If you are searching for a 3hr marathon training plan you have come to the right place. I'll be launching a new course for runners seeking to break the sub 3 hour marathon in early 2019.
As a 2:19 marathoner this is what I do. My goal is to help as many runners around the world as I can achieve this difficult goal. There are only a few people that run under 3 hour for the marathon each year.
It is an average of 6:50 per mile or 4:15 per kilometer. The trick is being able to sustain that pace for 26.2 miles or 42.18 kilometers without any breaks between miles.
Runners can run a few miles at that pace. It takes skill and hard work in order to be able to do it that many times without any rest.
How Should A Sub 3hr Marathon Training Plan Be Built?
The soon to be released Sub 3 Hour Marathon Pro course is going to be more than just a cookie-cutter training plan. It is going to be a thorough course covering race pace strategies. In addition, you'll be learning the exact training methodologies that helped me drop from 2:43:36 to 2:19:35 for the distance.
A sub 3 hr marathon training plan has to get the runner comfortable with being uncomfortable. You have to train at paces that far exceed 3 hr marathon pace. If you are routinely running at 5:50 to 6:15 mile pace you are going to get very well-accustomed to 3 hour marathon pace.
The reason why so many runners fail to break the 3 hour marathon barrier is not for a lack of trying. Do you need some level of talent to break this barrier? Yes, a small amount but you had best not rest on talent alone. Talented runners who don't work will get beat by those with little to no talent that do.
The Sub 3 Hour Marathon Training Plan Should…
Force the runner into running at 5K race pace and gradually increase the length of their long run.
Increase the pace of the long run
Have an equal focus on recovery. Runners miss this critical step. They have all the determination the world yet run too fast on easy days.
Be sporadic in pace on difficult workouts. The trick is practicing at various paces so you adjust to any surges your competition throws at you in the race.
Have a strategic, progressive format gradually moving the athlete to more challenging workouts.
A 3hr marathon training plan has to focus on quality over quantity. Long, slow mileage will make for a great long, slow runner. A sub 3 hour marathon is an elite time that very few people achieve.
The faster the time the more effort and focused training is required. It doesn't get any easier the faster pace you seek on holding for 26.2 miles. Runners focused on a 3hr marathon training plan are committed, not merely interested.
This type of time takes a different category of runner. You almost need to be fanatical in order to break a 3 hour marathon because it is such a competitive time. It takes complete focus and consistency to create a sub 3 marathon.
70 Year Old Breaks The 3 Hr Marathon?
You read that right. Gene Sykes, a retired computer programmer did that on 14 December 2018 at the Jacksonville Marathon. He broke Canadian Ed Whitlock's previous 70-74 year old age-group world-record time of 2:54:48 running 2:54:23.
He averaged 6:38 per mile or 4:08 per kilometer for the entire distance. That is a stellar marathon time for a 25-year old let alone a 70 year old. It is an outstanding marathon time regardless of age but for 70?
Gene also ran a 1:25:07 half-marathon a few weeks prior at the Philadelphia Half-Marathon. Gene obviously had done his homework leading into the Jacksonville Marathon.
This just goes to prove that with enough determination, a proper 3 hr marathon training plan can do wonders for your running performance. You have to stay on your game. A time of 2:59:59 or faster is not for the faint of heart. There is a massive difference between interest versus commitment.
The fact that you have read this far already tells me you are highly committed. Are you ready to break the 3 hour barrier?
Click the blue button below to sign up today.
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