Marathon Training & Racing from
Joe Bowman
All 50 States & DC under 3:00
Maybe the first step for you is to meet the Boston Marathon qualification standard for your age and gender.  
Depending on your present fitness level, this may be a more realistic goal for now.  At the end of the day I want to
turn you into a sub three hour marathoner, but qualifying for Boston would be a really nice building block to work
from.  Find your age group in the chart then review below the simple modifications you can make to the existing sub
three hour plan.
AGE                                                           REQUIRED                                                      REQUIRED
GROUP                        MEN                         PACE                        WOMEN                         PACE

18-34                 3 Hrs. 10 Mins.                    7:15                   3 Hrs. 40  Mins.                   8:23

35-39                 3 Hrs. 15 Mins.                     7:26                   3 Hrs. 45  Mins.                   8:35

40-44                 3 Hrs. 20 Mins.                     7:38                   3 Hrs. 50  Mins.                   8:46

45-49                 3 Hrs. 30 Mins.                       8:01                   4 Hrs. 00  Mins.                  9:09

50-54                 3 Hrs. 35 Mins.                      8:12                   4 Hrs. 05  Mins.                  9:21

55-59                 3 Hrs. 45 Mins.                       8:35                   4 Hrs. 15  Mins.                  9:44

60-64                 4 Hrs. 00 Mins.                      9:09                   4 Hrs. 30  Mins.                10:18

65-69                 4 Hrs. 15 Mins.                      9:44                   4 Hrs. 45  Mins.                10:52

70-74                 4 Hrs. 30 Mins.                     10:18                  5 Hrs. 00  Mins.                11:27

75-79                 4 Hrs. 45 Mins.                                          10:52                  5 Hrs. 15 Mins.                 12:01

80 and up         5 Hrs. 00 Mins.                      11:27                  5 Hrs. 30 Mins.                 12:35
Without giving you a totally separate training regiment, simply continue to focus on the core training elements, but
make the adjustments below.  Understand that logically these adjustments make sense to me, but my focus for the
last 7 years has been sub three hour marathon pace work, so let me know if this isn't working...                                          
                                                                                                                                                                  joe@sub3marathoner.com
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  • The Long Run...Take the
    same 16 to 17 mile training
    run and complete it in an
    hour faster than your
    expected marathon
    qualification time...or run for
    three hours, whichever
    comes first.  Much more than
    three hours in an individual
    training run is going to
    negatively effect your other
    efforts for the week.
  • The Medium Long
    Run...Do it at your
    required
    qualification pace.
  • Mile Repeats...You thought I'd forget!  Run
    a mile basically every time the clock hits
    your required qualification pace, i.e. a 3
    hour marathon is a 6:52 pace, so I round
    up and run a mile every 7 minutes.  
    Rounding up to the nearest :15 would be a
    good rule, the goal being that you complete
    your mile and have about a minute to rest.  
    And yes that means your core leg turnover
    rate should be a minute faster than your
    qualification pace...and your legs need a
    small taste of this most every day.

  • Pick-Ups...They're
    still at 85% to 90%
    of your top end
    speed range.

  • And The Catch All...The key to this one is not focusing on your per mile pace.  Run for at least 40 minutes at a
    pace that is slightly faster than your marathon goal pace.  Your focus is on your 3 lap time, so go to the track
    and run a mile at marathon pace, note your 3 lap time, drill it into your thick skull, then start pounding them
    out.  3 laps is easier to keep up with and easier to adjust on, but remember this is a constant (tempo type)
    run, not a repeat workout.
Joe
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