Can you finish a marathon running just three days a week? It’s something all marathoners new and old have wondered, but it seems too good to be true, with almost every training plan out there suggesting five to six days of running to get you in shape for the starting line. But for the time-strapped or injury-prone, these programs can quickly seem overwhelming.
Luckily, you can race 26.2 miles on just three running workouts a week—and you might even finish it faster than you think. How? Because two guys figured it out a long time ago.
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The Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training (FIRST) program was first imagined when exercise science experts Bill Pierce and Scott Murr decided to enter a few triathlons way back in the mid-1980s. Just one problem: They hit the wall when they added biking and swimming to their running. The demands of three-sport training were too much, so they cut back their running from six days a week to four.
To their surprise, they didn’t slow down in local road races. So they cut back to three days of running. “Lo and behold, our 10K, half marathon, and marathon times didn’t suffer at all,” says Pierce, who has run more than 30 marathons and has a best time of 2:44:50. (Murr, for the record, holds a marathon best of 2:46 and has completed multiple Hawaii Ironmans.) “The more we discussed this—and we discussed it a lot—the more we became convinced that a three-day program, with some cross-training, was enough to maintain our running fitness.”
Then they wanted to put it to the test with others.
In the summer of 2004, FIRST advertised a free marathon-training program that would last 16 weeks and culminate with the Kiawah Island Marathon. Twenty-five subjects entered, agreeing to run one long run, one tempo run, and one speed workout each week—and no more. Instead of extra miles, participants were encouraged to do two additional days of cross-training. At the marathon that December, 21 of the 25 finished the race, with 15 setting personal bests. What’s more, a postrace lab testing showed that the runners had improved their maximal oxygen uptake, lactate threshold running speed, and reduced their body fat.
And you can make this program work for you. Here, we break down the nine key pillars of the FIRST marathon training program that we first featured in the August 2005 issue of Runner's World. (All of these elements are described with more detail in Pierce and Murr’s book, Run Less, Run Faster, which was re-released in 2012).
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1. Keep Running Fun
Pierce believes that a three-day running week will make running easier and more accessible to many potential runners and marathoners. “Our most important objective is to help runners develop and maintain lifelong participation in running,” says Pierce. “Our second goal is to help them achieve as much as possible on a minimum of run training.”
The restrictions on mileage will decrease overtraining and burnout, and with several days of cross-training, it should cut your injury-risk substantially. This may lead to faster race times.
2. Run Three Times A Week...And No More
In FIRST, runners do only three running workouts a week: a long run, a tempo run, and a speed workout. Each of the workouts has a specific goal—improving aerobic capacity, lactate threshold, running economy, or running speed—rather than simply filling a mileage quota.
In Murr and Pierce’s second book, Train Smart, Run Forever, an appendix details the exact mile times to aim for on each of the three running workouts, according to a runner’s individual speed. Here are some samples for different pace groups:
For a 20:00 5K runner (predicted marathon time: 3:14:37)
· 2-minute speed intervals at 5:45 pace
· 5-mile tempo at 7:00 pace
· Long runs at 7:30-7:45 pace
For a 24:00 5K runner (predicted marathon time: 3:53:33)
· 2-minute speed intervals at 7:03 pace
· 5-mile tempo at 8:15 pace
· Long runs at 8:50-9:00 pace
For a 30:00 5K runner (predicted marathon time: 4:51:56)
· 2-minute speed intervals at 8:59 pace
· 5-mile tempo at 10:11 pace
· Long runs at 10:45-10:55 pace
3. Build Your Long Run To 20 Miles
The marathon training program builds up to two 20-mile workouts, the second one taking place three weeks before your marathon race date. But covering 20 miles is the easy part. The harder part is the pace—60 to 75 seconds slower per mile than your 10K race pace.
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“It’s true that our long runs won’t let you admire the scenery as much,” says Pierce. “But they aren’t painful either. They just push you a little beyond the comfort zone. If you’re going to race a marathon, you have to do some hard long runs to get the toughness and focus you’ll need on race day.”
4. Run Three Different Kinds of Tempo Runs
The tempo run has become a mainstay of many training programs, but this program carries the concept a little farther than most, adding more variety and nuance.
FIRST runners do three different kinds of tempo runs at varying paces: short (three to four miles), mid (five to seven miles) and long (eight to 10 miles). “We’ve found that the long tempo run is particularly helpful,” says Pierce. “You’re basically running at your marathon goal pace, so you’re getting maximum specificity of training, and improving your efficiency at your goal pace.”
5. Put More Variety in Your Speedwork
Many runners tackle the same workout every week, or do no speedwork at all. The FIRST runners do many different speed workouts at different paces, generally taking just a 400-meter jog between the fast repeats. Pierce has just one more rule for speed training: Start modestly, but after a month, try to get the total distance of all the fast repeats to equal about three miles or 5,000 meters (i.e., running 5 x 1,000 meters, or 12 to 13 x 400 meters).
6. Cross-Train Twice a Week…Hard
In this program, cross-training shouldn’t be viewed as a recovery from running, but a substitute for it. Therefore, if you slack off, you could miss out on some potential training benefits. “We believe that if you do cross-training correctly, you can use it to increase your overall training intensity without increasing your injury risk,” says Pierce. “At the same time, you can still go out and run hard the next day.”
7. Remember to Stretch
The beauty of a less-is-more training plan is that it frees up your time to do more muscle maintenance, like rolling, stretching, and icing. In Train Smart, Run Forever, Murr and Pierce emphasize the importance of static and dynamic stretching. The book states, “The goal of any runner is to develop symmetrical strength and flexibility, stable running form, and pain-free, injury-free running. A consistent habit of stretching should be included in a runner’s workout routine.”
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Murr and Pierce suggest dynamic stretches like side lunges and leg swings before the run; foam rolling and static stretches like pigeon pose after the run; and deep hamstring and lower back stretches on cross-training days.
8. Don’t Try To Make Up For Lost Time
Stuff happens. You’re in the middle of a 16-week program and you get sick; you sprain your ankle; you have to go on several last-minute business trips. Result: You miss some key workouts. Then what? “You can’t make up what you missed,” says Pierce, “and you certainly shouldn’t double up on your workouts to catch up with your program.
Often, if you had a slight cold or too much travel, you can recover and get back where you want to be relatively quickly. But if you have foot pain or ITB syndrome, you’ve got to take care of your injury first, and get healthy again.” This can take weeks, and it’s really tough if you’ve been looking forward to a big race—but you shouldn’t attempt a marathon unless you’re fully prepared for it. Reschedule another in a few months’ time.
9. Follow a 3-Week Taper
The FIRST program builds for 13 weeks, with the second 20-mile long run coming at the end of the thirteenth week. After that, the program begins to taper off, with 15- and 10-mile long runs during weeks 14 and 15.
The speedwork and tempo runs taper down just a little, with a final eight-mile tempo run at marathon goal pace coming 10 days before the marathon. Pierce notes, “It’s the right amount of time to make sure you’ve got the maximum spring back in your step.” If you feel sluggish doing just the easy running in the final week (this is very common, by the way), do five or six 100-meter strides or pickups after the Tuesday and Thursday workouts. Get in some extra stretching afterward as well.
This was adapted from Run Less, Run Faster. The original version of this article first appeared in the August 2005 issue of Runner’s World.
