With summer slowly, but surely, approaching its end, runners everywhere are turning their eyes to arguably the best time of year: fall marathon season. As the long grind of training hits its peak, it’s easy to fall into a rut, especially when workouts start to feel repetitive. But nobody ever said marathon training was easy–so if it’s starting to feel that way, it’s probably time to turn up the heat.
If you’re craving something fresh, challenging and even a little uncomfortable, now’s the perfect time to shake things up with these three gruelling marathon workouts.
Workout 1: practising the kick
This workout trains you to hold a strong pace even through fatigue and still shift gears when it matters most. The long tempo will challenge you aerobically and teaches you to push that doubt aside in the final kilometres on race day–exactly what you need to become a finish-line-kick expert.
Total working volume: 17 km
Warm up with a 15-minute easy run, plus some light drills and strides. Complete a 12-km tempo run at a comfortably hard effort; take 12 minutes of jogging recovery. Then do three mile repeats (1.6 km each) at a harder effort–between 5K and 10K pace–taking four minutes of rest between reps.
Finish with a 15-minute cooldown (or longer if you need more mileage).
Workout 2: building a rhythm
This session emphasizes pacing consistency; it’s all about locking into a strong rhythm and staying there, no matter how your legs feel. Working in long, sustained intervals will help you build mental resilience and the ability to manage discomfort over time.
Total working time: 40 to 48 minutes
Being with a 15-minute warmup, followed by drills and strides. For the workout, complete four sets of 10 to 12 minutes at a comfortably hard pace (slightly slowly than 10K pace) with a two-minute recovery jog between sets.
Cool down for 15 minutes.
Workout 3: the short stuff
Don’t be fooled by the lower mileage–this workout packs a punch, especially if you’ve been forgetting your speedwork. Alternating between marathon-pace efforts and fast, short intervals improves your running economy, fine-tunes your ability to respond in a race setting and keeps your turnover snappy.
Total working volume: 10K
Warm up for 15 to 20 minutes, plus some dynamic drills.
Set 1: 1 mile (1.6 km) at your goal marathon pace, followed by three minutes of jogging for recovery.
Set 2: 5 x (1K + 200m); complete the kilometre efforts at 5K to 10K pace with two minutes rest, and complete the 200m at a fast, steady pace, focusing on form and turnover. Take three minutes active jogging rest.
Set 3: 3K at goal marathon pace. Cool down for 15 to 20 minutes.