Why don’t marathoners run the marathon distance while training for a marathon?

Preparing for a race is one of the most important steps for an athlete. Figure skaters, for example, rehearse their demonstration performances, and track and field athletes simulate the conditions of the upcoming competition in training before the start. Pole vaulters even reproduce its possible duration, which very often reaches as much as 8-9 hours. It would seem that marathon runners should use the distance of the future marathon as a training distance, but it is not so. And here’s why.

How and how much do runners prepare for a marathon?

Sportmaster PRO expert, marathon runner

The first one and a half to two months of preparation are warm-up runs and setting up technique.

The next stage is longer – cross-country and strength training. Then there are developmental speed work. In the pre-competition period (two months) the running volume increases. At this stage, marathon runners run about 120-200 kilometers per week, depending on experience. Closer to the marathon, the running volume decreases to 60-70 km per week – this is necessary for the body to accumulate strength for the upcoming marathon.

On average it takes from nine months to a year to prepare for a marathon – for a person to run, not to get injured and to show some results. The first three months – preparatory work, the next three – basic, and the last three – work on speed and endurance.

At the same time, the load increases in volume and intensity by no more than 10% per week. It may seem that 10% is not enough, but in fact every eight weeks the running volume is doubled. For example, if you start with 2 km per week, you can reach 60 km per week in 36 weeks.

Galina Prokopyeva

prize-winner of Russian marathon races

A month before a marathon, the load is reduced. For example, now – three weeks before the Moscow Marathon – runners let their bodies rest and recover. There are still small light cross-country runs, which allow you to keep your muscles toned. One cross – 10-12 km, 4-5 times a week. For comparison: at the peak of running, you need to run at least 100 km per week.

Where and how do athletes run before the marathon?

The choice of training location depends on the conditions. In winter in middle latitudes, for example, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, marathon runners train a couple of times a week in the arena, the rest of the time – outside. In summer, it’s almost always outside – it’s either a stadium, asphalt or a park. Such training is necessary, because marathons are held mainly on asphalt and it is important that the musculoskeletal system gets used to the shock load.

In our latitudes, the main start of the season is usually planned for the fall, and prepare for it all summer, as noted by a running coach. The problem arises if the target marathon is a spring marathon.

Why don’t marathoners run a marathon while training for a marathon?

physician, MD, trailrunner, ultramarathoner

It takes too long to recover from a marathon to use that distance as a training distance.

Recovery usually takes at least a month. The marathon distance as a training distance gives an excessive load.

Alexander: Experience shows that in preparation for a marathon it makes sense to run a maximum of 30-32 km in one training session. That’s why elite athletes run two marathons a year – one in the spring and one in the fall. Advanced amateurs do not frequent marathons either, especially if their goal is to surpass their previous record. There are those who run a marathon every weekend, but there are only a few of them.

But during the preparation for the first marathon, experts recommend running a half marathon and 10 kilometers – and not as a training, but as a real competition. This is important to understand the logistics of the sporting event, namely:

• How to get a start number, what the start cluster looks like, how to organize the morning before the start.
• To try out competition shoes and clothing: if you rub something on a half marathon, it’s not as critical as it is on a marathon.
• Learn to eat and drink at the food stations.
• And, most importantly, to feel the drive of a big race in a crowd. Running among 50,000 people at the Berlin Marathon or among 8,000 people at the Moscow Marathon is not the same as running alone in a park.