Summary: Why it could be good to wait to do 26.2 The marathon is all about aerobic strength. Holding a moderate pace over a long distance. We aren’t worn down so much by the speed of our pace, but rather by the distance over which we are holding it. Aerobic strength takes time to build. It’s not something that happens overnight, or even over weeks. But it does happen. Every time we lace up we are adding a brick to our aerobic base. It is something that we can continue to build and improve on over the course of our running careers. There is no real expiration date on aerobic fitness. However, the same cannot be said about speed. It’s a fact of life that as we get older, we slow down. We tend to lose some of that gut-busting power we had when we were younger. For some this happens in their early 30’s and for others, like 5x Olympian and Masters world record holder Bernard Lagat, it may not happen until well into their running careers. But the fact remains the same, at some point it does happen. So shouldn’t it make sense that we train speed while we still can? Why do many elite runners wait to run the marathon until their mid-20s or 30s? When do most people peak in their running speed? Can you gain speed and aerobic endurance at the same time? What would be the negative of going right to the marathon? Is there a greater chance for injury? What happens when athletes jump into the marathon right away? When is the right time to make the switch to the marathon? What are the benefits to having variety in training: switching from 5k training to marathon & vice versa? When athletes stagnate in the marathon, can it be beneficial to switch into speed for awhile? Confidence boosting? Is it less time consuming or maybe easier to train for a marathon when you are fast already? The compound effect of mileage over time of a cross country athlete vs someone who just started running? Everyone has different goals
