No one in the field of exercise science has contributed more to our understanding of marathon training and racing than Andy Jones. Professor Jones has worked closely with arguably the two greatest marathoners in world history: Paula Radcliffe and later, as a lead physiologist for the Breaking 2 Project, Eliud Kipchoge. He serves as Professor of Applied Physiology at the University of Exeter and has published 350+ original research and review articles. In this episode, Andy shares his laboratory and practical experiences to help us better understand marathon physiology. His lessons can make all of us stronger marathoners. We open with a background discussion of the science underpinning endurance performance before shifting to how we might apply these concepts for better training and the scalable examples from Radcliffe, Kipchoge, and other legends of the 26.2 mile distance.

Resources referenced:

Breaking2 Project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26Vhcxatsms

Eliud Kipchoge's Sub 2 Hour Marathon @ Vienna: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-XgKRJUEgQ

The maximal metabolic steady state: redefining the 'gold standard': https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.14814/phy2.14098

Physiological demands of running at 2-hour marathon race pace: https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00647.2020

Effects of Two Hours of Heavy-Intensity Exercise on the Power-Duration Relationship: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323657654_Effects_of_Two_Hours_of_Heavy-Intensity_Exercise_on_the_Power-Duration_Relationship