PodiumRunner: A Short Marathon Build-Up?

The Case for a Shorter Marathon Buildup

The uncertainty of racing makes it hard to plan 4–6 months out. Take heart, 8–10 weeks might be a better marathon buildup. 

Sep 4, 2020/RICHARD A. LOVETT/PodiumRunner 

If you’re looking for candidates for the type of runners who’ve been most severely impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, marathoners are probably top of the list. After all, it’s fairly easy to do a virtual 5K or 10K — or give the mile or the 800 a go on a track or measured road. 

But a virtual marathon? With no aid stations and no other runners to keep you focused during those long, later miles? That’s a different beast, entirely. 

Which means that once COVID-19 restrictions on road racing start to ease, there’s going to be a big clamor for marathons. But, when a marathon finally becomes possible, that will raise another question: how far in advance do you need to start training for it?

(Link to article)

MapMyRun.com: Just Don't Cheat

The Major Half-Marathon Cheat Sheet
Abbie Mood/MapMyRun.com/April 11, 2017

In 2015, almost two million runners completed a half-marathon — that’s more than marathon and 10K finishers combined. This magic distance continues to grow in popularity, and Matt Fitzgerald, running coach and author of “The Endurance Diet” explains that “the half-marathon is long enough to present runners with a serious challenge and a great sense of accomplishment when they conquer it. But at the same time, it requires less training than a full marathon does, and the post-race recovery is much quicker.”

We know that sometimes the hardest part of racing isn’t necessarily the training, but figuring out which race to run, so we’ve taken the liberty of rounding up 10 of the best half-marathons to inspire your next training session...

(Link to Article)