Keys to a Sub-4 Hour Marathon
Introduction
This post is my training advice to aspiring new and old marathoners who would like to run a sub-4 hour marathon. I’ve done a 3:57 Marathon in just a little over a month ago, so while good and bad moments of the training and the race are still fresh in my memory, I should share my experience to the aspiring marathoners out there. For this, I would summarize my previous training post that worked well for me. If I could do it, so can you!
Running a sub-4 hour marathon is a nice goal for the beginner-amateur marathon runners who are already quite fit, have decent race times in 5K’s to 21K’s (or even a 42K) and would like to challenge themselves further. It’s a difficult and relatively fast running pace for the distance, but not an impossible time to achieve – that is if you train well. It’s the qualifying time for the Milo Marathon in the Philippines, so you’ll get a lot of respect from the Philippine running community once you achieve this. Also, the sub-4hour was the first qualifying time for the Boston Marathon when the organizers wanted the people know that it wasn’t a “Jogging” race.
Minimum Fitness Requirements
A word of caution though, unless you’re a gifted runner, you should have done a lot of years running and racing 5K’s up to 21K’s, or may even already ran a 42.195K. Also, to give you an idea of my fitness prior to the marathon, you should try to be able to run close to these race times or better(is better):
5K – 23minutes
10K – 47minutes
21K – 1:52minutes
In the Philippine online running community of takbo.ph, I see a lot of good fast runner candidates like Dermot, vVinceth, dhenz, gingerbread, pojie, Ronald, and Erick(shocks) . I wish them well, and hope they train well for the marathons this coming October (and/or for next year’s Milo). Please support them by visiting their blogs to get updates on their progress 
Technology
I would highly recommend taking advantage of the latest in technology by purchasing speed and distance monitors like foot-pod accelerometers or GPS-enabled wrist-watches or cellphones. Like Garmin Forerunner or Polar, or even Nokia GPS-enabled cellphones. These products would really aid you in pacing yourself in training and in racing. These would also ensure that you run the recommended distances during training.
Base Mileage
I would recommend gradually increasing of weekly mileage to around 40 to 50Miles/week or 64 to 80Kms/week (actually the higher the mileage, the better. If you could do it without injuring yourself) By gradual, I would only recommend 7% increase per week. This is safer than the 10% rule which I think is difficult for me. This needs to be done consistently, so that slowly but surely, you are forcing your body to adapt to longer and tougher distances. If high mileage was done consistently and for several months, changes would occur like increase of concentration/number of mitochondria (power house) in your muscle cells, decrease in resting heart-rate due to larger heart, weight loss, and stronger bones and connective tissues. There’s no secret nor shortcut to this #1 law of distance running. The longer the races, the higher the weekly mileage training requirements, so to perform well, volume is needed. There is a theory that high average weekly mileage, no matter how slow they were run, would determine your running potential later on when speedwork were applied in your training regimen.
For me, the first 3 months of this year was dedicated to this increase in mileage, without any initial speedwork training. Majority of these runs are at easy pace or LSD (Long Slow Distance). After this, I ran the Condura Half-Marathon in 1:52. To be honest, I believed this was not fast enough to run the full 42K in less than 4hours. I thought a 1:45 21K is a better guarantee to run the 42K in less than 4hours. Because of this, I began to do speedwork in the next 3months.
Speedwork
To run a sub-4 hour marathon, you would need to maintain a pace of 5′41″/km (9′09″/mile) or better for the distance of 42.195Kms. To increase your natural speed, you need to run faster and perform regular speedwork(repeats) at a pace faster than marathon race pace. The program I followed in the 16 weeks before the marathon was from Runnersworld-UK for the Garmin Forerunner. I figured that the Milo Marathon Elimination course was going to be Hot, Humid, and Hilly, so I’ve downloaded the sub-3:45 plan to force myself to train harder. Well the 3:45 plan was created in UK so it probably assumes you would run the course in a flat and cooler climate so this I think was better than the sub-4:00 which I think have paces that were too easy to begin with.
The program had a lot of combination of weekly speedwork that changes every week from 200-meter to 1-mile(1.6Km) repeats. The coaches in the RW-UK probably believes in a well-balanced overall runner that could run fast on various distances. However personally, I believe the best workout that helped me for the marathon was the 1-mile repeats. It was long and hard, and prepared my legs for a pace slightly faster than the 4hour marathon. In the beginning it was tough, but weeks later I found my body adapting to the pace till the feeling becomes easier even though the number of repeats were actually increasing.
The 1mile (1.6km) repeats only have 200meter recoveries between them. Below is the graph of my heart-rate during the course of the workout. It would increase every time I speed-up and then fall down during my 200-meter jog (Runners also Jog). My Heart Rate would stay elevated at greater than 80% of my Maximum Heart Rate for more than 5minutes. This is a great workout for boosting one’s VO2Max.
I find these workouts to be very tough. It was the phase of “no pain, no gain”. One of the techniques I find useful in surviving these long mile repeats is treating it like smaller races. I had to pace myself in the first half, and go near all-out in the latter half. On the fifth repeat, I would often get exhausted and feel a little out of breath even 6hours later. I figured I wasn’t only working-out my leg muscles, but my Lung Capacity as well or VO2max.
In just a little over a month of consistently following the program’s speedwork, I found myself running faster easily during all of my easy runs at the same effort. Even my long runs were getting faster as well.
Shorter Tune-up Races
The program also encourages regular racing (but not too much!) as a way to boost VO2max and mental preparedness. One of the races I’ve picked was a 10K race in Ayala Alabang. It was a hilly race, and I had to stop for a minute to relieve myself during the race. Well, I still equaled my college PR of around 47minutes. If I hadn’t stop to pee, I could have broken it
Long Runs
My word of advice to runners who would like to run a faster marathon: Forget “Long Slow Distance” and just call it “Long Run”. Otherwise you could be stuck telling yourself to run slow all your life. Of course if you tell your body to run slow, it would run slow.
So how long should your long run be? Most marathon training programs for beginners up to the advanced would only recommend 20 to 22miles (32 to 35Kms). Jeff Galloway’s program would recommend actually running the full marathon distance, although slower than race pace. I would recommend doing either or even both of them if one has enough time for it. What I did during my training was run the shorter distance of 22miles(35Kms) at race pace. It was really tough but it prepared, and increase my confidence in running the pace. However during the race I did hit the wall, so I should have probably also included a slower but longer 42K during my training. Well that’s what I’m planning to do next time. Meanwhile, some elite athletes actually run 50kms before the marathon.
Diet and weight
Although you could be burning a lot of calories during training, you could also be increasing your appetite like a whale. Try monitoring your weight during training. Eat healthier high-carb runner friendly foods like pasta, rice, and whole wheat bread and you’ll find it easier to go inside your healthy weight range. Hopefully you’ll lose 5 to 10pounds during marathon training, mostly fat loss. Anyway all the runners I saw finish within 4hours have lean and fit bodies. You may run fast 5K’s or 10K’s but you could suffer during hot climate marathon races. Lighter runners have more advantage running in hotter and humid marathons.
Tapering
The 3 weeks before the marathon is actually more important than one may think. However if you have already done the peak 20+milers, these last 3weeks should be relatively easy. The body needs rest to recover from the 13weeks (or more) of hard training, so lowering your mileage by 20% per week should be done at this phase. Caution must be observed to prevent oneself from over-eating or else unwanted weight gain could occur. A week before the marathon, you should run the week at only 50% of your peak weekly mileage. This is the final week where you should carbo-load especially during the last 3days; weight gain of 1 to 3pounds at this time is acceptable. This is the time for a good massage to loosen up the muscles before the race. However if you haven’t been receiving regular massages lately, you may need to skip this one before the race or else your muscles could get surprisingly sore. Staying at home for the last 3days is a good idea, to keep yourself from any unwanted flu and viruses that could probably make you stay in bed for several days.
The Marathon Race
My final advice is to respect the distance. The Marathon has a great deal of history and legend behind it that running it as best and as hard as you can is the way to honor it. As much as possible run at the recommended pace of a little faster than 5′41″/km (9′09″/mile). It’s going to be tough for the last 10Kms. Hydrate well on each station especially if the race is hot and humid.
To keep your effort even, use a heart rate monitor and try to keep your heart rate even during flats, uphills, and downhills. This means running faster downhill but running slower uphill. It’s dumb to sprint uphill and end up walking downhill.
What about “The Wall” and nutrition? An average marathon runner only has 32kms worth of carbohydrates stored inside the liver and muscles. After this the fat burning mode switches over, which is really inefficient. You’ll run a lot slower because at this stage your lactate threshold drops. Your breathing gets a little heavier. Then your blood sugar level drops, which means you could get depressed which adds more mental challenge in the latter miles. It is therefore recommended to take in at least 10Km’s worth of carbohydrates (600 calories) in form of gels or sports drinks equally distributed along the course of the race. Meanwhile, the faster and more efficient runner you are, the less calories you actually burned per distance. So theoretically, you could actually extend the distance at which the wall could hit you, even beyond the marathon distance.
Prepare for the wall since most amateur marathoners do experience this. I propose training harder to race faster so that when the wall does hit you with 10Kms to go, you would still have enough time to spare and could still run fast enough for a sub-4 hour marathon. Good luck and may the spirit of Pheidippides be with you.
Comments (35)
Hi Natz,
Thanks and I learned a lot again from your writeup. About the section where you wrote about your ’speedwork’ i noticed your 200m rest period really seems to advance for me since I have only been running for 3 months. For a newbie runner like me what pattern and timing of speedwork would you recommend? Right now I am training for my first 21k , and Im planning to do it early next year so I can get a respectable time for my first ever 21k and not just finish it with a jogging pace.
Sir Eric,
There’s really nothing wrong with “jogging”. Even Haile Gebrselassie “jogs” a before the marathon, and Usain Bolt “jogs” during his qualifying 100meters. But if you want to be called a runner I will call you a Eric the Runner
Yeah, I also think the 200meter recovery is really tough. But as soon as my body adapted to it, I got fitter. Well the 1.6Km intervals seem too long for the half-marathon. For the 21K race, I would therefore recommend you start with 400meter fast repeats with 200meter recovery. Start with 4 x 400m then work your way up to 8 x 400m. Do this every other week. The week in between, do 800meter fast repeats with 400meter recovery. Start with 2 x 800m then work your way up to 5 x 800m. But if you think you find these workouts too tough for you, try building-up your mileage first and use the 7% rule instead of 10%. You could actually increase your long runs all the way up to 21Kms in training. Take it easy
Good luck buddy.
thnx for the advise sir natz i appreciate it!
Hi Natz,
It was nice of you to share your training and experiences. I started to think of running the full marathon already – maybe the 34th Milo. I gave myself a full year to prepare – though, there are a number of full marathons by the end of this year that tempts me to join. Most likely, a 12-week training would not be sufficient for me to finish even a sub-5.
Congratulations to your sub-4 finish! And good luck during the Milo Finals!
Sir Eric,
Thanks and wow, we have a lot of “Eric” in takbo.ph!
Well it’s up to you to decide if you would like to run one of the marathons this October already. I think doing a sub-5 won’t be as hard as in Milo Elims anymore because of the cooler weather, and probably flatter courses. You can start training right now and aim for one of those marathons. But in case you think you’re not ready during the race day, it could be wiser to postpone it to next year.
Don’t be sucked by the marathon hype, just prepare yourself and be ready. Your time will come
By the way I don’t think I’ll be doing well in the Milo Finals because of my ITBS injury. I’ll just try to finish it if I could run enough mileage.
Hey Natz, nice of you to share your experience. I like this particular section:
“Long Runs
My word of advice to runners who would like to run a faster marathon: Forget “Long Slow Distance” and just call it “Long Run”. Otherwise you could be stuck telling yourself to run slow all your life. Of course if you tell your body to run slow, it would run slow.”
Informative, insightful post as always. Very i2runner. Hehe
Nice post natz. Are you planning to follow it up with how to achieve sub 4 hours minus the ITBS. Hehehe.
47mins in a 10K is still so far off to me. Need lots of training.
Boss Rico,
Just don’t overdo it.
Yeah at first it’s going to be hard, but that’s what training is all about
Thanks Boss Jinoe. The minor injury after the race was worth it. I’m planning to follow it up with sub3:30 next year with more ITBS. Hahaha!
Gawa rin tayo ng sub60mins 10K to sub45mins 10K na posts? Teka, di ko pa pala kaya ang sub45. Hehehe…
I would also like to share something, Sarah Palin also ran a sub-4 hour marathon at the age of 44:
http://www.athlinks.com/myresults.aspx?rid=1358940
Hi Natz, great post on running a 42K. I will read it over and over again as I prepare for my 42K debut next year. Good luck with the ITBS. All the best!
Hi Natz,
great article, this surely helps. surely i will be training for the sub 5 hr marathon, still have 13 weeks remaining.. will see if i can make it.. I hope this time ill be injury free and no more cough and cold.. I know i have a very limited time to prepare, but will just follow the training plan so that i can build up mileage.. I am still a long way to go as i still need to lose weight, and improve my 10k time..
Hope your ITBS gets well..
Mark
Hi Jan,
Thanks for visiting. I think it’s smart of you to prepare for a year for your first 42K. I’m sure you’ll do very well as long as you train consistently. Good luck and may you have a sub-4 hour as well!
Natz
Sir Mark,
I think a sub-5hr marathon isn’t easy but if you build enough mileage and really follow a good training plan, it should be doable. I see a lot of runners not go inside the sub-5hour time probably because they didn’t have enough mileage AND long run. Please build up your mileage consistently so you’ll have a great chance of getting inside 5hours. The cooler weather this coming October should also help you. Good luck!
Natz
Natz, very informative article ! A great place to start for a beginner wanting to break 4 hours. I think there is a book you can buy called ‘4 hour marathon in 12 weeks’, but it’s always better to take advice from real life experiences. I’m hoping to break 4 hours this time round in the Bahrain Marathon in Feb 09. This time going to train properly over 16 weeks instead of 7 ! haha.
Hi Dermot,
Oh really, there’s even a book about the sub-4? 12 weeks is 3months, so it’s probably tough for most beginners.
With your current 5K and 10K race times, I predict you’ll easily go under 3:30. After that, I hope you won’t mind me bugging with questions on how to run that fast
Hi Dermot,
Is the book this one? http://www.amazon.com/Four-Months-Four-hour-Marathon-ebook/dp/B000OZ0NNK
It’s a 16week program, just like most marathon programs.
Thanks for the rep Natz haha. May I add a rejoinder? Fast runner wannabe WITHOUT the ITBS hahahaha
A combination of hectic work and recovery from the injury have set me back a lot. Incredibly helpful article! And congrats on your top 10 topblogs status my friend, you make us all proud and serve as an inspiration to all the rookie bloggers out there 
Luissssssss!!!!!
Get well soon because I think you have the speed to run a sub-4hour marathon or better maybe next year? Woohoo! You’re already showing a lot of unbelievable improvement this year.
Blogging? How I wish I could rank top 10 in local 5K’s or 10K’s someday. It would be a nice accomplishment
Wow really loaded with information! I’m not much of a techie so I just keep a “stopwatch” everytime I run (even during the Milo eliminations) but really interesting information.
Good luck and see you at the Finals.
Sir thank you for visiting my blog. May I add you to my blogroll?
Well some people just don’t need so much information and too much information may just actually confuse them when they run. I know this old really really fast marathoner who doesn’t even have a wristwatch. He just brings a cellphone during long runs, and tries to run for 3hours. Heck, some people even don’t need shoes to run! Hehehe. Also, it would be hard to give newbies an advice on how to run a sub 4hour marathon with just a stopwatch, but it’s not impossible.
I’m not a gifted runner, just a regular healthy man. What I lack in superior running genes, I try to compensate with running smarter training and technology. Then I try to improve as much as I can. That’s what I also love about running – it’s also a thinking man’s sport.
Sir if you see me at the finals, please introduce yourself. Unfortunately, I’m no longer in my best running shape. I may not even finish at the finals due to injury. But I will just try to run as long as I can
Thank you for the very good report. i will use this as a basis in my final quest for 1 more marathon. i did a 3.52 in the year 1983 and a 4.30 in the year 2008. i want to do 1 more marathon hopefully in 2010 and maybe come in a time of 4.15. thank you and regards.
Sir Patrick, Thanks for stopping by. What happened to your blog site runningshield.blogspot.com? Wow, 3:52 is a nice time, and I hope you train well for next year. Which marathon do you plan to join to get a sub 4:15, the Condura?
I’m already excited to run on Skyway again, it’s the greatest running experience ever.
blog is being reformated again. condura 42k still on the planning stage maybe …maybe. thank you
the year Sara Palin ran the sub 4 i also ran that year but was running the 1/2 marathon bib number 733. I start racing when Sara sister intro my 1st race the heart run 2000,lost 40 lbs already and 9 years running now.
Wow, that’s a really nice story. 9 years of running means you should be really fit already, so congratulations for living a healthy active lifestyle. Yeah, I heard Sara Palin running the sub-4hour marathon, she’s really fast. I know she has been a runner since childhood. Even though she’s older now, she still looks gorgeous.
Sara Palin father use tobe a track coach at one of the school here,he made them run every morning. I start running when my 1st granddaughter was born . Now i am 53 year old finished 14 marathons 2 Boston 2008 and 2009 .
Wow that’s really something. I think the qualifying for your age for Boston is 3:34. Wow, you are fast! Why are you reading this blog, you should be reading or writing in the elite section
I am still a beginner and still learning. start running at age 46 ,run my 1st marathon (5:15 ) after one year of running.Running in Alaska is hard because you have to deal with the weather ,the coldest i have run -17F -27C .Now my PR 3:33 marathon 1:33 1/2 marathon 5K 20:20 and 5MILER 33:50,10K 42:57. I hope i can inspire you, remember you guys are still young and smarter just take your time and the speed will come.
[...] Keys to a Sub-4 Hour Marathon [...]
[...] So in conclusion, I’m going to train well for this, though I’m not yet sure what time to aim for. For the rest of the runners who would like to attempt a sub-4hour marathon, you can read my article here: Keys to a Sub-4 Hour Marathon. [...]
remember you guys are still young and smarter just take your time and the speed will come………… i like this one…..sir alaska runner.
Great post! As a newbie, I am like a monster of running blogs. I find your post very inspiring… I’ll take this as an inspiration while i build my foundation and guide as I progress to attack my goal… “Sweep full-Mary at 42″. I am 39 and got 2 1/2 years to reach my goal.
I am not on the rush since my other goal is to run with “Zero Lost Time Injury”. C;”) I may sound to cautious to reach my goals; but if find running too addictive to risk injury. C;”)
Hats off to your sub-4 PR… more power and more miles to run!!!
Great post! As a newbie, I am like a monster of running blogs. I find your post very inspiring… I’ll take this as an inspiration while i build my foundation and guide as I progress to attack my goal… “Sweep full-Mary at 42″. I am 39 and got 2 1/2 years to reach my goal.
I am not on the rush since my other goal is to run with “Zero Lost Time Injury”. C;”) I may sound to cautious to reach my goals; but if find running too addictive to risk injury. C;”)
Hats off to your sub-4 PR… more power !!!
Hi Stentor, thank you for your kind comments. I know someone who started running at 40 as a jogger, then he trained consistently for years, continuously improved and ran a sub3hour marathon (2:56) at the age of 47 in Belgium. Don’t worry, you may have 5 to 10years of continuous improvement in you. For now, you may break sub4hours within 2+1/2 years, but you will probably continue even improving for the next 3 to 7years after that. So keep on running!
By the way, what is the address of your blog?