Female trying to break 2:40 in marathon debut this October

Not as extreme, but I have a friend who managed a 2:40 off a 17-ish 5k. Granted he later ran a 16:55 or sth.
I am pretty sure he can break 2:40 right now but I doubt he can run much faster than 16:40. However, he's been logging big mileage (like 80-90 mpw) for years.

Not nonsense. amkelley is a longtime poster on here with great advice and a solid history of running good marathons.

I believe him/her. There're some endurance monsters out there who don't slow down all that much from 5k to marathon pace. (i.e: they're built for the distance)

Have not run a 5k since the marathon. My guess is I would have been somewhere around 17 low. My college team was super low mileage (literally 30 mile weeks for everyone). Told my coach I didn’t run well off that low of mileage, but she did not care. Still don’t get why she had that number in her head that females couldn’t go over. Eventually, I got sick of it and quit after indoor my junior year. Looking back, I wish I had transferred, but it was academically a great school (D3), so the education was worth it. Lost 20 pounds (I had the weight to lose… I’m not trying to start anything… did it in a super healthy, gradual way over 1.5 years through training not dieting). But like others have said, some people are made for the marathon much more so than other distances. I also find that I’m more comfortable on the roads than the track in general

Wow, I really didn’t expect so many kind and supportive responses! Thank you so much, everyone! I’m listening to all of the amazing advice given, and seriously appreciate each and every comment. It means a lot that you all took the time to respond!

Also, I hope that I didn’t come across as ungrateful. I realize getting to pursue a good marathon time is such a gift, and I’m lucky to be able to do so. And I’m not trying to make it sound like I think a 2:40 for a marathon is a sure thing! I know finishing a marathon is a great accomplishment, and I have so much respect for everyone who has done one.

I will post an update in October! Again, thank you!

Good luck and yes please come back and update us on how it goes!

It's at least within reach. The best way to know is run a tune-up half about 6 weeks out. If you can run around 1:16, that would be a better predictor than a 5k. That said, there are a lot of things that can go wrong in a marathon, so it might not happen the first time around. I'd say start off a little under pace and see where it takes you. The OTQ is now 2:37 so definitely worth continuing even if you don't hit your goal.

By "under pace" I mean slower than 2:40.

I would advice to cut your mileage to 60-70 per week and instead put in quality twice per week with maxVO2 and lactate threshold intervals. Will easy take you to a sub 2:40.🧙‍♂️🇸🇪🇺🇸

That's correct. I ran several 5Ks on fast courses when in top marathon shape and could never break 18 minutes, although I ran 2:47, 2:45, and 2:43 marathons on honest courses. Admittedly I never trained specifically for the 5K as I knew I was much better at longer distances. And I don't mean to say that the OP's sub-17 5K necessarily translates to a sub-2:40 marathon, only that it seems entirely reasonable.

BS. Your training is unsuitable for marathon running. The only runners that can be verified as coached by you have run bad marathons all around.

Your fastest marathoner has gone from 2:14 to 2:19 in 3 years. You claimed he would run 2:05 and as a 62 half marathon runner he should have run at least 2:10

Your training is unsuitable for the marathon.

And spare us your lies about coaching sub 2:14 athletes.

race a 1/2 marathon double that finish time and add 9 to 10 minutes...it worked for me a fews times accurately.good luck

good luck! If you'd like some free advice leading up to that debut, I'd be happy to help.

throughthelinetraining.com

You have a lot of talent and clearly you are dedicated. It might take a little trial and error to find what works best for you, but I have a feeling you are on the right track with the miles and the cautious approach to workouts.

Lots of good advice here, but there isn't a one size fits all in training, except the need for consistent mileage. What it really comes down to is what type of runner you are: do your times get relatively faster the shorter the race or the longer the race? Are you like amkelley who can push for 26 miles but probably finds 200 reps at 30 seconds a challenge, or one who finds hard track reps fun and easy, but dislikes the long miles.

I'm the faster type, so for me to run a decent marathon took consistent mileage, not worrying about the paces most days, and a fair amount of longer tempo runs at marathon-pace or a little quicker. I basically trained myself out of being fast. For someone like amkelley it probably makes more sense to keep in touch with some fast turnover stuff year round, along with the miles and probably shorter tempo work.

Anyway, good luck and stay healthy!

Just gotta say that the ratio of positivity and decent suggestions : trolls on this thread is remarkably high for LRC.

Consensus seems to be that sub-2:40 for the OP is well within reach, and I agree. FWIW, my own 5K PR is about 16:30 and I've run several marathons between 2:35-2:40.

Best of luck OP!

You have everything crossed off as long as everything goes as planned and the weather is not too warm. Good luck!

I would try to race a 10K or half to predict marathon time.