How many miles a week would it take to break 2:50 in the marathon?

Averaged 100 km per week last year and ran a marathon earlier this year in the mid 2:40s.

I did it off of 70 miles per week. I followed Jack Daniels 2Q, but adjusted some of the midweek workouts. What do you do for long run workouts? I feel like those are the key.

How many miles? Precisely 26.2 miles at a pace of 2:50 per 26.2 miles.

Oh, you said break 2:50. In that case, 26.2 miles at a pace less than 2:50 per 26.2 miles.

Oh, you said break 2:50. In that case, 26.2 miles at a pace less than 2:50 per 26.2 miles.

This joke should be banned.

OP, it depends. 60mpw should be enough to get it done.

30 miles per week max.

An example if one (from my logs):

Four-month weekly mileage prior to my first sub-2:50 (2:47:34) --

47, 47, 39, 36,

52, 58, 29, 62,

44, 47, 54, 51,

62, 68, 37, 34.

About 48 mpw average. Five long runs (18, 18, 18, 18, 22).

Five PRs set during training period: 27:19 5-mile, 16:47 5K, 34:12 10K, 1:13:50 20K.

This brings up a good point. You can do it off of fewer miles if you have faster PRs. Personally I’m closer to 17:30 5K / 36:30 10K and needed closer to 65-70 miles a week.

Userrrrr name wrote:

This brings up a good point. You can do it off of fewer miles if you have faster PRs. Personally I’m closer to 17:30 5K / 36:30 10K and needed closer to 65-70 miles a week.

Yeah, I apologize to OP. I posted my example before seeing that he/she was already running high mileage to run 2:56. I would suggest the Pfitzinger plans -- straightforward to follow, and I like the secondary long run. But lots of folks do well with Daniels, Hanson's, or other schedules.

After running that 2:47, I actually reduced my average mileage, and ran 2:45 and 2:40 during the following two months. Tapering and recovery mostly accounted for the reduction. The 2:40 was closer to my potential, and I never bettered it.

I ran 2:49 on about 50 mpw- no workouts, just running, usually took one day off. Long runs were- 15,15,17,17,18

I ran my long runs at 6:00 pace. I ran 6:00 pace through 20 miles of the marathon then ran the last 10k in 49:34- OUCH!!!!

Miles per week has virtually zero correlation to how fast it will make you run.

You just need to shape your miles for specificity.

The specific pace long run is likely the most key run you can do.

What are your PRs at shorter distances? I think improving 10K to half marathon times is a key to improving at the marathon.

It's not about the mileage at this point. you already have some base. I would suggest tempos and even some repeat miles on the track or roads . This will bring your speed and strength to a higher level.

Broke 2:40 a couple times on 50-55 miles a week. Mostly quality stuff.

weeklymileage121212 wrote:

How many miles a week would it take to break 2:50 in the marathon? Currently I am 25 years old, been running since I was 18, and roughly average around 85 miles a week, peaked at 95 before. My PR is 2:56 and want to better that greatly. Any suggestions on weekly mileage? or any good marathon training schedules out there? thanks

I advice you to hire JS. He will make you break 2:50 easy.

I peaked around 90-110 miles per week before I ran my PR of 2:42 at NYC last year. I was 44 years old when I ran that and because you are younger I think you have more than enough miles per week. Like others are posting, make sure you have other workouts like speed intervals, tempo runs at marathon pace, and long runs with some miles at MP or a fast finish. I have been using the Hanson's Advanced training plan with modifications.

Get this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Run-Faster-5K-Marathon-Coach/dp/0767928229/

I just ran 2:49 at 52 years old.

weeklymileage121212 wrote:

How many miles a week would it take to break 2:50 in the marathon? Currently I am 25 years old, been running since I was 18, and roughly average around 85 miles a week, peaked at 95 before. My PR is 2:56 and want to better that greatly. Any suggestions on weekly mileage? or any good marathon training schedules out there? thanks

You can cut off 30 sec to 1 min for each 1 mile increase in weekly mileage. So, figure 7-14 extra miles per week to bring it down from 2:56 to 2:49. So, if you were averaging 85 mpw when you ran the 2:56, you would need to increase your mileage to 92-99 mpw.

A "good marathon training schedule" should include long runs and 15%-20% of your weekly mileage at race pace

Is your BMI above 20? If so, you may be able to run 7 minutes faster with an 8 lb weight loss with no changes to your current training

More information is needed to give you meaningful advice:

- PRs in shorter distances -800/1500/1 Mile/5 K/10 K/half

- How are you splitting the marathon in 5 K or 5 Mile segments?

- Is your 85 miles a week consistent throughout the year, or do you take breaks?

- What pace do you run your mileage at? How often do you do tempo runs/intervals?

- What kind of lifestyle do you have - Is your job stressful? Do you get enough sleep? Are you eating well?

But doing a bit of guessing/speculation based on what you have told us, I would say it is unlikely that your marathon will improve significantly off just higher mileage. 85 miles a week is good, you need to look mostly somewhere else for improvement.