EVERY BODY IS DIFFERENT, REALLY

I have been doing quite a bit of research on the training habits of elite marathoners. I have discovered that there is no RIGHT way to go about doing this sort of thing. Each person has a RIGHT way that works for them and that's about as basic as it gets. The quicker you figure out YOU, the better off you are. Some examples summed up below:

Elite Masters Marathoner John Piggot. This guy can crank out a 2:37 marathon once a month if he chooses. He runs 60 miles a week with one speed workout and one long run.

Michael Wardian, A MAN POSSESSED: He runs between 17-20 miles a day and races every weekend.

Deena Kastor, I have been told by semi reliable sources, runs 140 miles a week and almost every run is hard. She sleeps 14 hrs a day and gets massages with the rest of her time.

Wilson Komen, (I trained with him for a bit). 120 weekly miles with two hard runs per week and one long run. Very simple. 2:17 marathoner. This schedule applies to Chris Raabe as well. He too, is a 2:17 marathoner.

Brian Sell and Nate Jenkins, two of the USA's toughest marathoners run mega miles(150 or more miles per week). More than 4 runs per week at very hard pace. These guys rely on toughness and durability to make up for their lack of natural speed.


There are millions of others but this should get the ball rolling for discussion, comment, etc.