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Whenever we get into marathon training season we start to see a lot of questions roll in about long runs. Often people focus a lot on that long run because when we do the actual marathon event, it is a LONG RUN! However, we often see people overemphasis this long run and it can cause athletes to compromise the rest of their training. The question we want to be asking ourselves as we gear up for the marathon is always: am I training… or am I testing? It can be tempting to hammer out 20 miles at marathon pace, but what is the purpose of that run? Is it what is best for our overall fitness? Or are we simply hoping to see where our fitness is at or boost confidence for race day?

The rationale is that after 2.5-3 hours, metabolic adaptations reach a point of diminishing returns.

Every training decision is a balance of risk vs reward-

-Individual factors also affect recovery from long runs:

Adequate preparation -but not excessive – is key in the marathon. Periodize your training to prioritize race readiness