Marathon Training? You Need to Run More Often
Are you training for a marathon running only 3 or 4 days a week?
Real Talk.
That is not enough running days. Even if you’re getting the miles in.
Marathon training should involve 5-6 days of training per week. Hear me out!
“It’s how I’ve always trained.”
For some people, marathons can be completed on almost no training. The mind is very powerful and the human will is amazing. But just because something can be done doesn’t mean it’s a good plan.
Good preparation for a marathon is not about doing the bare minimum to cover the 26.2 on race day. Good preparation allows runners to actually enjoy race day, to not be absolutely destroyed upon completion. Proper preparation helps runners recover after the marathon and actually get back to healthy easy running in as soon as a few days or a week.
(P.S. Improving is fun! Why not improve preparation and improve your result?)
Need low mileage to prevent injury?
Increasing running days doesn’t necessarily mean running more volume. It simply means spreading out the volume over more days. Injuries during marathon training are almost always caused by overuse and lack of proper recovery. By increasing training days, the daily volume per day can be lowered. For example: 25 miles over 3-4 days is much harder on the body than 25 miles over 5-6 days.
Too busy to run more?
The marathon is a big goal and requires a big time commitment for proper preparation. The good news is that adding running days, especially without increasing total volume, will reduce the duration of some other sessions. Adding training days doesn’t automatically require more time overall, it is simply training more often.
But it’s been proven that 3 days of running per week works!
I know about the Less Is More training plan and it’s important to look at the details of the study. Runners who reduced training to a max of 3 run days per week also had solid variety in their training plan as well as *increased* the intensity of their workouts. The runners were encouraged to cross-train at least 2 times per week in addition to their running days. They were training 5 training days a week with increased effort in the run workouts.
So what if I cross-train?
Cross training can be a great way to supplement running for marathon training, especially for injury-prone runners. With a training plan of 3-4 run days per week, cross training could be added 1-2 days for a minimum of 5 training days per week in preparation for a marathon. Unfortunately, cross training takes longer or else must be performed at a higher effort level to get benefits equivalent to running, so for a busy person, adding cross training will be more challenging than running more.
Running is also the best way to get better at running, so for healthy individuals who have some margin to train more, running should be considered as the most effective way to make gains.
Easy and hard days
Any marathon training plan that includes only 3-4 training days per week will result in LOTS of miles on all training days, because marathon training requires a lot of running.
When every run is long or very long there are no easy training days, even if the pace is kept super comfortable. A high volume day is not an easy day. So we end up with no easy days - the truly “easy” days are just “off days.” And while off days are great for recovery, this kind of training robs runners of the joy of easy run days.
Easy run days - the days when things just flow naturally, we don’t have to think about pace and we don’t challenge ourselves - those are some of the BEST days for runners. Those are the days that turn a “seasonal” runner into a lifetime runner. We understand that running does not always have to be hard and so it’s not daunting to keep running even after a goal race is over.
Then should we just run EVERY day?
Days off are super important for body and mind. I highly encourage at least 1 full day off every week for all runners, and for many runners 2 days off works well. For runners tackling shorter distances, 3-4 run days per week could work really well.
But 3-4 days of training per week is a tough way to prepare for a 26.2 mile race and I do not recommend it. The body likes routine and rhythm. Adding more running days - even 1 mile - instead of a day off will help the body become more accustomed to running and will make the other runs feel better. Spreading the volume (miles or kms) out over more days is easier on the body and is more conducive to quicker recovery. Easy run days are important for longevity as a runner because we learn that running doesn’t always have to be hard.
Nicole Sifuentes is a full-time Running Coach for adults of all ages and abilities. She is a former professional runner and 2-time Olympian, and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Read more about her services, and schedule your free coaching consultation.