Requirements to run a marathon under 3 hours

The Sub 3 hour Marathon is one THE barriers in running and endurance sports. In this article series write about my knowledge, tools, actionable strategies and how I reached this goal. In this part we’re going to talk about what is needed to run a Sub 3 hour marathon.

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The essentials of marathon training

Achieving a Sub 3 hour marathon requires dedication, preparation, and a deep understanding of your body’s capabilities. Here are some key requirements that I think are necessary:

Passion for running:

First of all, running must become a passion. It has to become a pursuit of the best version of yourself. Hours and hours of sometimes boring running can not be endured if you don’t see a meaning.

You shouldn’t think of the time you invest as time lost, but as a time well spent getting to know your own limits. Because that, I think, is what life is all about: Finding out what you are capable of.

Pace and Endurance:

A Sub 3 hour marathon time of 2:59:59 means you have to endure a 6:52min/mile or 4:16min/km pace for 42,195km.

In order to maintain this pace for 3 hours straight it should to some point feel quite easy.

You’ll need to run two Sub 1:29:59 half marathons, so you’ll definitely need to be comfortable with one Sub 1:29:59. More on that later…

Aiming for a marathon in under 3 hours for the first race in your running career makes little sense. It is better to start with shorter distances such as 5 or 10 km and work your way up slowly. That takes us the next point…

Running Experience:

When aiming for a Sub3 hour Marathon, it’s essential to have a solid foundation of running for consecutive years. Many experienced marathoners attempt this goal after several years of consistent training and racing.

Health and Training IQ:

To be able to get through weeks with high running mileage you have to be in good health with no injuries or medical conditions that could be made worse by intensive training.

What I also think is important is how to deal with minor injuries or problems that can occur during training. I cover that topic in my email on day 5.

You have to develop a feeling for when it’s better to take a break or to hit a hard workout. Listen to your body when it needs rest and when it is the time to train hard.

Working out too hard at the wrong time can quickly lead to an injury or illness that sets you back a long way. Figuring out when to train and what is what I call Training IQ.

Time for consistent training:

As for myself I can say that my running volume wasn’t quite high at the time I achieved the Sub 3 Marathon. On the other hand, the time I spent cross-training, i.e. cycling, swimming or playing soccer, was significantly higher.

In the year I ran the marathon I trained 418h of only endurance training. That’s more than one hour of training every day.

So in able to train for a marathon in such a fast time you have to have free time space for training in your schedule. For myself I can say it is not easy to handle training while working in a normal 9 to 5 job and taking care of other social expectations. I think that approx. 8-10 hours of free time per week to train are necessary for reaching this goal. Not to forget the time that is needed for rest after a hard or long workout or to get the food back in.

Experience with nutrition intake

The one thing I struggle the most within marathon racing is nutrition intake. In my first Sub 3 marathon I drank too much at an aid station and threw up in the next front yard. A little mistake that cost me a much faster time. The intake of carbs, water and salt within a race are not easy and have to be tested in training.

…and many more. Here I listed some components that all have to come together:

What are the requirements to start training for Sub 3?

“I want to run sub 3 hours. Is that realistic?”

Here are some stats which maybe show what is realistic:

be able to run at least 50-60km for several weeks in a row (min. requirement I think. More is always better. Alternatively lot of cross training like cycling required)
10 km around 38-39 minutes or better

The conditions are even better with:

a half marathon 1:25-1:26h
marathon in 3:15h or better

If you can not run these times I would take the approach get in a position where you can run the above mentioned times.

First get better in the under distances: e.g. a 10k or half marathon.

For myself I can say that before the 12 weeks of my marathon preparation I ran a 10k in 35:00. A time which predicts a way faster marathon than a 2:58:20. But the marathon is a different game. For myself I can say that I was not experienced enough with the distance nutrition and long runs. In addition to that my preparation was not ideal. I did way to less long runs.

Sub 3 Marathon indicators

According to the VDOT calculator the following times in shorter distances are an equivalent to a Sub 3h marathon: Half Marathon 1:26:18 (6:35min/mile – 4:05min/k) 10K 38:59min (6:16min/mile – 3:54min/k).

What do other online running calculators say?

VDOT Calcuator: 5k in 18:48, 10k in 38:59, HM in 1:26:18

Marathon Guide Predictor: 5k in 18:30, 10k in 38:45, HM in 1:25:56

Luke Humphrey Running: 5k in 18:46, 10k in 39:08, HM in 1:26:20

The truth about which equivalent times are really necessary lies somewhere in between these calculations. What is certain is that a marathon is very different from a half marathon or 10k race and requires a different training approach.

From couch to Sub 3 is going to take years for the average person.

What the typical runner struggles with in reaching the Sub 3 Hour Marathon barterer?

There are a lot of things a runner struggle’s while working on such ambitious goals:

Being injured here and there along the process
Learning how to deal with injuries and reduce the risk of injury

Unsure what workouts to do and what a training plan should look like
Learning the basics and build your own training plan around your life.

The missing longterm approach
The right mindset in training for a Sub3 marathon

Weekly structure of training
This can differ a lot from person to person because everyone has another schedule because of work or social obligations. Build a system that’s working for you.

Nutrition and hydration strategy

We’re covering more of these aspects in the other articles of this series.