How a marathon should train

Tempo runs

Extends your aerobic base so you repeat sprints late in games.

Single-leg RDL

Loads the hamstring at length on one leg, and trains the balance a two-legged hinge never asks for.

Standing calf raise

Stiffer, stronger calves protect the Achilles and add spring.

Barbell hip thrust

Directly builds the glute power behind sprinting and jumping.

Setup: A watch or metronome and an easy route.

1. 1. Run 5 minutes at your normal cadence and count your steps.
2. 2. Run 5 minutes at roughly 5% more, taking shorter steps at the same pace.
3. 3. Alternate for the session.

Volume: 6 × 5 minutes, alternating

Coaching point: Shorter steps, not faster running. Overstriding is braking with every step.

Make it harder: Hold the higher cadence for longer blocks until it stops feeling deliberate.

Setup: 80–100m of flat ground, after an easy run.

1. 1. Build smoothly to about 95% over the first 40m.
2. 2. Hold relaxed at that speed for 20m — face loose, shoulders down.
3. 3. Decelerate gradually over the last stretch. Walk back.

Volume: 6 × 80m, walk-back recovery

Coaching point: Fast and relaxed, not fast and straining. Clenching your jaw slows you down.

Make it harder: Add a stride or two, or put them on a slight downhill for overspeed.

Setup: A track or a measured route, and a watch.

1. 1. Run 400m at marathon pace, then 400m at half pace, then 400m at 10k pace.
2. 2. Check the watch only at the end of each rep, not during it.
3. 3. Note how far off you were — that gap is the skill.

Volume: 3 rounds, 90 seconds between

Coaching point: Pacing is a feel you build, not a number you read. Guess first, verify after.

Make it harder: Cover the watch entirely and estimate each split before looking.

Setup: A gentle 4–6% descent, 100m long.

1. 1. Lean very slightly forward from the ankles, not the waist.
2. 2. Increase your cadence rather than reaching with your stride.
3. 3. Land underneath yourself, quiet feet.

Volume: 6 × 100m, jog back

Coaching point: Reaching downhill brakes on every step. That's what wrecks quads late in a race.

Make it harder: Slightly steeper, or hold the control for longer descents.

Setup: An easy run.

1. 1. Settle into breathing in for three steps and out for two.
2. 2. Hold that pattern for five minutes, then switch to two-in two-out at a harder effort.
3. 3. Return to easy and re-establish the three-two.

Volume: 3 × 5 minutes

Coaching point: An odd-numbered pattern alternates which foot you exhale on, so one side doesn't take every impact at full exhale.

Make it harder: Hold the rhythm at progressively harder efforts.

Setup: Your long run, and exactly the gels or drink you plan to race with.

1. 1. Take on fuel at the same intervals you will use on race day — set a timer, do not go by feel.
2. 2. Practise opening and taking it at pace, without stopping.
3. 3. Note what your stomach does in the last 30 minutes.

Volume: Every long run over 90 minutes

Coaching point: The gut is trainable and race day is the wrong day to find out yours is not. Nothing new on the day, ever.

Make it harder: Move to race-pace efforts within the long run while still fuelling to schedule.