Advise on qualifying for 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials

You probably don't have enough time for 2020. Especially with that low mileage. 2024 maybe. You're gonna need to run over a 100 miles a week for sure but that tolerance doesn't come overnight. If you just start running that you will get hurt, and hurt bad. Buildup slowly. Aim for a spring half. Run a fall marathon and then aim for Houston Jan of 2020. Not impossible but just highly improbable. You have a better much shot at 2024. GL and keep us updated.

Biggest mistake people make when moving to a longer distance is decreasing speed work. Salazar was a shlt kicker at shorter distances then went to road racing and got killed because he dropped speed work

I think you need to get to at least 80 mpw for a significant amount of time.

Hard long runs are key, along with speed work like the other poster suggests. Extend your long run slowly, and try to get 5 hard days every 14 days. Doubles will be easier on your body than singles. I like two weeks up of mileage, and one week down, but everyone is different. Your goal should be to be able to jog your local 5k in 16:30 if you want a shot at the marathon.

It took me 3 years of regular 85 mile weeks with a few 100+ weeks. I failed miserably in my first few attempts, typically after being on pace through the 20 mile mark. You need your body to adapt and overcome the higher mileage weeks and I think youre at a pretty high risk of injury to try and rush it. A spring marathon OTQ attempt is probably a recipe for disappointment given the time period, but a late fall marathon is reasonable.

15:10 is right on the cusp of enough speed for the marathon, it would be more helpful to see a half time of around 68-69. You probably need to be sub 14 to get the 64 half standard so I would focus long term on the marathon.

I think 15:10 makes a 2:18:59 *possible*

Start building from 50 up to the 100+ range. Start by adding a little to your long run, your mid week medium long, and your daily runs. Once your daily runs hit 8-10, your medium long is 12+, and your long run is 16-18+ then start to add an easy double (4-5 miles once a week), then get to 3 doubles once a week. General mileage should be easy enough with workouts twice a week.

I would say focus on a spring half, maybe one earlier in the season and one later to give you two chances to run fast. So maybe a half in March and then a half in April/May. I would then go all in on training over the summer for an early enough fall race where others will chase the standard. As long as you go under 1:11 for the half, which you're definitely gonna have to chasing the standard, you can register for Chicago ADP by 9/2 (comes with some perks) and attack it with others. If you miss the standard, you can still have CIM as a back up to give it one last ditch ever. Timeline is narrow but marathons take a lot out of you I would hit a couple of halfs, get used to running sub-2:19 pace for 13.1 and then build up for the fall and take two good cracks at it.

Best of luck.

I would run a Marathon first before worrying about Olympic trials.

OTQ is very ambitious, but not impossible. I think 2020 is too soon to echo the previous posters. I would build up to 60-75 mpw and try to run under 2:30 this spring. If you don't run under 2:30 on lower mileage, then the task gets pretty hard to break 2:19. While I don't think 1xx mpw is necessary it can certainly help. 130 mpw is not a magic bullet to run the OTQ. Instead I would gradually up mileage, the key being the max you can run without interruption due to injury, or being unable to run quality workouts. For Mike, 85+ worked, I have known guys who ran 140 mpw to get there. I wish earlier in my career I had viewed the OTQ goal as a natural progression, to chip away at over several years. 2:28-2:25-2:23-2:21 and so on. Instead I ran pretty quick early (within 5 mins. of OTQ) and instead pushed way too hard to run 5:18 or faster in all my workouts and bombed or got hurt I had to abandon workouts or quit early because I wasn't at that fitness point. The most important thing is to be honest, use a pace calculator off a current race and don't try to run 5:15 for all of your marathon workouts. It is the road to ruin. Set a goal for 2024 and be honest with yourself in your buildup, if you can't break 2:25 don't try and run 5:18 for long tempos. Try to slowly increase mileage but 120 mpw may not always be necesssary. And don't just do long runs for long runs sake, once you get to 20 comfortably start thinking of long runs as workouts days. Start with short fartleks and then progress to longer uptempo runs.

Why does everyone say you have to run over 100 miles/week to qualify for the trials. Myself and most of my teammates are in the 70-90 range yet are able to hit the A standard for the marathon... one track workout per week (1500-10k pace work), one road workout per week (10k-Marathon pace work), and one long run per week (always with some quality mixed in), that’s it. Consistency week after week with that got us there. And we still have time for a social life without unnecessary doubles and exhaustion. You guys make it sound way harder than it needs to be lol

I will advise you of the correct term. You are looking for "advice".

DW wrote:

Biggest mistake people make when moving to a longer distance is decreasing speed work. Salazar was a shlt kicker at shorter distances then went to road racing and got killed because he dropped speed work

This, Gordon Pirie talks about this in his book.

I had a 14:50 5k PR in college, and 1.5 years out, debuted with a 2:22 marathon. Trying again in the spring. Granted, I ran 100+ mpw for three years before the attempt, and got up to 120... So, like many are saying here, it's not impossible, but you will need to keep bumping mileage.

Keys I've found:

Steady long runs @ MP +20-30s/mile

Practice fluids on marathon-specific tempos

Spend a lot of time running MP

Trading for the 10k/half during base period

Double at least four times a week

Flexibility makes you inefficient

No need for two hard sessions and a long run every week. Many times, I do one hard session and one steady long run a week.

Do more intervals (i.e. 10xmile instead of 4-6)

Get ready for major quad destruction and loss of cognitive abilities (special blocks help)

I would suggest focusing on getting your half marathon and 10k times down over the next 12-18 months, then debut in the full. Or, if you're going for the full soon, go out slower than you think you can run and try to make the last 10k the fastest portion of the race.

Good luck.

Quad destruction?

Loss of cognitive abilities?

NewtotheSouthSide wrote:

I think 15:10 makes a 2:18:59 *possible*

Possibly. But barely possible. Just look at all of the women who have ran sub 2:19. They were all sub 15:00 5k type folks with a few exceptions.

1 2:15:25 Paula RADCLIFFE 14:29.11

2 2:17:01 Mary Jepkosgei KEITANY (never really ran track)

3 2:17:56 Tirunesh DIBABA 14:11.15

4 2:18:11 Gladys CHERONO 14:47.12

5 2:18:31 Vivian Jepkemoi CHERUIYOT 14:20.87

6 2:18:34 Ruti AGA 15:13.48

7 2:18:35 Brigid JEPCHESCHIR KOSGEI (no track)

7 2:18:35 Ruth CHEPNG'ETICH (no track)

9 2:18:47 Catherine NDEREBA 15:27.84

10 2:18:58 Tiki GELANA 15:17.74

Hansons coaching.

Do it wrote:

Hansons coaching: For, when you want to make America continue to suck at the marathon.

DW wrote:

Biggest mistake people make when moving to a longer distance is decreasing speed work. Salazar was a shlt kicker at shorter distances then went to road racing and got killed because he dropped speed work

What are you talking about? He set ARs in the 5,000 and 10,000 in 1982 AFTER he had already won three marathons -- 2:09:41 debut in New York in 1980, WR of 2:08:13 in New York in 1981, 1982 Boston in 2:08:52. This was all done before he reached his 24th birthday.

Salazar's was a complete animal whose decline came because he ran himself into the ground. His racing schedule from 1981-1983 was insane from today's perspective.

DW wrote:

Biggest mistake people make when moving to a longer distance is decreasing speed work. Salazar was a shlt kicker at shorter distances then went to road racing and got killed because he dropped speed work

What are you talking about? He set his track PRs (American Records for 5k and 10k), road 10k American Record, and Falmouth Course Record in summer 1982, AFTER 3 of his 4 NYC/Boston wins and AFTER his marathon PR.

If anything, his career went downhill because he burned himself out doing TOO MUCH hard speed work.

Might be putting the cart before the horse there. You need to build up slowly to 80-100 mpw, then rip a half or two, then a full. Do that and report back.