How To Do Your Marathon Long Run Properly: Distance Dr Daily

On today's episode of The Distance Dr Daily with Dr Kate, she discusses how long runs are the cornerstone of marathon training, but most of the questions runners actually have, how far, how often, how hard, when to peak, and what to practise, don't always get answered clearly in a generic training plan.I walk through five evidence-based considerations for getting your long run right, drawing on recent research and applying it practically for runners building toward a half marathon, marathon, or longer.I cover:How often to do your long run, and why every 7 to 10 days can work better for some athletes, particularly those who are injury-prone, postpartum, or new to marathon training.How long your long run should actually be, based on what research shows works across different weekly training volumes, and why staying under 25 km may cost you on race day.Where to place your peak long run in the training block, and how far out from race day it should sit.How to progress your long run distance safely using the 10% rule, which applies specifically to your long run rather than your overall weekly volume.How hard your long run should be, where marathon pace work fits in, and why it shouldn't be every week.What to practise during the long run, including fuelling, hydration, cadence, and biomechanics under fatigue.This is for runners who want to train smarter, not just harder, and who want to understand the why behind the long run rather than just ticking off the kilometres.Study references: Fokkema T, van Damme AADN, Fornerod MWJ, de Vos RJ, Bierma-Zeinstra SMA, van Middelkoop M. Training for a (half-)marathon: Training volume and longest endurance run related to performance and running injuries. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2020 Sep;30(9):1692-1704. doi: 10.1111/sms.13725. Epub 2020 Jun 3. PMID: 32421886; PMCID: PMC7496388.Knopp, M., Appelhans, D., Schönfelder, M., Seiler, S., & Wackerhage, H. (2024). Quantitative Analysis of 92 12-Week Sub-elite Marathon Training Plans. Sports medicine - open, 10(1), 50. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-024-00717-5