Instead of risking diminishing returns and prescribing an arbitrary mile run, the Hansons Marathon Method looks at percentage of mileage and total time spent running. While 16 miles is often the suggested maximum run, we are more concerned with determining your long run based on your weekly total mileage and your pace.
Breaking this cardinal rule risks too much: injury, overtraining, depleted muscle glycogen, and subpar workouts in the following days or even weeks. Yet a typical beginning marathon training program might peak at 40—50 miles per week and then recommend a mile long run. In addition to running the optimal number of miles on each long run, you must also adhere to a certain pace to get the most physiological benefit. The research tells us that — hours is the optimal window for development in terms of long runs.
Beyond that, muscle breakdown begins to occur. Look at the table below to see how long it takes to complete the and mile distances based on pace. The table demonstrates that a runner covering 16 miles at a minute pace will finish in just under hours, while a runner traveling at an minute pace will take nearly hours to finish that same distance. It then becomes clear that anyone planning on running slower than a minute pace should avoid the mile trek. This is where the Hansons mile long run comes into play.
Based on the mileage from the Hansons marathon programs, the mile long run fits the bill on both percentage of weekly mileage and long-run total time. So what does this mean for you? Most marathon training plans call for a mile run four weeks before the race. When I trained for my first marathon, my running coach told me to try and hit 23 miles if I could—her point being that not knowing what those last 3 miles will feel like is a whole lot better than not knowing what the last 6 miles will feel like.
But while training for my second marathon, my longest run clocked in at just 18 miles, thanks to knee pain from overtraining whoops. On both race days, I was thrilled with my performance I finished! Why 20 miles, then? Well, it really depends on your goal…. For someone else, that could take 4 hours. Those are two completely different levels of stress on the body! Running coach John Honerkamp recommends capping long runs at 3. Once you know what Here are other factors that can affect your marathon finish time.
Of course, how long it takes you to complete a marathon will also be determined by your race pace. If you're already a runner you will likely have some data about how to calculate your marathon pace. But if you're brand new to running, you'll want to log some miles for a few weeks to get a sense of your current pace. Keep in mind that your marathon pace will likely be a little slower than your training pace. Once you know you're training pace, use this pace calculator to help determine your average race pace.
A quick formula that a lot of runners like to use is to take a recent half marathon time, double it, and then add 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the difficulty of the course. It's helpful to have an estimate of your marathon finishing time before you run your first race so you know how to pace yourself properly. You'll also want to give your family members and friends that are cheering for you an idea of when to expect you on the course.
Predicting race times, especially for marathons, can be tough because there are so many variables, such as weather and course conditions. Keep in mind that a predicted marathon time is not a guarantee that you'll run that time. In most cases, only experienced marathoners achieve their predicted time or very close to it. If you decide to run a marathon, remind yourself that any finish time is a good time, especially for a first marathon.
To get a sense of your marathon time in advance you can use race time prediction charts or calculators that determine a finish time based on a recent race. For the most accurate prediction, you should use a race time from a race you've done about 4 to 6 weeks before your marathon. Additionally, if you ran a marathon during the previous year it's a good idea to analyze those results.
The range of finishing times and the number of participants will probably be similar this year. Try the race time prediction calculators below. The majority of physiological stimulus of long runs occurs between the 60 and 90 minute mark. Therefore, a long run of over 3 hours builds about as much aerobic fitness as one lasting 2 hours. Furthermore, running for longer than 3 hours significantly increases your chance of injury. Your form begins to break down, your major muscles become weak and susceptible to injury, and overuse injuries begin to take their toll.
This risk is more prevalent for beginner runners whose aerobic capabilities because of cross training and other activities , exceed their musculoskeletal readiness. Not only are aerobic benefits diminished while injury risk rises, recovery time is significantly lengthened. The total amount of time on your feet during a 3-hour plus run adds considerable fatigue to the legs, which leads to a significant delay in recovery time.
Given the overwhelming scientific evidence against long runs of over 3 hours, why are they so prevalent in marathon training? Therefore, we also need to reassess where the long run fits into the training cycle and how we can get the most benefit from training week in and week out. For example, you should focus on stringing out your workouts and mileage over the course of the week , rather than having 40 to 50 percent of your weekly mileage come from the long run, which increases the total amount of quality running you can do and decreases the potential for injury.
The question still remains, however, about how do you get your legs prepared to run for 26 miles? When you balance out the gains you can get from finishing a long run fast and upbeat with the potential drawbacks from an extended, 3-hour plus long run, you can see why a shorter, faster long run is the better training option for almost all marathoners aiming to finish over Need help converting your race times to your optimal easy and long run pace? Get My Calculator Now. A version of this article appeared on Competitor.
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Besides talent, perhaps the biggest difference between the way elite runners approach their training compared to us mere mortals is in the amount of racing. After months of long miles. Sounds a lot like the Hanson method. That would destroy a runner at my level. Thanks, Russell. If your friends are or BQ guys running solid mileage, a miler is fine.
If the majority of physiological stimulus occurs between 60 and 90 minutes, what benefit would a marathoner get from doing a miler? It would take nearly to do it—far past that window. However, long runs also become a factor of your weekly mileage. Typically, a marathoner is going to be doing decent mileage.
I edited it a bit and only did 1 20 miler in training. I only ran max 45 miles a week but ran a Thinking of training for another one and was going to try more 20 milers in the next plan…. Do you have a sample training plan with fewer longer runs? Jeff, Great article. I used the Hanson Method and set a PR. Accumulative fatigue works. IMO it lead to better, quicker recovery therefore increased number, frequency and quality of my training runs.
Thanks for the insight on the 20 mile idea. Hi Jeff, thanks for the articale. I think I will try to incorporate it into my training schedule. I do have one question it may be silly , but when trying to improve your aerobic threshold and your ability to burn fat as a fuel source, how do you know when you are using your glycogen reserve or using fat as fuel? Is it typically after x amount of time?
It would be nice to know mentally that after say 1. The faster you go, the more glycogen you burn.
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