We’re all sick of articles that purport to provide “10 Easy Steps to Run Your Fastest Marathon.” Training for a marathon takes thousands of steps, and many of them aren’t easy at all. But what if you could become a better marathon runner by changing just one run a month? Does that sound too easy to be true?

It’s a simple idea. If you want to become a better marathoner, every month take one of your long runs and make it longer. Extend that run until it’s well over marathon distance, 30 miles or more. You don’t have to do it fast. Run comfortably; take walking breaks if you want. Stop at a store to get more sports drink or on a bridge to admire the view. Don’t worry about time; just extend that one long run.

A while back, I had an exchange on Facebook with Hal Higdon (which I’m sure he has totally forgotten). Hal has helped thousands of runners train for marathons using plans that top out with 20-mile long runs. When I recommended longer runs in the comments, he replied to ask why I wanted runners to suffer more while they’re training.

I had no idea that we were running marathons in order to avoid suffering! The idea isn’t to suffer less, it’s to manage your training to maximize the benefit of all your hard work. That way, your suffering doesn’t go to waste on race day.

The core of every marathon training plan is the long run. Most training plans for subelite runners have them building up their long run regularly. A typical plan has runners adding a couple of miles to their long run every two weeks, peaking at 20 miles or so just before the marathon. As the race approaches, there is also a sharpening phase with fast hill repeats to build leg strength and then some focused speed work. There are two or three weeks of tapering, and then it’s race day.

Suppose you’ve run a few marathons using a typical plan. You learned a lot from the experience, and you made some changes based on what you learned, but you think you can do even better. Your PR dropped rapidly in your first few races, but maybe you’ve plateaued. Maybe you don’t do as well in a marathon

compared with your friends as you do in shorter races, maybe you have a time goal that you haven’t met, or maybe you always hit the Wall and struggle to the finish. The usual next step is to bump up the total mileage. Unfortunately, most runners have families, jobs, or other priorities that get in the way of adding an extra 20 miles to their weekly total. Or they find that they fall into a never-ending cycle of injuries when they build their mileage past a certain point.

On the other hand, adding one extra-long run to your training cycle takes only a couple of hours on one day a month. That is usually a lot easier to fit into a busy life. And since you’re running at a comfortable pace and you have plenty of time between your longest runs, your chance of injury is much lower.

The weakest point in a typical marathon training plan is that the long runs aren’t long enough. You don’t train for a successful 5K by running two miles— you run farther. The same principle applies to a marathon. To run your best race, you have to include runs longer than 26 miles in your training plan. Anyone who hasn’t run more than 20 miles while training is certain to have problems trying to run both faster and farther in a race.

If you want to do better in your next marathon, work your way up to where you’re doing a 20-mile long run every other week. Then start extending every other long run. Keep one long run in each set of two at 20 miles but stretch out the other one regularly, until you’re running 26, 28, 30 . . . 35 miles (or more!).

Plan to run the extralong run slower than usual so it doesn’t take too much out of you. Don’t worry about the time. Your only goal is to put in the distance. If you want, you can take regular walking breaks. Take them from the start of your run; don’t wait until you’re tired. Set your watch to measure out intervals where you run five minutes and then walk for a minute, or if you prefer, run for 20 minutes and then walk for five. Fiddle with the proportions to match your ability.

Slowing down also lets you increase the length of your extralong run a little faster. The usual rule of thumb is to add no more than two or three miles to each

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long run. When you slow down or incorporate walking breaks in your extralong run, you can safely jump from 20 to 26 or 28 miles and cut a couple of months from the time it takes to get your extralong run up past 30 miles.

When you’re not on an extralong run, keep to your usual routine, with hills, track workouts, easy days, and rest periods in whatever proportions work for you. The extralong runs will help you improve without the need to take a lot of extra time away from the rest of your life.

One thing you’ll definitely notice once you start the extralong runs is that your other long runs, the ones that are “only” 20 miles, will get easier. You can take the opportunity to adjust those runs and incorporate more hills, run a little faster, or just relax and enjoy the time on your feet.

Once you’ve reached 35 miles (or 32, 40, or whatever you decide to make your goal), cut all of your long runs back so they are all no more than 20 miles long and start sharpening for your race with your month of hill workouts and your month of marathon-specific speed training or whatever it is your normal plan calls for. You’ll retain the benefits from your extralong runs, but you’ll reduce your chance of overtraining by keeping your hardest long workouts separate from your most intense speed workouts.

Then it’s taper time. Enjoy the break, and then go out and have a great race. A side benefit of this plan is that it puts you on your way to running an ultramarathon if that interests you. In fact, entering a 50K is a great way to add enjoyment to your extralong run. Just remember to keep your main goal in mind and run the 50K as a comfortable training run, not a race (or make sure to take a little time to recover if you slip).

This plan isn’t for everyone. If you’re a new marathoner, additional experience will help you improve whatever plan you follow. If you’re experienced but you just enjoy running marathons and you’re not worried about your time, keep right on doing what you’re doing and stay happy. If you’re an elite runner, I suspect extralong runs would help you, but if you’re already capable of putting in 100 miles per week regularly or running a 2:40 marathon, I’ll concede that you’re different from me, and you might be better served by a different plan.

Also, this plan does require a commitment over a longer period of time than a typical “3/6 months to your next marathon” plan. When you’re picking your goal race, you’ll have to allow extra time for you to build up your extralong runs. But if you don’t change what you’re doing, how can you expect different results?

So if you want to run a faster marathon, and quitting your job and joining a hermitage isn’t an option, try adding one extralong run a month to your marathon training program. It’s only a couple of extra hours out of your busy life on one day every four weeks, and I’m certain the results will please you. Just be sure to wave as you pass me at mile 23!