Running your best in a marathon requires physical and mental fortitude, some knowledge, and some luck. Preparation is the key to any good performance, in and out of sport, and the marathon is a great example of an event that lives or dies by preparation. You can run 5Ks over and over again until you get one right, but the marathon is a one-shot deal, at least in the short run.

When you define one race as a goal, your priorities and your choices along the way need to reflect that decision. A 5K race as preparation for a marathon is different from one that is the goal race. You would sprint to the death in a goal 5K. But if that 5K is preparation for a marathon, let that runner beat you while you smile inwardly, knowing that if you had to put the hammer down, you could have beaten him. You will have to make many such choices along the way; just remember that it is the marathon you care about.

Why should you take a year to prepare for a marathon? We hear much about shorter programs, but they leave much to be desired. They are good for first marathons and for “destination marathons” where you go to run for fun or on vacation. When you put aside a year to prepare, you can accomplish many more things that will get you that best marathon, first among them a lack of injuries. If you realize that you can take your time increasing your mileage and intensity and not rush through it in 12 weeks, you are much less likely to be injured.

A year also gives you time to learn to race and for races to give you feedback on pacing. Without a good understanding of pace, you will find the marathon difficult to master. You can gradually increase your racing distance over a year’s time much more comfortably than over three to four months.

Picking a Marathon

The first thing to do is pick your race. To run your best, pick a marathon that is relatively flat, with temperature of 50 degrees or lower at the start, low humidity, and a low chance of rain. Of course, the weather is not within your control, but you can choose a marathon with a climate more suited for favorable weather.

You want to run with other competitors but not so many that you can’t run comfortably for many miles. Spectators are good, as is nice scenery, but these should be secondary factors. Do not choose a marathon because your friends can watch or the results will be in your hometown newspaper. Pick one that you can run fast, that you can get to comfortably, without crossing too many time zones, and where you don’t have to stand for hours beforehand. In other words, control as many factors as you can.

The Basic Plan

The plan that I recommend for a marathon is to gradually increase mileage from your current level, peaking about eight weeks before the marathon. After holding the peak for four weeks, you will taper for the last month.

The crux of this plan is a forced taper every three to four weeks in preparation for intermediate races. This will allow you to race during training with fresh legs and to rest your legs periodically, a critical component of safe running.

Unless you are a gifted neutral runner with a perfect gait, you will be more prone to injuries as you increase your mileage. With this program, you increase your mileage over two to three weeks, then drop it about 50 percent in the next week. If you are starting at 30 miles per week, week one might be 30 miles, week two 35 miles, week three 40 miles, and then week four drops to 20 miles. Schedule a race at the end of that fourth week. Then run 40 miles the following week, 45 the next, and 22 the third week with a race at the end. The race is less important than the drop in mileage. You don’t need to finish every low-mileage week with a race.

You must take out a calendar and prepare a schedule for the year. Pick out the races you want to do and create the increase in your training and the taper weeks you will need around those races. You can be flexible, possibly increasing one week, decreasing the next. But don’t go more than four weeks without dropping your mileage. You will not lose fitness by dropping the mileage; instead, you’ll gain from the rest. This is an especially important concept in the last four weeks before the marathon.

Racing

Races are important for several reasons. They will teach you to feel comfortable with the discomfort of racing. The more discomfort you can accept, the faster you can race. Racing allows you to gather information about your fitness level that you use to create your training plan. You will use your racing performances in a 10K and half-marathon in the months before the marathon to predict your marathon time and thus your initial marathon pace, which is one of the most critical components of a successful marathon.

As you create your schedule, ideally you would like to reach the level where you can do long runs of 20 miles with about three months to go. Do these long runs about every other week, but if you are comfortable with high mileage and have a long running history, it is safe to do these on all weekends that you do not race. You should do long runs at a comfortable, talking pace. I won’t give you exact numbers, but you shouldn’t feel like you are racing—but they shouldn’t be too easy, either.

As the year goes by, you should start doing your last two to three miles at a faster pace. Run those miles at a pace at least equal to that which you will run in your marathon—better still, at your 10K race pace, if possible. This will help train more of your muscle fibers that are less used during the long run, giving you more reserve in the last miles of a marathon. It is reasonable to take it easier early in a long run to make sure you have the reserve to make those last three miles fast.

Fast Running

You must do some fast running during your training, but I do not think that you need to step on a track to run a great marathon. Tempo and fartlek running are great ways to run fast without likelihood of injury. Racing and fast running at the end of a long run are the other types of fast running I suggest.

Tempo runs are done at about 10-mile race pace—about 15 seconds per mile slower than 10K race pace. They last about 20 to 25 minutes after a 1- or 2-mile warm-up. They should feel comfortably uncomfortable. If you are using a heart rate monitor and know your maximum heart rate, tempo run heart rates are about 87 percent to 90 percent of maximum. Heart rate maximums are best done by running and not by the standard equations. Wear your heart rate monitor during races and workouts. At times when you are still fresh but running hard, go all out for a half mile. Sprint for that distance at the end of a 5K. These types of hard efforts are more likely to find your real maximum heart rate.

Fartlek running is easy running punctuated by periods of fast running. The amount of fast running can vary in pace and distance. You might be running easily with friends when you start taking turns running hard, trying to keep up with the one in front. Run hard for one minute, back off for two minutes, run hard for two minutes, back off for five minutes, and so forth. This is an excellent way to get in some high-speed running without setting back your training with sore legs in the days that follow.

As the year goes by you can increase the amount of fast running you do as you increase your mileage. Do no more than one tempo run per week early on. As you become stronger, you will be able to do a tempo or fartlek run in the middle of the week and a race at the end of the week.

Summing Up the Schedule

In summary, the schedule is simple. You know how much you are running now, and you should have a decent idea of how many miles you would like to reach as a maximum. This is based on your maximum in the past (you can go a little higher), how much time you have for training (don’t leave out time for rest, eating, and sleep), and the goal of staying uninjured. Maximum mileage in the range of 70 to 90 miles a week would be ideal—more, if you can handle it.

Chart your mileage on the schedule by gradually increasing, as I mentioned before, getting to a maximum mileage eight weeks before the marathon and 20-mile runs with three months to go. Hold the maximum for four weeks before the taper period.

Work the schedule around the races you would like to do, making sure you find a half-marathon with about six weeks to go and a 10K two weeks before that. Take a few days of rest before a race in this time period. You can fill in the weeks with tempo, fartlek, and easy runs to get the correct mileage. Be sure to run less every three or four weeks. Don’t skimp on the rest; it is as important as the running.

Cross-Training and Reducing Injuries

One type of cross-training that I find very valuable and have been doing weekly for more than 10 years is running in the water. Deep-water running with a vest to keep you afloat can add mileage while giving the legs a rest from the pounding. If you have access to a pool deep enough (generally about five feet deep), you should try to make this a weekly routine. Start with just 10 to 15 minutes the first time and gradually increase. I measure my mileage by using my long-run pace: if I have run 65 minutes in the pool and do my long runs at 6:30 pace, then I call the pool run 10 miles. If I do tempo runs in the pool, I increase the amount proportionately.

Another way to add mileage with reduced risk of injury is to do doubles. Run two to three miles in the morning before work. Or run some at lunch, with more after work. Make sure you start any morning run very slowly to allow your legs time to warm up. I think that stretching before running is dangerous and increases injuries because you’re stretching a cold, stiff muscle, which is asking for trouble. Better to run slowly a while, then stretch once the muscles are warmed up if you must stretch early in the day. Better yet, do your full run and stretch afterwards.

You should lift weights during the first part of the year. Obviously, you don’t want to add bulk, but rather to strengthen the muscles to support your added mileage. The need for such training for distance runners is debatable. If you want to do weight training, don’t do heavy amounts and stop several weeks before the marathon.

NUTRITION

Your nutrition is very important. You need to eat to run. You might need to lose some weight, and you need to learn to eat for a marathon by practicing before and during your long runs.

Runners need carbohydrates to fuel their muscles, but carbohydrates are often misunderstood and much that is written about carbs is misleading. Broccoli, bananas, rice, potatoes, pasta, apples, M&Ms, and ice cream all have carbohydrates. Broccoli comes with lots of fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Bananas, creamy as they are, have no fat. Apples have lots of water, simple sugars, and fiber. Ice cream is full of fat and refined sugar but very little in the way of nutrition. You want your food to be nutritious, to contain fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and to have few unhealthful components such as saturated and trans fats. If you want to lose weight, you have to keep track of calories, which usually means eating smaller portions. By and large, the type of food doesn’t matter. The math is simple: if you cut back on calories while you increase mileage you will lose weight.

It takes a deficit of 3,500 calories to lose one pound. One gram of fat is 9 calories, while one gram of protein or carbohydrate is 4 calories. (The story gets much more complicated, but that formula works for these purposes.)

100 CALORIES PER MILE

Running generally burns about 100 calories per mile, more if you are heavier. If you want to lose a half pound per week, which is an amount that is safe, you need to lose 1,750 calories per week. You can do this in three ways. One way is to eat fewer calories; the second way is to run more miles; and the third way is a combination of the first two. The half pound per week you want to lose could be the equivalent of a piece of bread per day and 10 extra miles per week, or one fewer beer per day and seven extra miles.

Count the calories; understand what you are eating. Nothing is wrong with pasta except that restaurants often serve up a pound of it. That is 1,600 calories, not counting the sauce. (Alfredo with cream has lots of unhealthful calories.)

Bread is good, but each piece might be 100 calories and it is easy to eat five pieces at a sitting. The cheese in the pasta dish will go further to elevating your caloric count than the pasta will. The terrible things that some are saying about carbohydrates are a bad rap on a good form of nutrition. The secret is simply serving size. If you are cooking at home, measure your portions and cook only what you want to eat. Don’t even put extra on the table. It’s just too tempting to have that extra (unnecessary) serving.

The most basic dietary advice is to avoid the bad fats (saturated and trans), cut calories as necessary, and eat as much in the way of fresh fruits and vegetables as you can. You will get enough protein whether you are vegan or a meat eater; in fact, the latter will probably get too much. Use healthy oils like olive, canola, and flax, and eat fish for their healthy fats as well. For carbs, fruits and vegetables are low-density calories, while bread, pasta, and potatoes are higher density foods and carry more calories per pound.

The less fat your body is carrying, the faster you will run. You don’t see elite runners carrying a lot of extra body fat. The equations for determining fitness, such as VO₂ max, are defined by weight. Less weight, faster running. To the degree that you can lose weight without losing strength, it is beneficial to your racing. Pinching your abdominal fat is a great way to judge your progress. As you lose fat, the skin you pinch will become more difficult to grip. Athletes, while fitter than most, run the risk of damage from free radicals, perhaps more than the general public. Exercise creates these products in the body that are responsible for damage to cells. The more intense the exercise, the more free radicals produced. Thus, vitamins that counteract them (C, E, selenium, beta carotene) and foods that have antioxidants (vegetables) are more necessary for runners who are training hard for a marathon than for the general public.

DRINKING AND EATING FOR LONG RUNS

Before long runs, and especially before the marathon, your dietary carbohydrates should be increased along with your fluid intake. For every carbohydrate gram stored in your muscles as glycogen, three grams of water are stored. So carboloading amounts to water loading as well, and both go a long way toward making a long run more comfortable. By increasing your carbohydrate and water intake for a day or so before each long (18-plus miles) run, you are improving your chances for a successful run and practicing the routine for the marathon. Making mistakes with food before a training run is preferable to making mistakes before the marathon.

Drinking during a run is important because it improves the run and again allows you to practice for the marathon. If possible, try to train with the same electrolyte replacement drink that will be offered at your marathon. If you prefer gels, then practice with them. You need about eight ounces and 50 calories of carbohydrate every 20 minutes during the marathon. That formula is an excellent mixture for digestibility. Gatorade is mixed to this strength. It is optimal for absorption from the stomach. If you are using gels, the optimal digestible combination is half a gel packet with seven to eight ounces of water. Taking a full gel is doubling the strength of the carbohydrate and increases the likelihood of digestion problems. Never take gel without water.

And taking gel and electrolyte replacement drinks together is way too much carbohydrate. Water alone during a marathon will likely introduce you to The Wall. We use glycogen that is stored in our muscles during the marathon, and when we run out we switch to predominantly fat for fuel, which is much less efficient. Thus, we encounter The Wall and are slowed down. Training at long distances improves our glycogen storage ability and carbohydrate loading maximizes that storage. But we still need to ingest more carbs during the race itself; if we don’t, we’re likely to run into trouble down the road.

THE LAST FOUR WEEKS

Perhaps the most important part of training for the marathon is the mental strength it takes to do the last four weeks and the first few miles of the race properly. These are the times when you will do things that are against your will and your intention. Running less in the last month is essential, and running the appropriate pace in the first miles of the race will determine your success.

Biopsies of muscle fiber after 20-mile runs reveal a fair amount of fiber damage. This kind of damage takes about four weeks to heal. If you expect to have peak use of your muscles for your marathon, doing your last long run four weeks before the race seems to make sense.

If you have followed the program outlined, you are very well trained and doing a long run closer to the race is unnecessary. It can only hurt; it certainly can’t help.

If you are poorly trained and in need of more long runs, then you are more likely to get hurt by another long run since your muscles and surrounding tissue are not in shape to resist damage that a well-trained person can. So if you need it, you shouldn’t do it. If you don’t need it, you probably can get away with it. Bottom line: do your last long run four weeks before the race.

As you reduce your mileage in the last four weeks to about 25 percent of maximum in the final week, you will be spending more time running at a quick pace. A good pace to choose is your marathon pace. It will get your brain ready to run at that pace. It would be good at this time to go to a track or a measured loop on which you’ve done your tempo runs and make sure you are running at the correct pace. In the last two weeks, many of your miles should be done at this pace, with a warm-up and cool-down taken very slowly.

You will not reduce your fitness level during this period. Countless studies have shown that reducing training volume while keeping intensity high improves running times at the end of a taper. Continue to do one tempo run per week until about 10 days before the race. One concern might be reducing your calorie consumption to avoid gaining weight as you cut back your mileage.

In the last three days you must increase your carbohydrate and fluid intake. You will gain some weight, perhaps three or four pounds. This is the glycogen/water complex mentioned earlier that is vital to a successful marathon. The fuel tank must be full and the fuel must be burned wisely during the race.

Using the fuel wisely so that it lasts the entire length of the marathon means running at the correct pace. If you start a marathon at a pace too fast for your level of fitness, you will use more muscle- and liver-stored glycogen in the first few miles. This will lead to a lack of glycogen in the latter stages of the race.

I’ve heard many times from runners after a marathon that they had minutes in the bank after 5 miles, but by 15 miles they were in deficit. You don’t bank minutes in a marathon. If you are ahead of pace, you are more likely to do poorly than well. The best marathons are evenly paced marathons.

PREDICTING YOUR MARATHON TIME

It’s necessary to predict your time and choose the appropriate pace to start the marathon. It will seem painfully slow to you, especially after resting in the days and weeks before the race. But it works, and you have to buy into and believe it. Many runners haven’t, and they have paid the very painful price on race day.

You can make an educated guess about your race time in several ways. If you have run a half-marathon or 10K in recent weeks, you can double your half-marathon time and add 10 percent of your half-marathon time, or you can multiply your 10K time by 4.66 for a reasonable guess. For instance, if you ran a 1:30 half-marathon, or 90 minutes, doubling that number makes it 180 and adding 10 percent of your half-marathon time is 9 minutes, which predicts a 3:09 marathon. If you have run a 40-minute 10K, then 40 times 4.66 is 186.4, or a 3:06:24 marathon.

Here are some other variables to consider. Let’s say you ran a hilly 20-miler and plan to run a flat marathon. It might be fair to consider the pace of the 20-miler similar to what you can expect in the marathon. If the half-marathon you ran was flat but much hotter than expected marathon conditions, you can reduce (improve) your marathon prediction by a few minutes.

The pace that you come up with is the pace at which to run the first couple of miles in the marathon. If you err, do it on the side of going too slow. It might seem counterintuitive, but slower at first means faster in the end. Going out too fast is not putting time in the bank, it’s putting nails in your coffin. If you expect to run a 3:30 marathon, that is an 8:01 pace. Do lots of miles in the last few weeks at that pace so that you know it as second nature. When you are rested, it gets very hard to go at the correct pace, and going out too fast is one of the worst things you can do in a marathon.

THE RACE

The marathon itself can be segmented based on your psychology, the course profile, and so forth. The first couple of miles, as I keep emphasizing, must be done at the proper pace. Do not run with a friend who is not going at the same speed because one of you will suffer. After the first couple of miles, your body will tell you how to run. By then the system is working comfortably and you are not likely to run too fast. Many people make the mistake of wanting to beat friends or other competitors in the race. You must run your own race, and if you win, great. Unless you are in the lead pack, run for your time only.

Remember to drink every 20 minutes or so. If you can’t get the drink fully down while running, walk through the water stop. Proper hydration will easily make up for the time lost walking. You will catch back up with the runners you were with. Get your drink down. Once you get past the half-marathon, you must concentrate on pace again. Many people wait for the 20-mile mark to such a degree that they lose concentration during miles 16 to 20. Stay on pace, and keep your mind on the miles you are on. You can tell yourself that once you get to 20 you will start the real battle, but keep concentrating until you get there.

Your comfort in the last 10K will depend on all the factors mentioned before: your prerace glycogen levels and hydration status, your speed in the first few miles, the temperature and humidity, and your personal state that day. If all goes well you will slow minimally during that time. You will, most likely, wonder why you are doing this and when will it end, and you might think that you will never do it again. But whatever it takes mentally, get yourself to the finish as fast as possible. This was the goal for a year; you can waste yourself now. There is no need to save anything for next week or next month. If your body has been prepared properly, it can defeat the mind. But if it isn’t, there is nothing to do but plan for next year.

This article contains many tidbits. Taken together, they form a strong foundation for a great marathon performance. There is nothing radically new here, just common sense and science working hand in hand.