Track workouts for marathon runners

While track workouts aren’t the main focus of a marathon training program, they are still beneficial for marathon runners. The following three workouts are taxing, both physically and mentally, so make sure you’re well-recovered and feeling sharp before you begin.

Track workout for speed and efficiency

Marathon runners don’t need to focus on increasing their lactate threshold the way 1,500m runners do, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still benefit from having a higher lactate tolerance. Having a higher lactate threshold means you can run more efficiently at your marathon pace, and you’ll be able to maintain a faster pace for the entire marathon.

As we mentioned, these workouts are long and challenging, so they shouldn’t be introduced into your training until later in your marathon build, when you’re physically and mentally capable of tackling them. Pacing is also crucially important in these workouts, and runners should choose their starting speed wisely to ensure they can make it to the end.

Additionally, it’s important to run these workouts with good form, so make sure you do form drills before beginning to start on the right foot.

The workouts

The three workouts are 16-20 x 400m, 12-16 x 600m and 8 x 800m. This is a lot of volume, and runners should aim to complete them at approximately half-marathon pace. If you can, try to speed up in the final intervals of the workout, but your pace should still be controlled.

Make sure you do a 10-20 minute warm-up and cool-down on either side of the workout, and rest between the intervals should be one or two minutes.