Favorite Workout: Peak Marathon Workout

by GRP runner Caroline Williams

With fall upon us in the Northeast, many of us are starting to feel the relief from warm summer running and are gearing up for fall marathons. Marathon training can be both exhilarating and taxing, regardless of whether you are a veteran with many marathons under your belt or you are a rookie training for your first one. 

The building blocks of marathon training are fourfold – base mileage, the long run, speed work, and rest and recovery. All of these are equally important to ensure your body is prepared to tackle both the distance of the race and avoid injury during the buildup. Workouts will get progressively longer throughout the cycle to mimic the fatigue you will feel towards the end of a marathon, with your most intense workouts occurring 3-4 weeks out from race day. We call these “peak” workouts because they are usually your longest, hardest workouts. These are followed by a sharp decrease in mileage and intensity, a period called the “taper,” to ensure you are rested and fresh for the race.

The best peak marathon workouts are incorporated into your second to last long run. For this workout, take your maximum long run distance and divide it in half, leaving two miles at the end for a cool down. The first half should be run at an easy pace, followed by the second half at goal marathon pace. The goal is to complete this workout without stopping so you are practicing running marathon pace on tired legs. 

For someone with a maximum long run of 18-20 miles, a sample peak marathon workout would be:

8-9 miles easy

8-9 miles at marathon pace

2 miles cool down

While this may seem like a lot, you should be building up to it over time. I guarantee you will have confidence going into your marathon if you are able to complete this workout, while still having enough in the tank to race strong!