Many elite runners will use marathon pace as a stand-alone workout or practice it in the second half of their long run. But how useful is marathon pace training to the average runner?
In Jack Daniels’ Running Formula (4th edition), he notes that marathon-pace runs aren’t physiologically more beneficial than easy or moderate training runs.
Most training programs for other distances include speed work at goal race pace, so why is the marathon different? In a marathon build-up, race-pace workouts are designed to prepare your body and mind for 42.2 kilometres. They’re also important trials for practicing fueling strategies, testing race-day shoes and determining whether your marathon goal is, in fact, realistic.
If you’re not training for a marathon and are focusing on shorter distances, most runners will leave marathon pace runs out of their training plans. Physically, there’s little benefit to running at this pace besides improving aerobic endurance, which can also just be achieved with slower runs. Two or three MP workouts a week aren’t particularly useful unless they’re done in a high volume (e.g., 25x400m at MP with less than a minute’s rest, or something along the lines of 10+ km steady). The purpose of speedwork is to train outside your comfort zone so that slower paces feel easier over longer distances.
Are there psychological benefits to marathon pace runs? Absolutely. Running 25–30 km at marathon pace in a long run, four to five weeks out from your race, can be a huge confidence booster. To finish a marathon, you need mental toughness and the ability to endure the hours that come with a steady effort, and the best way to build that “mental muscle” is by simulating race conditions in training. To get there, it’s important to include marathon-paced efforts in your long runs or as a dedicated weekly workout.
