can I run a 3 hour marathon

+1, I want to know as well

MBC25 wrote:

can I run a 3 hour marathon

You can run about.

It's a popular goal, and one I am eyeing as well. It has been 15 years since I've accomplished it. And that had followed an incredible 20-year-and-1- month drought after running a bunch of sub-3's in my early 20s.

I'm 14 months out from my next attempt, after missing it by a whopping 7-plus minutes last year. It may be unattainable, but fun to contemplate.

Who else has it in their sights this year or next ... and how do you plan to reach it?

Yes. Just train to run about a 2:50-55 so you have a good buffer. When you get to the finish line in 2:52 or 2:57 or whatever, just wait by the line until your watch hits 2:59.59. Then, cross the finish line.

I have the same goal. 38 years old. Trying to do it by upping overall mileage (50mpw 2 years ago; 60 mpw 1 year ago; 70 mpw this cycle) and increasing the frequency/types of tempo work (basically anything under goal marathon pace, mostly 6:40-6:20 type of stuff. Also trying to lose a few lbs.

sub_3_is_the_goal wrote:

... upping overall mileage ... and increasing the frequency/types of tempo work ...

I agree those are the two key ingredients. I have traditionally been a low-mileage runner (40-50 mpw when seriously marathon training), but am counting on bigger miles to make a sub-3 possible. The challenge will be to manage injuries sufficiently enough to make that possible.

For the threshold/tempo work, I am thinking Daniels-style cruise intervals, Pfitzinger-style mid-week medium-long runs as progressions, and straight tempo runs.

Good luck. Marathon this autumn?

No, but you could walk it.

I'm 20. Ran in high school. Still run but have dealt with injuries. Ran a 1:28 half 4 months ago with not a ton of training (i.e. highest mileage week in the whole cycle was 26 miles, the week of the actual half). Marathon is in 2 months. Focusing mostly on staying healthy - intensity hasn't been super high yet. But I do feel decently fit. I'm hoping for sub 3 but it's my first one so mostly trying to enjoy the process.

possibly... but yes do make health priority. it will come

Your half marathon indicates 3:05, but for a first time and on a low mileage approach maybe 3:10-3:15 is more realistic.

However, ensure to get some long runs of up to 20 miles in and try to run at marathon pace (6:50 / mile) for the last 8 miles at least. If this is not possible and you can not imagine to run that pace for 3 hours, adjust your goal accordingly. Nothing worse than going out in 3 h pace but just being in 3:15 shape. You would continously slow down or really blow up in the second half and maybe end up with just a 3:30 or not finish at all...

you need to run a lot more than 26 miles a week dude.. thats not even a full marathon..

id say you need to be running 13 mile long runs, 6-8 mile tempo runs at 6:30 pace, and also be doing 8 mile hill runs.

you will break down at about mile 16-20 only running 26 miles a week, need to be ATLEAST 40

MBC25 wrote:

I'm 20. Ran in high school. Still run but have dealt with injuries. Ran a 1:28 half 4 months ago with not a ton of training (i.e. highest mileage week in the whole cycle was 26 miles, the week of the actual half). Marathon is in 2 months. Focusing mostly on staying healthy - intensity hasn't been super high yet. But I do feel decently fit. I'm hoping for sub 3 but it's my first one so mostly trying to enjoy the process.

I thought you started this thread as a tongue-in-cheek parody of all the "Can I run ..." threads. So I played along, spinning a serious and honest take on the question. Didn't mean to hijack.

In response to your question, I would also say it's possible. The first marathon is tough to predict. My first was at 22, and I had no idea what sort of pace I could maintain. Like you, I had run in high school. Plus one track season in college, but very little road-racing experience.

My longest run had been 18 miles. I figured maybe 3:30 was reasonable, so I hit the half at 1:45. But I was so bored with that pace, I accelerated through the second half like a progression run for a 3:15 finish.

A month later, with a much better sense of the distance and pacing, I easily ran 2:52.

Allen1959 wrote:

I agree those are the two key ingredients. I have traditionally been a low-mileage runner (40-50 mpw when seriously marathon training), but am counting on bigger miles to make a sub-3 possible. The challenge will be to manage injuries sufficiently enough to make that possible.

For the threshold/tempo work, I am thinking Daniels-style cruise intervals, Pfitzinger-style mid-week medium-long runs as progressions, and straight tempo runs.

Good luck. Marathon this autumn?

Yes Philly for me. I have had success there in the past. For my tempos I'm alternating between several types: short but "fast" 20-25 mins in the 6:20s, longer but "slower" 5k repeats in the 6:30s, and then even longer but even slower 5-10 mile efforts under GMP, so 6:40 or so. I haven't read Daniels or Pfitzinger closely, but these might be similar to what you're doing.

No you cannot. Sorry.

Choose another sport, sport.

So almost as if the first marathon were a training run? A month is a pretty quick turnaround (to race both of them, that is).

Do you recommend an extra conservative first half, or would you have tried to start quicker if you could do it again?

Also, I know the 26 mile week is extremely low; that's why I cited it. I just wanted to give an idea of my pre-half buildup (of which there was not much).

MBC25 -- For my first marathon, I probably could have started with 7-minute miles, then still negative-splitted in a more reasonable fashion. Hard to know. But, as slow as I ran much of it, yeah, I guess it was kinda like a training run, and I was ready to roll again five weeks later.

In the second marathon, I ran the first half with a friend at 3-hour pace (6:50/mile), then had to stop for a "nature call." I had to wait for the only port-a-john and lost two minutes. Then I raced hard to catch my buddy, but was feeling so good, I just kept going for another big negative split. So, I guess my sense of pacing still wasn't great even in the second marathon.

I took the winter off, then only managed a 3:05 in the spring. I started at sub-3 pace that day, and crashed pretty badly. Upped my mileage to 40+ mpw during the summer and raced quite a bit, 3-mile to 20K.

In September I ran a hot, hilly 2:47 marathon, and managed even pacing, finally. In October I ran a windy 2:45, and then finally with perfect weather in November, I ran 2:40.

Pacing could have been better for that last one. I lined up too far back at the start, got caught in the crowded, narrow road for a 7+ minute first mile, then panicked and dropped a 5:20! My sixth marathon, and still making beginner's errors. Even so, the halves were maybe 1:19/1:21 or so.

This was the early 1980s, and running frequent marathons wasn't too unusual back then.

BTW, I understood your 26-mile week was a couple months ago and included the half-marathon itself. To run 1:28 on that super-low training shows a lot of natural talent, hence the good chance at 3:00, in my view, assuming you have upped your mileage since then.

My 18-week average prior to running 2:40 was only about 42 mpw, although it included two full marathons, and a single peak week of near 70.

Thanks a lot for the response. Appreciate your thoroughness.

Let's talk

We don't know. If you can run 36 -37 min over 10k you have potential.

With 38 minutes it will be very difficult.

Slower than that, probably not.