In the October 2008 issue of The Running Times Magazine (page 18), an article was written by Greg Mcmillan presenting to the readers the variations of specialized long runs a runner has to incorporate in his/her marathon training. A runner can adopt one variation or combine all the variations to come up with with a faster time in finishing a marathon. The following are the variations of your long runs:

1) LONG AND STEADY—This is the Arthur Lydiard’s method of a long, steady run. Lydiard recommends running for 2-3 1/2 hours at an easy and steady pace (over a hilly route) or for a distance up to 20 to 26 miles in order for the mind and body to develop the endurance needed to withstand your running workouts to pursue your marathon training plan.

2) LONG RUN WITH SURGES—This is the signature method of Coach Bill Squire’s marathon long runs where he suggests that “surges” should be made every 10 minutes of your long run which may last from 30 seconds up to 10-12 minutes. This is applying “fartlek” sessions while doing your long runs in order to avoid boredom and ultimately result in a faster average pace during long runs.

3) FAST-FINISH LONG RUN—The proponent of this long run technique is Gabriele Rosa whose unique training plan is to finish the last few miles of the long run at a fast pace. “Fast” means averaging marathon goal pace for the last 4-8 miles and also running your last 10 minutes with your fastest pace. You have to run at your race pace for the last 10-12 kilometers of your long run. (Just remember how Dita and Wanjiru won in the 2008 Olympic Marathon Races)

4) LONG RUN AT MARATHON RACE PACE—Pete Pfitzinger advises a couple of long runs where a runner would simulate running 12-15 miles at his/her goal marathon pace. This will give a better confidence for the runner in running the marathon distance. An example would be to incorporate running 12 miles at your goal marathon pace in the middle of a 20-mile long run.

5) PACE-CHANGE LONG RUN—According to the author of the article, this is what the elite athletes do in the Olympics where rarely are the events being run at an even pace. The author advocates alternating a faster-than-marathon-pace mile with a slower-than-marathon-pace mile. So, if you have a 8:30-minute per mile pace marathon goal, you can alternately run 8:00-minute per mile pace with 9:15-minute per mile pace within the middle 8-mile distance of your 20-mile long run.

The bold letters emphasize the  key description/difference of each variation of long run workouts in you marathon training plan/schedule.

You are not limited to only one variation and you can experiment by yourself by combining all the variations during the duration of your marathon training plan/schedule. As an example, if you are following a 16-week marathon training plan, you can do at least 6 Lydiard-style “Steady” long runs, 3 “Surges”, 3 “Fast-Finish”, 2 “Marathon Pace”, and 2 “Pace-Change” long runs. The combination of variations is limitless.

Good Luck and Have Fun!!!