10/01/2012 How many marathons a year can you run and still perform?
In the last few months I have been asked on a few occasions, how many marathons a year can you run and still perform? This is a wide or in my terms a huge area that has quite a lot of relevance to long distance runners in the last few years. This question is frequently posed by those collecting marathon medals, such as those in 100 marathon clubs or ultra-runners who are using marathons as training races. After a few searches on the internet and in the library, I find there is very little in the way of peer reviewed studies to answer this question. I am not sure why science in general has not already answered the question on how many marathons you can run in a year while remaining healthy or even to perform. This is a massive let down; mainly due to the fact I now have to provide my own, unscientific opinion. So how many marathons can you run in a year?
If we look at the high performance end we see the top marathon runners competing in two to three marathons a year. Since the incentive of these men and women to perform and the support that they receive from some of the best coaches in the world would lead us to the conclusion that this would be considered the optimum to perform at present. I imagine if some of the professional marathon runners thought they could squeeze in another appearance fee or prize money they really would. I say this in the understanding that the working life of a professional marathon runner is limited. But how many can the average recreational runner perform at, in a year? This is a question that I plan to spend a bit of time this year discussing right here on Run Ireland. Or more correctly I plan to discuss the various factors that will help you with running multiple marathons in a year. While the gap between the recreational runner and the professional marathon runner may seem vast and some of the factors involved have a differing baseline, the basic tenets are the same and remain so (or until science and experience tell us different). Feel free to agree or disagree, if you have a comment then send it on to me or post it on the forums here, I will try and answer some questions once a week at least (promise). Better yet, ask Run Irelands own resident coach (Seb). But hopefully with a few articles and a look at the science out there, we can hopefully add another marathon medal to the collection or do it smarter and faster. And lets be honest, no matter what time you do, a personal best (PB) always feels good.
My first offering is already posted, https://www.runireland.com/articles/entertaining-principle-variation
Variation or the lack of, is in my opinion why some runners seem to get slower or stagnate despite running more mileage week in and out. Have a read of the article and see if it applies to your own training. My own opinion as a Coach is that marathon runners should, every two macrocycles / seasons, drop the distance and spend two to three months focusing on their 5k or 10k racing. Bring back a bit of speed, focus on the anaerobic systems for a while. Push the legs to turn over faster and more importantly enjoy running fast for a time. Feel the wind in your hair etc. Have a read (or not) and the next time we will chat about recovery and some ways in which to help your body bounce back from a marathon.
In the last few months I have been asked on a few occasions, how many marathons a year can you run and still perform? This is a wide or in my terms a huge area that has quite a lot of relevance to long distance runners in the last few years. This question is frequently posed by those collecting marathon medals, such as those in 100 marathon clubs or ultra-runners who are using marathons as training races. After a few searches on the internet and in the library, I find there is very little in the way of peer reviewed studies to answer this question. I am not sure why science in general has not already answered the question on how many marathons you can run in a year while remaining healthy or even to perform. This is a massive let down; mainly due to the fact I now have to provide my own, unscientific opinion. So how many marathons can you run in a year?
If we look at the high performance end we see the top marathon runners competing in two to three marathons a year. Since the incentive of these men and women to perform and the support that they receive from some of the best coaches in the world would lead us to the conclusion that this would be considered the optimum to perform at present. I imagine if some of the professional marathon runners thought they could squeeze in another appearance fee or prize money they really would. I say this in the understanding that the working life of a professional marathon runner is limited. But how many can the average recreational runner perform at, in a year? This is a question that I plan to spend a bit of time this year discussing right here on Run Ireland. Or more correctly I plan to discuss the various factors that will help you with running multiple marathons in a year. While the gap between the recreational runner and the professional marathon runner may seem vast and some of the factors involved have a differing baseline, the basic tenets are the same and remain so (or until science and experience tell us different). Feel free to agree or disagree, if you have a comment then send it on to me or post it on the forums here, I will try and answer some questions once a week at least (promise). Better yet, ask Run Irelands own resident coach (Seb). But hopefully with a few articles and a look at the science out there, we can hopefully add another marathon medal to the collection or do it smarter and faster. And lets be honest, no matter what time you do, a personal best (PB) always feels good.
My first offering is already posted, https://www.runireland.com/articles/entertaining-principle-variation
Variation or the lack of, is in my opinion why some runners seem to get slower or stagnate despite running more mileage week in and out. Have a read of the article and see if it applies to your own training. My own opinion as a Coach is that marathon runners should, every two macrocycles / seasons, drop the distance and spend two to three months focusing on their 5k or 10k racing. Bring back a bit of speed, focus on the anaerobic systems for a while. Push the legs to turn over faster and more importantly enjoy running fast for a time. Feel the wind in your hair etc. Have a read (or not) and the next time we will chat about recovery and some ways in which to help your body bounce back from a marathon.
