Low Mileage - Marathon Pace Advice

Three years ago, I ran a marathon on low mileage, but got a few long runs in, and felt prepared enough to run a reasonable race. Average weekly mileage was just under 20, so less than you.

Two weeks before the marathon, I ran 15 miles at 7:30 per mile. That was a "comfortably hard" effort. Marathon pace ended up being 7:52/mile, running slightly negative splits for a 3:25 finish. No bonk, but completely spent at the finish.

That wasn't my first marathon, but it was the first in about 15 years. Like you, I wasn't sure what pace would be appropriate, given the light mileage. Still, I intuitively dialed in the perfect pace from the start; long-embedded memories, I guess (first marathon was in 1981).

With your higher mileage, your fast-finish 20-miler, and 14 miles at 6:50/mile, I think 7:05/mile pace should be doable. A more conservative 7:10 pace would be safer.

In any case, resist the temptation to speed up significantly at 13.1, no matter how good you're feeling; better to think of 20 miles as "half way." And it's always best to finish strong in your first marathon.

Good luck!

Actually, I wouldn't be shocked if you could run sub-7 miles for the marathon. Running 6:40-pace for the final 8 miles of that 20-miler is really strong. Still, I'll stick with 7:05-pace as my suggestion ( 7:10 is too conservative). It will be interesting to see what others might say. Do you have any recent race results?

I did the same for my 1:42 half--not fast, it's functionally equivalent to 3:34 or so. But I just tried to run by feel as much as I could, given lack of mileage. That way I'd be near my threshold without blowing up.

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate the response. I was thinking somewhere around 7 :10 - 7:15 so it is good to hear that you think that would work. No race results, was going to try to jump in a half marathon but it didn't happen. Have run 1:29 for a half during one of my long run workouts where I did 5 x(1 mile at 6:30, 1 mile relaxed), probably my closest effort to something like a race. I have a 22 mile run coming up so I will try to hit some of the middle miles at 7:05 - 7:10.

vtcp - Just to clarify my estimate, it's been my experience that with low overall mileage, I can run a brisk 14 miles in training at a faster pace than I could maintain for a full marathon.

But, with higher mileage training (typically 40-50 mpw for me), marathon pace is faster than training pace. There's no way I could run 14 miles solo at MP.

For example, in my 40s, I ran a hard 14-mile training run at 7:02/mile. Marathon pace a few weeks later was 6:45.

In my 20s, MP was 6:06/mile, but I absolutely could not maintain even 6:15-pace for 14 miles while training.

Everyone is different, though. For me, tapering and race-day magic make all the difference on marathon morning.

On very low mileage, though, things are different. Race day magic is needed to simply cover the distance. Just not enough stamina built up to maintain "comfortably hard" pace for 26+ miles.

Go out slower than I did (6:08 first mile!). I was in a similar situation to you — I probably had fewer workouts but a tad more mileage (3-4x weekday runs of 6-7) that got me up to 40-45 miles most weeks. Worth noting that 6:45-6:50 pace will feel easy to you. That being said post-20 miles may not. The biggest mistake you can make is not properly hydrating/fueling, going out hard, and then losing a bunch of time in the last 6 miles. It's what I did, and you can avoid! I felt fine at 1:27 for the half, even with no pacing help and a fair bit of weaving/passing slower runners that made it probably more like 13.25 miles. You also will feel fine at 1:27-1:30, but I'd recommend the lower end of that.

vtcp wrote:

Running low mileage for a marathon in a few weeks and need some help on pace. Been hitting around 30-35 mpw since the beginning of the year (with some weeks as low as 10-15). I know mileage is too low but going to go for it anyway. I have a lot of longer runs from 16-20 miles, recently have a 16 miler at 7:04 pace, a 20 miler at 7:16 pace with the last miles 8 miles averaging 6:40 and a 14 miler last week at 6:50 pace. Any advice on pace to go out in??

Week day runs are limited, will do 4-6 miles when I can and will throw in mile repeats (4 x 1 mile @ 6 min pace) when I can.

First marathon so any advice on pace/splits to go out in are appreciated!

For example, in my 40s, I ran a hard 14-mile training run at 7:02/mile. Marathon pace a few weeks later was 6:45.

In my 20s, MP was 6:06/mile, but I absolutely could not maintain even 6:15-pace for 14 miles while training.

One more anecdote: in my late 50s, actual race-day MP was 7:09/mile, but my fastest medium-long training run was 12 miles at 7:33/mile. Fastest 14+ mile run was 7:42/mile. Training mileage averaged 34.7 miles for 20 weeks; peak weak of 53 miles.

But, again, the rules change with very low overall mileage. Plan on marathon pace being SLOWER than brisk training pace. Start cautiously. Think of 20 miles as half-way. Run with a group if you can, but don't get pulled along too fast. In the marathon I just mentioned (7:09 pace), my first mile was 7:32. Then pretty consistent 7:05's until the final three miles when I slowed to 7:30's ... a minor bonk after getting a little overenthusiastic at the 19-mile mark!

14 miles - 6:50

16 miles - 7:04

20 miles - 7:16

First marathon. Low mileage. 6 miles added to the long run slows you down 26s/mi in training, and you're still 6 miles short of a marathon, so I'm going to say 7:42 pace, and race day magic helps you cover the distance like Allen said.

Do not be discouraged by someone like this OP. Lot of people on these boards really put the full 26.2 on a ridiculous pedestal. Yes it's to be respected but you ran a damn good 20 miler. The last 6 miles could hurt like a mother — they did for me. That being said, the idea that you'll run a 20-milers like that and be a 3:20 guy is ludicrous. That's only if you run really, really dumb and have to walk as a result.

english professer wrote:

14 miles - 6:50

16 miles - 7:04

20 miles - 7:16

First marathon. Low mileage. 6 miles added to the long run slows you down 26s/mi in training, and you're still 6 miles short of a marathon, so I'm going to say 7:42 pace, and race day magic helps you cover the distance like Allen said.

Just wanted to post an update on my last long run:

4 mile WU around 7:45

14 mile -smooth but uptempo averaged 6:45

4 mile cooldown around 7:45

Felt pretty rough at end but overall felt good had some low 6:20s and 6:30s thrown in from miles 13-18.

Thinking 7:05ish pace for the marathon.

Also split 1:26:20 for a half as part of this run, which is technically my pr but I think I could go a few minutes faster if racing.

vtcp wrote:

4 mile WU around 7:45

14 mile -smooth but uptempo averaged 6:45

4 mile cooldown around 7:45

... Thinking 7:05ish pace for the marathon.

I'll chime in one more time. 7:05/mile is fine if you want to be conservative, and be sure to finish strong.

But honestly, I think 6:50 pace would be realistic based on that training run, and would get you a sub-3 hour marathon.

Looking back on my own logs, again, 7:02 pace for 14 miles was a hard effort in training; marathon was 2:56:03. (6:43/mile). Even splits, and not particularly fatigued at the finish. Low training mileage like you.

30 miles per week for the marathon?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSPNQ82Sq4E

this is the correct reply. The OP will go through the half in 1:32 or so and will feel good through about 17 miles. Then around mile 20 the fit will hit the shan. He'll either DNF or walk it in, finishing in 3:36.

update: was a bit of a sufferfest, went through in 133 and did start to crash around 20-22. Held on for 3:12. Last four miles were around 8 min pace, lack of mileage caught up to me. On a cooler day think I could have squeezed out a sub 3:10 but happy how it went for the first marathon.

vtcp wrote:

update: was a bit of a sufferfest, went through in 133 and did start to crash around 20-22. Held on for 3:12. Last four miles were around 8 min pace, lack of mileage caught up to me. On a cooler day think I could have squeezed out a sub 3:10 but happy how it went for the first marathon.

Thanks for the update! I was a bit overly optimistic, but you ran much better than the naysayers predicted. Congrats on a fine effort, especially for a first marathon, and on low mileage. BTW, my first was only 3:15, and 14 months (and five marathons) later, I whittled that down to 2:40. More total miles will take you far, if you're so inclined ...

Thanks for returning here to post your result. The occasional informative running (gasp) post like this makes the board worth coming to.

Well done on a fine first effort.