I often get asked what pace is a 3 hour marathon. If you are seeking to break the sub 3 hour marathon barrier you have come to the right website. I have run 2:19:35 for the marathon distance and understand what it takes to achieve this goal. My goal is to ensure you break this barrier by using better tactics and utilizing leverage. The hardest working athletes don't always get the results. That being said, the athlete who is working smarter and studying what the best athletes do will. Welcome to rundreamachieve. I created this website in 2011 to help get athletes to the next level in their training and racing.
What I want you do is to emulate the training I did so you can get similar or even better results than I achieve. You are more than welcome to visit our about page if you would like to know more about my background. So, what pace is a 3 hour marathon? You need to sustain 6:52 per mile for 26.2 miles of 4:16 per kilometer for 42.2 kilometers. Pace sustainment is the key. You want to focus on training at, near or far below goal marathon race pace. The reason for this is to get that goal sub 3 hr marathon pace to feel more in control and less taxing on they body.
Is 3 HRS a Good Marathon Time?
Yes. A sub 3 hour marathon time is a very fast effort. In fact, I would consider anything under 3 hours for the marathon to be an elite time. Of course, you can measure yourself up against the runners running under 2 hours and 10 minutes. That being said, you have to be in incredible, anaerobic shape in order to run 2:59:59 or faster for the marathon distance. I teach the specifics and exactly what you need to do in a course I created called the Sub 3 Hour Marathon Pro. I teach the athlete the exact same methods I was taught by some of the worlds top distance running coaches. Furthermore, these training concepts helped me to eventually hold 5:19 per mile for 26.2 miles or 3:18 per kilometer for 42.2 kilometers with 2:19:35.
No, it was not easy and it took me 15 years in order to achieve that time. The second fastest marathon I ever ran was 2:26:42. I don't write this to impress you but to impress upon you what is possible for you. I never place limits on athletes because I never placed them on myself. All I can tell you is if you are coachable, are willing to listen and are motivated there are no limits to what you can do. You may be at 3:45 for the marathon now but a year from now could be at 2:50. It is a matter of your level of commitment and desire. Do you want to learn more about the sub 3 hour marathon pro course? If so, click on the link below.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SUB 3 HOUR MARATHON PRO COURSEWhat Percentage of Marathon Runners Break 3 Hours?
Well, this statistic is aged dating to 2012. That being said, gives a clue of just how competitive a sub 3 hour marathon time is. There were 518,000 runners who completed marathons in 2012. There was only about 2 percent of that number which ran 2:59:59 or faster for the distance. So, it is a challenge to run this time. My goal is to ensure that you working with you either one-on-one within the rundreamachieve, private community or through the sub 3 hour marathon pro course and training plans. Again, the key to getting under this time barrier is to study what runners who have done what you want to do have done.
What we have far more of is fat stores. So, you want to use the storage we have more of and conserve what we have less of, carbohydrates. You don't have to experience the so-called ‘wall' in a marathon. I didn't experience one when I ran 2:19:35 or when I ran 2:26:42. That being said, I have experienced what it feels like to run out of carbohydrates and it isn't fun. I am sure you know what I am talking about and may very well have experienced it yourself. The good news is that you can bypass this mistake runners make. One of the best ways to ensure that you don't hit a wall is train faster than you are aiming to run the marathon at in training. In addition, you also need to ingest more fluid and calories during the marathon.
How Realistic is a Sub 3 Hour Marathon?
It is realistic for the athletes who don't believe in limits. Lacking in talent? You need to make up for it with your work ethic. I will not sugar coat this. You are going to have to work hard but also smart. I teach these fundamentals in the sub 3 hour marathon pro course and on the RunDreamAchieve youtube channel. I always trained far faster than my goal marathon race pace in training when I was preparing for my own marathons. Remember, you need to hold 6:52 per mile or 4:16 per kilometer for the entire distance. So, we need to get your accustomed to training at or around 5:30 mile pace and 3:45 or so per kilometer pace.
One of the biggest mistakes I see runners make is putting in too many slow miles. What percentage of your weekly mileage are you spending at, near or far below sub 3 hour marathon pace? How fast are you running those long runs? I made the mistake of doing 22-24 mile long runs at 6:30-7:00 mile pace. Why? My goal back in 2007 was to run under 2:22:00 for the marathon which comes out to 5:25 per mile or 3:22 per kilometer. So, I had to start varying up the paces of my long runs. No, I didn't run long and at harder paces every weekend.
I would always run the following weekend of my harder long runs at jogging effort. How slow? I would aim at anywhere from 9 to 10 minute mile pace. Remember, the benefits of your hard work come from within the rest period. So, you have to have that same discipline you have to run fast to also back off when you know you should.
How Hard is it To Run a 3 Hour Marathon?
Very hard. Again, the hardest workout athletes don't always break 3 hours for the marathon. My goal is to help you to train smarter, run less and get better results than those putting in higher volume. Yes, you still need to be consistent and put in relatively modest mileage each week. That being said, it is how you set up your training that counts and not so much the amount of mileage you are putting in. For example, if you are running consistent 100 mile weeks and you are running 95 percent of those miles at 8 minute mile pace you are shooting yourself in the foot. Of course, you will being superior aerobic shape. That being said, running fast is an art form and getting in awesome anaerobic shape takes initiative and focus.
So, it isn't a matter so much of the amount of mileage you are doing as much as it is how you are setting up that training. What pace is a 3 hour marathon? Fast so you need to train faster than this pace to make it less intimidating to you. I was able to lower my marathon best from 2:43:36 to 2:19:35 by using the exact strategies I teach in the sub 3 hour marathon pro course. I had great mentors and was coached by the 1985 Boston Marathon champion for nearly 3 years.
Also, I have trained and lived with some of the world's top runners including sub 4 minute milers, sub 2:10 marathoners and sub-1:02 half-marathons. I studied how these athletes thought and conducted themselves to run the types of times they did. My goal now is to share with other athletes what I was taught so you can get significant new personal bests.
Closing Thoughts
I hope this post on sub 3 hour marathon pace has given you some ideas of what you need to be thinking about. Remember, don't want every single weekend's long run slow and easy. Of course, there is still a place for running easy. That being said, you need to stress the anaerobic systems of the body often. In addition, you also need to jog on recovery days so that you get the highest return on your investment. Again, the benefit of your hard and focused work comes within that rest period when you slow down. Remember, don't neglect your nutrition either. You want to ensure you are ingesting sufficient protein and often times you can get that with a shake if you are not a meat eater. Protein plays a major role in muscle recovery and maintenance.
Are you ready to finally break the sub 3 hour marathon barrier and change up your strategy? If so, click the button below to learn more about the sub 3hr marathon pro course. It is time to start doing what the top marathoners do to get better results.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SUB 3 HOUR MARATHON PRO COURSE[amazon table=”34612″]
