Coopah How To: Run a Sub 4 Marathon
In this series of ‘HOW TO’ blogs, we are going to share our tips for the most common questions we get asked by our community of runners, and this blog is all about How To Run a Sub 4 Marathon.
Running a Sub 4 Marathon is a huge milestone in the running world, and it is one that thousands of runners aim to do at the London Marathon each year. But just because lots of people attempt it, doesn’t mean it is easy!
We are going to share our Top 5 Tips on how to make your next marathon even more of a success, and get you your Sub 4 Goal!
Keep it easy
A big mistake that a lot of runners make is that they don’t include enough ‘easy paced’ runs in their training. It can be easy to assume that if you want to get faster, you need to run fast all the time, but that couldn’t be further from the truth! Easy runs are a great way to allow your body to recover from the harder stuff, to build up your aerobic endurance and also mentally it gives you a break from worrying about pace, speed or hitting certain targets.
So if you found yourself always feeling fatigued during your last training block, or were running all of your runs at the same pace, try slowing down for 1 or 2 of your runs per week - turn your pace off your watch, stick on your favourite podcast and just enjoy the run without worrying about your stats.
Practice your pacing
If you are aiming for a certain time during a marathon, one of the most important aspects of your training is to make sure you add in some marathon pace into your long runs. This will allow you to get used to how this pace feels, and by including it in your longer runs it allows you to practice the pace on tired legs.
For a 3.59 marathon, you will need to aim to run a consistent pace of 9.07 minute miles/ 5.40 minute km over the entire distance.
Enter a race
Entering a race either in the build up to your marathon, or just before your training block starts, is a great way to set yourself a benchmark to see what you are capable of and what you perhaps need to work on in the weeks leading up to your race.
Ideally, if you are aiming for a Sub 4 Marathon, you should be able to comfortably run a Sub 1.50 Half Marathon, which is a pace of 8.24 minute miles/5.13 minute km
Nail your nutrition
Getting your nutrition and fuelling right can make all the difference to race day, and by making some small tweaks to what you do already could be the difference between getting a PB or not!
Ideally you want to practice your fuelling during your training, especially during those long runs, so that you can find out exactly what works for you and you have it set in stone for race day.
As a general guide, we would suggest taking an energy gel approximately every 45 minutes (on runs longer than 90 minutes) to ensure that you keep your energy stores topped up and can avoid ‘hitting the wall’.
Switch up your speed work
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” -Albert Einstein.
And whilst we don’t think Einstein was talking about marathon running, he definitely has a point!
If you haven’t quite got the result you wanted, it might be time to add some changes to your training. Speed work is an important part of getting faster, and should be a key part of your marathon training.
Speed work doesn’t just mean heading to your local track and bashing out 400m reps - it can be hill training, tempo runs, fartlek runs & traditional interval training. But don’t panic, you don’t need to do it all every week but by including a mix of different types of speed training across your training block you will be not only building your aerobic endurance, but your speed & strength too - which could be the missing piece in getting your Sub 4!
Download Coopah Today!
Here at Coopah we want to take all the stress out of marathon training and make life easier for you, which is why we have created our app.
A fully personalised training plan
Unlimited coaching support 24/7
Streaks and incentives to keep you motivated
Access to our community of other runners, physios and mental health experts to give you support and advice up to the day.
Track your progress and your weekly/monthly mileage