The system
Sub-3 is rarely lost at 20 miles. It is lost in the months before, when there is no speed in reserve. This is how we build it.
Four jobs, in order
- 1. SpeedMile repeats, 400s and 1km reps raise the ceiling. The aim is mile repeats near 6:10 and a 10K under 40 minutes. A 6-week speed block ends with a 10K race, and that result decides what comes next.
- 2. ThresholdContinuous runs at threshold effort, starting at 30 minutes and building to 60. Marathon pace should sit comfortably below it.
- 3. Marathon conversionLong runs with marathon-pace blocks, fuelling practice and fatigue resistance after 30K. The peak long run is 22 miles.
- 4. Keep the speedOne session faster than marathon pace stays in every week of marathon training, so 6:50 keeps feeling controlled.
No target times
Target times make athletes run inside themselves. We use your own last session as the target.
The first time you run a session, such as 12 × 400m or 6 × 1km, run every rep as fast as you can while keeping them even. Stephen reviews it. The next time, the aim is to beat your average from last time.
Chasing your own number brings a hard effort naturally, and that is where the improvement comes from. You wear a heart rate monitor so Stephen can see your effort and tell you when to push or ease off. You do not train by heart rate.
A typical week
| Day | Session |
|---|---|
| Monday | Easy run or rest |
| Tuesday | Speed, such as 10 × 400m or 1km reps, plus 10 minutes of strength |
| Wednesday | Easy run or mini long run |
| Thursday | Speed endurance, such as 4 × 1 mile or 5 × 1km, plus strength |
| Friday | Rest |
| Saturday | Easy run with 5 × 20 second hill sprints |
| Sunday | Long run |
Life gets in the way, so you can move sessions around. Two rules hold: never two sessions on back-to-back days, and always a rest day after the long run.
A marathon-pace long run
18 miles: 4 easy, then four blocks of 2 miles at marathon pace with 1 mile easy between, and 2 easy to finish.
Around the running
- StrengthTwo short bodyweight sessions a week, 10 to 15 minutes each, built around calf raises, lunges, glute bridges, single-leg work, planks and press-ups.
- SleepAim for 8 hours or more. Recovery is where the training turns into fitness, and it protects you as the load builds.
- TaperMileage drops to about 70% of peak in the second-last week and about 30% in race week, with three full rest days.
- Race dayControlled early, patient through the middle, and only pressing on late if you feel good.
See if it fits
Tell Stephen about your racing, your training and your target. He reads every application himself.