Where the data is from: this uses the same source as yesterday's post.

Why these charts: yesterday's chart showed one "typical" week per finish time, and there was no scaling for the amount of miles run. The new charts show this, and they are cut into fifths by volume ran. Each row shows three of them on the same axis: the fifth (20%) who ran least, the middle fifth, and the fifth who ran most. There are four versions of this data: the peak week mileage and the "typical" or average week, each in miles and in hours.

What I did: similar to before.

• For each runner, the 16 weeks before their marathon, every training run (with GPS) cut into 30-second pieces of moving time, races left out.
• "Everyday pace" is the runner's median piece over the whole build: half their training time was quicker than it, half slower.
• Runners are grouped by finish time (everyone who finished near 2:30, near 3:00, and so on). Then two steps.
  • One number per runner.
    • Typical week: their 16 weeks of running added up and divided by 16, so a week with no run counts as zero, in miles for one chart and in hours for the other.
    • Biggest week: weeks are counted back from race day in 7-day steps, and the runner's biggest week is the largest of the 16, again in miles or in hours.
  • Fifths within each finish-time group.
    • The group is sorted by that number and cut into fifths: the 20% with the smallest, the next 20%, and so on.
    • The three hills in a row are the top, middle and lowest fifth. Each hill's shape is the average of every runner in that fifth, and its size is the fifth's median week. Every number on the chart is the median across the runners in that fifth.
    • The fifths are cut separately for each chart, so a runner can sit in one fifth on the typical-week chart and another on the biggest-week chart.

Reading the charts: each row is one finish time.

• The three distributions in it are drawn to scale, so a bigger hill is more miles (or more hours): the darkest, in front, is the 20% (fifth) who ran least; the grey one behind it is the middle 20%; the lightest, at the back, is the 20% who ran most.
• All three are lined up on each runner's own everyday pace. Red is time at or faster than that group's marathon pace, and each hill turns red where marathon pace falls for that fifth.
• The three volumes are written under each finish time.

Caveats: same as before.

Thank you to the community for being so interested in this data! The comments yesterday were helpful when putting this together.

Ran my first full in Victoria last weekend!

36 F. 3:15:38 & likely another BQ for 2028

Marathon #2 in the books this past weekend in Chicago and almost a 7 minute PR from fall 2025 at Toronto Waterfront. Immediately cried at the finish. A relief to have 20 weeks of a slow progressive build pay off. IT WAS SO HARD on Sunday. The sun was relentless even in wave 1. I can't even imagine the experience of runners who started later than me. Kudos to them for battling through hotter weather and even sunnier skies.

Things I did this summer that worked for me as a very novice marathon runner:

-Running 50km+ every week of 2026 except the last week of my taper. I came down with a nasty cold that persisted past race day.

-Peak week 104km but with 8/20 training weeks @ 80k+

-No track workouts

-3 x 5k and a 3 x 6k @ MP as part of my last two long runs

-Four runs 30k or longer (max was 34k)

Moral of the story, I ran a lot more this training block and also started with a better base to start the year before I ramped up for Chicago. I continued to incorporate fast finishes and faster than MP into my long runs. I also did 2 double days a week so I could continue to do funruns with my local running group in the evenings after doing my solo runs in the morning before work. That helped a lot to break up all the solo running and still feel connected to my friends who weren't preparing for a big race.

Any tips for Boston in April? Living in Canada, I'm not expecting to be as fit for it throughout winter training and it's also a much more challenging course than Chicago, so I want to set a realistic goal.

To be honest, I'd prefer to enjoy the day and take in all the sights and sounds of a world major without a crushing time goal I'm not prepared for that takes me out of the joys of running Boston. Obviously I want faster times in the future but I'd rather execute a successful Boston Marathon by feeling prepared for the hills, regardless of the finishing time.

I ran Chicago this past Sunday and my body is feeling pretty good; just a little tired still.

When and how do you start exercising after a marathon? I won't be running another race until March or April, so I don't need feel the need to start running right away. I haven't worked out since the race out of caution but want to start working out again.

Had my second marathon last week and whilst I averaged 158 HR and a significant faster time, compared to last years average of 172, in terms of endurance it felt like an easy run and my and my brother could basically talk the whole time.

Still couldnt go faster because my body started to hurt relatively fast and that turned out to be the main limitation. At least, thats what I concluded.

I never bothered with strength training but it appears that if I want to take the next step and set for 3:30 (3:52 this year) next year, I am going to have to include it somehow.

So asking for help on strength training for those of you who do it and made it as efficient as possible because you dislike it as much as I do.

Training for my first. I am a heavy sweater and live in a pretty dang humid climate. The race is in January, so it will be cooler, but the humidity never really goes away much here, though it should be less.

I've never done any sort of official race, so I'm curious - can you really get enough water and electrolytes from the little cups at the aid stations? I think the race I'm doing has a lot of stations (maybe every 2 miles?). I'd hate to have to carry something extra, but I'd also rather be hydrated well.

When it's crazy hot out here during training, I've been doing like 3 of the 500 mL hydration things with water/electrolytes during a half and then still feel like I need a lot of water to "catch up".

This is the course: https://www.celebrationmarathon.com/uploads/1/4/0/3/14038217/generic_route_map.pdf

Finished my first marathon last weekend. My AWU3 died at mile 18 after a full charge. So i started running by feel which probably didnt work out too well ended up finishing 4:16:00 flat with a goal of sub 4 with a steady 9 min pace. The variance between my watch pace and marathon event tracker is also wild. Ive done long runs with my apple watch before and it lasted well over 4 hours while playing music. So not sure what happened this time around.

I had to DNF my 20 mile peak week long run for NYX Marathon last weekend after getting attacked by an angry nest of wasps. This week was supposed to be my taper. But I wanna do my last longer run on Saturday. My training included two 14 milers, two 16 milers and an 18 miler. How many would you recommend i do this weekend with the race coming up so close

Hey there!

Some background:

2 half marathons completed. (1:59:55, 1:54:19)
I ran about 12 miles a week before the plan.
I started the 16 week plan during the first week of august, and my race is in december. I’m about halfway done with my plan.

I hit strength at least once a week but I don’t have a proper strength routine set up.

I also cycle frequently, with about 30 miles a week, and I swim laps once every two weeks.

I have been running on treadmill since it’s so hot in Texas, but plan to transition to morning runs as it becomes colder,

I am currently training for a marathon using Hal Hidgon’s app, so I can’t really place a difficulty on it. If I had to say, It probably is between intermediate 1 and Novice 2.

Peak weeks have about 43 miles.

————————————

My main issue is that my knee pain has been becoming more and more of an issue as this plan progresses. I’ve noticed that with more rest, the PFPS (I think) subsides and I am able to run stronger and longer.

This brings me to my question. Since I have about another half of the plan left, I am debating cutting back a run day and either replacing it with a strength day or a rest day, effectively bringing me to 4 days of running a week and 3 rest.

I need opinions if this is a smart move, or if there’s something else I should be focusing on. I am already considering a PT, but since the pain goes away with rest I am deterred from spending money.

Starting point

37M. Started running at 35. I then participated in a relay where I ran 11k@4:50/km without any running-specific training at all. At the time, I was bouldering a lot, around 4-5 sessions a week, eating healthily, etc., so I was in good shape. I got hooked, bought running shoes, became fascinated by shoe technology, and bought a second pair (nylon-plated) – now I’m up to 6 (which isn’t necessary, of course). Since then, I’ve been running regularly without any longer breaks, while still bouldering 2-3 times a week, which is my „strength training“.

Half marathon

In my first year, I ramped up slowly, from 25k/week to 50k/week. I raced a few 10k’s and got my time down to 42:00. Exactly a year after the relay, I ran my first half marathon in 1:35, followed by a 1:33 a few months later.

Marathon

My first marathon took place exactly 2 years after I started running (at the same event, actually). After that, I knew the marathon was my favourite distance, so I signed up for another one in fall. Here’s a comparison:

Take aways

How you feel during training doesn’t necessarily predict how you’ll feel during a race. For example, I did a workout of 28k w/ 21k@MP in both build-ups. During the first, it felt really easy, with a pace of 4:48/km and an average HR of 149 (my max is 190). During the second build-up, it felt really hard, with a pace of 4:42/km and an average HR of 164.

Spring and fall marathons are very different. Basically, training in perfect conditions and racing in warm temperatures vs. training in horrible conditions (I tried to avoid this by getting up very early) and racing in cooler temperatures. In my case, the spring marathon was the warmest run of my entire marathon block, while the fall marathon was the coolest run of the whole block.

How you feel during the first half of a marathon doesn’t necessarily say anything about the outcome either. I felt much better during my first marathon (at the first half), but I couldn’t maintain the pace after 30 km. The final stretch was pure torture. During my second marathon, things already started getting a little harder at 15 km, but I managed to maintain that effort all the way to 40 km. Taper tantrums are real. During both blocks, I was nervous while tapering and felt like I had injuries everywhere.

Don’t calculate your required pace for sub-x:xx based on 42.2 km. My watch showed 4:40/km in Munich, whereas the official result gives a pace of 4:43/km.

Forget heart rate during races. I won’t wear a heart rate monitor in races anymore, regardless of the distance. However, heart rate is important when going for a recovery or easy run.

Tips for improving

My ultimate lifetime goal would be sub-3, but I can’t imagine that happening. There are so many stories of people who cut their time by 20 min in a single training block. In my case, I have to accept that my progress is slower, also in shorter distances (my 10K PB is now 40:47, which I ran in my second build-up. That’s not much of an improvement over 42:00, which I ran when I was running way less, but maybe I’m just being too greedy). My next goal is to go sub-3:15 next spring. What was your biggest game changer in training? One problem I’ve had since I started running is that my threshold pace doesn’t improve, no matter what kind of training I do. It’s always around 4:15/km. I ran a 1:31 half during my first build-up, and I don’t think I’d be much faster now. I’ve just built up more endurance.

Hello, two part question:

My wife is running her first full in December in Honolulu as a life goal prior to turning 40. She mentioned off hand it’d be funny/morale booster if I was in costume at different points along the way. I’ve got a couple sign ideas but looking for more, with Halloween approaching I thought I could probably pick up some costumes pretty easily and surprise her. Looking for any funny suggestions. I’ve never been to Honolulu, are chickens as prevalent as Kauai?

Second, our VRBO is close to the finish line but I was thinking about an e-bike or something similar vs trying to drive around to different points. Anyone have any experience with this? It’s just her and I for this trip.

Hello, Is it first come first served?

I pre-registered, and received email today.

Registration period is 20 october to 3 november.

According to this information, all runners who register in this period, they will receive the personal link.

After receiving this link, just register as fast as possible?

I’d like to know the details. Thank you in advance.

I just recently ran a half marathon this month and wanted to sign up for a full in the spring. It gives me plenty of time but where I live has heavy winter december-february. I use a Garmin vivoactive 6 but the indoor treadmill setting is so inaccurate regardless of calibration over and over. I want to buy a stryd pod or some sort of fitness tracker that can sync with my watch for indoor training so that my training plans are accurate with respect to the execution of the workouts. Is the price of a stryd pod worth it and would it be effective for accurately tracking indoor treadmill runs and workout? If not, what are people doing for winter training- do you ditch the built in workouts all together and just track your progress, pace, effort, execution without a watch app plan?

Hi I’ve picked up jump roping with some consistency over the summer and have also applied to run for the Chicago marathon next year. I just wanted to check in with this community to see if anybody has ever directly used jump roping as cross training for long distance running. I’m hoping it’s a good idea but kinda just checking to see if anybody has had any direct experience with this.

Random thought but felt like I’d check in with this group.

Thanks!

First marathon in 2 weeks so kind of pointless asking but I’m curious.

Goal of 3:45 which is MP of 5:20/km or 8:35/mi and corresponds to a training easy pace of about 6:15/km or 10:00/mi.

Lately I’ve just been running to heart rate instead of these paces.

Today that meant 5:35/km or 9:00/mi with heart rate at 130bpm.

So one of 3 things is happening:

1. I have an incredibly low max heart rate.

2. I am going to smash 3:45 (impossible).

3. I have a big mismatch between my easy pace and marathon pace for some reason.

Which is it?

Last weekend I ran the Chicago marathon after training for 18 weeks with Runna. My peak mileage week was only 40 miles for the training block (most weeks in the low 30s). In the past, I’ve ran a 3:52 and 4:12 (both about 6 years ago) and was hoping to break 4 hours in Chicago, but ended up having to stop and stretch a million times between miles 20-26 bc my hip flexors were cramping terribly. Ultimately came in at 4:23. My question is…is January 11th too early to try again with another marathon? Was thinking of taking it easy for 2 weeks following Chicago, and then doing a 12 week training block with higher weekly mileage than last time. I would def be shooting for a sub 4, but would be happy with a 4:10. Is this a terrible idea? Open to any and all advice! TIA!

Has anyone used the Garmin pace pro plan strategy for running in a marathon? I’m weighing my options and trying to decide to use it or pace myself. I’ve not run a marathon in 7 years so there’s new technology I’m not up to speed on.

I posted about running a full marathon without long distance training (around 20km a week), but a good fitness base: https://www.reddit.com/r/Marathon_Training/comments/1ww4mfw/marathon_without_enough_training/

I finally reconsidered because I was worried I would get injured. I finally went for the half instead.

I started conservatively at around 5:15/km. Probably too slow, but I did not really have a recent benchmark to base my pace on. Well, except my Garmin prediction of 1h43, which I considered not realistic given the lack of longer runs. But it turned up being very close. Anyways, I felt fine for the first couple km, I would say I felt even better as the race went on, so I picked up the pace and settled into roughly 4:30/km around km 12. Unfortunately, I cramped up around km 17 - 18 and had to stop for a quick stretch, which cost me some time. Still, I managed to finish in 1h45min.

Overall, it was a lot of fun! Cardio-wise, I felt great throughout and honestly think I could have pushed harder. The cramp was the main thing holding me back. Most likely legs not used to longer distances at that pace.

Looking back, I probably could have started a bit faster, with a more constant pace and had a better result, but I'm happy with how it went. Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts on my original post!

Edit: added some additional info about my training

Hi guys,

I do work in logistic, the last week and begin of this week were physical, and i today woke up with my low back almost fully blocked.

I feel it going down my right leg, so sciatic nerve directly or indirectly concerned.

I am actually in my peak week of marathon block, i should run 85km this week, but i know i have to rest first. (i keep some mibility and yoga tho)

My marathon is on the 8th of November and i have 3 weeks or taper going like this: 55km, 42km and 30km + race.

Should i move to next week at least my long run (31km with some tempo) and/or my long tempo run (3x6km at pace), or just following the plan, and don't run them at all ??

It's gonna be my 1st full marathon, and i'll try sub 3h30 (10km pr 39min, HM 1h40 (Last november), 900km ran since may 2026.

Please give me your advice !!!

Thanks

Race is the 25th, feeling fatigued/heavy with a tender maybe not sore but tender throat and small cough. Achiness normal? Or should i go to the doctor to try to speed up the recovery process.. Also how much should I be running? I have a little over a week to go so i think this week i was aiming for 50% of peak week mileage with a 10-11 mile long run.. but I am not sure if thats right. This is my first and im not following a plan. Runs have felt slow and gentle, seeing a PT for shin splints

Hey everyone, I’m a college senior hoping to complete a sub2h 22K on December 14. Both the date and the distance mean a lot to me, so I really want to make this happen.

My current PBs are 5K in 30 mins, 10K in 62 mins and 1K in 4:24. I did a half marathon in around 3 hours a while back, before I got these newer PBs.

I have about 2 months to prepare, alongside college. How should I approach training from here? How should I train?

Would love to hear from people who’ve done something similar, especially while balancing college. Any advice is appreciated!

I’m running a half marathon on November 1st. I have not done a complete half marathon block. I know that I can easily run it, but I’m wondering if I should race it due to limited amount of LT Training. There’s a different Half Marathon and 5k this Sunday, and I’m also wondering if I should use either as a tune up race to help predict time. I could also use the half as a fun way to get 13.1 in a last time, and I could run it at easy pace. Here’s some data about my recent training.

Background**
- Started running outdoors ~spring 2026; previous aerobic base from indoor cycling and jump rope
- PRs: 5K 21:44 (Sept, rolling course), 8 mi 1:08:12 (Aug, San Diego), 8K 41:25 (May)
- Never raced past 8 miles. Longest run ever 15.7 (June). 5k is the only race that I’ve raced hard.
- 6 days/week, jumped very late into Pfitzinger Faster Road Racing Half Schedule 2. Followed his 5k plan before that.
- Easy pace ~9:50–10:30. Most of this block was in US South summer heat/humidity
- Most recent LT: 4 mi continuous @ 7:44/7:37/7:37/7:44 (Oct 7)
- Workouts column excludes strides (done ~1-2x/week)

I just ran Chicago as my first marathon. I stuck to my training plan and didn’t miss a single mile. Somehow I blew up in the marathon and ended up having to do a walk/run for the last 7 miles because of my IT band. I was devastated and feel strongly about having a redemption race in my future. I had originally given it another year but good friends with the same paces as I just told me they’re going to do one in March… I didn’t want to run one that soon but the idea of having people to train every single run and mile with is super appealing. Anybody done them back to back like this? Is 5 months enough time between if you didn’t feel maxed out from the first one?