Master Your Marathon: Effective Training Tips

When preparing for a marathon, success goes beyond simply piling on the miles. At Sense Endurance, we believe in a practical, strategic training approach that builds muscular endurance, optimises energy management, and hones pacing skills. The key to crossing the finish line strong is a disciplined, smart approach that prevents the dreaded 30k wall and ensures a sustainable effort throughout. Here’s how we prepare athletes for marathon success:

Developing Your Aerobic Base: The Best Aerobic Pace (BAP)

The foundation of endurance running is developing your Best Aerobic Pace (BAP). Contrary to popular belief, BAP training isn’t about running at an arbitrary “easy” pace or relying on endless long, slow runs. At Sense Endurance, we make every run purposeful, tailoring each session to your needs.

The goal of BAP development is to optimise the efficiency of your cardiovascular system, enabling you to sustain higher efforts over longer periods without excessive fatigue. Here’s how we approach BAP training:

Key Elements of BAP Development:

• Controlled Effort Below Threshold
  The goal is to run at a steady, sustainable effort that doesn’t compromise your form or biomechanics. It’s about controlled effort—not pushing too hard or feeling wiped out after the session.
• Frequency Over Duration
  Rather than relying on long, exhausting runs, we focus on shorter, more efficient sessions, gradually increasing the overall weekly volume. It’s about quality, not quantity.
• Building Efficiency, Not Just Mileage
  Instead of simply increasing mileage, we focus on enhancing running efficiency at your steady aerobic pace. This involves optimising biomechanics, running technique, and energy management, which will pay off when you push the pace or hit those long efforts on race day.
• Gradual Progression
  Over time, your BAP pace will gradually improve, allowing you to run faster for longer while still staying well below your threshold. This gradual increase strengthens your aerobic system, improving your ability to sustain higher intensities over time.

Building Muscular Endurance and Fatigue Resistance

One of the biggest marathon mistakes is focusing solely on mileage while neglecting fatigue resistance—the ability to run efficiently even as fatigue sets in. It's not just about running long; it’s about maintaining form and efficiency throughout. Here’s how we approach fatigue resistance:

• Varied Interval Sessions
  We focus on maintaining form at higher paces, even as fatigue builds. For example, in our Beginner Plan, we use intervals like:
  • 7 sets of:
    • 0.40 km @ 85-95% of Threshold Pace
    • 0.20 km Recovery @ 65-75% of Threshold Pace
    • 0.20 km @ 100-110% of Threshold Pace
    • 0.20 km Recovery @ 65-75% of Threshold Pace
    • 0.10 km @ 110-120% of Threshold Pace
    • 0.20 km Recovery @ 65-75% of Threshold Pace
• Hill Repeats
  These sessions build leg strength and improve running economy, all while reinforcing good form. Hill repeats deliver a powerful stimulus for both strength and technique.
• Longer Progressive Intervals
  Instead of focusing on speed, we emphasise running form under fatigue. Our progressive intervals start at a moderate pace and increase gradually, with adequate recovery to maintain your form – interval after interval.

Long Runs: Running by Feel

Long runs are essential, but the key is listening to your body. Training by feel means adjusting your pace based on how you’re feeling, not just sticking to a predefined pace. This helps develop the pacing sense you’ll need on race day.

• If you’re feeling strong, you can pick up the pace and have fun with it.
• If you're feeling off, we want you to slow down. You’re still training your aerobic system when going slow, and you should not be afraid to let your pace go if your body demands this on a given day.

Smart Nutrition for Smart Performance

No matter your preparations, poor nutrition can leave you running on empty. To avoid hitting the 30k wall, here’s how to fuel smartly during your race:

• Start Early and Stay Consistent
  Begin fuelling within 30 minutes of race start, even if you don’t feel the need. Consistency is key.
• Practice Race Nutrition
  Use your long runs as opportunities to test your race-day nutrition strategy—experiment with gels, drinks, and timing to find what works best for you.
• Avoid Overloading Pre-Race
  Steady carb-loading over the two days before the race is more effective than a single big meal the night before. Keep it simple to avoid digestive issues.

During the race, aim for 30-60 grams of carbohydrates per hour, based on what you’ve tried in your long runs, taking them in roughly 20-minute intervals. This will help keep your energy levels stable and glycogen stores topped up. Check out the distribution of the aid stations beforehand and adapt your training and nutrition plan accordingly.

Avoid Common Pitfalls

Here are a few common mistakes marathoners make, and how to avoid them:

• Neglecting Recovery
  Recovery is just as important as training. More miles don’t always equal better results. Your body adapts during recovery—not while running.
• Overloading on Long Runs
  Long runs are important, but they shouldn’t dominate your week. Balance them with speedwork, muscular endurance sessions, strength days, and recovery days.
• Neglecting Biomechanics
  Focus on developing good form at all paces, not just on running long or short. Good biomechanics improve efficiency and prevent injury.

Loops: Simulating Race Conditions

A great way to simulate race conditions and practice key aspects of marathon prep is by running loops. A 30km long run could be executed as 12x2.5km, offering several benefits:

• Consistent Nutrition Timing
  Running loops makes it easy to practice fuelling at regular intervals, ensuring you’re able to maintain your energy stores during the race.
• Mental Resilience
  Repeating the same loop builds mental toughness, helping you stay focused on maintaining form and managing effort as you prepare for the mental challenges of race day.
• Pacing Practice
  Loops allow you to practice pacing strategies, such as controlling your effort in the early stages and finishing strong. Running a loop will also give you the confidence to pick up the pace in the later stages of your workout.

Strength Training: Supplementary, Not Overload

Strength training is a valuable tool for enhancing endurance and preventing injury, but it should always be supplementary to your running. The goal isn’t to build maximum strength but to improve running efficiency and muscle resilience.

If strength training leaves you too fatigued to perform your run workouts effectively, you’ve probably overdone it.

The full range of movement in strength exercises also acts as active stretching and gently loads the muscles and contributes to recovery without overtaxing your system. Depending on your needs, you can swap strength sessions for a full recovery day or a cross-training session. Hitting the smaller muscles that may not be directly used in running, but are definitely burdened indirectly, is key in strength training for running.

Sample Training Week: Beginner Marathon Plan (Week 8)

Here’s a sample week from our 15-week beginner plan:

Monday: Strength
Tuesday: 7 sets of 400 - 200 - 100 with 200 rest at increasing higher paces.
Wednesday: Strength
Thursday: 13x600 build - from Easy effort to just above threshold, 200 rest
Friday: Strength
Saturday: 2 hour long run, Easy
Sunday: Rest or cross training

Final Thoughts

Preparing for a marathon involves more than just putting in the miles. By focusing on building muscular endurance, perfecting your pacing, and maintaining a steady nutrition strategy, you’ll be ready to race smart and finish strong. Running by feel, developing your Best Aerobic Pace, and practising race-day strategies—like fuelling and pacing—will ensure you have the endurance and mental resilience needed to succeed.

Ready to train smarter for your marathon? Our marathon plans simplify the process and help you achieve your best results without overcomplicating things.

The marathon is a test of both physical and mental strength, but with the right approach, you’ll be ready to conquer the distance and enjoy the process. We’ll see you at the finish line!