I was wondering how many of you, if any, have used the Hanson Marathon Program.
If you have used it, what were your time improvements, and your general thoughts on the plan. ie the lower overall mileage and lack of a traditional long run.
Am planning on starting the program in full this week and just maintaining until my marathon in May '06.
Thanks
Have never tried Hansons but have tried Daniels, which I think is a very good plan. I personally think the Hansons plan will work ok if you devote time and patience to it. Until May 2006 should be enough time if you do the work. I think the plan should have a little longer long runs, but you can always add a few miles if you want. The weekly MP runs are a very good idea.
Good luck
seems odd to me that the hanson's plan only gets you up to a long run of 16 miles???
I agree, how are you supposed to magically run 10.2 miles more on race day??
So, other plans only have you get up to 20 miles and then you have to "magically" run 6.2 miles more on race day.
It's the overall training and volume that will get you there in the end.
There are some other threads on this topic. I believe the Hanson's do have a very high success rate. The main idea is that if you are running 50-60 miles per week, your long run shouldn't be 20 miles, which would be 33-40% of your total miles (too high). The program seems to emphasize consistency and probably proper pacing.
I always thought long runs were a little overrated to a certain extent. I know I can complete this distance. Why beat myself up on weekly 2 1/2 runs and leave nothing for the race. This will be my first attempt using Hanson's. Really hoping a seasoned marathoner can chime in who has used the program versus other programs.
bump
Angelo you might want to check the hansons site. I'm sure people (and the hanson's coaches themselves mostlikely) have talked about using the plan on their messageboard. You'd probably find plenty of answers and contacts on their.
16 mile run is done following a Tempo run 1 or 2 days (not sure which) prior.
The idea is your legs are still tired from the Tempo run and the 16 miler is a simulation of the *last* 16 miles of a marathon.
This is what I remember reading about it.
Can anyone give some input about how to use a Hanson's style training plan for a marathon in 10 weeks? For the last 10 years I have been running 2:40's marathons by putting in a lot of miles and peaking at 110+ miles per week. Things are different for me now, I have family and job responsibilities and don't have the time to put in that kind of mileage during the week anymore. I have about an hour a day but weekends are not a problem. Also I'm older now and I can't bounce back from a tough workout as quick as I used to. Is it possible to recapture the times of my youth with this type of plan? Two hard track sessions and one marathon pace run of about 10 miles during the week then a couple of easy runs and a long run on Sunday?
I tried it, it got me to a 3:01:40 marathon.
good luck