Jan 4, 2025
Training Tips by Runzy Director of Coaching Joe McConkey
Threshold Training in Perspective
Most marathoners are aware of the importance of threshold runs to race day performance. These runs at or close to marathon pace provide a specific stimulus to adapt to your target pace of which you simply will not get by any other means. It is perhaps the most critical component to a successful marathon training program; however, should it be the only component?
Some marathoners do not do speed work, meaning they do not run much faster than their goal marathon pace during training. They are trying to avoid injury, do not like the intensity, and/or they have heard of successful elite marathoners who do not run beyond their lactate threshold. This last reason, because you heard examples of elites training without true speed work, should be examined a bit more closely before following suit.
Yes, there are some elite runners in the past and present that focus almost exclusively on high volume and threshold efforts, with little to no work on faster speeds (aka the ‘Norwegian Method’). There is often a very big difference between amateurs and them - they have been running competitively since they were in their teens and early 20s (if not earlier), with little to no sustained inactive periods.
This consistency of training and consistency of competitive running means their natural, athletic, well-coordinated biomechanics from childhood is always right around the corner. They have not gone years, or likely even months, without being active. They have likely spent considerably less time at a desk, or staying still in general, and thus their musculoskeletal system is loose, healthy, and responsive. They have in essence kept intact their pure, free, long stride by never letting their fitness slip.
The reality is amateurs often have had long breaks in training, and/or started running later in life, and thus the ‘clay’ they have to work with is not quite the same. For this reason, amateurs need to add more variety to their workouts to elicit a new response, a new strength, a new stride that is as fast, powerful, and aerobically efficient as their body can allow for. Without this variety, and with volume and threshold only, amateurs can often run many marathons, even multiple per year for decades, at a good pace. If a great pace is the goal, however, it might be time to wake up a new animal inside you.
