I have a friend who’s been running for over a year, has a black belt in Kung Fu, and used to swim a lot when he was younger. But even after a year, he still can’t run 10 km in under an hour.

Then I look at my girlfriend, who has basically never run before, never done any sport and she can casually join me for an easy run at around a 5:30 pace. How does that make sense?

I could understand it if my friend was overweight or generally unfit, but he’s not at all. Of course genetics play a role, but this difference seems extreme.

I just want to understand how something like this is possible.

Race: Boston Marathon

Date: April 20, 2026

Distance: 26.2M / 42.2KM

Time: 2:57:0x, 6:46/mile

Splits

0-5K - 20:27, HR 145

5K-10K - 20:33, HR 152

10K-15K - 20:41, HR 152

15K-20K - 20:54, HR 153

20K-25K - 20:42, HR 153

25K-30K - 20:57, HR 153

30K-35K - 21:27, HR 150

35K-40K - 21:07 - HR 149

40K-42.2K (42.36K on watch) - 10:17 - HR 149

Background

Do I run marathons just to get to write a Reddit race report?  Even tho a (vocal!) minority of you hates race reports?  Even tho you could simply … not read the race reports? I will try to keep this one short on race specifics (you don’t want to hear who I rode with on the bus?  By which I mean the sad moment of glimpsing my seat-mate texting a friend that she is “sitting with a lady” and realizing that ... I am lady.  If today proved anything, it’s "faster as a Master”!).

Anyways — it was a great Boston!  My first time breaking 3:00, handily and somewhat unexpectedly. Context: 40F, 5’10”, 61KG, previous PR 3:04 from Boston 2025, I'd hoped for a modest PR today en route to a sub-3 goal at Chicago in October.

What went right in training:

• Upped my mileage significantly. I became a six-day a week runner (keeping one day truly off), with most high-volume weeks at or above 70 mpw (previously I’d peaked at 60).  Sample week:
  • Monday - 16K EZ
  • Tuesday AM - 16K, including 5-6K track work; rest of volume EZ
  • Tuesday PM - 6K recovery (~2 min slower than MP)
  • Wednesday - 15K EZ
  • Thursday - off
  • Friday AM - 12-15K including threshold work + 11K easy trail run  
  • Saturday - 10-15K easy
  • Sunday - long run (up to 32K, often with MP or threshold work)
• Incorporated doubles. On my track day, added a very​ easy recovery 6K
• Incorporated trail runs. Joined a (fabulous) women’s trail run group and would have weekly 11K very easy (7:30/K) with ~1000F elevation
• Lifted heavy for the first time ever.  I think this was the true game changer for building resilience/injury protection and callusing my legs for pounding.
  • 3x per week - 2x heavy (for me!) (e.g., 3x8 at 115 lb back squat on squat rack, 3x8 at 115 lb RDLs with trap bar, 50 lb weighted calf lifts and box steps); 1x light (think squats, dead lifts, lunges, back work with 15-30 lb dumbbells)
  • It’s very empowering to throw heavy weights around and to learn how to use plates and bars

   

• More protein.  Oh, how novel, a 40-year old woman espousing the importance of getting 100+ grams of protein a day
• Forced myself to do benchmark races.  I much prefer training to racing and races generally require some degree of taper (and a lot of anxiety). But two races in training helped to build confidence:
  • A 15K race early in the block in Salt Lake below goal marathon pace at altitude 
  • The New York City United Half was my “A” goal, even moreso than Boston and I had a 90 second PR at 1:26. More than that, I executed for a clean negative split (rare for me) and set 10K and 5K PRs en route to a 1:26:0x
• Training at altitude (or “altitude” - SLC is ~4400’).  Guess what?  I think these pros in Boulder, Flag, Mammoth Lakes, and Park City may be on to something.  In all seriousness, this was probably the single greatest change (we split time between Utah and NYC but I spent much more time there this cycle).  Especially for the half, I felt like I was flying at sea level
• Dramatic taper. Reduced more heavily than historically from 116K/72M peak week to 91K/56M, 76K/47M, 52K/32M in three weeks leading into the race with almost no workouts in the last 2 weeks (final week had 2x1M threshold and 1x3K MP)

What could have gone better:

• First half of the race. This is the second consecutive marathon (after NYC 2025) where I’ve felt pretty awful through Mile 15 even when times are clicking off fine … why?
• Taper behavior own goals. Despite a dramatic running volume taper, I made some life choices that were not helpful (three weeks out - 1.5 week vacation to Argentina; 1 week out - 5 day work trip to Rome).  I spent 3 of 8 nights leading into Marathon Monday on intercontinental red-eyes, I walked 30-40K steps 5 and 6 days before the race, and I flew from Italy to Boston on Saturday. But life is short!  When else will I ride horseback with my parents in the Andes or see the Sistine Chapel?  Side note — discovered Rome has many adorable (and affordable!) foot massage spas to help with recovery.
• Carb load. Good on Day 3 (460 g) but too heavy on Days 1 and 2 (closer to 600 g both days).  I know there are people who say they can’t get enough carbs down but I love bread.

Where I am still curious:

• Other strength?  Really feel that the addition made the difference … how heavy should I go and what else to add?
• Nutrition and supplements as I age.  What else do I need?  Creatine?  Bicarb?
• Can I run fast(er) at short distances? Still have not broken 20:00 in a standalone 5K (since 2014) or 40:00 in a standalone 10K (ever) despite smashing those in the United Half.  What’s worth a try?  Can I get speedy while still keeping mileage high?

A few shoutouts

• Boston volunteers. Indefatigable good cheer.  Also, wildly impressed with the simple “grid” innovation for loading the buses this year
• Megan Cooke.  I follow her online, she posted multiple race reports on this subreddit last year as a 40+ woman going sub-3, and I find her content challenging, honest, and insightful
• Race-day weather. Doesn’t get better
• People who interacted with me talking about the race-day weather.  “Too bad about the weather, huh?” Is … decidedly not funny and yet I could not stop chirping it to fellow runners, unsolicited

What’s next

• Trail!  My husband and I are running the Tour du Mont Blanc this summer and I am so excited to shift my focus to something very different (at which I am very bad!)
• Retirement from the marathon?  I said I’d stop when I broke 3:00 and I feel like that’s where I’m at still (of course I am writing this while on a flight back to Utah and my body hurts a lot).  I am an NYRR-certified pacer and would like to spend more marathons helping others reach their goals and not getting as beat up, with a focus on shorter races

Final question: Ed Eyestone (of BYU/Conner Mantz/Clayton Young fame) is on my plane … should I go ask his advice?

###It's Boston Marathon Day!

How to Watch

• TV Broadcast:
  • 🇺🇸 ESPN2 (National coverage)
  • WCVB Channel 5 (Local Boston coverage)
• Live Streaming:
  • ESPN+ (Stream all events live)

Link to Elite Women's and Men's Start List

Race Day Schedule

Time (ET)	Event
9:06 a.m.	Men’s StartWheelchair Division:
9:09 a.m.	Women’s StartWheelchair Division:
9:30 a.m.	Handcycle & Duo Participants Start
9:37 a.m.	Professional Men’s Start
9:47 a.m.	Professional Women’s Start
9:50 a.m.	Para Athletics Division Start
10:00 a.m.	Wave 1 Start
10:15 a.m.	Wave 2 Start
10:28 a.m.	Wave 3 Start
10:41 a.m.	Wave 4 Start
11:01 a.m.	Wave 5 Start
11:21 a.m.	Wave 6 Start

LIVE Tracking link

A place to ask questions that don't need their own thread here or just chat a bit.

We have quite a bit of info in the wiki, FAQ, and past posts. Please be sure to give those a look for info on your topic.

Link to Wiki

Link to FAQ

Hi r/AdvancedRunning. I'm Marius Bakken, former Norwegian national record holder at 3000m and 5000m (13:06), two-time Olympian, and a practicing MD in Norway. The framework that many of you know as the Norwegian Method grew out of work I started in the mid-1990s. Over decades of experimentation and more than 5,500 lactate tests, it developed into the structured threshold-based system it is today. I just published The Norwegian Method Applied, which lays out the full system: https://www.amazon.com/dp/8269471100 (US Amazon)

Happy to answer questions about threshold training, lactate testing, the Norwegian method, or anything else running-related. Send in your questions ahead of time and I'll prioritize those with the most upvotes. I'll be here on Tuesday, April 21, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM Oslo time (12:00 to 2:00 PM Eastern, 9:00 to 11:00 AM Pacific).

Proof: https://www.mariusbakken.com/ama.html

I just completed another marathon on Sunday, and although I ran faster this year than the previous one and the cramping ensued about 4-5 km later this time round, I still battled with cramping over the final 5 km of the race.

Generally, I think hydration was good, and I actually carried water this time round and added general salt tablets to my hydration.

However, it's come to my attention that the cause of the cramping might be more neurological (due to muscle fatigue) rather than due to dehydration per se.

It's why I wonder whether taking magnesium capsules (such as magnesium glycinate) might help 'relax' muscles, particularly towards the end of the race when I suffer the most from cramping.

Perhaps other magnesium salts are more effective in your experience or not at all.

What is your anecdotal experience? And are there any scientific studies on the benefits of magnesium supplementation for the marathon?

Race Information

• Name: Manchester Marathon
• Date: April 19, 2026
• Distance: 42.2 km
• Location: Manchester, UK
• Time: 3:07

Goals

Goal	Description	Completed?
A	Sub 3	No
B	3:05	No
C	PB (3:23)	Yes

Splits

Kilometers	Average Pace
1-5	4:11
6-10	4:10
11-15	4:16
16-20	4:17
21-25	4:16
26-30	4:29
31-35	4:48
36-40	4:57
41-42.2	4:40

Final time: 3:07 (4:26/km)

Background and Training

29 M, running on and off for about 5 years. Previous PB (3:23) was from December 2024, which was my 4th marathon, but the first time I had anything resembling structured training. Used Daniel's 2Q plan (with minor adjustments to plan around work and travel stuff), averaging around 60-65 km/week and peaked at 75 km/week.

I started running consistently since last September, building from 60 to 85 km/wk in December. Each week was usually 5 runs with a threshold workout and weekend long run. While I did have some success with the 2Q plan, I felt that it didn't scale well to low/medium mileage runners, so I decided to try the Wind Plan (18wk, 105km) from Marathon Excellence by John Davis (Running Writing) since lots of people seemed to have had good results with it. I'll be honest, I haven't bought the book yet and have been just following the plan somewhat blindly.

Excluding 2 separate weeks where I had some niggles and hip/lower back pain, I averaged around 90 km/week for the 15 weeks before tapering, peaking at 106 km. From around early Dec to late Feb, most of my runs have been on treadmills, as I just couldn't manage to run consistently with Manchester weather. While it helped maintain consistency, my main concern with treadmills was speed/pace accuracy and I may have overestimated my fitness. The marathon pace I used for training was eventually 4:14/km about 4 weeks out, so I had the ambitious goal of trying to go sub 3. Race day plan was to start with the 3 hour pacers and just see how I felt.

I also did a real carb load for the first time. For previous marathons I just had a bit more carb heavy meals the days before, but this time I really tried to target 8-10g/kg of carbs for 2-3 days. The amount of food itself wasn't too bad for me, but still got kind of boring. Open to any carb loading recipes/ideas! Final 5k shakeout run on Saturday morning and then basically laid on the couch for the rest of the day.

Pre-race

Start time was 9:10 for my wave, woke up at around 5:30. Had a bagel with jam, a banana, and some coffee. Got my poop done. Did some dynamic stretches as my legs and hips were feeling a bit tight. Arrived by tram at Old Trafford station around 8:15, since I didn't need bag drop. It was already quite busy, which was a bit surprising since it was fairly empty when I did the half marathon at a later wave. Final pre-race pee at the urinals before entering the start process. It was a cool 8-9 C (46-48 F), but very sunny, so I expected it to be a warm one.

Race

You know when people say that they can't imagine holding marathon pace for 42k when it feels so tough in training, but it magically feels easy after tapering + race day vibes? I was a bit skeptical about this but decided to just trust the process and that was exactly how I felt the first half. I was cruising comfortably around the 3:00 pacers and couldn't believe how smooth it felt. Sub-3 was starting to feel possible!

Met my wife at 7k and 19k (she was also busy!). Got my gels in every 5k with the water stations (goal was about 85g/hr). Body was feeling great, pace was not super easy but definitely comfortable. Crowds were amazing, high-fived lots of kids! Temperature was cool but very sunny, so I dumped plenty of water on my head and back at each water station and tried to run in the very limited shade. Altrincham was tough as many have mentioned before, but the deafening crowd got me through it. Decided to just hang on to the pacers and try to speed up if I still felt good at 35k.

Crossed half way at 1:29:15, perfectly on track (also a half marathon PB). Then disaster struck at around 26-27k when my right calf started to feel like it was going to cramp and I had to slow down a bit. It never actually cramped, but any time I tried to speed up again, it started to tremble a bit and I had to back down. Eventually, the pacers started to get further away until I couldn't see them anymore and I knew sub 3 was out of the picture but I wanted to get at least 3:05.

By ~29k, I had to stop a couple of times to stretch my calf out and my chest was also starting to hurt (the infamous wall??). After that, everything was a bit of a blur as I fought to survive. Each water station felt further and further away. I couldn't appreciate the crowds or high-five kids. When I got passed, I tried to keep up with the other runner, but most of the time couldn't. By 38k, both calves were on the verge of cramping and I had to walk for about 10-20 seconds every 1-2k. Huge shoutout to all the supporters that were shouting my name and cheering me on. Wouldn't have made it without you! There was also a guy who had "I can do hard things" in what I think was a temporary tattoo on his shoulder and seeing that really helped me push through the final kms.

Finally, as I got around to the university for the last stretch, the adrenaline of finishing and seeing my friends cheering for me in the last 200m gave me the energy to push and finish at a mildly disappointing 3:07.

Post-race

While not the sub 3 or even 3:05 I had planned, still a solid effort and a 16 minute PB that I'm massively proud of. I definitely started out too quick, and if I had been more conservative at maybe 4:20/km, I might've been able to sneak in 3:03-ish. Legs actually feel not terrible today, so I'm wondering whether I could have pushed myself a bit more at the end. Probably could have also had a bit more caffeinated gels or at least have them a bit later in the race, I had mine at 0 (10 min pre-race), 15 and 25 km. For future training, I would be keen on adding in strength work since is was basically non-existent this block, but I would have to research a bit more about how to do that. I'm also thinking of actually buying the Marathon Excellence book since I didn't really know the rationale behind each training run, but seeing lots of people have success with NSM has also got me excited to try it.

Would have been amazing to go sub 3 before turning 30, but I guess it'll have to be for next time. Next race planned is the Manchester half marathon in October, no specific goal yet. I'm also considering doing a couple more halfs before taking on the full again just cause I find it more fun to race and less stressful to prep. Either way, had loads of fun and learned a lot about running and myself. And if you made it to the end, big thanks and happy running!

Made with a new race report generator created by /u/herumph.

I'm struggling to find my running fitness. About 1.5 years ago I was in decent shape with a 18:48 5k, 1:26 half marathon, and 3:06 full marathon. Now I'm training for a marathon and had big hopes for breaking 3h.

However, I've fallen far from my last years fitness. The main reason is quite obviously a big reduction in both training volume and quality last year. I had other priorities and focused more on easy daily movement rather than challenging myself. I ran a 5k in October with a shockingly bad result (20:01). I did another one in January with the exact same result. That showed that the one bad race wasn't a fluke but I've really lost a lot of fitness.

As I wanted to run a marathon mid-May, my plan was to quickly ramp up volume to get a solid base in March and then try to sharpen it in April-May. So I ramped up my mileage from ~40 km/week to 100 km/week in March (I've done fast mileage increases before and I know body body handles it well without injuries, maybe due to my background as a competitive runner and many 4000-km years in the past). So that went well. I then added a few hard threshold sessions in early April and ran a half marathon today (April 19). My goal was to sit at marathon goal pace (4:15) for the first 10k and then pick it up. However, the race was a flop. I only ran 1:32:45 (4:23 pace), so obviously my 3h marathon dream is unrealistic.

Trying to analyze why, I think I'm missing a top gear in my system. My average HR was only 158 during the race with practically no drift. Usually I can sit at around 162-165 for a half and ramp it up to 175 for the last 1-2 km. So I have created a diesel engine with a very modest top speed. I've always done better at all distances (incl. 800 and 1500m) if I approach them from shorter events rather than trying to build distance->specificity, and I think it might still apply for the marathon. It certainly worked for my 1:26 half 18 months ago, since I did a very had 10-day block of daily high-intensity about two weeks before the race. It made me tired of course, even over-reached, but I got a good supercompensation out of it and actually ran a PB by 1 min and this was at mild altitude.

I'm thinking that after 20+ years of pretty consistent endurance training, I've stopped responding to "normal" reasonable training since that is just my baseline. I'm also not getting any younger and will turn 40 this year. I think my changes of breaking 3h for the marathon as a middle-aged woman are wearing thin unless I try something a little more radical.

So I'm looking for some crazier than average advice. BTW, my VO2max has always been solid: I was sitting at 62-63 at my best, and even last year I recorded 60 mL/kg/min. But it fluctuates a lot based on what I do. I get frequent testing since I'm an exercise physiologist. Not doing any intensity gradually drops my VO2max to 52-54. Right now I'm sitting at ~56 (measured on the bike, not treadmill), and it's realistically not high enough for a 3h marathon. I know I need to bump it up by 5-10% to have a chance.

My question is: How would you a) salvage this marathon I have coming up on May 17th, and b) (since I won't break 3h) revamp my training enough to build up my engine once more to try and hit good times for another couple of years before I give up and take up knitting?

Sat writing this on the train back to London with very mixed feelings. It was my second marathon and I finished in 3:15:04 (very annoyed I had to stop twice to tie my laces) which is a pretty big improvement over my first marathon (3:37) however I can’t help but feel disappointed as I felt my half time and peak training weeks indicated I had more in me.

My block started in January at a not so ideal time as I’d just had 4 weeks off proper running due to Christmas and a holiday in Bali where I only managed 3 runs in 3 weeks however prior to Christmas I had just ran my first sub 40 10k so came in high spirits.

Over the 12 weeks (not including the race week) I averaged 63km with 5 weeks of 75km. Considering the mileage I think most people will assume I got a pretty good result however….

4 weeks ago I ran a half marathon and finished in 1:27:57. It was a tune up race and I was not flat out finished with a fair bit in the tank and my average HR was 170. That puts my pace at an average of 4:10 a km. Seven day later was my peak 34k session where I did 3x8k @ 4:25 with a 1k float (4:55) my average for the entire 34k was 4:38 per KM and my HR 156.

Based on these results I went into the taper feeling like I could start around 4:27/4:28 (which according to my MP sessions would put me around a 158–165 HR) and potentially push on or just hold for a < 3:10.

During the taper I noticed my HR was a little elevated the further into the taper I got but I trusted the process and enjoyed the fresh legs at least. Week of the marathon I slept well every night did an appropriate carb load and stayed off my feet the day before the race.

The race started and immediately I noticed my HR was already creeping to 170 3km in - I thought to myself this was just adrenaline and tried to control however did not want to drop the pace too much early. Long story short obviously this was a mistake and I managed to get through to 30km with an average pace of 4:28 however I clearly didnt have the ability to maintain the pace the whole distance and I limped home over the last 12km (including 37&38 at 5:05 a km) I did speed up slightly for the final 3 and get back to 4:55 however it was painful.

My annoyance is due to the fact my first half was an average of 170 HR 15/16 seconds slower per KM than my half 4 weeks ago and this is after a taper which is supposed to help my fitness.

I have felt like every race I have done I run better without the taper (my recent half/my 10k and another 10k race I did) every time I have followed a proper taper I seem to not enjoy the result. But every single bit of logic says I should taper and will not lose fitness in 2/3 weeks.

This is kind of long and a bit rangy/pathetic but wondering if anyone else has similar experiences?

Also Manchester is absolutely not as flat as people make out 😂

The Weekly Rundown is the place to talk about your previous week of running! Let's hear all about it!

Post your Strava activities (or whichever platform you use) if you'd like!

Race Information

• Name: Schneider Electric Paris Marathon
• Date: April 12, 2026
• Distance: Mar-a-thon
• Location: Paris, France
• Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/18075460625/overview
• Time: >!2:27:50!<

Goals

Goal	Description	Completed?
A	Sub 2:30	Yes
B	Strong 2nd half	Yes

My PR from 2018 is 2:28:00. I've come close to it in recent years, but for this race I didn't even set it as a goal. My last month of training had gone poorly, and I figured if I set myself up to have the opportunity to run 2:27, it would be too hard and I'd risk blowing up.

Background

It’s tough to keep my background limited to one or two paragraphs but here goes:

I ran two 10Ks and a half in college 2005-2007 (45:50, 44:24, 1:49:50). I ran my first marathon in 2011 (3:09). In 2012, I ran 2:56. In 2013, I ran 2:40 and 2:33 as I bumped up to 100 miles per week. I ran 2:28 at my peak twice from 2016-2018, along with a lot of similar race times at shorter distances. I ran a solo 2:40 marathon doing small loops in my neighborhood on Patriot’s Day 2020 - I think I was in shape to run a PR, but there was a global pandemic so I took a break from running.

I spent some time having babies and lifting weights from 2020-2022. I returned with 2:55, 2:52, and 2:39 marathons, then got close to my peak again in 2023. As an older runner, with kids, and wisdom (ha!) I ran 2:30:48 at age 38, 2:28:43 at age 39, and 2:28:24 at age 40. I also ran my best half marathon (1:10:24) in 2024.

My return to training has been more disciplined and consistent than my earlier running. I’m on a more consistent schedule and I tend to focus more on nutrition and recovery during my training blocks. Back in the day I was consistent with volume, but I didn't prepare well for workouts and my recovery routine wasn't great.

Training

I trained for 11 weeks for this race. I'm usually somewhere in the 10-14 week range for marathon training cycles, and I usually find that's plenty of time to get ready. I'm also not starting from zero - my offseason still includes plenty of quality miles, but I try to keep myself mentally fresh by not stressing about the specifics.

Before this block started I had spent 2-3 weeks focused on neuromuscular development with an emphasis on speed and plyometrics. I continued the plyo routine during my non-workout days pretty consistently at the beginning and end of the training block.

For the first 6 weeks, I focused on LT/sub-LT work loosely inspired by the popularity of NSM. I would try to run a 6-7 RPE threshold workout every other day during this stretch. You'll notice that the paces vary a lot - my intention was to rotate between longer reps at a slower pace and shorter reps at a faster pace. Some days were easier and some days were harder, but I really tried not to worry about the pace. Ultimately I was trying to maximize workout volume while staying fresh for the next one.

I then had a down week for work travel, and in the final 4 weeks I reintroduced some faster running while still maintaining an emphasis on threshold volume. My workouts were a little more spaced out during this period, and I was dealing with fatigue from general life. My diet and nutrition had also started to fall apart in the final month, but I held on as best I could.

One interesting detail about my log is the walking miles. Over the past couple of years, I've started out my morning with a 20-30 minute walk (with light jogging) to warm up and drink my coffee before I start my primary run. I count this volume separately, but I tend to think that it "counts", so I include it in my training logs. Another thing worth noting is that I double nearly every day, including workout and long run days. My second run is always at a very easy effort. This is why you won't see a lot of really high volume single runs. I've spent years doing high volume, and these days my focus is more on workout volume and less on MLR/LR volume.

My weekly mileage counts were:

94.4
105.1
105.9
112.6
102.2
114.8
62.2 [travel]
109.7
103.6
82.1
67.9 [race week]

Workout Log: Jan 28 – Apr 12

Date	Walk + Run (mi)	Workout Details	Comments
Jan 28	10.0	Treadmill broken tempo. Including ~5.7 miles @ 6:10/mi
Jan 30	15.9	15x2:00 @ 5:38/mi w/ 60s recovery
Feb 1	17.5	8x1 Mile @ 5:55/mi w/ 60s recovery
Feb 3	10.8	15x600 road fartlek. Avg 5:35/mi w/ 45s jog between
Feb 5	10.0	(treadmill) w/ 12, 12, 13 minutes @ 5:56/mi avg
Feb 7	22.7	12x3:00 @ 5:37/mi avg w/ 55s jog between
Feb 9	10.8	4x10:00 @ 5:52/mi with 90s recovery
Feb 11	11.0	6xMile @ 5:30/mi on roads (60s rec)
Feb 13	16.2	25x400m road fartlek avg 1:21 w/ 45-50 seconds between
Feb 14	24.0	Treadmill very easy
Feb 16	16.2	10x1k track threshold session. Avg 3:24, with 200m/1:00 jog between
Feb 18	11.6	8x1 mile roads (average 5:36/mi) with ~45s recovery
Feb 20	11.9	30x1:00/0:45 & a final 3:00 fartlek. Averaged 5:24/mi for the “on” segments
Feb 22	17.2	12x3:00 @ 5:27/mi off 60s rec. 3x30s fast
Feb 24	12.8	8x3:00 @ 5:23/mi off 60s rec. 3x30s fast
Feb 26	10.7	3x1 Mile @ 5:33/mi (2min rec), 4x1:00 @ 5:10/mi (2min rec)	Race shoe test
Mar 1	18.3	Cowtown Half Marathon race (1:12:32)	Ran with the second pack (#6-8) at the start, averaging 5:25 for 4 miles before I let a gap form in front of me. Stayed consistent until encountering hills and a stiff headwind from miles 7-10, where I averaged ~5:35/mi. Picked it up and averaged under 5:30/mi again for the final 5K, passing one runner and finishing 7th. I was within 25 seconds of 4th through 6th place and starting to gain on them, but I had let too large of a gap form early in the race. First place masters division.
Mar 4	10.9	11*400 on roads @ 1:17 avg (unpaced rec)
Mar 6	13.4	8x1km @ 3:28 per km (60s rec)
Mar 8	25.7	13x1 Mile on roads with fast 5:00 floats. 5:36 avg on the miles. 6:02 avg continuous overall pace	Finished fresh, could have run 2:37 marathon
Mar 12	3.0	3 mile treadmill tempo (5:40 avg)	Travel
Mar 14	16.9	4x1:00 @ 5:13/mi, 3x2 Miles @ 5:32/mi, 5x40s fast	Travel recovery
Mar 17	15.4	15x3:00 @ 5:33/mi avg (45-60s between)
Mar 19	19.0	6x1 Mile 5:43/mi	Felt terrible
Mar 21	24.0	Long steady including 10 @ 6:08/mi avg	Felt terrible
Mar 24	13.7	25x1:00+0:24 track fartlek. Covered 10k in 34:28.	Goal was 300m+100m rec, but I was ahead of that pace, so it was ~5:10/mi “on” pace.
Mar 27	17.6	4+4+3 miles @ 5:36/mi avg	Tough workout in humid conditions.
Mar 29	17.3	Totally unstructured fartlek including many short <1 minute reps around MP+/-, and 4x3:00 @ 5:26/mi. [total ~5 miles workout]	Very tired
Mar 31	11.7	13x3:00 + 1:00 w/ 45s rest. Total 7.3 miles @ 5:29/mi
Apr 2	11.0	2, 2, 2.3 miles @ 5:38, 5:36, and 5:34/mi paces. Total 6.3 miles @ ~5:36/mi	Treadmill; 100% humidity made this workout pretty much impossible.
Apr 5	14.4	6x1km track (3:17.5) ~1:20 rest. Then 2 miles @ MP on roads (5:35/mi). Total 5.8 miles @ ~5:25/mi
Apr 8	7.4	5x3:00 avg 5:25/mi (long rest) + 2x20s fast
Apr 12	26.2	Paris Marathon	2:27:50

Race

Splits

Kilometer	Split Time	Split Pace
1	~3:45	N/A
5	17:57	3:36/km 5:47/mi
10	17:32	3:31/km 5:40/mi
15	17:17	3:28/km 5:34/mi
20	17:23	3:29/km 5:36/mi
Half	1:14:01	N/A
25	17:30	3:30/km 5:38/mi
30	17:33	3:31/km 5:40/mi
35	17:28	3:30/km 5:38/mi
40	17:38	3:32/km 5:42/mi
42.195	7:32	3:27/km 5:33/mi
Full	2:27:50	N/A

We had a shakeout run followed by a 3 hour walking tour, then the expo, then the walk back to the hotel on the eve of the race. I was on my feet from 7am to 2pm. As a result, I decided to skip dinner and lay in the hotel room with a sandwich from the grocery store. I needed the extra rest.

On race day I was up at 4am (the UFC event was still going on in the US while I was drinking espresso in the hotel lobby). I drank 3-4 coffees, had a couple of slices of white toast with jam, drank 300 calories of Gatorade + beet juice, then I was off to the metro.

The bag drop and start situation at the Champs Elysees was really spread out, so I spent 45 minutes walking around the start area, changing shoes, and checking my bag before I got into the corral. I had a caffeinated 100kcal gel 10 minutes to the start, and then we were off.

For race nutrition, I drank a bottle of Maurten 320 during the first 3km, then 160 kcal gels at 10km, 17km, 23km, and 28km. This was sooner than I had planned, but I sort of took the gels when I felt like my stomach could handle the next one. I had one sip of water along the way, but the temps were fine so I didn’t need to drink much.

I started a fair bit back in the "Pref" corral (sub 3 hour). I was just shy of qualifying for the elite corral, and I didn’t want to push my way to the front at the start, so I was in traffic on a somewhat narrow street. As a result, my first several km were slow. I had programmed my watch to split every 3:33 throughout the race, knowing that was the pace for a 2:30 marathon. My intention was to compare those auto splits to the KM markers and speed up or slow down as necessary to match the pace. Early on, I was 15 seconds behind the auto-split pace, but I was steadily reducing that margin by about 3 seconds per km.

At 5km I found myself in a large group, but I realized it was the 2h35 pace group. Shit. There was a large gap in front of us, but the pacers assured me that there were 2h30 pacers ahead. This was a tough decision point for me. Catching up to the 2h30 pacers would put me ahead of my planned pace, and I risked blowing up. However, it didn't feel like I had an alternative option because I would be running alone in no mans land if I stuck to my plan.

That lit a fire in me, and I burned several matches trying to catch up. I could see the pace group by the 8km mark, but it took until 17km for me to join the group. My heart rate was fully at marathon effort by this point, and my breathing was harder than I would have liked. I had concerns from 17-20km that I wouldn’t be able to hold on; I was now on pace for 2:28:00, but I had run around 2:26 pace to get there. Luckily, the course was pretty easy from 20-28km so everything settled down. It was around this point that I realized my nutrition was good, my effort was good, and I had a real shot at a PB.

We passed through a tunnel, then along the river, and the course became hilly very fast. I flew on the downhills, but struggled on the uphills. The pacers dropped out at 32km and I was in front of the group, carrying on the pace (2:28 on the dot). We started chopping down stragglers one after another. I checked my watch around 36km and realized I was running in the 5:3x range, still feeling strong, and very much on pace to run a PB. Then we hit two long uphill stretches and I completely avoided looking at my watch. I wasn’t babysitting my pace, but I knew it would be close. All I could do was hang on, try to pace off folks I was passing for brief moments to catch my breath, then fly on the downhills.

At 41km I looked at my watch one last time and I needed to run 1195m in 4:15 (5:40 pace) to get the PB. I started kicking, then realized the entire final stretch was downhill. I had it in the bag. I let my legs loose, got caught in a bit of a rut passing wheelchairs on a tight final corner, then kicked it in at 5:15 pace for the last 400m. I was 2:27:53 via my watch so I knew I had beaten my 2:28:00 PB.

In a race with 60,000 runners I was 72nd overall, 2nd in M40-44 division, and 7th in the "open" (non-elite) division.

Reflection & What’s next

11 weeks doesn’t seem like a lot, but I crammed 32 sessions in during that time and saw consistent progress. I also felt like I took my foot off the gas in the last 5 weeks, so with better consistency and motivation in the final stretch I could have been more fit.

I mostly attribute the good time to race selection - I had a perfect group to run with, and I had incidentally been forced to start slower than I would have liked. I've never felt this strong late in a race, and that really came down to the easy start plus relaxed middle miles (20-32k) where I was able to let others do the work. I believe I've been in better shape a couple of times before, but this was the day everything else came together for me.

I'm signed up for Chicago this Fall and my plan is to do mostly the same type of training for that race. I will focus on VO2 max, speed, and plyometrics over the summer, then begin a structured threshold program on August 3rd (10 weeks out). If I'm lucky, I'll be able to PR at least one more time!

Made with a new race report generator created by u/herumph.

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Thought I'd share a report of my fairly successful first full marathon.

For context, I'm a 33 year old male. Since 18 have cycled primarily, some years more serious than others but pretty much always competing. Never the best amateur athlete but consistently been strong (78-82kg, best FTP around 360-370w for those interested).

On/off relationship with running the last few years but with the arrival of my son in 2024 this accelerated things more towards running as I found it more time efficient and family friendly.

Over the couple of years my PBs are;

5k 16.38

10k - 36.02

HM - 1.18.32

I decided in 2025 to enter my first marathon as a different challenge. I'd generally run the above times off inconsistent 30-40km weeks but crucially cycling 7-8hrs a week on a average too.

My training was completely curtailed at the back end of last year with pneumonia in October, followed by several nursery viruses. Training wise, I managed 20-35km a week December. I'd never ran more than 24km. Out of pure frustration I ran 30km on NYE and it was awful. My legs just gave up after 25km from the impact (despite zone 2 HR throughout).

Jan/Feb/March was better. I built to consistent 50km weeks with one week at 60km. I ran a 1.17.16 HM in March. This caused some blister issues which saw me take a week off running afterwards.

Alongside this I have been cycling 3-4 hours a week. A mix of easy commuting, some LT1 intervals on zwift and overall 3 2-3 hour rides outside over the 3 month block. I ran a 32 and 34km easy z2 run in March. I managed a tiny bit of S+C.

*Race day*

I approached the marathon with very little on terms of benchmarking what I could achieve. My first goal was to simply finish. I. The back of my head I had dreams of a sub 2.50.

I ran Brighton, UK. The crowds were great. The course although slightly undulating in the first half also felt good. It was however - windy.

I'd told myself not to go through 10km in under 40 minutes. First 5km was 19.33. Calm... Second 5km was 19.15. Ah. I kept convincing myself I was feeling great. I'd practiced fuelling at 90g/hour and was managing well. I got myself in a good group to tackle the first big headwind section.

Halfway - 1.22.32.

I knew that I was above target and was still feeling good. At about 27km the crowds thickened and the noise was electric. The headwind was relentless and I felt the pace slow on the group. I thought this was my moment to push on and keep going. I edged away with 2 others and we worked together for the next few km.

Then at 32km I started to feel fatigued. I knew I was going I to unknown territory at this point and suddenly I started to panic. My left hamstring started to tighten a little. 34km and I felt the dreaded wall. I just knew I had to keep going. I took another gel but by this point I was on my own. I turned at 37km into an exposed 3km headwind section and had a rough time. My pace was dropping significantly. My 35-40km split was 22.30. Eventually we turned back to the finish and I summoned what I had left (which was very little) to just squeeze under 2.50 with a 2.49.36.

Man I was pleased. What a first marathon. But I still left thinking there's more to give. The pacing wasn't great. If I had more long runs in the legs, and more long runs with late MP maybe I could have held on better. I probably need to do some strength work. (No - I know I need to do strength work).

But by all accounts it was an amazingly successful first marathon and I'll be back for more. But I'll continue to cross train on my bike. Hopefully this shows that you don't need crazy mileage to go relatively quick. The injury risk cycling is significantly less. And it fits better for me into a commute. Maybe I'm just lucky but it worked for me.

Now the anxious wait to see if I did enough for a London GFA spot next year! Either way - I've got the marathon bug.

Hey y'all.

I've ran in various plated shoes for a few years now and really enjoy them. I've got Euegene coming up next weekend and did a test run a week ago with the Hoka Cielo X1 3.0. Loved the feel and fit, felt super fast but I did notice after about 8 miles that my ankles and lower calves were getting more sore than I'd expect. Some of this is because I was running partially on an angled road shoulder but I'm sure it's also partly from using shoes that are less stable than what I'm used to. Debating whether to use them for the marathon or stick with something I'm more comfortable with.

All that to say, what was your first experience running in supershoes? Was it seamless or did you have some muscles that needed to strengthen to use them?

Race Information

• Name: Vienna City Marathon
• Date: April 19, 2026
• Distance: 42,195 km
• Location: Vienna, Austria
• Time: 3:26:18

Goals

Goal	Description	Completed?
A	Sub 3:23	No
B	Sub 3:30	Yes
C	Stay motivated for another marathon	Yes

Splits

Kilometer	Time
5	4:47
10	4:50
15	4:48
20	4:49
25	4:46
30	4:54
35	4:57
40	5:14
42	5:04

Running History

37M. Started exactly two years ago when I ran a relay at the same event (4:48/km for 11 km without any specific running training, but lots of climbing/bouldering). First half year was just 20–30 km per week, then more like 35–50 km per week. Max HR: 188.

Training

Decided 16 weeks before the event to go for the full marathon and started with 2Q from Daniels. Switched between the two lower-mileage plans (up to 64 km and 64–89 km). I liked the plan a lot — workouts were fun and got easier over the weeks.

Was a bit worried that there were no really long runs in the plan, so I extended some of them. Otherwise, I did all the workouts except in the week when I ran a tune-up half marathon. Altogether, I did 6 workouts >27 km, the longest being 32 km.

Felt really good in training. In the key workout (7 easy + 21 Marathon Pace at 4:48/km), I ran the 21 km at 149 avg HR. Together with the tune-up half (1:31:13), I thought a pace around 4:40/km would be reasonable for the full.

Long story short: I felt incredible throughout the whole training block and had no problems hitting all the workouts.

Tapering and Pre-race

Two weeks before the race I did the last workout — and it went horribly. Suddenly my heart rate was much higher (instantly >160 at marathon pace) than in all previous workouts.

Tapering was the hardest time — all runs felt hard, something was off. I freaked out about the high HR, so I decided to do all taper runs without measuring it. I think the problem was the rising temperatures. Unfortunately, the weather forecast for race day wasn’t great (much hotter than in training, but at least cloudy), so I adjusted my goal back to 4:48/km.

Long story short: tapering was horrible, especially mentally.

Race

Weather was even worse than the forecast — no clouds at all. At the start it was around 15 °C, and two hours later 20–25 °C with almost no shade.

Nevertheless, the first 30 km went pretty well. The first half felt almost too easy, and I had to hold myself back several times to avoid going faster. Then it got hard — the heat kicked in and my legs started to tire. I stopped twice at aid stations to drink a lot of water and Powerade to stay hydrated. I also took 7 gels throughout the race and water/Powerade at all the other aid stations without stopping.

Kilometers 32–40 were really tough, and I wasn’t sure if I could make it to the end with 4:48/km, so I decided to go for Goal B. So many other runners dropped out, even at 38/39 km.

Post-race

My legs are completely wasted! Nevertheless, I’m really happy to have finished my first marathon. Already searching for the next one! :D I really liked the marathon training block. After one week off, I’ll try Norwegian Singles for a while and focus on some 5Ks (and hopefully improve my PB of 19:50). Maybe I’ll stick with an adapted Norwegian Singles approach for my next marathon, or go back to 2Q or try Pfitz. I’ll definitely switch to a higher-mileage plan next time — that’s for sure — and include several runs >32 km.

Made with a new race report generator created by /u/herumph.

Age 19. My New Year’s Resolution is to run a sub 16 minute 5k. Unofficial PB is 17:33 (April 2025) and I ran 17:53 last Wednesday. I didn’t run for 3 months from August to November in 2025 because I lacked motivation and my fitness dropped significantly when I started running again.

I’m currently doing 2 sessions a week, a threshold and a 5k specific workout. I may add a hills session every 2 weeks. Currently at 70km/week and will intend to jump to 80km/week in 3 weeks time.

I’ve always done my long runs at easy pace.

My question is whether there is any worth of incorporating a workout into the long run since the race distance is quite short compared to a half marathon and marathon.

I’ve seen Adam Fogg on YouTube do some long tempos of 17km+ which made me wonder.

Would love to hear your thoughts and see linked articles.

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