I Need a Good Marathon Running Program

I am devastated. I ran my second marathon last weekend.

I ran a spring marathon as well, but at about the 19-20 mile mark my legs cramped up... I could barely walk!

Struggling along I crossed the finish line in 4 hours and 16 minutes. This left me with a very bad taste in my mouth. You can't call that struggle "running a marathon"!

Last weekend's marathon I was much better prepared.

My average mileage during my training was about 45 to 50 miles a week and I managed to run three or four 20 milers (7:40 - 7:50 pace). Because of the training I have also lost quite a bit of weight (down to under 160 pounds).

I might have gone out too fast in the beginning.... I ran about 8:00 pace from the beginning and passed the half way mark in 1:43. I kept on going strong till mile 18. At about the 2 hour mark I had some Gu and my legs cramped up almost immediately. Despite my efforts I could not keep going and had to walk the last 7 miles...

Again a disappointing time and again without the feeling to have actually "run a marathon".

Why is this happening? How can I change my training approach so I can run the marathon, preferably in less than four hours?

– Josh

This one is answered by Marius, not by Dominique. I asked Marius Bakken — two-time Olympian and author of The 100 Day Marathon Plan — to step in on this question.

Apart from being an elite runner himself, Marius has trained alongside elite runners from Kenya and Italy and has drawn on their methods to build a marathon training approach that helps you run smarter and reach your goals.

Here is Marius's answer.

Answer by Marius Bakken: Josh, this is a common problem — many runners hit the wall, especially those chasing sub-4:00 and faster. I'd break my response down as follows:

1. Periodization – save marathon-specific long runs for later in the plan
2. Run/walk long sessions to build strength for the last 10k
3. Pacing based on your recent racing, not gun-pace optimism
4. Training your gut to take up fuel and fluids

Why Periodization Fixes the Wall

Most marathon programmes start marathon-specific training from day one. A lot of runners aren't ready for that — and you'll typically see a good improvement over the first 4-6 weeks before performance levels out. The wall doesn't appear on race day by accident. It's built into the programme long before you reach the start line.

Every top marathon runner uses periodization. You don't hit marathon-specific long sessions until later in the schedule. And when you do get there, running two hours easy is not enough if you need to hold together for over four hours on race day.

Your 45-50 miles a week and three or four 20-milers tell me your base is solid. What's missing are sessions that specifically prepare your legs for the state they're in at mile 20 — not mile 12.

Run/Walk Long Sessions Build Late-Race Strength

I'd encourage you to build in special run/walk sessions — these work fantastically for developing strength over the last 10k / 6 miles of the marathon, and they can sometimes run up to four hours in duration.

A typical session in the back half of your build: run 25 minutes, walk 5, and repeat for 3:30-4:00 total, once every three weeks. It teaches your legs to keep firing well past the two-hour mark — which is exactly where you fell apart at mile 18-20.

In 80-90% of cases this directly addresses hitting the wall late in the marathon. The remaining percentage comes down to pacing and teaching your body to absorb nutrition.

Pacing: Race Your Recent Fitness, Not Your Hopes

You opened at 8:00 pace and passed halfway in 1:43. On paper that doesn't look reckless. But it doesn't match what your training tells us about where your fitness actually sits — your 20-milers at 7:40-7:50 were run fresh, without another six miles still to come.

The cramping at mile 18-20, right after a Gu at the two-hour mark, has the hallmark of muscle overload rather than an electrolyte problem. Going out too hard burns through glycogen and overloads the muscle fibres faster than a controlled, even effort would — that's a very different animal to a salt-deficit cramp. It needs a pacing fix, not a nutrition fix.

I always recommend runners race a half marathon 4-5 weeks before the full marathon and use a calculator to find their realistic marathon finishing time. Don't trust start-line adrenaline. Trust the number your recent racing gives you. For your next marathon: open 10-15 seconds per mile slower than your goal pace for the first 10 miles, aim for even splits by mile 18, and only push if you're still feeling strong past mile 20. Protect the start and you protect the finish.

Train Your Gut to Absorb Fuel

You can increase your ability to take up fluids considerably if you train it correctly before the marathon. An untrained gut typically tops out around 30-45g of carbs per hour — a well gut-trained athlete can push well past that, which helps enormously over the last miles.

Practise your race-day fuelling on your long runs. Same gels, same timing, same fluids — every long run from here on. Race day is not the place to experiment.

I'd also ask you to balance your training out. I'm a big fan of running smarter in workouts, not simply running more. Most of the runners I coach on the 100 Day Marathon Plan make huge jumps in their finishing time while spending no more time running than they already do — or even less.

The "no pain, no gain" approach without clear periodization will get you to the finish line if you stay injury free. A sensible, structured approach will always get you there faster.

Bring all four of these elements together and you will solve the problem over the last 10k / 6 miles. It isn't complicated — but in the marathon, you have to get all the details right to make everything click over such a long distance.

Kind regards,
Marius

Thank you, Marius, for such a detailed answer. Marius's book, The 100 Day Marathon Plan, is a really good guide to modern marathon training — built on the methods Olympians actually use.

Marius has trained and worked with elite runners from all over the globe. He has learnt how Italian runners won the Olympic marathon in 1988 and 2004, and how the Kenyans have come to dominate long distance running worldwide.

He shares a great deal of that knowledge in his book. The book is aimed at the marathon, but his training principles clearly carry across to other distances as well.

Highly recommended if you want to run a marathon and do it well.

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