Once a runner has completed a first marathon safely, thoughts turn to running another marathon with a time goal. There are many articles on training for a sub-4:00 marathon; in fact, Dave Kuehls has written an entire book on the subject, 4 Months to a 4 Hour Marathon.

A more ambitious goal is to run 26.2 miles at a perfect eight-minute-per-mile pace, which effectively sneaks under the formidable 3:30 barrier. (In marathon jargon, to “run a 3:30” means to run a sub-3:30, just as a “four-minute mile” means to run a mile in under four minutes.)

For a runner to confidently break 3:30, especially a runner who has come to the sport later in life, it takes a combination of strength, endurance, speed, upper-body strength, rest, and focus. It also takes a dedication to mixing and matching workouts to maximize the divergent specificities of training.

The program that follows will be more successful if the runner comes to it with at least three years of endurance running on the joints, ligaments, and muscles; an ability to comfortably maintain a base of 30 miles per week; and a regular involvement in racing at shorter distances.

This training schedule assumes the runner’s years of experience at shorter distances will allow for greater volume and intensity of work, especially with track workouts, hill workouts, and long runs.

Because most amateur long-distance runners work full-time jobs and have a life outside running, the program does not require more than 55 miles per week of training at its maximum; the program stresses quality over quantity but assumes the runner has been consistently involved in a quantity of miles per week on an ongoing basis.

The training schedule is launched with a base week that is repeated four weeks in a row. If the four weeks of base week training is too strenuous, the runner should scale back expectations and not embark on the 3:30 program until able to comfortably handle the base week load.

It should be noted that this program is not based on WHR (working heart rate), as the “first marathon” program we published in our previous issue was. Since there is a distinct time goal involved in this program, certain performance levels must be met in the key workouts if all is to come together on race day.

When this program was originally put together a dozen years ago, it recommended that the runner stop racing. It assumed that the runner came to the program with a strong racing background and that the key/difficult workouts would serve to replace racing during the 16 weeks of training. In the dozen years since then, after discussing the program with hundreds of runners, it has been decided that the ability to continue racing throughout the program, even with less intensity, would benefit the runner by maintaining an “edge.” Hence, in this updated program, racing is allowed—in fact, encouraged—as part of the Saturday long run but at a less-than-maximum effort. (See “S-Mixed-LR” discussion following.)

Although it was possible to switch Saturday long runs with Sunday rest days in the “first marathon” program, switching is not encouraged in this program because a day of rest is needed on Sunday in order to be prepared for the ambitious fartlek or hills program on Monday. If it is impossible to run the long workout on Saturday and it must be done on Sunday, slide the entire week following back by a day—that is, a rest day on Monday, the fartlek/hill workout on Tuesday, a gentle run on Wednesday, the track workout on Thursday, and so on. The two rest days integrated within the week are essential to proper recovery so that the runner goes into the next hard workout properly rested.

You will note that the 16-week training program for a 3:30 that follows has a 17th week, this being the week following the marathon itself, during which the fit endurance-trained body is brought down gently toward recovery.

What follows is the explanation of the abbreviations used within the program.

ABBREVIATIONS AND WHAT THEY MEAN

NE = Nonrunning exercise. Activities such as bicycling, cross-country skiing, swimming, walking, or easy hiking—all done at a casual, recreational level.

R = Rest. This one may be difficult for the long-running athlete and may take some practice, but rest refers, literally, to doing nothing of a physical nature. Who says a marathon-training program is all work? Restorative rest is an integral part of successful training.

E/R = Either exercise or rest. Sundays call for either a bit of exercise or rest. If you are particularly tired after the Saturday long workout, opt for rest, considering the volume of work you face on Monday. If you are feeling particularly spry on Sunday, some casual exercise is okay.

F = Fartlek. This is a Swedish training method (translated as “speed play”) in which the workout is broken up by throwing in speed surges at regular intervals. An easy way to do this is to run on a road with telephone poles. Throw in a surge between poles, then drop back to your regular pace between the next two poles; continue alternating throughout the workout. In fartlek workouts, as in hill workouts, the number of miles indicated includes a one-mile warm-up jog and a one-mile cool-down jog at the end. For example, if the schedule says week 10 calls for “F: 6 miles,” this means jog one mile, do fartlek for four miles, then jog one mile as a cool-down.

H = Hills. Like the fartlek workouts, the distance listed includes a one-mile warm-up jog and a one-mile cool-down jog. Hill workouts should be run on moderate hills, that is, never more than a 4–5 percent grade. The run up should be done with attention to style/form and strong use of the legs but not at an exhausting or sprinting pace; the run back down the hill should be done in a relaxed manner but with attention to striding out comfortably.

F/H = Fartlek with hills. While most fartlek workouts are done on level or rolling terrain, this workout is done incorporating hills up which you can accelerate, recovering on the descent on the other side.

T = Track. Track miles are calculated differently from fartlek or hill miles. Jog one mile as a warm-up before doing the mile repeats; jog one lap (400 meters) between each repeat, and do a minimum of a half-mile cool-down jog at the end. The mile you jog to warm up your legs does not count in the total listed for the workout; neither do the one-lap jogs between timed miles and the half-mile cool-down following the workout.

S-Mixed-LR = Saturday mixed long run. For those who like to race and those who feel that racing adds spice to training and that it leads to a runner maintaining an “edge,” an option is offered to do a combination long run workout on Saturday. This would consist of a race immediately followed by a run to complete the called-for long-run mileage for that day. For instance, if the schedule calls for a 20-mile long run on Saturday and there is a local 10-mile race, you can go to the race, run the 10-miler at 30 seconds per mile slower than you are capable (i.e., if you are capable of a 70-minute 10-mile race, run it at 75 minutes), then immediately (before you begin to cool down) roll into a run, completing the remaining 10 miles at 60 to 90 seconds per mile below your race capability.

16H-mile run = 16-mile hilly run. For the Saturday long run two weekends before your marathon, an H (hill) is indicated behind the scheduled 16 miles. This key workout should be done on a relatively hilly course (the hills should be rolling hills, not staggering mountains). This workout should not be an S-Mixed-LR but should be a sustained effort at an eight-minute-per-mile pace average.

BASE WEEK

You should be able to do this weekly workout comfortably for four weeks in a row before embarking on the 16-week 3:30 program:

• S    E/R
• M    F/H: 7 miles
• T    3-mile gentle run
• W    T: 4 repeat miles at 8:00
• T    3-mile gentle run
• F    R
• S    14-mile run at 8:30

16 WEEKS AND COUNTING TO A 3:30

16 Weeks Out

• S    E/R
• M    H: 7 miles
• T    3-mile gentle run
• W    T: 4 repeat miles at 8:00
• T    3-mile gentle run
• F    R
• S    15-mile run at 8:15

15 Weeks Out

• S    E/R
• M    H: 5 miles
• T    3-mile gentle run
• W    T: 4 repeat miles at 7:50
• T    3-mile gentle run
• F    R
• S    12-mile run at 8:00

14 Weeks Out

• S    E/R
• M    H: 7 miles
• T    3-mile gentle run
• W    T: 5 repeat miles at 7:50
• T    4-mile gentle run
• F    R
• S    16-mile run at 8:30

13 Weeks Out

• S    E/R
• M    H: 5 miles
• T    3-mile gentle run
• W    T: 4 repeat miles at 7:40
• T    3-mile gentle run
• F    R
• S    13-mile run at 8:00

12 Weeks Out

S	E/R
M	H: 7 miles
T	3-mile gentle run
W	T: 5 repeat miles at 7:40
T	3-mile gentle run
F	R
S	17-mile run at 7:50

11 Weeks Out

S	E/R
M	H: 5 miles
T	4-mile gentle run
W	T: 4 repeat miles at 7:30
T	7- to 10-mile gentle run
F	R
S	13-mile run at 8:00

10 Weeks Out

S	E/R
M	H: 7 miles
T	5-mile gentle run
W	T: 5 repeat miles at 7:30
T	7- to 10-mile gentle run
F	R
S	18-mile run at 7:45

9 Weeks Out

S	E/R
M	H: 5 miles
T	7- to 10-mile gentle run
W	T: 4 repeat miles at 7:20
T	4-mile gentle run
F	R
S	13-mile run at 8:00

8 Weeks Out

S	E/R
M	H: 10 miles
T	4-mile gentle run
W	T: 5 repeat miles at 7:20
T	5-mile gentle run
F	R
S	19-mile run at 7:30

7 Weeks Out

S	E/R
M	F: 6 miles
T	3-mile gentle run
W	T: 4 repeat miles at 7:15
T	4-mile gentle run
F	R
S	14-mile run at 8:00

6 Weeks Out

S	E/R
M	H: 7 miles
T	3-mile gentle run
W	T: 5 repeat miles at 7:15
T	4-mile gentle run
F	R
S	20-mile run at 7:40

5 Weeks Out

S	E/R
M	F: 7 miles
T	4-mile gentle run
W	T: 4 repeat miles at 7:10
T	5-mile gentle run
F	R
S	13-mile run at 8:00

4 Weeks Out

S	E/R
M	H: 9 miles
T	3-mile gentle run
W	T: 5 repeat miles at 7:10
T	4-mile gentle run
F	R
S	21-mile run at 7:45-8:00

3 Weeks Out

S	E/R
M	F: 10 miles
T	3-mile gentle run
W	T: 4 repeat miles at 7:00
T	4-mile gentle run
F	R
S	16H-mile run at 8:00

2 Weeks Out

S	E/R
M	3-mile gentle run
T	7- to 10-mile gentle run
W	T: 2 repeat miles at 7:10
T	E
F	R
S	12-mile run at 7:50

1 Week Out

S	E/R
M	3-mile gentle run
T	R
W	3-mile gentle run
T	5-mile gentle run
F	R
S	R or 2-mile jog

Marathon Week

S	Marathon at 8:00 pace (average per mile)
M	3-mile gentle walk
T	R or 2-mile gentle jog or walk
W	E
T	3-mile gentle jog or brisk walk
F	R
S	5-mile gentle run

In Conclusion

The 3:30 marathon is a worthy goal for runners who have been practicing their art for several years. As with anything in long-distance running, it isn’t easy—it takes hard work, dedication, and focus. Just like anything else in life that is worthwhile.

The beauty of marathon running is that unlike some jobs and/or professions, there are very real, discernable results to be had for your hard work. There is nothing vague or iffy about the elapsed time of your marathon effort in the official results. It is there in very real, very finite numbers.

You are immediately rewarded for all your hard work and dedication, but long-term, your reward of having accomplished your 3:30 goal spills over in other aspects of your life.

(Next issue we’ll deal with what it takes to break the difficult—but very satisfying—3:00 barrier. It’s the next logical step after your rousing 3:30!)