Training - The Long Run

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The Long Run

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Improving Marathon Performance

When you've progressed to the point where you not only want to finish the marathon but have a time goal, some different elements are added to your training program. To improve endurance, you increase the long run to a final run a few weeks before the race of 28-30 miles. For speed, you run repeat miles, 20-30 seconds faster than race pace, to get used to the hard sustained effort of the marathon.

Starting with five one-milers (walking a few hundred yards between each), you increase by 1-2 miles each session until you run 13 one-milers in your last speed workout two weeks before the race.

These workouts are strenuous and should be performed on alternate weeks. This gives you six days of easy running between each of the hard days.

It is the long run that develops endurance and the repeat miles that develop speed, so run slowly on the long ones. Your goal on the other days is to recover from the stress days. Social runs, easy runs, scenic routes can be planned for these in-between sessions.