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20 miler
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Running my first marathon in Brighton. When is it best to run the 20 miler! Most plans say 4 weeks before the day and other say 3!! What are people doing?
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Assuming you mean the last 20+ mile run before the race, many plans will have a 3 week taper, so you'll be running arond 20-22 miles exactly 3 weeks prior to race day, then a little less the following week, then less again, then race week.
So it might look like: 20, 16, 12, 26.2
A three-week taper is the most common i've come across but 2 weeks are perhaps more common for elites, or more experienced runners, or some might prefer 4 week taper, but to me that seems a bit too long and there's the risk you'll be "stale" by race day. Some people will have done 3, 4 or 5 x 20 miles in their marathon prep, whilst someone following a "get round the course" plan with a lower level of initial fitness might not have been able to manage more than 1 or 2 x 20milers in their prep.
Basically there's no "one size fits all" approach, but i'll be doing a 3 week taper, and i think given it's your first marathon that might be about right for you too. it's far enough out for you to recover in time for race day and be in top shape on the start line, but not so far that you'll start losing the training benefit of all those weeks of prep. Good luck
My plan looks like this- 20, 12, 20, 12, 8, marathon
so going by that, its a 3 week taper like many other plans. i looked at this one and it suited my needs, and has lots of easy runs in it
good luck with the marathon
Do you really think I would lose that much initial fitness doing it 4 weeks in advance. It works slighty better with the shifts I work. Was thinking of 16, 18, 20, 15, 10, 8, race.
Lots of classic football names from the north-east. Remember Alan Shoulder? Or Alan Foggon?