.

There are many ways to monitor your recovery, and it is important to have a simple routine that is easy to follow so you do not add more stress to your busy life. In combination, these measures provide insight into your adaptation to training. Typically, when results from these measures trend in the wrong direction, energy levels and running performance deteriorate a few days later. In addition to the details of your training, tracking the following factors can identify patterns that predict extreme overreaching or overtraining, illness, and injury.

Weight. Check your weight at the same time of day each day or several times per week. While weight may naturally fluctuate slightly from day to day, decreases in weight over a few days may indicate dehydration. Decreases in weight over a few weeks can indicate that you are not eating enough calories, have an illness, or are overtraining.

Morning heart rate. Your heart rate when you first wake up in the morning provides an indication of your recovery. It is important to check your heart rate soon after you wake because it increases as soon as you start thinking about your plans for the day and by about 10 beats per minute when you get up. In addition, waking to an alarm can increase your heart rate and make the data less reliable. To find your resting heart rate, therefore, wear a smartwatch or heart rate monitor overnight or check your heart rate immediately upon waking. In establishing your baseline, your resting heart rate is the average of the lowest rate across 3 days. So, if your morning heart rate was 50, 52, and 51 across 3 days, consider 51 as your resting morning heart rate. If your morning heart rate is more than 5 beats per minute higher than usual, this may be an indication of inadequate recovery or may be the first sign that you are not well. Early detection can be particularly useful in preventing illness.

Environmental conditions. Record the temperature and humidity on hot days. Because of increased core body temperature and dehydration, your body undergoes substantially more stress when you run at 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) and high humidity than at 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius) and low humidity. If you train hard or compete on a hot, humid day, the heat you generate can overwhelm your body’s ability to eliminate heat, causing your core temperature to climb, which can increase recovery time. Similarly, as discussed in chapter 2, severe dehydration also increases recovery time. There’s great variation in how runners are affected by heat. Monitoring these factors will reveal patterns that can help you make needed adjustments during a stretch of hot weather.

Hours of sleep. The number of hours you sleep is not particularly important for any one night. Over several nights, however, your quantity of sleep can influence your recovery and ability to adapt positively to training. In combination with other measures, it can also explain a lack of recovery and indicate lifestyle changes required to enhance your running performance and help prevent illness or injury.

Quality of sleep. The quality of your sleep is arguably more important than the number of hours. Evaluate the quality of your sleep each night, and try to be consistent in your assessment: How soundly did you sleep? Were you awake a lot in the middle of the night? Did you get out of bed feeling refreshed? A reduction in quality of sleep is often associated with overtraining. Reduced sleep quality can also be caused by nonrunning stressors, but the result for your running performance is the same. See “Sleep Better, Run Faster” on page 79 for information on sleep-monitoring devices and how to maximize the recovery benefits of sleep.

Diet quality. Evaluate the overall quality of your diet each day. Did your meals cover your carbohydrate and protein needs? Did you get so hungry that you binged? Did the bulk of your calories come from healthy foods? Often, a lack of energy can be traced back to poor diet in the previous few days.

Hydration level. Dehydration has a negative effect on running performance and slows recovery from training. Evaluate your hydration level each day. Was your urine clear? Did you drink small amounts regularly so you seldom felt thirsty? Did your mouth and throat often feel dry? Your daily weight also provides a good indication of your hydration level.

Muscle soreness. It is not unusual for runners to have slightly sore muscles most of the time. An increase in muscle soreness can be due to a hard workout or running downhill. Evaluate your general muscle soreness each day. Did your soreness lessen after a few miles of running? Did your soreness seem explainable by your most recent workouts? If increased general muscle soreness lasts more than 4 or 5 days, it is likely that you are overreaching or overtraining. Soreness in a specific muscle indicates a potential injury, whereas more general muscle soreness provides an indication of your recovery and adaptation to training.

Energy level. An assessment of energy level is one of the best indications of recovery from training. Evaluate your energy level each day. Did you have the energy to accomplish your running and daily life goals? Did you feel alert and focused when running or performing a task? If your energy level is reduced for more than 3 days, it is important to determine the cause of the reduction. Typical causes of reduced energy levels are lack of carbohydrate intake, training hard too many days in a row, illness, low iron levels, dehydration, and lack of sleep. By reviewing your training and considering your lifestyle factors, you should be able to identify the likely cause of a low energy level.

Heart rate variability (HRV): Your heart rate constantly makes small adjustments up and down, so the time between successive beats varies. HRV is a measure of this beat-to-beat variability. The beat-to-beat variation is determined by the autonomic nervous system, which consists of two branches, the sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic branch is often termed “fight or flight” and prepares the body for action by increasing heart rate, blood pressure, blood flow to the muscles, etc. The parasympathetic branch is referred to as “rest and digest” and has the opposite influence (reduced heart rate and blood pressure, increased blood flow for digestion, etc). HRV is due to the influence of these two branches of the autonomic nervous system in increasing and decreasing heart rate (Lundstrom, Foreman, and Biltz 2023).

An upward trend in HRV (i.e., more beat-to-beat variability) is an indication of positively handling current and recent training and other stressors. Decreases in HRV across multiple days suggest that the training load and other stressors are beyond a sustainable level.

Tracking HRV is a complex type of analysis that is provided by a variety of smartwatches, fitness trackers, and training software, including specific HRV analysis software. These typically convert the beat-to-beat data to a statistic called RMSSD (root mean square of the successive differences between heart beats), which can provide useful insights into the response to training.

The best time for HRV measurement is upon waking while still lying in bed. This is better than having HRV recorded while sleeping due to the effect of the various phases of sleep on HRV. Because a variety of factors can influence HRV, it is best to track changes across a 7-day rolling average rather than responding to a single low daily HRV value. With this approach, you gain a useful measure for considering when a few low-intensity or recovery days may be needed.

HRV varies among individuals, so you need to establish your baseline over a few weeks and then observe how your HRV increases and decreases rather than comparing your HRV to someone else’s. HRV increases with age, and men tend to have slightly higher HRV than women (Plews et al. 2013; Lundstrom, Foreman, and Biltz 2023). Due to the complexity of using HRV to assess the response to training (which would require several more pages to explain), we recommend learning from an experienced coach or exercise physiologist to help ensure you use HRV along with other data and within the context of changes in your training load and other life stressors.

SUPER SHOES AND SORENESS

The best way to avoid setbacks caused by muscle soreness is to not incur soreness in the first place. That’s a bonus benefit of super shoes for many marathoners. We’ll define super shoes as any racing model with a large amount of next-generation midsole cushioning, rockered geometry, and a stabilizing element in the midsole (most often, a carbon fiber plate). That super shoes make most people faster is indisputable. Although the original research on super shoes showing improvements in running economy compared to conventional shoes was conducted on elite runners, subsequent research has found similar gains for slower runners. In many studies, the average improvement in running economy is usually around 3 percent (Joubert and Jones 2022; Joubert, Dominy and Burns 2023).

What’s relevant here is that once a large number of runners started doing long runs and harder workouts in super shoes, they found not only that they were faster during those runs but also that they weren’t as sore after them. At least one small study has codified this real-world observation. In it, runners who wore super shoes for eight weeks reported less muscle soreness than those who wore traditional racing flats (Matties and Rowley 2023).

As with most things in running, there are caveats. Feeling less beat-up after a long run or hard workout is always welcome. It can be tempting to think that, thanks to super shoes, you can handle more volume, intensity, or both. But muscle soreness is only one aspect of fatigue. Err on the side of caution when pondering any big jumps in hard training based solely on this one factor.

Also, resist applying the runner’s more-is-better mindset to how often you run in super shoes. The impact forces of running have to go somewhere. Super shoes might shift some of those forces to foot bones and the plantar fascia (because of the stiff plates) or knees and hips (because of less calf and ankle involvement).

Given that most running injuries stem from repetitive stress, it makes sense to rotate among a few different types of running shoes, even if you’re slower in some of them. A good solution is to save your super shoes for hard workouts and a few long runs in your marathon buildup. Super trainers—a heavier, less aggressively rockered version of a super shoe—can be a good choice for most of your long runs and recovery days. Then do the remainder of your running in nonplated trainers.

Massage

Massage therapy is widely used by competitive marathoners to improve recovery, relax, and prevent injury. There is increasing scientific evidence and much anecdotal evidence for the benefits of massage therapy for athletes in general and distance runners in particular. Muscles feel fatigued after massage, so runners typically have a massage after training and avoid a deep massage the day before a hard workout or race.

The established benefits of massage are improved blood flow to the massaged area, decreased muscle tension, improved mobility of the muscle and surrounding connective tissue, enhanced sense of relaxation, and the breakdown of scar tissue. The most important benefit may be the identification of tight areas before they lead to injury.

If you can afford massage, it may help you recover more quickly from hard marathon training. To be effective, sports massage should be pleasantly uncomfortable (i.e., it shouldn’t be gentle).

There are many different types of massage therapy, and as with any discipline, there are wide ranges in expertise among massage therapists. It is best to use a massage therapist who is a member of the American Massage Therapy Association (or a similar national organization in other countries) and has been recommended by other runners so you can be confident that the sessions will be effective.

You can supplement massage sessions with self-massage on tight muscles that can be easily reached, such as the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and feet. A wide variety of recovery tools are available for runners to use at home, including foam rollers, recovery rollers, massage guns, compression boots, and massage sticks. Each of these tools rolls and compresses the muscles to enhance recovery from training. These tools are useful in helping to identify tight areas that, if allowed to tighten further, may lead to injury. They can help loosen tight muscles and provide feedback on when you may need an appointment with a physical therapist or massage therapist. Many runners also use foam rollers, recovery rollers, and massage sticks on a few tight muscles as part of their warm-up before running.

SLEEP BETTER, RUN FASTER

Getting a good night’s sleep is important for recovery and positive adaptation to training. Running generally improves both the quantity and quality of sleep, but overtraining can interfere with sleep patterns. No one knows for sure how exercise leads to improved sleep, but the mechanism may be a change in the balance of sympathetic to parasympathetic nervous system activity. As per the HRV discussion earlier in this chapter, stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system increases heart rate, blood pressure, metabolic rate, and mental activity, all of which are counterproductive to falling asleep, while parasympathetic activity has the opposite effect. During running, sympathetic activity increases, but endurance training leads to a decrease in sympathetic activity relative to parasympathetic activity when you are not exercising. This alteration in the balance of sympathetic to parasympathetic activity may allow you to fall asleep more quickly and to sleep more deeply.

The benefits of sleep include increased secretion of human growth hormone and improved brain function, memory, immune function, reaction time, and mental health. Sleep improves hypothalamic functioning, which improves recovery and the body’s ability to adapt to stress. The benefits of sleep are complex and interrelated; a chronic lack of sleep interferes with your ability to positively adapt to training and compromises marathon performance.

A change in sleeping habits is an early warning sign of nonfunctional overreaching and overtraining. The physical and psychological stress of training beyond your individual threshold may stimulate the sympathetic nervous system, leading to irritability and reducing the quality and quantity of sleep. A reduction in sleep is a double-edged sword for a runner because much of the body’s recovery and rebuilding occurs during sleep. During preparation for your marathon, you should ensure that you get adequate sleep or you may experience a decline in performance, have immune system suppression, and be more prone to injury.

When you have uncharacteristic difficulty sleeping, you could be training hard too frequently. You may be able to improve your sleep fairly easily by backing off your training and not running too late in the day. The harder you run, the greater the stimulus to your nervous system, so cutting back your training intensity will likely benefit your ability to sleep more than cutting back your mileage.

To improve your sleep pattern, stick with a routine that works for you. Eating dinner and going to bed at approximately the same time each day will help set your body clock so that your body and mind automatically shut down at the same time each night. In addition, avoid the blue light from electronic device screens at night, which affects the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, and avoid caffeinated or alcoholic beverages for several hours before bedtime. If noise interferes with your ability to fall asleep or disturbs your sleep, a white or pink noise machine or other device or app that provides background noise may help. Finally, avoid lying down until you are ready to go to sleep, so that when you do lie down, your mind receives another signal to ease toward sleep.

If your lifestyle allows it, a late morning or early afternoon nap may be beneficial for recovery and help you feel more alert for afternoon or evening training sessions. To ensure that your nap doesn’t interfere with your nighttime sleep, keep your naps under 90 minutes and complete your nap prior to 2 p.m. so there’s enough time afterward for your brain to go through the daily process that allows you to drift off to sleep at night.

A wide variety of personal sleep monitoring devices are now available, which record data such as heart rate, breathing rate, restlessness in bed, REM sleep, temperature, humidity, and HRV. They can provide graphs of the quality and quantity of your sleep and much else. A number of these measures are not backed up by solid research, but if you love technology and have a few dollars to spare, these devices may help you better understand whether you are getting enough sleep, and if not, what to do about it.

Compression Apparel

Compression apparel applies external pressure to the muscle groups. For runners, the most effective products apply graduated pressure, which applies the strongest pressure to the foot or ankle and reduces up the leg to the hip. Manufacturers make many claims for the benefits of compression apparel, including improved venous return of blood to the heart, faster muscle repair, reduced fatigue and DOMS, and faster recovery.

Research on compression clothing continues to evolve, but recent evidence suggests that compression tights and knee-high socks may be useful for runners in reducing DOMS and perceived fatigue during recovery. Compression socks can also help a traveling marathoner during plane rides because they are particularly useful for reducing stiffness and swollen ankles when flying.

In this chapter, we looked at how ensuring adequate recovery allows you to get the most from your long runs and hard workouts. Successful marathoning, however, often involves more than just running. Just as true recovery days can mean the difference between adequate and optimal progress in your training, supplemental training such as flexibility work and core strength training can help you get the biggest bang for your marathon-training buck.

4

SUPPLEMENTARY TRAINING

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Description

This chapter focuses on several important aspects of training that can help you make it to the marathon starting line uninjured and better able to maintain your target marathon race pace for 26.2 miles (42.2 km). We’ll describe five types of supplementary training that often get lumped into the category of cross-training but deserve to be treated separately.

First, we look at the importance of flexibility for marathon performance and how to improve it. Second, we examine core strength training, which is a vital aspect of marathon training. Third, we look at why strength training is beneficial for marathoners and how to incorporate it into your overall training program. Fourth, we describe a few technique drills that can improve your running form. Finally, we discuss various forms of aerobic cross-training that will enhance your cardiovascular fitness and reduce your likelihood of incurring injuries.

For the flexibility, core, resistance, and form exercises, we’ve given a brief explanation of how to perform each exercise and how each one benefits marathoners. If you have an especially hard time with any of the exercises, you’re most likely weak or tight—or both!—in that area. Addressing your most troublesome areas will lead to faster, more enjoyable training and racing. Figure 4.1 provides a diagram of the muscles of the body to use as a reference when performing the stretches and exercises in this chapter.

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Figure 4.1 Use these diagrams as a reference for locating the muscles worked in the stretches and exercises provided in this chapter. Description

Supplementary work—especially core strength training, form drills, and flexibility exercises—is easy to skip when you’re tired and your main training goal is getting in your long runs and tempo runs. These extra sessions, however, will provide refreshing variety to your training. Even more important, correcting imbalances and weaknesses in your body can contribute to better running form. With that improved form, you can train harder and longer at a lower risk of injury, and you will be able to maintain a more effective running technique throughout the marathon. When scheduling your training, count time for these sessions as an integral part of your marathon preparation.

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FLEXIBILITY TRAINING

Marathon training takes a toll on the body. One of the greatest costs of all that mileage is a loss of flexibility. Improving your natural range of motion can improve your running technique and increase your stride length while reducing your risk of injury.

Tight muscles provide resistance that limits your ability to stride out. Stretching not only increases your muscle length but also improves the length of the connective tissue surrounding the muscle fibers.

There are two primary types of stretching. In static stretching, you isolate a muscle group and maintain a muscle in a stretched position, typically for 20 seconds or more. With dynamic flexibility exercises, you stretch your muscles by repeatedly moving a joint (e.g., your hip) through its range of motion.

Both types of stretching have a place in your marathon training. Dynamic flexibility exercises are a good way to stretch muscle groups before the muscles are warmed up, such as before a normal training run. Prerun dynamic flexibility exercises prepare your muscles to run by increasing blood circulation, improving joint mobility, and working your muscles through their natural range of motion. Your dynamic flexibility exercise routine is an important component of your warm-up before a hard workout or a race. Dynamic stretches are particularly useful for runners who need to get out the door early in the morning because the movements are time efficient and a good way to increase your range of motion after a night in bed.

Static stretching is best performed after running or as part of a supplementary training session. A few static stretches can also be worked in with your dynamic flexibility exercises as part of your warm-up. Static stretching lengthens your muscle fibers as well as the connective tissue around and at the ends of your muscle fibers. After running, try to allow a minimum of 10 minutes for stretching your major muscle groups. For day-to-day post run maintenance, select several of the stretches in table 4.2 on page 92 that work on the tightest parts of your body. To achieve gains in flexibility, do the complete flexibility program in table 4.2 two to three times per week.

If you have the time and interest, yoga can be a delightful addition to marathon training, counteracting the impact of high mileage by improving flexibility, core strength, and posture and helping correct muscle imbalances. There is an array of yoga styles (e.g., Hatha, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, and power yoga), all suitable for runners. One yoga session per week is probably all you can fit in during marathon training, but it may be the activity that you look forward to most. In our training schedules, yoga can easily fit in a recovery day or general aerobic training day. There are many good runner-oriented apps and videos that will guide you through an at-home program in the likely scenario that you don’t regularly have time for an hour-long studio class while marathon training.

PRERUN DYNAMIC FLEXIBILITY ROUTINE

In the dynamic flexibility program in table 4.1, do two sets of each exercise. Perform the first set with a gentle intensity and the second set with a moderate intensity. Don’t stretch forcefully.

Table 4.1 Dynamic Flexibility Warm-Up

Exercise | Repetitions
1. Cat-cow | 6
2. Leg swing | 12 per leg
3. Side swing | 12 per leg
4. Side lunge | 6 per side (alternating sides)
5. Walking knee hugs | 8 per leg (alternating legs)
6. Side skip | 12 in each direction

EXERCISE 1: CAT-COW

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Description

How many: 6

How it helps: Improves the flexibility of your neck, shoulders, spine, and hips

How to do it:

Get on your hands and knees, with your knees under your hips and your wrists under your shoulders. Inhale and gently arch your back, lengthening your spine (a).

Pause, then exhale, lowering your head, pulling in your abdominals, and allowing your back to round (b).

Repeat until you complete this exercise 6 times.

EXERCISE 2: LEG SWING

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How many: 12 per leg

How it helps: Improves the flexibility of your hip flexors, gluteals (aka glutes), and hamstrings

How to do it:

Stand next to a wall or other solid object, bracing yourself with one arm.

Swing your leg that is farthest from the wall forward and back through its full range of motion (a and b).

Face the other way and repeat with your other leg, alternating until you complete 12 repetitions with each leg.

EXERCISE 3: SIDE SWING

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Description

How many: 12 per leg

How it helps: Improves the flexibility of your adductors, abductors, and glutes

How to do it: Stand facing a wall or other solid object and place your hands against it, about shoulder-width apart.

Start with your feet together about 2 feet from the wall.

Swing one leg side-to-side through its full range of motion (a and b), with your upper body facing the wall.

Repeat with the other leg, alternating until you complete 12 repetitions with each leg.

EXERCISE 4: SIDE LUNGE

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Description

How many: 6 per side

How it helps: Improves the flexibility of your hips, glutes, abductors, adductors, and groin

How to do it:

Step to the side into a lunge position, with your leading leg bent at the knee and your other leg straight. Keep your core engaged and the foot of your leading leg aligned with your knee.

Hold for several seconds, then push through the heel of your leading leg to return to a standing position and repeat with the other leg. Alternate until you complete 6 repetitions with each leg.

EXERCISE 5: WALKING KNEE HUGS

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How many: 8 per leg (alternating legs)

How it helps: Improves the flexibility of your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back

How to do it:

Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart. Take a step forward and bring the knee of your leading leg up to your chest. Keep your core engaged and avoid hunching forward.

Wrap your hands around your knee and pull it closer to your chest. Hold for about 2 seconds before lowering your leg to the ground.

Repeat with the other leg, alternating legs until you complete 8 knee hugs with each leg.

EXERCISE 6: SIDE SKIP

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How many: 12 in each direction

How it helps: Improves the flexibility of your shoulders, upper back, glutes, adductors, abductors, and calves

How to do it:

Start with your arms at your sides and your feet shoulder-width apart.

Skip sideways 12 times, clicking the sides of your shoes together (a) with each step while swinging your arms up through their full range of vertical motion (like a jumping jack) (b).

Repeat in the opposite direction.

POSTRUN OR SUPPLEMENTARY STATIC STRETCHING ROUTINE

Doing static stretching after a run and as a stand-alone session will help you maintain your flexibility during marathon training. Static stretching should be firm enough to create adequate tension in your muscles but gentle enough that your muscles can relax. If you stretch aggressively, your muscles will tighten in a protective reflex to prevent straining or tearing of muscle fibers. You need to stretch gently and consistently to obtain improved length in the muscle and surrounding connective tissue.

For static stretching, the traditional recommendation is to hold a stretch for at least 30 seconds and to do each stretch once or twice. To strike an optimal balance between effectiveness and efficiency, we recommend holding stretches for 15 to 30 seconds and performing each stretch 2 or 3 times. Start with mild pressure and gradually increase the stretch, staying within your body’s limits. If a stretch becomes painful, back off and check that you are using the right technique. Be sure to breathe while you stretch. Some runners inadvertently hold their breath while stretching, thereby reducing their ability to relax and making stretching less effective.

Two important areas for marathoners to focus on are the hip flexors and hamstrings. Your hip flexors (primarily iliopsoas and quadriceps) are the muscles that lift your thigh relative to your hip. These are some of the strongest muscles in the body, and they tend to become short and inflexible in runners. Improving the flexibility of your hip flexors increases your thigh’s ability to move back relative to your pelvis, thereby allowing your stride length to increase.

Tight hamstrings restrict your stride length by preventing your thigh from swinging forward completely. The combination of tight hip flexors and tight hamstrings causes the familiar marathoners’ shuffle. Stretching your hamstrings consistently (a slow but steady process) will allow your stride to increase to its natural optimal length. The static stretches in table 4.2 will help you improve your flexibility over time.

Table 4.2 Static Stretching Flexibility Program

Exercise | Repetitions | Duration
1. Bent-leg calf stretch | 2-3 per side | 15-30 seconds
2. Straight-leg calf stretch | 2-3 per side | 15-30 seconds
3. Lying hamstring stretch | 2-3 per side | 15-30 seconds
4. Quadriceps stretch | 2-3 per side | 15-30 seconds
5. Hip flexor stretch | 2-3 per side | 15-30 seconds
6. Glute stretch | 2-3 per side | 15-30 seconds
7. Hip rotator stretch | 2-3 per side | 15-30 seconds
8. Shoulder and lat stretch | 2-3 | 15-30 seconds

Program Notes

Perform 2 or 3 repetitions of each stretch before moving to the next stretch.

Breathe normally while stretching; don’t hold your breath.

Don’t stretch an area that’s painful.

EXERCISE 1: BENT-LEG CALF STRETCH

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How many: 2 to 3 repetitions of 15 to 30 seconds per side

How it helps: Improves the flexibility of your soleus (deep, lower calf) muscles

How to do it: Stand an arm’s length away from a wall with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing directly forward.

Slide your left foot back so your weight is over your right foot.

Slowly bend your right knee until you feel a stretch in your lower calf muscle.

Repeat on the other side.

EXERCISE 2: STRAIGHT-LEG CALF STRETCH

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How many: 2 to 3 repetitions of 15 to 30 seconds per side

How it helps: Improves the flexibility of your gastrocnemius (upper calf) muscles

How to do it: Stand an arm’s length away from a wall with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing directly forward.

Step halfway toward the wall with your left leg and lean forward so that your hands are flat on the wall.

Keep your right foot flat on the floor and your right knee straight.

Slowly move your hips forward until you feel a stretch in the calf muscle of your right leg.

Repeat on the other side.

EXERCISE 3: LYING HAMSTRING STRETCH

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How many: 2 to 3 repetitions of 15 to 30 seconds per side

How it helps: Improves the flexibility of your hamstring muscles

How to do it: Lie on your back on the floor with your legs extended. Loop a resistance band, rope, or towel under your right foot and hold the ends in both hands.

Gently pull your right leg up, keeping it straight or slightly bent, until you feel a stretch in your hamstring muscle.

You can alter the stretch by pointing your toes for one repetition and raising your toes toward your shin for the next repetition.

Repeat on the other side.

EXERCISE 4: QUADRICEPS STRETCH

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How many: 2 to 3 repetitions of 15 to 30 seconds per side

How it helps: Improves the flexibility of your quadriceps muscles (major muscles that straighten the knee)

How to do it:

Stand near a wall for balance. Lift your right foot off the floor, bend your right knee, and pull your right heel toward your buttocks until you feel a stretch in the quadriceps.

Don’t lean forward or allow your lower back to arch.

Repeat on the other side.

EXERCISE 5: HIP FLEXOR STRETCH

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How many: 2 to 3 repetitions of 15 to 30 seconds per side

How it helps: Improves the flexibility of your hip flexors (muscles connecting the front of your hip to your trunk)

How to do it:

Start in a kneeling position with your right knee on a mat or thin pillow, and move your left leg forward so that your foot is flat on the floor and your left shin is approximately vertical.

While keeping your upper body vertical and your head up, move your hips forward by contracting your glutes until you feel a stretch across the front of your right hip.

Activating your lower abdominals will adjust where you feel this stretch. You can make this stretch more advanced and effective by raising your arm (on the same side as your kneeling leg) overhead or using your hand to bring your back leg’s heel up toward your buttocks (as in the quadriceps stretch).

Repeat on the other side.

EXERCISE 6: GLUTE STRETCH

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How many: 2 to 3 repetitions of 15 to 30 seconds per side

How it helps: Improves the flexibility of your glutes, lower back, and external rotator muscles

How to do it:

Lie on your back on the floor with your knees and hips bent to 90 degrees and your feet flat against a wall.

Cross your left ankle over your right knee, and push the inside of your left knee toward the wall until you feel a stretch on the outside of your left hip.

Repeat on the other side.

EXERCISE 7: HIP ROTATOR STRETCH

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Description

How many: 2 to 3 repetitions of 15 to 30 seconds per side

How it helps: Improves hip rotation by stretching your glutes, hip rotators, and the muscles of your lower back

How to do it:

Lie on your back on the floor, with your arms out to the side and your legs outstretched.

Lift your left leg off the floor, bending it at the knee and hip to 90 degrees.

Rotate your left leg across your body until you feel a stretch in your hip, torso, and lower back.

Use your hand to push your left leg across your body and toward the floor.

Keep your head and shoulders in contact with the floor.

Repeat on the other side.

EXERCISE 8: SHOULDER AND LAT STRETCH

How many: 2 to 3 repetitions of 15 to 30 seconds

How it helps: Improves the flexibility of your shoulders, upper chest, and back

How to do it:

Kneel in front of a chair or Swiss ball, or stand in front of a table or countertop. Stretch your arms out in front of you and rest both hands on the surface.

With your upper body horizontal and your head looking straight down at the floor, slowly push your chest downward toward the floor until you feel a stretch through your chest, upper back, and shoulders.

CORE STRENGTH TRAINING

Long-distance running develops muscular endurance in specific leg and hip muscles and is wonderful for your cardiovascular system, but it tends to make some muscles strong and tight while others remain weak. Modern lifestyles exacerbate these problems. Sitting for much of the day tightens the hip flexors, weakens the hip muscles and abdominals, and deactivates the glutes, all of which lead to poor posture and, frequently, lower back pain. Sitting with poor posture puts pressure on the lumbar discs, shifts the head forward, and rotates the shoulders. Sitting in a car has the same effect, so individuals with a desk job and a long car commute have a double challenge. Hunching over your phone also tends to round your shoulders and move your head forward. None of this is helpful for marathon runners, who depend on a stable core to maintain good running form for 26.2 miles (42.2 km).

Core strength training can eliminate these imbalances, thereby preventing injuries and reducing the degree to which your form deteriorates as you fatigue during the marathon. Core training consists of strengthening your abdominals, obliques, hips, lower back, pelvic floor, diaphragm, and glutes. Core strength exercises can be done in the comfort of your own home—you don’t need a gym or machines, just the dedication to stick with the exercises.

When you run, your trunk acts as a fixed base while your legs work as levers relative to that base to propel you forward. If the torso and pelvic muscles that form your fixed base are weak or fatigue quickly, you can’t maintain an efficient body position while running. By improving the strength and muscular endurance of your pelvis and torso, you provide a more stable base of support from which your legs work. This improvement will allow you to maintain your stride length throughout the marathon; part of the reason that many marathoners slow as the race progresses is that their strides shorten as they tire.

In addition, runners who lead an otherwise normal modern life often have weak abdominal muscles. This weakness allows the pelvis to rotate forward and put more stretch on the hamstrings. This is a less efficient position for your running and also increases your risk of lower back problems. Core strength exercises strengthen the abdominal muscles and other stabilizer muscles of the pelvis and trunk. By improving the position of your pelvis, you create a more stable base.

Core strength work is part of elite marathoners’ training the world over. Those who don’t do core training have become the exception. Some elites do short sessions of core training most days of the week. Others do longer sessions a few days per week. The results can be seen both in their low incidence of injury and in their late-race form, which varies little from the form they exhibit in the early miles.

If you’re a marathoner with a busy nonrunning life, aim to do core strength training three times per week. It can fit in anywhere within the week other than immediately before a hard running workout, so schedule your core sessions whenever you are most likely to do them.

The following core strength program includes six exercises. We kept the program as brief as possible to make it easy to fit into your schedule at least three times per week.

In some of the exercises, a key step is to activate your transverse abdominal muscles (TVAs). The TVAs are located deep within the abdominals and wrap around the front of your trunk like a corset, providing stability to the spine. It is important to be able to isolate and activate the TVAs; for most people, doing so requires conscious practice. To activate your TVAs, gently draw your belly button in toward your spine while exhaling slowly, as if trying to hollow out your belly.

Table 4.3 Core Strength Session

Exercise | Repetitions
1. Bird dog | 12 per side
2. Leg push-away | 15 per side
3. Single-leg glute bridge | 10 per side
4. Side plank | 5 per side, 20 seconds each
5. Bicycle crunch | 12 per side
6. Prone plank with leg lift | 30 seconds lifting each leg 3 times
Perform this sequence of exercises twice.

Program Notes

Perform these six exercises as a circuit. That is, do one set of the first exercise, then move immediately to the second exercise, then the third, and so on. When you have completed the sixth exercise, return to the first exercise and complete a second circuit.

Rest briefly (15-20 sec) between exercises and 1 to 2 minutes between sets. Initially, you may not be able to complete the recommended number of repetitions of each exercise. That’s okay and just shows that these exercises will be useful for you. Do as many as you can while maintaining the correct technique, and you will gradually build to where you can do more. If you find that an exercise becomes too easy, you can increase the number of repetitions, add a third set, or find more challenging versions of most of these exercises online.

EXERCISE 1: BIRD DOG

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Description

How many: 12 repetitions per side

How it helps: Strengthens your lower back and glutes and improves your balance and coordination, thereby increasing your ability to maintain good running posture when fatigued

How to do it:

Start on your hands and knees. Draw your belly button in to activate your TVAs.

Lift and extend one arm and the opposite leg off the floor to a horizontal position as shown, and hold for 2 seconds.

Return your hand and knee to the floor and repeat with the opposite side, alternating until you complete 12 repetitions on each side.

Keep your core activated and your hips aligned throughout this exercise.

EXERCISE 2: LEG PUSH-AWAY

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How many: 15 repetitions per side

How it helps: Improves your ability to activate your deep core muscles for better control of your hips and trunk; improves stability and your ability to maintain effective running technique

How to do it:

Lie on the floor with your knees and hips bent at 90 degrees so your thighs are vertical and your shins are parallel to the floor. Place your hands on your hips. Draw your belly button in to activate your TVAs, contract your lower abdominal muscles, and push your lower back toward the floor (a).

While holding this lower abdominal contraction, make sure you can breathe normally.

Slowly lower and extend one leg until your heel almost touches the floor (b).

Return to the start position and repeat with the opposite leg, alternating legs until you complete 15 repetitions on each side.

EXERCISE 3: SINGLE-LEG GLUTE BRIDGE

How many: 10 repetitions per side

How it helps: Strengthens your hips, glutes, and hamstrings to allow full hip extension and a longer stride

How to do it:

Lie on the floor with one knee bent and your other leg extended.

Place your arms flat on the floor by your sides and activate your core.

Contract the glutes on your bent leg and push up through your hip so your body is in a straight line from your shoulders through the hip, knee, and foot of the extended leg.

Hold for 2-3 seconds, then lower your hips to briefly touch the floor and repeat.

After 10 repetitions with 1 leg, switch legs.

EXERCISE 4: SIDE PLANK

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Description

How many: 5 repetitions of 20 seconds per side

How it helps: Strengthens stabilizing muscles on your side from glutes through shoulders, including obliques and TVAs; helps reduce wasted side-to-side motion

How to do it:

Lie on the floor on your side. Place your elbow on the floor directly under your shoulder, and place your top hand on your hip or extend it upward (a).

Hold your feet together, and align your body in a straight line (from front to back). Draw your belly button in to activate your TVAs.

Lift your hip off the floor so your body is in a straight line from your heels to shoulders and hold for 20 seconds (b).

Lower to the floor, rest briefly, and repeat on the other side, alternating sides until you complete 5 repetitions on each side.

EXERCISE 5: BICYCLE CRUNCH

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Description

How many: 12 per side

How it helps: Engages most core muscles, including abdominals, obliques, and TVAs; improves your core stability and ability to maintain good trunk position when fatigued during running

How to do it:

Lie on your back with your knees bent, your thighs perpendicular to the floor, and your hands gently supporting your head.

Engage your core to lift your shoulders off the floor.

Straighten your left leg while rotating your trunk to bring your left elbow to your right knee and your right knee toward your left elbow.

Return to the starting position and switch sides. Alternate sides until you complete 12 repetitions on each side.

EXERCISE 6: PRONE PLANK WITH LEG LIFT

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Description

How many: 30 seconds, lifting each leg 3 times

How it helps: Engages most core muscles; reduces lateral midsection movement to maintain good running technique

How to do it:

Lie face-down with your weight supported on your toes and forearms and activate your TVAs. Your elbows should be shoulder-width apart and directly under your shoulders, and your feet should be hip-width apart (a).

Lift one leg about 12 inches off the ground (b) and hold for 2 to 3 seconds, then lower your leg and repeat with the other leg. Continue until you have raised each leg off the ground three times.

STRENGTH TRAINING

Resistance training using weights, bands, or your own body weight can correct muscle imbalances and prevent injuries. We’ve already discussed core strength training, a type of resistance training with a specific purpose. Other types of resistance training will strengthen your leg muscles and get your arms and shoulders, which help drive you forward, working more effectively. Done correctly, resistance training can reduce your risk of injury by strengthening both muscles and connective tissue, including tendons and ligaments, and may improve your running economy so you use less oxygen at a given pace. Done incorrectly, resistance training can make you muscle-bound, tighten up your muscles, leave you injured, and give you extra bulk that you might not want to be carrying around come the 23-mile mark. The program outlined on the following pages is designed to increase your strength without adding unwanted pounds.

The greatest gains for marathoners are obtained by including exercises that strengthen your propulsive and stabilizing muscles. The closer those exercises simulate how you would use those muscles during running, the greater the benefits for your running performance.

Schedule your resistance training sessions so they’re not right before or after a hard running workout. If you run before or after work, lunchtime is an excellent opportunity to get in lifting sessions that won’t detract from your running.

Lifting for the Long Run

Most runners naturally use the most economical stride length for a given speed, which implies that runners shouldn’t alter their stride length. That advice is correct for the short term, but that doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t attempt to improve your body to make it a more effective running machine. Over months and years, you can increase your stride length by improving your strength and flexibility. The gains per stride will be small, but when multiplied over thousands of strides, the benefits can be substantial.

Resistance training can improve running performance by increasing the force that your slow-twitch muscle fibers develop. Lifting to increase muscle size is counterproductive to endurance (and particularly marathon) performance. During endurance training, you work to increase the capillary density and mitochondrial content of your muscles. When muscle size is increased, the capillary and mitochondrial density of the muscle is reduced. The program that follows is designed to improve strength specifically for your running without adding unneeded muscle.

Resistance training generally should be included in your training program two times a week. (See table 4.5 for a sample session.) With this frequency you will see steady improvements in strength but will not compromise the rest of your training program because of excess fatigue. The strength-training program below takes a conservative approach, avoiding high loads that, while potentially beneficial, have a greater risk of injury. Core strength training can be done as a warm-up before your strength-training session. The best place to fit resistance training into your weekly schedule is whenever your muscles are not too fatigued and you do not have a hard running workout later that day or the next day. General aerobic training days and medium-long run days often work well for your resistance training sessions.

Table 4.4 Strength-Training Session

Exercise | Repetitions
1. Push-up | 12
2. Step-up with knee raise | 8 per leg
3. Calf raise | 12
4. Bench dip | 12
5. Lunge | 12 per leg
6. Triceps press | 12
7. Squat | 12
Perform this sequence of exercises twice.

Program Notes

A gentle aerobic warm-up or completing your core strength program will enhance the safety and effectiveness of this program.

Activating your TVAs by gently drawing in your belly button will provide stability to the spine and decrease the likelihood of injury while performing these exercises.

Similar to the core strength program, you may not initially be able to complete the recommended number of repetitions of each exercise. That’s an indication that these exercises will be particularly useful for you. Do as many as you can while maintaining the correct technique, and you will gradually build to where you can do more. If you find that an exercise becomes too easy, you can increase the number of repetitions, add a third set, hold dumbbells or increase the weights of the dumbbells, or find more challenging versions of most of these exercises online.

RUNNING UPHILL: NATURE’S RESISTANCE TRAINING

If lifting weights isn’t for you, try another form of resistance training—hill running. During hill running, your body weight is the resistance. There is some evidence that running hills can produce improvements in running economy similar to those that occur through normal resistance training. Of course, traditional strength training and hill running don’t produce identical results. You’ll still want to include upper-body resistance exercises as part of your supplementary training program.

Running uphill requires that your legs propel your body weight upward against gravity. Moreover, they do so under conditions that more closely replicate racing conditions than does even the most well-designed weight machine. Anecdotal evidence for the benefits of hill running comes from the Kenyan and Ethiopian runners of today and goes back to coaching legend Arthur Lydiard and the great New Zealand runners of the 1960s and 1970s. The best runners in the world run hills day after day. Of course, genetic factors separate elite runners from recreational runners, but it certainly appears that hill training is an important element that, unlike your genes, you can influence.

An advantage of hill running over lifting weights is that you simultaneously build your cardiovascular system. As discussed in chapter 1, doing short hill reps of 10 to 12 seconds on a moderately steep hill will build muscle strength and power and should improve your running economy. Short hill reps are discussed further in chapter 8 and are included in the training schedules.

EXERCISE 1: PUSH-UP

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Description

How many: 12 repetitions

How it helps: Strengthens your chest, shoulders, and triceps; helps improve arm drive when you are running powerfully (e.g., hills, finishing kick) and your ability to maintain good upper-body form when tired

How to do it:

Start in the push-up position with your toes on the floor and your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Engage your core (a).

Bend your elbows and lower your body down until your chest is just above the floor (b).

Push your body back to the start position. Repeat until you complete 12 repetitions.

Don’t dip your head toward the floor or allow your hips to sag during this exercise.

Your elbows should remain close to your sides to ensure your triceps are working.

EXERCISE 2: STEP-UP WITH KNEE RAISE

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Description

How many: 8 repetitions per leg

How it helps: Strengthens your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calf muscles; opens up your chest and encourages an upright running posture; improves your balance and increases the forward power of each stride, increasing your stride length

How to do it:

Stand approximately one step back from a bench or sturdy chair a bit lower than knee height (typically 14-18 in. [36-46 cm]) or the second step of a flight of stairs.

Engage your core and place your left foot up on the bench, with the whole of the foot flat on the surface of the bench.

Rise up onto the ball of your right foot, and keep your head up; this is the start position for every repetition (a).

Push powerfully through your right foot to straighten your left leg while driving your left arm forward and raising your right leg until your thigh is parallel to the ground (b). Complete 8 repetitions with your left leg on the bench and then switch legs.

Try to keep your upper body erect, and swing your arms in a natural running motion in coordination with the opposite leg.

EXERCISE 3: CALF RAISE

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Description

How many: 12 repetitions

How it helps: Strengthens your calf muscles and Achilles tendon; improves the toe-off phase of your stride; reduces injury risk

How to do it:

Stand on the edge of a stair or stable box with your heels hanging over the edge (a).

Rise up onto your toes, bringing your heels upward (b). Hold the raised position for 2 to 3 seconds.

Lower your heels slowly until you reach the end of your comfortable range of motion.

Repeat until you complete 12 repetitions.

Notes: To increase the difficulty of this exercise, you can hold light dumbbells in each hand. To emphasize working your calf eccentrically, lower yourself slowly on one leg and then rise up using both legs.

EXERCISE 4: BENCH DIP

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Description

How many: 12 repetitions

How it helps: Strengthens your shoulders and triceps; increases your ability to maintain upright running posture when tired

How to do it:

Sit on the edge of a bench or chair, with your feet flat on the floor and your hands holding the bench or chair beside your hips. Move your hips forward so they are just off the edge (a).

Lower your hips straight down toward the floor by bending your elbows (b).

Push back up to the start position, and repeat until you complete 12 repetitions.

To make the exercise more difficult, move your feet farther away from the bench.

EXERCISE 5: LUNGE

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Description

How many: 12 repetitions per leg

How it helps: Strengthens your quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes; improves balance between your left and right legs; helps develop the ability to control high forces through your legs and maintain form while running downhill

How to do it:

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, your core engaged, and your toes pointing straight ahead.

Hold two light dumbbells by your sides, and keep your upper body vertical with your head up (a). Select a weight so the last few reps are difficult but you are not straining to complete 12 repetitions.

In one movement, take a big step forward with your left leg, and lower your right knee toward the floor (b).

Push powerfully off the heel of your left foot to return to a standing position.

Perform the next repetition with your right leg, alternating until you complete 12 repetitions with each leg.

EXERCISE 6: TRICEPS PRESS

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Description

How many: 12 repetitions

How it helps: Strengthens your triceps muscles along the back of your upper arms; helps maintain relaxed arm action when fatigued

How to do it:

Stand or sit holding one dumbbell above your head with both hands (a). Select a weight so the last few reps are difficult, but you are not straining to complete 12 repetitions.

While keeping your upper arms vertical, bend at the elbows and lower the dumbbell behind your head as shown (b).

Return to the start position, and repeat until you complete 12 repetitions.

EXERCISE 7: SQUAT

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Description

How many: 12 repetitions

How it helps: Strengthens your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and calves; improves your ability to keep your knee in good alignment with your hip and ankle, which reduces injury risk and improves running efficiency; also helps develop triple extension (ankle, knee, and hip), which is an important feature of good running technique

How to do it:

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and toes pointing slightly outwards.

Hold a light dumbbell with both hands under your chin (a). Select a weight so the last few reps are difficult, but you are not straining to complete 12 repetitions.

Engage your core and glutes. Initiate the squat by moving your hips backward as if you are sitting down on a seat.

As you push your hips backward, you’ll be forced to lean forward slightly to keep from falling over.

Lower your body without losing your balance until your thighs are horizontal to the floor (b), then push up through your heels to return to a standing position.

Repeat until you complete 12 repetitions.

During the movement, keep your head up and eyes looking ahead. Make sure that your knees are aligned with your feet and stay the same distance apart throughout the exercise.

RUNNING FORM DRILLS

Your running style is determined by your biomechanics, including the length of your bones, your muscle and tendon flexibility, the strength and endurance of various muscles, and the coordinated contraction pattern of your muscles and the resulting movement of your limbs. Because everyone has a unique physical makeup, there is no ideal or perfect form.

By performing the flexibility and strength-training exercises outlined earlier in this chapter, you balance your body to improve your running form and the ability to maintain form during the marathon. Stride length, for example, is almost always determined naturally by your physiological makeup and is best improved by increasing strength and flexibility. Other examples include excessive forward lean at the waist, which can be overcome by strengthening the gluteal and abdominal muscles, and trunk instability, which can be improved through the core exercises provided in this chapter.

But there’s something else you can do to improve your form. You’ve probably seen sprinters doing various combinations of high-knee running, butt kicks, skipping, and so on. Several of these drills are great for distance runners too. First, these exercises can improve your coordination and running form. Second, they lead to gains in strength endurance that allow you to maintain your stride length throughout a race. By concentrating on a high-knee lift; a complete toe-off; good arm drive; a relaxed neck with the head positioned over the body; relaxed shoulders, arms, and hands; minimal vertical movement (not bouncing with each stride); and an upright posture (not leaning too far forward), you will improve your ability to hold good running form and maximize your running efficiency. When you consider how even a slight flaw in your form will be magnified over the course of a marathon, and when you add the likely scenario of your form, no matter how good, faltering in the last few miles of a marathon, it should be clear that working on your running technique can help you be a faster marathoner.

When doing drills, the key is to exaggerate various aspects of the running stride and to concentrate on maintaining your form as you begin to fatigue. This attention to different parts of your running gait will, over time, become ingrained and pay dividends late in your marathon.

There are endless drills you could do; we’ve selected three that will help your marathoning. They’ll help you maintain your stride length and lessen your ground-contact time, two aspects of running form that can deteriorate with lots of relatively slow marathon training.

Do drills when you are warmed up but still fresh—there is no use trying to improve your coordination and technique when you are already tired. You’ll notice benefits if you do them regularly—at least once, and preferably twice, per week. A good way to incorporate drills easily into your routine is to do them before a session of strides and before harder workouts such as tempo runs and V̇O₂max sessions. Performing drills as part of your warm-up for those workouts will help you feel better coordinated and ready to run fast during those efforts.

Perform the drills as a circuit; that is, do one repetition of each, and then repeat the sequence. Do one repetition of each drill for about 20 seconds, and rest before the next one by walking back to the starting point. Visualize yourself completing the drill perfectly.

SKIP MARCH WALK

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Description

How to do it:

Engage your core and march on the balls of your feet using small steps.

Raise one knee to hip level so your thigh is parallel to the ground, with your foot dorsiflexed (parallel to the ground).

Rise on the toes of the other foot, straightening your back leg.

Your trunk should be held upright, with your chest out and shoulders back.

Keep your head still and neck relaxed.

Remaining on the balls of your feet, march forward, swinging your arms forward and back in an exaggerated running motion.

Keep your shoulders, arms, and hands relaxed.

This exercise prepares you for skip march run.

SKIP MARCH RUN (AKA A-SKIP)

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Description

How to do it:

Adopt the same start posture as for skip march walk.

Follow the same posture and movements as for skip march walk, but increase your leg and arm drive to a more exaggerated skipping motion. Swing your arms in a natural running motion, and keep the foot on your raised leg dorsiflexed (parallel to the ground).

KICKOUT (AKA B-SKIP)

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Description

How to do it:

This drill is a version of skip march run (or A-skip) with leg extension. Follow the same posture and movements as for skip march run.

Raise one knee (a), and as the knee approaches hip level, straighten the knee to nearly full extension. (Your leg will end up nearly horizontal.)

Allow your momentum to carry your body forward (b), and skip off your back leg before stepping forward (c) to repeat with the other leg.

Hold your trunk upright with your head still. Swing your arms in a natural running motion, and keep the foot on your raised leg dorsiflexed (parallel to the ground).

This drill is challenging, particularly at first, but stay with it as it will signal areas of tightness or weakness for you to work on. As you become more adept at the movement over time, progress to a higher skip while performing the kickouts.

AEROBIC CROSS-TRAINING

Predictable training errors, such as increasing mileage or adding speed work too quickly, lead to the majority of running injuries. With thoughtful planning, the risk of running injuries can be reduced through modifying risk factors. One way to do this is to reduce pounding on your legs and back by substituting cross-training for a portion of your running.

The primary reason to cross-train is to provide additional cardiovascular fitness without increasing the repetitive wear and tear associated with running. Cross-training indoors can also be useful when the weather or pollution levels prevent you from running outside. Unfortunately, many runners cross-train only when injured and then return exclusively to running as soon as the injury recovers. Sure, cross-training is highly effective for maintaining fitness during times of injury, but that shouldn’t be the only time most runners do it. If you’re careful about increases in mileage and intensity, the surfaces you run on, and so on, and you still can’t consistently reach the level of weekly mileage you’d like, you should incorporate cross-training into your training program year-round.

No form of cross-training is a perfect substitute for running because your body adapts very specifically to training. Though you will gain cardiovascular benefits from cross-training, your neuromuscular system will not make equivalent gains because the movement patterns are different. That’s OK, however, because cross-training should be viewed as a supplement to, not a direct replacement for, your running. Aerobic cross-training is an effective substitute for some of the prescribed recovery runs in our training schedules. The advantage of using it for recovery training is that the increased blood flow improves your recovery without increasing the cumulative impact forces on your body. Runners who have a history of mileage-related injury may also benefit by substituting a portion of their general aerobic conditioning with aerobic cross-training.

Apples and Oranges?

But won’t your racing performances suffer if you replace some of your running with cross-training? The principle of specificity of training states that your body adapts very specifically to the type of training you do. That’s why you won’t have much success as a runner by doing all your training on the bike or in the pool. But if the majority of your training is running, you can enhance your running performance by doing other types of aerobic workouts.

Scientific evidence suggests that well-trained runners can maintain their running performance when replacing recovery runs with cross-training. By reducing the risk of injury, the cross-training runner may actually run more consistently and be better prepared for their marathon than the running-only marathoner.

Cross-training activities that work the large muscle groups of the legs (e.g., cycling, elliptical or arc training, stepmill or stair-climber, deep-water running, and cross-country skiing) and have a similar alternate leg pattern to running are the most effective substitutes for recovery runs (Jensen et al. 2019). Activities less similar to running (e.g., rowing) are generally less-effective substitutes. Many runners combine a couple of different exercise modes into the same session, for example 45 minutes total consisting of 25 minutes cycling and 20 minutes on an elliptical trainer or arc trainer.

Although the evidence suggests that cross-training can lead to maintaining or even improving performance in well-trained runners, no scientific evidence exists concerning cross-training for elite runners, and the specificity-of-training principle likely becomes more critical the higher the level of performance. Over the past decade, however, increasing numbers of elite runners, particularly those with a history of previous injury, have made aerobic cross-training part of their regular training routine.

Four ways to cross-train that have reasonably similar movement patterns to running and should transfer to improvements in performance are cycling, deep-water running, using an elliptical trainer (or its close relative the arc trainer) or elliptical bike, and cross-country skiing (Jensen et al. 2019). Let’s look at the benefits of these types of cross-training for marathon runners. We’ll also discuss swimming, which, although doesn’t closely simulate running, is not weight-bearing, works the cardiovascular system, and is an excellent whole-body exercise.

Cycling

Cycling offers many options in that you can ride a bike outdoors, use your bike on an indoor trainer, or use an exercise bike at home or at a gym. An advantage of cycling is that it works the cardiovascular system while eliminating the impact forces that cause most running injuries. You can, therefore, add cycling to your training program with little risk of bringing on typical running injuries. An advantage of cycling outside is that you get to cover ground and feel the wind on your face, just as in running.

The downsides of cycling include the risk of getting hit by a car, the large amount of time required compared with running, and the risk of decreasing your stride length. The first downside is all too possible, particularly for runners with good cardiovascular fitness but poor bike-handling skills. In a low-traffic area, cycling outdoors is a great option, but if you’re limited to cycling in an urban area without bike paths, you may want to stay with the more boring indoor options. Indoor riding is also a more realistic choice in many areas if you’re training during the winter for a spring marathon. Even most dedicated cyclists forgo outside rides when the temperature is below freezing.

Riding indoors can be a surprisingly satisfying experience because you can concentrate on your workout without distractions or dangers such as traffic lights and cars. During times of injury, an indoor bike can also be used for higher-intensity training, such as lactate-threshold (LT) or V̇O₂max training. If a long-term injury puts you on the bike for multiple weeks, there are many workout apps and simulators to help pass the time productively.

Getting a similar workout to running requires about three times as long on a bike. But because the main rationale for recovery runs is simply to increase blood flow through the muscles, you can replace a 30-minute recovery run with about 45 minutes on the bike.

Because cycling is highly repetitive and uses a limited range of motion, too much cycling tends to shorten your stride. You can minimize this concern by walking briskly for several minutes after cycling and then stretching your hamstrings, quadriceps, and hip flexors. Also, be sure to keep the bike in an easy-enough gear with a pedaling rate of at least 90 RPM so that cycling doesn’t detract from your running turnover.

Water Running

Unfortunately, a number of running injuries are aggravated by some types of cross-training. Fortunately, with most running injuries, you can safely run in the water. Deep-water running with a flotation vest or belt provides an excellent training stimulus and simulates land running more closely than most other cross-training options. Running in the water is a total-body exercise that works your legs, trunk, and arms and positively stresses your cardiovascular system.

Various studies have verified that runners can use deep-water running to maintain aerobic fitness, LT, running economy, and time-trial performance for at least 6 weeks (Azevedo et al. 2010, Killgore 2012). This research complements more than 30 years of practical evidence that runners can maintain fitness and return to racing form quickly by water running during injury.

Water-running technique is an area of some debate. Some coaches insist that you should try to simulate land-running form as closely as possible. Though that’s a nice ideal, it needs to be balanced with maintaining your training intensity. Doing so will likely lead to moderate adjustment to your running technique so you run more like a sprinter, driving your legs and arms powerfully through the water.

Regardless of your running form, your stride rate will be slower during water running because of the increased resistance of moving your legs through water. If you try to simulate land running too closely, your stride rate will be even slower. For that reason, don’t worry if you don’t bring your leg behind your body to the same degree as in land running; just find a happy compromise with decent form and a reasonable rate of leg turnover.

Some athletes move forward while running in the water and (very slowly) do laps during their workouts. Whether you move forward or remain relatively still depends on subtle changes in body position. Try to maintain a relatively upright posture during water running; this posture will work your trunk muscles, and you may find that you slowly move forward through the water.

You probably won’t reach as high a heart rate running in the water as when running on land. Depending on your experience with deep-water running (like most things, you will get better at it with practice) and the water temperature (heart rate tends to be lower the colder the water), your heart rate will likely be about 5 to 10 percent lower for the same oxygen uptake when running in water compared with normal running (Svedenhag and Seger 1992; Azevedo et al. 2010; Killgore 2012). Lower heart rates during water running are primarily because of the pressure of water on the body; the water pressure makes more blood return to the heart so that more blood is pumped with each heartbeat. Even runners with experience deep-water running find it difficult physically and mentally to do more than about 70 minutes, so if you’re injured don’t plan to fully replicate your usual running volume.

Using the estimate that heart rates during water running are about 5 to 10 percent lower than during land running, you can use the heart rate zones in table 1.2 in chapter 1 and adjust accordingly. For example, when replacing a recovery run, you would work hard enough to get your heart rate up to 70 to 75 percent of max heart rate (60-66 percent of heart rate reserve). When injured and trying to maintain fitness, you would make the appropriate adjustments for other types of workouts (but note that even when working very hard, you are unlikely to get up to the V̇O₂max heart rate zone).

Interestingly, studies have found that women tend to have slightly lower heart rates and oxygen consumption than do men during deep-water running, so adjust the deep-water training zones down by an additional 3 to 5 beats per minute. This is thought to be because of women’s generally higher body fat content and resultant greater buoyancy as compared with men.

Perceived exertion is higher during water running for a given heart rate or level of oxygen consumption. In other words, to get a beneficial workout in the water, you’ll feel that you’re working harder than during land running. (We can speak from experience that perceived effort at a given heart rate in the water is much higher than for the same heart rate running on land.)

For this reason, if you’re injured and replacing land running with water running, you’ll need to emphasize interval workouts in the water. If you do only steady water-running sessions, your effort won’t be high enough to maintain your fitness. Interval sessions in the water, however, give you brief breaks, both physical and mental, that allow you to work harder and obtain a superior workout. Another plus is that time passes relatively quickly when you’re doing intervals, whereas steady water running is terribly boring.

A typical 40-minute water-running workout for recovery or to maintain fitness when injured consists of a 5-minute warm-up followed by 10 repetitions of 45 seconds moderately hard with a 15-second recovery, a 1-minute rest break, and then 10 repetitions of 1 minute 40 seconds moderately hard with 20 seconds’ recovery, and a 4-minute cool-down. A more challenging 50-minute workout consists of a 5-minute warm-up, followed by 10 repetitions of 1 minute 40 seconds moderately hard with 20 seconds’ recovery, a 1-minute rest break, and then 6 repetitions of 2 minutes 30 seconds hard with 30 seconds’ recovery, and a 6-minute cool-down. Even if you’re just using water running on your recovery days while marathon training, you’ll probably need to concentrate on maintaining intensity more than if you were going for an easy run around the block.

Elliptical Training (Indoors or Elliptical Bikes)

Elliptical training provides an excellent cardiovascular workout and can be done on an indoor trainer or outdoors using an elliptical bike such as an ElliptiGO. While there are many indoor elliptical trainers to choose from, the two main categories are standard elliptical trainers that use an elliptical path of motion and arc trainers that use an arc-like path of motion. As with other forms of cross-training, either type of trainer will feel more natural in your tenth session than your first session. You may find one type more comfortable than the other or try alternating between them. Both types of trainers work your legs and hips in a pattern that is reasonably similar to running and also develops your upper body. Elliptical training and arc training have low impact forces so can be used while recovering from a variety of running injuries. If you’re healthy, elliptical training can substitute for recovery runs or some general aerobic runs. Toward the end of his career, Meb Keflezighi used an ElliptiGO for this purpose, which he credits for helping him win the Boston Marathon and making his fourth Olympic team in his late 30s and early 40s. Elliptical bikes can also be used for LT training or uphill intervals, which is one reason they have become popular with elite runners to supplement their running training.

Cross-Country Skiing

Cross-country skiing provides cardiovascular benefits equal to, or even slightly better than, those associated with running. The whole-body nature of cross-country skiing really works the cardiovascular system, and some of the highest V̇O₂max values have been recorded in cross-country skiers. Running friends in New England, upstate New York, Colorado, and Minnesota use cross-country skiing during the winter months for enjoyable variety and to reduce the stress of fitting in runs when the roads are treacherous.

If you know how to do it, cross-country skiing is pretty much the perfect form of cross-training. Unfortunately, cross-country skiing also requires skill and is only available for part of the year. Highly trained runners with no experience or little coordination may not be able to go fast enough for long enough while skiing to get in a good workout. After a few weeks, however, cross-country technique feels more natural and efficient, and an hour or so of skiing passes quickly. Cross-country ski machines are a good option too but are not as much fun as gliding along the snow.

Swimming

Swimming can be an enjoyable form of cross-training that works the cardiovascular system with absolutely none of the jarring stress of running. To get in a decent workout requires some skill, but with a little bit of instruction or watching technique videos online, even an uncoordinated marathoner with scant buoyancy can quickly build up to a workout of up to an hour. Repeats of 50 to 200 yards (or 50-200 m) will work your cardiovascular system and break up the workout into chunks that help you accumulate more aerobic training. Using more than one stroke—such as swimming freestyle most of the time but periodically including breaststroke and backstroke—provides variety and reduces specific muscle fatigue. Using kickboards and pull buoys also adds variety and can help you put in more aerobic work. Swimming isn’t as similar to running as some of the other cross-training options, but if most of your training still consists of running, that doesn’t really matter. Swimming is a great way to increase your recovery and your general aerobic fitness without increasing your risk of a running-related injury.

In this chapter, we looked at several types of training that build on the solid foundations of marathon preparation we discussed in chapters 1 to 3. The principles laid out in these chapters apply to all marathoners. How best to apply those principles, however, can change as you age. In the next chapter, we’ll look at how marathoners over the age of 40 can balance accommodating age with ambitious training and racing goals.

5

ADVANCED MARATHONING FOR MASTERS RUNNERS

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Description

This chapter looks at aging and running performance and offers practical recommendations on how to stay healthy while continuing to chase ambitious marathon goals. As in the rest of this book, our advice is based on a combination of sport science, elite best practices, and personal experience as runners and advisors to runners.

Older runners have greatly varying levels of running experience, backstories, and injury histories. The right training for a 55-year-old marathoner who has run 30 marathons and has a history of lower back pain will differ substantially from that for a 40-year-old newcomer. The common thread is that any advice must be tailored to the context of the individual.

As an older marathoner, how close can you get to your earlier times? The answer depends on the degree to which you’re already training hard and intelligently, whether you have a lifestyle that optimizes your recovery, and your genetics. If you’re doing everything really well now, your running performances will likely slow gradually with the passing years. The rate of slowing tends to be about 1 percent per year across all runners but may vary considerably for you. Having said that, we have yet to meet a masters runner who can’t improve some aspect of their training or lifestyle to help their running. The good news is that if you alter your training to provide the right stimulus to achieve your racing goals and improve aspects of your lifestyle, such as your sleep pattern and diet, you’ll likely improve your running performance from its current level, regardless of your age.

SLOWING THE RATE OF SLOWING

Looking at data on running records by age, professors Ray Fair and Edward Kaplan of Yale University have calculated how much endurance running performance (5K through marathon) tends to decline with increasing age (Fair and Kaplan, 2018). The rate of slowing is very close to 1 percent per year between ages 40 and 45, increasing moderately to 1.3 percent per year between ages 65 and 70, and then increasing progressively more with advancing age. Unfortunately, their data uses only men’s results, but reviewing the women’s marathon records shows a similar slowing with age (about 1.3 percent per year between ages 40 and 60). The slightly greater slowing for older age groups of both genders is likely due, at least in part, to the relatively small number of athletes competing in those age groups. In the coming decades, we can expect the 70-plus records to keep falling.

Savvy older runners can maintain their running performance for a long time. Let’s look at four issues for older runners and how to modify your training and lifestyle to stem the impacts on your marathon goal.

Issue 1: V̇O₂max Decreases

In chapter 1, we discussed the three key physiological measures for marathoners: V̇O₂max, lactate threshold (LT), and running economy. Of these, V̇O₂max is most likely to decrease with age. If you maintain your level of training over the years, running economy remains relatively steady, and LT pace tends to slow very gradually. In contrast, even experienced distance runners tend to have a decrease of about 0.5 to 1 percent in V̇O₂max per year after the age of 40 (Brisswalter and Nosaka 2013; Reaburn and Dascombe 2008; Suominen 2011).

What causes this decrease in V̇O₂max? Remember that V̇O₂max is determined by how much oxygenated blood can be pumped to and then extracted by your working muscles. As you age, your maximal heart rate slowly declines (on average, about 0.7 beats per minute per year), you tend to lose muscle mass, and the amount of blood your heart can pump with each beat (stroke volume) tends to decrease. Each of these changes means less blood delivered to and used by your working muscles.

What to Do About It

A decreased maximal heart rate is a contributing factor, but the decline in V̇O₂max is largely due to the tendency to do less high-intensity running as we get older. A study involving masters running at around marathon intensity found that the best predictors for current speed were their overall mileage over the previous three years and their peak aerobic power, also known as V̇O₂max (Lee, Snyder, and Lundstrom 2020). Even moderate changes in training patterns over time lead to a reduction in V̇O₂max, so fight back by including specific V̇O₂max training in your marathon preparation. The schedules in this book include workouts with hard efforts of about 2 to 6 minutes’ duration at 5K race pace to stimulate increases in V̇O₂max.

If you haven’t recently been doing this type of training, you can enhance your marathon preparation by including V̇O₂max workouts before beginning the 12-week or 18-week schedules in chapters 9 through 12. If you haven’t done such workouts in a while, be sure to do a thorough warm-up, and start with fewer repeats (e.g., 4 repeats of 1 kilometer instead of 6) in your first few sessions.

Issue 2: Body Composition Changes

Your body composition includes both how muscular you are and how much fat you have stored. If it seems harder to maintain a muscular and lean body composition as the years go by, that’s because it is. Starting in a person’s 30s, the tendency is to gradually lose muscle mass and store more fat.

Some of this transformation stems from hormonal changes in both women and men that make it harder to retain muscle and easier to put on fat. Decreases in growth hormone, testosterone, and estrogen are the main bodily culprits behind reduced muscle mass. Lower testosterone levels in men allow the enzyme lipoprotein lipase to store more body fat. Women also tend to store more fat as their estrogen levels decrease after menopause. The consequences of these hormonal changes aren’t dramatic in any one year but can accrue over time such that you might feel (and look) dramatically different at age 60 compared to age 40.

Training tendencies also contribute to reduced muscularity. Older runners often shift away from high-intensity exercise. Endurance training keeps you fit but isn’t very good for maintaining muscle mass. Fast-twitch muscle fibers in particular tend to atrophy as you age. Even though you’re running regularly, this phenomenon occurs in your leg muscles, just at a slower rate than for your sedentary friends. The decrease in muscle mass is associated with decreases in muscle strength and power and reduced V̇O₂max with age.

Your resting metabolic rate also tends to decrease with age due to both the natural aging process and the tendency toward decreased muscle mass, so you burn fewer calories just hanging around.

What to Do About It

The best approach here is twofold: strategies to help retain and build muscle, and strategies to slow the increase in body fat. (Some of these strategies overlap.)

To retain muscle as you age, you need to do purposeful resistance training. This resistance training can take the form of strength training or running against resistance (i.e., fast running and uphill running). Strength training builds muscle and has the added benefit of stimulating the release of growth hormone and testosterone. As discussed further below, adequate protein intake will help ensure your muscle-building efforts pay dividends.

The other side of the body composition equation is reducing (or simply maintaining) body fat levels. Factors include the calories you burn through exercise and the calories you take in through your diet. If you reduce your running mileage over time, you’ll put on fat unless you increase other forms of exercise or modify your diet. With high-intensity exercise, you continue to burn calories after your workout due to excess postexercise oxygen consumption. (That is, your metabolic rate tends to remain elevated after high-intensity workouts such as V̇O₂max sessions.)

Another factor concerning energy balance is how active you are outside of running. Some experts use the phrase “active couch potatoes” to describe people who, aside from their planned workouts, are just as sedentary as the bulk of the population. This phenomenon tends to increase with age as everyday responsibilities eat up more time and increased fatigue makes sitting usually seem like the best choice. If you struggle with maintaining a good running weight, try being more active throughout the day, such as by taking frequent short walks and breaking up work with brief bouts of body-weight exercises. Staying more active provides another good reason to do the strengthening exercises recommended in chapter 4 because they both build muscle and increase your calorie burn.

As discussed in chapter 2, a high-quality diet sets the stage for adapting well to training. A high-quality diet also leaves you feeling more satisfied and reduces the urge to overindulge. We’re not saying to count every calorie and obsess over the nutritional content of everything you eat. (We love our ice cream!) But why not eat in such a way that you get the most benefit from the hard work you do in training? By eating a well-balanced diet and avoiding highly processed foods, you give yourself the best chance of absorbing your training and maintaining your fat levels as you age, even though other factors, such as reduced resting metabolic rate and hormonal changes, are gradually working against you.

Issue 3: Reduced Stride Length

Your running speed is determined by your stride length and stride rate (i.e., strides per minute). One way to understand why running performance decreases with age is to look at how these two parameters change. Older runners tend mostly to maintain their stride rate with age. Stride length, however, tends to shorten, sometimes significantly.

Why does stride length decrease with age? Research points primarily to reduced power at the ankle, leading to lower forward propulsive force (Devita et al., 2016). The reduction in ankle power is likely due to decreased strength, reduced mitochondrial function, and a decrease in the number of motor neurons in the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles in the calf. Both of these muscles attach to your calcaneus (heel bone) via the Achilles tendon, so reduced elasticity of this important tendon may also contribute to a reduction in stride length. In addition to decreased strength, there’s usually a tendency to lose power—that is, strength applied over time—because of rarely doing movements like bounding and hopping. Put another way, even if you haven’t lost much lower-leg strength, you can lose the ability to make dynamic use of it.

What to Do About It

Developing more ankle power may help maintain stride length for older runners, thereby reducing the decline in running performance. You can increase ankle power by increasing the strength endurance of your gastrocnemius and soleus muscles and by increasing the effectiveness of the stretch-shortening cycle of these muscles. These goals can be met through specific types of running training as well as by exercises that strengthen your calves (see step-ups and calf raises in the strength training program in chapter 4) and exercises that work on the stretch-shortening ability of your calves and Achilles tendon (see running form drills in chapter 4). The bent-leg and straight-leg calf stretches in the flexibility program in chapter 4 can also improve your ankle flexibility.

There are two types of running training that improve ankle power. The first type is running short hill reps (as discussed in chapters 1 and 4 and included in the training schedules), in which you use your calf muscles to sprint up a moderate hill. The second is running strides (as discussed in chapter 1 and included in the training schedules), in which you accelerate powerfully on the flat. As with any modifications to training, be cautious in increasing these elements to avoid injury; start gently and increase gradually.

Issue 4: Increased Recovery Time

The muscular damage and fatigue you experience after a hard workout or race as a masters runner is likely similar to what you experienced as a younger runner. Not surprisingly, however, the vast majority of older runners find that recovery from hard efforts now takes longer.

Although the slower muscle recovery in older runners isn’t well understood, hormone levels play a significant role. A variety of hormones (including human growth hormone, testosterone, and estrogen) regulate the repair of muscle fibers and tendons. As hormone levels decline with age, muscle repair and regeneration slow, and the balance between muscle protein synthesis and breakdown changes. After many years of running, accumulated scar tissue in your muscles and connective tissue may also slow your ability to bounce back for another hard effort.

What to Do About It

There are two categories of changes you can make to speed your recovery. The first is to do all of the little things right to improve your body’s ability to recover quickly. The second is to modify your training to allow more recovery time between key workouts. Let’s look at each of these strategies in turn.

Older marathoners should pay special attention to the discussion in chapter 3 on optimizing recovery. We can well attest that less-than-ideal choices about training, stretching, diet, sleep, and so on take far more of a toll now than they did when we were in our late 20s. If you want to continue to aim high as a marathoner in middle age and beyond, we salute you. Maximize your chances of success by consistently doing the nonrunning practices that younger runners often ignore.

Among the changes in lifestyle that can improve your recovery, the two that stand out are getting adequate high-quality sleep and improving your diet. As discussed in chapter 3, both the quality and quantity of your sleep affect your ability to recover. A lack of high-quality sleep is associated with overtraining and an inability to positively adapt to training. While it’s important for all runners to get enough sleep, that’s particularly true for older marathoners. Getting enough high-quality sleep increases the release of growth hormone and testosterone, which have multiple positive effects on your ability to recover, build muscle, maintain a lean body composition, and generally reap the benefit of your training. See the sidebar “Sleep Better, Run Faster” in chapter 3 for how to ensure you get enough high-quality sleep.

Older runners can’t get away with dietary mistakes as they could when they were younger. Key aspects of diet for older runners to focus on include refueling soon after workouts, eating enough protein, rehydrating after running, and avoiding excess alcohol. As discussed in chapters 2 and 3, refueling quickly after hard workouts and races will allow you to recover more quickly. This is particularly useful for the older marathoner. While most Americans eat much more protein than their bodies require, older people have moderately increased protein needs. Older runners should check that they’re eating enough protein not only for muscle repair but also to allow muscle building as they focus more on higher-intensity training.

As discussed in chapters 1 and 2, recovery is enhanced by replenishing the dehydration that occurs during running. The thirst mechanism in older people tends to be less sensitive, so older runners should pay a bit more attention to replenishing hydration levels after training. Alcohol isn’t a friend for older runners because it leads to dehydration, interferes with sleep, and provides empty calories. It also slows recovery due to its effect on the liver. The serious older marathoner should keep alcohol intake to a minimum.

The other way to account for the need for increased recovery time after hard workouts or races is to modify your training. All runners need easy days after their key training sessions before they’re ready to benefit from more hard work. Older marathoners, however, may require more or different types of recovery days than younger runners.

If the training schedules in chapters 9 to 13 are too challenging, you can adjust them either by skipping some of the harder workouts (which risks meaning you’re not prepared for your marathon) or by extending the schedules across more weeks. For example, the hard workouts in the 18-week schedules could be accomplished across 20 or 21 weeks, and the 12-week schedules could be extended across 14 or 15 weeks. In this way, you get in the same amount of specific marathon preparation but with more recovery to stay within your personal limits to adapt. Simply insert more recovery days (running, cross-training, or days off) between the harder workouts. Masters runners tend to choose cross-training (such as cycling or elliptical training as discussed in chapter 4) or to simply have more days completely off from training than younger runners.

Some runners also extend the concept of a week to 8 or 9 days to allow enough recovery. Unfortunately, this strategy is difficult to implement for many runners. First, it could mean often training alone—your running buddies are unlikely to change their traditional Sunday long runs or Tuesday track sessions. Second, it can easily conflict with a normal work schedule, such as if you find your 9-day “week” means running 22 miles before going to work on Wednesday morning. For these practical reasons, we’ve received the most positive feedback from our older readers on extending the number of weeks for their marathon preparation.

Kate Landau

Fastest marathon: 2:31:56 (Boston, 2019)

Marathon highlights: Overall women’s winner at Eugene, Detroit, Portland, and elsewhere while a master

Almost all of Kate Landau’s marathon career has occurred since she turned 40 in 2016. That’s not necessarily by design.

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Landau was a star runner in high school (third in the 1991 national cross-country championship) and college (second in the 1996 NCAA 10,000 meters). Those accomplishments came despite Landau battling anorexia. Landau tried to run occasionally after graduating from Georgetown University in 1999, but her illness prevented consistency. After more than a decade of struggle, in 2011 Landau committed to systematic care for anorexia. She resumed regular running in 2013 once she was healthy. As she started dabbling in shorter road races, her natural ability resurfaced. In 2015, at age 39, she ran her first marathon in Tacoma, Washington, where she had moved after regaining her health. She placed second overall with a time of 2:43:51, less than a minute behind the men’s winner.

Landau’s fastest marathons, including her personal best of 2:31:56, came a few years into her marathon career when she was in her early 40s. She was the first masters finisher at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials, placing 14th against the best Americans. Landau was then sidelined from racing marathons for two years because of injuries. She’s still quite fast and successful—she won the 2024 Eugene Marathon in 2:40:52 at age 47, and a week later she placed second in Vancouver in 2:40:35.

But, Landau says, “PRs are definitely in my past. There’s definitely a shift, and it’s hard mentally to accept that. I think the transition from feeling like you still can run for PRs to not being able to run for PRs is hard.”

Not that she’s become lackadaisical. Landau runs about 90 miles a week while working a demanding job as a physician assistant in a vascular surgery practice. She works four 10-hour days a week and one weekend a month, with all work time spent on her feet. She’s also on call nine or ten days a month, which often extends her work day beyond 10 hours. On work days, she runs 9 or 10 miles at 5 a.m. She saves her longer and harder runs, including long runs with large segments at marathon race pace, for her nonwork days.

Landau has learned to set personally meaningful goals beyond personal bests. She likes the challenge of undertakings such as her Eugene and Vancouver double in the spring of 2024, or Chicago and Detroit on consecutive weekends in October 2024. In training, she sets what she calls “small goals” of bettering recent times for tempo runs while trying not to compare those times to what she ran at her peak.

Two other changes have helped Landau stay healthy and motivated. First, since overcoming her hamstring injury, “I made an effort to slow down my easy runs. My easy runs prior to 2020 were 6:15-6:45 [per mile]. I now run 6:50-7:30 on easy days,” which at the slower end is more than 20 percent slower per mile than her current marathon race pace. Second, she does two strength training sessions per week. Each session lasts about 30 minutes and focuses on fewer repetitions with heavier weights to counteract the muscle loss that occurs with aging.

One last thing to learn from Landau: Even successful masters marathoners are allowed to step away from the event if they want to. “I have gotten my mile time down to 5:16 recently,” she says. “That’s much slower than my old mile repeat times, but I have lost a lot of speed so those kinds of goals are fun. I may try to work on speed a little after my next two marathons and try to get close to 5:00 as a small goal.”

Roberta Groner

Fastest marathon: 2:29:09 (Rotterdam, 2019)

Marathon highlight: sixth in the 2019 World Championship

If you ran earlier in life, set it aside for a while, and then returned to the sport, you’ll want to get to know Roberta Groner.

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Groner ran in high school and at Saint Francis University, but she stopped during her senior year of college. She got married, had three sons, and earned a nursing degree. But in 2009, when her youngest son was 2 and she was 31, Groner decided she needed a pursuit that was about her. She resumed running to get some exercise. She soon got pulled back to the competitive side of the sport.

At her first marathon, in 2011, she ran 3:12. Successes in training and racing snowballed—2:57 at Boston in 2013, 2:45 at New York City in 2015, 2:37 at the 2016 Mohawk-Hudson race. Her big breakthrough came at California International in 2017. At age 39, she placed second and lowered her personal best to 2:30. She improved her PR to 2:29:09 at Rotterdam in 2019. That performance led her to being named to the U.S. team for the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. In oppressive heat and humidity, in a race that started at midnight, Groner, then 41, patiently picked her way through the field to place sixth overall and first American.

Throughout this remarkable run, Groner worked full-time as a nurse and had part-time custody of her sons. She ran upward of 100 miles a week while deep in marathon training, doing most of her runs solo and often starting before 5 a.m. On other days, she would run after dropping the boys off at school and then squeeze in a short second run during her lunch break.

Groner’s schedule became less onerous in 2024. She stepped away from nursing and became a full-time coach for the Central Park Track Club. She has benefited not only from not being busy every minute of every day but also from being able to train more often with others. “I join the team for workouts in the evenings, which has helped me tremendously,” she says. “I’m able to push into a range that I can’t seem to do while running alone.”

Because of taking that decade off from running after college, Groner is younger in “running years” than she otherwise would be. Still, she has made adjustments to account for being in her late 40s.

“I’ve started to do more strength and core training,” Groner says. “When I was in my 30s, I found it difficult to do more than run, work, and take care of my family. Now that my children are in college and high school, I have found more time to focus on these. I also have focused more on sleep and recovery. I aim for eight to nine hours of sleep a night, whereas in my 30s I was getting six to seven hours. Also, incorporating bimonthly deep-tissue massage and physical therapy sessions have helped me stay healthy.”

Groner still hits 100-plus-mile weeks when marathon training. And she’s still fast—she qualified for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials by running 2:31 in Copenhagen at age 45. Compared to her late 30s and early 40s, she has “maybe more aches and pains, but overall I feel about the same,” she says. The biggest internal change she’s noticed is that it takes her longer to feel warmed up on everyday runs. She accounts for this by starting her runs 30 to 45 seconds slower per mile than the pace she plans to eventually hit.

“I’m still aiming to PR but know that realistically that it may not happen again,” Groner says. “I really still try to compete and show up at every race with the best intentions to give it my best. Competing among the best women in the country and world is what I thrive off of. I love to race and compete, and if a PR or course PR happens, I’m happy.”

MORE KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL MASTERS MARATHONING

Your likelihood of successful masters running can be increased by good planning, a healthy dose of common sense, and discipline. Good planning involves knowing how to adjust your training to accommodate your body’s capacity to handle stress. It also includes aspects like wearing the right shoes and wearing orthotics if you need them. A specialist running store with experienced runners and a treadmill can help ensure you have shoes that meet your needs. If necessary, a podiatrist experienced with runners can fit you for custom orthotics. Be open to trying different makes and models of running shoes as your body changes (i.e., you might benefit from more cushioning than 20 years ago, your feet may have widened, and so on).

It might be tempting to do all of your runs in super shoes or nonplated, high-stack rockered models that can make running feel more like it did decades ago. Resist that temptation. For one thing, masters runners are especially good candidates for warding off injuries by rotating among two or more models each week. Also, masters runners tend to have more hamstring and calf injuries than younger runners (McKean, Manson, and Stanish 2006). Clinicians we know anecdotally report that super shoes and their nonplated kin can place additional stress on these muscles. So, it makes sense to use such shoes judiciously, such as for your hardest or longest runs, and wearing more conventional trainers for your workaday runs.

SCOTT’S APPROACH TO BEING A HEALTHY MASTERS RUNNER

Every December I write down my main running goals for the coming year. Thirty years ago, the goals usually had to do with setting personal bests. Now that I’m in my 60s, I still have time-related goals, and I often have completion goals, such as finishing a specific trail ultramarathon. For the last several years, however, my main goal has been the same: Lose no days of running to injury. Focusing on this goal is how I get the most satisfaction out of this phase of my running life.

My physical and mental health is best supported by consistently running a decent amount; my current sweet spot is between 2,500 and 3,000 miles a year. But I don’t want to just blindly run up the odometer. I want those miles to be as enjoyable as possible—I want to feel good running, and I want to feel good about my running. That’s where “lose no days of running to injury” comes in. Rather than the call to obsessiveness it might sound like, it’s how I can best stay healthy.

Like any good goal, this one is not just personally meaningful but quantifiable and with obvious steps to take to reach it. Losing no days to injury basically means taking care of myself—not letting myself get too worn down by running or work, eating and sleeping well, not gaining unneeded weight, and striving to maintain a body that can hold up to the amount of running I want to do.

That last point is where the goal really helps me. It means that pretty much every day I do strengthening, core stability, balance, or mobility exercises. Some I do immediately before and after running, and others I do throughout the day. I still have my trouble spots; I still wish I were a little more flowing when running, and I still sometimes miss days to injury. (I don’t run if I sense that I can’t do so with my normal gait—running in that compromised state will both exacerbate the current issue and set me up for compensatory problems elsewhere.) But as someone who has already run more than 130,000 miles, committing to doing nonrunning exercises daily has been the key to consistent, enjoyable running for the last few decades.

Another practice I credit with meeting the miss-no-days goal is having lots of variety in my running. That’s variety in terms of distance, intensity, terrain, and topography. Most of my weeks look a lot like a sample week from the training schedules later in this book. I regularly mix long runs, short recovery days, tempo runs, interval workouts, turnover sessions, and general aerobic runs. It’s when I get away from multipace running—when I string together too many medium-length, medium-intensity days—that I start to feel flat, stiff, and achy. Thanks to all of the above, I’ve had only three injuries requiring a week or more off from running since I turned 40.

A bonus: When I do decide to focus on a competitive goal, the default setting of variety sets me up well to quickly pivot to more structured training. (Well, quickly for someone who has been running more than 45 years.) I can be in decent road 5K shape in a handful of weeks, or I can reasonably target a long trail race two months hence. It will be from this baseline of well-rounded fitness that I’ll build to meet a goal of running a road marathon in my teens, 20s, and every decade on up to my 60s.

It doesn’t happen as often as it did 30 years ago, and certainly not as often as I’d like, but at least a few times a month I have what I call a “yes” run. I’ll realize I’m floating along, unburdened by any physical or mental obstacles to being completely absorbed in the moment. “Yes,” I think, and nothing more. I usually have to force myself to start heading home. If putting a little effort into bodily maintenance means I can regularly have such runs, I’ll happily take that trade-off.

—Scott Douglas

Common sense involves not only listening to your body’s signals but also accepting that the best way to heed those signals could be different from when you were younger. In your 20s you could probably run through sudden small aches and pains. Now it’s more likely that the same approach will lead to the issue being noticeable before, during, and after running, and you’ll realize your training has been compromised for the last few weeks. Older runners simply have a smaller margin of error in finessing their way through these situations.

It’s almost always best to err on the side of caution. If you feel an injury coming on—especially one that gets worse the longer you run—don’t delude yourself. Attempting to run through it will usually make the injury worse; instead of one or two days off now, you might find yourself having to miss weeks to recover. Cross-train until you feel you can run normally and, if required, get some treatment.

Similarly, if you feel a chest cold coming on, don’t push through a challenging run in the rain or snow. Instead, go home and get warm and, hopefully, ward off a chest infection that might compromise your training for several weeks.

Common sense also includes subtle modifications to your running routine. The days of rolling out of bed and straight into an early-morning run are over. (Not that doing so was ever a good idea, but the consequences are likely to be much greater now.) If, as is common, your schedule requires fitting in marathon training before work, include prerun prep time when deciding when to wake. Use the dynamic flexibility warm-up described in chapter 4 to ensure that you start your workout with good running form; stiffly stumbling around the first few miles increases your risk of injury. In addition, allow adequate time for a comprehensive warm-up before hard workouts.

Common sense and discipline overlap in that the latter often means making what you know are the right choices, even though in the moment those choices aren’t as fun and carefree as you might wish they were. Discipline for older marathoners also involves being dedicated about maintaining your running body through regular flexibility, core stability, and strength training work. If you have a more personalized program from a physical therapist or other sports medicine professional, discipline entails sticking to it even when the acute issue that led to seeing the professional seems to have improved. As coach, author, and U.S. masters record-holder Pete Magill puts it, if you think you don’t have the time for this ongoing maintenance work, you will soon when you’re injured and can’t run.

Being a disciplined older runner isn’t just about avoiding injury (although that should be a powerful enough inducement). Four-time Olympian Meb Keflezighi maintained a high level of performance into his 40s by stretching before and after every run, doing core stability and strengthening work almost daily, and performing running form drills six days a week. Keflezighi also replaced some of his shorter recovery runs with ElliptiGO rides so that he was better recovered for his key workouts. You may not have as much time as Keflezighi did to focus on the little things that help you run strong and injury-free, but within your personal context you can show a similar level of discipline.

6

TAPERING FOR PEAK MARATHON PERFORMANCE

Training provides the long-term improvements in fitness that are necessary for marathon success. As you’re no doubt aware, training also tends to leave you a bit tired most of the time. As we’ve noted, this doesn’t mean you’re overtrained—a moderate amount of residual fatigue is fine during the many weeks of training. The periodic recovery weeks in your training schedule are designed to reduce but not totally eliminate the accumulated fatigue of training.

When the marathon approaches, however, you need to cut back your training for a more prolonged period so you’re optimally rested. Tapering your training is critical for reaching the starting line in peak fitness and with maximal energy reserves. The challenge during the last several weeks leading up to the marathon is to find the best balance between continued training (to be in the best possible racing shape) and resting (to eliminate fatigue). In this chapter, we’ll look at the best way to strike that crucial balance.

BENEFITS OF TAPERING

Put simply, tapering corrects the accumulated wear and tear of training. More specifically, it appears that tapering leads to improvements in running economy (how much oxygen you need to run at a given pace), muscle strength, and power. As we saw in chapter 1, improvements in running economy relate directly to improvements in marathon race pace, so tapering is money in the bank in improving your marathon performance. Renowned exercise physiologist Tim Noakes, MD, emphasizes that recovery of the shock-absorbing function of the muscles is an important benefit of tapering for marathon runners, which may explain the improvements in running economy (Noakes 2003). Tapering allows repair of the ongoing microcellular muscle damage from training, fully replenishes the glycogen stores in your muscles and liver, and bolsters your immune system. Other indicators of recovery from stress during tapering include decreases in mood disturbance, positive changes in hormonal markers of stress, and improved sleep (Bosquet et al. 2007; Mujika 2010). How much benefit you gain from a taper likely depends on how much and for how long you have ramped up your marathon training, as well as your individual capacity to adapt and recover.

Scientific studies on tapering for distance runners typically find performance improvements of 2 to 3 percent, which equates to about 3.5 to 5.5 minutes for a 3-hour marathon (Bosquet et al. 2007; Grivas 2018). The potential gains from tapering are substantial.

HOW LONG SHOULD YOU TAPER?

Several studies investigating the relationship between racing performance at various distances and taper duration concluded that the optimal length of a taper is seven days to three weeks. For the marathon, the general consensus is to taper for a minimum of two weeks, with three weeks being optimal. Too short a taper will leave you tired on marathon day, whereas tapering for too long will lead to a loss of fitness. When you consider that any one workout will improve fitness by perhaps 1 percent, while a well-designed taper can provide an improvement in race performance of several percentage points, it’s wise to err on the side of tapering too much rather than not enough. For the marathon, a well-designed three-week taper will leave you optimally prepared and recovered for the race.

KEY PRINCIPLES FOR MARATHON TAPERING

Begin tapering three weeks before your marathon.

Maintain training intensity.

Reduce mileage.

Make recovery days easy or take days off.

Optimize recovery strategies with proper diet and hydration.

Eliminate muscle tightness with stretching, recovery tools (such as foam rollers), physical therapy (if required), massage, and rest.

HOW SHOULD YOU REDUCE YOUR TRAINING TO IMPROVE RACING PERFORMANCE?

Both scientific and anecdotal evidence indicates that the key to effective tapering is to substantially reduce your mileage while maintaining the intensity of your training (Mujika 2010; Grivas 2018). Reducing the amount you run reduces accumulated fatigue to improve your marathon performance, and interspersing efforts throughout your buildup, including V̇O₂max intervals and strides, maintains the adaptations you have worked hard to gain over the past several months. During your taper, you should do shorter sessions at those efforts, so while you’re maintaining the intensity of training, you’re still reducing the quantity of higher-intensity training. We also recommend a tune-up race two weeks before the marathon as a key session for putting the final polish on your racing fitness (and, ideally, providing psychological reinforcement that you’re almost ready to roll).

How much you reduce your overall mileage depends on your current training volume, past experience (know thyself), and overall health. In general, older runners tend to require slightly more time to taper than younger runners. Based on research, many discussions with elite marathoners and coaches, and personal experience, we recommend the following for cutting back your mileage:

Third week before the marathon: Reduce mileage by 20 to 30 percent.

Second week before the marathon: Reduce mileage by 40 percent.

Marathon week (six days before race): Reduce mileage by 65 percent.

For example, a marathoner whose training peaks at 70 miles (113 km) per week would reduce mileage by about 20 to 30 percent (to 49 to 56 miles [79 to 90 km]) in the third week before the race, by about 40 percent (to 42 miles [68 km]) the following week, and by about 65 percent (to 28 miles [45 km]) during race week. For race week, the 65 percent mileage reduction is for the six days leading up to the marathon.

Emily Sisson

Fastest marathon: 2:18:29 (2022 Chicago Marathon)

Marathon highlights: second in the 2022 Chicago Marathon, second in the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials

Emily Sisson is a refreshing reminder that the bulk of marathoning success comes from mastering the basics rather than obsessing over “hacks” and “secrets.”

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Take, for example, Sisson’s setup. After finishing her collegiate career in 2015 with two NCAA titles to her name, Sisson could have joined any high-profile training group she wanted. Instead, she stayed in Providence, Rhode Island, to continue being coached by Providence College coach Ray Treacy. While Providence was an elite magnet in the 1980s, most pros now seek less-urban locales. But Sisson knew that the chance to keep working with Treacy and train with Olympians Molly Huddle and Kim Smith trumped a new training system in a new setting. Her payoffs have included making two Olympic teams and setting U.S. records in the half marathon and marathon.

About that training: Treacy’s system is grounded in multipace training. Sisson regularly touches on a wide range of intensities: 5K race pace and faster, tempo runs at around half marathon effort, and long runs that incorporate several miles at marathon race pace or faster. Again, nothing fancy. Perhaps even simple. But as jazz legend Thelonious Monk put it, simple ain’t easy. Committing to proven principles and consistently doing that unflashy work almost always serves runners better than frequently switching from one training trend to the next.

Not that Sisson is uninterested in innovation. She’s up to date on best practices such as rehydrating and refueling soon after tiring runs to speed recovery. And with the help of her husband, Shane Quinn, who is a therapist, she’s a leading proponent of using sport psychology to help her mind get the most out of her body. Quinn often paces Sisson via bike on hard workouts. If she worries that she’s not hitting the time goals of the session, Quinn helps her to reframe her performance by reminding her of the workout’s purpose in the big picture—a few seconds here and there don’t matter much. This reminder helps her relax; in turn, she often winds up running the prescribed pace.

Quinn also helps Sisson prepare mentally for races. In lieu of extensive visualization, however, they’ve learned that for Sisson, simpler is better. Her version of chunking—breaking the marathon distance into manageable segments—takes the form of setting goals for a few mile marks en route. For example, “Aim to get to 10 miles no faster than [amount of time] while feeling relaxed.” Sisson then spends the stretch leading up to that signpost meeting the goal as efficiently as possible.

Sisson’s strong mental game had an unusual aspect when she set the American record—she finished the race not knowing her time or place. Sisson ran behind two male pacers who were told to run 5:18 per mile, with slight adjustments for wind direction. That pace would have resulted in breaking the previous record by about 15 seconds. Coach Treacy told Sisson to lock in behind the pacers and to speed up only in the final 5K. She followed the instructions to perfection, never looking at her watch, running her fastest 5K between 35K and 40K, and breaking the previous mark by 43 seconds. This is a valuable strategy to keep in mind if your marathon offers pace groups for your goal finish time: Trust that the pace group leader will set out at the proper speed. (Check a few milestones in the first half to be sure.) Settle into that rhythm through at least 18 or 20 miles (30 or 32 km). If you’re still feeling frisky after that point, strike out on your own.

Sisson’s greatest strength is perhaps her self-knowledge. She started her college career at the University of Wisconsin but transferred to Providence after her freshman year—she recognized Wisconsin wasn’t a good fit for her. She set her U.S. marathon record in a low-profile shoe more akin to the racing flats of decades ago than this decade’s ubiquitous super shoes. That footwear choice came after trying her sponsor’s offerings and deciding that the shoes she felt most comfortable in were the right ones for racing.

Sisson has gravitated toward flat, fast marathons—she debuted in London and set her U.S. record in Chicago—in part because those are the courses where she knows she can be most competitive. Alternatively, you might discover that you do best on more undulating courses. We know runners who have fared better on courses like Boston or New York City than Chicago or Berlin. The important thing is to learn what works for you and not change things just for the sake of novelty. If this approach is good enough for an Olympian and U.S. record-holder, it’s probably good enough for the rest of us.

Three weeks before your marathon is arguably the most important time for a successful taper. This is the week that many marathoners do too much, because race day still seems a long way off. If you work too hard during this week, you may find yourself feeling flat with two weeks to go and struggling to rest up as quickly as possible for the race. It’s much better physiologically and psychologically to allow your body to start to freshen up during this week. This will put you in a more relaxed state of mind, feeling that your marathon preparation is on track rather than stressing that all of your efforts are going to be wasted.

Marathoners tend to progressively decrease their training efforts during their marathon taper. This method presents two problems. First, by steadily decreasing training effort over three weeks, they risk a small loss in fitness (adaptations to training are lost at about the same rate that they are gained) before the marathon.

Another problem is psychological. The steady-reduction approach doesn’t provide any psychological reinforcement. Marathoners generally need reminders that they’re still fit or their confidence may become shaky. The more effective approach to tapering is to intersperse harder efforts within an overall trend of recovery. Figure 6.1 shows a three-week marathon taper in which harder efforts are included every few days. This type of taper will leave you fit, rested, and confident for the marathon.

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Figure 6.1 Marathon tapering with the right balance of hard efforts and recovery. Description

Leading up to the marathon, it is paramount to believe in your training program by adjusting your taper to fit your individual needs. Keep a record of your taper leading up to each of your marathons and how you felt and performed in those races. Over time, you’ll be able to identify patterns that will allow you to fine-tune your taper and gain confidence that your taper has given you the maximal edge in performance. You can then apply those insights to customize the tapering portion of your training schedule. For example, many runners prefer a day off quite soon before the marathon. If you’ve found that works for you, we recommend taking that complete rest day two or three days before the marathon. It’s almost always best to do a light jog the day before the marathon—you’ll feel better on race day, you’ll have a chance to get a last check on any tight muscles, and perhaps most important, you’ll do something other than stare at the walls all day fretting about your race.

Based on the optimal tapering criteria we’ve just discussed, table 6.1 presents a sample tapering schedule for a marathon. This tapering program is taken from the 18-week training schedule in chapter 10. By following this schedule, your mileage would have peaked at 70 per week (113 km), and you would have run your last 20-miler (32 km) on Sunday before the start of the taper. Let’s go through this schedule day by day to see the rationale for each day’s training.

Table 6.1 Sample Three-Week Marathon Taper

| WEEKS TO MARATHON
3 | 2 | Race week
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest | Rest
Tuesday | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 6 x 100 m hill sprints + 12 x 100 m strides | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Wednesday | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Dress rehearsal 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 2 miles (3 km) at marathon pace
Thursday | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 x 100 m strides | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery 3-4 miles (5-6 km)
Friday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery + speed 4-5 miles (6-8 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Saturday | 8K-10K tune-up race (total 10-12 miles [16-19 km]) | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 2-4 miles (3-6 km)
Sunday | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Medium-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Goal marathon
Weekly volume | 52-59 miles (84-95 km) | 40-46 miles (64-74 km) | 21-27 miles (34-43 km) (6 days before race)

The first week of the taper starts with two days to recover from the long run on Sunday. The second day includes six hill sprints and twelve 100-meter strides to improve your leg turnover. Wednesday’s workout is a 9- to 10-miler (14 to 16 km) to provide a mild endurance stimulus.

Thursday and Friday are recovery days, leaving you well-rested for Saturday when you run your last tune-up race before the marathon. The 8K to 10K tune-up race provides a boost to your racing fitness that will make marathon pace feel relatively easy, yet it is short enough that recovery will occur quickly. Sunday is a 16- to 17-miler (26 to 27 km) to again provide a moderate endurance stimulus to help maintain the adaptations, such as increased glycogen storage and blood volume, from your previous long runs. As discussed in chapter 1, having raced on Saturday, your long run on Sunday should be at a more relaxed pace than your usual long runs.

The second week of the taper starts with three recovery days, with Tuesday including 8 repetitions of 100-meter strides to enhance your leg turnover. Thursday calls for your last workout at close to V̇O₂max pace. This is done 10 days before the marathon to allow time for recovery and supercompensation. Friday and Saturday are recovery days, with Saturday again including 100-meter strides to enhance your leg turnover. The week ends with a 12- to 13-miler (19 to 21 km) on Sunday, once again providing the body with a reminder to maintain the adaptations built up over many weeks of long runs.

Marathon week is all easy recovery with the exception of Wednesday, a dress rehearsal for the marathon. Wear the shoes, socks, shorts, and so on that you’ll wear in the marathon. This is your last chance to check that everything is right for the race. After an easy 3 miles (5 km), run 2 miles (3 km) at marathon race pace, then 1 to 2 more miles easy. You should feel reasonably fresh but will probably not yet feel fully rested. If you have any tight muscles, there’s still time to get a massage, stretch, use a foam roller, or see a physical therapist to get your legs ready for race day.

By tapering in this way, you’ll reach the marathon start line as prepared as possible. All that remains is the little matter of covering 26.2 miles (42.2 km) as fast as you can. Pacing and nutrition strategies to help you run your best during the marathon are the focus of the next chapter.

TAPERING YOUR OTHER TRAINING

When you start cutting back your mileage, it can be tempting to increase whatever nonrunning training you do. For the most part, try to resist that urge. The various forms of supplementary training we looked at in chapter 4 have the same general purpose as your running training—to get you to the marathon start line in optimal fitness for racing 26.2 miles (42.2 km). Approach your core, resistance, flexibility, and cross-training as you do your running when the marathon nears. That is, realize that the main work is done, and your goal now shifts to maintaining the gains you’ve made while allowing your body to rest up for race day.

WHERE’S THE PASTA FEED?

In chapter 2, we discussed the importance of carbohydrate loading for the marathon. It’s important that your muscles and liver are optimally stocked with glycogen when you reach the start of the race. Of similar importance is arriving at the starting line well hydrated. See chapter 2 for in-depth information on these topics.

Keep your resistance workouts to a minimum in the last 10 days before your marathon, and eliminate them in the last few days. It’s OK to continue gentle versions of core training and cross-training until a few days before the race. Flexibility training is fine to do right up to race day, but don’t go overboard. If you’re used to a few 10-minute stretching sessions per week, don’t suddenly devote an hour per day to it in the week before your marathon.

The same goes for form drills. If you’re used to doing them, it’s fine to continue with a short sequence in the week before the marathon. As with flexibility training, the drills will help you feel looser during your taper, which, if nothing else, can provide peace of mind while you’re reducing your running. Again, don’t suddenly add new exercises or increase the amount of drills you do during your taper.

SEEING SUCCESS

As race day approaches, it’s normal to feel anxious. The marathon can seem more like a concept than a reality when it’s 10 weeks away, but when it’s just a matter of days, it can become an all-too-real presence in your thoughts. That’s especially true when you’re tapering your training and might be a little more on edge as a result. And if you’re like many marathoners, you’re worried that all the improvements made during training will quickly evaporate after just a few rest days.

To keep your mind at ease, practice visualization during your taper. Many of the world’s top runners consider race-week visualization a key part of their final preparation. Use some of the time you would usually allot to running—10 to 20 minutes per day is a good amount—for this practice.

Start by sitting or lying in a quiet, comfortable spot, then mentally run through your race in two ways. First, anticipate potential problems. The goal isn’t to get more worked up about your race. Rather, it’s to lessen the chance that you’re derailed by an unfortunate development during the marathon. Visualize things like getting boxed in during the early miles, missing an aid station, inexplicably falling off pace, or challenging weather, then picture yourself dealing with the problem and continuing with your race plan. Visualize each potential problem in terms of, “If X happens, then I’ll respond by doing Y.”

Second, visualize yourself running well at various parts of the course. (This is easier to do if you’re familiar with the course or have watched a video of it.) See yourself running relaxed in the early stages of the marathon and then running strong over the final 10K. Think about where in previous marathons the desire to slow or stop might have cropped up. Acknowledge that possibility, and then visualize yourself committing to bearing down at that point. Finally, if you have a time goal for your marathon, picture yourself hitting key splits en route and then crossing the finish with the clock showing your goal time.

PRESERVING ENERGY (AND SANITY) BEFORE THE MARATHON

If at all possible during the last week before the marathon, reduce not just your training but also the amount of stress in your life. Assuming the cooperation of your family, friends, boss, and coworkers, try to do the following:

Avoid having major deadlines at work or other energy-draining undertakings.

Wash your hands frequently to lower your risk of catching a cold or other virus.

Get plenty of sleep early in the week, especially if you usually have difficulty sleeping well in the few days before a big race.

Let others do the driving.

Minimize the amount of time you spend at the prerace expo.

Save sightseeing for after the marathon.

Spend a few minutes each day in a quiet spot visualizing a successful race.

7

RACE-DAY STRATEGY

Your overall preparation for the marathon occurs over several months. During that time, you meticulously plan and diligently train so you’re in peak condition for the race. To do your best, however, you also need to have a plan for the marathon itself. That plan is the focus of this chapter. How much should you warm up for the marathon, and what should that warm-up consist of? How should you handle the first few miles, the first half of the race, the long stretch up to 20 miles (32 km), and the final 6 miles and 385 yards (10 km)? Let’s take a look at race-day strategies that help you get everything out of your months of preparation so you cross the finish line exhausted but satisfied.

WARMING UP

Warming up for any race is important. The purpose of a warm-up is to prepare your body to run at race pace. This involves increasing your metabolic rate, your body temperature, and the circulation of blood (and thus oxygen) to your muscles. The warm-up activates your aerobic system to work optimally from the start of the race.

There’s a downside, however, to warming up for the marathon. One of the challenges in the marathon is to reach the finish line before becoming glycogen depleted. In chapter 2, we emphasized the importance of carbohydrate loading in the several days before the marathon, having a carbohydrate-rich prerace meal the morning of, and taking in carbohydrate during the marathon to ensure that you don’t run out of carbohydrate before the finish. But during a warm-up, you burn a mixture of carbohydrate and fat, thereby slightly reducing your glycogen stores. The key, then, is to find the minimum amount of warm-up necessary to prepare your body to handle race pace as soon as the starter’s gun is fired so you save as much of your carbohydrate reserves as possible for the 26.2 miles (42.2 km) ahead.

The optimal warm-up for the marathon depends on the level of the marathoner. If your main goal is to finish, no warm-up is necessary. You can warm up during the first couple miles of the race. If you will attempt to run the distance significantly faster than normal training pace, you should do a warm-up.

A typical marathon warm-up consists of the same dynamic flexibility exercises you do before normal training runs, followed by about a mile (1.6 km) or 10 minutes of jogging and some light static stretching soon before the start. That sequence accomplishes the basic goal of a warm-up, but for the marathon we suggest a variation: 2 runs of about 4 to 5 minutes each with some gentle stretching in between. This warm-up works well for the marathon because you get a sense of how your body is feeling during the first short run. You can then focus the rest of your warm-up on any minor adjustments so you feel as good as possible when you line up for the start.

You should start warming up about 30 to 40 minutes before the start of the race. After some dynamic flexibility exercises, start your first warm-up run slowly, and gradually increase your pace so you finish at about 1 minute per mile (37 seconds per km) slower than marathon race pace. Next, do some stretching for 5 to 10 minutes, including loosening up your shoulders and neck. Follow that with another 4 to 5 minutes of running, this time gradually picking up the pace until you reach marathon pace for the final 30 seconds or so. On a warm day, you may want to drink a few ounces before heading to the starting area.

That’s it. Try to time your warm-up so you finish no more than 10 minutes before the race starts. If you warm up too long before the race, you’ll lose some of the benefits of the warm-up yet will have still used up some of your carbohydrate stores. The ability to time your warm-up like this is an advantage of running a smaller marathon, as compared with a megarace where you’re more likely to be herded to your starting position long before the race begins.

Before the start of the Olympic marathon, the athletes do a bit of nervous jogging around, but almost no one does more than 10 minutes of easy running plus one or two accelerations up to race pace. This is enough of a warm-up for these runners to handle 5-minutes-per-mile pace for the first mile. A similar routine will get you to the starting line prepared to handle your goal marathon race pace.

YOUR PACING STRATEGY

Assuming that you have a time goal for the marathon, how should you go about trying to achieve that time? Some marathoners go out hard and then try to hang on as well as possible in the second half. Others try to run an even pace throughout. A few take it easy early on and then run the second half faster. Let’s consider the physiology of the marathon and the implications for your optimal pacing strategy.

In chapter 1, we saw that your marathon pace is very close to your lactate-threshold (LT) pace, which is determined by your oxygen consumption at your LT and your running economy. If you run faster than your LT pace, lactate accumulates in your muscles and blood; do this for more than a few minutes, and the hydrogen ions associated with the lactate begin to deactivate the enzymes for energy production and make you slow down. When you exceed your LT pace, you also use more glycogen, so your limited glycogen stores are depleted more quickly than necessary.

These basics of marathon physiology indicate that the best strategy for the marathon is relatively even pacing. If you run much faster than your overall race pace for part of the race, you’ll use more glycogen than necessary and will likely start to accumulate lactate. If you run much slower than your overall race pace for part of the race, you’ll need to make up for this lapse by running faster than the most efficient pace for another portion of the race. The optimal pacing strategy, then, is to run nearly even splits, taking into account the idiosyncrasies of the course you’ll be running.

Most runners shouldn’t try to run dead-even splits, however, because during the marathon you’ll gradually fatigue your slow-twitch muscle fibers and will start to recruit more of your fast-twitch A fibers to maintain your pace. Unfortunately, these fast-twitch fibers tend to be less economical than your slow-twitch fibers in their use of oxygen. Therefore, your running economy will tend to decrease slightly during the race, meaning that your LT pace will decrease slightly as well. The result is that your optimal pace will be slightly reduced during the later stages of the marathon.

For example, if your goal is to run 2:39 for the marathon, even splits would require you to run 1:19:30 for each half of the race. To run even splits, you would have to increase your oxygen consumption and lactate level as your fatigue level increases during the second half of the race. A more efficient pacing strategy would be to go through halfway in 1:18 to 1:19 because doing so would allow you to slow by 2 to 3 percent during the second half and still achieve your goal. If you ran negative splits for the marathon (i.e., the second half faster than the first half), chances are that you ran more slowly than optimally during the first half of the race and could have had a faster finishing time.

Some runners have reported that they’re better able to hold even pace throughout the marathon when racing in super shoes. (See the “What Shoes Should You Wear?” sidebar.) It’s impossible to know for how many runners in super shoes that’s true and why exactly it might happen. One obvious explanation is that running in super shoes might lead to less of the muscle damage that can contribute to late-race slowing. This idea is supported by the common perception of not feeling as beat up during and after a long run in super shoes compared to conventional trainers. It’s also possible that, because of enabling quicker recovery, super shoes can lead to better preparation and, therefore, less of a tendency to fade over the final miles of a marathon. If you’ve run marathons in super shoes and found yourself finishing faster than you’ve run marathons in conventional shoes, this might be a sign that you could adopt a more aggressive even-splits strategy.

For world-class marathoners, whose genetics and training put them on a higher plane, the optimal pacing strategy is likely a bit different. These select few are so highly trained that they have a lower tendency to recruit less economical muscle fibers as the race progresses. In addition, they can pick up the pace over the last several miles and gradually accumulate lactate to the finish. For the best marathoners in the world, therefore, the most effective pacing strategy is to run the second half of the marathon at the same pace as, or even slightly faster than, the first half.

Most of the recent world records have followed this model of faster second halves. In setting the world best of 2:00:35 at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, Kelvin Kiptum ran 60:48 for the first half and 59:47 for the second half. Similarly, in her world record at the 2023 Berlin Marathon, Tigst Assefa ran 2:11:53 by running the first half in 66:20 and the second half in 65:33.

Perhaps you’ll find it reassuring that even the best runners in the world pay for it when they start a marathon too quickly. At the 2024 Tokyo Marathon, Eliud Kipchoge attempted to reclaim the title of world-record holder from Kiptum. Following overeager pacers, Kipchoge ran 28:30 for the first 10K and passed 15K in 42:52—fast enough to win most open 10K and 15K road races. Kipchoge slowed slightly but reached halfway in 60:34, faster than Kiptum’s first half in his record run. Still, Kipchoge had already lost contact with the trio who would eventually place first, second, and third, and he faded significantly after that. His second half took 66:16, resulting in a finishing time of 2:06:50. Runners who had started more moderately overtook Kipchoge, and the two-time Olympic champion placed tenth, his lowest placing in any of his marathons.

Less dramatically, when Ruth Chepngetich ran her barrier-breaking 2:09:56 at the 2024 Chicago Marathon, she covered the first half in 64:16 and the second half in 65:40. It might sound silly to say so, but it’s possible she could have broken Assefa’s world record by even more with a slightly more conservative first half.

Eliud Kipchoge

Fastest marathon: 2:01:09 (Berlin, 2022)

Marathon highlights: champion in the 2016 and 2021 Olympics; 5-time Berlin, 4-time London, 1-time Tokyo, and 1-time Chicago winner; world record holder in 2018 and 2022; fastest marathon runner under any condition (1:59:40 at the 2019 INEOS Challenge)

We’re among those who consider Eliud Kipchoge to be the greatest marathoner in history. That’s a pretty easy call concerning someone who has won two Olympic titles, twice set the world record, went undefeated for seven years, set course records at three World Marathon Majors and, for good measure, became the first person to run under two hours for 26.2 miles (albeit in an exhibition race not eligible for record purposes).

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Description

So, what can those of us who aren’t considered the greatest marathoner in history learn from Kipchoge?

Kipchoge obviously has supreme physical gifts—you don’t dominate as a marathoner and win Olympic and world championship medals on the track otherwise. One of his key talents is the ability to hold up to world-class training. Kipchoge hasn’t suffered an injury significant enough to keep him from a marathon start line. Remaining healthy has allowed him to bring fitness from previous training cycles to underlie his current work.

Still, we suspect some of his competitors would match or exceed some of Kipchoge’s physiological measurements in lab tests. What has really separated Kipchoge from the pack is his mindset. That’s an area all marathoners can look to for time gains.

“If you don’t rule your mind, it can rule you,” Kipchoge has said. “I tell my mind that I’m really able to do this thing. And I will do it.”

Kipchoge isn’t delusional—he hasn’t targeted a 1:30 marathon. What he’s talking about is being open to the possibility that, with the right physical preparation, great things can happen on race day if his mind is in the right place. Such a mindset is more sophisticated than thrashing yourself and otherwise ignoring your body’s signals. It’s about learning how to work through the inevitable tough patches—in training and racing—so that you stay positive, relaxed, and efficient. There’s a growing body of research showing that concentrating on staying relaxed not only diverts your mind from unpleasant topics but also slightly boosts your running economy at a given pace.

Kipchoge practices prerace visualization; he forms concrete images of winning and running great times as well as scenarios in which he overcomes setbacks. He has an arsenal of personally meaningful mantras he repeats to himself in racing and training that motivate him to stay focused on his goals.

Another key to Kipchoge’s psychological approach is that he loves the process of preparing for a marathon. This isn’t to say that every run is an endorphin rush for him or that you should be giddy every time you wake early to run 12 miles before work. Kipchoge’s take is akin to that of Olympic medalist Deena Kastor, who talks about making choices, not sacrifices. That is, view what you do to further your running as contributions to your big-picture goal of running the best marathon you’re capable of. For Kipchoge, that includes spending time in training camp away from his family. For you, that could be putting a positive spin on matters such as what you eat and how often you do strength training.

As he entered his late 30s, Kipchoge’s air of invincibility started to ebb. He finished eighth at London in 2020, the lowest placing of his career at the time. He rebounded—and then some!—by successfully defending his Olympic title in 2021, and in 2022, he set a course record at Tokyo and a world record at Berlin. But then he finished sixth at Boston in 2023. He won Berlin that fall then had a disastrous (for him) 2024, placing tenth at Tokyo and dropping out of the Olympic marathon, the only DNF of his career.

There are lessons we can learn from the later part of Kipchoge’s career. Before Boston, Kipchoge said that he didn’t prepare specifically for the famously undulating course. He started at course-record pace but then lost contact with the lead pack in the Newton hills when the real racing began. Apparently, even the greatest marathoner in history can’t ignore the principle of training and racing appropriately for the course.

Kipchoge’s overall struggles as he neared age 40 highlight the need for long-time marathoners to be open to new approaches. Throughout his marathon career, Kipchoge has immediately put himself near the front of the lead pack and dared others to try to keep up. Some days, that still works for him. But it’s not uncommon for runners to experience more day-to-day variability in how they feel as they age. Continuing to use the same tactics (and, for that matter, training) that worked a decade earlier can backfire. For someone like Kipchoge, that might mean that trying to win the 2024 Tokyo race caused him to overextend himself and place tenth, when on that day in that field he might have been able to place, say, third with a more measured strategy. Being more flexible in this regard should be easier for those of us not trying to add to an already historic marathoning CV.

Sifan Hassan

Fastest marathon: 2:13:24 (Chicago, 2023)

Marathon highlights: first in the 2024 Olympics, the 2023 Chicago Marathon, and the 2023 London Marathon

Olympic champions are, by definition, outliers. But Sifan Hassan is an outlier even among those outliers.

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Description

Hassan first became widely known beyond hardcore running fans at the 2021 Olympics, where she won the 5,000- and 10,000-meter titles and took bronze at 1,500 meters. Even more improbable, at the 2024 Olympics, she earned bronze at 5,000 and 10,000 meters, and then she outsprinted the world-record holder to win the marathon—just 36 hours after racing the 10,000 meters in spikes! We’re also unaware of any other runner who, like Hassan at London in 2023, won their debut marathon against a world-class field despite stopping twice to stretch their quads and repeatedly losing contact with the lead pack.

Nonetheless, some key lessons emerge from studying Hassan’s career.

First, Hassan hasn’t yet fallen into a trap that has snared other track racers who are immediate successes in the marathon. Some such runners arguably succeed in their first one or two marathons because of, not despite, their recent history of lots of V̇O2max and basic speed workouts. Marathon race pace feels quite comfortable in comparison. But some then tell themselves, “I’m a marathoner now,” and pile on more volume and long tempo runs at the expense of shorter, faster sessions. There are many examples of elites making this shift and never improving on their initial marathons.

Hassan, in contrast, trains and races at a wide variety of paces and distances, even when preparing for a marathon. Doing so keeps her fresh physically and mentally. While you won’t find “run a track 10K in spikes 36 hours before your goal marathon” in any of our training schedules, we do encourage you to keep in touch with a wide range of intensities and to not avoid shorter races. Hassan’s race goals are dictated in part by the international competition schedule. Yours can be a little more flexible, such as targeting a fall marathon after a spring season devoted to racing no farther than 5K or 10K.

Second, Hassan sets seemingly audacious goals as motivators. (If nothing else, her goals require that she do the truly varied training discussed above.) “It was really amazing,” Hassan said after winning London in her debut. “I never thought I would finish a marathon.” This is an overstatement—Hassan could have stepped out her door any day and run 26.2 miles. She meant racing a marathon against the best of the world after spending the bulk of her career racing 1,500 meters on the track. Goals that are a little scary are good because they motivate you to do the work to meet them. She expressed similar concerns before her 2024 Olympic triple. “It’s my crazy thing,” she said. “I just want to complete it. I’m very curious. Could I podium? Could I even complete? Am I strong enough?”

Finally, Hassan acknowledges that she’s aiming high but doesn’t let her goals incapacitate her. “I always think, ‘Why the hell do I do this to myself?’” she said between the 2024 Olympic Opening Ceremony and her first race, the qualifying round of the 5,000 meters. On the start line, she often appears absolutely miserable, her face frozen in a look of, “How did I get myself into this mess?” She seems to calm herself by momentarily lowering her expectations. In her track races, she almost always goes immediately to the back of the pack, as if to convince herself she’s not really racing yet, that she can just hang out for however many laps and then get down to business. Before the marathon, it’s via the dubious claim that she just wants to finish.

Most marathoners feel similarly overwhelmed by the enormity of the task ahead if they dwell on it. If that’s you, find ways to channel your thoughts elsewhere. Then, once your race starts, do like Hassan, and let your instincts, experience, and preparation take over.

ALTERING YOUR STRATEGY MIDRACE

Although in most cases you should stay with your pacing plan, occasionally the weather or the tactics of other runners merit slightly altering your strategy. If you’re running into a headwind, there’s a substantial advantage to running in a group and letting others block the wind. Though you may need to do your share in leading the group, you’ll still save considerable energy compared with running by yourself into the wind. On a windy day, therefore, you may need to run moderately faster or slower than planned to stay with a group.

Even on a calm day, the best strategy may be to deviate slightly from your goal pace rather than running most of the way by yourself. In a big-city marathon such as Boston, New York, or Chicago, being stuck by yourself isn’t a problem. At almost any pace, you’ll be among a number of runners, and you can work with them to reach your goal time. In a smaller marathon, however, you have a reasonably high chance of running by yourself for many miles. In that situation, you must make a judgment call as to whether to go a few seconds per mile faster or slower than planned to stay with a group. Although drafting behind other runners will give you a small energy advantage, most of the benefit of staying with a group is psychological. You don’t have to set the pace, and you can relax and go along with the group.

Most runners find it quite difficult mentally to run by themselves for long stretches of the marathon. So what’s the trade-off between having company and having to compromise your strategy? A rule of thumb is to deviate from your goal pace by no more than 8 to 10 seconds per mile (1.6 km) if you would otherwise be running by yourself during the first 20 miles (32 km) of the race. (Of course, you won’t know until afterward whether you would have had to run by yourself.) Running 8 to 10 seconds per mile faster than planned may not sound like much, but this difference in effort can put you over the edge after a couple of miles. The best way to judge whether to pick it up to latch onto a group is by how you feel at the time. If you feel as though you can handle it, go for it. If your breathing is uncomfortable and you can sense that you’re working at a higher intensity than you can maintain until the finish, relax and let the others go. You may find that the group soon breaks up and that you’ll once again have others with whom to run.

ADAPTING TO HEAT AND HUMIDITY

If you’ve been training in cool conditions and it will be warm or hot for your marathon, it pays to prepare in advance. If you’ll be running a marathon in high humidity when you live in a low-humidity environment, it’s even more important to prepare because the body adapts differently to hot and humid conditions than to hot and dry conditions.

As discussed in chapter 2, the evaporation of sweat is a key cooling mechanism for the body. With high humidity, the air contains more moisture and therefore less sweat evaporates from your skin. You sweat more (and lose more fluid), but it’s less effective in maintaining your body temperature. The result is that your core temperature rises more quickly and you eventually need to slow.

Even if race day starts at a mild 55 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius) and only increases to 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius), a change from low humidity in training to a high humidity marathon often catches runners out and leads to a disappointing performance.

You can get used to warm conditions or warm and humid conditions by doing some of your training on a treadmill (without a fan to reduce evaporative cooling) or wearing more clothes than you normally would during training runs. Allowing yourself to be warmer than usual (uncomfortably warm but not drained) during training will provide a stimulus for your body to adapt to warmer conditions. Wearing more clothes during running simulates high humidity by trapping heat next to your skin and increasing your sweat rate and your core temperature. For example, you could wear a long sleeve top, tights, and a cap when you would ordinarily run in a t-shirt and shorts. To get the most adaptation, use these two strategies as consistently as possible over the final two to three weeks before your marathon. If you have to do your final long run or tempo run somewhat slower than planned, that’s okay because you’ll be simulating, and therefore adapting to, race-day conditions.

On a warm and humid day or a day that’s just plain hot for your marathon, stopping at aid stations rather than running through them and drinking more fluid than you would in cooler conditions will help you get through the race, but you’ll likely also need to adjust your time goal. How much to adjust your time goal depends on how hot and humid the day will be and how challenging your target time is. Also, some runners are simply better heat runners than others, regardless of their acclimation. In general, err on the side of what might feel overly conservative for at least the first half. Rather than starting with a wait-and-see attitude or assuming that you’ll be able to gut it out, it pays to adjust your marathon goal in advance and start out at a realistic pace for the conditions.

During the final 6 miles and 385 yards (10 km), you can afford to be more independent. If no one else is running at the correct pace for you after you’ve passed the 20-mile (32 km) mark, you need to muster the courage to go it alone. Chances are that forging out will work well psychologically because if you have prepared well and run a fairly even pace, you’ll be passing other runners throughout the final miles. Nothing lifts the spirits quite like passing another runner late in the marathon.

WHAT ABOUT ORGANIZED PACE GROUPS?

Many big marathons offer pacers to help guide runners toward specific times. Unlike the pacers elites use, these pacers go the whole marathon distance. Should you use this service?

It depends.

First, of course, is the matter of whether your marathon provides a pacer at or near your goal time. Pacers for sub-3:00 times are rare. Bigger races often provide pacers in 5-minute increments (e.g., 3:10, 3:15, 3:20, etc.), while pacers at smaller marathons might be available in 10- or 15-minute increments. The more pace-group options there are, the more it’s worth considering joining one.

It’s rare for pacers to not finish near their target times. Most are capable of running a marathon significantly faster; their pacing assignment is usually at an easy to moderate long-run effort for them. It can be comforting to tell yourself that if you stick with this person, you’re almost guaranteed to finish in the targeted time.

One big consideration is the topography of your marathon course. Pacers tend to aim for an even pace, regardless of a course’s hills, turns, and weather. Sometimes those factors warrant even effort rather than even pace in the first two-thirds of a marathon. Following an even pace in these situations might not result in your best possible time that day.

Another item to consider is how comfortable you are running in a potentially large group. If you’ve done most of your marathon training solo or with one or two others, it can be jarring to suddenly be part of a tight pack of 30 people running the same pace. There might be a lot of talking, especially in the early miles. You might have a harder time getting a clear shot at fluids at aid stations. Whether being part of a big group is appealing or a turnoff is an individual matter.

Our general recommendation: If there’s a pace group available near your goal time, consider starting with it. Doing so is a good way to ensure you don’t run the early miles too quickly. If you find the group distracting, drift away from it. And if you’re having a great day, don’t be afraid to strike out ahead over the last 10K.

THE FIRST HALF

You’re finally at the starting line, warmed up, and ready for the task ahead. It’s all too easy to get carried away and run the first mile (1.6 km) too fast. A better approach is to run the first mile at or a bit slower than your goal pace. Because you won’t have done much of a warm-up before the start, your body won’t be prepared to go faster than race pace. Also, if you run too fast at the beginning of the race, your body will burn off extra glycogen and start to accumulate lactate that could negatively affect the rest of your race.

Once the first mile is out of the way, the best strategy during the next few miles is to settle into a good rhythm. Try to run fast but relaxed. Establishing a relaxed running style early in the race will go a long way toward helping you avoid tightening up so you can maintain your goal pace to the finish. Go through a mental checklist periodically to make sure your shoulders are relaxed, your body is upright, and so on to help you maintain good running style throughout the race.

WHAT SHOES SHOULD YOU WEAR?

Marathoners used to have to choose between lightweight, minimally cushioned racing flats and heavier, more cushioned shoes on race day. The tradeoff was saving weight (racing flats) versus having more cushioning and support over the final miles as fatigue and muscular damage accumulated (trainers). Many competitive marathoners opted for the middle ground of a lightweight trainer. As with much else in running, super shoes have upended this old quandary.

We’ll define super shoes as models made primarily for racing half marathons and marathons with these features:

A large amount of next-generation, bouncy midsole foam

A carbon fiber plate or other stiffening agent in the midsole to provide stability given the large amount of foam underfoot

A rockered geometry that helps to move the foot toward toe-off

A relatively light weight—usually around 8 ounces (227 g) or less for men and 7 ounces (198 g) or less for women—to improve running economy

Research has found a wide range of improvements in running economy among runners in super shoes versus conventional shoes at the same pace. Faster runners tend to see a bit more improvement, presumably because they’re putting more force into the ground and therefore get more of a response from super shoes’ design features. But slower runners still tend to get a 1 or 2 percent boost (Joubert, Dominy, and Burns 2023).

It can be difficult to find the right super shoe for you. You can’t know which combination of midsole softness, plate positioning, and shoe geometry works best for your running mechanics without running at race pace. (Super shoes are awkward to walk and even jog in, so there’s little to learn from a brief try-on.) Also, super shoes are the most expensive shoes on the market; most runners can’t afford to truly test several models.

Some runners, including a few sponsored elites, simply don’t like the feeling of running in super shoes. The large amount of foam underfoot can be challenging for runners with poor ankle mobility. Most shoe brands offer what they call a “training companion” to their premier racing shoes. These shoes incorporate super shoe elements, such as modern midsole foam and rockered geometry, in a less aggressive, slightly heavier shoe. And if you’ve been able to meet your marathoning goals in conventional trainers and have tried but didn’t like super shoes, or if you simply can’t justify spending hundreds of dollars on shoes that are good for only 150-200 miles, there’s no shame in continuing to wear what works for you.

Regardless of which shoes you choose for race day, be sure to try them out on tempo runs, at least one of your longer marathon-pace training runs, and the short dress-rehearsal run during taper week.

In chapter 2 we discussed having a plan for your fluid and carbohydrate intake during the marathon. Glitches will arise, but do your best to adhere to your plan for taking gels and drinks. Take a carbohydrate drink at the initial aid station. It’s important to drink right from the start rather than wait until you think you need carbohydrate or fluid. If you wait until you feel tired and lightheaded to take in carbohydrate, it will be too late. Taking in carbohydrate and fluid early will help reduce dehydration and postpone or prevent carbohydrate depletion, which means you will be able to maintain your goal pace longer. As we discussed in chapter 2, a few seconds lost at each aid station can translate into several minutes gained toward the end of the marathon.

Mentally, the first half of the marathon is the time to cruise. Try to save your mental and emotional energy for the second half of the race. All other factors being equal, if there is a group of runners in the lead pack at halfway, the winner will be the one who has cruised along at the back of the pack saving energy for the demands of the second half of the race. The same principle holds true for slower packs as well. Regardless of your ultimate finishing place in the marathon, you should realize that the second half is going to be harder than the first half; just try to get the first half out of the way at the correct pace without using any more mental energy than necessary.

CHANGING TIME ZONES

If you’re traveling across the country or internationally for your marathon, you need to consider the change in time zones. You can prepare your body for that change by adjusting your sleep and eating patterns to the new time zone for a few days before you travel.

It’s easier for your brain to adjust to traveling west and extending your day than it is to travel east and shorten your day. Prior to westward travel, get used to getting up and going to bed somewhat later than usual. This can be difficult with a job and other commitments, but you should be able to adjust by an hour or two in this way. Upon arrival, if you’ve traveled west for up to four time zones, you can simply have a nap early in the day and go to sleep at a normal time in the new time zone.

If you’re traveling east for your marathon, such as for New York City or Boston, you should allow a day to adjust for each hour change in time zone. For example, when traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast for a marathon on Sunday, plan to arrive no later than Thursday. For a few days prior to eastward travel, try getting up earlier and going to bed earlier than usual and adjusting your meals accordingly. This can be difficult in practice, but you should be able to adjust by an hour or so. Upon arrival, you may struggle going to bed on the earlier East Coast time, but after three nights you should have adapted to the new time reasonably well. This is particularly important if your marathon has an early morning start.

A few other tips:

Set your watch and phone to the new time zone while on the plane to mentally adjust

Avoid caffeine late in the day

Limit alcohol consumption, which interferes with sleep, when traveling and upon arrival

When you arrive, go outside in the daylight to help your brain adjust to the new time zone

If you have a nap, keep it under 45 minutes and wake up by early afternoon

ON TO 20 MILES (32 KM)

From the halfway mark to 20 miles (32 km) is the no man’s land of the marathon. You’re already fairly tired and still have a long way to go. This is where the mental discipline of training will help you maintain a strong effort and a positive attitude. It’s easy to let your pace slip 5 seconds per mile (1.6 km), and then 10 seconds per mile or more, during this stretch. By using all the available feedback on your pace—whether in the form of mile or kilometer splits—you’ll know exactly how you’re progressing, and you should be able to concentrate and maintain your goal pace during these miles.

Slowing during this portion of the marathon is often more a matter of not concentrating than of not being able to physically maintain the pace. Focusing on your splits gives you an immediate goal to concentrate on. If you’re consulting your GPS watch, bear in mind that its mile or kilometer marks might vary slightly from the race’s markers, owing to how road race courses are measured and the usual variances in GPS accuracy. Use the race’s markers as your main pace barometers because your official final time will reflect the course measurement, not what your watch says.

If you do slow during one of these miles, don’t suddenly increase your pace to get back on track. If you’re using your GPS’s current-pace data, aim to get back to your goal pace. When the next mile split confirms you’re back on pace, chip away at the few lost seconds over the next few miles. By focusing on these incremental goals along the way, you’ll prevent a large drift in your pace and should be able to stay very close to your goal.

It’s not unusual to have a few miles when you just don’t feel good. These bad patches are a test of mental resolve. Often these stretches will last a while and then mysteriously go away. For example, you might feel tight and uncomfortable from miles 15 to 17 but then get back in the groove again and feel good to the finish. The key is to have the confidence that you’ll eventually overcome this bad patch.

WHEN NOT TO FINISH

Most of the time, you should finish the marathon even if you’re not running as well as you had hoped. The marathon is a test of endurance. If you casually drop out of a marathon once, it will be all too easy to drop out again. Of course, in certain situations, struggling to finish a marathon may compromise your health or your future marathon success. Here are some scenarios where dropping out is your best choice:

If you’re limping, your running mechanics are thrown off. You’ll merely aggravate your injury by continuing.

If you have a specific pain, and that pain is increasing progressively during the race, you’re doing yourself harm and should stop.

If you’re lightheaded and unable to concentrate, you should stop.

If you’re overcome by muscle cramps, a torn muscle, heat exhaustion, or the like, stop.

Pete learned this lesson years ago during the San Francisco Marathon. After working quite hard from miles 13 to 16, he had a stretch of about 3 miles when his breathing felt out of sync on a particularly windy stretch of road, and he struggled to stay with the other two leaders. Pete kept telling himself to relax and that the other guys might be hurting too. Fortunately, he settled back into a comfortable rhythm by 19 miles, felt strong enough to drop the other two runners by the 20-mile mark, and cruised home to victory. If Pete had let himself think negatively during the bad patch and let the other two runners get away, he wouldn’t have won that race.

DROPPING OUT

In my marathon career, I started 18 marathons and finished 16, including 8 victories. Of the two dropouts, one was because of injury and the other was because of stupidity. Both occurred in 1986.

The dropout because of stupidity was the Boston Marathon. This was the first professional Boston Marathon, with lots of media excitement and financial incentives. I ignored my usual race plan of running even splits and got carried away early. During the first 10 miles, 1983 Boston Marathon champion Greg Meyer and I exchanged the lead several times. When Greg would take the lead, I would try to take it back.

This was overly aggressive racing on my part for so early in the marathon. Meanwhile, Rob de Castella, who won that day, sat in behind us, probably smiling to himself at the lack of patience of the two Americans. By 12 miles, my breathing wasn’t in its usual rhythm, my legs were already pretty beat up, and my intestines were becoming increasingly uncomfortable. During the next mile, I fell off the lead bunch and started to tighten up. Knowing that I had gone too hard too early, I stopped just past the halfway mark and quietly cursed myself. It was a lesson well learned and a mistake I never made again.

The only positive aspect of dropping out so early was that I recovered fully in about a week. A few weeks later, I used my fitness and frustration to set a personal best of 28:41 for 10,000 meters on the track, and in July I redeemed myself over 26.2 miles by winning the San Francisco Marathon in 2:13:29.

My other dropout was in the 1986 Twin Cities Marathon, which was also the trial race for the next year’s world championships. I went into the race with a tight hamstring from stretching too hard after a track workout several weeks earlier. It felt OK early in the race but gradually tightened up in the drizzly 40-degree Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) weather. At 20 miles, I was at the back of the lead pack when my hamstring tightened completely. I couldn’t run another step. After walking for about a mile, I gratefully accepted a ride to the finish. That dropout was easier mentally because the decision was out of my hands.

Having had a frustrating year in the marathon, I was determined to get a decent race under my belt as quickly as possible. My physical therapist said that the hamstring wasn’t too badly damaged and that I should run easily for about 10 days. With regular massage, it loosened up, and I decided to run the New York City Marathon, which was 3 weeks after Twin Cities. I ran conservatively and gradually moved from 30th place at halfway to finish ninth in 2:14:09.

I used those lessons to finish third running even splits in the 1987 New York City Marathon in 2:11:54 and five months later running a strong last 10 miles to move up from seventh to third in the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon.

—Pete Pfitzinger

Bad patches between halfway and 20 miles can also stem from encroaching muscular fatigue. Do periodic body scans to see if you’re starting to run less efficiently. Go from top to bottom, focusing on one element of good form at a time. Is your head lined up over your shoulders? Are you relaxed in the face and neck? Are your shoulders low and even? Are your hands loosely cupped? Is your trunk tall and not bent over at the waist? Are your hips relaxed? Are your feet landing under rather than ahead of your center of mass?

You can do these scans in just a few seconds. If an area feels tight or out of alignment, envision how it felt in the early, relatively easy miles, and try to regain that form. Fixing these small form deviations will make the current stretch feel a little easier and will lessen the chance of an even bigger form breakdown late in the race.

You don’t need to constantly monitor your form. A quick check every mile or so is plenty. Keep doing these body scans the rest of the race, both to maintain your technique and to provide a different psychological focus.

Taking in carbohydrate as often as possible during the second half of the race can help you maintain your mental focus. The only fuel for your brain is glucose (carbohydrate), and when you become carbohydrate depleted, the amount of glucose reaching the brain starts to decrease. If you’ve carbohydrate-loaded, this shouldn’t start to affect you until well past the 20-mile (32 km) mark. As discussed in chapter 2, taking in carbohydrate (in fluids and gels) during the race and particularly during the second half will help ensure that you stay alert and think clearly throughout the race.

THE FINAL 6 MILES AND 385 YARDS (10 KM)

Having made it to 20 miles (32 km), you’re at the most rewarding stage of the marathon. This is the part that you have prepared for during your long months of training. This is when your long runs, during which you worked hard over the last stages, will really pay off. Until now, everything required the patience to hold back. Now, you’re free to see what you’ve got. During these final 6 miles and 385 yards (10 km), you get to dig deep and use up any energy that you have left. This is what the marathon is all about. This is the stretch that poorly prepared marathoners fear and well-prepared marathoners relish.

The key from 20 miles (32 km) to the finish is to push as hard as you can without having disaster strike in the form of a cramp or very tight muscles. You will have prepared yourself for this during your long runs, your marathon-pace runs, and, to a lesser extent, your tempo runs. You need to use your body’s feedback to determine just how hard you can push. Chances are that by now, your calf muscles, hamstrings, quads, or some combination of these are on edge and will limit how fast you can go. You need to test the waters a bit and push to what you perceive to be the limit that your muscles will tolerate. This is a progressive meting-out process in which you can take progressively greater risks as the finish line nears.

Although doing the how-many-miles-to-go math can be daunting early on in the marathon, in this final stage it can help keep you focused. As the finish approaches, telling yourself, “Less than 3 miles to go,” or “Just 15 minutes more,” can be motivating. If you’re struggling a bit toward the end, picture yourself finishing a run on your favorite training loop so the remaining distance seems more manageable.

If you’ve been taking in fluid and carbohydrate throughout the race, your muscles should be in pretty good condition. Keep drinking until 25 miles (40 km). Keeping up your blood sugar level will keep you alert so you can concentrate well to the end. If your stomach is bothering you in the final miles, use the rinse-and-spit drink technique discussed in chapter 2.

When you see the finish line approaching, give a little more effort so you run strongly over the line. Show yourself that you have mastered the marathon and are able to kick it in a bit to the finish. Then enjoy the fruits of your labor.

In these first several chapters, we’ve looked at preparing for and running the marathon from all the necessary angles. Now it is time to put theory into practice. The rest of this book contains training schedules that implement the physiological principles of marathoning. The knowledge gained from this first section of the book combined with the marathon-specific fitness that following the schedules will bring you should leave you well prepared for marathon success.

PART II

Training Programs

8

FOLLOWING THE SCHEDULES

As we noted in the preface, many readers want to get right to the training schedule of their choice and start working. That’s fine, but before getting too far into your training, you’ll want to read this chapter. In it, you’ll learn the best way to do each of the run types called for in the schedules. You’ll also see how to tailor the mileage in the schedules to your capacity and what to do when the almost inevitable roadblocks pop up during your training.

The training schedules in chapters 9 through 13 include a specific workout for each day as well as a category of training for that day. Many of the workouts provide a range of distance so that you can tailor the session based on how you’re feeling that day. For example, a recovery run may specify a range of 5 to 7 miles, a general aerobic run may call for 8 to 10 miles, and a medium-long run may be 12 to 14 miles. By selecting the distance that feels right for your energy level, you fulfill the training purpose for the day while listening to your body.

The workouts are divided into eight categories: long runs, medium-long runs, marathon-pace runs, lactate-threshold (LT) runs, general aerobic runs, recovery runs, V̇O₂max intervals, and speed training. Each run is explained here, including how to get the most benefit from a given workout. For an in-depth explanation of the physiological benefit and role of each type of training, see chapter 1.

LONG RUNS

In the training schedules, a long run is any run of 16 miles (26 km) or longer. The intention of long runs is (obviously) to improve your endurance in preparation for the marathon’s 26.2 miles (42.2 km).

To gain the most from your long runs, do them in the correct intensity range. Long runs shouldn’t be slow jogs during which you just accumulate time on your feet. As discussed in chapter 1, the appropriate pace for a specific long run depends on the purpose of that run within your training program. The most beneficial intensity range for most of your long runs is 10 to 20 percent slower than your goal marathon race pace. For most marathoners, long-run pace coincides with about 75 to 83 percent of maximal heart rate or 66 to 77 percent of heart rate reserve. In terms of your breathing, this effort should feel about the same or slightly harder than a general aerobic (or average) run but considerably easier than marathon race pace. In this intensity range you find the optimal balance between running hard enough to simulate the muscle patterns and posture you’ll use at marathon race pace and running moderately enough that you can recover relatively quickly for your other important training sessions.

Start out at the slow end of the range. Gradually pick up the pace so you run the last 5 to 10 miles (8-16 km) at about 10 percent slower than your goal marathon race pace. Gradually picking up the pace during your long runs and finishing strongly will also provide positive psychological reinforcement that you’re in control of the marathon. To gain the greatest benefit, design your long-run courses to simulate the hill profile of your marathon. (See the section on hill running later in this chapter.) If your long-run course is much hillier than your marathon, your pace will be somewhat slower.

The schedules also include marathon-specific long runs at goal marathon race pace (discussed later in the chapter) and slower long runs the day after a tune-up race. On the day after a race or hard workout, your long run should be at a relaxed pace because you’re likely to be tired and stiff, which will increase your likelihood of injury. Start these long runs like a recovery run. If your muscles loosen up as the run progresses, increase the training stimulus by increasing your pace to about 15 to 20 percent slower than marathon race pace.

MEDIUM-LONG RUNS

A medium-long run is any run of 11 to 15 miles (18-24 km). Medium-long runs reinforce the physiological benefits of your long runs. When your legs are reasonably fresh, such as the day after a general aerobic run or recovery run, the pace for these runs should be similar to the pace for long runs. If you do a hard training session the day before a medium-long run, do the medium-long run toward the slower end of the intensity range.

Avoid the temptation to do your medium-long runs too hard because this will prolong your recovery time and reduce the quality of your other key workouts. As with long runs, design your courses for medium-long runs to simulate your marathon.

MARATHON-PACE RUNS

Marathon-pace runs are medium-long or long runs during which you run most of the miles at your goal marathon pace. These runs provide the precise physiological benefit of allowing you to practice the pace and form of race day. They’re also a great confidence booster.

Start these runs comfortably, as you would other medium-long or long runs, and then run the last portion at marathon race pace. For example, if the schedule calls for 16 miles (26 km) with 12 miles (19 km) at marathon race pace, gradually pick up the pace during the first 4 miles (6 km), and then run the last 12 miles (19 km) at marathon goal pace. The objective of these runs is to prepare your body as specifically as possible for your upcoming marathon, so design your course to simulate your marathon as closely as possible. For most well-trained marathoners, marathon pace coincides with about 81 to 88 percent of maximal heart rate or 74 to 84 percent of heart rate reserve.

Matt Glynn

Fastest marathon: 2:30:43 (Twin Cities, 2004)

The most gratifying aspect of Advanced Marathoning’s success is hearing from satisfied readers. That’s especially the case when the readers are already dedicated, knowledgeable runners who improved after following one of our schedules.

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Description

Matt Glynn, of Buffalo, New York, is one such reader. A member of his high school cross country team, Glynn ran on his own in college and discovered how much he loves long-distance running. He ran his first marathon at age 19, finishing just under 3:30. He plugged away, aiming to break 3:00, which he did in 1998 when he was in his late 20s. From there Glynn continued to progress, all the way down to sub-2:40.

But Glynn knew he had more potential. “I was trying to break 2:30,” he says, “and needed a guide to get me there.” In 2002, he started following the 12-week, 70-plus-miles-per week schedule from the first edition of Advanced Marathoning. “I made breakthroughs with these workouts,” Glynn says. “I’ve now run 40 marathons, and my top nine times, all sub-2:40, have come since I’ve used Advanced Marathoning plans.” That includes his best of 2:30:43, set at Twin Cities in 2004, when Glynn was in his mid-30s. Now in his mid-50s, Glynn still follows a plan for his usual schedule of a spring and fall marathon, topping out at 55 miles a week as a way to balance proper preparation with the recognition that 80-mile weeks will likely do him more harm than good.

“I appreciate the blend of speed workouts, medium-long runs, and recovery runs, and how all of the science and logic behind everything is spelled out in the book,” Glynn says. The biggest changes to what he was doing on his own were the medium-long runs and long runs with segments at marathon race pace. “Those workouts were not easy, but I found the rest of the week’s workouts balanced enough that I came into those workouts still ready to go,” he says. “It took some adjusting, but I understood the logic behind the workouts spelled out in the book and stuck with it.”

On a practical level, his biggest adjustment was to the midweek medium-long run. We’ve heard the same from many readers. Most wind up doing like Glynn—namely, finding a way to make it happen. That often means getting up however early and having faith the extra work will pay off. “I’ve always strived to carve out meaningful time for workouts at times when it won’t take away from family time and work time, like early in the morning,” Glynn, a reporter for the Buffalo News and father of two boys, says. (Now that his sons are of college age, family time is running time—they join Glynn for some workouts and races.)

Elsewhere in this chapter we discuss readers’ tweaks to the training schedules. Glynn has been more of a follow-it-as-best-as-possible marathoner, except when hurt or sick. “I like knowing I’m arriving at the starting line as prepared as I could be, from following the plan meticulously,” he says. “I know each workout has value in the bigger picture of fitness and preparation. I trust in the training plan, and want to get everything I can from it.”

Two decades past his personal best, Glynn has found other ways to set meaningful time goals. “I try to base my goal times off other races I run during the year and how things are going with tune-up races before a marathon,” he says. “I find those times give you a realistic picture of what you’re capable of.”

More subjectively, Glynn still aims to do his best in each marathon. “Even if I’m not racing the pace I once did, the distance—and often the course—pose enough of a challenge,” he says. “There’s a satisfaction in knowing that I got the most out of my training, even though my finish time goal isn’t ambitious as it once was. I’ve struggled through enough marathons to relish it on the days when a race goes right. Those memories can carry you forward in future training runs and future marathons.”

LACTATE-THRESHOLD RUNS

The lactate-threshold (LT) runs in the training schedules are tempo runs in which you run for at least 20 minutes at your LT pace. The effort should be the pace that you could race for about an hour. For most marathoners, this pace range corresponds with about 83 to 90 percent of maximal heart rate or 77 to 87 percent of heart rate reserve. Another way to estimate LT pace for experienced runners is about 10 to 15 seconds per mile slower than 10K race pace. Tempo runs provide a strong stimulus to improve your LT pace, which leads to similar improvements in your marathon race pace. The LT sessions are done after a 2- to 3-mile (3-5 km) warm-up and should be followed by about a 15-minute cool-down. The tempo runs in the schedules range from 20 to 25 minutes up to 30 to 40 minutes for the 12-week schedules and 35 to 45 minutes for the 18-week schedules. As an example, if the schedule calls for 10 miles (16 km) for the day and 30 to 35 minutes at LT pace, warm up for 3 miles (5 km), do the tempo run, then cool down for 2 miles (3 km) or so to reach a total of 10 miles.

Slower runners obviously cover less distance in the same amount of time, but because LT pace is the pace you could race for an hour, basing these sessions on time is appropriate for faster and slower marathoners. In previous editions of Advanced Marathoning, we prescribed the distance for tempo runs and have responded to feedback from slower marathoners that, for example, a 6-mile tempo run would take 50 minutes and it was a struggle to maintain that effort for that long.

As mentioned in chapter 1, lactate threshold workouts can be done as one continuous tempo run or as a long interval session at your LT pace (termed LT intervals or cruise intervals). Table 8.1 provides examples of LT interval workouts that are roughly equivalent alternatives to the tempo runs in the training schedules. The recovery jog is intended to be brief enough that you gain the full accumulated benefit of the two or three LT intervals in each workout but long enough that you get an appropriate mental break before the next effort. The jog between efforts starts gently, similar to the jog between V̇O₂max intervals, but as you feel ready, gradually pick up the pace to standard recovery run effort.

Table 8.1 LT Interval Workout Alternatives for Tempo Runs

Tempo run duration | LT interval workouts
20-25 min | 3 × 8 min @ LT pace (3-min jog between) 12 min @ LT pace, jog 4 min, 10 min @ LT pace 10 min @ LT pace, jog 3 min, 8 min @ LT pace, jog 3 min, 6 min @ LT pace
25-30 min | 3 × 9 min @ LT pace (3-min jog between) 15 min @ LT pace, jog 4 min, 12 min @ LT pace 12 min @ LT pace, jog 4 min, 10 min @ LT pace, jog 4 min, 8 min @ LT pace
30-35 min | 3 × 11 min @ LT pace (3-min jog between) 18 min @ LT pace, jog 4 min, 14 min @ LT pace 14 min @ LT pace, jog 4 min, 11 min @ LT pace, jog 4 min, 8 min @ LT pace
35-40 min | 3 × 12 min @ LT pace (4-min jog between) 20 min @ LT pace, jog 5 min, 16 min @ LT pace 16 min @ LT pace, jog 4 min, 12 min @ LT pace, jog 4 min, 8 min @ LT pace
40-45 min | 3 × 14 min (4-min jog between) 22 min @ LT pace, jog 5 min, 20 min @ LT pace 18 min @ LT pace, jog 4 min, 14 min @ LT pace, jog 5 min, 10 min @ LT pace

GENERAL AEROBIC RUNS

General aerobic runs include your standard, moderate-effort runs of up to 10 miles (16 km). They’re slower than LT runs, shorter than medium-long runs, and faster than recovery runs. The intention of general aerobic runs is to enhance your overall aerobic conditioning through boosting your training volume; these runs improve your marathon readiness because many of the beneficial adaptations that improve endurance are related to the total volume of your training.

For most runners, the optimal intensity range for these runs is about 15 to 25 percent slower than marathon race pace. Usually, this pace range coincides with about 72 to 80 percent of maximal heart rate or 62 to 73 percent of heart rate reserve. Because the primary purpose of these runs is to increase your training volume, if you’re too tired to do a hard training session the next day, that means you’re doing your general aerobic runs too hard.

RECOVERY RUNS

Recovery runs are relatively short runs done at a relaxed pace to enhance recovery for your next hard workout. These runs aren’t necessarily jogs, but they should be noticeably slower than your other workouts of the week. The optimal intensity for recovery runs for most marathoners is to stay below about 75 percent of maximal heart rate or 66 percent of heart rate reserve. On a subjective basis, on recovery runs you should feel as if you’re storing up energy rather than slowly leaking it. You should finish the run refreshed. Going too hard on recovery days—when your body is most tired—means you’ll be more tired than you should when it counts later in the week.

Try to find flat courses for your recovery runs, but if your recovery runs include some hills, you’ll need to extend the range by a few beats per minute on the uphills or run exceedingly slowly. Whenever possible, do your recovery runs on soft surfaces to help speed recovery that much more. Some marathoners opt for aerobic cross-training over running on their recovery days. This can be a good choice if you’ve often gotten injured during previous marathon buildups, are trying to finesse your way through a minor ailment, or are unusually sore or tired the day after your long run. Cross-train for the amount of time the prescribed recovery run would take you and at the same intensity as for a recovery run. You’ll most likely to be able to sustain the proper intensity with a form of cross-training you’re familiar with. Aerobic cross-training options are discussed in chapter 4.

V̇O2MAX INTERVALS

The V̇O₂max intervals in the schedules range from 600 meters to 1,600 meters and are run at current 5K race pace. Though V̇O₂max work is an important part of your marathon preparation, it’s not as crucial in the marathon as it is in races such as the 5K and 10K. The V̇O₂max sessions in these schedules, then, strike a balance between being long enough to provide a powerful training stimulus and short enough so you can recover quickly for your other important workouts of the week.

The same reasoning applies for the prescribed pace in these V̇O₂max workouts. Whereas runners focusing on shorter races need to do some of their intervals closer to 3K race pace, marathoners gain maximum benefit from sticking to 5K race pace. By sticking to the lower to middle end of the effective intensity range (i.e., about 93-95 percent of maximal heart rate or 91-94 percent of heart rate reserve), you’ll provide a strong stimulus to improve your V̇O₂max while recovering quickly for your other important workouts. For that reason, the training intensities for V̇O₂max workouts in table 8.2 on page 171 call for only the more conservative 5K pace ranges.

The optimal amount of rest between intervals is debatable. One school of thought is to minimize rest so your metabolic rate stays high during the entire workout. This strategy makes for very difficult workouts (which can be good), but you risk shortening your workouts. Another school of thought is to allow your heart rate to decrease to a predetermined level (such as 70 percent of your maximal heart rate or 65 percent of your heart rate reserve) during your recovery between intervals, which provides close to the optimal balance of effort and recovery.

For the lower-tech crowd, a useful rule of thumb is to allow 50 to 90 percent of the length of time it takes to do the interval for your recovery. For example, if you’re running 1,000-meter repeats in 3:20, you would run slowly for 1:40 to 3:00 between intervals. We use this method of measuring recovery in the schedules.

SPEED TRAINING

Speed runs are repetitions of 50 to 200 meters that improve leg speed and running form. These workouts train your nervous system to allow you to maintain a faster rate of leg turnover during your races. For marathon training, strides of 100 meters are long enough to provide the desired benefits.

These sessions are done after a thorough warm-up and often toward the end of a general aerobic run or a recovery run. Allow yourself plenty of rest between repetitions so you can run each one with good technique.

A typical session of strides is 10 repetitions of 100 meters in which you accelerate up to full speed over the first 70 meters and then float for the last 30 meters. It’s critical to remain relaxed during these accelerations. Avoid clenching your fists, lifting your shoulders, tightening your neck muscles, and so on. Concentrate on running with good form, and focus on one aspect of good form, such as relaxed arms or complete hip extension, during each acceleration.

A typical rest is to jog and walk 100 to 200 meters between repetitions. The most important considerations are to maintain good running form and to concentrate on accelerating powerfully during each repetition.

As discussed in chapter 1, another way to improve your speed is by running short hills of 10 to 12 seconds up a moderately steep hill, then walking or jogging back to the start. These short efforts build muscle strength and power and improve your running economy. A very effective workout consists of combining short hill sprints with 100-meter strides on the flat. A typical workout consists of a 15-minute warm-up, followed by 6 to 8 uphill sprints of 10 to 12 seconds, and then 8 strides of 100 meters, finishing with a cool-down jog.

The prescribed training intensities used in this chapter and in chapters 1 and 3 are summarized in table 8.2. These intensity ranges are appropriate for most experienced marathon runners. Less experienced runners should generally train at the lower end of the recommended ranges, while elite runners will generally train at the high end of the ranges. (Heart rate isn’t relevant during the short speed sessions, so we’ve left them out of this table.)

Table 8.2 Heart Rate Intensities for Marathon Training Workouts

| Maximal heart rate (%) | Heart rate reserve (%)
Long/medium-long | 75-83 | 66-77
Marathon pace | 81-88 | 74-84
Lactate threshold | 83-90 | 77-87
General aerobic | 72-80 | 62-73
Recovery | <75 | <66
V̇O2max (5K pace) | 93-95 | 91-94

DOING DOUBLES

Marathoners have a tendency to start running twice a day before their weekly mileage warrants it. Doing doubles sounds like serious training, so runners often assume it must be better marathon preparation. The reality is quite different; as you increase your training mileage in preparation for a marathon, you should resist the urge to switch from single runs to doubles.

In chapter 1, we discussed the various training adaptations that are specific to improving your marathon performance. Marathon training focuses on endurance-based adaptations such as depleting your glycogen reserves to provide a stimulus for your body to store more glycogen and training your muscles to utilize more fat at a given speed. You’ll provide a greater stimulus for these adaptations through a single 12-mile (19 km) run than by doing a 7-miler (11 km) and a 5-miler (8 km) at the same pace.

It might sound counterintuitive, but runners preparing for shorter races should run more doubles at a given level of weekly mileage than marathoners. Runners focusing on 5Ks, for example, should start adding doubles when their weekly mileage gets above 50 (81 km). That’s because the 5K specialists’ main training emphasis is high-quality interval sessions, and more frequent, shorter runs will help keep their legs fresh for these workouts.

For marathoners, the basic guideline is to not do double workouts until you’ve maximized the amount you’re running in single workouts. If you’re preparing for a marathon and are running fewer than 75 miles (121 km) a week, you shouldn’t regularly run doubles. If you’re running fewer than 75 miles a week, by the time you get in your long run and a midweek medium-long run, there’s no reason to double more than once or twice a week to get in the remaining miles. It’s better to get in longer runs and give your body 22 or 23 hours of recovery between runs.

Once you get above 75 miles (121 km) a week, however, double workouts have a definite role in your marathon program. As with any other aspect of training, doubles should be introduced gradually. Start by adding one double per week and then another as you gradually increase your mileage. The schedules in chapters 9 through 13 reflect this approach to adding doubles, with double days called for only in the higher-mileage programs.

How, then, should you introduce doubles into your program? The training schedules in this book add second runs to a day’s training for specific reasons. One main category of second runs is on hard days. An easy run in the morning will loosen you up for an evening V̇O₂max session or tempo run. Similarly, 30 minutes of easy running in the evening will help you recover from a morning tempo run.

A second main use of doubles in the schedules is on recovery days. When your mileage increases to where your recovery days call for more than 8 miles (13 km) of running, it’s time to switch those days to easy doubles. It’s easier on your body and your recovery will be enhanced if you do two runs of 5 miles (8 km) rather than a single 10-miler (16 km). Avoid the temptation to add mileage to your recovery days for the sole purpose of boosting your weekly mileage. Extra mileage on these days is counterproductive because your recovery will be less complete for your subsequent hard days.

The schedules may also call for an easy second run on the day of your medium-long run. These runs will provide an incremental training stimulus by depleting your carbohydrate stores and training your muscles to rely more on fat at a given speed. It’s preferable to do the second, short run in the evening after a medium-long run in the morning. If your schedule is such that you’ll be doing your medium-long run in the evening, be sure to run very easily in the morning. As we discussed earlier in this chapter and in chapter 1, medium-long runs bring you the most benefit if they’re done at 10 to 20 percent slower per mile than marathon race pace, so don’t let a short morning run detract from the medium-long run’s quality. A better-quality medium-long run is preferable to a double in which the medium-long run is a slog.

WHEN DOUBLES AREN’T WORTH IT

The minimum time for an added second run should be 25 minutes. If you run less than that, it’s hardly worth the extra time and effort—both physiologically and in taking time from your busy life—to change, get yourself out the door, stretch, shower, and so on. That’s especially the case if a too-short, not-crucial run means cutting into precious sleep time. In some situations, it’s wiser to add cross-training to your program than to increase your risk of injury with more miles of running. Various options for cross-training are discussed in chapter 4.

The schedules never call for a second run on the day of your weekly long run. That would be a perfect example of mileage for mileage’s sake because an evening run after your long run will only slow your recovery. As soon as you finish your long run, your objective switches to recovering as quickly as possible for your upcoming hard training days.

A WORD ABOUT HARD DAYS

Looking at these schedules, you might be wondering, “Where are all the speed workouts?” After all, it’s normal to think that anyone preparing for a marathon should be training as hard as possible, and what better way to be sure you’re doing so than by hitting the track at least once a week for lung-searing intervals, right?

In chapter 1, we explained at length the principles underlying these schedules. Briefly put, we designed the schedules to provide the optimal stimuli to the physiological systems that most determine marathoning success—endurance, LT, and V̇O₂max, in that order of importance. It’s your long runs and tempo runs that have the most relevance to your performance on marathon day, not how often you’ve churned out a sterling set of half-mile repeats.

During your long buildup, understanding the components of marathon success can provide confidence that you’re training properly. Use the explanation of marathon physiology from chapter 1 not only to explain to your training buddies why you won’t be joining them for 400-meter repeats next week but also to remind yourself why you’re doing yet another 15-miler (24 km) in the middle of the workweek. If your running friends continue to chide you that you’re not training hard enough, invite them to follow the schedules with you for a few weeks, then report back. We suspect they’ll have gotten the message by then.

WHAT ABOUT HILL WORKOUTS?

In the training schedules, other than short hill sprints, we don’t prescribe specific hill training sessions. That’s because how much to focus on hill training depends on the topography of your marathon. For one of the pancake-flat courses designed to yield fast times, such as London, Chicago, or Berlin, you’ll need to be prepared to run for 26.2 miles (42.2 km) over unvarying terrain. If, however, you’ll be racing on a hilly course, the more closely you can simulate the terrain of the race in your training, both up and down, the better. (The classic course for which race simulation is essential is the Boston Marathon, which has sucked the lifeblood from many an unprepared runner.) By planning training runs to include hills of roughly the same length and steepness as your upcoming race, you’ll give yourself the best chance for an optimal performance on race day.

Any of the workouts in the training schedules can be run on hills. By training on hills and simulating your marathon course, you add variety to your training and make your preparation more specific to increase your likelihood of achieving your marathon goal.

Once or twice per week, your tempo runs, long runs, medium-long runs, and general aerobic runs should mimic the hill profile of your upcoming marathon. Simply adjust your pace to keep the effort at approximately the correct intensity. (Allow your heart rate to increase by up to 10 beats per minute on the uphills, but ease up after the hills to get back into the appropriate range.) You can even do some of your V̇O₂max sessions up and down hills, although it’s easy to overextend yourself by going too hard early in the workout. For uphill V̇O₂max workouts, your recovery will be somewhat longer than usual as you run back down the hill. That’s fine—the benefit of the uphill training outweighs this minor adjustment.

If you live in the flatlands but are training for a hilly marathon, don’t despair—with a bit of creativity you can gain the benefits of hill running. Runners in Miami have been known to run the ramps of a parking garage on Sunday mornings, and you can replicate almost any uphill workout on a treadmill.

Correct uphill running technique is relatively simple. The most common error in running uphill is leaning forward, which is counterproductive to maintaining speed. Looking ahead and not down will help you retain a more upright posture. Let your stride shorten and your knees lift naturally so that you feel as efficient as possible. You will tend to use your arms more as you lift your knees, but try to keep your shoulders and arms relaxed. On downhills, try not to brake. Keep your center of gravity perpendicular to the hill so gravity can help you run down it as quickly as possible.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR TRAINING GETS INTERRUPTED

Part of the challenge of the marathon is that preparing for it takes so long and the training required is so demanding that roadblocks along the way to your goal are nearly inevitable. It’s important not only to organize your training and life so that as few impediments as possible crop up but also to deal with the ones that nevertheless occur. The most common roadblocks are injuries and illnesses, bad weather, and outside commitments. Let’s consider each of these intrusions into your marathon preparation to see how to adjust the schedules.

Injuries and Illnesses

Injuries and illnesses are best caught early. Successful marathoners have the ability to recognize an injury or illness at an early stage before it becomes serious. Returning to training after an injury or illness requires careful analysis—too much too soon will result in additional time off. During this period, it’s important to avoid the factors that caused the injury or illness in the first place, such as worn-out shoes, running on concrete, overtraining, or a lack of sleep. Be sure to read chapter 3 carefully to learn how to stay on top of your recovery so your chances of getting hurt or sick are lessened.

If you’re forced to miss more than a few days of training, you need to decide whether to try to catch up or revise your marathon goal. This decision will be influenced by how much time you missed, how long you’ve been preparing, and how many weeks are left until your marathon. Missing 2.5 weeks of preparation when you have 16 weeks to go is no big deal, but missing that amount of time during the last 2 months of preparation will likely require you to modify your goal.

Table 8.3 provides guidelines for when you may need to revise your goals after an injury or illness. Typically, if you’ve lost fewer than 10 days of training, you can safely start back where you should have been on the schedules. If you’ve missed V̇O₂max workouts, however, you may need to slow your pace during your next few V̇O₂max sessions to reflect the lost time. If you’ve lost 10 or more days of training in the 8 weeks before your marathon, be open to revising your goal. When you resume full training, gather information from your timed sessions to get a sense of how much fitness you’ve lost and whether your marathon goal pace needs to be slowed by at least a few seconds per mile (1.6 km).

Table 8.3 Making Up for Lost Time

Number of days missed | 8 weeks or more until marathon | Less than 8 weeks until marathon
<10 | Resume schedule | Resume schedule
10-20 | Resume schedule | Revise goal
>20 | Revise goal | Revise goal

Mother Nature

In general, you’ll just have to deal with bad weather. Sometimes, however, Mother Nature dishes up a blizzard or blistering-hot weather that’s counterproductive to continued healthy training. If you can, find a treadmill indoors or choose an appropriate cross-training activity until the weather becomes bearable.

As with other factors influencing your marathon preparation, weather might necessitate some not-so-minor changes in your life. For example, you might need to alter your normal schedule during oppressive summer heat so you can get in reasonable training early in the morning. Or if your area has been snowed under for weeks, you’ll probably need to find a few well-plowed stretches where you can safely get in your miles.

Try to anticipate weather when picking your marathon goal. If you don’t run well in the heat and live in a sultry climate, it makes little sense to plan for a September marathon because your hardest training will need to occur during the least conducive weather of the year. Similarly, Boston in April can be a tough goal if you live in an area where winter running is a daily challenge.

The Real World

For most people, training for a marathon means more time and mental energy devoted to running. If that’s true for you, don’t set an ambitious marathon goal when you know the rest of your life will be busier than usual. Once you’ve picked your marathon and have decided how long you’ll prepare for it, try to anticipate and eliminate factors that would significantly interfere with your training.

WHY (AND HOW) YOU MIGHT SYSTEMATICALLY TWEAK THE SCHEDULES

We’ve looked at how to adjust the schedules if you hit one or more common roadblocks during your buildup. Readers of previous editions of Advanced Marathoning have also purposefully adjusted the schedules. Based on emails we’ve received and online discussions, here are the most common tweaks to the schedules and our thoughts on them.

Going Longer than the Schedules’ Longest Long Runs

Readers’ Tweak: This is the schedule adjustment we most often hear about. Many people say they feel better prepared on race day having done one or more long runs that are close to marathon distance. The psychological benefits of these longer long runs are cited more often than the physical benefits—having gone longer in training makes the marathon distance less daunting.

Our Take: The 18-week schedules in chapters 11 and 12 include one 24-mile run. If you’re following a different schedule, feel that one or two runs of up to 24 miles will boost your confidence, and you don’t have a history of injury related to training volume, by all means go ahead!

Doing More Tune-Up Races

Readers’ Tweak: Readers who enjoy racing (and the feedback it provides on their fitness) add one or more tune-up races to those called for in the schedules. The most common way to do this is to replace a V̇O2max workout or tempo run with a race. If the tune-up race is on a Saturday and is on the shorter end of the spectrum, runners will usually follow it with the long run prescribed for that Sunday. If the race is more toward half marathon distance, readers might do a longer-than-usual cool-down and count the day as the week’s long run.

Our Take: The key here is to get in close to the number of long runs prescribed in the schedules. If you can add 1 or 2 more tune-up races while still getting in the long runs, by all means go ahead!

Doing More Frequent V̇O2max Sessions and Other Forms of Speed Work

Readers’ Tweak: Some readers simply enjoy hard track workouts more than tempo runs and replace some of the latter with the former. These runners are typically relatively new to the marathon and feel that their speed is one of their primary assets.

Our Take: The key to marathon preparation is to prepare your body to run at a steady pace for 26.2 miles. Running a larger number of hard track workouts is counterproductive to marathon preparation because those sessions leave you tired for your more important training and is, therefore, not recommended.

Reducing the Distance of the Midweek Medium-Long Run

Readers’ Tweak: Primarily because of feeling pressed for time or low on energy, some readers purposefully go shorter than prescribed on the midweek medium-long run. Many keep this run between 10 to 12 miles throughout their buildup.

Our Take: This is a tough one; we can empathize with the difficulty of fitting in the midweek medium-long run, particularly during the winter months. Those runs are really beneficial for marathon preparation, so just do your best to hit the target distance. (For example, squeezing in 12 miles is better than settling for 10 miles.)

Reaching a Peak Weekly Volume That’s Between Those in the Schedules

Readers’ Tweak: Some readers feel that one schedule doesn’t have them running enough but that following the schedule with the next higher level of weekly volume will make them injured or too tired, so they aim for a weekly volume between the two schedules, usually while following the specific workouts prescribed in the lower-mileage schedule. For example, while mostly following the schedule for 55 to 70 miles (89-113 km) per week, readers might hit 75 miles (120 km) for their peak weeks.

Our Take: If it works for you, this is a sensible adjustment, so by all means go ahead!

Running the Same Weekly Volume on Fewer Days of Running

Readers’ Tweak: Some readers have found they feel better if they do the same weekly volume on fewer days of running. For example, in the up-to-55-miles (89 km) schedule, they’ll reach the target volume on 4 rather than 5 days per week of running. A typical tweak is to not run on one of the recovery run days in the schedule and run a little farther on the other prescribed running days.

Our Take: We can see how this approach may fit your overall life schedule. If it works for you, by all means go ahead!

Switching the Schedules to Longer Than a 7-Day Cycle

Readers’ Tweak: We’ve heard from several masters runners who spread the schedules’ 7-day training blocks over 8 or 10 or even more days. (Making this change means extending the number of weeks in your marathon buildup.) This tweak allows for more recovery after long runs, tempo runs, and the other most fatiguing workouts.

Our Take: We wholeheartedly endorse this approach for older marathoners who need more time for recovery than younger runners. We examine this approach in detail in chapter 5.

Of course, regardless of how focused you are on your training, you’re going to have the occasional day when meeting your training goal is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. A sick child, an unsympathetic boss, or a traffic accident all have a way of dashing plans for a high-quality tempo run. If necessary, juggle the days in the training schedule you’re following so that you get in the most important workouts while still allowing for adequate recovery. A good rule of thumb is that if you can do 90 percent of the planned training schedule, your preparation is going really well.

Now that we’ve looked at the principles behind successful marathon training and racing and how to implement those principles, let’s get to what you probably care most about—the training schedules, which constitute the rest of this book.

9

MARATHON TRAINING ON UP TO 55 MILES (89 KM) PER WEEK

This chapter is for runners who typically train less than 40 miles (64 km) per week but who are willing to up their mileage to about 55 miles (89 km) per week during marathon preparation. It includes an 18-week and a 12-week schedule. Both plans increase weekly mileage progressively from about 33 miles (53 km) to a peak of about 55 miles (89 km). We say “about 55 miles” because we provide a mileage range for each day of training so you can run a bit more or a bit less depending on how you’re feeling that day.

As discussed in chapter 1, it’s useful to divide your overall training schedule into training blocks of several weeks each. The training schedules consist of four blocks, which focus on endurance, lactate threshold (LT) and endurance, race preparation, and tapering, respectively. A final schedule, which contains a 5-week post marathon recovery program, can follow either of the training schedules.

Of the two training schedules presented in this chapter, we recommend the 18-week schedule for most situations. Eighteen weeks is plenty of time to stimulate the necessary adaptations to improve your marathon performance. At the same time, 18 weeks is short enough that you can focus your efforts without becoming bored with the process.

At times, however, you simply don’t have 18 weeks to prepare for your marathon. The 12-week schedule includes the same training blocks as the 18-week schedule, but because of the short time for preparation, each block is abbreviated. If you go into a marathon in a rush, you must realize that your preparation won’t be as thorough as if you had longer to prepare. The 12-week schedule takes into account that sometimes circumstances don’t allow you the optimal length of time for preparation and strives to provide a compact yet effective training program.

BEFORE STARTING THE SCHEDULES

These schedules are challenging right from the start and get harder as your marathon approaches. So that you can progress as the training increases in quantity and quality, and to minimize your chances of injury, you should be able to complete the first week of the schedule without too much effort.

Be realistic in assessing whether you’re ready for the first week of the schedule. For example, if you’ve been running 20 miles (32 km) per week and your longest run in the last several weeks was 6 miles (10 km), now isn’t the time to jump suddenly to a 31- to 36-mile (50-58 km) week containing an 11- to 12-mile (18-19 km) run and an 8- to 10-mile (13-16 km) run, as the first week of the 18-week schedule calls for. The idea behind the schedules isn’t to make you as tired as possible as soon as possible but to apply repeated training stress that you absorb and from which you benefit.

As a rule, you should be running at least 25 miles (40 km) a week before starting these schedules, and in the last month you should have comfortably completed a run close in length to the long run called for in the first week of the schedule.

READING THE SCHEDULES

The schedules are presented in a day-by-day format. The main limitation with this approach is that it’s impossible to guess the myriad outside factors that may influence your day-to-day nonrunning life. Work schedules, family life, relationships, school commitments, and Mother Nature all play a part in determining when you get to do your long runs and other aspects of marathon preparation. You’ll no doubt require some flexibility in your training and will need to juggle days around from time to time. That’s expected, and as long as you don’t try to make up for lost time by doing several hard days in a row, you should be able to avoid injury and overtraining. By following the principles covered in the earlier chapters, you’ll be able to safely fine-tune the training schedules to suit your circumstances.

The schedules express each day’s training in miles and kilometers; use whichever you’re accustomed to. The mile and kilometer ranges for each day (and the weekly total) are rough equivalents of each other, not a direct conversion from one to the other.

FOLLOWING THE SCHEDULES

Each column of the schedules represents a week’s training. For example, in the 12-week schedule, the column for 11 weeks to goal indicates that at the end of that week you have 11 weeks until your marathon. The schedules continue week by week until race week.

We’ve included a specific workout for each day as well as a category of training for that day. For example, in the 18-week schedule, on the Friday of the 7-weeks-to-goal column, the specific workout is a 12- to 13-mile (19-21 km) run, and the category of training for that day is medium-long run. This aspect of the schedules allows you to quickly see the balance of training during each week and the progression of workouts from week to week. Look again at the 18-week schedule—it’s easy to see that with 7 weeks to go until the marathon, there are four recovery days (two of running, two of rest or cross-training), along with an LT session, a long run, and a medium-long run. Looking at the row for Sunday, it’s easy to see how the long runs progress and then taper in the last few weeks before the marathon.

The workouts are divided into the following eight categories: long runs, medium-long runs, marathon-pace runs, general aerobic runs, LT runs, V̇O₂max intervals, recovery runs, and speed training. Each of these categories is explained in depth in chapter 8, and the physiology behind the training is explained in chapter 1.

RACING STRATEGIES

We discussed marathon race strategy at length in chapter 7. If you follow one of the schedules in this chapter, you’re probably a midpack runner. Unlike the situation the runners at the front of the field often face, you’ll probably have plenty of people around you to run with from start to finish. This can be good and bad.

On the plus side, obviously, you’re less likely to face lonely stretches with nobody to run with. Use this probability to your advantage—soon after the start, try to find other runners who look capable of maintaining your goal pace through at least 20 miles (32 km), and encourage them to work with you.

By following one of schedules in this chapter, you’ll be better able to hold up past 20 miles (32 km) than most of the runners who begin the race at your pace. Your superior preparation will mean you’ll have the pleasure of continually passing people until the finish. Look forward to this time. Pick a runner a few hundred yards or meters up the road, and set the short-term goal of catching them. Then go after your next victim, and keep doing so until the finish.

On the not-so-good side, you’re more likely than those at the front of the field to feel crowded in the early miles. Try not to let this upset you. Tell yourself that the crowds are helping you not to go out too fast, and if need be, work up gradually to your goal pace.

Don’t try to make up lost time suddenly if a break in the crowd appears. Instead, when you have clear running room, run no more than 10 seconds per mile (1.6 km) faster than goal pace until you’re back on schedule; you’ll burn less glycogen and be less likely to accumulate lactate by catching up gradually. If the deficit you have to make up isn’t too great, 5 seconds per mile (1.6 km) faster than goal pace is an even safer approach. Once you’re back on track, ease back to goal pace.

AFTER THE MARATHON

The final schedule in this chapter is a 5-week recovery schedule for after the marathon; it completes the training program and leaves you ready to prepare for future challenges. This schedule is appropriate whether you followed the 12- or 18-week marathon-prep schedule.

The recovery schedule is purposely conservative. You have little to gain by rushing back into training, and your risk of injury is elevated at this point, owing to the reduced resiliency of your muscles and connective tissue after the marathon.

The schedule starts with 2 days off from running, which is the bare minimum of time away from running you should allow yourself. If you still have acute soreness or tightness so severe that it will alter your form, or if you just don’t feel like running, take more than 2 days off. If ever there was a time to lose your marathoner’s mindset, the week after your goal race is it. Even most of the top runners in the world take days off after a marathon. They know that the nearly negligible benefits of a short run at this time are far outweighed by the risks. Not running now also increases your chances of being inspired to resume hard training when your body allows it.

Of course, some people don’t consider themselves real runners unless they run pretty much every day of their lives. Plod through a few miles if you must, but be aware that you’re likely prolonging your recovery.

What better aids recovery during this time is light cross-training, such as swimming or cycling. These activities increase blood flow through your muscles without subjecting them to pounding. Walking will also achieve this in the week after the marathon.

One way to ensure that you don’t run too hard too soon after your marathon is to use a heart rate monitor. As discussed in chapter 3, a heart rate monitor can help prevent you from going too fast on recovery days. During the first few weeks after the marathon, keep your heart rate below 75 percent of your maximal heart rate or 66 percent of your heart rate reserve. Running at this intensity will help your body overcome the stress of the marathon as quickly as possible.

During this 5-week recovery schedule, the number of days of running per week increases from 3 to 5. At the end of the 5 weeks, you should be fully recovered from the marathon and, with a little luck, injury free and mentally fresh.

Up to 55 Miles per Week 18-Week Schedule

Training Block 1—Endurance

| WEEKS TO GOAL
17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | (Recovery) 12
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | LT 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 20-25 minutes at LT pace | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | LT 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 30-35 minutes at LT pace | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 10 × 100 m strides
Wednesday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 4-6 miles (6-10 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 4-6 miles (6-10 km)
Thursday | Gen-aerobic 8-10 miles (13-16 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | LT 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 25-30 minutes at LT pace | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic 7-9 miles (11-14 km)
Friday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Saturday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Sunday | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | Marathon-pace run 12-14 miles (19-23 km) with 8 miles (13 km) at marathon pace | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Long run 15-17 miles (24-27 km) | Marathon-pace run 15-17 miles (24-27 km) with 10 miles (16 km) at marathon pace | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km)
Weekly volume | 31-36 miles (50-58 km) | 33-38 miles (53-61 km) | 39-44 miles (63-71 km) | 40-47 miles (64-76 km) | 42-48 miles (68-77 km) | 33-40 miles (53-64 km)

Training Block 2—LT + Endurance

| WEEKS TO GOAL
11 | 10 | 9 | (Recovery) 8 | 7
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | LT 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 30-35 minutes at LT pace | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Wednesday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Med-long run 13-14 miles (21-23 km) | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | LT 11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 35-45 minutes at LT pace
Thursday | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Rest or cross-train
Friday | Rest or cross-train | LT 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 35-40 minutes at LT pace | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km)
Saturday | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 4-6 miles (6-10 km)
Sunday | Long run 17-19 miles (27-31 km) | Long run 19-21 miles (31-34 km) | Marathon-pace run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) with 12 miles (19 km) at marathon pace | Med-long run 13-14 miles (21-23 km) | Long run 19-21 miles (31-34 km)
Weekly volume | 48-54 miles (77-87 km) | 51-57 miles (82-92 km) | 46-51 miles (74-82 km) | 40-45 miles (64-72 km) | 52-59 miles (84-95 km)

Training Block 3—Race Preparation

| WEEKS TO GOAL
6 | 5 | 4 | 3
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Wednesday | 1O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 5 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | V̇O2max 9-11 miles (14-18 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 5 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50-90% interval time | V̇O2max 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time
Thursday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Friday | Recovery + speed 4-5 miles (6-8 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | Recovery + speed 4-5 miles (6-8 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km)
Saturday | 8K-15K tune-up race (total 10-13 miles [16-21 km]) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | 8K-15K tune-up race (total 10-13 miles [16-21 km]) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Sunday | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Marathon-pace run 17-18 miles (27-29 km) with 14 miles (23 km) at marathon pace | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Long run 19-21 miles (31-34 km)
Weekly volume | 48-55 miles (77-89 km) | 48-54 miles (77-87 km) | 48-55 miles (77-89 km) | 49-55 miles (79-88 km)

Training Block 4—Taper and Race

| WEEKS TO GOAL
2 | 1 | Race week
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest
Tuesday | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 10 x 100 m strides | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Wednesday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Dress rehearsal 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 2 miles (3 km) at marathon pace
Thursday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest
Friday | Recovery + speed 4-5 miles (6-8 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Recovery + speed 4-5 miles (6-8 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Saturday | 8K-10K tune-up race (total 9-12 miles [14-19 km]) | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 2-4 miles (3-6 km)
Sunday | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Goal marathon
Weekly volume | 41-48 miles (66-77 km) | 31-35 miles (50-56 km) | 16-21 miles (26-34 km) (6 days prerace)

Up to 55 Miles per Week 12-Week Schedule

Training Block 1—Endurance

| WEEKS TO GOAL
11 | 10 | 9 | 8
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Wednesday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | LT 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 25-30 minutes at LT pace
Thursday | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | LT 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 20-25 minutes at LT pace | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km)
Friday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Saturday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Sunday | Marathon-pace run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) with 8 miles (13 km) at marathon pace | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Marathon-pace run 15-16 miles (24-26 km) with 10 miles (16 km) at marathon pace | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km)
Weekly volume | 33-37 miles (53-60 km) | 36-40 miles (58-64 km) | 42-47 miles (68-76 km) | 46-51 miles (74-82 km)

Training Block 2—LT + Endurance

| WEEKS TO GOAL
(Recovery) 7 | 6 | 5
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Wednesday | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | V̇O2max 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km)
Thursday | Rest or cross-train | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | Rest or cross-train
Friday | LT 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 25-30 minutes at LT pace | Rest or cross-train | LT 11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 30-40 minutes at LT pace
Saturday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Sunday | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Marathon-pace run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) with 12 miles (19 km) at marathon pace | Long run 19-20 miles (31-32 km)
Weekly volume | 38-42 miles (61-68 km) | 47-52 miles (76-84 km) | 52-57 miles (84-92 km)

Training Block 3—Race Preparation

| WEEKS TO GOAL
4 | 3 | 2
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 10 x 100m strides
Wednesday | 1O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 5 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | V̇O2max 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Thursday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Friday | Recovery + speed 4-5 miles (6-8 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | Recovery + speed 4-5 miles (6-8 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Saturday | 8K-15K tune-up race (total 10-13 miles [16-21 km]) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | 8K-10K tune-up race (total 9-12 miles [14-19 km])
Sunday | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Long run 19-21 miles (31-34 km) | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km)
Weekly volume | 47-54 miles (76-87 km) | 49-55 miles (79-89 km) | 41-48 miles (66-77 km)

Training Block 4—Taper and Race

| WEEKS TO GOAL
1 | Race week
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest
Tuesday | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Wednesday | 1O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Dress rehearsal 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 2 miles (3 km) at marathon pace
Thursday | Rest or cross-train | Rest
Friday | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Recovery + speed 4-5 miles (6-8 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Saturday | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 2-4 miles (3-6 km)
Sunday | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Goal marathon
Weekly volume | 31-35 miles (50-56 km) | 16-21 miles (26-34 km) (6 days prerace)

Up to 55 Miles per Week

Training Block 5—Postmarathon Recovery

| WEEKS AFTER THE MARATHON
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic 7-8 miles (11-13 km) | Gen-aerobic 7-8 miles (11-13 km)
Wednesday | Recovery 3-4 miles (5-6 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Thursday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Friday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides
Saturday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Sunday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km)
Weekly volume | 12-15 miles (19-24 km) | 19-23 miles (31-37 km) | 24-28 miles (39-45 km) | 28-32 miles (45-51 km) | 33-38 miles (53-61 km)

10

MARATHON TRAINING ON 55 TO 70 MILES (89-113 KM) PER WEEK

This chapter is for mid- to high-mileage marathoners. It includes an 18-week and a 12-week schedule. Both schedules increase weekly mileage progressively from about 55 miles (89 km) to a peak of about 70 miles (113 km). We say “about 70 miles” because we provide a mileage range for each day of training so you can run a bit more or a bit less depending on how you’re feeling that day.

As discussed in chapter 1, it’s useful to divide your overall training schedule into training blocks of several weeks each. The training schedules consist of four blocks, which focus on endurance, lactate threshold (LT) and endurance, race preparation, and tapering, respectively. A final schedule, which contains a 5-week post marathon recovery program, can follow either of the training schedules.

Of the two training schedules presented in this chapter, we recommend the 18-week schedule for most situations. Eighteen weeks is plenty of time to stimulate the necessary adaptations to improve your marathon performance. At the same time, 18 weeks is short enough that you can focus your efforts without becoming bored with the process.

At times, however, you simply don’t have 18 weeks to prepare for your marathon. The 12-week schedule includes the same training blocks as the 18-week schedules, but because of the short time for preparation, each block is abbreviated. If you go into a marathon in a rush, you must realize that your preparation won’t be as thorough as if you had longer to prepare. The 12-week schedule takes into account that sometimes circumstances don’t allow you the optimal length of time for preparation and strives to provide a compact yet effective training program.

BEFORE STARTING THE SCHEDULES

These schedules are challenging right from the start and get harder as your marathon approaches. So that you can progress as the training increases in quantity and quality and to minimize your chances of injury, you should be able to complete the first week of the schedule without too much effort.

Be realistic in assessing whether you’re ready for the first week of the schedule. For example, if you’ve been running 30 miles (48 km) per week and your longest run in the last several weeks was 8 miles (13 km), now isn’t the time to jump suddenly to a 48- to 57-mile (77-92 km) week containing a 13- to 15-mile (21-24 km) run and an 11- to 12-mile (18-19 km) run, as the first week of the 18-week schedule calls for. The idea behind the schedules isn’t to make you as tired as possible as soon as possible but to apply repeated training stress that you absorb and from which you benefit.

As a rule, you should be running at least 45 miles (72 km) a week before starting these schedules, and in the last month you should have comfortably completed a run close in length to the long run called for in the first week of the schedule.

READING THE SCHEDULES

The schedules are presented in a day-by-day format. The main limitation with this approach is that it’s impossible to guess the myriad of outside factors that may influence your day-to-day nonrunning life. Work schedules, family life, relationships, school commitments, and Mother Nature all play a part in determining when you get to do your long runs and other aspects of marathon preparation. You’ll no doubt require some flexibility in your training and will need to juggle days around from time to time. That’s expected, and as long as you don’t try to make up for lost time by doing several hard days in a row, you should be able to avoid injury and overtraining. By following the principles covered in the earlier chapters, you’ll be able to safely fine-tune the training schedules to suit your circumstances.

The schedules express each day’s training in miles and kilometers; use whichever you’re accustomed to. The mile and kilometer ranges for each day (and the weekly total) are rough equivalents of each other, not a direct conversion from one to the other.

FOLLOWING THE SCHEDULES

Each column of the schedules represents a week’s training. For example, in the 12-week schedule, the column for 11 weeks to goal indicates that at the end of that week you have 11 weeks until your marathon. The schedules continue week by week until race week.

We’ve included a specific workout for each day as well as a category of training for that day. For example, in the 18-week schedule, on the Tuesday of the 7-weeks-to-go column, the specific workout is a 6- to 7-mile (10-11 km) run, and the category of training for that day is recovery. This aspect of the schedules allows you to quickly see the balance of training during each week and the progression of workouts from week to week. Look again at the 18-week schedule—it’s easy to see that with 7 weeks to go until the marathon, there are four recovery days that week, along with an LT session, a long run, and a medium-long run. Looking at the row for Sunday, it’s easy to see how the long runs progress and then taper in the last few weeks before the marathon.

The workouts are divided into the following eight categories: long runs, medium-long runs, marathon-pace runs, general aerobic runs, LT runs, V̇O₂max intervals, recovery runs, and speed training. Each of these categories is explained in depth in chapter 8, and the physiology behind the training is explained in chapter 1.

RACING STRATEGIES

We discussed marathon race strategy at length in chapter 7. Part of that discussion centered on running with a group when possible. If you follow one of the schedules in this chapter, you might well be finishing within the top quarter or third of the field in your marathon. That means you’re likely to have runners around you throughout the marathon, especially in a big-city race, but there won’t be so many people in front of you at the start that you’ll spend the first few miles navigating around crowds. Make use of this probable position within the field; once you feel as if you’re running comfortably at your goal pace, look around for other runners who appear able to sustain the pace until the end. Talk to them, ask what their goals are, and try to find others to run with.

In chapter 7, we also discussed the importance of a conservative early pace. If you run intelligently in the early part of the race, you’ll have runners to pick off regularly in the last 10 miles (16 km) or so because others who are either less prepared or more foolhardy will come back to you.

AFTER THE MARATHON

The final schedule in this chapter is a 5-week recovery schedule for after the marathon; it completes the training program and leaves you ready to prepare for future challenges. This schedule is appropriate whether you followed the 12- or 18-week marathon-prep schedule.

The recovery schedule is purposely conservative. You have little to gain by rushing back into training, and your risk of injury is elevated at this point, owing to the reduced resiliency of your muscles and connective tissue after the marathon.

The schedule starts with 2 days off from running, which is the bare minimum of time away from running you should allow yourself. If you still have acute soreness or tightness so severe that it will alter your form, or if you just don’t feel like running, take more than 2 days off. If ever there was a time to lose your marathoner’s mindset, the week after your goal race is it. Even most of the top runners in the world take days off after a marathon. They know that the nearly negligible benefits of a short run at this time are far outweighed by the risks. Not running now will also increase your chances of being inspired to resume hard training when your body allows it.

Of course, some people don’t consider themselves real runners unless they run pretty much every day of their lives. Plod through a few miles if you must, but be aware that you’re likely prolonging your recovery.

What better aids recovery during this time is light cross-training, such as swimming or cycling. These activities increase blood flow through your muscles without subjecting them to pounding. Walking will also achieve this in the week after the marathon.

One way to ensure that you don’t run too hard too soon after your marathon is to use a heart rate monitor. As discussed in chapter 3, a heart rate monitor can help prevent you from going too fast on recovery days. During the first few weeks after the marathon, keep your heart rate below 75 percent of your maximal heart rate or 66 percent of your heart rate reserve. Running at this intensity will help your body overcome the stress of the marathon as quickly as possible.

During this 5-week recovery schedule, the number of days of running per week increases from 3 to 5. At the end of the 5 weeks, you should be fully recovered from the marathon and, with a little luck, injury free and mentally fresh.

55 to 70 Miles per Week 18-Week Schedule

Training Block 1—Endurance

| WEEKS TO GOAL
17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | (Recovery) 12
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | LT 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 20-25 minutes at LT pace | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-9 miles (11-14 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | LT 8-10 miles (13-16 km) with 30-35 minutes at LT pace | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) |with 10 × 100 m strides
Wednesday | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | Med-long run 11-13 miles (18-21km) | Med-long run 12-14 miles (19-23 km) | Med-long run 13-15 miles (21-24 km) | Med-long run 13-15 miles (21-24 km) | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km)
Thursday | Recovery 4-6 miles (6-10 km) | Recovery 4-6 miles (6-10 km) | Recovery 4-6 miles (6-10 km) | Recovery 4-6 miles (6-10 km) | Recovery 4-6 miles (6-10 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Friday | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | LT 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 25-30 minutes at LT pace | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km)
Saturday | Recovery 4-6 miles (6-10 km) | Recovery 4-6 miles (6-10 km) | Recovery 4-6 miles (6-10 km) | Recovery 4-6 miles (6-10 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Sunday | Med-long run 13-15 miles (21-24 km) | Marathon-pace run 15-16 miles (24-26 km) with 8 miles (13 km) at marathon pace | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Long run 17-18 miles (27-29 km) | Marathon-pace run 17-18 miles (27-29 km) with 10 miles (16 km) at marathon pace | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km)
Weekly volume | 48-57 miles (77-92 km) | 49-59 miles (79-95 km) | 52-61 miles (84-98 km) | 56-65 miles (90-105 km) | 55-64 miles (89-103 km) | 49-55 miles (79-89 km)

Training Block 2—LT + Endurance

| WEEKS TO GOAL
11 | 10 | 9 | (Recovery) 8 | 7
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | LT 9-11 miles (14-18 km) with 30-35 minutes at LT pace | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Wednesday | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 7 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km)
Thursday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Friday | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | LT 10-12 miles (16-19 km) with 35-40 minutes at LT pace | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | LT 11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 35-45 minutes at LT pace
Saturday | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 10 × 100 m strides | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 8 × 10 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Sunday | Long run 19-21 miles (31-34 km) | Long run 19-21 miles (31-34 km) | Marathon-pace run 18-19 miles (29-31 km) with 12 miles (19 km) at marathon pace | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Long run 21-22 miles (34-35 km)
Weekly volume | 63-71 miles (101-114 km) | 61-69 miles (98-111 km) | 59-65 miles (95-105 km) | 52-58 miles (84-93 km) | 64-70 miles (103-113 km)

Training Block 3—Race Preparation

| WEEKS TO GOAL
6 | 5 | 4 | 3
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | V̇O2max 10-12 miles (16-19 km) with 6 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Wednesday | 1O2max 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 5 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | V̇O2max 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 5 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | V̇O2max 11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 6 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time
Thursday | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km)
Friday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 8 × 100 m strides
Saturday | 8K-15K tune-up race (total 10-14 miles [16-23 km]) | Recovery 5-7 miles (8-11 km) | 8K-15K tune-up race (total 10-14 miles [16-23 km]) | Recovery 5-7 miles (8-11 km)
Sunday | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Marathon-pace run 19-20 miles (31-32 km) with 14 miles (23 km) at marathon pace | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Long run 19-21 miles (31-34 km)
Weekly volume | 57-66 miles (92-106 km) | 63-71 miles (101-114 km) | 55-64 miles (89-103 km) | 63-71 miles (101-114 km)

Training Block 4—Taper and Race

| WEEKS TO GOAL
2 | 1 | Race week
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest | Rest
Tuesday | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 12 × 100 m strides | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Wednesday | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Dress rehearsal 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 2 miles (3 km) at marathon pace
Thursday | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery 3-4 miles (5-6 km)
Friday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery + speed 4-5 miles (6-8 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Saturday | 8K-10K tune-up race (total 10-12 miles [16-19 km]) | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 2-4 miles (3-6 km)
Sunday | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Goal marathon
Weekly volume | 52-59 miles (84-95 km) | 40-46 miles (64-74 km) | 21-27 miles (34-43 km) (6 days prerace)

55 to 70 Miles per Week 12-Week Schedule

Training Block 1—Endurance

| WEEKS TO GOAL
11 | 10 | 9 | 8
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km)
Wednesday | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Med-long run 13-14 miles (21-23 km) | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km)
Thursday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Friday | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | LT 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 20-25 minutes at LT pace | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | LT 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 25-30 minutes at LT pace
Saturday | Recovery 4-6 miles (6-10 km) | Recovery 4-6 miles (6-10 km) | Recovery 4-6 miles (6-10 km) | Recovery 4-6 miles (6-10 km)
Sunday | Marathon-pace run 15-16 miles (24-26 km) with 8 miles (13 km) at marathon pace | Long run 16-18 miles (26-29 km) | Marathon-pace run 17-18 miles (27-29 km) with 10 miles (16 km) at marathon pace | Long run 17-19 miles (27-31 km)
Weekly volume | 52-59 miles (84-95 km) | 54-62 miles (87-100 km) | 56-63 miles (90-101 km) | 59-67 miles (95-108 km)

Training Block 2—LT + Endurance

| WEEKS TO GOAL
(Recovery) 7 | 6 | 5
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 10 × 100 m strides | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 8 × 100 m strides
Wednesday | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | V̇O2max 11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 6 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km)
Thursday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Friday | LT 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 25-30 minutes at LT pace | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | LT 11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 30-40 minutes at LT pace
Saturday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Sunday | Long run 15-16 miles (24-26 km) | Marathon-pace run 18-19 miles (29-31 km) with 12 miles (19 km) at marathon pace | Long run 19-21 miles (31-34 km)
Weekly volume | 51-57 miles (82-92 km) | 64-70 miles (103-113 km) | 63-70 miles (101-113 km)

Training Block 3—Race Preparation

| WEEKS TO GOAL
4 | 3 | 2
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 12 × 100 m strides
Wednesday | 1O2max 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 5 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | V̇O2max 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 6 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km)
Thursday | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Friday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Saturday | 8K-15K tune-up race (total 10-14 miles [16-23 km]) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | 8K-10K tune-up race (total 10-12 miles [16-19 km])
Sunday | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Long run 19-21 miles (31-34 km) | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km)
Weekly volume | 55-64 miles (89-103 km) | 63-70 miles (101-113 km) | 52-59 miles (84-95 km)

Training Block 4—Taper and Race

| WEEKS TO GOAL
1 | Race week
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest
Tuesday | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 10 × 100 m strides | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Wednesday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Dress rehearsal 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 2 miles (3 km) at marathon pace
Thursday | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery 3-4 miles (5-6 km)
Friday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery + speed 4-5 miles (6-8 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Saturday | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 10 × 100 m strides | Recovery 2-4 miles (3-6 km)
Sunday | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Goal marathon
Weekly volume | 40-46 miles (64-74 km) | 21-27 miles (34-43 km) (6 days prerace)

55 to 70 Miles per Week

Training Block 5—Postmarathon Recovery

| WEEKS AFTER THE MARATHON
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Wednesday | Recovery 3-4 miles (5-6 km) | Recovery 4-6 miles (6-10 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Gen-aerobic 7-8 miles (11-13 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km)
Thursday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Friday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 8 × 100 m strides
Saturday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Sunday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic 7-8 miles (11-13 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | Med-long run 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | Med-long run 11-13 miles (18-21 km)
Weekly volume | 12-15 miles (19-24 km) | 20-25 miles (32-40 km) | 28-33 miles (45-53 km) | 33-38 miles (53-61 km) | 38-44 miles (61-71 km)

11

MARATHON TRAINING ON 70 TO 85 MILES (113-137 KM) PER WEEK

This chapter is for high-mileage marathoners. It includes an 18-week and a 12-week schedule. Both schedules increase weekly mileage progressively from about 65 miles (105 km) to a peak of about 85 miles (137 km). We say “about 85 miles” because we provide a mileage range for each day of training so you can run a bit more or a bit less depending on how you’re feeling that day.

As discussed in chapter 1, it’s useful to divide your overall training schedule into training blocks of several weeks each. The training schedules consist of four blocks, which focus on endurance, lactate threshold (LT) and endurance, race preparation, and tapering, respectively. A final schedule, which contains a 5-week post marathon recovery program, can follow either of the training schedules.

Of the two training schedules presented in this chapter, we recommend the 18-week schedule for most situations. Eighteen weeks is plenty of time to stimulate the necessary adaptations to improve your marathon performance. At the same time, 18 weeks is short enough that you can focus your efforts without becoming bored with the process.

At times, however, you simply don’t have 18 weeks to prepare for your marathon. The 12-week schedule includes the same training blocks as the 18-week schedule, but because of the short time for preparation, each block is abbreviated. If you go into a marathon in a rush, you must realize that your preparation won’t be as thorough as if you had longer to prepare. The 12-week schedule takes into account that sometimes circumstances don’t allow you the optimal length of time for preparation and strives to provide a compact yet effective training program.

BEFORE STARTING THE SCHEDULES

These schedules are challenging right from the start and get harder as your marathon approaches. So that you can progress as the training increases in quantity and quality and to minimize your chances of injury, you should be able to complete the first week of the schedule without too much effort.

Be realistic in assessing whether you’re ready for the first week of the schedule. For example, if you’ve been running 40 miles (64 km) per week and your longest run in the last several weeks was 10 miles (16 km), now isn’t the time to suddenly jump to a 60- to 68-mile (97-109 km) week containing a 16- to 17-mile (26-27 km) run, as the first week of the 18-week schedule calls for. The idea behind the schedules isn’t to make you as tired as possible as soon as possible but to apply repeated training stress that you absorb and from which you benefit.

As a rule, you should be running at least 55 miles (89 km) a week before starting these schedules, and in the last month, you should have comfortably completed a run close in length to the long run called for in the first week of the schedule.

READING THE SCHEDULES

The schedules are presented in a day-by-day format. The main limitation with this approach is that it’s impossible to guess the myriad of outside factors that may influence your day-to-day nonrunning life (assuming you still have one at this level of volume). Work schedules, family life, relationships, school commitments, and Mother Nature all play a part in determining when you get to do your long runs and other aspects of marathon preparation. You’ll no doubt require some flexibility in your training and will need to juggle days around from time to time. That’s expected, and as long as you don’t try to make up for lost time by doing several hard days in a row, you should be able to avoid injury and overtraining. By following the principles covered in the earlier chapters, you will be able to safely fine-tune the training schedules to suit your circumstances.

The schedules express each day’s training in miles and kilometers; use whichever you’re accustomed to. The mile and kilometer ranges for each day (and the weekly total) are rough equivalents of each other, not a direct conversion from one to the other.

FOLLOWING THE SCHEDULES

Each column of the schedules represents a week’s training. For example, in the 12-week schedule, the column for 11 weeks to goal indicates that at the end of that week you have 11 weeks until your marathon. The schedules continue week by week until race week.

We’ve included a specific workout for each day as well as a category of training for that day. For example, in the 18-week schedule, on the Monday of the 7-weeks-to-go column, the specific workouts are a 6- to 7-mile (10-11 km) run and a 4- to 5-mile (6-8 km) run, and the category of training for that day is recovery. This aspect of the schedules allows you to quickly see the balance of training during each week and the progression of workouts from week to week. Look again at the 18-week schedule—it’s easy to see that with 7 weeks to go until the marathon, there are three recovery days that week, plus a general aerobic run, an LT session, a long run, and a medium-long run. Looking at the row for Sunday, it’s easy to see how the long runs progress and then taper in the last few weeks before the marathon.

The workouts are divided into the following eight categories: long runs, medium-long runs, marathon-pace runs, general aerobic runs, LT runs, V̇O₂max intervals, recovery runs, and speed training. Each of these categories is explained in depth in chapter 8, and the physiology behind the training is explained in chapter 1.

DOING DOUBLES

As discussed in chapter 8, sometimes marathoners benefit from running twice a day. This is obviously the case for elites cranking out 130-mile (209 km) weeks, but it can also be true for anyone running more than 70 miles (113 km) a week. In these schedules, for example, recovery days of 10 miles (16 km) are often broken into two short runs. Rather than making you more tired, splitting your mileage like this on easy days will speed your recovery because each run will increase blood flow to your muscles yet take little out of you.

As we mention at the beginning of this chapter, we know that not everyone will be able to follow these schedules exactly as they appear. That applies on the days that call for an LT workout in the morning and an easy recovery run in the evening. If your schedule makes it more likely that you’ll do a high-quality tempo run in the evening rather than the morning, simply flip the workouts prescribed for these days. Just be sure to make the short morning run a true recovery run.

RACING STRATEGIES

We discussed marathon race strategy at length in chapter 7. If you follow one of the schedules in this chapter, you’ll probably find yourself near the front part of the field once everyone settles into their paces. Still, you might be running with people who aren’t as well prepared as you (e.g., a fit-looking man in his late 20s whose goal is to break 3:00, more because it’s a nice round number than because that’s what his training has prepared him for). If you wind up in a group early on, talk to the others to get a sense of whom you can count on still being there with 10 miles (16 km) to go.

Because of your strong preparation followed by an effective taper, you’ll probably find your goal pace in the early miles quite easy. After all, you were doing long runs with lengthy sections at goal pace in the midst of your heaviest training. Now that you’re rested and filled with race-day excitement, goal pace should feel eminently doable. You’ll need to be disciplined and resist the temptation to go too fast so that you can use your fitness in the second half of the race and run even splits. Although your outstanding preparation makes you less likely than most to overextend yourself late in the race from a too-hasty start, there’s still no point in squandering months of hard work with an overly ambitious early pace.

Michael Brandt

Fastest marathon: 2:40:32 (Chicago, 2023)

Michael Brandt illustrates the point that you never know how fast you might be until you try.

[picture]

Description

A soccer player in high school, Brandt ran a few times a week in college to be in shape for ultimate frisbee. He found himself running more after college because, as he puts it, “It’s hard to coordinate getting 12 people together to play soccer.” He discovered that he liked the solitude running allowed. Also, as someone with an engineering degree from Stanford, “I fell in love with the metrics of running—V̇O2max, cadence, heart rate,” he says. “I have a demanding job and not a lot of time to waste, so I need every step to count.”

Brandt had an inkling that he had natural running ability from a sub-5:00 self-assigned mile time trial in college. For his first marathon, at age 28, he targeted breaking 3:00 at the 2017 San Francisco Marathon. Online research led him to the second edition of Advanced Marathoning. He followed the 18-week, 70-85 miles-per-week schedule and ran 2:55. (“I wanted to qualify for Boston with a cushion,” Brandt says.) He has used Advanced Marathoning schedules for his subsequent marathons, including using the third edition to guide him toward the 2:40 PR he ran at Chicago in 2023.

Despite now knowing more about running, Brandt still enjoys following a schedule written by someone else. “I benefit from not having to think about what to run each day,” he says. “I like that the programs tell me what to do as well as what not to do. Without a guide, I would just run my ass off and probably get hurt. I’ve benefited from being told when to take it easy—recovery days are a big key.”

Other keys to Brandt’s success include being devoted to strength training and fastidious about nutrition. He does a lot of single-leg exercises and mobility work to build resistance to injury and to counteract the negative effects of sitting while working. As for nutrition, Brandt, who trains first thing in the morning, says, “As soon as the run is complete, the workday starts. If I go immediately into meetings without refueling, I hit a hard wall.” He makes a smoothie before his run to down after his run and prepares meals a day ahead so that he has ready access to high-quality calories throughout the day.

Brandt’s nonrunning life is full—he’s the CEO of the performance-nutrition brand Ketone-IQ, a husband, and the father of two young children. He generally targets one marathon a year and goes all-in during his buildup. The rest of the year, he runs 40-50 miles a week, with more trail running and heavier lifting at the gym. He believes the variety keeps him mentally and physically fresh. “At the end of a marathon build, I feel like a Ferrari—built for speed, one motion over and over,” he says. “In the offseason, I’m more like a Jeep—stronger, but slower.” This approach also helps with Brandt’s home life, as he takes on more childcare so that his wife has adequate time for her passions.

“Running marathons has changed me for the better,” Brandt says. “I’ve learned that no one day is super important. What I do each day might be challenging, but it’s possible. Stacking up day after day like that allows me to do something that seems impossible. That has taught me a lot about life and being an entrepreneur. No one day makes or breaks you. It’s that dogged relentless day after day that makes you successful.”

AFTER THE MARATHON

The final schedule in this chapter is a 5-week recovery schedule for after the marathon; it completes the training program and leaves you ready to prepare for future challenges. This schedule is appropriate whether you followed the 12- or 18-week marathon-prep schedule.

The recovery schedule is purposely conservative. You have little to gain by rushing back into training, and your risk of injury is elevated at this point, owing to the reduced resiliency of your muscles and connective tissue after the marathon.

The schedule starts with 2 days off from running, which is the bare minimum of time away from running you should allow yourself. If you still have acute soreness or tightness so severe that it will alter your form, or if you just don’t feel like running, take more than 2 days off. If ever there was a time to lose your marathoner’s mindset, the week after your goal race is it. Even most of the top runners in the world take days off after a marathon. They know that the nearly negligible benefits of a short run at this time are far outweighed by the risks. Not running now will also increase your chances of being inspired to resume hard training when your body allows it.

Of course, some people don’t consider themselves real runners unless they run pretty much every day of their lives. Plod through a few miles if you must, but be aware that you’re likely prolonging your recovery.

What better aids recovery during this time is light cross-training, such as swimming or cycling. These activities increase blood flow through your muscles without subjecting them to pounding. Walking will also achieve this in the week after the marathon.

One way to ensure that you don’t run too hard too soon after your marathon is to use a heart rate monitor. As discussed in chapter 3, a heart rate monitor can help prevent you from going too fast on recovery days. During the first few weeks after the marathon, keep your heart rate below 75 percent of your maximal heart rate or 66 percent of your heart rate reserve. Running at this intensity will help your body overcome the stress of the marathon as quickly as possible.

During this 5-week recovery schedule, the number of days of running per week increases from 3 to 6. At the end of the 5 weeks, you should be fully recovered from the marathon and, with a little luck, injury free and mentally fresh.

70 to 85 Miles per Week 18-Week Schedule

Training Block 1—Endurance

| WEEKS TO GOAL
17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | (Recovery) 12
Monday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Tuesday | LT 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 20-25 minutes at LT pace | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-9 miles (11-14 km) with 6 × 12 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 8 × 12 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | LT 9-11 miles (14-18 km) with 30-35 minutes at LT pace | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 10 × 100 m strides
Wednesday | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Med-long run 13-14 miles (21-23 km) | Med-long run 13-15 miles (21-24 km) | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km)
Thursday | Recovery 5-7 miles (8-11 km) | Recovery 5-7 miles (8-11 km) | Recovery 5-7 miles (8-11 km) | Recovery 5-7 miles (8-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Friday | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | LT 9-11 miles (14-18 km) with 25-30 minutes at LT pace | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km)
Saturday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Sunday | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Marathon-pace run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) with 8 miles (13 km) at marathon pace | Long run 17-18 miles (27-29 km) | Long run 19-20 miles (31-32 km) | Marathon-pace run 17-18 miles (27-29 km) with 10 miles (16 km) at marathon pace | Long run 15-16 miles (24-26 km)
Weekly volume | 60-68 miles (97-109 km) | 61-70 miles (98-113 km) | 64-73 miles (103-117 km) | 67-76 miles (108-122 km) | 68-76 miles (109-122 km) | 58-65 miles (93-105 km)

Training Block 2—LT + Endurance

| WEEKS TO GOAL
11 | 10 | 9 | 8 (Recovery) | 7
Monday | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4 miles (6 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4 miles (6 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery AM 6-7 miles (10-11 km) PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Tuesday | LT 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 30-35 minutes at LT pace | Gen-aerobic 8-10 miles (13-16 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km)
Wednesday | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 7 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km)
Thursday | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Friday | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | LT 11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 35-40 minutes at LT pace | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | LT 11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 35-45 minutes at LT pace
Saturday | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 6 × 12 sec hill sprints + 10 × 100 m strides | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 12 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Sunday | Long run 19-21 miles (31-34 km) | Long run 20-22 miles (32-35 km) | Marathon-pace run 17-18 miles (27-29 km) with 12 miles (19 km) at marathon pace | Long run 15-16 miles (24-26 km) | Long run 22-24 miles (35-39 km)
Weekly volume | 75-83 miles (121-134 km) | 74-83 miles (119-134 km) | 71-79 miles (114-127 km) | 61-68 miles (98-109 km) | 77-86 miles (124-138 km)

Training Block 3—Race Preparation

| WEEKS TO GOAL
6 | 5 | 4 | 3
Monday | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery AM 6-7 miles (10-11 km) PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4 miles (6 km)
Tuesday | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km)
Wednesday | 1O2max 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 5 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | V̇O2max 11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 6 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | V̇O2max 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 5 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | V̇O2max 11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 6 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time

Thursday

Recovery

6-7 miles (10-11 km)

Recovery

AM 6-7 miles (10-11 km)

PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

Recovery

6-7 miles (10-11 km)

Med-long run

AM 14-15 miles (23-24 km)

Recovery

PM 4 miles (6 km)

Friday | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-9 miles (11-14 km) with 8 × 100 m strides
Saturday | 8K-15K tune-up race (total 10-15 miles [16-24 km]) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | 8K-15K tune-up race (total 10-15 miles [16-24 km]) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Sunday | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Marathon-pace run 20-21 miles (32-34 km) with 14 miles (23 km) at marathon pace | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Long run 20-22 miles (32-35 km)
Weekly volume | 64-76 miles (103-122 km) | 77-86 miles (124-138 km) | 64-76 miles (103-122 km) | 78-87 miles (126-140 km)

Training Block 4—Taper and Race

| WEEKS TO GOAL
2 | 1 | Race week
Monday | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | Gen-aerobic + speed 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 12 x 100m strides | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic 7-8 miles (11-13 km)
Wednesday | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Dress rehearsal 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 2 miles (3 km) at marathon pace
Thursday | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | V̇O2max 8-10 miles (13-16 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Friday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery + speed 4-6 miles (6-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Saturday | 8K-10K tune-up race (total 10-12 miles [16-19 km]) | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 2-4 miles (3-6 km)
Sunday | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Goal marathon
Weekly volume | 61-69 miles (98-111 km) | 47-55 miles (76-89 km) | 25-32 miles (40-51 km) (6 days prerace)

70 to 85 Miles per Week 12-Week Schedule

Training Block 1—Endurance

| WEEKS TO GOAL
11 | 10 | 9 | 8
Monday | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 8 × 12 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4 miles (6 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4 miles (6 km) | Recovery AM 6-7 miles (10-11 km) PM 4 miles (6 km)
Tuesday | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 8 × 12 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km)
Wednesday | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Med-long run 13-14 miles (21-23 km) | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km)
Thursday | Recovery 5-7 miles (8-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Friday | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | LT 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 20-25 minutes at LT pace | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | LT 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 25-30 minutes at LT pace
Saturday | Recovery 5-7 miles (8-11 km) | Recovery 5-7 miles (8-11 km) | Recovery 5-7 miles (8-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Sunday | Marathon-pace run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) with 8 miles (13 km) at marathon pace | Long run 17-18 miles (27-29 km) | Marathon-pace run 17-18 miles (27-29 km) with 10 miles (16 km) at marathon pace | Long run 17-19 miles (27-31 km)
Weekly volume | 61-70 miles (98-113 km) | 66-74 miles (106-119 km) | 68-76 miles (109-122 km) | 73-81 miles (117-130 km)

Training Block 2—LT + Endurance

| WEEKS TO GOAL
(Recovery) 7 | 6 | 5
Monday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 6-7 miles (10-11 km) PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Tuesday | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 10 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 10 × 100 m strides
Wednesday | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | V̇O2max 11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 6 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km)
Thursday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Recovery AM 6-7 miles (10-11 km) PM 4 miles (6 km)
Friday | LT 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 25-30 minutes at LT pace | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | LT 11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 30-40 minutes at LT pace
Saturday | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Sunday | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Marathon-pace run 18-19 miles (29-31 km) with 12 miles (19 km) at marathon pace | Long run 20-22 miles (32-35 km)
Weekly volume | 61-68 miles (98-109 km) | 77-85 miles (124-137 km) | 79-88 miles (127-142 km)

Training Block 3—Race Preparation

| WEEKS TO GOAL
4 | 3 | 2
Monday | Recovery AM 6-7 miles (10-11 km) PM 4 miles (6 km) | Recovery AM 6-7 miles (10-11 km) PM 4 miles (6 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Tuesday | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 12 x 100m strides
Wednesday | 1O2max 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 5 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | V̇O2max 11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 6 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km)
Thursday | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Friday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Saturday | 8K-15K tune-up race (total 10-15 miles [16-24 km]) | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 ×100 m strides | 8K-10K tune-up race (total 10-12 miles [16-19 km])
Sunday | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Long run 19-21 miles (31-34 km) | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km)
Weekly volume | 65-76 miles (105-122 km) | 78-86 miles (126-138 km) | 61-69 miles (98-111 km)

Training Block 4—Taper and Race

| WEEKS TO GOAL
1 | Race week
Monday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic 7-8 miles (11-13 km)
Wednesday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Dress rehearsal 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 2 miles (3 km) at marathon pace
Thursday | V̇O2max 8-10 miles (13-16 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Friday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery + speed 4-6 miles (6-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Saturday | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 10 × 100 m strides | Recovery 2-4 miles (3-6 km)
Sunday | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Goal marathon
Weekly volume | 47-55 miles (76-89 km) | 25-32 miles (40-51 km) (6 days prerace)

70 to 85 Miles per Week

Training Block 5—Postmarathon Recovery

| WEEKS AFTER THE MARATHON
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Wednesday | Recovery 3-4 miles (5-6 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km)
Thursday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Friday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 8 × 100 m strides
Saturday | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Sunday | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km)
Weekly volume | 13-16 miles (21-26 km) | 28-33 miles (45-53 km) | 34-39 miles (55-63 km) | 39-44 miles (63-71 km) | 46-52 miles (74-84 km)

12

MARATHON TRAINING ON MORE THAN 85 MILES (137 KM) PER WEEK

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Description

This chapter is for true high-volume marathoners who can devote their full energy to training. It includes an 18-week and a 12-week schedule. Both schedules increase weekly mileage progressively from about 80 miles (129 km) to a peak of at least 100 miles (161 km). We say “about 80 miles” and “at least 100 miles” because we provide a mileage range for each day of training so you can run a bit more or a bit less depending on how you’re feeling that day.

As discussed in chapter 1, it’s useful to divide your overall training schedule into training blocks of several weeks each. The training schedules consist of four blocks, which focus on endurance, lactate threshold (LT) and endurance, race preparation, and tapering, respectively. A final schedule, which contains a 5-week post marathon recovery program, can follow either of the training schedules.

Of the two training schedules presented in this chapter, we recommend the 18-week schedule for most situations. Eighteen weeks is plenty of time to stimulate the necessary adaptations to improve your marathon performance. At the same time, 18 weeks is short enough that you can focus your efforts without becoming bored with the process.

At times, however, you simply don’t have 18 weeks to prepare for your marathon. The 12-week schedule includes the same training blocks as the 18-week schedules, but because of the short time for preparation, each block is abbreviated. If you go into a marathon in a rush, you must realize that your preparation won’t be as thorough as if you had longer to prepare. The 12-week schedule takes into account that sometimes circumstances don’t allow you the optimal length of time for preparation and strives to provide a compact yet effective training program.

BEFORE STARTING THE SCHEDULES

These schedules are challenging right from the start and get harder as your marathon approaches. So that you can progress as the training increases in quantity and quality and to minimize your chances of injury, you should be able to complete the first week of the schedule without too much effort.

Be realistic in assessing whether you’re ready for the first week of the schedule. For example, if you’ve been running 60 miles (97 km) per week and your longest run in the last several weeks was 12 miles (19 km), now isn’t the time to suddenly jump to a 76- to 85-mile (122-137 km) week containing a 17- to 18-mile (27-29 km) run, as the first week of the 12-week schedule calls for. The idea behind the schedules isn’t to make you as tired as possible as soon as possible but to apply repeated training stress that you absorb and from which you benefit.

As a rule, you should be running at least 70 to 75 miles (113-121 km) a week before starting these schedules, and in the last month, you should have comfortably completed a run of at least 15 miles (24 km).

READING THE SCHEDULES

The schedules are presented in a day-by-day format. The main limitation with this approach is that it’s impossible to guess the myriad of outside factors that may influence your day-to-day nonrunning life (assuming you still have one at this level of volume). Work schedules, family life, relationships, school commitments, and Mother Nature all play a part in determining when you get to do your long runs and other aspects of marathon preparation. You’ll no doubt require some flexibility in your training and will need to juggle days around from time to time. That’s expected, and as long as you don’t try to make up for lost time by doing several hard days in a row, you should be able to avoid injury and overtraining. By following the principles covered in the earlier chapters, you will be able to safely fine-tune the training schedules to suit your circumstances.

The schedules express each day’s training in miles and kilometers; use whichever you’re accustomed to. The mile and kilometer ranges for each day (and the weekly total) are rough equivalents of each other, not a direct conversion from one to the other.

FOLLOWING THE SCHEDULES

Each column of the schedules represents a week’s training. For example, in the 12-week schedule, the column for 11 weeks to goal indicates that at the end of that week you have 11 weeks until your marathon. The schedules continue week by week until race week.

We’ve included a specific workout for each day as well as a category of training for that day. For example, in the 18-week schedule, on the Monday of the 5-weeks-to-go column, the specific workouts are two 5- to 6-mile (8-10 km) runs and the category of training for that day is recovery. This aspect of the schedules allows you to quickly see the balance of training during each week and the progression of workouts from week to week. Look again at the 18-week schedule—it’s easy to see that with 5 weeks to go until the marathon, there are two recovery days that week with an LT session, two general aerobic and speed sessions, a medium-long run and a long run. Looking at the row for Sunday, it’s easy to see how the long runs progress and then taper in the last few weeks before the marathon.

The workouts are divided into the following eight categories: long runs, medium-long runs, marathon-pace runs, general aerobic runs, LT runs, V̇O₂max intervals, recovery runs, and speed training. Each of these categories is explained in depth in chapter 8, and the physiology behind the training is explained in chapter 1.

DOING DOUBLES

As discussed in chapter 8, sometimes marathoners benefit from running twice a day. This is obviously the case for anyone cranking out 100-mile (161 km) weeks. In these schedules, for example, recovery days of 10 to 12 miles (16-19 km) are often broken into two short runs. Rather than making you more tired, splitting your volume like this on easy days will speed your recovery because each run will increase blood flow to your muscles yet take so little out of you.

As we mention at the beginning of this chapter, we know that not everyone will be able to follow these schedules exactly as they appear. That applies on the days that call for a recovery run in the morning and an LT workout in the evening. If your schedule makes it more likely that you’ll do a high-quality tempo run in the morning rather than the evening, simply flip the workouts prescribed for these days.

WHEN 105 MILES (169 KM) PER WEEK JUST ISN’T ENOUGH

The hardy few among you might want to do more volume than what’s prescribed in the schedules. If you’re in this group, be sure to follow the spirit of the schedules when adding miles—that is, your volume should build gradually during training block 1, peak at the end of training block 2, come down slightly during training block 3, and fall dramatically during training block 4.

Where should you add miles to the schedules? Try adding a bit of volume to the general aerobic runs and medium-long runs if you sense that doing so doesn’t detract from your week’s most important sessions. (Remember, volume is a means to a goal, not a primary goal in itself. At your volume level, the risk of injury increases rapidly if additional distance is added haphazardly.) You could also add miles to your warm-ups and cool-downs on V̇O₂max and LT workout days. If you’re going to do more doubles than the schedules stipulate, refer to the section on two-a-day runs in chapter 8.

RACING STRATEGIES

We discussed marathon race strategy at length in chapter 7. If you follow one of the schedules in this chapter, you will be more thoroughly prepared for your marathon than most of the other runners in the race. Few others in the field will have done the combination of volume and targeted quality that you have.

Despite your commitment and eagerness, though, you’ll need to not get carried away in the early miles, even if your goal pace in the first half feels quite easy. The temptation to try to capitalize on that good feeling will be strong. Perhaps more than any other readers of this book, you will need to be disciplined in the early miles to stick to your goal pace so that you can use your fitness in the second half of the race and run even splits. Although your outstanding preparation makes you less likely than most to overextend yourself late in the race from a too-hasty start, there’s still no point in squandering months of hard work with an overly ambitious early pace.

At the same time, it’s likely that among readers of this book you’ll be attempting to race the marathon at the greatest differential from your normal training pace. For that reason, in the days before your marathon, your goal pace might seem especially daunting. Draw confidence from your long runs, tempo runs, and marathon-pace runs that you can sustain your ambitious goal pace for 26.2 miles (42.2 km). Also, focus on your goal-pace splits to increase your chances of running the first half of the race intelligently and thereby vastly increasing your chances of being able to hold goal pace past 20 miles (32 km) all the way to the finish line.

AFTER THE MARATHON

The final schedule in this chapter is a 5-week recovery schedule for after the marathon; it completes the training program and leaves you ready to prepare for future challenges. This schedule is appropriate whether you followed the 12- or 18-week marathon-prep schedule.

The recovery schedule is purposely conservative. You have little to gain by rushing back into training, and your risk of injury is elevated at this point, owing to the reduced resiliency of your muscles and connective tissue after the marathon.

The schedule starts with 2 days off from running, which is the bare minimum of time away from running you should allow yourself. If you still have acute soreness or tightness so severe that it will alter your form, or if you just don’t feel like running, take more than 2 days off. If ever there was a time to lose your marathoner’s mindset, the week after your goal race is it. Even most of the top runners in the world take days off after a marathon. They know that the nearly negligible benefits of a short run at this time are far outweighed by the risks. Not running now will also increase your chances of being inspired to resume hard training when your body allows it.

Of course, some people don’t consider themselves real runners unless they run pretty much every day of their lives. Plod through a few miles if you must, but be aware that you’re likely prolonging your recovery.

What better aids recovery during this time is light cross-training, such as swimming or cycling. These activities increase blood flow through your muscles without subjecting them to pounding. Walking will also achieve this in the week after the marathon.

One way to ensure that you don’t run too hard too soon after your marathon is to use a heart rate monitor. As discussed in chapter 3, a heart rate monitor can help prevent you from going too fast on recovery days. During the first few weeks after the marathon, keep your heart rate below 75 percent of your maximal heart rate or 66 percent of your heart rate reserve. Running at this intensity will help your body overcome the stress of the marathon as quickly as possible.

During this 5-week recovery schedule, the number of days of running per week increases from 3 to 6. At the end of the 5 weeks, you should be fully recovered from the marathon and, with a little luck, injury free and mentally fresh.

More Than 85 Miles per Week 18-Week Schedule

Training Block 1—Endurance

| WEEKS TO GOAL
17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | (Recovery) 12
Monday | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Tuesday

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

LT

PM 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 20-25 minutes at LT pace

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

Gen-aerobic + speed

PM 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 8 × 12 sec hill sprints +8 × 100 m strides

Gen-aerobic

9-10 miles (14-16 km)

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

Gen-aerobic + speed

PM 10-11 miles

(16-18 km) with

8 × 12 sec hill sprints

+ 8 × 100 m strides

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

LT

PM 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 30-35 minutes at LT pace

Gen-aerobic + speed

9-10 miles (14-16 km)

with 10 × 100 m strides

Wednesday

Med-long run

12-13 miles (19-21 km)

Med-long run

13-14 miles (21-23 km)

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

LT

PM 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 25-30 minutes at LT pace

Med-long run

14-15 miles (23-24 km)

Med-long run

14-15 miles (23-24 km)

Med-long run

12-13 miles (19-21 km)

Thursday | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Friday | Gen-aerobic + speed 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 10 × 100 m strides | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | Med-long run 13-14 miles (21-23 km) | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km)
Saturday | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 7-8 miles (11-13 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 7-8 miles (11-13 km) | Recovery 7-8 miles (11-13 km)
Sunday | Long run 16-18 miles (26-29 km) | Marathon-pace run 17-18 miles (27-29 km) with 8 miles (13 km) at marathon pace | Long run 18-19 miles (29-31 km) | Long run 20-21 miles (32-34 km) | Marathon-pace run 18-19 miles (29-31 km) with 10 miles (16 km) at marathon pace | Long run 15-16 miles (24-26 km)
Weekly volume | 74-85 miles (119-137 km) | 78-88 miles (126-142 km) | 81-91 miles (130-146 km) | 86-96 miles (138-154 km) | 83-93 miles (134-150 km) | 71-80 miles (114-129 km)

Training Block 2—LT + Endurance

| WEEKS TO GOAL
11 | 10 | 9 | (Recovery) 8 | 7
Monday | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Tuesday

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

LT

PM 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with

30-35 minutes at LT pace

Recovery

AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Gen-aerobic + speed

PM 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 10 × 100 m strides

Gen-aerobic

10-11 miles (16-18 km)

Gen-aerobic + speed

9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 10 × 100 m strides

Recovery

AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Gen-aerobic + speed

PM 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 10 × 100 m strides

Wednesday

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

Med-long run

PM 14-15 miles (23-24 km)

Med-long run

14-15 miles (23-24 km)

Recovery

AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Med-long run

PM 14-15 miles (23-24 km)

V̇O2max

10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 7 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time

Med-long run

14-15 miles (23-24 km)

Thursday | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Friday

Med-long run

12-13 miles (19-21 km)

Recovery

AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

LT

PM 11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 35-40 minutes at LT pace

Recovery

AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Med-long run

PM 13-14 miles (21-23 km)

Med-long run

12-13 miles (19-21 km)

Recovery

AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

LT

PM 11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 35-45 minutes at LT pace

Saturday | Gen-aerobic + speed 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 8 × 12 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 10 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km)
Sunday | Long run 19-21 miles (31-34 km) | Long run 21-22 miles (34-35 km) | Marathon-pace run 19-20 miles (31-32 km) with 12 miles (19 km) at marathon pace | Long run 15-16 miles (24-26 km) | Long run 22-24 miles (35-39 km)
Weekly volume | 92-104 miles (148-167 km) | 94-105 miles (151-169 km) | 95-106 miles (153-171 km) | 76-85 miles (122-137 km) | 95-107 miles (153-172 km)

Training Block 3—Race Preparation

| WEEKS TO GOAL
6 | 5 | 4 | 3
Monday | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Tuesday

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

V̇O2max

PM 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 6 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time

Recovery

AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Gen-aerobic + speed

PM 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 8 × 100 m strides

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

Gen-aerobic

PM 10-11 miles (16-18 km)

Gen-aerobic

9-10 miles (14-16 km)

Wednesday

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

Med-long run

PM 13-15 miles (21-24 km)

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

Med-long run

PM 14-15 miles (23-24 km)

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

V̇O2max

PM 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 6 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

V̇O2max

PM 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 6 × 1,200 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time

Thursday | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km)

Friday

Recovery

5-6 miles (8-10 km)

LT

11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 30-40 minutes at LT pace

Recovery

5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

Gen-aerobic

PM 9-10 miles (14-16 km)

Saturday

15K to half marathon tune-up race (total 14-18 miles [23-29 km])

Gen-aerobic + speed

9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 8 × 100 m strides

8K-15K tune-up race (total 10-15 miles [16-24 km])

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

Recovery + speed

PM 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides

Sunday | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | Long run 21-22 miles (34-35 km) | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Long run 20-22 miles (32-35 km)
Weekly volume | 73-87 miles (117-140 km) | 94-105 miles (151-169 km) | 74-88 miles (119-142 km) | 91-103 miles (146-166 km)

Training Block 4—Taper and Race

| WEEKS TO GOAL
2 | 1 | Race week
Monday | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Tuesday | Gen-aerobic + speed 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 12 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 10 × 100 m strides | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Wednesday

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

Gen-aerobic

PM 9-10 miles (14-16 km)

Recovery

AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

Dress rehearsal

8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 2.5 miles (4 km) at marathon pace

Thursday | Recovery + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | V̇O2max 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Friday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Saturday | 8K-10K tune-up race (total 10-12 miles [16-19 km]) | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 2-4 miles (3-6 km)
Sunday | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Goal marathon
Weekly volume | 71-81 miles (114-130 km) | 58-66 miles (93-106 km) | 31-38 miles (50-61 km) (6 days prerace)

More Than 85 Miles per Week 12-Week Schedule

Training Block 1—Endurance

| WEEKS TO GOAL
11 | 10 | 9 | 8
Monday | Gen-aerobic + speed 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 8 × 12 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Tuesday

Recovery

AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Gen-aerobic

10-11 miles (16-18 km)

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

Gen-aerobic + speed

PM 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 8 × 12 sec hill sprints +

8 × 100 m strides

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

Gen-aerobic

PM 10-11 miles (16-18 km)

Wednesday

Med-long run

13-14 miles (21-23 km)

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

LT

PM 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 20-25 minutes at LT pace

Med-long run

14-15 miles (23-24 km)

Recovery

AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

LT

PM 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 25-30 minutes at LT pace

Thursday | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Med-long run 13-14 miles (21-23 km)
Friday | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Saturday | Recovery + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides
Sunday | Marathon-pace run 17-18 miles (27-29 km) with 8 miles (13 km) at marathon pace | Long run 18-19 miles (29-31 km) | Long run 19-21 miles (31-34 km) | Marathon-pace run 18-19 miles (29-31 km) with 10 miles (16 km) at marathon pace
Weekly volume | 76-85 miles (122-137 km) | 82-92 miles (132-148 km) | 84-95 miles (135-153 km) | 87-98 miles (140-158 km)

Training Block 2—LT + Endurance

| WEEKS TO GOAL
(Recovery) 7 | 6 | 5
Monday | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Tuesday

Recovery

AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Gen-aerobic + speed

PM 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 10 × 100 m strides

Recovery

AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Gen-aerobic

PM 9-10 miles (14-16 km)

Recovery

AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Gen-aerobic + speed

PM 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 8 × 100 m strides

Wednesday

Med-long run

11-12 miles (18-19 km)

V̇O2max

10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 6 × 1,200 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

Med-long run

PM 14-15 miles (23-24 km)

Thursday

Recovery

AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Recovery

AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Med-long run

PM 14-15 miles (23-24 km)

Recovery

AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Friday

LT

9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 25-30 minutes at LT pace

Recovery

AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Gen-aerobic

PM 9-10 miles (14-16 km)

LT

11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 30-40 minutes at LT pace

Saturday | Recovery + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 8 × 100 m strides
Sunday | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Marathon-pace run 19-20 miles (31-32 km) with 12 miles (19 km) at marathon pace | Long run 21-22 miles (34-35 km)
Weekly volume | 73-82 miles (117-132 km) | 93-104 miles (150-167 km) | 94-105 miles (151-169 km)

Training Block 3—Race Preparation

| WEEKS TO GOAL
4 | 3 | 2
Monday | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Tuesday | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 12 × 100 m strides

Wednesday

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

V̇O2max

PM 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 6 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

1O₂max

PM 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 6 × 1,200 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

Gen-aerobic

PM 9-10 miles (14-16 km)

Thursday

Recovery + speed

7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

Med-long run

PM 14-15 miles (23-24 km)

Recovery + speed

7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides

Friday

Recovery

5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Recovery

AM 4-5 miles (6-8 km)

Gen-aerobic

PM 9-10 miles (14-16 km)

Recovery

5-6 miles (8-10 km)

Saturday | 8K-15K tune-up race (total 10-15 miles [16-24 km]) | Recovery + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | 8K-10K tune-up race (total 10-12 miles [16-19 km])
Sunday | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Long run 20-22 miles (32-35 km) | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km)
Weekly volume | 70-83 miles (113-134 km) | 91-103 miles (146-166 km) | 71-81 miles (114-130 km)

Training Block 4—Taper and Race

| WEEKS TO GOAL
1 | Race week
Monday | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Tuesday | Gen-aerobic + speed 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 10 × 100 m strides | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Wednesday | Recovery AM 5-6 miles (8-10 km) PM 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Dress rehearsal 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 2.5 miles (4 km) at marathon pace
Thursday | V̇O2max 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Friday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 6 ×100 m strides
Saturday | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 2-4 miles (3-6 km)
Sunday | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Goal marathon
Weekly volume | 58-66 miles (93-106 km) | 31-38 miles (50-61 km) (6 days prerace)

More Than 85 Miles per Week

Training Block 5—Postmarathon Recovery

| WEEKS AFTER THE MARATHON
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Tuesday | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km)
Wednesday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 10 × 100 m strides
Thursday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Friday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | LT 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 20-25 minutes at LT pace
Saturday | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Sunday | Recovery 7-8 miles (11-13 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Med-long run 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | Med-long run 13-14 miles (21-23 km)
Weekly volume | 16-19 miles (26-31 km) | 30-35 miles (48-56 km) | 35-40 miles (56-64 km) | 42-47 miles (68-76 km) | 50-56 miles (80-90 km)

13

MULTIPLE MARATHONING

This chapter is for those occasions when, for whatever reason, you’ve decided to do two marathons with 12 weeks or less in between. Though doing two (or more) marathons in rapid succession generally isn’t the best way to go after a personal best time, this chapter focuses on structuring your training to maximize your likelihood of success. It includes five schedules covering 12, 10, 8, 6, and 4 weeks between marathons.

These schedules are substantially different from the schedules in chapters 9 through 12; the schedules in this chapter must start with helping you recover from marathon number 1 and then helping you train and taper for marathon number 2. The number of weeks between marathons dictates how much time you devote to recovery, training, and tapering. For example, the 12-week schedule allows a relatively luxurious 4 weeks for recovery, whereas the 6-week schedule allocates only 2 weeks to recovery.

The schedules in this chapter are written for marathoners who typically build to 60 to 70 miles (97-113 km) per week during marathon preparation. The 10- and 12-week schedules build to a peak weekly mileage of 63 to 69 miles (101-111 km), whereas the 8-, 6-, and 4-week schedules peak at 61 to 67 miles (98-108 km), 52 to 58 miles (84-93 km), and 42 to 48 miles (68-77 km), respectively. If your mileage during marathon preparation is typically more than 70 miles (113 km) per week, scale up the volume in these schedules moderately. Similarly, if your mileage typically peaks at less than 60 miles (97 km) per week, scale the training back proportionately.

The schedules assume that you want to do your best in your second marathon. Though this might not mean running a personal best or even running as fast as you did in the first race in your double (or triple, or whatever), it does mean toeing the line with the intention of running as fast as you can that day. If your multiple-marathoning goal is to cruise comfortably through a second or third marathon soon after a peak effort, ignore these schedules. Simply focus on recovering from your first race while interspersing enough long runs to maintain your endurance until your next one.

CJ Albertson

Fastest marathon: 2:08:17 (Chicago, 2024)

Marathon highlights: first in the 2023 California International Marathon and the Baja California Marathon; top American in the 2024 Boston Marathon; world record in the 50K

Some runners finish a marathon and swear, “Never again.” CJ Albertson is more likely to ask, “What’s next?”

[picture]

Description

It’s fair to say that Albertson runs more marathons than most of his competitors. On consecutive weekends in December 2023, he won the California International Marathon (2:11:09) and the Baja California Marathon (2:11:08). Two months after that double, he placed fifth at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials (in a personal best of 2:10:07) and was just 10 seconds shy of making the Olympic team. Two months after the Trials, he lowered his PR to 2:09:53 while placing seventh overall and first American at Boston.

But it’s not necessarily fair to say that Albertson’s racing schedule lacks focus. “Overall, I don’t run a ton of marathons or particularly race a lot,” he says. “Sometimes I just stack a few marathons close together.” As Albertson notes, in most other events, runners have a season of more frequent racing. “Training for four to five months to only run one big race isn’t particularly fun,” he says. “It also sets you up for failure if that one race doesn’t go great.”

This is a great example of knowing your psyche and then training and racing accordingly. If you thrive on one or two races being the focus of your year, great. If, like Albertson, you don’t find that motivating, there’s nothing wrong with exploring other approaches.

Of course, you can’t race two or more marathons in a short time if you don’t adequately recover from the first. Albertson says he’s not necessarily an outlier in being able to recover quickly. “Many other athletes simply don’t try to race marathons close together,” he points out, “so we don’t know if I recover faster or not.”

It’s undeniable that there’s great variance in how beat-up even elite runners are after a marathon. Although four-time Olympian Meb Keflezighi occasionally ran two marathons in a three-month span, he usually couldn’t walk normally in the week after a marathon, and never attempted two high-level marathons in one month. Still, Keflezighi also thought that some of his peers raced too infrequently. He knew that not every marathon was going to go well, and believed that, within reason, running more of them gave him more opportunities to have a great day.

Albertson is slightly more muscular and stockier than the majority of his peers. The same is true of 2018 Boston champion Yuki Kawauchi, whose love of racing and ability to recover quickly has led to him running the most sub-2:20 marathons in history. In general terms, Albertson says, “I almost never get hurt. Overall, I’m a fairly durable person with decent strength, and I’ve done my best to not have any glaring stride deficiencies. My natural attributes, lifetime of training, long training runs, fueling properly in races (100 grams of carbs per hour), and experience in marathons make the marathon still hard but also somewhat of a normal thing my body is used to. It’s logical a first-time marathoner who has never run more than 22 miles would take longer to recover. However, I think many seasoned marathoners could recover and get back to normal training within four to seven days if they really wanted to.”

Albertson generally trains by feel. He assesses how his body is doing in the week after a marathon and intuits when to resume easy running and when to progress to more ambitious training. Other than the basics—good sleep and good nutrition—he doesn’t do anything to speed the recovery process.

An obvious question for multiple marathoners is whether more frequent racing detracts from reaching their potential at the distance. Albertson, whose frequent PRs bolster his case, believes the answer for him is “no.” He says, “The marathon seems to be the only event where consistency is somewhat frowned upon. The fact that I’ve run so many 2:10s and 2:11s means I should be running 2:07 or 2:08 and that I just underperform every race? Or maybe I’m just good at running a solid marathon almost every time I’m out there, regardless of the conditions, the course, how the race plays out, etc.”

Albertson has a message for would-be multiple marathoners. “People tend to overthink the marathon,” he says. “They get worried about having a great training block or having everything planned leading up to it. It’s likely because they only race twice a year, so they feel like they have to PR every time. But in the 1,500 [meters] and 5Ks, people have rust-buster races or just randomly hop in a race. Not every race has to have perfect training or be a PR; you just race to race. But very few have that mentality in the marathon.”

READING THE SCHEDULES

The schedules are presented in a day-by-day format. The main limitation with this approach is that it’s impossible to guess the myriad of outside factors that may influence your day-to-day nonrunning life. Work schedules, family life, relationships, school commitments, and Mother Nature all play their part in determining when you get to do your long runs and other aspects of marathon preparation. You’ll no doubt require some flexibility in your training and will need to juggle days around from time to time. That’s expected, and as long as you don’t try to make up for lost time by doing several hard days in a row, you should be able to avoid injury and overtraining.

The schedules express each day’s training in miles and kilometers; use whichever you’re accustomed to. We provide a mileage range for each day of training so you can run a bit more or a bit less depending on how you’re feeling that day. The mile and kilometer figures for each day (and the weekly total) are rough equivalents of each other, not a direct conversion from one to the other.

Because of the large variation in the time required for marathon recovery among individual runners, you should approach these schedules with a high degree of flexibility. Also, if in your first marathon the weather was hot, you became severely dehydrated, or you became unusually hobbled, your recovery is likely to take longer than usual. When a conflict arises between what the schedule says to do and what your body indicates it’s willing to do, listen to your body. With these tight time frames between marathons, your best strategy is first to focus on recovery and then to worry about the other aspects of training. If you’re not able to follow the schedules closely for one reason or another, follow the priorities discussed later in this chapter in choosing which workouts to do and which to miss.

For all the schedules in this chapter, remember that in the first few weeks after marathon number 1, recovery is your primary objective, and that during the last 3 weeks, tapering to consolidate your energy reserves is paramount. If you’re worn out or injured going into marathon number 2, any extra workouts you’ve squeezed in won’t have been worth the effort.

PETE’S MULTIPLE MARATHONING TRIFECTA

In 1983 I ran three high-quality marathons in 17 weeks. Nine weeks after winning the San Francisco Marathon in 2:14:44, I finished second in the Montreal Marathon in 2:12:33. Eight weeks after that, I won the Auckland Marathon in 2:12:19. At the time, the last two races were personal bests.

I did a few things wrong between San Francisco and Montreal but was able to hold my body together through a combination of luck, enthusiasm, and youth. (I was 26.) After San Francisco, I was remarkably stiff for several days. I hobbled a 2-miler (3 km) two days after the race and racked up 46 miles (74 km) for the week. Two massages in each of the first two weeks helped bring my legs around.

Fortunately, my body bounced back really well after that first week, and I was up to 100 miles (161 km) in the third week after, including a session of eight 800-meter repeats on the track. My mileage climbed to 116 (187 km) and 122 (196 km) for the fourth and fifth weeks, which was about as high as I used to get back then. (I hadn’t made an Olympic team yet, so I was working full time.) There was just enough time to fit in two tune-up races—a 5-miler (8 km) in 23:35 and a third-place finish in the New Haven 20K—and then it was time to taper again. Eight days before Montreal, I went to the track and did two repeats of 1,600 meters in 4:24 and 4:23, which was really fast for me and a good omen. The last 2 weeks before the race I tried to catch up on sleep, and I felt really ready going into Montreal.

The night after Montreal, I stayed out late, took an early flight back to Boston, and caught a cab directly to work. This didn’t help my recovery. After that, though, I settled down, and in the first 3 weeks after Montreal, I covered 48, 72, and 97 miles (77, 116, and 156 km). Lots of sleep and weekly massages kept me injury free, and, except for the occasional “Felt like hell” notation in my diary, training went pretty well.

Three weeks before the Auckland Marathon, I started my leave of absence from work at New Balance to prepare for the Olympic Trials and flew to New Zealand with my training partner, Tom Ratcliffe, who was also running Auckland. We got a bit carried away with the excitement and probably overtrained the first week there. The second week in New Zealand, I ran a 10K tune-up race in 29:12, which was a good sign that I was ready for another marathon. During the last week before the marathon, however, I could tell that my body was on a fine edge, and I decided to back right off. Three days before the race, I was still feeling pretty tired. Fortunately, on race day, I felt strong and broke away after 17 miles (27 km). The positive experience in multiple marathoning was excellent practice for the following year’s Olympic Trials and marathon.

—Pete Pfitzinger

One way to ensure that you don’t run too hard during the first few weeks after your previous marathon is to use a heart rate monitor. As discussed in chapters 1 and 3, a heart rate monitor can help prevent you from going too fast on your easy days. During the first few weeks after the marathon, keep your heart rate below 75 percent of your maximal heart rate or 66 percent of your heart rate reserve to help speed your recovery.

FOLLOWING THE SCHEDULES

Each column of the schedules represents a week’s training. For example, in the 10-week schedule, the column for 9 weeks to goal indicates that at the end of that week you have 9 weeks until your second marathon. The schedules continue week by week until race week.

We have included a specific workout for each day as well as a category of training for that day. For example, in the 10-week schedule, on the Friday of the 5-weeks-to-go column, the specific workout is an 8- to 9-mile (13-14 km) run, and the category of training for that day is general aerobic conditioning. This aspect of the schedules allows you to quickly see the balance of training during each week and the progression of workouts from week to week. Look again at the 10-week schedule—it’s easy to see that with 5 weeks to go until the marathon, there are 3 recovery days that week along with a V̇O₂max session, a long run, a medium-long run, and a general aerobic conditioning run. Looking at the row for Sunday, it’s easy to see how the long runs progress and then taper in the last few weeks before the marathon.

The workouts are divided into the following eight categories: long runs, medium-long runs, marathon-pace runs, general aerobic runs, lactate threshold (LT) runs, V̇O₂max intervals, recovery runs, and speed training. Each category is explained in depth in chapter 8, and the physiology behind the training is explained in chapter 1.

MULTIPLE-MARATHONING PRIORITIES

The following sections explain the priorities for the training schedules in this chapter. But what if you don’t have 12, 10, 8, 6, or 4 weeks between marathons?

If you have less than 4 weeks between marathons, you’re on your own. Your main concern should be recovery, recovery, and more recovery.

For other amounts of time between marathons, follow these guidelines:

For 11 weeks between, do the 12-week schedule but skip the week “6 weeks to goal.”

For 9 weeks between, do the 10-week schedule but skip the week “5 weeks to goal,” and with 35 days to go, increase the distance of the run to 18 miles (29 km).

For 7 weeks between, do the 8-week schedule but skip the week “3 weeks to goal,” and with 21 days to go, increase the distance of the run to 18 miles (29 km).

For 5 weeks between, do the 6-week schedule but skip the week “2 weeks to goal,” and with 14 days to go, increase the medium-long run to 16 miles (26 km).

12-WEEK SCHEDULE

A period of 12 weeks between marathons isn’t too bad. There’s a real risk, however, of either taking it too easy and gradually losing marathon-specific fitness or overdoing it and finding yourself at the starting line of marathon number 2 feeling tired and wondering why you’re there. You need to find the perfect balance for your individual situation. The best strategy is to really take it easy for the first 3 or 4 weeks after your previous marathon to ensure that your body is fully recovered. That leaves 8 or 9 weeks until the next marathon, including 5 or 6 weeks of solid training and a 3-week taper.

The key training time is the 6-week period lasting from 7 weeks to go through 2 weeks until the second marathon. The most important workouts during those weeks are the tune-up races with 29 and 15 days to go; the marathon-pace run with 42 days to go; the long runs with 49, 35, 28, and 21 days to go; the V̇O₂max sessions with 39 and 25 days to go; and the medium-long runs with 52, 44, 38, and 24 days until marathon number 2.

10-WEEK SCHEDULE

Allowing 10 weeks between marathons is almost reasonable, and the schedule reflects this by providing 3 weeks of solid recovery, 4 weeks of solid training, and a 3-week taper.

The key training weeks are those that end with 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2 weeks until your second marathon. The most important workouts during those weeks are the tune-up races with 29 and 15 days to go; the long runs with 42, 35, 28, 21, and 14 days to go; the LT session with 44 days to go; the V̇O₂max sessions with 39 and 25 days to go; and the medium-long runs with 46, 38, and 24 days until marathon number 2. The only word of caution concerning a 10-week time frame between marathons is to allow yourself to recover fully from your previous marathon before training too intensely for the next one.

8-WEEK SCHEDULE

The 8-week schedule allows you to recover thoroughly from your previous marathon, train well for about 3 weeks, and then taper for marathon number 2. A period of 8 weeks between marathons is far less risky than 4 or 6 weeks. Even if your first marathon was in hot weather, or if you came out of it with a minor injury, with a bit of luck you should still be OK for marathon number 2.

The key training weeks are those that end with 4, 3, and 2 weeks until the second marathon. The most important workouts during those weeks are the tune-up race with 15 days to go, the long runs with 28 and 21 days to go, the LT session with 30 days to go, the V̇O₂max session with 25 days to go, and the medium-long runs with 32 and 24 days until the marathon. Try to avoid doing more than the schedules call for because 8 weeks between marathons is still brief enough that you don’t have much room for error.

PETE’S OLYMPIC-YEAR DYNAMIC DOUBLE

On May 26, 1984, I ran 2:11:43 to win the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, and then on August 12, I placed 11th in 2:13:53 in the Olympics. Here’s how I approached the 11 weeks in between.

I was on a bit of a high after winning the Trials, to say the least. I took the next day off and went for a relaxed swim and a pathetic 3-mile (5 km) shuffle two days after the race. The next day I had my weekly massage, and my muscles weren’t too bad. Building toward the Olympics, massages each week helped keep me injury free despite the short recovery. I ran 45 miles (72 km) the week after the Trials. Using the philosophy that I needed to get the training in as quickly as possible to be able to taper again and be in top form for the Olympics, I initially ran as I felt and got in 112 miles (180 km) the second week and, rather foolishly, ran 151 miles (243 km) the third week. During the second week after the Trials, I started doing a few strides every couple of days to try to get my legs turning over. This seemed to help quite a bit.

In retrospect, I should have run 80 to 90 miles (129-145 km) the second week and 110 to 120 miles (177-193 km) the third week. Doing the amount I did showed a lack of confidence because I wouldn’t have lost fitness by doing fewer miles. In fact, if I had run less mileage right after the Trials, I probably would have performed better at the Olympics. But I didn’t understand that at the time.

The problem I faced was that in 11 weeks I couldn’t very well do a 4-week recovery and a 3-week taper because that would have left only 4 weeks to train to compete against the best runners in the world. I got around that by cutting back the recovery and getting back into fairly high-quality long intervals by the fourth or fifth week after the Trials. The beauty of the short recovery after the Trials was that I was fit enough to do my long intervals at a good clip right away, so I didn’t need as long to build into them. For example, in the fifth week after the Trials, I did a 3-mile time trial on the track in 14:02.

I did continue, however, to train according to how I felt, with flexibility both ways. For example, one day I headed out for a 15-miler (24 km), felt good, and wound up going 26 miles (42 km). On other days, I would postpone a track workout for a day or two until my legs felt as if they could give a good effort without getting injured.

I tapered more for the Olympics than for the Trials. This was somewhat necessitated by tightness that I developed in my back during the last 3 weeks before the race. It was also out of a realization that I had trained too hard in the weeks after the Trials and that my energy level needed time to come up a notch. This is a very subjective matter, but I could tell during my training runs that a bit of zip was missing and that it was better to cut back and regain my strength. I did this by making my easy days—in terms of speed and distance—easier. I also trimmed the volume of my long runs and my speed workouts. This taper became the model that I followed for the rest of my racing career.

—Pete Pfitzinger

6-WEEK SCHEDULE

The 6-week schedule was difficult to put together because 6 weeks is just enough time to start to lose fitness if you don’t train enough, but it is also just barely enough time to recover from marathon number 1 before you need to taper for marathon number 2. The most important training weeks are those that end 3 weeks and 2 weeks before marathon number 2. Those weeks provide a small window during which you can train fairly hard without wearing yourself out for the second marathon.

The key workouts during those weeks are the tune-up race with 15 days to go, the long run with 14 days to go, the V̇O₂max sessions with 23 and 19 days to go, and the medium-long runs with 25 and 21 days until the marathon. This brief training stimulus will keep you in peak marathon fitness so that after tapering, you should be close to your best.

4-WEEK SCHEDULE

The 4-week schedule is about as compact as you can get. This program consists of 2 weeks of recovery merging into 2 weeks of taper. The objective is to get you to the starting line injury free, fully recovered from your previous marathon, and still in top shape. The mileage for this program starts at 20 to 24 miles (32-39 km) and builds to 45 to 50 miles (72-80 km) during the third week. Unfortunately, that’s also the penultimate week before the marathon, so mileage and intensity building abruptly halt and merge into a taper.

The most important workouts in this schedule are the medium-long run with 10 days until marathon number 2 and the V̇O₂max session with 12 days to go. If you need to do two marathons just 4 weeks apart (and need is a relative term), this schedule should maximize your chances of success.

RACING STRATEGIES

Don’t do it!

Just kidding. You should definitely set a clear goal for the second (or third, or fourth, …) marathon you’re running within a brief time frame. Otherwise, you might very well find yourself only a few miles into it wondering, “What am I doing here?” Being able to state what you want to accomplish in your multiple marathoning will provide en route direction and motivation. The longer you’ve allowed between marathons, the more precisely you should be able to state your goals for marathon number 2 (beyond “to get through it”).

Once you’ve picked your goal, map out the splits you’ll need to hit. Throughout this book, we’ve stressed the merits of showing restraint early in the marathon to maximize your chances of being able to run a strong second half. That advice is especially pertinent if you’ve already finished one marathon in the last 12 weeks or sooner. Your multiple-marathoning experience will almost certainly become a self-fulfilling death march if you run too fast early in the race in the hope of building a cushion against an inevitably slower second half.

Wait until the week before your second marathon to decide on a time goal. Be realistic, taking into account how your recovery from your first race went, the quality of your training in the interim, and whether you’ve felt your energy level rise during your taper for marathon number 2.

Also consider the circumstances of your previous marathon. For example, if you ran a huge personal best off of negative splits, there’s probably room for improvement this time around. Or, say you wilted over the last 10K the last time around and realize in retrospect that this was because of a too-aggressive first 10 miles (16 km); you should be able to make another attempt at your goal time for the first marathon. If, however, you prepared with monk-like devotion for 24 weeks for your previous marathon, shaving 3 seconds off your lifetime best, and your second marathon is 4 weeks later, well, sorry, but this probably isn’t the time to try for a 10-minute PR.

If you’ve never consciously tried to run a marathon with negative splits, this might be the occasion to do so. Give yourself the first several miles to get an accurate feel for how your body is responding to the challenge you’ve set for it, and pick up the pace only when you’re fairly confident that you can sustain it to the end.

AFTER THE MARATHON

If you’ve just run two or more marathons within a brief time span, your best strategy for future success is to take a well-deserved break. A few weeks of no running or easy training will help your body to recover and your mind to develop new challenges. You have little to gain by rushing back into training, and your risk of injury is exceptionally high at this point, owing to the reduced resiliency of your muscles and connective tissue after running multiple marathons.

Multiple Marathoning 12-Week Schedule

| WEEKS TO NEXT MARATHON
11 | 10 | 9 | 8
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 10 × 100 m strides
Wednesday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km)
Thursday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Friday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | LT 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 20-25 minutes at LT pace
Saturday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Sunday | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Long run 15-16 miles (24-26 km)
Weekly volume | 19-23 miles (31-37 km) | 30-35 miles (48-56 km) | 39-44 miles (63-71 km) | 52-58 miles (84-93 km)

Multiple Marathoning 12-Week Schedule

| WEEKS TO NEXT MARATHON
7 | 6 | 5 | 4
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | V̇O2max 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 6 × 800 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 10 × 100 m strides | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time
Wednesday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | V̇O2max 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km)
Thursday | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Friday | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Saturday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | 8K-15K tune-up race (total 10-14 miles [16-23 km])
Sunday | Long run 17-18 miles (27-29 km) | Marathon-pace run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) with 9 miles (14 km) at marathon pace | Long run 19-20 miles (31-32 km) | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km)
Weekly volume | 56-62 miles (90-100 km) | 60-66 miles (97-106 km) | 62-68 miles (100-109 km) | 54-63 miles (87-101 km)

Multiple Marathoning 12-Week Schedule

| WEEKS TO NEXT MARATHON
3 | 2 | 1 | Race week
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest
Tuesday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Wednesday | V̇O2max 11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 6 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Dress rehearsal 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 2 miles (3 km) at marathon pace
Thursday | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Friday | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery + speed 4-5 miles (6-8 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Saturday | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | 8K-10K tune-up race (total 10-12 miles [16-19 km]) | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 10 × 100 m strides | Recovery 2-4 miles (3-6 km)
Sunday | Long run 19-20 miles (31-32 km) | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Second marathon
Weekly volume | 63-69 miles (101-111 km) | 52-59 miles (84-95 km) | 40-46 miles (64-74 km) | 21-27 miles (34-43 km) (6 days prerace)

Multiple Marathoning 10-Week Schedule

| WEEKS TO NEXT MARATHON
9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Wednesday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km) | V̇O2max 10-11 miles (16-18 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time
Thursday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km)
Friday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | LT 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 20-25 minutes at LT pace | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km)
Saturday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km)
Sunday | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Long run 18-19 miles (29-31 km)
Weekly volume | 19-23 miles (31-37 km) | 30-35 miles (48-56 km) | 39-44 miles (63-71 km) | 53-59 miles (85-95 km) | 61-67 miles (98-108 km)

Multiple Marathoning 10-Week Schedule

| WEEKS TO NEXT MARATHON
4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | Race week
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest
Tuesday | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Wednesday | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | V̇O2max 11-12 miles (18-19 km) with 6 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Dress rehearsal 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 2 miles (3 km) at marathon pace
Thursday | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Friday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery + speed 4-5 miles (6-8 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Saturday | 8K-10K tune-up race (total 10-12 miles [16-19 km]) | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | 8K-10K tune-up race (total 10-12 miles [16-19 km]) | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 10 × 100 m strides | Recovery 2-4 miles (3-6 km)
Sunday | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Long run 19-20 miles (31-32 km) | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Second marathon
Weekly volume | 54-61 miles (87-98 km) | 63-69 miles (101-111 km) | 52-59 miles (84-95 km) | 40-46 miles (64-74 km) | 21-27 miles (34-43 km) (6 days prerace)

Multiple Marathoning 8-Week Schedule

| WEEKS TO NEXT MARATHON
7 | 6 | 5 | 4
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 10 sec hill sprints + 8 × 100 m strides
Wednesday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km)
Thursday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Friday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Gen-aerobic + speed 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | LT 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 20-25 minutes at LT pace
Saturday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Sunday | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km)
Weekly volume | 19-23 miles (31-37 km) | 30-35 miles (48-56 km) | 39-44 miles (63-71 km) | 54-60 miles (87-97 km)

Multiple Marathoning 8-Week Schedule

| WEEKS TO NEXT MARATHON
3 | 2 | 1 | Race week
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest
Tuesday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Wednesday | V̇O2max 9-10 miles (14-16 km) with 5 × 1 km at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Dress rehearsal 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 2 miles (3 km) at marathon pace
Thursday | Med-long run 14-15 miles (23-24 km) | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 800m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Friday | Gen-aerobic 8-9 miles (13-14 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery + speed 4-5 miles (6-8 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Saturday | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | 8K-10K tune-up race (total 10-12 miles [16-19 km]) | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 2-4 miles (3-6 km)
Sunday | Long run 19-20 miles (31-32 km) | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Second marathon
Weekly volume | 61-67 miles (98-108 km) | 52-59 miles (84-95 km) | 40-46 miles (64-74 km) | 21-27 miles (34-43 km) (6 days prerace)

Multiple Marathoning 6-Week Schedule

| WEEKS TO NEXT MARATHON
5 | 4 | 3
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train
Tuesday | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides
Wednesday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Gen-aerobic 7-8 miles (11-13 km) | Med-long run 11-12 miles (18-19 km)
Thursday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Friday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 7-8 miles (11-13 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time
Saturday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Sunday | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Med-long run 13-14 miles (21-23 km)
Weekly volume | 19-23 miles (31-37 km) | 33-38 miles (53-61 km) | 47-53 miles (76-85 km)

Multiple Marathoning 6-Week Schedule

| WEEKS TO NEXT MARATHON
2 | 1 | Race week
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest
Tuesday | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Wednesday | Gen-aerobic 9-10 miles (14-16 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Dress rehearsal 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 2 miles (3 km) at marathon pace
Thursday | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 6 × 100 m strides | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 600m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Friday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Recovery + speed 4-5 miles (6-8 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Saturday | 8K-10K tune-up race (total 10-12 miles [16-19 km]) | Recovery + speed 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 2-4 miles (3-6 km)
Sunday | Long run 16-17 miles (26-27 km) | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Second marathon
Weekly volume | 52-59 miles (84-95 km) | 40-46 miles (64-74 km) | 21-27 miles (34-43 km) (6 days prerace)

Multiple Marathoning 4-Week Schedule

| WEEKS TO NEXT MARATHON
3 | 2 | 1 | Race week
Monday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Rest
Tuesday | Rest or cross-train | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | V̇O2max 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 6 × 600 m at 5K race pace; jog 50%-90% interval time | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km)
Wednesday | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Gen-aerobic 7-8 miles (11-13 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km) | Dress rehearsal 6-7 miles (10-11 km) with 2 miles (3 km) at marathon pace
Thursday | Rest or cross-train | Rest or cross-train | Med-long run 12-13 miles (19-21 km) | Recovery 4-5 miles (6-8 km)
Friday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Gen-aerobic + speed 8-9 miles (13-14 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 3-4 miles (5-6 km) | Recovery + speed 4-5 miles (6-8 km) with 6 × 100 m strides
Saturday | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery 5-6 miles (8-10 km) | Recovery + speed 5-6 miles (8-10 km) with 8 × 100 m strides | Recovery 2-4 miles (3-6 km)
Sunday | Recovery 6-7 miles (10-11 km) | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | Gen-aerobic 10-11 miles (16-18 km) | Second marathon
Weekly volume | 20-24 miles (32-39 km) | 36-41 miles (58-66 km) | 42-48 miles (68-77 km) | 21-27 miles (34-43 km) (6 days prerace)

Appendix
A

MARATHON RACE-PACE CHART

Goal | Pace per mile | 5 miles | 10K | 10 miles | 20K | Halfway
2:10:00 | 4:57.5 | 24:47 | 30:48 | 49:35 | 1:01:36 | 1:05:00
2:15:00 | 5:09.0 | 25:45 | 32:00 | 51:30 | 1:04:00 | 1:07:30
2:20:00 | 5:20.4 | 26:42 | 33:11 | 53:24 | 1:06:22 | 1:10:00
2:25:00 | 5:31.8 | 27:39 | 34:22 | 55:18 | 1:08:44 | 1:12:30
2:30:00 | 5:43.2 | 28:36 | 35:33 | 57:12 | 1:11:06 | 1:15:00
2:35:00 | 5:54.7 | 29:33 | 36:44 | 59:07 | 1:13:28 | 1:17:30
2:40:00 | 6:06.1 | 30:30 | 37:55 | 1:01:01 | 1:15:50 | 1:20:00
2:45:00 | 6:17.6 | 31:28 | 39:06 | 1:02:56 | 1:18:12 | 1:22:30
2:50:00 | 6:29.0 | 32:25 | 40:17 | 1:04:50 | 1:20:34 | 1:25:00
2:55:00 | 6:40.5 | 33:22 | 41:28 | 1:06:45 | 1:22:56 | 1:27:30
3:00:00 | 6:51.9 | 34:19 | 42:39 | 1:08:39 | 1:25:18 | 1:30:00
3:05:00 | 7:03.3 | 35:16 | 43:50 | 1:10:33 | 1:27:40 | 1:32:30
3:10:00 | 7:14.8 | 36:14 | 45:02 | 1:12:28 | 1:30:04 | 1:35:00
3:15:00 | 7:26.2 | 37:11 | 46:13 | 1:14:22 | 1:32:26 | 1:37:30
3:20:00 | 7:37.7 | 38:08 | 47:24 | 1:16:17 | 1:34:48 | 1:40:00
3:25:00 | 7:49.1 | 39:05 | 48:35 | 1:18:11 | 1:37:10 | 1:42:30
3:30:00 | 8:00.5 | 40:02 | 49:46 | 1:20:05 | 1:39:32 | 1:45:00
3:35:00 | 8:12.0 | 41:00 | 50:57 | 1:22:00 | 1:41:54 | 1:47:30
3:40:00 | 8:23.4 | 41:57 | 52:08 | 1:23:54 | 1:44:16 | 1:50:00
3:45:00 | 8:34.9 | 42:54 | 53:19 | 1:25:49 | 1:46:38 | 1:52:30
3:50:00 | 8:46.3 | 43:51 | 54:30 | 1:27:43 | 1:49:00 | 1:55:00
3:55:00 | 8:57.8 | 44:49 | 55:41 | 1:29:38 | 1:51:22 | 1:57:30
4:00:00 | 9:09.2 | 45:46 | 56:53 | 1:31:32 | 1:53:46 | 2:00:00
15 miles | 30K | 20 miles | 40K | 25 miles | Finish |
1:14:22 | 1:32:24 | 1:39:10 | 2:03:12 | 2:03:57 | 2:10:00 |
1:17:15 | 1:36:00 | 1:43:00 | 2:08:00 | 2:08:45 | 2:15:00 |
1:20:06 | 1:39:33 | 1:46:48 | 2:12:44 | 2:13:30 | 2:20:00 |
1:22:57 | 1:43:06 | 1:50:36 | 2:17:28 | 2:18:15 | 2:25:00 |
1:25:48 | 1:46:39 | 1:54:24 | 2:22:12 | 2:23:00 | 2:30:00 |
1:28:40 | 1:50:12 | 1:58:14 | 2:26:56 | 2:27:47 | 2:35:00 |
1:31:31 | 1:53:45 | 2:02:02 | 2:31:40 | 2:32:32 | 2:40:00 |
1:34:24 | 1:57:18 | 2:05:52 | 2:36:24 | 2:37:20 | 2:45:00 |
1:37:15 | 2:00:51 | 2:09:40 | 2:41:08 | 2:42:05 | 2:50:00 |
1:40:07 | 2:04:24 | 2:13:30 | 2:45:52 | 2:46:52 | 2:55:00 |
1:42:58 | 2:07:57 | 2:17:18 | 2:50:36 | 2:51:37 | 3:00:00 |
1:45:49 | 2:11:30 | 2:21:06 | 2:55:20 | 2:56:22 | 3:05:00 |
1:48:42 | 2:15:06 | 2:24:56 | 3:00:08 | 3:01:10 | 3:10:00 |
1:51:33 | 2:18:39 | 2:28:44 | 3:04:52 | 3:05:55 | 3:15:00 |
1:54:25 | 2:22:12 | 2:32:34 | 3:09:36 | 3:10:42 | 3:20:00 |
1:57:16 | 2:25:45 | 2:36:22 | 3:14:20 | 3:15:27 | 3:25:00 |
2:00:07 | 2:29:18 | 2:40:10 | 3:19:04 | 3:20:12 | 3:30:00 |
2:03:00 | 2:32:51 | 2:44:00 | 3:23:48 | 3:25:00 | 3:35:00 |
2:05:51 | 2:36:24 | 2:47:48 | 3:28:32 | 3:29:45 | 3:40:00 |
2:08:43 | 2:39:57 | 2:51:38 | 3:33:16 | 3:34:32 | 3:45:00 |
2:11:34 | 2:43:30 | 2:55:26 | 3:38:00 | 3:39:17 | 3:50:00 |
2:14:27 | 2:47:03 | 2:59:16 | 3:42:44 | 3:44:05 | 3:55:00 |
2:17:18 | 2:50:39 | 3:03:04 | 3:47:32 | 3:48:50 | 4:00:00 |

Appendix
B

EQUIVALENT RACE TIMES: 10K THROUGH MARATHON

The following table provides an estimate of equivalent race performances for the most popular distances between 10K and the marathon. The table is meant to provide at-a-glance help in setting time goals.

Note the word estimate. Your training history, race terrain and weather, experience at each distance, the level of competition, and your genetic predisposition will influence how these times fit for you. The estimated equivalences assume that you’re equally well trained for the various distances. Also, the more recent the performances you’re assessing, the more accurate the table will be.

Equivalent Race Times

10K | 15K | 10 miles | Half marathon | Marathon
27:00 | 41:35 | 45:00 | 60:00 | 2:06:22
28:00 | 43:07 | 46:40 | 62:13 | 2:11:02
29:00 | 44:40 | 48:20 | 64:26 | 2:15:43
30:00 | 46:12 | 50:00 | 66:40 | 2:20:24
31:00 | 47:44 | 51:40 | 68:53 | 2:25:05
32:00 | 49:17 | 53:20 | 71:06 | 2:29:46
33:00 | 50:49 | 55:00 | 73:20 | 2:34:26
34:00 | 52:22 | 56:40 | 75:33 | 2:39:07
35:00 | 53:54 | 58:20 | 77:46 | 2:43:48
36:00 | 55:26 | 60:00 | 1:20:00 | 2:48:29
37:00 | 56:59 | 61:40 | 1:22:13 | 2:53:10
38:00 | 58:31 | 63:20 | 1:24:26 | 2:57:50
39:00 | 60:04 | 65:00 | 1:26:40 | 3:02:31
40:00 | 61:36 | 66:40 | 1:28:53 | 3:07:12
41:00 | 63:08 | 68:20 | 1:31:06 | 3:11:53
42:00 | 64:41 | 70:00 | 1:33:19 | 3:16:34
43:00 | 66:13 | 71:40 | 1:35:33 | 3:21:14
44:00 | 67:46 | 73:20 | 1:37:46 | 3:25:55
45:00 | 69:18 | 75:00 | 1:40:00 | 3:30:42
46:00 | 70:50 | 76:40 | 1:42:12 | 3:35:17
47:00 | 72:23 | 78:20 | 1:44:26 | 3:39:58
48:00 | 73:55 | 1:20:00 | 1:46:40 | 3:44:38
49:00 | 75:28 | 1:21:40 | 1:48:53 | 3:49:19
50:00 | 77:00 | 1:23:20 | 1:51:06 | 3:54:00
51:00 | 78:32 | 1:25:00 | 1:53:19 | 3:58:41
52:00 | 1:20:05 | 1:26:40 | 1:55:32 | 4:03:22
53:00 | 1:21:37 | 1:28:20 | 1:57:46 | 4:08:02
54:00 | 1:23:10 | 1:30:00 | 2:00:00 | 4:12:43
55:00 | 1:24:42 | 1:31:40 | 2:02:13 | 4:17:24

GLOSSARY

This glossary is purposefully short. It mostly contains the main physiological terms used in this book that are highly pertinent to marathon training and racing. It’s provided here for easy reference if you’re reading the book other than from cover to cover.

biomechanics—How the various parts of your body work together to create your running form. Although some features of your biomechanics, such as the structure of your bones, are primarily genetically determined, improving your flexibility and strength may improve your running biomechanics and therefore improve your marathon performance.

capillaries—The smallest blood vessels; several typically border each muscle fiber. With the correct types of training, you’ll increase the number of capillaries per muscle fiber. By providing oxygen directly to the individual muscle fibers, increased capillary density allows your rate of aerobic energy production to increase. Capillaries also deliver fuel to the muscle fibers and remove waste products such as carbon dioxide.

fast-twitch muscle fibers—Muscle fibers that contract and fatigue rapidly to power intense short-term exercise such as sprinting. They’re classified into two primary categories: A and X. Fast-twitch A fibers have more of the characteristics of slow-twitch fibers than do fast-twitch X. With endurance training, your fast-twitch A fibers gain more of the characteristics of slow-twitch fibers and become better at producing energy aerobically.

glycogen—The storage form of carbohydrate in your muscles and the main source of energy during running.

heart rate reserve—Your maximal heart rate minus your resting heart rate. Heart rate reserve reflects how much your heart rate can increase to pump more oxygen-rich blood to your muscles.

hemoglobin—A red blood cell protein that carries oxygen in the blood. The higher your hemoglobin content, the more oxygen can be carried (per unit of blood) to your muscles to produce energy aerobically.

lactate threshold (LT)—The exercise intensity above which your rate of lactate production is substantially greater than your rate of lactate clearance. At effort levels above your lactate threshold, the lactate concentration rises in your muscles and blood. The hydrogen ions associated with lactate production inactivate the enzymes for energy production and may interfere with the uptake of calcium, thereby reducing the muscles’ ability to contract. You can’t, therefore, maintain a pace faster than your lactate-threshold pace for more than a few miles.

maximal cardiac output—The amount of blood your heart can pump per minute, which is maximal heart rate per minute multiplied by the maximal amount of blood the heart can pump with each beat.

maximal heart rate—The highest heart rate you can attain during all-out running. Your maximal heart rate is determined genetically. In other words, it doesn’t increase with training. Successful marathoners don’t have particularly high maximal heart rates, so it isn’t a factor in determining success.

maximal oxygen uptake—Commonly referred to as V̇O₂max; the maximal amount of oxygen your heart can pump to your muscles and your muscles can then use to produce energy. The combination of your training and your genetics determines how high a V̇O₂max you have.

mitochondria—The only part of your muscle fibers in which energy is produced aerobically. Think of them as the aerobic energy factories in your muscle fibers. The right types of training increase the size of your mitochondria (i.e., make bigger factories) and the number of mitochondria (i.e., make more factories) in your muscle fibers.

periodization—Systematically structuring your training over a period of time to reach your goal.

running economy—How fast you can run using a given amount of oxygen. If you can run faster than another athlete while using the same amount of oxygen, then you have better running economy. Running economy can also be looked at as how much oxygen is required to run at a given speed. If you use less oxygen while running at the same speed as another runner, then you’re more economical.

slow-twitch muscle fibers—Muscle fibers that contract and tire slowly and that power sustained submaximal exercise such as endurance running. Slow-twitch muscle fibers naturally resist fatigue, and they have a high aerobic capacity, high capillary density, and other characteristics that make them ideal for marathon running.

super shoes—Racing shoes with a rockered geometry, a high midsole of springy, resilient foam, and a stabilizing plate (most often made of carbon fiber) in the midsole.

V̇O₂max—See maximal oxygen uptake.

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INDEX

Note: The italicized f and t following page numbers refer to figures and tables, respectively.

A

adaptation process 58-59

adrenaline levels 74

aerobic enzyme activity 6, 39

age considerations. See masters runners

aid stations 24, 36, 53-55, 141, 151-152, 154

Albertson, CJ 244-245

alcohol consumption 37, 125

American College of Sports Medicine 32, 45, 49

anemia 46

Assefa, Tigst 146

B

back-to-back hard training days 61-66

beet juice 51-52

bench dips 106-107

bent-leg calf stretch 92-93, 123

bicycle crunch 101

bird dog 98-99

Bjorklund, Garry 21

blood volume 9, 32, 46, 47, 49, 140

body composition changes 121-123

body weight 35, 38, 45, 45t, 71, 75

Brandt, Michael 212-213

Bruce, Stephanie 40

C

caffeine 34-35, 51

calf raises 106, 123

calf stretches 92-93, 123

caloric deficits 71

capillary density 5, 7, 58, 102

carbohydrate loading 38-39, 140, 144

carbohydrates. See also glycogen storage

after running 64

in daily training diet 40

depletion of 62

as energy source 37-39

high-fat/low-carb diets 42-43

hydration and 36

midrace intake of 53-54, 154, 158

prerace intake of 52

for replenishing glycogen stores 44

Castella, Rob de 157

cat-cow pose 64, 87

celiac disease 40

Chepngetich, Ruth 146

Clark, Nancy 44

clothing considerations 64

cold-water immersion 74, 77

complete marathon training plans 25-26, 26t

compression apparel 80-81

cool-downs 11, 74, 116-117, 167, 171, 228

core strength training 96-101, 97t, 140-141

cross-country skiing 114, 117

cross-training

benefits of 112-113

in cool-downs 74

cross-country skiing and 114, 117

cycling and 114-115

elliptical training and 114, 117

for masters runners 125

on recovery days 10, 66, 68, 113, 184-185, 198, 214, 229

swimming and 114, 118

tapering 140-141

water running and 114-117

cruise intervals. See interval training

cycling 114-115

D

Daniels, Jack 16, 63

dehydration. See also hydration

alcohol and 37

hard training and 58

heart rate and 19

overreaching and 69

physiology of 32-33

prevention of 32, 35, 38, 52, 55, 154

recovery and 75-77, 125, 246

delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) 61-63, 74, 80-81

diet. See nutrition

double runs 171-173, 211-212, 227-228

double threshold days 12

Douglas, Scott 129-130

drafting 150

drinking-while-running technique 54-55

driving to run 64

dropping out of races 156, 157

dynamic stretching 86-91, 87t

E

easy days 10, 66-68, 125

eating habits. See nutrition

Eberle, Suzanne Girard 45

elliptical training 114, 117

energy drinks 34, 36

energy gels 24, 36, 53

energy levels 46, 70, 71, 75-77, 163, 250, 252

equivalent race times 265-266

ergogenic aids 50-52

exercises

core strength training 96-101, 97t

flexibility training 86-96, 87t, 92t

running form drills 109-112

strength training 102-109, 103t

G

gastrointestinal (GI) system 35, 36, 40, 46, 48

general aerobic runs 10, 117, 130, 163-165, 168-170, 174

genetic influences 4, 5, 9, 33, 34, 58-60

gluten-free diets 40-41

glute stretch 95

glycemic index 44

glycogen loading 38-39

glycogen storage

carbohydrate intake for 38-39, 140, 144

hard/easy principle and 61

improvement of 12-16

in marathon physiology 4, 7, 12-16

replenishment strategies 43-44, 61

in train low/race high strategy 39

warm-ups and 144

Glynn, Matt 166-167

GPS watches 27, 156

Groner, Roberta 127-128

H

Hall, Ryan 41, 42

Hall, Sara 41-42

hamstring stretches 92, 93

hard/easy principle 61-66

Hassan, Sifan 4-5, 149-150

heart rate drift 19

heart rate intensity

maximal 9, 13-14, 17-19, 18t, 22, 24

as recovery monitor 75, 185, 198, 214, 229

for training workouts 14, 164, 165, 167-170, 171t

water running and 116

heart rate monitors 17, 18, 75, 185, 198, 214, 229, 246

heart rate reserve 13-14, 17-19, 18t, 22, 24

heart rate variability (HRV) 75, 77, 80

heat exhaustion 32, 156

hemoglobin 9, 46, 47, 49, 71

high-fat/low-carb (HFLC) diets 42-43

high-volume training

recommendations for 225-229

training schedule for 230-242

hill training

for masters runners 123

running economy and 16, 19

in speed work 170-171

as strength training 104

in training schedule 174

for V̇O₂max improvement 23, 24

hip flexor stretches 92, 94

hip rotator stretch 95

HRV (heart rate variability) 75, 77, 80

Huddle, Molly 136

hydration. See also dehydration

after running 64

fluid types for 36-37

fluid volume needed for 35

importance of 32

for masters runners 124-125

midrace intake of fluids 52-55, 154, 159

prerace intake of fluids 52

for race day 52-55, 154, 159

as recovery monitor 76

at workplace 35, 68

hyponatremia 52, 54

I

illnesses 61-62, 175

immune system 39, 44, 51, 61-62, 134

individual training thresholds 68-69

injuries

cross-training and 112, 113

female athlete triad and 72

marathon-pace runs and 24

masters runners and 123, 129-131

mileage increases and 20

prevention of 76, 78-79, 96, 102

risk of 13, 15, 75, 80, 85-86, 102-103, 165

training interruptions due to 175

integrated training 24-25

International Olympic Committee (IOC) 34, 51

interval training

in fatigued state 65

for lactate threshold improvement 11-12

for maximal heart rate determination 17

recovery from 60, 60t

for running economy improvement 16, 19

for tempo runs 168, 168t

too fast and too frequent 23

tune-up races and 29, 29t

for V̇O₂max improvement 22-24, 169-170

water running and 116

IOC (International Olympic Committee) 34, 51

iron

blood tests for 48-49, 71

deficiency of 46-50, 62

functions of 46

low levels in marathoners 46-48

preventing depletion of 49-50

recommended daily intake 49

in vegetarian/vegan diets 47-49, 51

K

Kaplan, Edward 120

Kastor, Deena 42, 148

Kawauchi, Yuki 245

Keflezighi, Meb 117, 131, 245

ketogenic diets 42

kickouts (B-skip) 112

Kipchoge, Eliud 146-148

Kiptum, Kelvin 146

knee hugs 90

L

lactate levels 19, 23, 62, 74, 145

lactate threshold (LT) 4-8, 11-13, 167-168

lactate-threshold intervals. See interval training

lactate-threshold runs. See tempo runs

Landau, Kate 126-127

Larson-Meyer, Enette 48

lat stretch 96

leg push-away 99

leg swings 88

long training runs

carbohydrate loading and 39

in fatigued state 65

heart rate intensity in 14

at marathon pace 24-25, 165

mileage of 13, 15

pace of 12-15, 14t, 164-165

psychological benefits of 12-13, 15

recovery from 60, 60t

as tune-up races 29, 29t

LT (lactate threshold) 4-8, 11-13, 167-168

lunges 90, 107

Lydiard, Arthur 104

lying hamstring stretch 93

M

macrocycles 25

Magill, Pete 131

Mantz, Conner 72-73

marathon champion profiles. See also specific athletes

CJ Albertson 244-245

Michael Brandt 212-213

Matt Glynn 166-167

Roberta Groner 127-128

Sara Hall 41-42

Sifan Hassan 149-150

Eliud Kipchoge 147-148

Kate Landau 126-127

Conner Mantz 72-73

Emily Sisson 136-137

Clayton Young 72-73

marathon-pace runs 24-25, 165

marathon physiology 3-25

fat utilization and 4, 7, 12-16

genetic influences on 4, 5, 9

glycogen storage and 4, 7, 12-16

integrated training and 24-25

lactate threshold and 4-8, 11-13

maximal heart rate and 9, 13-14, 17-19, 18t, 22, 24

maximal oxygen uptake and 4, 9, 22-24

recovery time and 4, 9-10, 24

running economy and 4, 8, 16, 19, 21

slow-twitch muscle fibers and 4, 5, 8, 16

training for improvement of 4, 11-24

massage therapy 78-79

masters runners 119-131

body composition changes in 121-123

common sense and discipline 130-131

goal setting by 129-130

hydration for 124-125

individual-level factors for 119

maximal oxygen uptake in 120-121

nutrition for 122-125

rate of slowing in 120-125

recovery time for 124-125

shoes and orthotics for 128-129

stride length and 123

supplementary training for 122, 123, 125

tapering time for 135

training schedules for 125

maximal heart rate 9, 13-14, 17-19, 18t, 22, 24, 67, 121

maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O₂max)

improvement of 22-24, 169-170

lactate threshold and 5

in marathon physiology 4, 9, 22-24

in masters runners 120-121

stroke volume and 9, 47

training adaptions for 9

medium-long runs 165

mental toughness 10, 12

mesocycles 25

Meyer, Greg 21, 157

microcycles 25

midpack runners 183-184

mileage. See also training schedules

equivalent race times 265-266

guidelines for increasing 20

of long training runs 13, 15

more than 105 miles per week 228

personal limitations 15

tapering 135, 137-140, 139t

mineral supplements 51, 62

mitochondria 5, 6, 8, 39, 44, 45, 59, 102

monotony of training 70

movement at work 68

multiple marathoning 243-262

priorities for 248

race-day strategy for 251-252

reading and following schedules for 246, 248

recovery for 243, 244, 252

training schedules for 243-244, 246, 248-262

muscle fibers 4-8, 16, 86, 91, 102, 121, 145, 146

muscle soreness 61-63, 74, 76, 78

muscle stiffness 16, 64, 81, 165

muscular system 84, 84-85f

N

Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook 44

nitrate 51-52

Noakes, Tim 134

No Meat Athlete Cookbook,The (Frazier & Romine) 48

nutrition 37-55. See also carbohydrates; proteins

iron 46-50, 62

for masters runners 122-125

midrace intake 53-54, 154, 158

prerace intake 52

for race day 52-55, 154, 158

as recovery monitor 76

sodium 35, 36, 54

supplements 50-52, 62

at workplace 68

nutritional supplements 50-52, 62

O

older runners. See masters runners

omega-3 fatty acids 47, 51

organized pace groups 152

orthotics 128-129

overreaching 65, 69-71, 75-76, 80

overtraining 10, 24, 58, 65, 68-72, 75-76, 79-80, 124, 175

P

pace

altering midrace 150-152

calculation during race 156

chart for 263-264

of general aerobic runs 168

of long training runs 12-15, 14t, 164-165

marathon-pace runs 24-25, 165

of medium-long runs 165

for midpack runners 183-184

organized pace groups 152

race-day strategies 145-146, 150-152, 183-184, 198, 212, 228-229

of recovery runs 169

of tempo runs 167

pain tolerance 10

periodization 25-26

Pfitzinger, Pete 8, 21, 156-158, 247, 250

physiological attributes. See marathon physiology

Plant-Based Sports Nutrition (Larson-Meyer & Ruscigno) 48

posture 68, 115

prone plank with leg lift 101

proteins

deficiency of 62

glycogen storage and 44

intake requirements 44-46, 45t

for masters runners 122, 124-125

overconsumption of 46

supplements 50

in vegetarian/vegan diets 45-47

psychological issues

in long runs 12-13, 15

mental toughness 10, 12

on race day 150, 154

in tapering 138

push-ups 104-105

Q

quadriceps stretch 94

Quinn, Shane 136

quitting races 156, 157

R

race-day strategy 143-159

altering midrace 150-152

dropping out 156, 157

at finish line 159

first half 153-154

hydration and 52-55, 154, 159

for midpack runners 183-184

for multiple marathoning 251-252

nutrition and 52-55, 154, 158

pace and 145-146, 150-152, 183-184, 198, 212, 228-229

psychological issues and 150, 154

second half 155-159

at starting line 153

warm-ups and 143-145

racing flats 78, 153

Ratcliffe, Tom 247

rate of slowing in masters runners 120-125

recovery 57-81

adaptation process in 58-59

in back-to-back hard training days 61-66

balancing training with 58, 59

cross-training during 10, 66, 68, 113, 184-185, 198, 214, 229

double runs during 172

driving to run and 64

easy days 10, 66-68, 125

factors affecting rate of 59

genetic influences and 9, 58-60

hard/easy principle and 61-66

marathon physiology and 4, 9-10, 24

for masters runners 124-125

monitoring 75-77

for multiple marathoning 243, 244, 252

overtraining in 10, 58, 65, 68-72

real world considerations 68

techniques for enhancing 74, 77-81

time required for 28, 29, 59-61, 60t

in training schedules 184-185, 198, 214, 229, 252

recovery runs 10, 15, 19, 38, 67-68, 113-117, 131, 163-166, 168-170

recovery weeks 65-66, 133

relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) 71-72

resistance training. See strength training

resting heart rate 13, 18, 67, 75

Rodgers, Bill 21

Romine, Stepfanie 48

round-and-round-the-track method 55

running economy

improvement of 16, 19, 21, 78, 102, 104, 134

in marathon physiology 4, 8, 16, 19, 21

strength training and 16, 19, 102, 104

tapering and 134

running form drills 19, 21, 109-112, 141

Ruscigno, Matt 48

S

Salazar, Alberto 21

Sandoval, Tony 21

schedules. See training schedules

shoes 20, 21, 25, 78, 128-129, 146, 153-154

short repetition sessions 16, 19, 21

shoulder stretch 96

side lunges 90

side plank 100

side skips 91

side swings 89

single-leg glute bridge 100

Sisson, Emily 4, 136-137

skiing 114, 117

skip march run drill (A-skip) 111

skip march walk drill 110

sleep 10, 37, 59, 69, 71, 75-80, 124-125, 134, 155

slow-twitch muscle fibers 4, 5, 8, 16, 102, 145

Smith, Kim 136

sodium 35, 36, 54

specificity of training 24, 113, 114

speed training 16, 20, 23, 170-171

sports drinks 34, 36, 38, 44, 53, 55

squats 108-109

starting line strategy 153

static stretching 86, 91-96, 92t

step-ups 105, 123

straight-leg calf stretch 93, 123

strength training 96-109

benefits of 102

core 96-101, 97t, 140-141

frequency of 103

hill training as 104

for masters runners 122, 123

program for 102-109, 103t

running economy and 16, 19, 102, 104

tapering 140-141

stretching. See also flexibility training

dynamic 86-91, 87t

recovery and 64, 74

static 86, 91-96, 92t

stride length

core strength training and 97

flexibility training and 86, 92

in masters runners 123

running economy and 8

running form drills and 109, 110

strength training and 102

stroke volume 9, 47

supercompensation 58-61, 60t

super shoes 21, 78, 129, 146, 153-154

supplements 50-52, 62

sweat, fluid and nutrient loss through 33, 35, 46, 48, 52

swimming 114, 118

T

tapering 133-142

benefits of 134

carbohydrate loading and 38

duration of 59, 134

hard/easy efforts during 138, 138f

importance of 133

key principles for 135

mileage reduction 135, 137-140, 139t

psychological issues in 138

sample schedule 138-140, 139t

stress reduction during 142

supplementary training 140-141

visualization during 141

tempo runs

in fatigued state 65

for lactate threshold improvement 11-12, 167-168

recovery from 60, 60t

as tune-up races 29, 29t

thirst mechanism 32, 35, 125

time zone changes 155

training. See also specific types of training

back-to-back hard days 61-66

balancing recovery with 58, 59

hard/easy principle of 61-66

integrated 24-25

monotony of 70

periodized 25-26

specificity of 24, 113, 114

technology and 27, 67, 75, 77

training load 32, 48, 62, 66, 69-70, 77

training logs 69, 70

training schedules

55 miles or less per week 181-194

55 to 70 miles per week 195-207

70 to 85 miles per week 209-223

85 miles or more per week 225-242

adjustments to 177-178

following 183, 197, 211, 227, 248

hard days in 173

hill workouts in 174

interruptions in 175-176, 176t, 179

for masters runners 125

for multiple marathoning 243-244, 246, 248-262

reading 182-183, 196-197, 210-211, 226-227, 246

recovery in 184-185, 198, 214, 229, 252

training stimulus 57, 59, 61, 63, 115, 165, 169, 172, 251

train low/race high strategy 39, 43

Treacy, Ray 136, 137

triceps press 108

tune-up races

back-to-back hard days and 62

balancing hard workouts and 29, 29t

distances for 28-29

importance of 26-27

purposes of 27

recovery from 28, 29, 60, 60t

tapering and 135, 139

twice-a-day runs 171-173, 211-212, 227-228

U

urine, fluid and nutrient loss through 35, 46, 48

V

vegetarian/vegan diets 45-49, 51

visualization 141, 148

vitamin supplements 51, 62

V̇O₂max. See maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O₂max)

W

walking knee hugs 90

“the wall” 7, 38

warm-ups

in flexibility training 86, 87t

high-volume training and 228

lactate threshold and 11

massage therapy and 79

for masters runners 121, 131

race-day strategies 143-145, 153

running form drills and 110

in speed training 170

in strength training 103

tempo runs and 167

tune-up races and 27

water running and 116

water intake 35-37

water running 114-117

weather conditions 32-33, 35-37, 75-76, 150, 151, 176

weight. See body weight

work considerations 35, 59, 63, 68

Y

yoga 86

Young, Clayton 72-73

Z

zinc 47, 51, 62

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Pete Pfitzinger was the top American finisher in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic marathons. With a personal best of 2:11:43 in winning the 1984 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, he is a two-time winner of the San Francisco Marathon and placed third in the 1987 New York City Marathon. He was ranked the top American marathoner in 1984 by Track & Field News, and he is a member of the Road Runners Club of America’s Hall of Fame. Pete has more than 30 years of experience coaching marathon runners to achieve their goals. An exercise physiologist and sports administrator, he is also the author of Faster Road Racing. Pete and his wife, Christine, a 1988 Olympian, live in Auckland, New Zealand.

Scott Douglas is a contributing writer for Runner’s World and Outside. He is the author or co-author of several well-known running books, including Personal Best Running, Running Is My Therapy, and the New York Times bestsellers Meb for Mortals and 26 Marathons. He has also written for The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Slate. Scott has run more than 130,000 miles since starting as a teen. He lives in North Yarmouth, Maine.

A determined man is running along an asphalt road that bears evidence of recent snowfall at its edges. He is clad in a bright blue running jacket with red and black trimmings, black athletic pants, black gloves, and blue running shoes with black laces. The jacket is pulled back at the hood, showing a glimmer of a blue interior. His eyes are slightly looking to his right. The background is a winter landscape with patches of snow on the ground, bare deciduous trees, evergreen trees, and a large snow-capped mountain in the horizon under a cloudy sky.

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Four runners are photographed from behind running on a cement road under a cement overpass. The closest runner to the observer is a male with a white tank top and orange and black shorts. Standing to his left is a woman with an afro, who sports a purple tank top and blue shorts. Later on, a woman wearing a blue long-sleeved top and black shorts is trailed by a man wearing a light blue t-shirt and black shorts.

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Three marathon runners are the main focus, captured in motion as they run past a refreshment station. The runner on the left is bald and wearing a purple and blue singlet and black shorts. The runner in the middle has short brown hair and is wearing a white singlet and black shorts. The runner on the right has dark hair and a beard, wearing a black and red shirt, grey shorts, and has a race bib pinned to his chest. In the foreground, numerous green cups, likely filled with water or energy drinks, are neatly arranged on a table, ready for the runners. Behind the runners and the refreshment station, spectators line the street, and orange banners with white lettering are visible.

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A close-up shows the intent concentration of a marathon runner, a dark-haired woman wearing her hair in a ponytail, as she stretches out to take a cup of liquid from a volunteer at a race aid station. She is dressed in a blue athletic singlet with “SPRING WHIPPETS” written in yellow, and a race bib 76. Her arms are stretched out, indicating the strain of the race. A few volunteers in bright yellow jackets offer cups to the runners. In the blurry background, two male runners are seen taking drinks from similar cups, one wearing a light green tank top and one wearing a blue Nike t-shirt. In the distance behind, crowds and white tents line the course of the race, indicating a heavily attended event on a sunny day.

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A woman with her hair pulled back is fleeing from the viewer on a road of asphalt. She has on a bright orange tank top, dark leggings, and pink running shoes. Her arms are flexed at the elbows, and her hands are relaxed. The road in front of her curves to the right slightly. The backdrop includes a rolling hill with sparse foliage and a serpentine dirt road on one of the hills. Scattered trees and bushes line the edge of the road upon which the woman is running.

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Two men marathon runners, Conner Mantz and Clayton Young, are presented winning, arms up. Mantz, left, is dressed in a white tank top, blue shorts, and sunglasses, with a bib number on. Young, right, is dressed in a red tank top, black shorts, and sunglasses, with a bib. Both are fair-complexioned and look as if smiling. In the blurred background, there are spectators and banners present, implying a race finishing line. Text on the left gives their biographies, their fastest marathon times, and 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials and Olympics highlights.

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A curly brown-haired young woman with her hair pulled up is doing a plank on a purple exercise mat in a brightly lit room. She has on a light blue exercise top and matching bottoms. Her forearms rest on the mat, and her body is in a straight line from head to heels, supported by her toes. Her eye is slightly to her right, indicating concentration and effort. There is a wooden floor in the background, a red chair, a bookcase containing sundry items, and framed paintings leaning against the wall, implying a domestic setting.

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A diagram shows the muscles of the human body. The visible muscles are the Brachialis muscle, Deltoid, Pectoralis major, Serratus anterior, Rectus abdominis, Obliques, Transverse abdominis, Iliopsoas, Adductor longus, Gracilis, Sartorius, Quadriceps muscles (Rectus femoris, Vastus lateralis, and Vastus medialis), and Tibialis anterior. The caption requests that the diagram be used as a guide in identifying the muscles exercised during stretches and exercise.

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An anatomical diagram shows the posterior view of the human muscular system on the right-hand side and skeletal system on the left-hand side. The muscles are outlined with lines indicating each respective location. The terminology used for labeling the muscles is as follows: Trapezius, Infraspinatus, Teres major, Triceps, Latissimus dorsi, Gluteus medius, Gluteus maximus, Hamstrings (which consists of Semitendinosus, Biceps femoris, and Semimembranosus), Gastrocnemius, and Soleus. The bony structure reveals the spine, ribs, pelvis, scapula, humerus, radius, ulna, femur, tibia, fibula, and hand and foot bones. The head is also revealed half way through, revealing the skull.

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The photograph is of a man doing the cat-cow exercise. The photograph is in two sections, marked 'a' and 'b'. In photograph 'a', the man is on his hands and knees, his back arched and his head raised. In photograph 'b', the man has curved his back, his chin brought towards his chest. The caption next to the photo explains the exercise as enhancing flexibility of the hips, spine, shoulders, and neck. The directions are to position hands and knees, inhale and arch back, exhale, lower head, and round back.

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The photograph illustrates two phases of a leg swing exercise, designated 'a' and 'b'. In both phases, a brown-haired woman with ponytailed hair stands in front of a light gray wall with her right hand lightly resting on it to balance. She has a black tank top on along with striped gray and black shorts and black running shoes.
In picture 'a', she straightens her right leg straight forward parallel to the ground. Her left leg is fixed on the ground.
In photo 'b', her right leg is swung back, partially bent at the knee. Her left leg is firmly planted.

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The photo depicts two phases of a side swing exercise, marked as 'a' and 'b'. A brown-haired woman with her hair pulled back stands sideways against a light gray wall, balancing with her hands. She has on a black tank top covered with a mesh overlay and orange stripes, patterned gray and black shorts, and black athletic shoes with white soles.
In photo 'a', she has extended her right leg straight out to the side, parallel to the ground. Her left leg is firmly on the floor.
In photo 'b', her right leg is swung back and partially across her body, bending at the knee. Her left leg is stationary.

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A young male with dark short hair and glasses is depicted in the middle of a side lunge movement. He has on a red short-sleeved top and black shorts. His left leg is lying straight out to the side with his foot flat on a blue exercise mat, while his right knee is bent at about a 90-degree angle, straddling over his right foot. His fingers are folded together on his chest. He is staring straight into the camera. The scene is a simple light gray wall.

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A man with curly dark hair and glasses is standing on his left leg, with his right knee brought up to his chest using both hands. He is wearing a red t-shirt, black shorts, and blue and yellow athletic shoes. His eyes are directed slightly upward and to the right. The man is standing on a black exercise mat, and the background is a light gray plain wall.

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The photo depicts two phases, 'a' and 'b', of the jumping jack exercise. The woman has brown hair pulled back and is wearing a black tank top and plaid gray and black shorts and black athletic shoes. She is standing in front of a plain gray background and performing an exercise.
In photo 'a', she is standing in the initial position with her legs apart and her arms crossed over her waist.
In photo 'b', she is jumping with legs further apart and arms above her head in the shape of a V. Her feet are no longer on the ground.

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A young man with dark curly hair and glasses is doing a calf stretch against a light gray wall. He has an orange short-sleeved shirt, black shorts, and blue and yellow athletic shoes. His palms are flat against the wall at shoulder height, and his right leg is bent at the knee and brought forward. His left leg is stretched straight back with the heel sunk deeply into the ground, creating a stretch upon the calf muscle. He is facing the wall. He stands on a black floor that is slightly shiny.

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A young dark-haired male wearing glasses is standing calf stretching against a light gray wall. He has an orange short-sleeved shirt, black shorts, and yellow and blue athletic shoes. His hands are flat on the wall at about chest level, and his two legs are out behind him. His front leg is slightly bent at the knee, and his back leg is straight with the heel pushed strongly into the ground to experience the stretch in the calf. He is facing towards the wall. He is on a black floor.

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A woman is reclining on her back on a blue exercise mat, stretching her hamstrings. Her left leg is stretched straight up in the air, with a purple resistance band tied around the sole of her white and gray athletic shoe. She has the ends of the band held by both hands to maximize the stretch. Her right leg is stretched straight out on the mat. She is dressed in a light purple short-sleeved top and black leggings. Her head is on the mat, and she is gazing at her raised leg. The background is an unfussy light gray wall.

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A young guy with dark curly hair and glasses stands next to a light gray wall performing a quadriceps stretch using the wall as support. He wears an orange short-sleeved top, black shorts, and blue and yellow athletic shoes. His left hand rests flat against the wall near waist level. His right thigh is flexed behind him, and he is grasping his right foot with his right hand, pulling it toward his buttocks to stretch the front of his thigh. He is facing forward. He is standing on a black surface.

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A brown-haired woman with her hair pulled back in a low ponytail is in a position of kneeling hip flexor stretch. She has her right leg bent at the knee and in front of her with her foot flat on a blue exercise mat. Her left knee is behind her on the mat, and her left foot is stretched out behind her with the top of her foot on the mat. She is wearing a light purple long-sleeved athletic top and black leggings, and white and gray athletic shoes. She has her hands on her hips, and she is looking forward with a neutral face expression. The background is a light gray wall over a black floor.

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A long brown-haired woman is reclined on her back on a blue exercise mat doing a glute stretch. Her left leg is flexed at the knee with her foot placed flat on the mat. Her right leg is flexed, and her right ankle is crossed over her left knee. Her left thigh is gently pulled towards her chest as her hands are clasped over it, stretching her right glute further. She is wearing a black tank top and gray and black striped shorts, with black athletic shoes. Her head is on the mat, and she is looking upward. The background of the image is a light gray wall over a black floor.

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A young man lies on his back on a blue exercise mat doing a hip rotator stretch. His arms are held out to the sides, lying on the black floor. His left leg is stretched straight out on the mat. His right leg is bent at the knee and crossed over his body, with his right foot lying on the floor close to his left knee. He is facing toward the left. He has on a red t-shirt, black shorts, and yellow and blue athletics shoes.

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A young man is on his hands and knees on a blue exercise mat, doing a bird-dog exercise. His right arm is out straight in front of him, parallel to the ground, and his left leg is extended straight behind him, parallel to the ground. His torso is fairly straight, and his eyes are downcast at the mat. He is dressed in an orange short-sleeved shirt, black shorts, and blue and yellow athletic shoes. The background is a plain light-gray wall over a black floor.

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Two phases, 'a' and 'b', of an exercise lowering the leg are indicated in the picture. The exercise may be appropriate for a postpartum woman. A woman lies on her back on a blue exercise mat. She has on a light purple short-sleeved athletic shirt, black leg coverings, and white and gray athletic footwear. Her arms are at her sides. The backdrop is a light gray wall with a black floor below.
In figure 'a', knees are bent to about a 90-degree angle, with lower legs lifted off the mat, parallel to the ceiling.
In figure 'b', she has gradually extended her left leg so that it is outstretched straight and suspended just above the mat, with her right leg bent at a 90-degree angle and her lower leg raised.

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The photograph displays two phases, marked 'a' and 'b', of a side plank exercise.
In photo 'a', a young man with dark curly hair and glasses is reclining on his side on a blue exercise mat, resting on his right forearm and the side of his right knee. His right hand is on his hip. He has on a red short-sleeved top and black shorts.
In figure 'b', the man is in the same stance, but with his right leg out straight and supporting himself on the side of his foot.

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A dark-haired young man wearing glasses is reclining on his back on a blue exercise mat doing a bicycle crunch. His left leg is stretched straight out, lightly above the mat, and his right knee is bent and brought toward his stomach. His left elbow is approaching his right knee, and his right hand is at the back of his head. He has a red short-sleeved shirt, black shorts, and yellow and blue athletic shoes. His eyes are focused on his bent knee. The wall behind is light gray above a black floor.

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The photo shows two phases, 'a' and 'b', of a variation of a plank exercise. A curly dark-haired young man wearing glasses is doing exercise on a blue exercise mat in front of a light gray wall over a black floor. He is wearing a red short-sleeved top, black shorts, and yellow and blue athletics shoes.
In photo 'a', he is in a standard forearm plank position. His body is in a straight line from head to heels, with his forearms and toes as support. His eyes are lowered toward the mat.
In photo 'b', he is in the same forearm plank position, but his left leg is straight up in the air. His body is still relatively straight, supported by his forearms, right foot, and toes.

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Two images demonstrating a push-up exercise on a blue mat. The first image (a) shows a woman in the starting push-up position, with arms straight and body aligned from head to heels. The second image (b) shows the woman lowering her body toward the mat, bending her elbows at a 90-degree angle, while maintaining a straight posture.

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The image shows two stages, labeled 'a' and 'b', of a step-up exercise. A young man with glasses is performing exercise. He is wearing a red short-sleeved shirt, black shorts, and blue and yellow athletic shoes. In image 'a', he is stepping onto a red and black step stool with his right leg, while his left leg is extended behind him. In image 'b', he is standing on the stool with his left leg, and his right leg is raised with his knee bent.

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The image shows two stages, labeled 'a' and 'b', of a hip hike exercise. A young man with curly dark hair and glasses is viewed from the back, standing on a teal and black aerobic step. He is wearing a red short-sleeved shirt, black shorts, and blue and yellow athletic shoes. In image 'a', he is standing with both feet flat on the step, maintaining a level pelvis. In image 'b', he has lowered his left hip slightly by letting his left foot hang off the side of the step, while keeping his right leg straight and supporting his weight. This demonstrates the downward movement of the left hip in a hip hike.

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The photo features two phases, 'a' and 'b', of a bench dip exercise. A brown-haired woman with her brown hair pulled back in a low ponytail performs the exercise on a black exercise bench. She wears a light purple long-sleeved athletic top, black leggings, and white and gray athletic shoes. The background is a blank light gray wall over a black floor.
In photo 'a', she is in the initial position, seated on the bench's edge with legs outstretched forward and her hands holding the edge of the bench at her back, arms straight.
In picture 'b', she has bent her elbows to lower her body, with her back near the bench. Her hips are brought low down to the floor.

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The photograph captures two phases, 'a' and 'b', of a dumbbell lunge exercise. The young adult male with curly dark hair and glasses is dressed in a red short-sleeved top, black shorts, and blue and yellow sports shoes. He holds one dumbbell in each hand. Behind him is a light gray plain wall on top of a black surface.
In photo 'a', he stands in the initial position, with his feet shoulder-width apart and standing straight up, with his dumbbells at his sides.
In photo 'b', he has advanced his right leg and brought his hips down so that both knees are bent at about 90-degree angles. His front knee is directly over his ankle, and his back knee is just above the ground. He still has the dumbbells grasped by his sides.

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The photo depicts two phases, 'a' and 'b', of a seated overhead triceps press. A brown-haired woman with her hair back in a ponytail sits on a black exercise bench. She has on a light purple short-sleeved athletic top, black leggings, and white and gray athletic shoes. She holds one dumbbell in both hands. In the background is a plain light gray wall over a black floor.
In photo 'a', she is in the initial position with her arms extended fully overhead, with the dumbbell held vertically above her head.
In photo 'b', she has dropped the dumbbell behind her head by bending her elbows, holding her upper arms fixed.

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The picture depicts two phases, 'a' and 'b', of a goblet squat. The woman is brown-haired, with her hair tied back in a ponytail. She holds a dumbbell vertically in front of her chest using both hands. She has on a black tank top with mesh panels, printed gray and black shorts, and black sports shoes. The background is a simple light gray wall above a dark floor.
In photograph 'a', she stands in the initial posture, upright with shoulder-width stance of feet and dumbbell grasped against the chest.
In photograph 'b', she has dropped her hips as if sitting back into a seat, with her back straight and her chest lifted. Her elbows are facing downward below her knees.

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A ponytailed woman with brown hair is viewed in profile showing a high knee running stance. Her left leg is bent at the knee and lifted high to her chest, with her foot being flexed. Her right leg is straight and bearing weight, with her foot planted on the ground. Her right arm is bent at the elbow and raised, and her left arm is bent and moving backward. She is in a black tank top that has mesh panels, gray and black print shorts, and black athletic sneakers that have white accents and yellow socks. She is caught in mid-stride. The background is a light gray wall with no decorating on it above a dark floor.

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A brown-haired woman with her hair pulled back into a ponytail is photographed mid-air in a running motion with a high knee. Her left knee is bent and brought up high to her chest. Her right leg is straight down with her foot hovering just off the ground. Her right arm is brought back and extended forward, and her left arm is brought back and extending backwards. She has a black tank top with mesh panels, striped gray and black shorts, and yellow socks on black athletic shoes. Her eyes are looking forward, and her face indicates effort. The background is a light gray plain wall over a dark floor.

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The photo illustrates two phases, 'a' and 'b', of a kickout exercise or a B-skip. A female subject with a brown ponytail is illustrated in profile position. She is dressed in a black tank top with mesh insertions, streaked gray and black shorts, and black sports shoes with yellow socks. The light gray plain wall is in the background above a dark floor.
She stands on her right leg in photograph 'a' with her left knee bent and lifted as high up into her chest as possible. Her right arm is bent and in front of her, and her left arm is bent and trailing behind her.
In photo 'b', she is halfway through a movement, stretching her left leg straight out to the front with a slight upward slope. Her right leg is bent slightly and bearing her weight. Her arms are opposite from where they were in photo 'a', with her right arm coming forward and her left arm swinging in the opposite direction.

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A middle-aged Asian man is stretching outside by a body of water during sunrise or sunset. He has on a black t-shirt, black shorts, a black baseball cap, glasses, and orange running shoes. His right leg is bent at the knee with his foot flat on the pavement, and his left leg is straight behind him. His hands are together, resting on his right thigh. He is looking aside with a concentrated face. The background is a mottled landscape with trees, a body of water with a railing, and a bright warm sunlight coming through the scene.

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Female marathon runner Kate Landau is depicted triumphantly crossing the finish line, arms held aloft in victory. She wears a green and black singlet for racing, black shorts, and a hydration pack. Blue and white “LIFETIME” streamers denote the finish line of the “HEART MARATHON”. Viewers and event support structures are in the distance, blurred in the background. At the left, text gives biographical details of Kate Landau, such as her marathon personal record (2:31:56, Boston, 2019) and summaries of her marathon victories.

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A triumphant female marathon athlete, Roberta Groner, is shown running across a finish line with raised arms. She has on a blue and white running singlet with “QNB GRONER DOHA 2019” legible, dark blue shorts, a white headband, and green and black running shoes. Her face is one of joy. In the out-of-focus background, onlookers and banners are seen, indicating a race event. To the left is text giving biographical data for Roberta Groner, such as her best marathon time (2:29:09 in Rotterdam, 2019) and a highlight of sixth place at the 2019 World Championship.

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Focused marathon runner, Emily Sisson, is caught in action as she runs a race. She has on a white and pink running singlet that reads “SISSON” and the bib number, along with black shorts with a geometric design. She also has on a white visor and a watch on her left wrist. Her eyes are directed to the front and her body is leaning to the right. The background is out of focus, implying speed and the presence of spectators or other runners. On the left, text gives biographical data about Emily Sisson, including her best marathon time (2:18:29 at the 2022 Chicago Marathon) and emphasis on her achievements, for example, second place in the 2022 Chicago Marathon and the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.

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A bar graph titled “Hard/easy efforts during marathon taper” illustrates the concept of marathon tapering with the right balance of hard efforts and recovery. The horizontal axis represents the “Days until marathon,” ranging from 21 days to 1 day before the race. The vertical axis represents “Effort,” scaled from 0 to 120. Each blue bar indicates the level of effort for a particular day in the tapering period. The graph shows a general trend of decreasing effort as the marathon approaches, with occasional spikes representing harder workouts followed by periods of lower effort for recovery. For example, there is a high effort level around 21 days out, followed by lower effort, then another significant effort around 15 days out, and subsequent lower and fluctuating effort levels leading up to the final day.

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A smiling man running a marathon, Eliud Kipchoge, is caught in action running a race. He is in a red and black striped racing singlet featuring “KENYA” and “KIPCHOGE” in bold lettering, black running shorts with a white emblem, and white running shoes with black trim. His arms are slightly extended, and his eyes are straight ahead. The background is blurred, with spectators along the street. To the left, text gives biographical details of Eliud Kipchoge, including his personal best marathon time (2:01:09 in Berlin, 2022) and a plethora of career highlights, such as being an Olympic champion in the 2016 and 2021 Olympics and a world record holder in 2018 and 2022.

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A victorious women's marathon athlete, Sifan Hassan, is pictured in celebration of a win. She wears an orange running singlet with “Nederland” and “HASSAN” readable, a black headband, and what seems to be a race bib. Her arms are up and fists clenched in triumph, and her mouth is open in a yell of triumph. The background is out of focus, implying a race finish line with a light-colored background. On the left, text gives Sifan Hassan's biographical information, including her personal best marathon time (2:13:24 in Chicago, 2023) and achievements in bold, such as that she won the 2024 Olympics, the 2023 Chicago Marathon, and the 2023 London Marathon.

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A man marathon runner, Matt Glynn, is in action running in a race. He is dressed in a white tank top with the race number “2465” affixed to it, black running shorts, black compression socks, and orange running shoes. In addition, he has a blue headband and a watch on his left arm. His arms are slightly bent at the elbows and look intense as if concentrating on the race. The background is a slightly faded suburban street scene with parked automobiles and trees. On the left-hand side, text offers biographical data concerning Matt Glynn, including his personal best marathon time (2:30:43 at Twin Cities in 2004) and some background about his running career.

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Male marathon participant Michael Brandt is clearly visible in the center of the frame, with a determined look on his face as he runs. He wears a white tank top and has the race bib “A 20087” visible, dark-colored shorts, a red hat, and sunglasses. He also wears a watch on his left wrist. Behind him, other runners are blurrier, which shows they too are in motion. The background depicts a city street lined with onlookers and buildings and hints an urban marathon scene. There is text to the left that gives biographical details of Michael Brandt,

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The photograph is of a busy marathon taking place on an asphalt road. Numerous runners are running, backing away from the observer. Spectators line each side of the road. There are banners and race markers lining the course. The runners at the front are sharper in focus, and the runners towards the back are blurrier. One of the runners in the foreground sports a white tank top with '603' and 'Vandk' legible on it. One of the runners sports a white tank top with '529' written on it. A person in a blue vest and carrying a backpack is distributing water or energy gels to the runners.

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A male marathon runner, CJ Albertson, runs in action while in competition. He is wearing a yellow and pink-colored racing singlet with “BROOKS” readable, and a race bib with “ALBERTSON” written on it. He also wears a white band on his head and a watch on his left wrist. He has a determined-looking expression. The background is out of focus, implying a race scene complete with spectators and other runners. To the left is biographical data about CJ Albertson, including his best marathon time (2:08:17 in Chicago, 2024) as well as top marks in his accomplishments, including first place in the 2023 California International Marathon and being the leading American in the 2024 Boston Marathon.

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