Marathon Strategy

Marathon Strategy
By Bob Glover

Adapted from The Competitive Runner's Handbook by Bob Glover and Shelly Glover

The marathon is unforgiving. Start too fast or don't take proper fluids, for example, you blow your race. Not only do you suffer physically and mentally in order to make it to the finish line (or before dropping out), you can't redeem yourself in another marathon in a week or two. Nor can you try again in a few days if you finish feeling you could have pushed harder and run a faster time.

Here are some strategic tips to help you reach your marathon goals:

Pacing. This is where many marathoners err. You'll suffer for a long time if you don't pace wisely. You must combat the triple terrors----lactic acid accumulation, dehydration, and glycogen depletion--which may work individually or in combination to destroy your race. Most marathoners run at a pace that is about 95 to 97 percent of their lactic threshold pace. If starting too fast, or surging too quickly, you'll exceed your threshold and waste glycogen supplies. You'll also increase body heat, contributing to dehyration which in turn increases heart rate and acclerates glycogen burning. Going out too fast sets you up for failure. Don't think you can build a time cushion by starting faster. This strategy usually backfires.

The likely result is either a long struggle over the last several miles or dropping out.

What's a good starting pace? Statistical studies show that runners starting a marathon at more than 2-percent (about 10 seconds a mile) faster than their average pace slow significantly over the last 6 miles compared to those who run with even pacing or negative splits. Most experienced marathoners should start at their goal pace. Determine this from predicted times from buildup races and experience in previous marathons. Most fit marathoners race at a pace that is 1-1 1/2 minutes faster per mile than their long run training pace. A good bet for Novice and Intermediate Competitors is to start at the same pace as you averaged for your last long run and hold that speed to 20 miles. From there, hang on as best you can. You may even be able to pick up the pace if you've trained well.

Some marathoners benefit from starting slow (up to 10 seconds a mile) for the first 2 or 3 miles and then picking it up. Others like myself prefer to start slightly faster (no more than 5 to 10 seconds) than goal pace in order to run more by equal effort. Some prefer running the first half a minute or two slower than they will run the second half (negative splits). If you go out a bit too slow, you have adequate time to make up for it. So it's better to err on the side of caution. If you can pick it up a bit from there, go ahead. If it is a warm day, be prepared to start slower than your original goal pace. If starting with a friend or a group of friends, promise each other to keep the starting pace reasonable.

What about pacing by heart rate monitor? A good goal for runners who will be out there for over 3 1/2 hours is to start out at about 70 percent of maximum heart rate (MHR) for the first three miles and then gradually increase to about 80 percent by the finish. Faster marathoners should start out at 70 to 75 percent of MHR for the first 3 miles and gradually increase to about 85 percent by the finish. Some elites may be able to handle heart rates of 85 to 90 percent of MHR without exceeding their lactate threshold.

These ranges take into consideration the phenomenom known as "cardiac drift"--a natural increase in heart rate with prolonged running.

Crowded Start. Due to crowded conditions in a field of 30,000 runners, it may take a few minutes just to reach the starting line and a mile or more to settle into your pace. Don't panic. Weaving through runners to get back lost time wastes energy. Stay calm. Ease through as best you can while gradually picking up the pace. Once you hit your intended rate of speed, settle into that rhythm. If, for example, your goal was an 8-minute opening mile and you hit 9:30, look to run the second mile in 8:00, not faster. Stay at this pace until you feel relaxed and in a groove. Now you have a choice to make: accept the time lost at the start or try to make some or all of it up. If you didn't lose too much time you can make it up by gradually quickening the pace. Aim to make up no more than 5 seconds or so per mile. At that rate, you get back a minute lost at the start over 12 miles. In a popular event like the New York City Marathon, you just need to accept the inevitable.

Count on losing time at the start and factor that into your time goal.

The NYC Marathon uses computer chips placed in the runners' shoes to record actual time from starting line to finish. Record in your diary from the official results (at nyrrc.org) your gun time and your chip time (starting when you cross the start line). Even if you deduct this time, the first mile still may be slowed by runners that wrongly lined up ahead of you.

Try looking at a slow start as a blessing, preventing going out too fast and setting up lots of runners to pass along the way. Make the best of it.

A bad start doesn't mean your race is doomed to failure. You've got a long way to go. Stay calm, get to work.

Watch Your Watch. Be prepared, keep an eye on your watch, and don't panic if some mile markers or splits seem to be off. By regularly consulting a watch, you help yourself concentrate on the race; you keep in tune with your goal pace. Play a little game: See how close you can come to running mile after mile at the same pace. It's not not always the same effort, however, to run at the same pace. Be prepared for slower mile splits when running up hills or into head winds as well as faster times with downhills and tailwinds.

Walking. If you're training hasn't been sufficient, the weather is very hot, you're struggling on hills, or you're just having a bad day, take walk breaks if necessary. Most likely you won't be alone. Over the last few miles, walk breaks may be the key to surviving. Try alternating running with walking if your body just can't keep running nonstop. Better to finish than to stubbornly run until you can't take another step, or cause serious injury.

But it's better still if you've trained and paced yourself properly so walking isn't needed.

The First Few Miles: Test the Water. Ease into the race both in terms of your running pace and emotional involvement. Look at the first two miles as a warm-up run, shortening your race to 24 miles. Slow down gradually and remain calm if you find that your first mile or two are too quick.

Emotionally, stay as calm as possible. Save your mental energy for the second half of the race when you'll need it to convince your body to keep going. Try to get in with a pack of runners who are flowing comfortably and help each other. You have some room to let your mind wander, but don't let the pace slip. Start looking for your competitors, but resist the urge to race too early. The marathon is more a race of attrition than head-to-head battles. Don't be lured into chasing your competitors if they're going too fast. Let them go. Most likely you'll catch up to them later--at your pace.

By 5 miles you should be into a good flow. From here to 10 miles is a good test. Hopefully, you'll feel comfortable at goal pace. But it's too early to get cocky! If your goal pace is already tough, you're in trouble.

Either your goals were way higher than your fitness, the course or weather too difficult, or you're just having a bad day. Try slowing the pace slightly. Perhaps you'll feel better later in sufficient time to get back on pace. Stubbornly pushing ahead during the first half will lead to an even slower, more miserable second half. Look around you. You may still be doing well compared to your peers even if you're not able to hold your desired pace.

Halfway Analysis. This is a critical point psychologically for most runners.

If you hit the halfway mark at or slightly ahead of goal time and feel pretty good, you get a mental lift. If you are a slightly behind schedule, don't panic. You may still be able to run a negative split and reach your goal. If you're on pace but struggling, or way off your mark, readjust your time goal. You can still finish in a respectable time if you keep your wits and keep working.

The Second Half: Concentration, Mental Toughness.

This is where the race begins, where fatigue tries to capture you.

Concentrate on pace, good form, and the runners around you. Keep relaxed, and remain confident and goal- directed. Occasionally change form a little to provide relief: drop your arms to your sides for a few yards, thus using muscles differently. When you hit bad patches where you are physically and mentally fatigued--and you will--hang in there. Don't give in to periods of self-doubt and discomfort. Have faith in your training program. Think about all the work invested in the race. Accept discomfort. It's real. Use all of your mental resources to keep it from slowing you down

Move from runner to runner to help you maintain a good pace, or "hitch a ride" when a competitor goes by you. Don't be satisfied with just holding your place. Most likely many of the runners around you are slowing down.

This presents a mirage. You think you're on pace but you may not be if you're slowing with them.

Bail Out. If you are favoring an injury or bad blister, feeling weak and dizzy because of the heat or illness, or are extremely fatigued, use common sense. Bail out and look for medical help. Don't feel you are a failure by making an intelligent decision to drop out for personal safety. You can always try another marathon down the road.

But if you trained properly and do not feel ill or are not hampered by an injury, keep going. Dig down deep for extra strength. Everyone feels like quitting many times; you are not alone. No one said it would be easy. That's why so many people want to take on the marathon.

The Wall. This is mostly a myth if you are properly prepared. Most likely you will experience a taste of it somewhere around 20 miles--the approximate point where glycogen supplies run low. But if you followed the Wall-beating guidelines in Chapter 21 of The Competitive Runer's Handbook--trained well, tapered, carbo -loaded, didn't start too fast, and took in sports drinks and gels since just before the start of the race--you will pass through "the Wall" in reasonably good shape.

10K to Go. You pass two key mile markers in the marathon: halfway and the 20 miles. 13.1 miles is half-way in distance, but the final 10K seems like half the race or more in effort. Running 20 miles is something you've done several times in training. You know you can do it. But few runners have run 26.2 miles in training, nor should they. Here is the reason I recommend a few training runs of 22 to 23 miles. They put you on your feet for the approximate time period as your marathon, better preparing you physiologically and psychologically for the rigors of the last 10K of the marathon.

From here on it's a new race, a 10K. Of course, it isn't anywhere near the same effort as starting a 6.2- mile race without already logging 20 long miles. But convince your mind that you are familiar with the 10K distance and use that now as a distance goal. Now, the mind must take over from the body. You've come this far and your body certainly will be tired. The willpower that forced you to train through heat, cold, rain, and snow now be unleashed. Keep pumping the arms and picking up the feet. Somehow you will keep going forward if you can keep the arms and legs in motion.

Break up the course now mile marker by mile marker, landmark by landmark, even block by block--but keep knocking them off, counting down the miles to the mile-to-go marker, then the 26-mile sign, and then the finish line.

Work on the runners around you; use them to push or pull you along. Think in terms of time left until the finish. First get under the 30-minutes-to-go barrier, then 20, then 15, and finally 10: You know you can suffer for these amounts of time which may seem less threatening than mileage to go.

Establish a time goal for the 25-mile mark, and what time you'll need to run from there to the finish to meet your goal. It'll give you something to key on. For example, if you're trying to average under 8-minutes per mile for the marathon, with even pacing you'll hit 25 miles in 3:20. That'll give you 10 minutes to get to the finish line. Hit that mark in 3:19, you'll have an extra minute to spare; arrive in 3:21, you'll have to push it in under 9 minutes. This mental game gives you a boost to help spur you to the finish.

The Finish. As you cross the 26-mile mark you have only 385 yards--less than a quarter mile--to go. Use the noise of the crowd and the spirit of the runners around you to energize one last push. But don't surge too fast.

I've seen many poor souls cramp up within reach of the finish as a result of a sudden sprint. Keep the push steady. Work the arms and lift the knees.

Keep this in mind as you're getting close to the finish: In marathons seconds don't count as much as minutes, but seconds can make the difference in being, for example, a 2:59 marathoner or at 3:00 marathoner. That is, run 2:59:59 and you can say you're a "2:59 marathoner." As you catch sight the digital clock over the finish, use it to pull you in to your personal victory. Don't forget to stop your watch when you cross the line (but try to do it while not looking down or you will ruin photos of you finishing): It may be a long time before you get the official results.

Believe it or not, fatigued runners often forget to stop their watch, and then they don't remember the exact time that was on the finish clock. Most importantly don't forget to congratulate the runners around you who helped you in and, of course, congratulate yourself on a job well done. Way to go conquering heroes and heroines!