How to run a sub 4 hour marathon?

Are you looking to train for a sub 4 hour marathon? You may already have a race coming up which you are training to achieve sub 4 hours. We will take you through a few of the steps to get ready to achieve this and the different pacing strategies.

To arrive on Marathon Day ready to run sub 4 hours, you need to do the training. If you do not put in the hours, you may hit the dreaded wall. We want to make your sub 4 hour marathon a little more enjoyable than that, which is why you will need to spend 16 – 24 weeks training for this marathon. That would mean training 4 to 6 months before Marathon Day. Obviously your training will vary considerably depending on your current fitness, time to train and running experience. If you are new to marathon running then, Coopah recommends training for between 20 – 24 weeks.

How TO PACE ON RACE DAY?

There are lots of different ways to pace your marathon. The course route will be a big factor in helping you figure out where you need to save your energy, for example, if there is an incline in a kilometer you may not want to run too fast to conserve your energy. 

Your race pace to get sub 4 hour marathon, say 3hour 58minutes would be 5:38min/km // 9:04min/mile. However you may need to stop and drink your Lucozade, have an emergency toilet break or an unexpected incline. So just to be on the safe side and be sure to achieve your sub 4 hour marathon goal, let’s aim for 3hours 50 mins. That is an average pace of 5mins 27 seconds(8:46mins/mile). If you are still yet to begin your training, use 3hours 50 mins as your goal time, if not, do not just have this in mind when running your marathon. 

One of the most common mistakes runners make is to start off way too fast and then they have no choice but to slow down after a few kms. As some will say it is a marathon not a sprint, start off steady maybe even 10 – 15 seconds above your average race pace goal and then after 3km, start increasing your running speed to gradually reach your goal pace. You exert more energy if you were to suddenly ramp up to your marathon pace or you may be running too quick without realising.

On marathon day, this pace may feel slow, but holding back in the first half will enable you to maintain this pace in the second half, when your body and legs are tired. 

When you have settled at around 5:26 – 5:30mins/km (8:45- 8:49mins/mile), see if there is anyone near you running at a similar pace. Then as long as you keep up with them, you do not need to focus so much on your pace and you can focus more on the running. This makes a big difference! Best to keep an eye on your pace every few kms just to make sure you all have not slowed down / sped up drastically and keep to your race plan. 

Check in every 5km and see how you are feeling and if you are running at the appropriate pace to hit your goal (average 5:27 min/km // 8:46 min/mile).

Make sure to take on liquids and food every 5-7km. Your energy will run out otherwise. However, it is not recommended to take on any food for the first hour.

22km… more than half way down! Keep ticking those legs over. You will begin to appreciate starting off slow here. You will have put in the training and your legs are ready for this. Just keep on that pace so you are in a good place and not having to make up any ground. 

When you have 10km left (32kms in) and you are feeling confident about finishing. Do you want to run a little faster? If so, set your eyes on the person in front of you and keep working until you catch up with them and then focus on the next. 

If you feel like you may be slowing down a little, you can do the same strategy, set your eyes on the person in front and catch them up. This will take your mind off the pace a little put you will be pushing hard. 

If you are struggling, remember, all you need to do to finish in sub 4 hours is stay under 5:38min/km (9:04min/mile). And now with less than 10km to go you are nearly there! 

The last kilometre. How much have you got left? The crowd are pushing you on, this may make you run the fastest in your race and take time off your marathon or you know you are very likely to achieve your sub 4 hours goal and now you just want to stick with the pace and soak up the amazing atmosphere. 

Another idea for pacing which is very popular is to join the pacer at your marathon (if there is one) who is going to run the Marathon in your goal time! They will already now the route and will ensure they get you to that finish line at or just before your goal time.

4 STEPS TO FOLLOW TO SMASH A SUB 4 HOURS MARATHON

1. Create a training plan by SIGNing UP TO COOPAH

These training plans are created specifically to you, your event distance, your Marathon day and your target goal time.

2. HELP COOPAH SET UP YOUR PERSONALISED TRAINING PLAN

Make sure you insert the date of your marathon so we can factor in your taper weeks, to ensure you are ready when Marathon day arrives.

Set your target race time to 3 hours 50 mins, tell us your easy running pace and let us know which days you would like to run.

3. START YOUR TRAINING PLAN

Now you can start training! Remember to add your runs to the app once you complete them so Coopah can update your plan for you and adapt each session so it is just right for you. 

4. RACE YOUR MARATHON! 

Show up on race day proud of all the training you put in! Congratulations, the hardest part is done. Now time to prove to yourself you can run a marathon in under 4 hours!

Download Coopah today to start your marathon training! 

Best of luck with your marathon! 

For more information either email us on run@coopah.com or visit www.coopah.com