Marathon with running and walking

by Espen
(Norway)

Marathon with running and walking

"Hi Marius,

Some runners, i.e Galloway, argues that many will benefit from running the marathon with a run/walk ratio. Improvements are said to be better finishing time and less physical impact as compared to running the whole distance without walk breaks. The reason seems to be related to benefits coming from the shift in muscle strain by running/walking.
I recently ran the half marathon in 1h32min, but if one would like to run the marathon sub 3:30 with walking breaks, what would be your thoughts and suggestions on this?

Thanks,
Espen"

Answer: Hi Espen, this is a great question. My experience is this : if you are well trained for it AND have a light body frame you'll do the best running the whole way.

However, if you are a bit heavier built and if your preparations has not been 100 % (or if your goal is above 3:30-4:00 hrs) then you may go for the run-walk type.

On your level, I would say - try and run the whole way :)

All the best with your training and race,

Marius

Recovery - Walking

What should be done in the recoveries, walking, standing or slow jogging ?

"Marius,
In your instructions for the recovery sections of workouts you say stand in place or jog slowly. Is walking okay as well or did you specifically not include that for a reason?"

Answer: This is totally up to your own preference. My experience is that whether you walk, jog or stand still does not matter on the final outcome of the session or the long term training result. I personally stand still, but walking or jogging is perfectly fine as well !

Kind regards,
Marius

Run /walk strategy during race

by Paul
(Netherlands)

When it is good to consider walk/run during a marathon / half marathom ?

"Hi Marius!

I have a few questions about applying the run/walk strategy during a race.

(i) In one of the other threats you answered that this choice, among others, depends on the person having a light bodyframe or not. What exactly do you consider a light body frame (with my 85 kilos I do not consider myself as having a light bodyframe for example).

(ii) Would a run/walk strategy also be helpful in a half marathon. If yes, is there an end goal threshold. More specifically, is the strategy suitable when aiming for a time between x and y, but not suitable for people aiming for a time lower than x (1:30 is my personal goal).

(iii) Same question as (ii) but now related to the marathon.

Thanks very much in advance and best regards,

Paul"

Answer: Hi Paul and thanks for an excellent question.

I would say the following : with light body frame, I would say 70-75 kg and less for men and 60 and less for women. It has to do with the general impact on your body/length which is why you want to take this into account.

In general, for the half marathon - this approach is probably only wise to test out if your goal is 2 hours +. So in your case, you definately want to try and run the whole way with your 1:30 goal.

As for the marathon I would say the cut probably goes from 3:30 and upwards. Below that, you are at such a physical level that you want to work on keeping the running going all the way. For SOME that are generally quite fit but struggle with keeping a constant running throughout a long period - it may be wise to add a little bit to the longer EASY runs in the 100 day plan / alternatively run more in the walk/runs.

Added to this : the more experience you have and the more rounds of specific training like the 100 day plan, the easier it will be to keep running all the way of a marathon ; and at the steady pace you want to aim for :)

I wish you all the best with your training,

kind regards,
Marius

Back from Walking and running marathon to Marathon Training Schedule

Running and Walking

by Kjoelen
(Oslo)

How should one apply the special "smart strides" that are parts of the 100 Day Marathon Plan ? And how about the running and walking workouts ?

"When you say walk/run 50:50, if you feel fine running in effort 1, is there a special purpose of the walking, or is it ok to run all the time (as long as you feel fine running at effort 1)?

You say that your body "remembers" the last thing it did, hence the SS - Smart Strides. After the SS should you "run down" - run at an easy pace for 5-10 mins, or should the SS part be the very last thing you do that session?"

Answer : I actually recommend sticking to the running and walking on those and not run the whole way. The point is that alternating running and walking gives you the duration needed without the same stress as running the whole way. If you run all on these you risk injury as it will wear down your body more for the other runs. I'm balancing the workout stress right on the edge in these workouts so it is important to "stay fresh"!

With the SS* - the special strides it is best to do this as the last thing in the session before walking off 1-2 minutes or just finishing up right after the last one.

All the best,

Marius

Back from Running and Walking to Marathon Training Schedule

Walk/run in rainy cold winter

by Marco
(Leiden (NL))

How to deal with the walk/runs during rainy weather :

"Hello Marius,

I've a couple of questions for this dutch rainy and cold winter.
I've tried a couple of time to do this long session (above 2 hrs) this winter, but the fact is that it is really cold, windy and rainy...even if I wear extra clothes after 1 hr I'm completely wet and I've never finished those sessions...I'm simply too much wet and cold!

It would easier with the snow!!!

How can I do? Is there any way to "avoid" those sessions?

Thankx"

Answer: Hi Marco and thanks for your question. This is a tricky one but one option is to hit the treadmill for the longest ones of these, at least those closest to the marathon. Then you may have to cut down slightly on the others just to get through.

You may also want to try and find 100 % waterproof clothes to wear - I use this in Norway and it works quite well. Especially on easier sessions, where you do not sweat as much.

In addition to this, you may have to adjust the timing of some of these, and allow yourself to mix them around a bit - and plan them within a 5-6 days span and hit the roads when the weather is the nicest.

I wish you all the best,

regards,
Marius