Is a 2:20 Marathon a realistic goal?

A friend debuted in 2:24 back in 2009 with PRs very close to yours at all distances. Three years later, and he's down to 30:20ish (10k) 66:xx (half) /2:17:xx (full).

So I would say a realistic possibility, but you may not get to 2:20 or under in your first year!

Go gor it. My 5 and 10 were just a few seconds faster than yours when I went sub 2:18.

Honestly, you are going to have to get out there and see how you handle the race. It is hard to tell from your times when the race is 20 miles longer than your longest race to date.

I had PRs very close to yours, a little slower in the 1500 and a little faster in the 10 and I was never really able to go much faster than 2:30. The training was right, but something was just off nutritionally. I worked and worked at it and could never "race" after 20 miles. I always blew up. Every time. My last 6 miles were always slower no matter what I did.

I am too old to PR now, so I have a PR of 2:28:31 and I have to live with that for the rest of my life.

My bests for 3k/5k/10k were:

8:24, 14:56, 31:35 (road). So your endurance looks like it is a lot better than mine was. I ended up running 2:24 a few times.

Go for it. Read Canova and Arcelli's IAAF booklet Scientific Training for the Marathon. Best source on marathon training by far.

these response are very encouraging. i wonder if anyone could provide insight into how they structured their weeks, what type of workouts they did, how they budgeted time for running with a real job, etc? i will be starting a full time job as a civil engineer next week.

Not a ton of details but you may like this article on elite marathoners who also work full time

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=24140&PageNum=1

YES.

5mi am

10mi pm

tues eve long intervals

thurs eve tempo/threshold

sun LR

If you hate mronings you can ask for a long lunch.

I was able to work a 90 min lunch with my employers, great for mileage and tempos.

The biggest barrier will simply be priorities and fatigue. Training at a 220 level will require mental fortitude which may distract you from work.