7 Training Tips for First-Time Marathoners
After running 8 marathons and 1 ultra, I get asked for advice by my friends new to marathons. Here’s what I’ve learned over the last nine years about marathon training.
1. Do most of your runs easy (way slower than goal marathon pace)
A big mistake new runners make is to run marathon pace for all their runs. This prevents you from building up your mileage safely and recovering properly.
I made this mistake myself, as my marathon PR is 3:54 (about 8:50/mi) and I used to do my regular runs at around 9:00 pace. These days, I do my easy runs at 10:30-11:00 pace.
If you goal is to simply finish the race and you don’t have time goals, you can take the pacing of the time cutoff (usually around 13:00/mile) and use that as your pacing goal, with a bit of a buffer.
2. Do one speed workout per week
While you should do most runs easy, it’s still important to do speed work to vary and improve your pacing. My coach would have me do either speed or hill intervals each week.
An example workout was:
1-2 miles easy
8x1min fast/1 min easy
1-2 miles easy
These definitely helped to increase my strength and speed. To run faster, you have to practice it.
3. Try the 3 week rule for increasing mileage
While most people know about the 10% rule for increasing mileage, where you increase your weekly mileage by 10% each week, I actually prefer the 3 week rule. This is where you run the same mileage 3 weeks in a row before doing a bigger jump.
For example, I would run 20 miles three weeks in a row and then jump to 27 miles for three weeks.
This helps your body adapt to the mileage before making another change.
4. Dial back mileage every ~4 weeks
While you do want to increase your mileage, you also want to give your body a break every 3-4 weeks. I try to dial it back about 15-20% that week in terms of total mileage.
5. Practice fueling
You’re going to need to take something during the marathon, and it’s important to find what works for your body before race day. I personally like SiS gels since they can be taken without water and they’re very watery and neutral. I also like HUMA gels, which taste more applesauce-y.
My coach recommended taking 75 grams of carbs every hour after a run gets longer than an hour. That’s 2-3 gels per hour, which I find a bit excessive for me, but I still try to take 1-2 per hour.
6. Stop your longest run at 20 miles or even 3 hours
You don’t need to run 26 miles before race day. In fact, it’s not recommended because it can put you at greater risk of injury pre-race.
Most folks cut their longest run off at 20 miles or even 3 hours. Three hours is not very long if you’re running a slower pace, so I can understand wanting to get at least 20 miles under your belt. I personally run around 3 hours and 30 minutes.
Another thing that’s helped build my confidence a lot are back-to-back long runs. My coach would have me do 14 one day and 8-10 the next to simulate marathon day fatigue.
7. Strength train
I started strength training 1-2 times per week after getting a bone stress injury in 2023. Lifting weights helps you build bone density, which is especially important for women.
I usually just use some gym machines to work my abductors, adductors, hamstrings, quads, calves, abs, and arms. It doesn’t have to be anything too intense; I usually do four sets of 10 reps and I’m in and out of the gym in less than 30 minutes.
Let us know if you have any questions, and happy training!
