The Importance Of “The Long Run”
It is the staple of every distance runners diet: the long run. If you’re a seasoned marathoner, workouts of up to 32km (20miles) are derigueur. If you call the homes of most distance runners on a Sunday at 7am, you’lll find they’re either out running long or just about to head out the door.
Running long will get you ready to perform. First time marathoners use a 32km run (20 miler) as s springboard to the finish line 10km (6 miles) farther down the road. Advanced runners do multiple long runs as one means of improving their Personal Bests. Even 5km runners find that running long regularly helps them run faster, And even if you’re only interested in general fitness, a longer than usual training run with friends on the weekend can be fun.
But what is the purpose, in both physical or psychological terms of the long run? What function does it serve in getting you ready for the Marathon? What is the perfect distance for running long, how often should you do it and at what pace?
Most coaches agree that running long is not only enjoyable, but also essential to achieving success in distances from 5km to the marathon. “The single long run is as important as high mileage in a marathoner’s training program,” claims Alfred F Morris, PhD, a health and fitness manager for the Department of Justice in Washington DC. Tom Grogan, a coach Cincinnati ranks it second only to “raw talent.”
Robert Wallace, a 2:13 Marathoner who placed ninth at Boston Marathon in 1982 and is a part time coach in Dallas says, “I still love these long, easy runs on Sunday. They’re the mainstay of any training program. You don’t get results immediately. It’s like saving pennies. Put them in a jar and over a year you accumulate $50-$60.”
Wallace favours slow workouts rather than fast ones for the long runs. “High quality fast runs are too hard on a weekly basis,” he says. “Run low quality and you can get out every weekend. I like to see 10km runners go 14 to 16 miles (22-25km), marathoners go 20-22miles (32-35km) several minutes slower than race pace (per mile).”
Joe Friel, coach and founder of a running store called Foot of the Rockies in Fort Collins, Colorado considers the long run essential for building an endurance base. He has his runners do at last one long run every week, or every other week. “Every 10 days would be perfect,” says Friel, “but that’s tough to fit into a work schedule.”
What is the main purpose of the long run?
Running long offers a dress rehearsal for the race. “It’s a test,” says John Graham, internet based distance running coach.
Atlanta based coach Roy Benson agrees: “Running long gets you used to the stress of lifting your feet up and down nearly 5000 times per hour.” It allows you to practise skills you will need in a race, such as taking fluids. Long runs build confidence in your ability to succeed, and maybe equally important, you learn patience.
“Many runners push too hard on daily runs” says Bob Glover, coach for the New York Road Runners Club. “The long run forces them to slow down and pace themselves wisely – just as they must do in the marathon.”
But apart from the practical and psychological considerations, there are strong physiological reasons to run long. Robert H Vaughan is an exercise physiologist who trains both elite athletes and first timers for the Dallas White Rock Marathon. Vaughan offers the scientific reason: “The long run serves to increase the number of mitochondria, as well as capillaries in the active muscles, thereby improving those muscles’ ability to remove and utilise available oxygen. In addition, the long run recruits muscle fibre that would otherwise go unused. This recruitment insures a greater pool of conditioned fibres that may be called upon during the later stages of the race. There are certain psychological barriers and adjustments to central nervous system fatigue that also are affected by the long run.”
That’s deep and difficult for a layman to understand – but it’s also the single most important reason why you should run long.
What is the perfect long run training distance for marathoners?
There is no “perfect” distance. 32km (20 miles) is the peak distance used in most training programs, however many elite runners will run 35km or longer on 3 or 4 occasions leading into a marathon. Most coaches feel that once you reach 25km (16 miles) you’re in long run territory. That’s the point where the psychological changes Vaughan mentioned kick in. But a few coaches prefer talking “time” rather than distance, “hours” rather than kilometres/miles.
Running much further than 35km in training increases the risk of injury, especially for those new to running. Many experienced coaches argue that running further than 40km for seasoned and elite runners is not necessary and again, increases the chances of injury.
It’s well known in the elite running world that some Japanese runners do 5+ hour runs when building up for a marathon. Former world record holder Robert de Castella and Steve Monaghetti from Australia would peak with a 48km (30 miles) run 5 weeks before the marathon, but that’s after steady diet of 35-40km runs nearly every weekend leading in. Most runners would self destruct on that much mileage.
Marathon World Record holder Eliud Kipchoge completes his long runs on Thursdays and alternates 30km one week with 40km the next and does 12 weeks of this 2 week cycle before a marathon, meaning he will complete 6 40km runs before a marathon.
Mo Farah is similar – peaking at 40km runs 4-8 weeks before the targeted marathon.
How many long runs at, or near peak distance should distance runners do?
If you’re still fairly new to running, you should run only one long run at peak distance: ideally the traditional 32km run (20 miler) motioned above. Nearly every marathon training program builds runners up to that distance, eases them off for 2-3 weeks then sends them off to the starting line with a pat on the back. And it works. Most runners who can bridge the gap between the 32km long run and finishing the 42.2km run with a bit of a taper.
But finishing the first marathon and racing subsequent marathons and actually improving your time are two different beasts. To improve, you need more long runs, not merely longer runs. Experienced runners don’t need to emulate the Aussies and run 37km runs every weekend, but they ideally need to run between three and six runs of over 30km in the closing stages of their preparation, according to most experienced marathon coaches.
As with novice marathoners, the reason is psychological as much as physical. “The more peak distance runs runners achieve in their marathon preparation, the more confidence they radiate,” states Bob Williams, who prepares runners for the Portland Marathon.
Run long too often, however, and you raise the risk of not only injury but also staleness. Only experiences runners should venture often beyond 32km and even they will make mistakes.
How much recovery do you need after long runs?
Vaughan summarises the group consensus when he says “An experienced marathoner with years of training may recover in 48 to 72 hours. while a novice may require a week or longer.” Most runners in training will benefit from a day’s rest after doing their weekend long run, and probably an easy day after that before taking another hard workout at a shorter distance. Thus, we arrive at the following pattern:
Sunday: Long Run
Monday: Rest of easy run
Tuesday: Easy Run
Wednesday: Quality Run / Session
That doesn’t mean that the “Quality run/session” on Wednesday should be another 32km run. Ideally Wednesday would be less distance/duration but faster – for example a 6-10km threshold run or 6-10km worth of intervals at 5km/10km pace.
Rest before the long run is as important as rest after. If you program a day or two of easy running and/or rest before your long runs so that you are not overly fatigued prior to long runs, recovery afterward will be easier.
Are there any tricks to recovery?
No tricks, just sound training and nutritional practises. The three best strategies citied by elite coaches were gels, energy bars and massage. Use the first two during the long runs, the last after. “Taking gels and bars during the long runs speeds recovery.” says RunnersWorld columnist Joe Henderson. “You need to keep your glycogen stores continuously high if you want to maintain training effectiveness.”
Bob Williams, elite running coach considers dehydration to be one of the major sources of muscle soreness. “Drinking during workouts is as important as drinking during races,” he says.
Massages can be expensive, but you make a major time commitment when you decide to run a marathon, so you might as well do it right. Schedule a massage for 48 hours after your long run, since that’s often the peak point of muscle soreness. The massage will help you ease your way back into your regular routine. More frequent massages during the final six weeks leading up to your peak long run may help reduce the risk of injury.
How fast should you run your long runs?
This depends on the experience of the runner.
Most elite runners do their long runs at a pace of 15-30 seconds slower per kilometre than their goal marathon pace (or about 25-50 seconds per mile slower), on average. For example, if a marathoner has a target time of 2hrs30min, this is 3:33/km. Completing long runs at around 3:50-4:05/km is optimal.
It’s also very common for elite runners to make their long runs progressive, running the second half a little faster than the first half. The same marathoner with a target time of 2hrs30min may run the first 15km of their 30km run at 4:05/km and the second half at closer to 3:50/km, averaging around 3:57/km.
“The discipline of going out slow rather than allowing the excitement of the marathon to burn you up is very valuable,” says Denis Calabrese, head run coach at USA FIT. “It’s ideal to be within 5% of your goal marathon pace in the final stages of the long run, to teach your body how to run at close to race pace effort whilst fighting fatigue.”
Those new to the marathon shouldn’t copy these elite runners right away, but rather run to complete the distance/time at a moderate effort. Again, this is purely to avoid injury and burnout; it takes years to decades to build up the strength to complete long runs week after week at close to your goal marathon pace without picking up an injury along the way. Experienced/elite marathoners who continually run long at close to race pace can get into trouble sometimes too, so if you’re new to the marathon “it’s better to err on the slow side and simply complete the distance at a moderate effort,” says Calabrese.
Source and quotes: Hal Higdon “Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide”
