The Three Hour Marathon.
"After finishing the punishing 2012 Greater Manchester Marathon which took place in near Arctic conditions I decided that I would start a journey to complete a marathon in under 3 hours" Dave Roberts May 2012.
Completing a marathon at all is an achievement to be proud of but aiming to finish in a certain time will give your training extra focus and challenge you to see what you can accomplish.
Running under three hours is an ambitious but achievable target for those who already have some running experience and are willing to put in the extra miles and effort in training. Being able to run sub-three hours will depend on your dedication to training, staying injury and illness free and your mental attitude. Following our advice should also help you achieve the goal:
Experience: According to UK Athletics rankings, only 1550 British men ran under three hours in 2009 and just 63 British women - few of them were novices. While some may have achieved sub-three on their first attempt at the distance, it is highly unlikely they would have done so without a background of an active lifestyle. If you are new to running, achieving sub-three hours is not a very realistic target for your first marathon – but that doesn’t mean you will never achieve it. Whilst having some previous running experience is a must, your ability over shorter distances won’t give you automatic entry to the sub-three club. Just because you can run well over five miles or 10K, doesn’t mean you will be a top marathon runner. For any runner stepping up to the marathon and hoping to run under three hours the same rules apply: Treat the distance with respect, train hard and be disciplined in the months leading up to the race.
Mileage: As stated above, you should not be attempting to run sub-three from scratch but should have some running training under your belt. You should then be looking to increase your mileage gradually from sixteen weeks before the race so that you have thirteen weeks of increased intensity training followed by a three week taper before race day. This way, you should find you peak on the day of the race. Training too hard, too soon, could mean you peak too early and burn out before the race, Meanwhile leaving the hard training too late won’t give your body time to adjust to the increased mileage. To run a sub-three hour marathon, you will need to be putting in at least 60 miles a week. Those who can comfortably run under the time will be doing up to 100 miles (excluding the weeks easing down to race day). Elite athletes like Paula Radcliffe will even exceed 100 miles on some weeks.
But if you are working full-time, how do you fit all these miles in? A weekend long run once a week is key, building up to 22 miles. For example, if you are running the London Marathon in April, you should begin with long runs of 13-15 miles in January, adding an extra mile each week throughout February until you culminate in 20-22 mile runs in March. You should also do a mid-week long run of 10-15 miles. Twice a day training will also push your weekly total up without making you as tired as doing one long run. When training twice a day, aim to have at least six hours recovery in between. Try to avoid running twice a day on the day of your longest runs. An ideal time to run twice a day is when you have a session or tempo run planned in the evening and can do an easy four-five mile run in the morning (or vice versa). However, always try to focus on quality over quantity and listen to your body. If one day you are too exhausted to do a scheduled second run in which you will just end up plodding at a slow pace, don’t feel guilty about missing it but rest up and focus on running well the following day.
Pace: Running an even paced race is the best way to meet a time target. To finish in a time of 2.59.08 in the marathon, you need to be running 6.50 minutes per mile. You will only be able to achieve this if you practise running at this pace in training. This doesn’t mean you have to run at this pace in every one of your longest runs, but try to do a portion of it at this pace and also do shorter mid week runs at this pace. You should also do tempo runs and sessions (for example 6 x one mile with two minutes recovery) where you run faster than your race pace. Getting your body used to running at a faster pace will increase your fitness and lactic threshold, enabling you to run faster for longer on race day.
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Sessions: Aim to do at least one session a week and one tempo run. Varying your sessions each week eg, 800m reps, one km reps, mile reps, will make your training more interesting but always aim to have at least 25-30 minutes of effort. Joining a running club and doing sessions with a group will help you push yourself and will be more fun than going it alone. If your local group is doing a shorter session than you intend to do, you could always do extra reps before or after the group session. Tempo runs are also key to racing well. Aim to do one a week building up from four to ten miles each week. Tempo runs will usually be at a slower pace to your session reps, but faster than your easy-steady pace. If you still have enough breath to hold a conversation during a tempo run, you’re not trying hard enough!For any runner stepping up to the marathon and hoping to run under three hours the same rules apply: Treat the distance with respect, train hard and be disciplined in the months leading up to the race
Lifestyle: What you do outside your training will have a big impact on your performance. Late nights, partying, drinking alcohol and eating badly will not help you run under three hours. If you train hard and then fail to address these other factors of your lifestyle, your hard work running could be in vain. Make sure you are getting plenty of sleep to give your body a chance to recover. Avoid late nights and alcohol the night before your long run or a hard session. Be disciplined, it might mean you have to leave a friend’s party early or not drink at a family wedding, but a hangover could mean you run poorly the next day – or don’t have the energy to run at all. The sensible approach will pay dividends on race day – and you can have a big celebration afterwards.
On an every day basis, ensure you are eating healthy with plenty of fruit and vegetables and increase your carb intake the day before, and on, long run days. Drink plenty of water every day and stay hydrated on your long runs. Energy drinks and gels will also help your energy levels on long runs, practise taking them during training so your stomach is used to them on race day.
Little things like what shoes you wear in between runs also make a difference. Women should avoid wearing heels and both sexes shouldn’t wear tight fitting shoes or any that rub blisters. Don’t spend too much time on your feet the day before a race eg cutting the grass or walking around the shops.
Cross training: If you regularly enjoy cycling, swimming or doing exercise classes, than continuing to do them will add to your fitness. But be wary of doing them at the expense your marathon training. Instead, try to fit the odd cycle or swim into your running schedule on rest or easy running days (unless injury strikes, see below).
Illness/injury: Aches and pains are par for the course with marathon training and it is inevitable at some point that you develop a niggle like a sore knee or ankle or catch a cold. Prevention is better than cure so to lessen your chances of injury, always increase your mileage gradually and mix your running routes up on road and grass so your legs aren’t constantly pounding a hard surface. Follow a hard day’s running with an easier one so your muscles have a chance to recover. Regularly take hot baths to loosen off your muscles and get a sports massage at least once a month. Many also swear by ice baths after a long run. If you have a persistent niggling injury that doesn’t ease off when you are running, you might need to rest it for a few days. Keep up your fitness by doing alternative exercise like aqua-jogging, swimming or cycling. If you have an injury that doesn’t subside with rest, you should consult a physiotherapist who should be able to give you strengthening exercises and/or ultrasound to help you to a faster recovery.
To avoid catching a cold or flu, wash your hands regularly, particularly after going on public transport. Avoid people who you know are ill. You may have to be ruthless about this in the week preceding the race as this is the worst time to catch a cold – so if a friend you are due to meet that week has a cold, it might be wiser to postpone. On public transport, avoid sitting near someone who is frequently sneezing, coughing or blowing their nose and try to sit in a carriage with an open window. If you do catch a cold, back off from your training for a couple of days and get plenty of rest and vitamin C. If you do have to take unplanned days off due to illness or injury, don’t panic. It takes a week to ten days rest before you start to lose fitness and the time off could do your body a favour by making you feel more rejuvenated when you can train again. If you find you are too unwell to run on race day or have missed too much training to do yourself justice, see if you can defer your entry to the following year.
Target races: While achieving sub-three is your long-term goal, having short-term race goals can also aid your training. Try and fit a half marathon into your schedule six to eight weeks before the marathon and a shorter race of five miles to 10K three to four weeks before. These races will enable you to practise your marathon race day strategy and allow you to see areas which you need to work on – eg maintaining pace at the finish, drinking enough during the race etc. If you run well, having a P.B under your belt will boost your confidence and you can gauge what time to expect in the marathon (as a rough estimate, many find doubling their half marathon time and adding 15 minutes gives their predicted marathon time).
Tapering: By easing down your training in the weeks before the race, you will ensure your body feels fresh and so give yourself the best chance of achieving a p.b. Some people find easing down three weeks before the race works for them, others two weeks. To work out how much to taper, take your highest week’s mileage and do 90 percent, 50 percent and 30 percent of that in the final three weeks. Stick to easy running in the last week – hard training this week will only hinder rather than help your performance. The hard work should have been done by now, this week is about taking it easy and saving up your energy to race well.
Marathon morning: Don’t let all your hard training go to waste by not getting your preparation right on race day. Try to get good night’s sleep on the evenings preceding the week of race as the night before, you may be too nervous to sleep well and will have to have an early rise to eat breakfast and get to the start on time. Always have a good breakfast such as porridge or wholemeal toast and make sure you stick to foods you have eaten before a long run in training. Plan how you will get to the race start and what you need in advance to eliminate any unnecessary stress.
The start: Hundreds of runners usually participate in marathons and in the case of major races like London, thousands. If you want to run under three hours, you can’t get stuck behind runners who are slower than you at the start. You also want to avoid starting alongside runners who are considerably faster than you, as if you get pulled along with their pace at the beginning, you may struggle to finish after giving too much, too soon. When you enter a marathon, you will usually be asked your predicted time. Be honest and you will be put in the right section of the start on race day. When the gun goes, after easing down for the big day and being full of adrenaline, you may be tempted to run faster than your planned race pace. Try to avoid this as it will make you more likely to ‘hit the wall’ and so you could end up running much slower than planned in the closing miles.
During the race: Stay focused on your target and don’t allow yourself to drift off from your intended pace when you start to tire. Try and employ mental tactics to keep you in the running rhythm – Paula Radcliffe does this by repeatedly counting to 100 in her head. Think about all the training you have put in and how elated you will feel when you achieve your goal. Always try and maintain a positive attitude and don’t be undermined by negative thoughts. Try and break the race up into different sections and focus on getting to the next section, rather than to the finish, to take your mind off how far you have to go.
After the race: Well done, after all that hard training, your body deserves a rest. Take at least one week off running to allow your body to recover. If you do want to maintain some fitness, stick to swimming or walking. If you didn’t manage to run under three hours don’t be too disheartened – there’s always next time. Look back at your training and race day and assess what you could do differently next time. If you achieved sub-three – congratulations, perhaps next year you could go even faster…?
