What's the oldest I could run a sub 3 marathon

Vaporfly might get you over the top

You just need to get comfortable at running at 6:50 pace. That's all there is to it. If you are running 1:21, you are already there. I'm see girls running 1:25-1:27 and they are breaking 3 hrs. You need to practice that pace extensively to lock into that 'zone'.

You definitely need long runs. Don't be afraid to get up to 22 miles easy. I ran 3:10's at Chicago last week (much slower than half of the LR community apparently) and I just spent a lot of time at 7:25 pace on only 50mpw. I hit mile 24 and I was having a great time and sprinted the last half mile while everyone was dying. I ran perfectly even splits until the final 3 minutes.

So to recap:

1. More EASY miles (like 8:00-8:30 pace for you)

2. Practice running 6:50 pace A LOT.

3. 2 or more 22 mile long runs in the buildup. Your last 22 miler should be about 3 weeks away from the goal race. I've found that if I only run 18-20 mile runs, the last two miles are and absolute suckfest. 22 miles is magical and I'm considering a 23 miler on my next cycle.

I ran my last sub 3 (2:56) at age 58

Sounds like I am on the right path, eventually. How many marathons have you run and what are some other times in the 5-10k? I just started factoring easy runs into the bigger picture last year, and I can already feel the difference and my cadence has improved. Always trying to learn more!

kw1954 wrote:

I ran my last sub 3 (2:56) at age 58

That's fantastic, I work with 20 somethings that breathe heavy on a warm day. Power on my friend, incredible testament to longevity.

I've ran 3 of them. I'm about 170lbs and I'm a fast twitcher (I ran the 800m in HS) so holding back was a huge issue for me especially in my first marathon which was 3:45 and was a spectacular blow up. The second marathon was incredibly easy jog at 3:25 and last week I got well below that. PR's are a 18-flat 5K and a 38:33 10K...nothing earth shattering.

Like I mentioned earlier, you've got to hit race pace a lot. One of my friends does a workout once in a while that got him sub-3. It's a 22 mile run that starts off with 2 miles easy than for the next 20 miles he does mile intervals at MP race pace with easy mile intervals for recovery.

In fact, I just copied this from his running log . It looked like this:

Mile 1 - 7:51 pace

Mile 2 - 7:44 pace

Mile 3 - 6:51 pace

Mile 4 - 7:24 pace

Mile 5 - 6:49 pace

Mile 6 - 7:30 pace

Mile 7 - 6:50 pace

Mile 8 - 7:27 pace

Mile 9 - 6:45 pace

Mile 10 - 7:32 pace

Mile 11 - 6:56 pace

Mile 12 - 7:28 pace

Mile 13 - 6:50 pace

Mile 14 - 7:34 pace

Mile 15 - 6:49 pace

Mile 16 - 7:24 pace

Mile 17 - 6:55 pace

Mile 18 - 7:44 pace

Mile 19 - 6:48 pace

Mile 20 - 7:20 pace

Mile 21 - 6:35 pace

Mile 22 - 7:56 pace.

As you can see, this a high volume workout that has him locking into race pace way into those later miles. For what it's worth, I have a faster 5K time than he does but he has beaten me twice at the half because he's just better and stronger at distance. I did this same workout going 7:09's and 7:50's back and forth. It really works!

Dexter St. John wrote:

sadly I'm real. My best is a 3:02 but can't crack it. Looking for old guys who maybe first broke 3 later in life. Whitlock doesn't count because he was a genetic freak.

He also broke it for the first time as a much younger man.

I wonder who the oldest person is to break 3 for the first time?

Typical LR thread.

It's like plugging in your 18 min 5k into the McMillan calculator and seeing it shows a marathon of 2:50. That tells you NOTHING about what type of runner you are or your potential at a marathon.

Like the poster above, if you lean more towards the fast twitch type of runner, how you train for the marathon will be (and SHOULD be) totally different than the guy who is slow twitch.

Get a HR monitor and learn what your max HR is and what pace equates to approx. 88% of that max. That is ALL the better you will run on marathon day. If you try to run the first part at 91-92% of max, you will die a horrible death the last 3-5 miles.

(Call this phase your Aerobic Threshold phase - AeT)

Improve the pace you run at 88% with lots of long aerobic runs (slower than 80% of max HR). Add in lots of work in the 83-85% range. Every other week run long (2.5 - 3 hours) at a comfortable pace.

(Call this your LT phase)

Add in some tempo work at 88-93%. 2 x 15 min, 1 x 25 min, 2 x 20 min, 1 x 30 min, 2 x 30, 1 x 45, 1 x 60 min.

(Combined AeT & LT phase)

Start adding in some MP paced section during your long runs but NEVER faster than 88%). Do one workout of each from the above phases.

Race...

Dexter St. John wrote:

I'm 48. I've had success with half marathon but never put together at sub 3. I ran a 1:21 half last year put felt myself slowing.

So could an old dude run a sub 3. I'm looking for late 40s early 50s guys who have. What were you running around that time

I ran 3:02:05 at age 50, 1:24:27 half at 52 and 62:10 for 10 miles also at 52. Get it done quick because things go down fast from there. Don't get injured even if that means a little less real hard training. I like the 4 X 400/2 X 800M workout. You don't have to kill yourself but a build up past 75MPW for 4-6 weeks is necessary.

I close hard (last 5K +) on a about six runs per month during important training stints.

I'm 46 and just ran a half in 1:23, and a long (3.2 mi) 5k in 17:50 the week before.

I've never run a non-Boston over 3, with 3 attempts all at 2:58-2:59; earliest at age 22, latest at age 42.

But I've never run Boston under 3 in 4 attempts (2 with proper training). It's not the course, it's the winter.

So I am still angling for a

I'm looking to do the same at age 50. Right now I am 46 and I am not currently running very much but I have some motivation to run a sub 3 at 50. I've run sub 3 in my teens, twenties, thirties, and forties with a PR in my 30's of 2:40.

I feel like if I trained seriously now I'll be worn out for the effort later. Maybe I'm fooling myself but all of that running over my life feels like it took a toll on my body.

I ran 2:59 at CIM in 2016 at age 49.5. I was probably averaging 50 miles a week. The real trick at this age is staying healthy. I’m running New York next month and would like to break 3 but I don’t know if that’s realistic as I was injured/sick for 5 months this spring. I did run a 1:26 half at Houston in January before I got injured. The key was a lot of long tempo runs.

May be my last marathon for quite a while. I want to get back to racing more and really don’t enjoy the training for marathons.

My first sub-3 was at the age of 18 and my last sub-3 (2:58) was at the age 53. I'm now 58 and I ran one this year in 3:03. So I'm definitely slowing down.

For myself, I need to run a half marathon in under 1:23 in order to go sub-3. This year I ran 1:24 which corresponds to my 3:03 marathon.

RWW wrote:

My first sub-3 was at the age of 18 and my last sub-3 (2:58) was at the age 53. I'm now 58 and I ran one this year in 3:03. So I'm definitely slowing down.

For myself, I need to run a half marathon in under 1:23 in order to go sub-3. This year I ran 1:24 which corresponds to my 3:03 marathon.

56 years old here. First one was age 18, lots of injuries, now I'm like you and trying once again but my half has to get under 1:23, as you mentioned in your post.

NEVER QUIT TRYING

nikeman wrote:

I ran 2:59 at CIM in 2016 at age 49.5. I was probably averaging 50 miles a week. The real trick at this age is staying healthy. I’m running New York next month and would like to break 3 but I don’t know if that’s realistic as I was injured/sick for 5 months this spring. I did run a 1:26 half at Houston in January before I got injured. The key was a lot of long tempo runs.

May be my last marathon for quite a while. I want to get back to racing more and really don’t enjoy the training for marathons.

If I may ask, how long were your tempo runs and at what pace? Thanks!

kw1954 wrote:

I ran my last sub 3 (2:56) at age 58

If you don't mind, what kind of mileage did you do and how much speedwork/tempo runs and long runs? I realize that we are all built differently, but I'm simply curious as to your approach, being that it was a successful one at that. Thanks!

Booby in CO wrote:

kw1954 wrote:

I ran my last sub 3 (2:56) at age 58

If you don't mind, what kind of mileage did you do and how much speedwork/tempo runs and long runs? I realize that we are all built differently, but I'm simply curious as to your approach, being that it was a successful one at that. Thanks!

And congrats, that's impressive stuff!!!!

Booby in CO wrote:

nikeman wrote:

I ran 2:59 at CIM in 2016 at age 49.5. I was probably averaging 50 miles a week. The real trick at this age is staying healthy. I’m running New York next month and would like to break 3 but I don’t know if that’s realistic as I was injured/sick for 5 months this spring. I did run a 1:26 half at Houston in January before I got injured. The key was a lot of long tempo runs.

May be my last marathon for quite a while. I want to get back to racing more and really don’t enjoy the training for marathons.

If I may ask, how long were your tempo runs and at what pace? Thanks!

Don't worry about tempo runs. They just wear you down. Save it for race day. I consistently ran sub 3 from age 52 to 56 including Boston 2x and never did tempo runs. Just mileage, long runs and short speed work for turnover and form.

Booby in CO wrote:

RWW wrote:

My first sub-3 was at the age of 18 and my last sub-3 (2:58) was at the age 53. I'm now 58 and I ran one this year in 3:03. So I'm definitely slowing down.

For myself, I need to run a half marathon in under 1:23 in order to go sub-3. This year I ran 1:24 which corresponds to my 3:03 marathon.

56 years old here. First one was age 18, lots of injuries, now I'm like you and trying once again but my half has to get under 1:23, as you mentioned in your post.

NEVER QUIT TRYING

Age 59 now. First sub-3 was my second marathon (2:52). That was at 22.

Last sub-3 was at age 43 (2:56). At 58, I ran 3:07 after injuries derailed my last few months of training.

Next year, at 60, I'll give it one more try. Shoot for sub-1:25 in a spring HM, then the marathon in October.

Go geezers!