I’m doing my first true marathon this October and need some advice on how long my “long run” should be building up for the marathon. My father, who has completed 30+ marathons says 20+ miles but also commented that the Hanson brothers in Rochester, MI recommend 16 miles for their community based training program (not the program for the three guys that are going to Helsinki for Worlds). Some background info: PR for 5K is 17:11 and for 10 miles is 63 mins. Currently running about 20-25 miles per week and cycling another 150-175 miles per week. Recovery time is very important to me; I had to sit out last year’s marathon with an IT band injury that kept me off my feet for three months. I currently have a hammy that doesn’t like anything over 8 miles but it’s tolerable.
check out Runner’s world for some pretty established marathon training programs.
I agree with your dad - my long run before a marathon is 22 miles, with a step down to about 18, then around 20 2 weeks out. You need to break the 20+ mile mark w/ training both physically and mentally. You will know what this means after 20 miles of the marathon - the last 10K get pretty hard to keep the same pace, and thus, a good time.
October? That’s pretty soon, especially if your current week is 25 miles and your long run is only 8 … In fact way too soon for you to do anything stellar (sub 3) but plenty of time to do a 3:30+/- race. Just my opinion and experience. My PRs are about the same as yours.
I’m echoing conventional wisdom and what others have said: Marathon weeks should include: 1. Long run (1+ min/mile slower than expected race pace) build up to 3 or 4 20+ milers. Practice eating and drinking, here … 2. Marathon pace run: build up to 10-14 miles, most at hoped-for marathon pace … 3. Track or tempo runs at 1 min/mile faster than hoped-for marathon pace (3-5 miles worth) … That stuff with hills & frequency (6 days a week) should do you. Pay extra attention to your injuries too. Marathon training (2 hours on pavement in particular) gets my IT big time so now I stretch and stregthen it much more than I used to. Good luck and happy training. -TB
20-22 miles is the conventional wisdom for marathon training long runs. Any longer and you begin to compromise your ability to train the rest of the week anything shorter and you run the risk of not being able to make it on race day.
Kevin Hanson is a smart guy, but 16 miles isn’t long enough for an inexperienced runner going into a marathon. Everyone knows the old addage that the marathon really begins at 20 miles…well that is true and until you’ve been there a few times you won’t be ready to go 26.
Listen to your Dad! When you get to the 18 - 20 mile mark in your race and you hit the wall ( and it one hell of a wall), you will be glad you pushed yourself through it in your workouts. The pure mental value of completing a 22 mile training run is work the effort, not to mention the physical benefits.
October? That’s pretty soon, especially if your current week is 25 miles and your long run is only 8 … In fact way too soon for you to do anything stellar (sub 3) but plenty of time to do a 3:30+/- race. Just my opinion and experience. My PRs are about the same as yours.
Doesn’t the 150-175 miles per week of cycling count for anything??
I am sure the biking counts toward overall fitness.
For a marathon, time to start the running.
Try looking at www.halhigdon.com. There are a number of marathon training programs for different skill levels. I think 45 miles a week was the most I ever did in the run up to a marathon. Longest long run was 20 miles.
The Hanson brother have got to be kidding themselves. Almost no one and absolutely no one without years of runnig background can run a successful marathon with a long run of 16 miles. This leaves 10 miles of uncharted territory. Let's say the runner can hold 6 minute pace. That still leaves 10 miles of no man's land. If it's 9 minute pace, it's an hour and a half. Let the suffering begin!
I believe in taking the long run right up to 24 miles for a stand alone marathon. This way the marathon is just part of you progression. Long runs; 18, 20, 22, 24, Marathon. I've run good marathons and I've run bad ones, but for me, the more runs I have over 20 miles the better I will feel on race day.
Another good rule of thumb is time. Your longest run should equal your goal time. IN marathon training I’ll get in at least one 20-22 miler at my projected finishing time.