Marathon Mileage

There are two seemingly conflicting statements that you'll hear about the mileage you need to run to a good marathon.

1. You need to run a lot of miles to run a good marathon.
2. Run Quality not Quantity - remove the junk miles.

To an extent both of these are true (which may not seem like a very helpful comment!)

The reason for saying this is that you do need to run a lot of miles to get a good time in the marathon, but you shouldn't just think more is better, the introduction of a fartlek or interval session totalling just 3-4 miles can often have more benefit than the 8 mile easy run that it replaces.

Correct Balance

So, it is all about getting the correct balance to your training, with a blend of quality running and high mileage stuff as well. We beleive that this is a decision that is best left to you (and your coach if you have one) as you know the training that you have done, your goals and what you realistically have time for in the future.

We would stress however, the 10% rule which says you should never increase the total mileage in a week or an individual session by more than 10 percent week on week.

As a guide we believe that approximately the first twenty to thirty miles of training in a week should be about steady running, if you run more than this, then approximately half should be interval work and half additional steady running. This is only a guide to help you in your planning process.

Remember, if this all seems a bit daunting, we can put together a schedule prepared specifically for you from our team of experienced coaches with our Online Coaching.

Learn more - Marathon Index »