20 MILE LONG RUNS: Are they necessary❓www.Run4prs.com

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There is a MYTH in the running world that every marathoner needs to complete multiple 20 mile long runs or even one 20 mile long run to finish a marathon. This is just NOT the case! Long run lengths are different for every single athlete based on...

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✅TOTAL WEEKLY MILEAGE: Your long run should not be more than 33% of your total weekly mileage! If your long run is 50% of your total weekly mileage, it's going to take you that much longer to recover from it. You likely will not be able to do quality workouts during the week if you are running 50% of your weekly mileage in one run! Long runs are HARD on our bodies and we need to respect the recovery that comes along with them

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✅3 HOUR RULE: We like to cap long runs at 3 hours max! Research has shown that your body gets the most physiological aerobic benefits from runs between 60-90 min in duration AND that runs over 3 hours start to have diminishing returns. The risk for injury becomes much higher! This means that many athletes should incorporate back to back long runs instead of one 20 mile long run

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✅PACES/TOTAL TIME PER WEEK: If Athlete A's easy pace is 12:00 min/mile, and they run 40 miles/week, that is going to be around 8 hours of training/week. If Athlete B's easy pace is 9:00 min/mile and they run 55 miles/week, that will be around 8 hours of training/week. The long run for each athlete will be DIFFERENT so we don't break the 3-hour rule or the 33% of total weekly mileage rule. The mileage is DIFFERENT but the total TIME is the same! Don't get too caught up in the miles. The body doesn't know what a “mile” is!

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OTHER IMPORTANT NOTES:

👉Marathon training is NOT just about the long run. The entirety of the training plan and your consistency with it is what’s most important to reach your potential

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👉It is far better to go into a marathon undertrained than overtrained. It’s just like “The Price is Right” or the game Blackjack. It’s better to be a little under than it is to be over! We always think we could do more, but “more” might be what puts you over the edge